As Europe started to sizzle Tuesday at the start of a heatwave that could break records, drivers on Germany's famously-speedy motorways were ordered to slow down and fans at the women's World Cup were showered in health warnings.

Scores of people have fallen ill and hundreds of schools have been closed in Malaysia due to toxic fumes believed to have come from a chemical factory, authorities said Tuesday. 

As Europe braces for a heatwave this week, a Dutchman is swimming the route of the country's most famed ice skating race -- which has not been held for two decades as climate change bites.

Pistachios are a staple of the vaunted French aperitif, but the nuts come from thousands of miles away -- a situation a handful of farmers in the southern Provence region hope to change.

With Southeast Asia awash in rubbish, from plastic-choked whales to trash-clogged canals, leaders are planning to push through a deal to fight maritime debris at a regional meeting this weekend. 

Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine stressed Friday the need for dramatic climate action and international support to ensure her people are not left as "sitting ducks" when sea levels inevitably rise.

European Union leaders will push Thursday "to advance work" towards setting a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to a draft resolution.

Greenpeace on Wednesday raised the alarm over microplastics in rivers after finding the pollutant in all the rivers it tested in Britain, calling it a "problem of enormous complexity".

A hungry polar bear has been spotted on the outskirts of the Russian industrial city of Norilsk, hundreds of miles from its natural habitat, authorities said Tuesday. 

Images of the visibly exhausted animal roaming the roads of the Arctic city in search of food have been widely shared on social media in Russia. 

EU leaders will this week discuss setting a target of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, European officials said Monday, following elections that highlighted climate fears.