A record 602 river barriers, including dams, culverts, and sluice gates, were removed across Europe last year to restore natural river flow and revive ecosystems. The initiative, reported by The Guardian citing Dam Removal Europe, reconnected about 2,324 miles of waterways and brought the European Union closer to its goal of restoring 15,500 miles of rivers by 2030. One symbolic project was Iceland’s Melsa River, where an unused dam that once powered a farm was demolished in December, allowing fish to migrate freely again.

Sweden led the list with 173 barriers removed, followed by Finland with 143 and Spain with 109. Iceland and North Macedonia removed barriers for the first time, while the United Kingdom dismantled 35. Most of the removed structures were under two meters high, making the process cost-effective and practical. The effort aligns with the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, effective since 2024, which targets obsolete barriers.

Environmental groups and engineers say the removals are reversing centuries of industrial alteration that caused severe ecological damage, including a 75% decline in freshwater migratory fish since 1970.

Continuous heavy rainfall in Brahmanbaria’s Nabinagar upazila caused the Shyamgram-Salimganj regional road to collapse on Wednesday morning, completely halting communication. The incident has left residents of three unions and parts of neighboring Bancharampur upazila—around one lakh people—facing severe disruption just before Eid. Local officials and residents reported that the road broke apart under water pressure after rainwater failed to drain properly.

Shyamgram Union Parishad Chairman Shamsuzzaman Khan Masum said the collapse occurred due to flawed construction planning. A bridge that once allowed water flow and boat movement through a canal was replaced by a three-foot cement pipe, which blocked drainage. Locals said the road was under a Tk 15 crore reconstruction project scheduled for completion in August 2025, but Tk 9 crore had already been withdrawn by the contractor. The collapse has also cut access to nearby schools, markets, and routes to Dhaka.

District officials confirmed that the upazila administration has been instructed to take immediate action, and repair work has already begun. Residents have urged swift restoration of the road to resume normal travel.

A severe nor'wester storm accompanied by heavy rain caused extensive crop damage in Bhanga upazila of Faridpur on Wednesday morning. The storm, lasting from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., destroyed ripe paddy fields, flattened jute plants, and damaged several mud houses. Fallen trees and broken electric poles blocked roads, leading to significant public suffering until power lines were cleared and electricity restored.

According to local and agricultural office sources, the storm affected multiple unions, leaving waterlogged fields and damaging standing crops. Farmers expressed concern over potential losses, particularly in jute and boro paddy cultivation. In Algi union, a tree fell on the house of Miraj Sheikh, destroying it but sparing the family from serious harm. In Gharua union, a broken electric pole caused further disruption until officials restored normalcy.

Bhanga Upazila Agriculture Officer Molla Al Mamun reported that about 10 hectares of jute fields were cultivated this season, with some plants bent by the storm. He expressed optimism that the jute would recover once sunlight returns.

Authorities in Shahrasti upazila of Chandpur have canceled the leave of rural electricity field workers to restore power lines damaged by a sudden storm on Wednesday morning. The Deputy General Manager of the Shahrasti zonal office, Nizam Uddin Shams, confirmed that the General Manager of Chandpur Palli Bidyut directed all field workers on Eid leave to return to duty immediately. Messages have been sent to all concerned employees to ensure quick restoration work.

The storm caused extensive damage across the upazila, uprooting trees and snapping power lines at more than 50 locations. Several electric poles were also broken, according to the rural electricity authority. Power supply across the upazila has remained suspended since 9 a.m. following the storm.

Officials indicated that electricity supply is expected to be restored in several areas by night as repair operations continue under emergency arrangements.

Rangpur City Corporation Administrator Advocate Mahfuz Un-Nabi Chowdhury Don has announced that waste from sacrificial animals will be cleared within eight hours on Eid day. Speaking to reporters after inspecting the Rangpur Collectorate Eidgah on Wednesday afternoon, he urged residents to slaughter animals only at designated sites. The city has arranged 66 slaughtering points across 33 wards and launched awareness campaigns to discourage slaughtering in open spaces or on roads.

The administrator said that water supply, service facilities, imams, muazzins, and butchers have been arranged at the designated sites. Bleaching powder will be used to prevent odors after slaughtering. He also requested residents not to dump animal waste into city drains such as Shyamasundari and KD canals, but instead to use dustbins for proper disposal. The waste removal operation will be inaugurated at 2 p.m. on Eid day in front of the city building.

A total of 1,069 sanitation workers divided into three zones will carry out the cleanup using trolleys, rickshaw vans, and trucks. Citizens can contact hotline number 01733390150 for waste management assistance.

On May 27, 2026, severe traffic congestion and rain caused major disruption at the Aricha and Paturia ferry terminals in Manikganj, as thousands of passengers attempted to cross the river ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. Ferry operations on the Aricha-Kazirhat and Paturia-Daulatdia routes were temporarily halted for an hour due to strong winds and rain. One of the five ferries on the Aricha-Kazirhat route, the Ro-Ro ferry Shah Ali, remained under repair after a mechanical failure, further reducing capacity.

Despite official restrictions on goods trucks during the Eid period, stone and cement-laden trucks were seen using the route, worsening the congestion. Many passengers walked several kilometers in the rain to reach the terminals, while others waited hours to board ferries. The traffic situation extended for about two kilometers around both terminals, with vehicles parked haphazardly along the Dhaka-Aricha highway.

Officials from BIWTC reported that hundreds of vehicles were waiting to cross, and they expected the situation to improve by evening as additional ferries were deployed to handle the increased load caused by congestion on the Jamuna Bridge route.

The Dead Sea, located at the junction of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, is shrinking at an alarming rate. Over the past five decades, its surface area has contracted by nearly one-third, with water levels dropping about four feet annually. The decline has caused thousands of sinkholes to form along the coast, forcing the closure of popular resorts such as Ein Gedi and threatening local tourism and businesses.

Experts attribute the crisis to water diversion from the Jordan River and industrial mineral extraction. The river, which once supplied 1.3 billion cubic meters of water annually, now contributes only about 100 million. Since the late 1970s, the Dead Sea has split into two basins, with the southern part maintained artificially for industrial evaporation ponds. Companies from Israel and Jordan pump water from the northern basin to extract potash and magnesium.

Efforts to save the Dead Sea have stalled due to political disputes, high costs, and lack of regional cooperation. A 2013 plan to pipe water from the Red Sea remains suspended over environmental and financial concerns. Environmental groups urge focusing on stabilizing the decline rather than full restoration.

The Department of Environment (DoE) in Chattogram stopped illegal hill cutting in the Chandranagar Green Valley-2 residential area under Bayezid Bostami Police Station during the Eid holidays. An enforcement team from the DoE’s Chattogram Metropolitan Office conducted an operation on Wednesday morning, immediately halting the activity and issuing a hearing notice to landowner Babul Banik, who was allegedly involved in the incident.

According to DoE sources, the group had been using the holiday period to cut hills in the area. Local residents informed the enforcement team that the base of the hill had already been removed, posing environmental risks. Upon verification, the team confirmed the illegal activity and imposed an immediate ban on further cutting.

Assistant Director Muktadir Hasan of the DoE stated that the group had completed preparations for hill cutting, including hiring workers and bringing equipment. He added that two previous cases had already been filed in court against 35 individuals for similar offenses in the same hill area, with one charge sheet submitted and another under process.

Residents of Sherpur’s Sreebardi and Jhenaigati upazilas have been facing severe hardship after more than 36 hours without electricity. The outage began on Monday night during a storm and rain, and the Palli Bidyut Samiti has not yet restored power. Locals reported that electricity is available for only short periods, with frequent interruptions lasting up to two hours.

Rickshaw and van drivers said the outage has severely affected their income during the busy pre-Eid period, leaving them unable to meet household expenses. Shopkeepers and small business owners reported losses as they cannot operate electrical equipment, and perishable goods are spoiling due to lack of refrigeration. Production in small industries and rice mills has also been disrupted.

According to Sreebardi Palli Bidyut zonal office engineer Surya Narayan Bhowmik, fallen tree branches caused line faults in several areas, and a power transformer in Jhenaigati was damaged. Repair work is ongoing, and power restoration may occur by evening.

A severe early summer heatwave has swept across much of Western Europe, causing seven deaths in France and setting new May temperature records in several countries. According to Meteo France, Monday and Tuesday were the hottest May days ever recorded in the country, with temperatures expected to reach up to 39 degrees Celsius this week. Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon confirmed that seven people had died from causes directly or indirectly linked to the heat, five of them by drowning.

The heatwave, driven by a high-pressure system trapping warm air over Western Europe, also brought record temperatures to the United Kingdom, where London reached 35 degrees Celsius. Spain’s weather agency Aemet reported that temperatures between 36 and 38 degrees Celsius could persist until Friday, while some areas may hit 40 degrees. In Italy’s Lazio region, authorities restricted outdoor work during peak heat hours. France issued orange and yellow alerts in 42 departments, marking the first time such warnings were activated in May since 2004.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has called a ministerial meeting on Thursday to review government preparedness for the ongoing heatwave.

Continuous heavy rainfall over the past three days has severely disrupted daily life across Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka. The unseasonal downpour ahead of Eid-ul-Azha has caused widespread waterlogging in low-lying areas, halting normal activities and creating severe difficulties for people traveling home for the holidays and for livestock markets preparing for the festival.

According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, rainfall in Dhaka reached 57 millimeters on Monday evening, 68 millimeters on Tuesday, and 42 millimeters in the 24 hours ending Wednesday morning. The department forecast that rain and thunderstorms will continue in many regions, including Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. A low-pressure area may also form over the east-central Bay of Bengal within the next five days.

Meteorologist Tariful Newaz Kabir stated that light to moderate rain is expected to persist in Dhaka for the next three days, including on Eid morning, with moderate to heavy rainfall continuing in several divisions.

Ferry operations on the Paturia-Daulatdia river route in Manikganj resumed after being suspended for about an hour on Wednesday morning. Services were halted around 7:10 a.m. when heavy rain, strong winds, and a storm made navigation unsafe. Authorities temporarily stopped all ferry movements to ensure the safety of passengers and vehicles traveling home for Eid. The suspension caused temporary suffering for travelers and transport operators.

According to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), ferry services restarted around 8:00 a.m. after weather conditions improved. BIWTC’s Aricha office confirmed that operations have returned to normal. Currently, 15 ferries of various sizes are operating on the route, and vehicles that were stranded at the terminals are gradually crossing the river.

The restoration of ferry movement has eased congestion at the terminals, allowing passengers and vehicles to continue their journeys safely and smoothly.

A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan’s Punjab province and the capital Islamabad on Tuesday evening, killing one person and injuring eleven others. The tremor caused significant damage to several houses in Pind Dadan Khan tehsil of Jhelum district. According to Jhelum Deputy Commissioner Mir Reza Ozgen, a 13-year-old boy died when a house collapsed in the Jalalpur Sharif area.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department reported that the earthquake occurred at 7:06 p.m. local time, with a depth of 12 kilometers. Its epicenter was located about 58 kilometers southwest of Jhelum. The department confirmed the magnitude and location in an official bulletin released after the event.

Authorities have not yet provided further details on rescue operations or the extent of property damage, but local reports indicate that several homes were severely affected in the impacted areas.

Jamaat-backed mayoral candidate for Dhaka North City Corporation, Mohammad Selim Uddin, announced the formation of a special team to ensure the quick removal of sacrificial animal waste during Eid. He made the announcement on Tuesday, May 26, while inaugurating a special service booth at the Tejgaon cattle market in the capital.

Selim Uddin urged city residents to dispose of animal waste only in designated areas, emphasizing that maintaining cleanliness is a shared civic responsibility, not just the duty of government authorities. He highlighted that cleanliness is an integral part of faith, alongside the religious practice of sacrifice, and called on everyone to play an active role in keeping the city clean during the festival.

During the event, special waste bags were distributed among visitors to raise awareness about proper waste disposal. Selim Uddin also mentioned that similar service booths have been set up at other cattle markets across Dhaka, including Aftabnagar and Gabtoli.

A mild earthquake was felt across several parts of Bangladesh, including Dhaka, on Tuesday at 11:41 a.m., originating near Bhaluka in Mymensingh. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department reported a magnitude of 3.4 on the Richter scale, describing it as a low-intensity tremor. The director of the Earthquake Observation and Research Center said such minor quakes occur frequently worldwide and are not a cause for concern.

However, leading seismologists disagreed, warning that frequent minor tremors may signal an impending major earthquake. A recent study by Jahangirnagar University researchers also indicated that Bangladesh faces a high risk of a severe quake. BUET professor Dr. Mehedi Ahmed Ansari cautioned that the country has not experienced a major quake in 100–150 years, urging the government to take immediate preventive measures, including structural assessments and retrofitting of buildings.

Experts noted that Bangladesh lies at the junction of three tectonic plates, with significant underground pressure accumulating. They warned that Dhaka’s dense, poorly planned infrastructure could turn the city into a disaster zone if a major quake strikes.