May 2025 - Page 11 of 14 - Disasters News

May72025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Pikine Launches Parametric Flood Insurance to Boost Climate Resilience

Pikine Senegal second-largest city with a population of 874,000 is taking a bold step toward climate resilience with the launch of a new index-based flood insurance scheme aimed at protecting its most vulnerable communities from the increasing threat of seasonal flooding. Located near the Senegal River estuary and composed of 12 densely populated communes, Pikine is highly exposed to flood risks especially during the rainy season from August to December. The city’s flood vulnerability has worsened due to a combination of deteriorating vegetation cover, failing drainage systems, and a rising groundwater table linked to decreased water extraction from the Thiaroye aquifer. To address this growing crisis, the InsuResilience Solutions Fund (ISF) has partnered with an international co...

May72025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

India Strikes Back with Operation Sindoor: Nine Terror Sites in Pakistan, PoK Hit After Pahalgam attack

Breaking News

In a precise and calculated counter-terrorism operation, India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, striking nine terrorist infrastructure sites located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). The operation was launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed. According to the Ministry of Defence, the action was measured, focused, and non-escalatory, carefully avoiding Pakistani military facilities and not harming any civilian. It marks a firm step in India's commitment to bring those behind terrorist attacks to justice, while avoiding full-scale military escalation. A focused retaliation under prime ministerial supervision Under the close watch of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Operation Sind...

May62025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

14 Dead in Gujarat as Thunderstorms, Winds, and Lightning Wreak Havoc

Breaking News, Disasters, Environment

Unseasonal thunderstorms with powerful winds and lightning have claimed at least 14 lives across Gujarat, leaving many injured and causing widespread destruction. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast continued thunderstorms with lightning and wind speeds reaching up to 50-60 km/h over the next few days. State-Wide Impact: Rainfall in 168 Talukas According to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), 168 out of Gujarat’s 253 talukas received unseasonal rainfall in the past 24 hours. Districts like Kheda, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, and Vadodara recorded 25 to 40 mm of rain, triggering sudden temperature drops and damage to infrastructure. Storm Claims Lives Across Multiple Districts The SEOC reported 13 deaths on Monday alone due to rain-related incidents, includ...

May62025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Urban Climate Crisis Fuelling Asthma Surge: Pulmonologists Warn on World Asthma Day 2025

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

World Asthma Day 2025, observed on May 6, highlights a growing health concern the increasing prevalence of asthma, especially in urban regions grappling with climate change and pollution. Doctors and pulmonologists are raising alarms about how worsening environmental conditions are directly contributing to this chronic respiratory illness. Urban Heat Islands and Respiratory Strain In cities, daily temperature fluctuations are becoming more extreme a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. During the day, concrete structures and lack of greenery trap heat, pushing temperatures above 30°C, only for the nights to cool down quickly. This irregular temperature swing severely affects human respiratory systems, particularly in densely populated zones where air circulation is p...

May62025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

More Trees, Fewer Deaths: Study Finds Urban Greening Could Save Over 1 Million Lives

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Fact Check, Learning & Developments

A landmark global study has revealed that increasing vegetation in cities by just 30% could have prevented over one-third of all heat-related deaths between 2000 and 2019 potentially saving 1.16 million lives worldwide. The research led by Monash University Professor Yuming Guo and published in The Lancet Planetary Health provides the most detailed modeling to date of how urban greenery can cool cities and save lives. Greener Cities, Cooler Summers, Fewer Deaths The study analyzed data from 11,534 urban areas, showing that a 10%, 20%, and 30% increase in vegetation would have lowered the global population-weighted warm-season mean temperature by 0.08°C, 0.14°C, and 0.19°C, respectively. These seemingly small changes in temperature could have reduced heat-related deaths by: 0.86 ...

May62025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Canada Faces a Dual Climate Crisis: Wildfire Smoke and Extreme Heat Threaten Public Health

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

As climate change intensifies, Canadians are increasingly being forced to cope with the combined threat of extreme heat and wildfire smoke two environmental hazards that not only overlap during the hottest months of the year, but also amplify each other’s impacts on health. From the devastating 2023 wildfire season to the deadly 2021 heat dome, recent events have shown that these climate risks are no longer isolated. Now, they’re occurring together more frequently, more intensely, and with serious health consequences. More Than Just Smoke or Heat: The Rising Danger of Combined Exposure While there’s robust scientific evidence linking wildfire smoke to hospitalizations for lung and heart conditions and heat waves to deadly strokes and cardiovascular stress most research has looked...

May62025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

As Seas Rise Farmers Face a Choice: Stay, Adapt or Move Global DYNAMO-M Model Reveals Future of Coastal Agriculture

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Learning & Developments

A groundbreaking new model developed by researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam could change how we understand and respond to the unfolding crisis of coastal agriculture under sea level rise. Dubbed DYNAMO-M, the global agent-based model simulates not just the physical impact of climate change but the personal decisions millions of farmers may be forced to make as the waters rise: stay and adapt, or leave everything behind. 13 Million Farming Households on the Frontlines of Sea-Level Rise Presented at the EGU General Assembly 2025 in Vienna, DYNAMO-M offers one of the first comprehensive looks at how 13 million coastal farming households around the world might react to increasing threats from flooding and saltwater intrusion between 2020 and 2080. Unlike traditional models...

May52025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Heat, Health & Superbugs: Climate Crisis Could Drive Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surge, Study Warns

Breaking News, Fact Check, Learning & Developments

A major international study led by Chinese researchers has found that unchecked climate change could significantly worsen the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), potentially raising global AMR levels by more than 2% by 2050. The burden, the study warns will fall hardest on low- and middle-income countries already grappling with poor healthcare access and fragile infrastructure. The research was conducted by a team from Peking University, using data from more than 32 million bacterial samples collected across 101 countries between 1999 and 2022. It focused on six priority drug-resistant pathogens, including carbapenem-resistant strains of E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria known to cause deadly infections that are increasingly untreatable wi...

May52025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

IMD Warns of Heat, Storms & Rain Across States from May 3–9

Breaking News, Climate Actions

Hot & Humid Spell Over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted intense hot and humid conditions over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal on May 3, 2025. With temperature and moisture levels set to rise, residents are advised to stay indoors during peak hours and hydrate frequently to avoid heat-related illnesses. Southern India Braces for Thunderstorms, Rain & Hail South Peninsular India will see widespread weather activity over the next seven days. Light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and strong winds (30–40 km/h, gusting to 50 km/h) is expected over Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Mahe, and Yanam. Isolated hailstorms are also likely ...

May52025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

IIT Roorkee Designs India’s First Personalised Heat Risk Alert System

Breaking News, Learning & Developments

In a significant step toward combating the rising health threats of extreme heat, Indian scientists at IIT Roorkee have developed a personalised early warning system (EWS) that forecasts individual heat stress risks every five days, blending weather data with personal health, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Unlike existing heatwave alerts that issue blanket warnings, this prototype assigns customised risk scores green (low), yellow (medium), and red (high) based on inputs like age, BMI, income, pre-existing health conditions, occupation, sleep habits, access to cooling, and transport options. Developed by researcher Kshitij Kacker and guided by faculty Mahua Mukherjee and Piyush Srivastava, the model currently operates in Delhi but is designed to be scaled nationally through a...