Environment and nature

This picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency shows a view of the fire in the forests of Chalus on Nov. 21, 2025.

Analysis

Iran’s mismanagement in focus as fires ravage 25-million-year-old forests

Prolonged wildfires are raging across Iran's northern Hyrcanian forests, highlighting mismanagement, insufficient resources and climate stress, and forcing volunteers and foreign aid to intervene.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa look on during a bilateral meeting within the framework of the COP30 UN climate conference in Belem, Brazil, Nov. 6, 2025.

Syria attends Brazil’s COP30 as most Middle East leaders skip talks

Two years after the UAE and Egypt hosted back-to-back climate conferences, global headwinds are threatening climate action as talks begin in Belem amid notable absences.

United Arab Emirates

Residents of the city of Gabes carry placards during a demonstration on Oct. 15, 2025, to demand the closure of chemical factories.

Over 200 hospitalized in Tunisia’s Gabes as anger over pollution crisis grows

President Kais Saied is facing one of his biggest challenges yet as demands for the closure of the city’s phosphate processing plant increase.

SABUR RASHID/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Drought-stricken Iraq sends delegation to Turkey to discuss water cooperation

Turkey recently agreed to release more water to Iraq amid the drought in the country, indicating improving coordination on resource management after years of tensions over Turkish dams.

Latest News

Wildfires ravage Syria’s Latakia for 4th day in row: What to know

Residents of the village of Shatha watch as a wildfire rages on the nearby hills, in the western Hama countryside in west-central Syria on Aug. 15, 2025.

Egypt’s Sisi talks water security with Rwanda's president in wake of Ethiopia’s megadam debut

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi greets his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in Cairo, Sept. 23, 2025.

Over 1,000 dead in Darfur landslide as Sudan war hinders relief efforts

People inspect the debris following a landslide that devastated the village of Tarasin, in Sudan's Jebel Marra area, on Sept. 2, 2025.

Tehran’s dams at 19% as Iran water crisis worsens: What to know

The Amir Kabir dam and its outflow along the Karaj River in Iran's northern Alborz mountain range are pictured on June 1, 2025.

Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud (L) and UAE's Minister of State and special envoy for climate change Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber.

Saudi Arabia to hold green forums in conjunction with COP27

Saudi Arabia will hold in November the second editions of the Middle East Green Initiative and Saudi Green Initiative summits in Sharm el-Sheikh, on the sidelines of the COP27, in what reflects the growing interest of regional countries to address the effects of climate change.

Israeli Foreign Minister and alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid meets with Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at Tahrir Palace, Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 9, 2021.

In rare visit to Egypt, Israel’s Lapid to attend COP27 climate summit

The COP27 in Egypt will be launched a week after the general elections in Israel, but Prime Minister Yair Lapid intends to participate in the conference whatever the outcome of the vote.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Israel, Jordan to restore Jordan River

Israel and Jordan are creating a plan to rehabilitate and protect the Jordan River, making it a year-round water source with a healthy ecosystem.

An egret wades in a rice field close to a pile of burning hay near the Nile delta town of Zagazig, north of Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 23, 2009.

Culture

First climate-related fatwa prohibiting environmentally harmful practices issued in Egypt

Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta issued a fatwa charter promoting practices that are environmentally friendly based on Islamic law, as Egypt gears up to host the UN climate summit next month.

Endurance swimmers Mariam bin Laden (C) and Lewis Pugh (R) following their swim across the Red Sea. The two swam from Saudi Arabia to Egypt to raise awareness of the region's endangered coral reefs.

Culture

Saudi woman swims across Red Sea to draw attention to coral reefs

Mariam bin Laden became the first Arab woman to swim across the Red Sea and reach Egypt, accompanying UN Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh, part of a campaign to raise awareness of the need to preserve coral reefs amid climate change.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Israel moves to reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions

Ahead of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt next month, the Israeli government is focused on reducing greenhouse emissions within the industrial sector.

Plastic Coca-Cola bottles.

Coca-Cola to sponsor COP27 in Egypt, sparking criticism

The company has been ranked as the world’s top corporate plastic polluter for years and is blamed for spending millions of dollars greenwashing its brand and lobbying to derail regulations.

In this file photo taken on Oct. 22, 2019, boats are pictured along the riverbank and off the water of the Nile River.

Egypt venture capital firm for startups develops solutions to climate change

The Climate Resilience Fund targets nature-positive and sustainable projects that address mainly land and sea misuse.

The image shows the oldest sedimentary formation in Sudan.

Culture

Ancient seabed uncovered in Sudan

A Sudanese geological team has discovered an ancient marine sedimentary formation more than 500 million years old.

Israel gas

Natural gas profits finally put Israel's wealth fund into business

After four disappointing years, Israel’s wealth fund, based on tax revenues from natural gas companies, has enough money to begin making investments.

Egyptian laborers work at a charcoal factory in Sharkia governorate in the fertile Delta, north of Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 29, 2020.

Egyptian coal factory shuts down in lead-up to COP27

El-Nasr Company for Coke and Chemicals was liquidated recently, less than a year after another industry and steel company was closed down, as the Egyptian government seeks to abandon coal in its factories and rely more on clean energy.

This photo shows Noor al-Huda Jaber, owner of the Noor Recycling Initiative, which uses wood waste to produce decorations and gifts, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Sept. 7, 2022.

Culture

Women pioneer green projects in Gaza

Five women were selected to showcase their eco-friendly project at an exhibition in Gaza organized by the Women's Affairs Center to raise awareness on climate change and the need to protect the environment.