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L.A. wildfires 'so intense, violent and brutal that recovering is problematic'

Two wildfires still burning in Los Angeles have torched more urban areas than any other fire in the state since at least the mid-1980s. Experts say several factors could lead to wildfires reaching cities more often, inviting climate change and urban spra

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Thursday, january 16, 2025

'Too dangerous': LA fire evacuees told not to return for at least a week

Los Angeles evacuees fleeing wildfires were told Thursday they would not be able to return to their homes for at least a week due to hazardous conditions caused by toxic waste, downed gas and electricity lines and fears of mudslides.

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Tuesday, january 14, 2025

Los Angeles fires deal devastating blow to arts communities

The destructive Los Angeles fires have led to the loss of creative neighbourhoods and artworks, with many artists who have seen their homes and artworks destroyed. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney welcomes curator and writer Martha Kirszenbaum.

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St. Helena: "The world's most remote EV charging point"

The tiny British overseas territory of Saint Helena, where Napoleon was sent into exile, is now the proud owner of the world's most remote EV charging point. The South Atlantic island currently only has four electric cars, but is hoping to go all-electr

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Ready for the new normal? Los Angeles faces up to unprecedented wildfires

Force majeure is defined as an event that's above and beyond our control. That expression is borrowed by insurers from the French to describe what may otherwise be described as an act of God. Los Angeles's devastating wildfires certainly qualify as force

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Fire-scorched Los Angeles gets a reprieve as winds drop

Hurricane-force winds fanning wildfires that have scorched tens of thousands of acres in Los Angeles dwindled on Wednesday, bringing a much-needed break to the devastated city. The deadly blazes, which flared up more than a week ago, have killed dozens a

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Los Angeles braces for strong winds as deadly wildfires continue to rage

Los Angeles faces critical wildfire threats as dry, dangerous Santa Ana winds were expected to exacerbate blazes that have destroyed neighbourhoods and claimed more than two dozen lives. A red flag warning was in effect as firefighters try to prevent con

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Los Angeles braces for strong winds as deadly wildfires continue to rage

Los Angeles faces critical wildfire threats as dry, dangerous Santa Ana winds were expected to exacerbate blazes that have destroyed neighbourhoods and claimed more than two dozen lives. A red flag warning was in effect as firefighters try to prevent con

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Monday, january 13, 2025

'Opportunity to really learn from disaster and start rebuilding better into a more resilient future'

After making some progress battling wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area, firefighters are preparing for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames. For in-depth analysis and

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California wildfires death toll climbs, strong winds threaten to spread inferno

Wildfires in Los Angeles have claimed 24 lives, with officials warning of dangerous winds that could exacerbate the situation. The blazes, now in their sixth day, have devastated communities and left thousands homeless. Despite massive firefighting effor

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California wildfires death toll climbs, strong winds threaten to spread inferno

Wildfires in Los Angeles have claimed 24 lives, with officials warning of dangerous winds that could exacerbate the situation. The blazes, now in their sixth day, have devastated communities and left thousands homeless. Despite massive firefighting effor

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Friday, january 10, 2025

Celebrating Benin's Vodun heritage

For the second year in a row, the city of Ouidah in Benin is playing host to Vodun Days - a celebration of the region's long spiritual traditions. France 24's correspondent Lilaafa Amouzou visited the festival and found out about efforts to dismantle myt

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‘Overshoot’: As planet crosses 1.5°C global warming limit, can we still reverse course?

The past two years were the first to officially exceed the 1.5°C temperature threshold for global warming that countries in the Paris Agreement pledged to avoid. Could geoengineering provide a solution to reverse the trend and lower temperatures?

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From Trump to AI & climate change: What does 2025 have in store for the world economy?

The re-election of Donald Trump as US president has generated a climate of uncertainty over US economic policy for 2025, with Trump and his team vowing to increase tariffs on most imported goods. How will Trump's return impact the global economy? From th

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'We're keeping them safe': Scientists build 'Noah's Ark' for endangered corals

Coral reefs rank as some of the planet’s most vital ecosystems. Although they cover just 0.2 percent of oceans, reefs are home to a quarter of marine biodiversity. Scientists warn they could vanish in as little as a decade, unless we rapidly slow the rat

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French banks make millions from fossil fuel investments polluting the Amazon basin

French banking groups Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and BPCE have been discreetly investing in the oil and gas industry accused of polluting the Amazon basin – despite their ecological pledges. An investigation by Disclose, in partnership with FRANCE 24 a

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Global temperatures surpassed 1.5C target in last two years, says EU monitor

Average global temperatures surpassed the internationally-agreed 1.5 degrees Celsius in the past two years, an EU monitor said on Friday, with the Earth recording its hottest year ever in 2024 as natural disasters increased in frequency and intensity acr

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Four French banks respond to Camisea project report

In its investigative report, “Amazonia, gas and French banks”, FRANCE 24, in partnership with Disclose and the Pulitzer Center's Rainforest Investigations Network, revealed the involvement of six French banks in a huge gas field in the heart of the Peruv

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Thursday, january 9, 2025

Exclusive: Top French banks and the dirty gas business in Peru’s Amazon

FRANCE 24 reveals, in partnership with investigative media outlet Disclose, RFI and the Pulitzer Center, that French banking group Crédit Agricole holds a €240 million stake in Repsol – a Spanish multinational responsible for gas extraction in the Peruvi

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Two Los Angeles wildfires rage on as residents start to sift through wreckage

Two massive wildfires in Los Angeles remained totally uncontained for a third day on Thursday, authorities said, as residents started to sift through the charred remains of their homes. The fires have killed five people, devastated whole neighbourhoods a

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Wednesday, january 8, 2025

Dutch cut flower industry in hot water over pesticides

The Netherlands is the world's leader in fresh flower production. Over the past decade, the sector has grown by a fifth. But NGOs have been warning about the high levels of pesticides in Dutch flowers. One study even showed that a third of the substances

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Tuesday, january 7, 2025

Thousands of Los Angeles residents forced to flee as winds stoke raging wildfires

Multiple wildfires sweeping across southern California remain uncontained and are growing, the Los Angeles fire chief said Wednesday. The fires have killed at least two people, caused a "significant number' of serious injures and burned more than 5,000 a

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In carbon-negative Bhutan, glaciers are threatened by climate change

The South Asian kingdom of Bhutan has become a champion of environmental protection. Its forests are protected by the constitution, environment classes are taught in school and its electricity is 100 percent hydroelectric. All of this has contributed to

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Sunday, january 5, 2025

Ivory Coast's Abidjan on edge as ship loaded with volatile cargo nears port

A vessel loaded with 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate – the same chemical that left large parts of Beirut in ruins in an explosion in 2020 – is nearing the port of Abidjan. Campaigners have expressed concern about letting the ship unload its allegedly dam

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Friday, january 3, 2025

Bhopal gas tragedy, 40 years on: Indian authorities finish moving toxic waste from site

Forty years and one month after a deadly gas leak at a pesticide plant killed thousands in Bhopal, India, authorities say the last remaining toxic waste has been removed from the site. Activists say not enough measures are being taken to protect the envi

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Thursday, january 2, 2025

Last year was China’s hottest on record, weather agency says

China's average national temperature for 2024 was 1.03 degrees higher than average, making it "the warmest year since the start of full records in 1961", China Meteorological Administration said Wednesday night. The world's largest greenhouse gas emitter

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Tuesday, december 31, 2024

Rights, rhinos and Olympic revelry: Uplifting stories from 2024

It was another turbulent year from start to end, dominated by wars still raging in Ukraine and the Middle East. But 2024 also witnessed some breakthroughs in medical research, space exploration and human rights, while the Paris Games gave the host countr

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Saturday, december 28, 2024

2024 hotest year in history: A look at climate disasters across the globe

From tiny and impoverished Mayotte to oil-rich behemoth Saudi Arabia, prosperous European cities to overcrowded slums in Africa, nowhere was spared the devastating impact of supercharged climate disasters in 2024. This year is the hottest in history, wit

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Friday, december 27, 2024

2024 becomes the world's hottest year on record, fueling extreme weather events

In 2024, billions of people across the world faced climatic conditions that broke record after record: logging ever more highs for heat, floods, storms, fire and drought. As the year drew to a close, the conclusion was both blatant and bleak: 2024 was th

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Saturday, december 21, 2024

‘The most powerful weapon in the world is a camera,’ says anti-whaling activist Paul Watson

At 73, Paul Watson has spent decades sailing into danger to protect marine life. His activism has led to conflicts with multiple countries, several arrests, and Interpol red notices, the most recent issued by Japan, a nation with a long history of whalin

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‘The most powerful weapon in the world is a camera,’ says anti-whaling activist Paul Watson

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson arrived in France on Friday after spending five months in detention in Greenland based on an Interpol red notice requested by Japan. He spoke to FRANCE 24 about his time in detention and his plans for the future.

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‘The most powerful weapon in the world is a camera’, anti-whaling activist Paul Watson says

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson arrived in France on Friday after spending five months in detention in Greenland based on an extradition request filed by Japan. He spoke to FRANCE 24 about his time in detention and his plans for the future.

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Friday, december 20, 2024

'Mayotte abandoned many years ago': Island 'forgotten, neglected' during drought & migration crisis

People in storm-ravaged Mayotte implored French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday to do more to help as he toured the overseas territory. Officials in France's poorest overseas territory fear thousands could have been killed. For in-depth analysis an

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Macron extends visit to cyclone-ravaged Mayotte amid local anger

French President Emmanuel Macron extended his stay in Mayotte on Friday after distraught and angry locals jeered and shouted out their grievances as he toured the storm-ravaged Indian Ocean archipelago. Emergency efforts continue as the death toll from C

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Mayotte: France must raise 'standard of infrastructure, public services' on densely-populated island

Emmanuel Macron extended his visit to cyclone-devastated Mayotte after angry residents vented exasperation and despair over the scale of the disaster. For a deeper perspective on France's unpreparedness for the level of destruction of Chido, FRANCE 24 we

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Thursday, december 19, 2024

Future of mining: Head of industry giant BHP speaks to FRANCE 24

The mining industry plays a key role in the world’s energy transition, providing the critical minerals and metals needed for new, green technology. It’s also facing pressure to reduce its own carbon footprint, and protect the communities affected by its

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Wednesday, december 18, 2024

Cyclone Chido: 'Tens of thousands' may be dead, Mayotte hospital worker says

Rescue operations are still underway in Mayotte, where thousands are feared to have died following the passage of cyclone Chido. The country's main hospital, which was also hit by the storm, stuggles to treat all incoming patients and doctors there, warn

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Tuesday, december 17, 2024

Denmark will not extradite anti-whaling activist Watson to Japan

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson was freed from prison in Denmark on Tuesday, his lawyer told AFP, and he will not be extradited to Japan. Watson was detained on a 2012 Japanese arrest warrant, which accuses him of causing damage to a whaling ship in th

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France imposes nighttime curfew on cyclone-hit Mayotte in bid to prevent looting

Mayotte will be placed under curfew from Tuesday evening as authorities seek to re-establish order in the French overseas territory in the aftermath of the deadly Cyclone Chido. The annoucement comes as rescuers continue to search for survivors in a race

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India: Forty years on, Bhopal disaster still plagues local residents

Forty years after India's Bhopal disaster, local residents are still suffering from its aftermath. The gas explosion at a chemical plant caused toxic waste to contaminate the water in nearby areas, causing locals to develop numerous health issues. Today,

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Monday, december 16, 2024

Scientists call to uphold independent research in response to French farmers' protests

Following an incident on November 28, where a group of farmers associated with the FNSEA walled off the entrance to INRAE in Paris, more than 240 researchers published an op-ed in Le Monde. They emphasize the necessity of radical transitions and the impo

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Devastation in Mayotte: Cyclone Chido batters France's poorest overseas department

Will it be dozens, hundreds or thousands killed? Mayotte's worst cyclone in 90 years has flattened homes, knocked out power and cut phone service, leaving faraway loved ones in limbo as they desperately try to get in touch with those in the French Indian

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Rescue workers race against time to reach survivors of Cyclone Chido in Mayotte

Authorities fear that thousands of people have died following the devastating Cyclone Chido that ripped through the French overseas department of Mayotte on Friday. Many inhabitants are still without water or electricity as rescue workers race against ti

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Macron to declare national mourning period for cyclone-ravaged Mayotte

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he will visit the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte "in the coming days" and "decree national mourning" after the island was battered by its worst cyclone in nearly a century on Saturday. Authoriti

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Sunday, december 15, 2024

Oil spill near Black Sea after two Russian tankers seriously damaged in storm

Russia mounted a rescue effort Sunday after two oil tankers were wrecked in rough seas off Moscow-annexed Crimea and one broke apart, killing at least one sailor and causing an oil spill. Two criminal cases have been opened by Russian investigators.

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Authorities fear 'several hundred' killed by Cyclone Chido in France's Mayotte

Authorities in the French territory of Mayotte said on Sunday that the death toll from Cyclone Chido could rise to "several hundred" and perhaps "several thousand" after the storm swept across the Indian Ocean island on its way to east Africa.

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Saturday, december 14, 2024

Negotiators fail to secure drought deal at Saudi-hosted UN talks

Parties from 196 countries and the European Union failed on Saturday to reach an agreement on how to respond to drought at UN talks in Saudi Arabia.

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Residents in rural Serbia rally against lithium mining project

Will Serbia host what is presented as Europe's largest lithium (and boron) extraction project? The president and government are doing everything they can to ensure Rio Tinto's investment goes ahead, even if it means discrediting or smearing opponents. Ho

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Friday, december 13, 2024

Rightward shift in Europe puts pressure on Green Deal: Will key EU policy survive?

Today, the EU’s Green Deal faces pressure from an atmosphere of economic crisis: car factories in Germany are set to close, farmers protesting about excessive environmental protection measures, soaring energy bills for households. But as the recent flood

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Tuesday, december 10, 2024

UN mission calls for funding amid Ethiopia education disruption

A UN high-level mission in Ethiopia led by Education Cannot Wait calls for innovative financing solutions to urgently address the education needs of 9 million crisis-affected out-of-school children. FRANCE 24's Yinka Oyetade speaks to Education Cannot Wa

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Thousands flee as wildfire threatens homes in California's Malibu

Sheriff deputies in Malibu, California went door-to-door on Tuesday ordering people to evacuate as a nearby wildfire rapidly intensified, threatening homes in the beach community. Firefighters are trying to get the blaze under control.

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Soaring carbon pollution: Private jets as taxis for the ultra-wealthy

New research shows that people are using private jets more and more as taxis to travel increasingly short distances with statistics showing that many journeys cover distances of less than 50 kilometres. Such trips by private jets are up to 14 times more

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'Madagascar on Fire': New film highlights deforestation in Madagascar

A filmmaker has told FRANCE 24 about the problems faced by the people of Madagascar as they try to survive, but also care for the environment. Sira Thierij has made a film that shows why people feel they have to chop down the forests to plant crops so th

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Oysters in hot water: Pollution and poaching threaten production

For oyster farmers, the year-end holiday period is a vital one as they make around a third to half of their annual sales during this time. But last year was catastrophic for some oyster producing regions in France after sales were banned following a spat

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Monday, december 9, 2024

Oil giant BP to ‘significantly reduce’ investment in renewable energy for rest of decade

British oil giant BP is significantly reducing its investment in renewable energy for the “rest of this decade”, it said in a statement Monday, noting it was instead entering a joint venture with Japanese power company Jera to create one of the world’s l

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Climate crisis and displacement: Flood victims in France seek recognition

One year after France’s northern Pas-de-Calais region was hit by record floods, victims are still recovering from the disaster. FRANCE 24 visited the town of Blendecques, where an entire neighbourhood is set to be demolished and transformed into a stormw

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Real or fake Christmas tree: What is the greenest option?

Let’s talk about a topic that is increasingly being debated at the dinner table here in France with Christmas around the corner! What is the greenest option between an artificial tree and a natural fir tree? On the one hand, the artificial tree is reusab

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2024 'certain' to be hottest year on record and first above critical 1.5C threshold

2024 will be the first calendar year more than 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than the pre-industrial era, Europe's climate monitor said Monday, adding that this is "effectively certain" to be the warmest on record.

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Thursday, december 5, 2024

New Delhi suffocates from air pollution in winter

For almost 6 months every year, residents of New Delhi suffocate under a blanket of pollution. The Indian capital is among the most polluted cities in the world, and new records are set each November. The fine particles in New Delhi’s air are 60 times th

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Wednesday, december 4, 2024

Climate change: Villages in Pakistan under threat of melting glaciers

Pakistan is home to thousands of climate refugees. While the country contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas, it is heavily impacted by the warming climate. One of the most affected areas is the autonomous province of Gilgit-Baltistan, l

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