Eco R Geo

Three French nuclear reactors shut down amid heatwave

2026-07-12T18:15:30.378+03:00

Three nuclear reactors in France have been shut down and eight others are operating at reduced power amid the ongoing heatwave, local media reported on Sunday.

French daily Le Parisien quoted state-owned electric utility company EDF as saying that the reactors were taken offline "because of the weather conditions and in order to comply with regulations governing thermal discharges and therefore protect the environment."

High river temperatures can limit the ability of nuclear power plants to use river water for cooling, requiring operators to reduce output or temporarily halt operations to meet environmental regulations.

In a report released on Thursday, Meteo-France said that, following the exceptional heatwave that swept France in late June, scorching temperatures are once again spreading across much of the country.

Typhoon Bavi reaches Taiwan, most areas suspend work, classes

2026-07-11T08:53:30.655+03:00

Typhoon Bavi, the ninth typhoon of the year, reached northeastern Taiwan early Saturday morning, forcing the cancellation of flights in Taipei and Taichung, and the suspension of work and classes in most areas across the island.

The latest information indicated that winds and rainfall were intensifying across Taiwan, with scattered reports of damage including power outages and a landslide.

Weather authorities said the center of the typhoon was located over waters about 360 kilometers southeast of Taipei, moving northwestward at a speed of 27 kilometers per hour.

Heavy rainfall will continue throughout the day, with extremely heavy rain forecast for the mountainous areas north of Taichung, and strong winds in many areas. The public has been urged to avoid going to beaches due to high waves.

12 killed in southern Spain wildfire

2026-07-10T06:36:34.393+03:00

Twelve people were killed in a major wildfire that broke out on Thursday afternoon in Los Gallardos, in Almeria province of Spain's southern Andalusia region, according to the local emergency service.

Andalusia's 112 Emergency Service said it received the first reports of the fire at around 5:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Thursday. Fanned by high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds, the wildfire spread rapidly into the neighboring municipality of Bedar.

The regional government activated Level 1 of the Andalusian Forest Fire Emergency Plan (Plan INFOCA), evacuated Bedar and several nearby communities, and temporarily closed sections of the A-7 freeway and the N-340A road.

According to an official statement, some of the victims were found inside vehicles that had been engulfed by flames.

France places 9 departments on red heat wave alert as wildfires continue

2026-07-09T21:45:37.525+03:00

Nine French departments were placed under the highest-level red heat wave alert for Friday as extreme temperatures continued to fuel wildfire risks across the country, officials said Thursday.
The national weather service, Meteo-France, announced that the red alert would take effect at midday, covering Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Morbihan, Sarthe, Deux-Sevres, Vendee and Vienne, according to the BFMTV broadcaster.

Another 76 departments were placed under orange heat wave warnings.

Authorities warned that temperatures would remain exceptionally high during the weekend, with forecasts predicting up to 39C (102F) in Nantes on Saturday and around 42C in Mont-de-Marsan on Sunday.

Firefighters, meanwhile, continued efforts to control several wildfires across France.

Over 1,000 deaths in Spain attributed to June heatwave

2026-07-01T21:12:28.732+03:00

More than 1,000 deaths in Spain were attributed to the recent heatwave that roasted Europe, as the country posted the hottest first six months ever recorded, officials said today.

At least 1,028 people died of heat-related issues during the heatwave, the public Carlos III Health Institute said.

The figure was more than double the 407 deaths that were attributed to heat in June 2025, Spain's hottest June since records started being kept, according to the national weather agency Aemet.

The first six months of 2026 were the hottest in Spain since the start of records, with temperatures 1.6C above normal levels on average, Aemet said in a post on X today.

Earthquake in Venezuela could affect more than 6.7 million people — UN

2026-06-27T22:17:58.658+03:00

According to a statement by the International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, up to 6.76 million people in Venezuela could be affected by the recent earthquake.

These figures are preliminary, based on analyses of population data and the extent of destruction. In Caracas alone, the capital city, an estimated 2 million residents may be impacted.

The earthquake struck Venezuela on the evening of June 24, with two tremors measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude occurring approximately 40 seconds apart.

Their epicenters were located just 10 kilometers apart in the state of Yaracuy. The seismic event was followed by 214 aftershocks.

According to the latest reports, over 1,400 people have lost their lives, and more than 3,200 have sustained injuries in the aftermath of the quake.

Venezuela earthquakes of 7.5, 7.2 collapse Caracas buildings

2026-06-25T06:39:22.517+03:00

Two very strong earthquakes in central Venezuela happened 21km (13 miles) away from Moron, and they were felt very strongly in different areas across the country, including in the states of Trujillo, Carabobo, Miranda and La Guaira.

We were seeing images coming out of Caracas in the area of Altamira. That’s an area that’s filled with businesses and restaurants and where several buildings collapsed.

These two quakes were also felt here in Bogota, in Bucaramanga, and some other parts of Colombia as well.

It happened around 6pm local time (22:00 GMT), and this is a time when people are inside their homes.

Shortly after Venezuela was hit by back-to-back earthquakes, the USGS was already reporting a potential death toll of 10,000 to 100,000 people.

Magnitude 7.5
Region CARABOBO, VENEZUELA
Date time 2026-06-24 22:05:14.8 UTC
Location 10.422 ; -68.376
Depth 35 km
Distance 40 km WSW of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela / pop: 174,000 / local time: 18:05:14.8 2026-06-24
20 km WSW of Morón, Venezuela / pop: 68,000 / local time: 18:05:14.8 2026-06-24

----

Magnitude 7.1
Region YARACUY, VENEZUELA
Date time 2026-06-24 22:04:32.3 UTC
Location 10.451 ; -68.467
Depth 10 km
Distance 60 km WNW of Valencia, Venezuela / pop: 1,619,000 / local time: 18:04:32.3 2026-06-24
33 km ENE of San Felipe, Venezuela / pop: 206,000 / local time: 18:04:32.3 2026-06-24

Deaths and thousands without power in European heatwave

2026-06-24T18:14:42.951+03:00

Western Europe is ⁠in the grip of a deadly, record-setting heatwave that has killed dozens of people, closed schools, slowed trains, knocked out electricity and forced farmers to harvest grain at night.

In France, which yesterday recorded its hottest day since records began nearly 80 years ago, authorities sought to restore electricity to thousands of homes hit by power cuts related to the extreme weather in the northwestern region of Brittany.

Healthcare centers and critical sites were being prioritized in the effort, ⁠with generators provided to tide over retirement homes after outages were blamed on a transformer incident.

"The incident was accidental and related to the current heatwave," officials said in a statement. "No one was injured."

Italy's health ministry issued its highest heat alert for 16 cities, from Florence and Milan, to Rome, Turin and Verona.

Half of France under red heatwave alert

2026-06-21T21:31:47.682+03:00

France has issued red heatwave alerts for around half the country including Paris for Monday as a heatwave pushes temperatures towards record levels.

On Sunday temperatures in the south-western city of Bordeaux hit 40C (104F).

Earlier, French authorities banned alcohol consumption in public places during the annual Fête de la Musique, a national music festival that draws millions to the streets across the country.

"For all events organised by the state and its agencies, instructions have been given not to offer alcohol," the office of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said.

Powerful quake strikes Philippines, triggering tsunami alerts across Asia

2026-06-08T06:21:35.778+03:00

A powerful earthquake has struck the Philippines, destroying buildings and triggering tsunami alerts across Asia.

The magnitude 7.8 quake struck off the southern island of Mindanao shortly before 7:40am local time on Monday (23:40 GMT Sunday), according to the United States Geological Survey.

The tremors caused several buildings to collapse in General Santos City. "Many buildings were affected, but I cannot enumerate them now because we are busy with ongoing rescues," Master Sergeant Robert Dagon of the General Santos City police was quoted as saying.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday ordered the suspension of classes in parts of Mindanao island, off the southern coast of which the quake had struck.

The US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said earlier that tsunami waves as high as 3 metres (9.8 feet) could hit coastal areas of the Philippines, and waves of up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) were possible in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

The first waves were expected to hit the Philippines and parts of Indonesia at around 10am local time (0200 GMT), followed by southern Japan and Taiwan at around 11am (0300 GMT), and Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands an hour later, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

NASA orders astronauts to move to Dragon spacecraft over Russian Zvezda module repairs

2026-06-05T18:53:45.534+03:00

NASA ordered astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to transfer to their docked Dragon spacecraft as a measure of precaution as the Russian crew was carrying out repairs on the Zvezda module after detecting new air leaks, NASA Spokesperson Bethany Stevens said.

"Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has directed all four of the agency's SpaceX Crew-12 members and NASA astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is underway," the spokesperson said in a post on X.

"We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution," the spokesperson added.

Europe braces for another summer of extreme heat after record-breaking spring

2026-06-03T20:21:41.199+03:00

Europe is likely to face another summer of extreme heat, forecasters warned, after record-breaking spring temperatures across parts of the continent and signs of strengthening climate patterns linked to hotter weather.

The UK Met Office said the country could experience a warmer-than-average summer, with an increased likelihood of heatwaves and related impacts. It said hotter-than-normal conditions are now twice as likely as under previous climate norms.

The warning follows an exceptionally warm spring across western Europe.

“France, Britain and Portugal reported their hottest-ever May days as a ‘heat dome’ of warm air from northern Africa pushed temperatures well above normal levels across western Europe,” the French weather service Meteo-France said.

In the UK, temperatures reached a record 35.1C (95.1F) at Kew Gardens in London, the highest May temperature ever recorded in the country.

The health impacts of early-season heat are already emerging.

Spain recorded 101 heat-related deaths in May, the highest figure for the month since records began in 2015, according to the country's Health Ministry. Officials said the toll was more than three times the decade average.

The European Space Agency also recorded unusually high land surface temperatures across large parts of the continent in late May, with southern and central Europe among the hardest-hit areas.

Meanwhile, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday that there is an 80% chance of El Nino conditions developing between June and August, a climate pattern that can amplify temperature and rainfall extremes.

El Niño to bring more heat and disasters in coming months, UN warns

2026-06-02T18:32:05.506+03:00

The world must prepare for a surge in weather extremes and heat waves as a potentially exceptional El Niño emerges, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization has warned.

The WMO said on Tuesday that there’s an 80 percent chance of an El Niño — the warm phase of a natural climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean — developing between June and August, and a 90 percent chance the event will arrive by November.

El Niño’s return heralds a temporary upsurge in global temperatures on top of the warming effect of human-caused climate change.

The event also disrupts rainfall patterns around the world, usually producing intense downpours and floods in some regions while bringing drought to others.

China launches Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship - VIDEO

2026-05-24T19:19:02.554+03:00

China launched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship on Sunday, which will send three astronauts to its orbiting Tiangong space station.
The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The Shenzhou-23 crew consists of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, along with astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Li Jiaying, or Lai Ka-ying in Cantonese. The three astronauts are, respectively, a flight engineer, a spacecraft pilot, and a payload specialist.

Climate scientists warn extreme weather likely in 2026

2026-05-12T18:53:13.394+03:00

The World Weather Attribution group of climate scientists has warned that extraordinary extreme weather is likely this year and said 2026 could turn out to be the second warmest, if not the warmest year, on record.

It notes that sea surface temperatures are approaching the highest level ever and that wildfires have already burned more than 150 million hectares in the first four months of the year.

This is 50% higher than the recent wildfire average and double the amount burned in 2024.

It expects these trends will be added to by the growing impacts of a potentially very strong naturally occurring El Niño warming event now taking shape in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

The scientists said we could be heading towards an unprecedented year of global fire and record-breaking weather events.

Thousands evacuated as Hawaii faces worst flooding in 20 years

2026-03-21T19:52:35.543+02:00

Thousands of people in Hawaii have been told to evacuate their homes as the US state suffered its worst flooding in decades.

It is the second severe storm to hit the archipelago in the last week, causing damage that could exceed $1bn, according to Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

More than 230 people have been rescued so far, Blangiardi told a news conference on Friday. Heavy rains continued to fall on the archipelago in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Evacuation ordered in Hawaii as 120-year-old dam could fail, catastrophic flooding continues.

Officials urged Oahu’s North Shore residents to evacuate safely if they can. Emergency sirens were triggered, where rising waters also damaged homes. Honolulu officials issued a “LEAVE NOW” evacuation order at 5:35 a.m. Friday local time for Waialua and Haleiwa: “Extremely dangerous flooding and Wahiawa Dam is high.”

Officials said a dam failure has the potential for “life-threatening flooding and catastrophic amounts of fast moving water.”

New Yorkers told to stay at home as Storm Hernando hits

2026-02-23T13:39:00.001+02:00

Children across parts of the US northeast will stay home today as powerful ⁠winter Storm Hernando forced school closures and pushed offices and transit systems onto emergency schedules.

It came as officials across the region warned of heavy snow, strong winds and dangerous travel conditions.

Storm Hernando has already disrupted travel along the east coast from Washington to New England, with airlines cancelling thousands of flights and officials urging people to stay off the roads.

Winter weather in the northeast may also slow the processing, transport and delivery of mail and packages, the US Postal Service said.

New York City, the nation's largest school district, ordered all public school buildings closed for a traditional snow day, with no remote instruction and all after-school programs cancelled.

'All records broken' as Storm Nils leaves swaths of southwest France under water

2026-02-14T16:54:00.000+02:00

The flood alert system in France has been working at a record pace as relentless rain over the past month has saturated soils.

"For 30 days we have been in continuous orange or red alert somewhere on the national territory," Lucie Chadourne-Facon, director of Vigicrues, told AFP, referring to the two highest alert levels.

"That is 81 departments in alert simultaneously for 154 rivers, so we have exceeded all our records," she said.

Chadourne-Facon said soil moisture had also reached a record since data collection began in 1959.

"We are facing a generalised flood situation across the entire country because all the soils are saturated everywhere" and have "lost their infiltration capacity", she said.

"As a result, today rivers are extremely sensitive to the slightest precipitation, the slightest rainfall that hits the country, and they react very quickly," she added.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Heavy snow, severe weather kill 35 in Japan

2026-02-04T19:45:00.006+02:00

Heavy snowfall in northern Japan has left at least 35 people dead and more than 350 others injured, according to local media reports on Wednesday.

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said the death toll has continued to rise since heavy snow began on Jan. 20, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Niigata Prefecture recorded the highest number of fatalities with 12 deaths, followed by Akita with seven and Yamagata with five. Hokkaido and Aomori each reported four deaths, while Iwate also confirmed four. Nagano and Shimane reported one death each.

Authorities said most fatalities were caused by landslides and snow-related accidents.

A total of 358 people were injured nationwide, including both serious and minor cases.

Meteorological authorities warned that heavy snowfall is expected to continue through the weekend.

Japan’s top government spokesperson cautioned that rising temperatures could trigger snowmelt, increasing the risk of landslides and creating slippery road conditions that may pose further dangers to residents.

At least five killed after Storm Kristin hits Portugal

2026-01-29T06:33:00.001+02:00

At least five people have died after Storm Kristin tore through central and northern Portugal, causing flooding, landslides and widespread damage.

The storm, which the government described as an "extreme climactic event", left schools shuttered, buildings damaged and travel severely disrupted.

In the coastal city of Figueira da Foz, a Ferris wheel overturned and several vehicles were hit when part of a roof was torn from a building.

Portugal has been hit by a succession of storms in recent days, including one over the weekend in which a man died after his car was swept away in floods.

Over 8,000 flights cancelled as major winter storm bears down across US

2026-01-24T13:52:00.002+02:00

More than 8,000 flights set to take off over the weekend have been cancelled as a major storm bears down across the United States, threatening widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina.

At least 3,400 flights were delayed or cancelled on Saturday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware, and more than 5,000 were called off for Sunday.

Roughly 140 million people from New Mexico to New England were under a winter storm warning, as forecasters say damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.

Japan restarts first nuclear reactor since Fukushima under close scrutiny

2026-01-21T18:39:00.005+02:00

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on Wednesday restarted its first nuclear reactor since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, with the utility’s safety measures set to be closely watched as it seeks to turn around its business amid ongoing clean-up efforts from the accident.

Tepco brought back online the No 6 reactor at the seven-unit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo – the world’s largest nuclear power plant by output when fully operational – making it the 15th reactor in the country to have restarted under the stringent post-Fukushima crisis safety standards.

The latest development marks a key milestone for the government pushing for the use of nuclear power in resource-poor Japan, while safety concerns remain among the public following the worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

One dead and 300 buildings destroyed in Australia bushfires

2026-01-11T11:36:00.000+02:00

One person has died and 300 homes and buildings have been destroyed in bush fires that have torn across south-east Australia.

The fires have raged in dozens of locations across the country for several days, mostly in the state of Victoria, but also in New South Wales, burning through land almost twice the size of Greater London.

A state of emergency has been declared in Victoria as thousands of firefighters and more than 70 aircraft battled the blaze. Residents in more than a dozen communities have been advised to leave their homes.

The authorities fear the blazes, which are being fuelled by very hot, dry and windy conditions, could burn for several weeks.

Heavy rain storms in California leave three dead as of Christmas night

2025-12-26T08:12:00.006+02:00

Heavy rain storms across large parts of California triggered floods and mudslides and left three dead as of Christmas night, according to local officials.

The storms - which were expected to continue through Friday - brought 11 inches (27 cms) of rainfall to some parts of Los Angeles County, prompted evacuations and shut down major roads.

Emergency responders have had to perform several rescues, including people stuck in vehicles as flood waters rise. California's Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday in Los Angeles and other southern California counties.

About 100,000 people in the state were without power as of Thursday evening.

Reservoir supplying Iran capital remains largely empty despite rain

2025-12-24T19:30:00.002+02:00

The reservoir of the Amir Kabir dam, one of the largest supplying Iran’s capital, is still largely empty despite sporadic winter rainfall following the worst drought in decades, local media reported Wednesday.

Tehran has seen intermittent rain since early December after months of dry weather, partially replenishing some of the city’s reservoirs but leaving overall levels critically low.

Iran, a largely arid country, has for years suffered chronic dry spells and heat waves, which are expected to worsen with climate change.

“Out of a total water storage capacity of 205 million cubic meters in the reservoir of this dam, only six million cubic meters of water are currently stored,” just three percent of capacity, the Tasnim news agency reported, referring to Amir Kabir, also known as the Karaj dam...[afp]