Nairobi, 18 June 2024 – The environmental impacts of the war in Gaza are unprecedented, according to a preliminary assessment published today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), exposing the community to rapidly growing soil, water and air pollution and risks of irreversible damage to its natur

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a semi-arid country with distinctive natural features including valleys, mountain ranges and desert plateaus. The country has a rich array of wildlife protected in several nature reserves. But the climate crisis has exacerbated Jordan’s already harsh desert landscapes, causing natural habitats to decline significantly.

The theme of this year’s International Day of Clean Air for blue skies on 7 September – the Air We Share - focuses on the need for collective action to address air pollution, which respects no national borders.

The plight of Iraq’s 1.4 million displaced people just got worse. As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, displaced persons are particularly vulnerable.

• UN Environment conducts a five-day training workshop for 26 national experts from Iraq’s ministries of environment and oil.
• Workshop strengthens national capacity to assess and clean-up oil-contaminated sites from the conflict in Iraq.
• Joint team of trained staff to carry out field-survey of oil contaminated sites after which UN Environment will review survey findings and provide guidance on site prioritization process.

At the precise moment when ISIS fighters were prepping for their retreat from the Iraqi city of Ramadi in February 2016, Hassan Mohammed lay in bed struggling to breathe.

“Sometimes bad things have to happen before the good things start,” says Ali Ghnaim.

In winter, Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, is not for the faint-hearted—below-zero temperatures are not uncommon and snowfalls are frequent and sometimes heavy. With an average temperature of -1°C, January is the coldest month, with occasional drops to -25°C. Located at a high altitude of approximately 1,800 m above sea level, in a narrow valley between the Hindu Kush mountains, Kabul is one the world’s highest capitals.

In June 2019, the Kingdom of Bahrain revealed its plans to ban plastic bags. The move took many by surprise. Ahmed Rajab, a photographer in Bahrain for the Gulf Daily News, is one supporter of the decision.

A biological remediation pilot project seeking to enhance nature’s own ability to clear up oil spills in Iraq’s conflict-affected areas has been launched in Kirkuk by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the state-owned North Oil Company and the Ministry of Health and Environment, and facilitation support from the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq.