Around the world, the total toxicity and ecological harm from agricultural pesticides are rising, despite recent United Nations commitments to halve pesticide use and risks by 2030. The findings establish a global, toxicity-weighted baseline for pesticide use and identify a subset of pesticides, crops, and countries driving the most biodiversity impacts. The widespread use of agricultural pesticides is a growing threat to global biodiversity. To address this concern, the 15^th United Nations Biodiversity Conference set the goal of halving pesticide use and risk by 2030 and recently adopted a new global indicator – total applied toxicity (TAT) – that captures not just how much pesticide is used, but how harmful different chemicals are to living organisms. However, pesticide toxicity varies widely across non-target species; earlier global studies have focused on limited types of pesticides or species or have relied only on usage amounts. They have typically overlooked major differences in toxicity. As a result, the true range of pesticide threats to biodiversity, and the progress made toward UN commitments, remain obscure.

Using the TAT approach, Jakob Wolfram and colleagues developed a globally consistent way to measure the ecological harm of pesticides. Instead of relying on standards from a single country, Wolfram et al. used average regulatory safety thresholds per species group and pesticide derived from seven major regulatory authorities worldwide to ensure that the results reflect global conditions. By weighting total pesticide use with these toxicity benchmarks, the authors created a single comprehensive indicator that captures risks of 625 pesticides for a wide range of species. The findings show that the overall ecological toxicity of pesticides is rising worldwide, with increasing trends observed across many countries, crops, and groups of species. Overall, TAT is dominated by only a small number of highly toxic chemicals, with fruits and vegetables, corn, soybean, cereals, and rice accounting for 76-83% of global pesticide toxicity. Moreover, China, Brazil, the United States, and India together contribute 53-68% to the global TAT. According to Wolfram et al., the findings demonstrate that most countries are not on track to meet UN pesticide reduction targets without substantial changes.

Big Earth Data Journal is calling for papers for a Special Issue on 10th Anniversary Special Issue of Big Earth Data. The journal has published pioneering research that leverages Earth observations, big data analytics, and interdisciplinary collaboration to address global challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, sustainable urbanization, disaster monitoring, etc. To celebrate the journal’s 10th anniversary, we invite submissions to a special issue that reflects on the journal’s decade-long impact, showcases cutting-edge advancements in Big Earth Data research, and defines future directions for the field. This special issue will not only honor the progress made but also encourage the community to tackle emerging challenges and seize opportunities in the next era of data-driven Earth science. Welcome to submit!

An international research team led by scientists from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has achieved the first direct measurement of cosmic rays deep inside a star-forming nebula. Using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the researchers detected the unique infrared signature produced when cosmic rays interact with molecular hydrogen at the core of Barnard 68, a cold, dense nebula located about 400 light-years from Earth. The study provides unprecedented insight into the behavior of cosmic rays far from the Solar System and their role in the earliest stages of star formation.

Cosmic rays—high-energy particles such as protons and atomic nuclei—play a critical role in regulating star birth by heating interstellar gas and driving chemical reactions that form key molecules, including water and ammonia. Until now, their properties inside star-forming clouds remained largely unknown. The new measurements confirm long-standing theoretical predictions and demonstrate that JWST can detect extremely faint infrared emissions generated by cosmic-ray–excited hydrogen, opening a new observational window on cosmic-ray astrophysics.

The findings, published in Nature Astronomy with complementary analysis in The Astrophysical Journal, pave the way for systematic mapping of cosmic rays across different galactic environments. With additional JWST observing time already approved, researchers aim to use nebulae as vast natural particle detectors to better understand how cosmic rays propagate through galaxies and influence the formation of stars like our Sun.