As humans retreat into their homes as more and more countries go under coronavirus lockdown, wild animals are slipping cover to explore the empty streets of some of our biggest cities.

Climate change is imperiling the world's largest animals by increasing the likelihood of fatal collisions between whales and big ships that ply the same waters.

Warming ocean temperatures are causing some species of whales in pursuit of food to stray more frequently into shipping lanes, scientists say.

Italy's air quality has improved since the country went into coronavirus lockdown, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said Wednesday, a trend seen elsewhere in Europe as well.

France's stay-at-home orders to combat the coronavirus outbreak have produced a 20 to 30 percent decline in overall air pollution levels in Paris, according to a report from the region's air quality monitoring agency.

Early one morning in Cairo, volunteers paddle their kayaks across the Nile, fishing out garbage from the mighty waterway that gave birth to Egyptian civilization but now faces multiple threats.

A Buddhist monk scrawls a prayer on an orange face mask beseeching "an end to the suffering" caused by the deadly coronavirus -- a finishing touch to the facial covering weaved out of recycled plastic at one Thai temple.

Gutted factories, rusting pickaxes and crumbling homes that will soon be abandoned dot the scarred hills in Mentougou -- home to Beijing's last coal mine slated to close this year as the city battles choking smog. 

The European Commission insisted Tuesday it would continue work on its green growth initiative despite at least one leader urging them to drop it while the bloc battles coronavirus.

The "European Green Deal" is the flagship climate and economic policy of commission chief Ursula von der Leyen's mandate, but it has already run into fire from some coal-hungry member states.

Air pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles is likely to increase mortality from the novel coronavirus in cities, public health experts told AFP Monday.

Oman will ban single-use plastic bags starting next year as part of efforts to reduce pollution and protect the environment, Muscat announced on Sunday.