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Cars, Chlamydia Threaten Australian Koalas

This picture taken on October 4, 2024 shows an orphaned koala joey named Ajooni clinging to a fluffy toy during feeding time in Sydney. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)
This picture taken on October 4, 2024 shows an orphaned koala joey named Ajooni clinging to a fluffy toy during feeding time in Sydney. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)
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Cars, Chlamydia Threaten Australian Koalas

This picture taken on October 4, 2024 shows an orphaned koala joey named Ajooni clinging to a fluffy toy during feeding time in Sydney. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)
This picture taken on October 4, 2024 shows an orphaned koala joey named Ajooni clinging to a fluffy toy during feeding time in Sydney. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)

Clinging to a fluffy toy twice her size, orphaned koala joey Ajooni made a snuffling noise as she drank milk from a tiny syringe.

Weighing about the same as a mango, she was found by the side of a Sydney road where her mother was hit by a car and died.

It is a familiar tale for wildlife carer Emma Meadows, AFP reported.

Over the past two years, Meadows and other volunteers have recovered 40 koalas hit by cars in their neighborhood. The number left for dead is likely much higher.

Koalas are shy and notoriously difficult to count.

There are anywhere between 95,000 and 524,000 left in Australia, possibly down from millions before European settlement.

There is little doubt that expanding cities, land clearance and the spread of chlamydia are devastating the populations of one of Australia's most iconic animals.

East Coast koalas were officially listed as "endangered" by the Australian government in 2022.

"I actually, truly, believe we're heading towards extinction," said Meadows, a volunteer with WIRES.

"I don't know if there is any coming back from this. I'm scared it's too late."

Chlamydia was first observed in koalas about 50 years ago. In the decades since, it has wiped out entire local populations.

The bacteria leads to blindness, bladder infections, infertility, and death.

Although some chlamydia-free koala populations exist -- such as the area where Ajooni was found -- scientists fear these pockets may soon disappear.

- World's 'extinction capital' -

Annabelle Olsson, director of the University of Sydney Wildlife Health and Conservation Hospital, has regularly examined rescued koalas -- including seven-month-old Ajooni.

On the day AFP visited the center, a sedated three-year-old koala lay on an operation table, while Olsson and her team took the marsupial's blood, did X-rays and examined the koala's face.

The koala was chlamydia-free but had a head injury that impacted her reflexes and would require further attention.

Olsson said without better koala protections "our grandchildren, or at least their grandchildren, are going to see maybe koalas in a zoo if they're lucky.”

"Australia is an island nation with an incredibly high biodiversity and incredibly unique wildlife species and floral species that need to be preserved," she said.

Scientists believe Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world, with about 100 of the country's unique flora and fauna species wiped out in the last 123 years.

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek has said Australia is "the mammal extinction capital of the world. "

While there are some rules and guidelines to protect koala habitats, koala bushland continues to be cleared.

- Vaccine hopes -

Some have instead focused their conservation efforts on quelling the spread of koala chlamydia.

University of the Sunshine Coast researcher Samuel Phillips is part of a team working on a potential vaccine.

They have vaccinated and monitored 165 koalas over 10 years and found inoculated marsupials developed chlamydia later in life and their mortality was reduced by 64 percent.

A Queensland trial of the vaccination, used in conjunction with traffic and predator controls, was so successful that a local koala population doomed for extinction within 10 years rebounded.

Some marsupials will even need to be translocated to stop overpopulation, Phillips said.

"It's been a really positive story," he said.

However, Phillips warns that more needs to be done to address the other key drivers of koala decline, particularly the deforestation of their habitats.

"We can keep protecting these small populations, but without increasing the habitat and protecting it, then they won't be living."

- 'Make a difference' -

Ajooni will remain in Meadow's care until she is big enough to be released back into the wild.

It will be a "bittersweet" moment for Meadow, but she says seeing any koala successfully released is the best feeling.

That feeling is what keeps her going through the awful parts of her volunteer role: scraping dead koala bodies off the road in the middle of the night, or finding animals that are so severely injured that they need to be put down.

"I continue to do what I do because somebody needs to make a difference, and I feel that this is one way in the world that I can make a difference," Meadows said.

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Algae Fed by Farm Waste Carpet Italy's Warm River Po

The picture shows algae covering the surface of the Po River near Vittorio Emanuele I Bridge in Turin, northwestern Italy, on July 14, 2026. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)
The picture shows algae covering the surface of the Po River near Vittorio Emanuele I Bridge in Turin, northwestern Italy, on July 14, 2026. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)
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Algae Fed by Farm Waste Carpet Italy's Warm River Po

The picture shows algae covering the surface of the Po River near Vittorio Emanuele I Bridge in Turin, northwestern Italy, on July 14, 2026. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)
The picture shows algae covering the surface of the Po River near Vittorio Emanuele I Bridge in Turin, northwestern Italy, on July 14, 2026. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)

Rowers on the River Po in Turin are battling vast blooms of algae, as high temperatures in northwest Italy and runoff from farms create ideal conditions for rampant plant growth.

"Look at these (plants), if you put your oar in, they wouldn't let it go," rowing coach Roberto Romanini told AFP, as four rowers struggled in their boat through a patch of green slime.

Sitting between the Alpine chain on one side and hills on the other, heavily urbanized Turin has suffered soaring temperatures this summer, as heat waves rendered more intense by man-made climate change have gripped Italy.

And the Po, Italy's longest river, is struggling.

It has experienced a significant decline in flow, down 50 percent on its yearly average, due to low rainfall and persistently high temperatures in June and July.

Despite that, dozens of plant species have been blooming since May.

"It looks like a meadow," 60-year-old Romanini said, adding he had "never seen anything like it."

Tearing tangled plants off his motor boat's propeller, he noted, "The river is changing, the climate is changing.”

At the dyke that has controlled the river's level since the 19th century, a thick layer of algae trapped various bottles and a shoe.

Local species such Spirogyra, known as mermaid's tresses, and the blanket weed Cladophora, mingle with the invasive Blitum nuttallianum -- or Nuttall's povertyweed, which is native to North America.

Further upstream, herons have nested under the historic stone Isabella Bridge, and their chicks are taking advantage of the thick layer of vegetation to learn how to walk.

Rowers make their way along the algae-covered Po River near the Borgo Medievale in Turin, northwestern Italy, on July 14, 2026. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)

Algae have always been present in the Po, but climate change "makes these phenomena more extreme", said Turin Deputy Mayor Francesco Tresso, calling this year's proliferation "quite exceptional.”

"It's no longer really a river, but rather a warm lake," reaching temperatures of 28 degrees Celsius even though it originates in the nearby Alps, he told AFP.

"Agricultural nutrients from livestock farms are also dumped throughout the basin, which means that plants find an ideal environment here to thrive," he said.

Alice de Marco, the local head of environmental organization Legambiente, said the algae blooms were encouraged "above all by excess nutrients" from farms.

She said a large part of the solution would be "limiting, reducing, or even eliminating the use of pesticides in agriculture.”

This mass of vegetation "has an impact on the food chain -- it reduces the oxygen level underwater, affecting other plants and animals," she said.

Algae have also invaded Lake Iseo in neighboring Lombardy this summer, as well as further afield, from canals in France to the Ebro River in Zaragoza, Spain.

Turin wants to make the Po one of its starring attractions: two river shuttles are scheduled to resume service in 2027 and the city council has renovated a large park next to the river.

But first it needs to get rid of the green weeds.

Near Turin's mock medieval village, an excavator perched on a barge pulls up clumps of dripping algae.

A truck comes every morning to collect the plants, which are then turned into compost. More than 150 tons have been removed in three weeks, at a cost of approximately 100,000 euros ($115,000).

Secondo Barbero, director of the Piedmont Environmental Protection Agency, noted that there is a correct way to remove it.

"The plant shouldn't be cut but uprooted; otherwise, the cut parts can generate new plants," while also contaminating downstream riverbanks, he said.

The growth should slow with the drop in temperatures in autumn, but the city should prepare for a fresh round in spring, Barbero said.

Rower Romanini said that, for now, locals will just have to learn to live with it -- "and show more respect for the river."

Varieties

What Living in One of the World's Hottest Towns Feels Like

Residents sleep on the platform of a railway station to escape the heat in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20 , 2026. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Residents sleep on the platform of a railway station to escape the heat in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20 , 2026. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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What Living in One of the World's Hottest Towns Feels Like

Residents sleep on the platform of a railway station to escape the heat in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20 , 2026. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Residents sleep on the platform of a railway station to escape the heat in Banda, northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh, Saturday, June 20 , 2026. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Heat at all hours, even in the middle of the night. Long stretches without electricity, meaning some homes can't even use basic fans. And a constant search for relief, like being hosed down with water or sleeping outside.

For many residents of Banda, a town in northern India that has recorded some of the country's highest temperatures, just getting through each day is a challenge.

Global warming, caused mostly by the burning of fuels like gas, oil and coal, is making heat waves across India more frequent and intense. Uttar Pradesh, the state Banda is in, is among those most vulnerable to extreme heat. In 2023, at least 119 people died over several days during a severe heat wave in parts of the state.

In May, temperatures reached 48.2 Celsius (118.8 Fahrenheit), one of multiple times this year that the town recorded the country’s highest temperature for the day. Banda was also the hottest spot on Earth seven times this year, most of them in April, according to climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, who tracks global weather extremes. Since then, temperatures have dropped some but are still stifling, particularly as seasonal rains increase humidity.

In June, an Associated Press team went to Banda to report on how people try to cope with the heat throughout the day.

Morning: Heat makes market workers’ jobs tougher Munni Devi and her four sons begin work loading and unloading vegetables when most of the town is asleep.

It’s only 4 a.m., but the temperature is already 30 C (86 F). Workers at Banda's vegetable market are busy unloading tomatoes, jackfruits and other vegetables and transferring them to smaller vehicles for delivery to neighborhood shops.

Devi, 70, says the heat is becoming more intense every year, and this year has been especially bad. The work is physically demanding in any weather. During a heat wave, it can be brutal. But Devi says she and her sons can’t afford to miss a day.

“Everyone feels the heat, but because of our circumstances, we have to bear it,” she says.

At the market, young men wheel carts through narrow lanes. Women sort vegetables on the streets. Devi says many buyers arrive early, hoping to finish shopping before temperatures soar.

Devi and her sons work from early morning until lunch, then return home to recuperate.
She says unreliable power to her home means there is little respite even there. Devi’s grandchildren get sprayed down every day with a water hose to get some relief.

“If there is no power, even the ceiling fans don’t work. Sometimes there is no power for hours,” she says.

Afternoon: Animal lover tries to protect birds from heat impacts As the afternoon sun bakes Banda’s streets, residents who can afford to stay inside do so. But some vegetable sellers and auto rickshaw drivers stay outdoors in hopes of attracting a little more business.

Meanwhile, 70-year-old animal lover Shobharam Kashyap is busy making wooden birdhouses at a workshop in his home.

Kashyap says he and other volunteers have installed over 15,000 birdhouses across the town to give birds respite from an increasingly harsh environment.

Kashyap’s brightly painted birdhouses — many of which are painted green as he says birds seem to prefer that color — have been mounted on trees and walls across Banda.

He has also placed clay water bowls in and near his home to give birds a place for a dip or drink.

Kashyap says he is continuing traditional practices of caring for other animals.

“Our culture has long encouraged feeding birds. Women visiting temples traditionally offer rice. Neither the priest nor the deity consumes it — the birds do,” he says.

Evening: As heat increases, so do hospital admissions Hotter days have brought more patients to the hospital in Banda, one of the bigger medical centers in this region. Those with heat maladies, ranging from fainting to heatstroke, tend to come in the afternoon and evening, filling the corridors and wards.

Patients sit shoulder-to-shoulder on benches. Relatives fan family members with sheets of paper. Hospital staff move between beds carrying intravenous fluids.

Dr. Abhishek Pranayami, the hospital's head doctor, says the hospital sees a surge of patients every summer, "and the number of patients is increasing every year.”

He says they are treating large numbers of people suffering from dehydration, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain — illnesses that become more common as temperatures rise. Some patients recover within days. Others take longer.

“Pressure is quite high on us and the staff,” he says.

Night: Sleeping outdoors or in a rail station to seek a break from heat Even after sunset, Banda remains hot.

When young boys play a game of cricket, they keep their water bottles cool by wrapping them in torn clothes.

At the town’s railway station, families sometimes gather late into the night, hoping the open platforms and occasional breeze will be more comfortable than cramped homes that have absorbed heat all day.

On one such night, dozens are sleeping in the station to avoid the heat. In one spot, several children and adults sleep on blankets spread out on the stone platform with parked train cars a few feet away. Some use bags as pillows. A pile of flip-flops sits inches from their bare feet. Another man stretches out on a bench, with his head on a backpack.

Nearby, several men and women are trying to sleep on blankets near the ticket kiosks, despite the bright lights. Dogs lie between some of the people on the ground, also trying to get relief.

Laborers whose homes are too small and hot to sleep in are sleeping on blankets outside the railway station's entrance, trying their best to get some rest in the hot night. Regardless of the noise of vehicles and passengers entering and leaving the station, laborers and residents are lying on towels and sometimes right on the gravel as the relatively open, breezy roads and pavements near the railway station give them the best chance for some shut-eye.

For parents with little children, the hot night is too uncomfortable for sleep, so they wait in the station, huddled around a smartphone.

The struggle for relief and rest has become a defining feature of summer in cities like Banda.

“Climate change is shifting the average,” says Abhiyant Tiwari, climate and health expert at New Delhi-based NRDC India. “While Banda has always been known for hot summers, what is changing right now is the intensity, the duration and the number of people exposed to dangerous heat conditions.”

High nighttime temperatures are especially worrying because they prevent people from recovering physically from the day’s heat, he says.

The top government official in Banda says authorities have responded by opening cooling centers, distributing hundreds of thousands of oral rehydration kits and monitoring hospitals during heat warnings.

Amit Aasery, the district magistrate of Banda, says officials are studying groundwater levels, soil moisture and vegetation loss while working to improve water supplies and public awareness.

But he says there is only so much they can do.

“What is happening here is a global phenomenon,” he says. “It is because of climate change. We are the recipient of this.”

Varieties

Greek Islands Face Drought as Tourist Season Hits

The castle and buildings in the main tourist town on the island, which declared a drought emergency, in Chora, Astypalaia, Greece, July 13, 2026. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
The castle and buildings in the main tourist town on the island, which declared a drought emergency, in Chora, Astypalaia, Greece, July 13, 2026. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
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Greek Islands Face Drought as Tourist Season Hits

The castle and buildings in the main tourist town on the island, which declared a drought emergency, in Chora, Astypalaia, Greece, July 13, 2026. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
The castle and buildings in the main tourist town on the island, which declared a drought emergency, in Chora, Astypalaia, Greece, July 13, 2026. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

Seven Greek islands in the Aegean Sea have declared drought emergencies this year to preserve water as climate change makes summers hotter and rainfall more erratic.

Now, authorities are wondering if it will rain next year to sustain the thousands of tourists who strain the supply of water just when locals need it most.

The butterfly-shaped island of Astypalaia, which relies on bottled water for drinking, lies east of the mainland and did not benefit from rain in northern and western parts of Greece that gave the country its wettest winter since 2022.

For Astypalaia in the southeastern Aegean, it was the second driest season since 2020, according to data by local authorities, creating dilemmas for officials.

"If we collected all the water dropped throughout the year in a bucket or in a washbowl, it would be 2.5 centimeters deep," said mayor Nikos Komineas, standing near a man-made lake surrounded by dry hills with sparse low scrub, the island's sole water reservoir built in the mid-1990s.

Authorities cut ⁠off farmer Evdokia Palatianou from a man-made lake to save water in April. The vegetables she grows in her orchard withered as she was forced to rely on brackish water pumped from her well.

"Unless it rains, I won't plant anything," said Palatianou, 71, standing next to a dead tree once full of mandarins on the coastal village of Livadi, the island's main fertile region.

The lake supplying water for household use and irrigation in Livadi and to the main tourist town of Chora, the island's capital, now contains some 150,000 cubic meters, a sixth of its storage capacity.

With daily consumption at about 900 cubic meters ⁠in the summer, it would last around five and a half months.

Authorities declared a water emergency in May to fast-track a temporary desalination plant with a daily output of 600 cubic meters for Chora, and blocked irrigation for farmers in Livadi to safeguard the lake's reserves until autumn, Reuters quoted Komineas as saying.

"We did it with a heavy heart, but anyway, thankfully there's this alternative for them," he said, adding that if rain replenishes the Livadi reservoir, they will reconnect the farmers.

A map compiled by the Copernicus European Drought Observatory marked Astypalaia in orange in June, an early sign of emerging drought.

At the seaside village of Analipsi on the island's east, sheep and goat farmers carry in water to fill up tanks or use low-quality water from boreholes.

A desalination plant that supplies tap water there was unable to cover a population that swells to 7,000 from 1,400 in midsummer, so a second, temporary facility was set up in Chora pending ⁠construction of a permanent one ⁠planned for the end of the year.

Dozens of energy-intensive desalination plants are installed on Greek islands. Κomineas said the temporary plant was a fallback for drought, while admitting it was costly.

"A major worry for me was what will happen if there is no rain once again this year," he said.

Some hoteliers on Astypalaia have already taken action to save water. Carolina Alkalai, 42, who operates a hotel on a hillside in Chora, with views of the castle and the Aegean Sea, offers a 5-euro voucher to guests who skip the daily cleaning service.

"Clients have embraced it," she said. She envisioned a second hotel on the island that would incorporate a cistern able to retain rainwater instead of a pool or a jacuzzi.

Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou has approved 15-million-euros ($17 million) for desalination, grid upgrades and water tanks on nine of Greece's more than 200 inhabited islands, including 1.5 million euros for Astypalaia. In June, he briefed other environment ministers in Luxembourg on water resilience.

"For Greece, water isn't theoretical- it's about security, economic growth and the protection of local communities," he said. The Athens-based National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos" says drought could get worse by 2049 as global temperatures rise, exacerbating water scarcity on the vulnerable islands.