News of increased desertification has made headlines. Yet this process is not well understood.

Since I was a kid, about three decades ago, I’ve been interested in everything that had to do with books, music, newspapers, magazines, science and technology gadgets.

Water from underground pipes often leaks. Particularly, in countries with an antiquated underground waterpipe infrastructure. In the case of Greece, for example, leaks are estimated to constitute up to 50% of total consumption.

A solution is much needed to fight droughts and preserve crops. Researchers have now developed a device capable of checking the humidity in the soil, and releasing irrigation water as needed – just enough without wasting it .

Flash floods are very localised weather events. They are mostly triggered by heavy rainfall. Typically, over a period of less than 12 hours. They occur very infrequently at any one place.

The village of Olympos , located near the ancient city of Rhodiapolis, in the Antalya region of Turkey, escaped a wild fire, on 2 September 2012.

Following the 2006 ban on sturgeon fishing, the Romanian town of Sfantu Gheorghe, located at the mouth of the Danube river, turned to other income source to replace its fishing based economy.

We can blame all sorts of things on the weather. But a stomach bug?  It seems unlikely. Yet, scientists say greater quantities of rainfall and bigger storms will lead to more stomach upsets in parts of Europe.

Freshwater ecosystems, already under stress from land-use change and pollution, now face additional pressures from climate change, directly and through interaction with other drivers.

Fire brigades will soon have access to a safety system which is able to accurately detect and locate people that may be trapped in debris after, for example, an earthquake.

The world’s future musicians may soon make their first steps in the music industry with the help of a computer. IMUTUS software teaches, listens to and assesses the performances of beginners and intermediate musicians.

At the Ellinogermaniki Agogi School, near Athens, new technology is revolutionising the teaching of science. The European ‘Lab of Tomorrow’ project aims to increase the number of students choosing a scientific career path.

The front door opens to welcome visitors. The oven bakes a pizza and the washing machine starts by itself. You are in a smart house, where the Internet is a butler.

Nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are  a double-edged sword . As key components of fertilizers, they are  essential for life on Earth, but become a threat to human health and the environment when they are in excess and run off into water courses and wastewater.

Bulgaria has not had the most auspicious of years in terms of its commitment to a green transition. In January 2023, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to backtrack on plans for an early phase-out of coal-fired power plants.

When we throw a plastic bottle in the right waste container, we feel virtuous because we have done our part for the environment. However, we cannot imagine the huge effort that will be needed to ensure that our bottle is effectively recycled.

Each year over 3.5 million tourists from all over the world visit Pompeii to admire the ruins left by the eruption of the Vesuvius that, in 79 AD, engulfed it together with the nearby city of Herculaneum.

The Mediterranean Sea hides countless sunken ships, submerged Roman villas and ancient treasures: an underwater cultural heritage which is documented, but virtually unreachable for the large public and difficult to access even for expert scuba divers.

Tourism has rebounded strongly after Covid, with international arrivals to Europe in January-July 2022 up 190% on the year before, getting close to 2019 levels (74% of that year, according to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer ).

Minerals are an indispensable part of modern life, but their extraction and use has shadowed the development of human society for thousands of years.