Environment and nature

Responders arrive to a demolished building at San Bernardino after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 24, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Israel, Turkey, Iran offer aid as Venezuela’s 2 quakes kill at least 188

Iran, Turkey and Israel were among the first countries to offer assistance to earthquake-hit Venezuela despite their varying diplomatic relationships with Caracas.

Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, United Arab Emirates

Interview

UAE official says opening Hormuz integral to any Iran deal, describes infrastructure damage 'manageable'

Abdulla Balalaa, UAE assistant minister of foreign affairs for energy and sustainability, spoke to Al-Monitor about the situation in the Gulf along with the UAE's focus on promoting privatization in the water sector and the 2026 UN Water Conference.

Abdulla Balalaa

Abdulla Balalaa

UAE assistant minister of foreign affairs for energy and sustainability

AFP via Getty Images

Oil fires, toxic air and water risks: Environmental cost of Iran war expands to region

The bombing of oil facilities in Iran and critical water infrastructure in the Gulf threatens the Middle East with long-lasting environmental destruction, as have similar tactics employed in previous conflicts.

An emergency vehicle drives through flood waters as residents are evacuated and relocated to other towns as preventive and emergency evacuations are carried out to move residents living near flood-prone areas following the weather alert and the rise in the water level of the Loukkos River, with flooding expected in the coming days, in Ksar El Kebir on Feb. 1, 2026.

Storm Leonardo displaces 140,000 as heavy floods hit northern Morocco

Heavy rains from the storm have flooded northern Morocco, prompting mass evacuations and straining emergency services.

Latest News

Analysis

Iran’s mismanagement in focus as fires ravage 25-million-year-old forests

This picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency shows a view of the fire in the forests of Chalus on Nov. 21, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Syria attends Brazil’s COP30 as most Middle East leaders skip talks

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa look on during a bilateral meeting within the framework of the COP30 UN climate conference in Belem, Brazil, Nov. 6, 2025.

United Arab Emirates

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

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

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

SABUR RASHID/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

An undated image of the FSO Safer.

US envoy urges funding for Yemen’s ‘ticking time bomb’

Envoy Tim Lenderking called on donor governments and the private sector to help prevent a dilapidated tanker in the Red Sea from spilling its cargo of oil.

Trucks drive in and out of the Bee'ah waste management company in the Gulf emirate of Sharjah.

Analysis

Explainer: Waste-to-energy plant opens in UAE

Masdar's new facility in the Emirati city of Sharjah will burn garbage to produce electricity. Some observers believe the process is relatively harmful to the environment due to its carbon emissions, but others say it is a good way to reduce landfill waste.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Israeli Knesset

Israeli legislator promotes cooperation with Palestinians on climate

Knesset committee chair Emilie Moatti is hosting meetings on cooperation with Palestinians in the fields of water treatment, climate change, agriculture and environmental protection.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi presents his national statement.

Egypt invests more than $1 billion in green projects ahead of COP27

Egypt is expanding its implementation of green projects ahead of hosting the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference.

The platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is pictured from the northern coastal city of Caesarea, Israel, Feb. 24, 2022.

Global energy crisis opens possibilities for Israeli natural gas

Experts say that the global energy crisis is exactly the moment when Israel must expand its natural gas export quotas.

A street sign for Sawa Lake is seen in Iraq's southern province of al-Muthanna, on April 19, 2022.

Culture

Historic Sawa Lake disappears from Iraqi map

The Sawa Lake in Iraq has been associated with tales of history and human activity for hundreds of years, but today it has turned into just another plot of the desert that used to surround it after it has completely dried up.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrives for the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow, Ireland, Nov. 1, 2021.

Egypt rallies African climate consensus ahead of COP27

Egypt has intensified climate policy discussions with African countries ahead of COP27.

Zandberg

Israel’s environment minister strives for regional coalition on climate change

Participating at the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris on ensuring a resilient and healthy environment for all, Environment Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg says she is also working with neighboring countries to achieve this goal.

A picture taken on Sept. 3, 2019, shows freshly painted blue roads in Doha, an experiment to cool the tarmac surface and reduce the temperature of surrounding areas.

Qatar National Bank launches environmentally friendly finance project

The Doha-based bank will loan cash to the British bank HSBC to be used for green transportation investments.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

An aerial view shows a small island in the Lake Nasser reservoir formed by the Nile River, about 12 kilometers (7 miles) south of the High Dam near the city of Aswan, southern Egypt, Jan. 2, 2021.

Sisi hands over Nile islands to Egyptian military, raising controversy

Some Egyptians were outraged over the president’s decision to hand over the ownership of 37 islands to the army, especially since most of these islands are located on the Nile River and considered nature reserves.

A picture taken Oct. 26, 2021, shows the Darbandikhan Dam after the water level had fallen by 7.5 meters in one year, in northeastern Iraq.

Iran, Iraq exchange accusations over water flow

Iraq is planning to complain to the International Court of Justice about the drop in water flow from Iran.

People walk through snow in front of the Blue Mosque in the Sultanahmet District on Jan. 25, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Istanbul residents get stuck in snow as politicians throw blame at each other

The coldest weather in decades cripples life and transportation in Istanbul, with stranded passengers staging protests at Istanbul airport.