Australian authorities issued fresh flood warnings and evacuation orders on Tuesday as torrential rains again pummelled several parts of the country, sweeping away homes, roads and livestock in the worst downpour in more than half a century.

At Ken Anderson's orchard near the banks of the Hawkesbury River in the outer Sydney suburb of Sackville, another few inches of flood water could spell the end for much of this season's orange and mandarin harvest - and possibly the trees as well.

Researchers wearing headlamps and protective suits race to untangle the claws and wings of bats caught up in a big net after dark in the Philippine province of Laguna.

Representatives from the oil and gas industry and national climate adviser Gina McCarthy struck a cooperative tone following a meeting on Monday where the two sides discussed how companies can align with the Biden administration's ambitious climate goals.

U.S. coal, natural gas and motor fuel producers get implicit benefits worth tens of billion of dollars a year by not having to pay for the damage their products do to the climate and human health, a study said on Monday.

For millions of Americans, this May will be an extra noisy month. A once-every-17 year hatch of periodic cicadas is set to occur across parts of the eastern United States - and it is expected to be big.

The 15 largest listed fashion companies are lagging behind when it comes to meeting the social and environmental targets of the Paris climate agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals, a new report by the Business of Fashion said on Monday.

Spain on Monday ordered the slaughter of 1,610 cattle which have been stuck aboard the Elbeik livestock ship since December, just weeks after hundreds of cattle on another vessel met a similar fate.

Large parts of Europe could experience warmer than normal temperatures from April to June, the Weather Company said in an outlook on Monday.

Australia was set on Monday to evacuate thousands more people from suburbs in Sydney's west, battered by the worst flooding in 60 years, with torrential rains expected to continue for another day or two.