Global water consumption has increased almost fourfold in the past 100 years. In 30 years, almost a quarter of the world’s lowland population will strongly depend on runoff from the mountains.

Director of the Institute of Virology at Charité, Christian Drosten, states that we can only speak of lessons from the first wave in Europe. It can cause great harm if politicians use the dynamics of a pandemic for political messages.

A new analysis of period life expectancy around the world shows that the COVID-19 pandemic could cause a short-term decline in life expectancy in many regions of the world.

Observations suggest smaller warming effects of brown carbon than published model assessments.

Researchers found consistent evidence for a 2-2.5-fold population-level increase in SARS-CoV-2 transmission associated with influenza during the period of co-circulation.

Using public transportation, visiting a place of worship, or otherwise traveling from the home is associated with a significantly higher likelihood of testing positive with SARS-CoV-2, while practicing strict social distancing is associated with a markedly lower likelihood.

Evolving modelling practices are trending towards “best-case” projections. Researchers warn that over-optimistic expectations of climate engineering may reinforce the inertia with which industry and politics have been addressing decarbonisation.

Governments that follow loose pandemic policies to limit economic damage perform significantly worse in terms of public support, especially when Covid-19 cases continue to rise.

Soil erosion results in a loss of fertile soil, reduces agricultural productivity and therefore threatens the food supply for the world’s population.

Genomic analysis reveals that many animal species are potentially susceptible to infection by the coronavirus. They include a number of endangered and threatened species, notably apes and old world primates.