Natural disasters

Himalayan glaciers are melting at a much faster pace than anyone had really appreciated to date, according to Huma Yusuf, host of "Climate Mahaul," a podcast focused on climate change. Yusuf joined The World's host Carol Hills to discuss Pakistan's catastrophic flooding.

Critical State, a weekly foreign policy newsletter from Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into how rebel groups survive when natural disasters strike.

​​​​​​​The French Alps region is getting hit hard by drought, most likely exacerbated by climate change. And that's putting the entire economy there in serious jeopardy, because where there's no water, there are no tourists.

Sightings of the native magnolia flower had not been recorded since 1925. Expedition leader Eladio Fernandez said the search was like "an act of faith." 

Evacuees in the Spanish village of Sant Fruitós de Bages, about an hour outside of Barcelona, have testified to the destruction. "In 15 or 20 minutes, the fire consumed everything," a resident said.

A plague of rabbits is rampaging through one of Europe’s most bountiful farming regions. Farmers in northeast Spain say that, without help, they’ll lose most of this year’s harvests.  

A brown seaweed called sargassum is washing up on Cancun beaches, threatening the region’s efforts to recover its tourism. Local resident Omar Vazquez Sanchez got the idea to transform the seaweed into “sargablocks,” what he calls a small solution to a big problem. 

Accra has been hit with heavy rain and flash flooding in May and June, leaving many experts worried about the city’s capacity for climate resilience if trends continue. 

Shepherds in Spain are now training to start “fire flocks" that graze at the edge of forests to prevent wildfires from spreading to populated areas.