Visit our section with the published monthly newsletters

Pollution leaves its mark on health: a study finds more microplastics in heart attack patients

El País, 07/14/2026

Synopsis: A study published in the European Heart Journal has detected more microplastics in the blood of heart attack patients than in healthy individuals or those with chronic ischemic heart disease. A higher presence of these microscopic materials was also observed in smokers and people more exposed to air pollution.

"These findings do not prove that microplastics cause heart attacks, but they reveal a strong association between environmental exposure, the presence of microplastics in the blood, and cardiovascular disease. In our study, a history of smoking was linked to the presence of microplastics in the blood. Our findings suggest that smoking could facilitate the entry of microplastics and nanoplastics into the bloodstream through the lungs. Air pollution could act in a similar way," summarizes Emanuele Barbato, director of the Cardiology Unit at Sant'Andrea University Hospital in Rome and author of the study.

"These findings do not prove that microplastics cause heart attacks, but they reveal a strong association between environmental exposure, the presence of microplastics in the blood, and cardiovascular disease. In our study, a history of smoking was linked to the presence of microplastics in the blood. Our findings suggest that smoking could facilitate the entry of microplastics and nanoplastics into the bloodstream through the lungs. Air pollution could act in a similar way," summarizes Emanuele Barbato, director of the Cardiology Unit at Sant'Andrea University Hospital in Rome and author of the study.

In this new study, scientists recruited 61 patients: some were diagnosed with myocardial infarction, others with chronic ischemic heart disease, and others had normal coronary arteries. After analyzing their blood, they found that 84% of the patients with myocardial infarction had microplastics. The frequency dropped to 40% in people with chronic heart disease and barely reached 32% in people with normal coronary arteries.

The Amazon may not recover from the drought caused by the last El Niño.

Folha de S. Paulo, 06/20/2026

Synopsis: A study published in April in the journal PNAS estimates that 53.7% of the intact rainforest areas affected by the 2023-24 drought will not have recovered even seven years later. In October 2024, the Rio Negro reached its lowest level in 122 years.

Even so, MapBiomas indicated that by 2025 the region had recovered the water surface area that existed before the droughts, aided by the La Niña phenomenon.

According to researcher Luiz Eduardo Aragão, from INPE, "the trend is for the rainforest to lose biomass over time, reducing its productivity and its capacity to recycle water and maintain its original microclimatic characteristics."

Dangerous smoke from wildfires in Canada is moving towards the Great Lakes and the northeastern US.

CNN, 07/16/2026

Synopsis: Huge plumes of smoke from wildfires in Canada crossed the border into the United States, creating hazardous levels of air pollution for more than 100 million people in the Midwest and Northeast.

The smoke blanketed urban skylines and caused a sharp decline in air quality, including in New York City and Boston.

In Canada, nearly 3,500 fires have burned more than 4.8 million acres this summer. A dozen of them intensified in Ontario in recent weeks, filling the sky with smoke that began drifting south.

Pollution from fossil fuels, which warms the planet, increases the likelihood of longer smoke seasons, making extreme fire seasons more likely to become the norm.

Wildfires in Spain are devastating an area four times larger than in 2025

RT, 07/22/2026

Synopsis: So far this year, 123,000 hectares have burned in Spain, according to data from the European Union's Copernicus satellite. This figure is four times the area ravaged by fire during the same period in 2015, reports Spanish Television (TVE).

In addition, a fire remains active in the province of Guadalajara, in the interior of the country. It started six days ago and has already become the second largest in Spanish history, with more than 30,000 hectares burned.

The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, traveled to the epicenter of the fire on Wednesday, July 22, for an official visit during which he called for "a major national agreement against the climate emergency."

Chile: More than 5,400 homes damaged by rains

La Jornada, 07/19/2026

Synopsis: The storm, with its torrential rain, wind, storm surge, and snow-covered mountain ranges, has left four people dead, one missing, and six injured. The National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) reported that approximately 5,400 homes sustained varying degrees of damage.

Officially, 516 people have been affected, 800 are in shelters, and 1,181 are isolated due to road closures caused by overflowing rivers, collapsed bridges, landslides, and sinkholes. Additionally, some 250,000 customers remain without electricity.

These ingredients are linked to accelerated brain aging

La Iguana tv, 07/21/2026

Synopsis: A study conducted in Brazil on nearly 13,000 adults around 52 years old, analyzing their intake of seven commonly used sweeteners-aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, erythritol, xylitol, and sorbitol-by researchers at the University of São Paulo, suggests that regular consumption of various artificial sweeteners could accelerate brain aging and cognitive decline, especially in middle-aged people and those with diabetes.

Those who consumed higher amounts of these sugar substitutes (an average of 191 mg daily) showed a decline in cognitive performance 62% faster than the group with lower consumption.

The researchers caution, however, that the study is observational, based on dietary questionnaires, and does not demonstrate causality; for now, it only points to a possible relationship that requires further investigation and does not imply that all sweeteners or all amounts have the same effect.

Castellón The Vall d'Uixó fire has already burned 6,500 hectares and forced the evacuation of 16,000 residents and the confinement of 64,000

El Mundo.es, 07/27/2026

Synopsis: Pedro Sánchez has once again stressed the need to sign a "national agreement" against climate change. "The fires will go away, but every year we must be prepared for a climate emergency that is exceeding all the levels and magnitudes that science has been warning about."

"I urge extreme caution throughout the country," Sánchez reiterated, lamenting that so far in 2026, more than 170,000 hectares have already burned in Spain, which is six times the area burned by this time in 2025.

Colombia approves declaring a national disaster in the face of "serious consequences" that El Niño could cause.

RT, 07/22/2026

Synopsis: The Colombian government approved a national disaster declaration due to the "serious consequences for the country" that the El Niño climate phenomenon could have between 2026 and 2027.

The decision, adopted unanimously during an extraordinary session of the National Council for Disaster Risk Management, "will allow for the adoption of proactive measures to protect communities, strengthen the State's response capacity, and reduce the impacts associated with the extreme weather conditions that could occur in different regions of the country," according to the government institution's social media account.

This determination is based on Law 1523 of 2012, which empowers the State to declare a disaster "when there is an imminent risk, without having to wait for the effects to materialize."

Blow to European agriculture: the heat wave caused millions in losses in the cereal harvest

La iguana.tv, 07/22/2026

Synopsis: According to calculations by the ECIU analysis center, the extensive and unusual heat wave that struck most of Europe last June resulted in losses of between €2 billion and €2.3 billion, corresponding to the value of the nearly 9 million tons of grain that the extreme heat is estimated to have destroyed.

The country most affected by this loss was France, which accounted for almost half of all losses (4.1 million tons). Hungary followed in second place with the evaporation of 2.4 million tons of its harvest.

Analysts estimate that farmers will suffer financially, but that food security in Europe will also be affected.
}

Brazil will sign an agreement to create a single air market in South America

Folha de S. Paulo, 07/14/2026

Synopsis: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay signed a memorandum of understanding in Asunción to create a single air market in South America.

The agreement, called ALAS (Air Liberalization for the Development of a Single South American Sky), establishes a period of up to 12 months for the four countries to develop common regulatory standards that will gradually expand the freedom of operation for airlines in the region.

The model follows the logic adopted by the European Union, allowing Brazilian companies to operate in neighboring countries and foreign airlines to operate domestic routes in Brazil under the principle of reciprocity.

According to the proposal, a foreign airline will be able to transport passengers between two Brazilian cities as long as that leg is part of an international route. This requirement would be eliminated at a later stage.

Nearly six million hectares ravaged by flames in Europe and North America

Noticias ONU, 07/30/2026

Synopsis: The 2026 fire season has already reduced nearly six million hectares to ashes in Europe and North America. According to the UN, these figures show that it will be impossible to sustainably contain megafires without strengthening investments in prevention, territorial resilience, and adaptation to climate change.

Human activity remains the primary cause.

"Every summer reminds us that wildfires are no longer an exceptional event, but an increasingly predictable consequence of global warming," said Paola Deda, Director of the Environment and Forests Division of the UNECE, in a statement.

It's a vicious cycle in which warming fuels fires, which in turn exacerbate climate change.

This is how Germany calculates the more than 5,000 heat-related deaths

Dw, 07/16/2026

Synopsis: According to the Robert Koch Institute, there were more than 5,100 heat-related deaths in Germany up to the end of June 2026.

"This is a statistical relationship," explains Alexandra Schneider, meteorologist, epidemiologist, and deputy director of the Institute of Epidemiology at the Helmholtz Centre in Munich. It is obtained by analyzing, on the one hand, the number of deaths recorded by the Federal Statistical Office and, on the other hand, the temperature trends measured by the German Meteorological Service (DWD) over a given period.

The number of deaths in the last week of June, with an average 24-hour temperature of 26 degrees Celsius, was almost 30 percent higher than the average recorded during the same periods in previous years, which was around 18,200 deaths. To estimate how many of these deaths were heat-related, researchers modeled how many people would have died if temperatures had remained below 20 degrees Celsius.

Using this method, the RKI estimates that there were 5,120 heat-related deaths, of which 4,310 occurred in the last week of June alone.

El Niño: The dress rehearsal is over, we are living the harsh reality

Noticias ONU, 07/31/2026

Synopsis: UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated: "El Niño isn't at the door; it's already inside the house and turning up the heat."

What is happening in the Pacific Ocean is triggering a domino effect that threatens to destabilize global health, the economy, and peace.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirms that Pacific Ocean waters are registering temperatures almost 3°C above normal, a record high for this time of year.

While some regions of Africa, Central Asia, and Southern Europe are preparing for torrential rains and flooding, the Indian subcontinent, Central America, the Caribbean, and southern Australia are facing severe droughts.

Climate change is acting as a threat multiplier in an already fragile world.

We have spent decades treating each heat wave, each wildfire, and each drought as isolated tragedies. But the science of July 31, 2026, screams at us that it is a systemic risk. Extreme heat is no longer a future threat; it is our everyday reality. It is breaking records, stifling economies, and silently claiming lives.

Climate change alarms are sounding in Spain, France and the rest of the world

Noticias ONU, 07/28/2026

Synopsis: Whether in the form of raging wildfires, extreme heat waves, or deadly storms, millions of people worldwide are suffering the effects of climate change that stems not from natural patterns but from human activity and the overuse of fossil fuels.

The UN official emphasizes the situation in Europe, where wildfires have reached what he described as "nightmare proportions." In southern France and across large areas of the Iberian Peninsula, flames have consumed thousands of hectares of forest and farmland in recent weeks.

The economic impact on the regional tourism and agricultural sectors is already estimated at billions of euros, in addition to the severe human cost of material losses and respiratory problems resulting from air pollution.

But fire is not the only enemy. The statement details a devastating global picture where historical records are being broken one after another. In North Africa, temperatures have approached 49°C, while in the Southern Hemisphere, Chile has been battered by deadly storms that have destroyed homes and claimed lives, and Japan has broken a historic record by registering its longest streak of temperatures above 40°C.

"These spiraling disasters are now the lived reality for billions of people in a rapidly warming world," the UN official stated.

Stiell noted that the science on the cause is "unequivocal": global warming caused by fossil fuels is making prolonged heat waves, severe flooding, and megastorms more frequent, more intense, and far more costly.

The solution is clear, but action is urgent.

MEDIA HEADLINE SUMMARY

Selected until July 15, 2026

Liquid biopsy, a test that revolutionizes cancer diagnosis

National Geographic España, 06/25/2026

Synopsis: A drop of blood, a crucial clue: this is how liquid biopsy works, the tool that detects certain types of cancer before they are visible.

Through blood analysis, early diagnosis can be achieved by detecting tumor genetic material. The procedure is minimally invasive and can replace some traditional tissue biopsies.

The blood sample is centrifuged to obtain the plasma, where red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are found. Then, cell-free DNA, from both healthy and malignant cells, is extracted and sequenced. It is also very useful for monitoring the evolution of cancer that has already been treated, paving the way for early cancer detection.

"At the end of treatment, we don't know if we have eradicated the disease or if some cancer cells have escaped and persist, potentially leading to a relapse," explains researcher Dawson, head of the Molecular Biomarkers and Translational Genomics Laboratory.

"At the end of treatment, we don't know if we have eradicated the disease or if some cancer cells have escaped and persist, potentially leading to a relapse," explains researcher Dawson, head of the Molecular Biomarkers and Translational Genomics Laboratory.

" In breast cancer, between 20 and 30% of hormone-dependent tumors, the most common type, which feed on estrogen and progesterone to grow, often recur, sometimes more than 10 years after diagnosis. During this time, there are no scans or tests that can confirm whether the patient is disease-free. The examination offers the opportunity to intervene before the disease progresses.

Planes collect water from the Seine River to fight a forest fire near Paris

CNN, 07/13/2026

Synopsis: French firefighters are battling a massive wildfire that has burned over 800 hectares in the Fontainebleau forest south of Paris. Firefighting aircraft have been scooping water from the Seine River as part of the efforts to control the blaze.

The climate crisis is leading to warmer, drier weather, setting the stage for more intense fire seasons, which means these fires are occurring earlier in the year and with greater intensity.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent, at a rate more than twice as fast as the global average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Torrential rains and extreme heat: the climatic contrast hits this Latin American country

RT, 07/13/2026

Synopsis: Thousands of people displaced, floods, neighborhoods completely submerged, isolated communities, incalculable material damage, and declarations of "public calamity" in various parts of the country are part of the toll left by emergencies caused by torrential rains and intense heat waves in different regions of Colombia.

The climatic contrast affecting the eastern part of the country is exacerbated by one of the most intense rainy seasons in recent years, with heat indices exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), triggering an alert regarding the health impacts and water supply.

The department of Casanare is the most affected by the flooding caused by the rains, with 6,755 families reported as displaced so far. In the municipality of San Luis de Palenque, the overflowing of the Pauto River flooded 90% of the town center.

In the departments of Boyacá and Arauca, authorities declared a state of public emergency due to intense rains that affected dozens of municipalities, some of which remain cut off because their bridges were destroyed and road infrastructure suffered severe damage.

In the Colombian Caribbean, there is also a state of public emergency, but for different reasons, as temperatures in the department of Cesar are reaching nearly 40 degrees Celsius.

Germany: Extreme heat left more than 4,000 dead in June

Agencias, 07/10/2026

Synopsis: The heat wave that struck Germany in late June caused more than 4,000 deaths, according to preliminary estimates from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). With this tally, the number of heat-related deaths in the first half of the year exceeds 5,100.

Between June 22 and 28, nearly 22,000 people died in the country. Without the extreme heat wave, the RKI estimates that around 17,500 deaths would have occurred, representing an excess mortality of more than 4,000 people.

The RKI notes that heat is rarely listed as a direct cause of death, except in cases of heatstroke. In most cases, death results from a combination of high temperatures and pre-existing conditions, so the impact of heat is calculated using statistical methods.

At least 12 dead and 23 missing in the deadliest forest fire in decades in Spain amid the heat wave

BBC, 07/10/2026

Synopsis: A forest fire in southern Spain, which has ravaged at least 5,000 hectares, has left at least 12 people dead and another 23 missing, according to the president of the Andalusian Regional Government.

More than 1,400 people have been evacuated, according to the latest report from authorities.

The blaze was fueled by winds of 50 kilometers per hour, which caused the flames to travel 15 kilometers in two hours-faster than any evacuation protocol could handle.

The Andalusian Minister of Health and Emergency Services stated that most, or even all, of the victims could be foreigners, as the flames spread through a wooded area in Almería, a popular holiday destination that hosts many foreigners, especially French, British, and Belgians.

He noted that some of the missing were likely hikers who were caught off guard in the forest.

The decline in plankton in the Northeast Atlantic is very worrying: the case of the Iberian coasts and waters

Tiempo.com, 07/04/2026

Synopsis: Microscopic plankton is among the most important organisms on Earth. It produces roughly half the oxygen we breathe, sustains marine food webs, supports fisheries, helps regulate carbon, and maintains life throughout the ocean.

A new study, led by researchers at the University of Plymouth, has concluded that plankton abundance is declining across vast stretches of the Northeast Atlantic, a region encompassing the Atlantic Ocean from Portugal to Norway and the entire North Sea.

Their results showed that no pelagic habitats anywhere in the Northeast Atlantic were rated as good, and six pelagic habitat-region combinations were assessed as "Not Good," three as "Uncertain," and one as "Not Evaluated" due to a lack of data.

The research also revealed that rising sea surface temperatures, changes in nutrient conditions, declining pH, and altered ocean mixing are key factors associated with these changes.

The Netherlands fears its bridges will collapse due to the heat: Spain, a pioneer, sets an example

DIARIO AS, 07/05/2026

Synopsis: The intense heat waves sweeping across Europe are impacting infrastructure operations. In the Netherlands, the soaring temperatures have forced authorities to cool several movable bridges with water to prevent significant damage to their metal structures. The steel in the bridges expands in the heat, and when expansion joints and mechanisms are not designed to withstand these temperature fluctuations, blockages can occur, compromising safety and preventing the safe opening or closing of the structures. Furthermore, the materials used to seal these joints, such as rubber, resins, and other rubber derivatives, soften under prolonged sun exposure, reducing their ability to absorb structural movements and compromising stability.

Cooling systems using fireboats and temporary watering equipment have been deployed on several bridges in the north of the country.

The high temperatures are also affecting the condition of the asphalt on some roads and tram lines, where the pavement is beginning to soften due to the heat.

France reports 131 drowning deaths due to the heat wave

Prensa Latina, 07/11/2026

Synopsis: Extreme temperatures have triggered a safety crisis in France, where the summer season has claimed the lives of 131 people by drowning since June 19. This alarming figure coincides with the start of a series of heat waves that have broken historical records in the region. The forecast indicates that the western half of the country will exceed 36 degrees Celsius, with peaks that could reach 40 degrees, while in the southwest, thermometers will approach 42 degrees.

The Minister of Sports, Marina Ferrari, confirmed these figures during an official visit to Maisons-Alfort, highlighting that 55% of the deaths occurred in unauthorized and unsupervised swimming areas.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health announced the immediate distribution of 30,000 air conditioning units to reinforce hospital infrastructure. This measure aims to mitigate the impact of extreme heat on vulnerable patients and improve the operational conditions of healthcare facilities in the face of high demand for medical care.

Extreme heat tests the limits of European countries

El Universal, 07/11/2026

Synopsis: One of the most terrible heat waves ever experienced in Europe has not let up since it began in May. France is experiencing its third episode in less than two months. The United Kingdom, its third of the year. And each new wave hits a territory that has not yet recovered from the previous one.

Records have fallen one after another. June was the hottest month ever recorded in Western Europe, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. This is a consequence of heat domes originating from high-pressure systems that settle in for days, trapping the hot air that accumulates beneath them.

The World Weather Attribution scientific network concluded in a report that, with an almost identical atmospheric pattern, the same episode would have been about 3.5 degrees Celsius cooler 50 years ago. An event that was once expected once a century now occurs, on average, every 33 years.

The verdict of that report leaves no room for doubt: "Emissions from fossil fuels have rapidly exacerbated heat waves in Europe in just a few decades."

Venezuela: The Arauca River surpasses historic levels and floods the town of La Victoria in Apure

Últimas Noticias, 07/11/2026

Synopsis: A historic surge in the Arauca River breached the flood defenses and completely inundated the town of La Victoria in Apure state.

The mayor reported that the flooding was due solely to unprecedented water levels, which is why he ordered a temporary freeze on tax collection to support local businesses.

Meanwhile, the head of civil protection explained that the water entered the town during the early morning hours, affecting the town center and the lower Arauca area, where the collapse of three utility poles temporarily disrupted access to agricultural roads, causing property damage but no casualties.

Super Typhoon Bavi hits China with extreme force, prompting millions of evacuations

www.zocalo.com.mx, 07/12/2026

Synopsis: After days of relentless advance across the Pacific, Super Typhoon Bavi made landfall in China with devastating force, striking the coastal province of Zhejiang with winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour. At its widest point, it spanned roughly the width of France. It had already left 17 dead in the Philippines and caused damage in Japan before reaching the Chinese coast.

Authorities activated an unprecedented evacuation operation: more than 1.7 million people were moved to safe areas in Zhejiang and another 180,000 in the neighboring province of Fujian, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The storm also forced the suspension of work, classes, and public transportation in several cities in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Hubei, and more than 1,200 flights were canceled across eastern China. Before reaching mainland China, Bavi had already wreaked havoc in other parts of the region, striking the southern islands of Japan and northern Taiwan, where it injured 135 people. In the Philippines, at least 17 deaths were reported.

Germany imposes water restrictions due to historic drought

Prensa Latina, 07/15/2026

Synopsis: Authorities in the German city of Munich have banned filling private swimming pools and watering gardens and lawns due to the worst drought since the 1970s, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported.

The measure, in effect until August 1, affects the entire city and only exempts agricultural land, cemeteries, and sports facilities.

A month ago, the city council had already turned off 150 ornamental fountains, suspended the washing of official cars, and halted the cleaning of municipal windows to conserve every available liter of water.

The extreme measure was implemented after it was found that aquifer levels have dropped by 40 percent compared to the historical average, according to data from the Bavarian environmental office.

Water resource experts warn that climate change is exacerbating periods of drought in Central Europe. In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia, fines for illegal water extraction have already reached 50,000 euros, while German reservoirs are registering their lowest level in three decades.

NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE

r