Page 11 - Climate Change

Caribbean seeks help after Hurricane Beryl devastates small islands

Caribbean officials on Friday demanded more access to funding and help in fighting climate change, weeks after Hurricane Beryl devastated the region. The urgent request was made at an OAS meeting in Washington, DC, where officials noted that the historic storm exposed the vulnerability of small islands. Beryl killed at least seven people in the Caribbean and razed nearly all infrastructure on some of the islands that make up Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. (We) are on the front line, said Virginia Albert-Poyotte, the delegate for St. Lucia, who asked that climate financing be made more available and that financial institutions include special disaster clauses. She and others noted that small Caribbean islands often have rickety infrastructure and fragile economies dependent on tourism and fishing. A resolution approved Friday by the OAS stated that previous hurricanes have led to higher insurance premiums, unemployment and poverty. It called for the immediate operation

Hindustan Zinc releases report on nature-related risks, climate change

Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd on Monday said it has released a report that helps in identifying nature-related risks and assists the company in creating sustainable strategies to tackle climate change. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) report outlines nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities and allows for an assessment of the company's direct operations and upstream critical supply chain on nature, it said. It helps in identifying nature-related risks and assists the company in creating sustainable strategies, which is based on the dual approach of mitigating and adapting towards climate change, Hindustan Zinc said in a statement. "The launch of the country's first TNFD report underscores our commitment to responsible nature conservation. We are actively pursuing decarbonization and environment conservation efforts, as evidenced by our nature protection initiatives. By integrating sustainability into every aspect of our ...

A matter of life and death

Climate change will throw at us many such surprises in terms of impact on human health. Even now, this science is not understood

Need to increase green cover to tackle soaring summer heat: Minister Yadav

Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav on Sunday stressed the need to increase green cover to deal with soaring temperatures during summer. The union environment minister joined the ongoing campaign to plant 51 lakh saplings in Indore. Speaking on the occasion, Yadav said humans built concrete cities on the earth but destroyed greenery in the race for development. "This year, we have experienced temperatures soaring to 45 to 50 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country. In the race for development, humans have built concrete cities on earth but destroyed the greenery," he said. The "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" campaign launched under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on World Environment Day on June 5 is about respecting Mother Earth. According to officials, the plantation drive in Indore will end on July 14. Yadav planted a sapling at a programme organised at the Border Security Force (BSF) campus in the Bijasan area under the campaign "Apne Indore Ke Liye, Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" i

North India lost nearly 450 cubic km of groundwater in 2 decades: Study

About 450 cubic kilometres of groundwater was lost in northern India during 2002-2021 and climate change will further accelerate its depletion in the years to come, according to a new study. This is about 37 times the quantity of water the Indira Sagar dam -- India's largest reservoir -- can hold at full capacity, lead author Vimal Mishra, Vikram Sarabhai Chair Professor of Civil Engineering and Earth Sciences at IIT Gandhinagar, said. Using on-site observations, satellite data and models, researchers found that across north India, rainfall in monsoons (June to September) has reduced by 8.5 per cent during 1951-2021. Winters in the region have become warmer by 0.3 degrees Celsius over the same period, they found. The team, comprising researchers from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad, said lesser rainfall during the monsoons and warming of winters will increase irrigation water demand and reduce groundwater recharge, further stressing the already ...

Walmart heir Christy Walton joins Novogratz urging Biden to exit prez race

The business leaders, for their part, appealed to Biden's patriotic side around the nation's Independence Day, invoking the first US president

4% newborn deaths linked to climate change in lower income countries: Study

Over four per cent of newborn deaths are related to high and low temperatures, driven by climate change, according to a research looking at 29 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Of the four per cent, on average, 1.5 per cent of annual newborn deaths across these countries were linked to extreme heat, while nearly three per cent were linked to extreme cold, said researchers who studied the data between 2001-2019. Further, 32 per cent of all heat-related deaths in newborn babies over the period 2001-2019, amounting to more than 1.75 lakh deaths, were attributed to climate change, estimated an international team of researchers, including those from Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany. Climate change was also found to be responsible to lowering the risk of newborn death related to cold temperatures by over 30 per cent, amounting to 4.57 lakh fewer newborn deaths. The findings are published in the journal Nature ...

Gene-edited food: New crops could help us mitigate, adapt to climate change

Scientists used CRISPR-Cas9, a precision gene-editing technique, to create a variety of risotto rice potentially resistant to Pyricularia oryzae, a pathogenic fungus which leads to rice blast disease

Indian banks see climate change as their biggest source of systemic risk

It wasn't until earlier this year that the RBI finally released a draft framework that would require financial institutions to devise and disclose their strategies to mitigate climate-related risk

UN Secy-Gen Antonio Guterres calls for global unity, action at SCO Summit

He urged stronger commitments from developed countries and innovative financing mechanisms to support climate action

Climate change India's prominent concern, says Jaishanakr at SCO summit

Climate change is a prominent concern before the world today and India is working towards achieving committed reduction in emissions and building climate-resilient infrastructure, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday. Jaishankar was delivering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here in the Kazakh capital. Delivered India's statement at the Summit of SCO Council of Heads of States on behalf of PM Shri @narendramodi ji. Thank the leaders present for conveying their best wishes to Prime Minister @narendramodi on his re-election for a third successive term, Jaishankar posted on X along with photos. We are working towards achieving a committed reduction in emissions, including transition to alternate fuels, adoption of electric vehicles, and building climate-resilient infrastructure, he said. In this context, during India's SCO presidency, a Joint Statement on emerging fuels, and a Concept Paper on ...

China warns of hotter, longer heatwaves as avg temperatures hit new highs

Last year, average national temperatures hit a new high, leading to record levels of glacial retreat and melting permafrost in the northwest

Hurricane Beryl strikes Jamaica killing at least 10, causes destruction

Almost 500 Jamaicans were in shelters by Wednesday afternoon, PM Andrew Holness told reporters, urging people in high-risk areas to move

Alaska's icefield melting speeds up, losing snow 5 times faster than 1980s

The melting of Alaska's Juneau icefield, home to more than 1,000 glaciers, is accelerating. The snow covered area is now shrinking 4.6 times faster than it was in the 1980s, according to a new study. Researchers meticulously tracked snow levels in the nearly 1,500-square mile icy expanse going back to 1948 with added data back to the 18th century. It slowly shriveled from its peak size at the end of the Little Ice Age around 1850, but then that melt rate sped up about 10 years ago, according to a study in Tuesday's Nature Communications. What's happening is that as the climate is changing, we're getting shorter winters and longer summers, study lead author Bethan Davies, a glaciologist at Newcastle University in England. We're having more melt, longer melt season. It's melting so fast that the flow of ice into water from now averages about 50,000 gallons every second, according to study co-author Mauri Pelto, a professor of environmental science at Nichols College in Massachusetts.

Climate change cannot be ignored, says CJI, bats for green lifestyle

Flagging recent heatwaves followed by heavy rainfall in Delhi, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday said climate change cannot be ignored and stressed the need to adopt a "green lifestyle" to reduce carbon emissions. The CJI was speaking at a foundation stone-laying ceremony at Karkardooma, Shastri Park and Rohini here for trial court buildings in the capital. "This year, Delhi experienced the hottest-recorded weather. We have experienced two heatwaves followed by record-breaking rain in a single day. Our infrastructure must reflect the reality we live in -- climate change can no longer be ignored. "One crucial step is to incorporate a green lifestyle into our daily lives, which includes reducing carbon emissions. I was delighted to know that the new buildings will focus on heat-island mitigation and reduce environmental footprint," he said. The CJI referred to an 18th-century case, in which one Rama Kamati's servant was subjected to custodial torture to confess

Category 4 hurricane Beryl intensifies in Caribbean, eyeing Jamaica

Beryl was packing winds of up to 155 mph (250 kmh) as of 2400 GMT on Monday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said

How Delhi went from extreme heat to heavy floods; all you need to know

For every degree increase in earth's temperature, the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere can increase by about 7 per cent, according to a Nasa article

Global carbon removal market could touch $100 bn/yr from 2030-35: Report

Demand for credits has begun to increase from sectors as diverse as technology and finance, chemicals and aviation but it's not yet large enough to drive the scale of projects

Climate leaders need better data amid sweltering heat across the world

It's clear that global warming is already having a malign effect on human health and livelihoods. We just need more clarity on how much

Norway starts stockpiling grain, citing pandemic, war & climate change

The Norwegian government on Tuesday signed a deal to start stockpiling grain, saying the COVID-19 pandemic, a war in Europe and climate change have made it necessary. The deal to store 30,000 tons of grain was signed by agriculture and food minister Geir Pollestad and four private companies. The wheat, that will belong to the Norwegian government, will be stored by the companies in facilities across the country. In a statement, Norway's ministry for agriculture and food said the building up of a contingency stock of food grains is about being prepared for the unthinkable." Norway will sign further stockpiling contracts in the coming years, with the goal of building up the reserve until 2029. The aim is to have some 82,500 tons of grain in store by the end of the decade "so that we then have enough grain for three months' consumption by Norway's population in a crisis situation that may arise, Pollestad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. As of the first quarter of this year, Norway has