Trillions of dollars' worth of financial assets may be under threat from global warming's effects by 2100, climate economists warned on Monday.

Drought-stricken Palau could dry up completely this month, officials warned Monday as the Pacific island appealed for urgent aid from Japan and Taiwan, including shipments of water. 

The tiny country of about 18,000 people declared a state of emergency last month, the latest Pacific island nation to do so as one of the worst ever El Nino-induced droughts in the region worsens. 

New Zealand is renowned for its wondrous scenery, and among the country's top tourist attractions are two glaciers that are stunning and unusual because they snake down from the mountains to a temperate rain forest, making them easy for people to walk up to and view.

But the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers have been melting at such a rapid rate that it has become too dangerous for tourists to hike onto them from the valley floor, ending a tradition that dates back a century. With continuing warm weather this year, there are no signs of a turnaround. Scientists say it is another example of how global warming is impacting the environment.

The United Nations' aid chief for Somalia begged for cash Thursday to stave off starvation amid intense drought affecting a million people and to pull the war-torn country "back from the tipping point."

"Urgent action is required right now. If not, we risk a rapid and deep deterioration of the situation, as drought conditions may worsen in the coming months," UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Peter de Clercq said, appealing for $105 million (92 million euros) for "life-saving" aid for more than one million people.

Poland has approved large-scale logging in Europe’s last primeval woodland in a bid to combat a beetle infestation despite protests from scientists, ecologists and the European Union.

The action in the Białowieża forest is intended to fight the spread of the spruce bark beetle.

Yesterday many of us overindulged in chocolate, but Easter is not the only time we munch our way through mounds of cocoa-based treats. Globally, chocolate consumption is on the rise and the majority of this demand is met by cocoa farmers in southern West Africa. Now there are concerns that pollution in the region could interfere with the West African monsoon, potentially drying up the world’s main supply of cocoa beans.

Like many other cities in southern West Africa, Abidjan on the Côte d’Ivoire, is growing fast, and with the expansion comes increasing air pollution. So will these extra particulates and gases change the weather?

India has the largest number of people exposed to natural hazards including severe storms and flooding, a new report says.

The country’s vulnerability to severe weather during monsoon season, its large agricultural sector and its enormous population put it at the top of the list compiled by U.K.-based risk-analysis and research company Verisk Maplecroft.

By eating less meat and more fruit and vegetables, the world could avoid several million deaths per year by 2050, cut planet-warming emissions substantially, and save billions of dollars annually in healthcare costs and climate damage, researchers said.

A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the US, is the first to estimate both the health and climate change impacts of a global move towards a more plant-based diet, they said.

Since late 2015, Southern and Eastern Africa have been hit hard, and scientists warn that human-aided climate change is likely to make such events more frequent. The good news: While Africa needs help, it’s now more able to help itself. 

Q: How did this drought come about? 

The less meat people consume and the healthier their diet becomes, the more the climate benefits, Oxford University scientists said in a study published Monday.

If people in developed countries such as the U.S. were to eat less red meat and move steadily toward a vegetarian or vegan diet, they could live longer while helping to slash greenhouse gas emissions from food production by between 29 and 70 percent by 2050, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.