A major new UN assessment finds that the world’s great freshwater fish migrations are rapidly collapsing, threatening ecosystems, fisheries, and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. Being released by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) at its COP15 in Brazil, the Global Assessment of Migratory Freshwater Fishes identifies 325 species requiring coordinated international conservation action, their declines driven by dams, habitat fragmentation, pollution, overfishing, and climate change. Migratory freshwater fish populations have fallen by about 81% since 1970, making them among the most imperiled wildlife on Earth. Because many species migrate across national borders through shared river basins such as the Amazon, Mekong, Danube, Nile, and Ganges–Brahmaputra, the report stresses that effective protection depends on countries managing rivers as connected systems. At CMS COP15, governments will consider new basin-scale action plans, conservation listings, and other initiatives to protect iconic long-distance migrant species such as the massive Amazonian catfish.

New research reveals a cross-seasonal pathway linking tropical sea surface temperatures to the Antarctic polar vortex, with implications for long-range climate prediction.

Nations around the globe are grappling with a massive dual challenge: maintaining economic momentum while drastically slashing carbon outputs. Many policymakers have placed their bets on the digital economy as a modern solution for climate change. However, the exact mechanics of how data and connectivity actually clean up our air have remained somewhat murky. Now, a comprehensive evaluation of 259 Chinese cities cuts through the noise, mapping exactly how digital transformation drives environmental progress.