In a world increasingly shaped by climate extremes, environmental experts are delivering a blunt warning: four rapidly emerging threats could reshape life for millions unless urgent action is taken.

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada / Trollhättan, Sweden, July 25 (IPS) - Plastic pollution has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Since the mid-20th century, over 8 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced globally (UNEP, 2021). Shockingly, more than 90% of this plastic waste has not been recycled. Instead, it has been incinerated, buried in landfills, or leaked into the environment where it can persist for hundreds of years, fragmenting into microplastics.

JAYAQUE, El Salvador, July 25 (IPS) - Still in its early stages and with few players, the poultry sector in El Salvador is taking small steps toward environmentally sustainable production by using its biological waste to generate biogas and, in turn, electricity –an equation that benefits the natural environment, communities, and the farms themselves.

BANGKOK, Thailand, July 25 (IPS) - In the past year, Asia and the Pacific has faced intensifying climate pressures, from extreme heat in Bangladesh and India to devastating floods in northern Thailand and rising food insecurity across the Pacific.

The UN Secretary-General has urged “utmost restraint” amid intensifying border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia as the Security Council met behind closed doors on Friday to address the most serious escalation between the two Southeast Asian neighbours in more than a decade.

As deadly sectarian violence continues to displace hundreds of thousands of civilians in Syria’s Sweida Governorate, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Friday that attacks on health facilities had killed two doctors.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has again sounded the alarm over the catastrophic and rapidly deteriorating conditions in the Gaza Strip as Israeli military operations continue to cause death, displacement and destruction.

Russian aerial attacks continue to intensify across Ukraine, exacting a rising toll on civilians and infrastructure, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Friday, warning of mounting humanitarian needs amid faltering donor support.

In the centre of war-torn Gaza, UN staff continue to work despite the “unprecedented” destruction and suffering around them, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Head of Office.

The world is facing a “moral crisis” marked by rising authoritarianism, deepening inequality and a dangerous indifference to human suffering, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warns in a powerful address on human rights.