Author: Grace Johnson

Vintage once ruled the wine world In wine, the vintage has always been king. Every bottle of red, white, or rosé almost always carries the year of harvest on the label. Non-vintage still wine, which blends grapes from several years, has long been seen as cheap and undesirable. It is also far less common. But climate change is now shaking this tradition. Heatwaves, droughts, and extreme weather push winemakers to seek consistency. A small but growing group of respected wineries now release non-vintage bottles. They argue blending ensures quality when nature brings chaos. Napa Valley feels the heat Chris Howell,…

When floods strike, clear and fast warnings save lives. Too often, however, these crucial alerts fall short. Disaster experts explain what makes the difference. Lessons from Texas In South Bend, Texas, residents once marked flood levels on a concrete pillar. The visual warning reminded people that water had risen that high before. Disaster communications expert Keri Stephens recalls how powerful such reminders can be. She now notes that those watermarks have faded. Communities in Texas live under constant flood threat, worsened by climate change. When deadly flash floods struck the state in 2025, questions arose over whether alerts were good…

Workers face growing risks from extreme heat as climate change drives more frequent heatwaves, warns a new report by the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization. Millions of employees suffer from heat stress, which harms their health and reduces their performance. The report urges governments, employers, and workers to cooperate on adaptation strategies to protect vulnerable populations. Heat Stress at Work Poses Real Health Risks Although the WHO has repeatedly highlighted the health dangers of extreme heat, this is its first dedicated report on workplace heat stress since 1969. Rüdiger Krech, WHO director of environment, climate, and health,…

Giraffes rank among the most iconic and beloved animals on the planet. For years, experts believed they belonged to one single species. Now researchers from the International Union for Conservation of Nature confirm something surprising. They have officially identified three additional species of the world’s tallest mammal. This recognition comes after years of speculation. Earlier studies already suggested that giraffes might not be one species but four. The latest assessment gives this theory a formal scientific seal. How researchers reached their conclusion Scientists compared skull sizes and head shapes of giraffes from across Africa. They discovered enough genetic differences to…

When one of Italy’s beloved Five Towers collapsed, experts initially called it rare. In reality, peaks across the Dolomites are constantly crumbling. The Five Towers – an iconic cluster in the Eastern Italian Alps – resembled five stone fingers pointing skyward. Between 4 and 7 June 2004, the Trephor Tower toppled. Rifugio Scoiattoli, a nearby chalet, had not yet opened for the summer, so no one witnessed the collapse. One morning, visitors saw the Trephor, a 10,000-cubic-metre monolith, lying horizontally. Its size matched the leaning Tower of Pisa without bells or crowds. Antonio Galgaro, associate professor of geosciences at the…

Heavy rainfall in Mumbai has submerged roads, disrupted transportation, and affected millions of residents. Flights and trains faced cancellations, leaving commuters stranded. Videos show locals swimming through waterlogged streets while garbage overflowed from clogged sewers, creating hazardous conditions across the city. Rescue Operations Underway Authorities rescued nearly 600 people trapped on an overcrowded monorail system that stopped mid-journey on Tuesday. Civic officials treated at least 23 passengers for suffocation. Emergency teams worked through the night to evacuate stranded residents safely. Most schools and colleges remain closed. Officials relocated around 350 people from low-lying areas to temporary shelters. India’s weather department…

Why would anyone endure freezing winds, icy waters, and rough seas to dig mud from the Antarctic seabed? Earlier this year, an international team of adventurous scientists did exactly that along the remote Antarctic Peninsula. Their mission aimed to uncover centuries of secrets about the Southern Ocean. Researchers will now share and analyse these rare mud samples worldwide. They hope to reveal how human activity, including a century of industrial whaling, affected Antarctica and the global environment. This study contributes to a broader effort to understand the complex relationship between the ocean and climate. A history of ocean life Scientists…

Firefighters across Southern Europe continue to battle numerous wildfires. The ongoing heatwave claims more lives and forces thousands to evacuate. In Greece, emergency crews describe scenes that look like “the end of the world.” Since Tuesday, dozens of people required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation. Strong winds and temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius repeatedly fuel the flames. Greece Battles Fires on Multiple Fronts In Greece, firefighters fight new blazes near the western port city of Patras and on the islands of Chios and Zakynthos. Authorities evacuated thousands of residents and tourists. “It looks like the end of the world,” said…