Last year was the second hottest on record in the contiguous United States, and included 10 major weather and climate events, such as droughts and storms, that each led to over $1 billion in damages, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Thursday.

Indian Union home ministry's disaster management experts warn of a bigger catastrophe, earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.2 or greater on the Richter scale which may hit the already ruptured Himalayan region, reports The Times of India.

There are some key elements to keep in mind during earthquake for safety.

United States President Barack Obama approved a bill on Monday banning soaps, toothpastes, and bodywashes that contain a harmful ingredient.

On this chilly Friday morning, you may enjoy a stroll through warm sand dunes without going far from the city centre. This little known white expanse of flat sand is on the other side of the Buriganga and incredibly close to city dwellers. From Dhaka Zero Point you may cycle to this lustrous area in less than 30 minutes on holidays. You take the Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge to cross the river and turn left to follow a narrow asphalt road, which leads you to a place called Sowarighat some two to three kilometres away. Stretches of fallow land are all around Sowarighat. A branch of Buriganga once flowed through it and people took boats to cross that rivulet. Now the rivulet is dead and you cross it walking over an earth dam.

Temperatures at the North Pole rises above freezing point, 20 degrees Celsius above the mid-winter norm and the latest abnormality in a season of extreme weather events.

The US space agency Nasa has warned that the effects of the current El Nino weather phenomenon could be as bad as those of 1998, the strongest on record.

A 2m-tall flower, known for its pungent odour which has been likened to rotting flesh, has bloomed in Australia.

A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, killing more than 8,800 people. It damaged or destroyed nearly 900,000 buildings, created avalanches in the Himalayas, and left almost 1 million children out of school. Major aftershocks, including a magnitude-7.3 tremor three weeks later, slowed recovery efforts and added to the devastation. This was the deadliest disaster on record for the nation of 26 million people.

The melting of glaciers caused by the world's rising temperatures appears to be causing a slight slowing of the Earth's rotation in another illustration of the far-reaching impact of global climate change, scientists say.

Environmentalists form a 71-km-long human chain on the banks of the Turag River demanding an end to pollution and grabbing of the river.

A North Korean diplomat has been expelled from South Africa for illegal rhino horn trading, according to a spokesman for South Africa's Department of International Relations.

The transboundary haze crisis of 2015, which affected millions across Southeast Asia, will go down as one of the worst in recent history - surpassing the 1997 and 2013 crises.

Penguins waddle on snow as visitors look on at Otaru Aquarium in Otaru, Hokkaido, on Saturday.

The High Court directs the government to stop cutting hills at Dinarpur in Habiganj and to take appropriate legal steps against the people responsible for cutting the hills.

Despite some misgivings, there is a recognition in India, as elsewhere in the developing world, that compromise was inevitable to get the Paris deal.

James Hansen, the former Nasa scientist, considered the father of global awareness of climate change, says the Paris climate talks is 'a fraud'.

Organisers of climate talks in Paris say a final draft text has been reached after nearly two weeks of intensive negotiations.

Negotiators at the Paris summit aim to wrap up a global agreement to curb climate change on Saturday - a day later than expected.

A critical "clean" draft text has been published at UN climate talks here in Paris after delays.