Environment and nature

Residents of the city of Gabes carry placards during a demonstration on Oct. 15, 2025, to demand the closure of chemical factories.

Over 200 hospitalized in Tunisia’s Gabes as anger over pollution crisis grows

President Kais Saied is facing one of his biggest challenges yet as demands for the closure of the city’s phosphate processing plant increase.

SABUR RASHID/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Drought-stricken Iraq sends delegation to Turkey to discuss water cooperation

Turkey recently agreed to release more water to Iraq amid the drought in the country, indicating improving coordination on resource management after years of tensions over Turkish dams.

Residents of the village of Shatha watch as a wildfire rages on the nearby hills, in the western Hama countryside in west-central Syria on Aug. 15, 2025.

Wildfires ravage Syria’s Latakia for 4th day in row: What to know

A Syrian official recently said that 2025 has been the driest year in decades, as wildfires persist along the coast, and the response is being hindered by the effects of the war.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi greets his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in Cairo, Sept. 23, 2025.

Egypt’s Sisi talks water security with Rwanda's president in wake of Ethiopia’s megadam debut

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Cairo to discuss coordination efforts and developments in the Nile Basin region following Ethiopia’s inauguration of its controversial dam.

Latest News

Over 1,000 dead in Darfur landslide as Sudan war hinders relief efforts

People inspect the debris following a landslide that devastated the village of Tarasin, in Sudan's Jebel Marra area, on Sept. 2, 2025.

Tehran’s dams at 19% as Iran water crisis worsens: What to know

The Amir Kabir dam and its outflow along the Karaj River in Iran's northern Alborz mountain range are pictured on June 1, 2025.

Culture

Saudi Arabia’s falcon auction aims to spin tradition into tourism gold

Visitors at the first night of the International Falcon Breeders Auction 2025 in Malham city on Aug. 5, 2025.

Iran to close public offices as temperatures pass 105 F: What to know

An Iranian taxi driver cools down by splashing water on his face on a street amid soaring temperatures in Tehran on July 22, 2025.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Israel, Jordan to restore Jordan River

Israel and Jordan are creating a plan to rehabilitate and protect the Jordan River, making it a year-round water source with a healthy ecosystem.

An egret wades in a rice field close to a pile of burning hay near the Nile delta town of Zagazig, north of Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 23, 2009.

Culture

First climate-related fatwa prohibiting environmentally harmful practices issued in Egypt

Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta issued a fatwa charter promoting practices that are environmentally friendly based on Islamic law, as Egypt gears up to host the UN climate summit next month.

Endurance swimmers Mariam bin Laden (C) and Lewis Pugh (R) following their swim across the Red Sea. The two swam from Saudi Arabia to Egypt to raise awareness of the region's endangered coral reefs.

Culture

Saudi woman swims across Red Sea to draw attention to coral reefs

Mariam bin Laden became the first Arab woman to swim across the Red Sea and reach Egypt, accompanying UN Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh, part of a campaign to raise awareness of the need to preserve coral reefs amid climate change.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Israel moves to reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions

Ahead of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt next month, the Israeli government is focused on reducing greenhouse emissions within the industrial sector.

Plastic Coca-Cola bottles.

Coca-Cola to sponsor COP27 in Egypt, sparking criticism

The company has been ranked as the world’s top corporate plastic polluter for years and is blamed for spending millions of dollars greenwashing its brand and lobbying to derail regulations.

In this file photo taken on Oct. 22, 2019, boats are pictured along the riverbank and off the water of the Nile River.

Egypt venture capital firm for startups develops solutions to climate change

The Climate Resilience Fund targets nature-positive and sustainable projects that address mainly land and sea misuse.

The image shows the oldest sedimentary formation in Sudan.

Culture

Ancient seabed uncovered in Sudan

A Sudanese geological team has discovered an ancient marine sedimentary formation more than 500 million years old.

Israel gas

Natural gas profits finally put Israel's wealth fund into business

After four disappointing years, Israel’s wealth fund, based on tax revenues from natural gas companies, has enough money to begin making investments.

Egyptian laborers work at a charcoal factory in Sharkia governorate in the fertile Delta, north of Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 29, 2020.

Egyptian coal factory shuts down in lead-up to COP27

El-Nasr Company for Coke and Chemicals was liquidated recently, less than a year after another industry and steel company was closed down, as the Egyptian government seeks to abandon coal in its factories and rely more on clean energy.

This photo shows Noor al-Huda Jaber, owner of the Noor Recycling Initiative, which uses wood waste to produce decorations and gifts, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Sept. 7, 2022.

Culture

Women pioneer green projects in Gaza

Five women were selected to showcase their eco-friendly project at an exhibition in Gaza organized by the Women's Affairs Center to raise awareness on climate change and the need to protect the environment.

Snow blankets the area of Mdeirej, in the mountains east of Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 18, 2021.

Culture

Lebanese turn to logging in preparation for winter

Lebanon’s woodlands are at risk as the poor are cutting down trees as an alternative for fuel to heat their homes in the coming winter, and with such desperate measures experts fear the loss of precious and old trees.

Smoke from an indoor bonfire exits from the chimney of the tent of Umm Raed at a camp for the displaced.

Fires engulf displacement camps in northern Syria during heat wave

Northern Syria is experiencing a heat wave, which is taking a heavy toll on camps for displaced persons who face chronic diseases, wildfires and water scarcity.