June 2024 - Page 2 of 7 - Disasters News

Jun242024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Union Home Minister Amit Shah Chairs High-Level Meeting on Flood Preparedness and Management

Union Home Minister Amit Shah convened a high-level meeting on Sunday to evaluate the nation's preparedness for flood management and to develop long-term strategies to mitigate the recurring menace of floods in India. The session focused on reviewing previous actions and integrating new technologies for improved flood management. During the meeting, Shah assessed the progress made on the decisions from a similar meeting held last year. He examined the adoption of new technologies by various agencies and the expansion of their networks for flood management. Emphasizing the importance of innovation, Shah highlighted the need for the optimal use of satellite imagery from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to enhance flood and water management efforts. The home minister review...

Jun232024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

India Approves New Inter-State Transmission System to Boost Renewable Energy Evacuation from Rajasthan and Karnataka

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

In a significant move to bolster its renewable energy infrastructure, the Government of India has greenlit the implementation of a new Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) designed to evacuate a substantial 9 GW of electricity from the states of Rajasthan and Karnataka. This ambitious project, which falls under the Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) regime, is a crucial part of India's overarching goal to establish 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, with 200 GW already operational. The approved scheme aims to enhance the country's renewable energy capabilities by facilitating the efficient transfer of power from areas rich in renewable resources to regions with high demand. The initiative underscores India's commitment to sustainable development and its efforts to mitig...

Jun232024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

WHO introduces One Health ‘One World’ is a shared Agenda for globe, Even as Negotiators Wrangle Over Inclusion in WHO Pandemic Accord

Breaking News, Disasters, Idea & Innovations

As the debate over the World Health Organization’s (WHO) pandemic accord intensifies, the concept of One Health a holistic approach to health that integrates human, animal, and environmental health is at the forefront of discussions. Despite resistance from some negotiators, the principle of One Health is crucial for preventing future pandemics, according to experts gathered at a recent event hosted by the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Global Health Center. During the World Health Assembly (WHA), negotiators were given a mandate to continue discussions on the pandemic accord, aiming for a conclusion by the 2025 WHA. The inclusion of One Health principles, particularly in Article 5 of the draft text, has sparked opposition from several low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and some civi...

Jun222024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Breakthrough in Stone Tool Complexity Suggests Sudden Hominin Knowledge Surge 600,000 Years Ago

Breaking News, Idea & Innovations

A recent study by anthropologists from the University of Missouri and Arizona State University reveals a significant leap in stone tool complexity around 600,000 years ago, suggesting a sudden increase in hominin knowledge. This development may help explain how modern humans and our ancestors became highly proficient at adapting to new environments. University of Missouri anthropologist Jonathan Paige and Arizona State University anthropologist Charles Perreault, who authored the study, propose that this leap in tool-making sophistication could potentially predate the divergence of Neanderthals and modern humans, indicating a shared feature of both lineages. Analyzing stone tool manufacturing techniques across 3.3 million years of human evolution, the researchers ranked 62 tool-makin...

Jun222024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

AI to Forecast Toxic “Blue-Green Tides”: A Breakthrough in Battling Harmful Algal Blooms

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

A team of scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory is leveraging artificial intelligence to forecast toxic algal blooms, known as harmful algal blooms (HABs), which have become increasingly common due to climate change and rising water temperatures. These blooms, which have now been reported in all 50 U.S. states, pose a significant threat to water bodies by closing beaches and lakes, killing aquatic life, and causing billions in economic damage. "Harmful algal blooms are appearing in areas where, historically, they were never present," said Babetta Marrone, the project's lead scientist. The complexity of the ecosystems causing these blooms, combined with dispersed data across various databases, presents a unique opportunity for AI to aid in understanding and predicting these events...

Jun222024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

World Risk Poll Reveals Global Disparities in Resilience Amidst Increasing Climate Threats

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters

The latest World Risk Poll resilience report by Lloyd’s Register Foundation has uncovered stark disparities in how different regions and demographics are coping with an increasingly turbulent world shaped by climate change and technological advancements. Surveying perceptions of risk across 142 countries, the report provides critical insights into how individual concerns, fears, and hopes vary across social groups and contexts. The 2023 data shows that 30% of people worldwide have personally experienced a natural hazard-related disaster in the past five years, up from 27% in 2021. This rising trend underscores the urgent need for improved disaster preparedness and resilience strategies globally. Key Findings The most vulnerable groups, including those over 50, the unemployed, and ...

Jun222024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Extreme Heatwave Claims Over 100 Lives in Mexico as Climate Change Intensifies

Breaking News, Climate Actions

An unprecedented and relentless heatwave, exacerbated by climate change, has gripped southwestern parts of the United States, Mexico, and northern Central America, leading to over 100 fatalities in Mexico alone. This extreme heat event, driven by a persistent high-pressure system known as a heat dome, has shattered daytime and nighttime temperature records across the region, including Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and the southwestern United States. The heat dome phenomenon, which traps hot air near the ground and intensifies under clear skies and sunshine, has resulted in severe and widespread impacts. Mexico has reported 125 heat-related deaths since March, with the ongoing drought conditions further aggravating the situation. The drought has not only reduced water availability but als...

Jun212024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

WMO Report Highlights Urgent Need for Enhanced Hydrometeorological Services in Vulnerable Nations

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a founding member of the Alliance for Hydromet Development, has released the 2024 Hydromet Gap Report, revealing critical deficiencies in hydrometeorological services (hydromet) across Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The report, launched during the 8th SOFF Steering Committee meeting, underscores the severe impact of these gaps on climate adaptation and resilience efforts, with significant implications for sustainable development and disaster preparedness. Key Findings The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the state of hydromet services in 20 countries, highlighting the following critical gaps: Weak Observational Infrastructure: Many National Meteorological and Hydrological Service...

Jun212024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Scientists claims record storm surges to help predict future flooding

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Idea & Innovations

Southampton, UK: Researchers at the University of Southampton have conducted the most comprehensive spatial analysis to date of storm surges along the UK and Ireland's coastlines. The findings, published in the June edition of the journal Weather and Climate Extremes, reveal significant regional variations in the intensity and duration of storm surges, with the north of the Irish Sea experiencing the longest and largest surges, while the southwest coast of England sees the shortest and smallest surges. Over a period spanning four decades, the winter seasons of 1989/90 and 2013/14 emerged as the periods with the highest number and most severe storm surge events. These findings were derived from data collected between 1980 and 2017, highlighting 270 extreme storm surge events based on the...

Jun202024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Climate Change Poses Significant Risks to Wind Power, Threatening Global Energy Security

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Climate change is set to have profound effects on wind power, a crucial component of the global energy mix. With around 1 terawatt of installed wind power capacity worldwide, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of the Netherlands, this figure is expected to double by 2030. Despite this growth, it still falls short of net-zero targets. Wind power already plays a significant role in many regions, with the UK deriving 29% of its electricity from wind in 2023 and the EU 18%. However, the future of wind power is uncertain as climate change alters wind patterns, intensifies storms, increases lightning strikes, and subjects equipment to extreme heat, potentially shortening the lifespan of turbines and increasing downtime. In the second half of 2021, Northwestern Europe experien...