Are we running out of water?

The mud volcano in Pakistan’s Hingol National Park is considered sacred by many Hindus

The fossa is Madagascar’s largest carnivore. Today it is at the verge of extinction

Why pizza is more important to people in Gothenburg than the NATO accession negotiations

In Katowice, rain evaporated above heated tar, filling the air with caramel sweetness, a mixture of freshness and dirt

Ahmed Soura lost his family in Burkina Faso and suffered racism in Europe. When he danced to Händel’s “Messiah” in Berlin, he understood: those who really want to be free must redeem themselves

Melting glaciers, rising sea levels: scientist Aditi Mukherji explains why it is high time we change how we deal with water. A conversation

Corrupt authorities and violence bring the people of Lake Victoria to the brink of ruin

The ocean doesn’t care about skin colour or origin: A surfer’s life in South Africa

How does it feel to jump into a lake of melted snow in the South American summer?

Wild horses, oil-smeared birds: Zoe Lucas recounts fifty years of life as a female explorer on a lonely Canadian island. A conversation

A woman is sitting alone on a bench on a shore in spring, waiting for her lover. A tale about a secret place by the water

Three new works of short fiction

More than any other element, water is charged with meaning in many societies and religions. These beliefs and practices continue to shape people’s day-to-day around the globe. An overview

The French island of Martinique is under attack from rotting Sargasso algae and the toxic gases it releases

In the Andes, water is a scarce resource. But gold mines in the region require enormous amounts of water and pollute their environment. Their owners do not seem to care

Kazakh ecologist Zauresh Alimbetova is fighting to save what was once the world's fourth largest lake. A nature reserve is now flourishing in the dried-up zone. A conversation

Droughts, forest fires, floods: humanity is quietly heading for a climate crisis. With his photo series on water, Mustafah Abdulaziz holds a mirror up to what’s happening. A conversation

Drinking, washing, cooking: Every person needs at least fifty to a hundred litres of clean water a day, according to the WHO. But today some 2.2 billion people lack direct access to drinking water. It’s high time for innovative solutions like these examples

New Zealand is struggling with bursting sewage pipes and contaminated drinking water. Now the indigenous population is to collaborate on solutions

Climate change presents us with unprecedented challenges. The Indian historian Dipesh Chakrabarty calls for a change of perspective and in the process rediscovers human history

How to write about genocide: Scholastique Mukasonga reflects on her mother’s story to chart Rwanda’s troubled history.

Born in the Indian city of Chandigarh, fruit picker Jasbir Singh, 34, has been picking berries in Alentejo for five years. Soon he could apply for Portuguese citizenship. A conversation

UNESCO's World Heritage Convention turns 50 this year. There's plenty of cause for celebration but also for concern amid loud calls for reform.

In the light of the Ukraine war, Europe needs to allow new countries to join and also strengthen its cultural policy. After all, the European Union is first and foremost a cultural project

Billionaires like Elon Musk dream of travelling to far-flung planets. But is that even an option? A conversation about striking a work-life balance on Mars and concerns about cosmic colonialism

Giving people equal opportunities sounds like a no-brainer. But the common-sense idea is not properly put into practice today, argues Spanish sociologist César Rendueles