asia

Wind and Solar Capacity in Southeast Asia Rose by 20% in 2023

Wind and Solar Capacity in Southeast Asia Rose by 20% in 2023

Utility-scale wind and solar capacity rose by 20 percent in Southeast Asia last year, as the region comprising the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) brought its total capacity to more than 28 gigawatts (GW), according to a new Global Energy Monitor (GEM) report. The increase means the region is in a good position to […]

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    What Are Asian Giant Hornets, and Are They Really Dangerous?

    What Are Asian Giant Hornets, and Are They Really Dangerous?

    By Akito Y Kawahara Editor’s note: According to recent press reports, two Asian giant hornets – a species not known to occur in North America – were found in northwest Washington state in late 2019, and a hornet colony was found and eliminated in British Columbia. Now scientists are trying to determine whether more of […]

    Endangered Tigers Face Growing Threats From an Asian Road-Building Boom

    Endangered Tigers Face Growing Threats From an Asian Road-Building Boom

    By Neil Carter Tigers are one of the world’s most iconic wild species, but today they are endangered throughout Asia. They once roamed across much of this region, but widespread habitat loss, prey depletion and poaching have reduced their numbers to only about 4,000 individuals. They live in small pockets of habitat across South and […]

    Did Illegal Wildlife Trade Cause Wild Tigers to Become Extinct in Laos?

    Did Illegal Wildlife Trade Cause Wild Tigers to Become Extinct in Laos?

    Are tigers extinct in Laos? That’s the conclusion of a detailed new study that found no evidence wild tigers still exist in the country. What researchers did find during a five-year camera survey of the biodiversity-rich Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area was evidence of snares — lots and lots of deadly snares, which are […]

    Journalists Reporting on the Environment Faced Increased Dangers in 2018

    Journalists Reporting on the Environment Faced Increased Dangers in 2018

    By Kaamil Ahmed A pair of “French spies” had infiltrated India by sea to commit a “treasonous conspiracy,” an Indian minister claimed in late November. In reality, they were two visiting journalists, and their mission was an investigation into allegations of illegal sand mining in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. They had merely tried […]

    Typhoons, Floods, Heat Waves Batter Asia

    Typhoons, Floods, Heat Waves Batter Asia

    From flash floods in Vietnam to a blistering heat wave in Japan, countries across Asia are suffering from extreme weather, CNN reported Sunday. The events come nearly two months into the continent’s annual rainy season that extends from June to November, according to The Straits Times. A 2016 study showed that typhoons in Asia had […]

    Snow Leopards Still Threatened by Consumer Demand for Skins and Body Parts

    Snow Leopards Still Threatened by Consumer Demand for Skins and Body Parts

    Today is International Snow Leopard Day, a global observance commemorating the signing of the Bishkek Declaration on the conservation of snow leopards in 2013. The snow leopard has been listed on the IUCN Red List as “Endangered” since 1986, although it recently had its threat status downgraded to “Vulnerable.” Despite this shift, snow leopards remain […]

    Asia’s Glaciers Could Lose One Third of Their Mass by 2100

    Asia’s Glaciers Could Lose One Third of Their Mass by 2100

    Glaciers in Asia could shrink to one-third of their current size by the end of the century even if warming stays below 1.5 degrees C, according to new research. A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature finds that glaciers in the Tibetan plateau experience higher levels of warming than the global average. The study’s […]

    Solar Revolution Turns These Women Into Powerful Entrepreneurs

    Solar Revolution Turns These Women Into Powerful Entrepreneurs

    By Paul Brown A solar revolution is transforming the lives of women in the remotest parts of Asia. They no longer have to wait decades to be connected to a power grid but are able today to exploit the huge potential of the abundant sunshine. In societies where women normally play a subservient role and […]