Indonesia's Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni told local media that wildfires could continue until early November, because the rainy season is expected to arrive late. He urged people to stop using fire to clear land during the extended drought. Many Indonesian fires burn on peatland, where dried organic matter can smoulder underground for weeks, releasing large volumes of carbon dioxide and fine particulate matter whose smoke can cross borders. Studies have estimated that the country's 2015 peat fires released more carbon in a few months than the annual emissions of many industrialised nations.
Residents and environmental groups in San Jose are organizing against a wave of proposed data center projects that city officials have courted to position the area as a hub for AI infrastructure. About 20 data centers already operate in the city, and more than 100 dot Silicon Valley. City officials estimate each new facility could generate $3 million to $6 million a year in tax revenue for police, fire, libraries, roads and parks. Opponents say too little is known about power and water use and whether the benefits will be shared. The Data Center Coalition, whose members include Google, Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic, warns that bills targeting data centers could push investment to other states.
The U.S. Forest Service is taking public comment until September 21 on a proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which bans road building, logging and mining across roughly 58 million acres of undeveloped national forest. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the change would improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk. Conservation groups argue more roads mean more human-caused ignitions. The proposal comes in one of the worst fire years on record, with 7.3 million acres burned in about 49,000 fires through August 17. Separately, Interior has proposed deep Colorado River cuts for Arizona, California and Nevada after a record-dry winter left the two largest reservoirs at a combined record low.
The Trump administration said on Monday it will repeal rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas power plants, and the EPA proposed rolling back its own authority to regulate that pollution in the future. Power plants are the second-largest source of US climate pollution, close to a quarter of the national total and roughly 3% of the global figure. The agency argues the rules threatened grid reliability as electricity demand rises from data centers. Environmental groups and law professors said the move will increase emissions in a year on track to be the warmest on record.
A UN-backed assessment by UNEP and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition says tackling air pollution and climate change together returns about $15 in economic benefits for every dollar spent. The report lists 25 proven measures and estimates benefits equal to 2.8 percent of global GDP in 2035 and 11.4 percent in 2100. It links outdoor air pollution in 2025 to 6.4 million premature deaths and warns that fragmented decision-making could delay action by almost eight years.
A report from the Environmental Protection Network, a nonprofit staffed by former EPA officials, warns that air pollution from gas-fired plants and diesel generators serving AI data centers could add at least $20 billion a year in US health care costs by 2028. The group cites modelling projecting roughly 600,000 asthma symptom cases and 1,300 premature deaths. More than 1,300 data centers already run in the United States, with over 2,000 more planned. The report lists 30 federal actions it says will raise pollution-related risks.
The Pentagon is again pushing back timelines for cleaning up PFAS contamination at military installations, this time changing schedules at 243 sites. It is the third such delay in a year. Earlier rounds shifted dates at nearly 200 installations, including 15 where the chemicals had reached nearby drinking water, and the New York Times reported some cleanups were postponed by as much as 19 years. A senior defence official said wider investigations and new regulatory standards explain the changes. Lawmakers from both parties have demanded answers.
Four out of five lakes in Turkey have disappeared, according to reporting by BBC Future, as drought and heavy water use drain the country's wetlands. Lakes including Burdur, Egirdir and Beysehir have shrunk or dried out entirely, damaged by over-extraction for industrial agriculture and by illegal wells dug to irrigate fields. About 88 percent of Turkey is at risk of desertification, and the country could face severe drought by 2030. The loss matters beyond Turkey's borders: its wetlands sit on a major migration route between Europe and Africa, and nearly two-thirds of the world's bird species are in decline.
Ecuadorian scientists warn that a stronger-than-normal El Nino could cut the Galapagos Islands' vertebrate population by at least 20% this year. NOAA's latest projection puts sea surface temperatures about 2.2 degrees Celsius, or 4 degrees Fahrenheit, above normal, above the threshold for a very strong event. Warmer water causes plankton, algae and small fish to disappear, the base of the marine food chain. Species at risk include Galapagos penguins, blue-footed boobies, flightless cormorants, albatrosses and sea lions. Heavy rain also favors invasive plants that threaten the islands' remaining Scalesia forests and shoreline cacti. Conservation groups are clearing invasive plants and building seed nurseries.
The U.S. Department of Energy has closed a loan of up to $1.9 billion to help restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa, the state's only nuclear power plant. The plant in Palo shut down in August 2020 after a derecho with winds up to 140 mph damaged its cooling towers. Owner NextEra Energy aims to bring the 615-megawatt plant, which began operating in 1974, back online in 2029 pending Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. The output would power about 500,000 homes. Google signed a 25-year deal in 2025 to buy electricity from the plant for its Iowa data centers. Duane Arnold is one of three major U.S. efforts to restart a shuttered reactor, a first-of-its-kind challenge.