Thousands of farmers gathered in the central Netherlands Wednesday to protest against the Dutch government's plans to rein in emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia, driving their tractors across the Netherlands and snarling traffic on major highways.

The protest was organized earlier this month after the government published nationwide targets for reducing emissions, sparking anger from farmers who claim their livelihoods — and those of thousands of people who work in the agricultural service industry — are on the line.

Scientists say climate change is a factor behind the erratic and early rains that triggered unprecedented floods in Bangladesh and northeastern India, killing dozens and making lives miserable for millions of others.

Although the region is no stranger to flooding, it typically takes place later in the year when monsoon rains are well underway.

Major flooding has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in southern China, with more rain expected.

The manufacturing hub of Guangdong suspended classes, office work and public transport amid rising waters and the threat of landslides.

Extended drought conditions in several Mediterranean countries, a heat wave last week that reached northern Germany and high fuel costs for aircraft needed to fight wildfires have heightened concerns across Europe this summer.

And it's only June.

Early and strong monsoon rains have brought heavy flooding to northeastern India and Bangladesh, killing dozens of people, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes and cutting millions off from crucial supplies.

In the particularly hard-hit area of Sylhet in Bangladesh, villagers waded, swam and paddled makeshift rafts or small skiffs to a boat delivering aid that had moored to one shelter, its ground floor covered halfway to the ceiling with water.

As Jason Nez scans rugged mountains, high desert and cliffsides for signs of ancient tools and dwellings unique to the U.S. Southwest, he keeps in mind that they're part of a bigger picture.

And, fire is not new to them.

A United Nations summit on biodiversity will be held in Canada instead of China, organizers announced Tuesday, the second major international event to be moved from China because of its strict anti-coronavirus policies.

The U.N. secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity and China's environment ministry said in separate statements that the meeting will be held in December in Montreal, where the secretariat is based.

Umm Mohammed, 74, waves a fan back and forth to cool down, but in the blistering heat of Iraq's southern city of Basra there is nothing but stiflingly hot air.

While Basra is used to scorching summers, this year it has started sooner than expected, bringing misery to residents in a city also plagued by chronic electricity shortages. 

Hazmat-suited workers poke plastic swabs down millions of throats in China each day, leaving bins bursting with medical waste that has become the environmental and economic levy of a zero-Covid strategy.

World airlines on Monday called on governments to support the industry's goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.