Breaking News Archives - Disasters News

May232025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Two Landslides Devastate Guizhou Province, China – 4 Dead, 17 Missing

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters

A wave of deadly landslides triggered by torrential rains has struck China’s southwestern Guizhou province, killing at least four people and leaving 17 others missing, according to Chinese authorities. The disaster has prompted a large-scale rescue operation involving military personnel and national emergency teams as the region reels under the mounting effects of climate change. The landslides occurred in multiple locations across the province, including Changshi township and Qingyang village. In Changshi alone two people were killed, and several others remain trapped. In Guowa township, 19 residents from eight households were reported missing after homes were buried in debris and mud. As rainfall continues China’s Ministry of Natural Resources has increased the emergency respon...

May232025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Plastic Recycling Industry in EU Faces Existential Crisis as Closures Mount

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

The European Union plastic recycling sector is teetering on the edge of collapse, hit hard by a combination of economic pressures, rising imports, and surging operational costs. With plant closures doubling in 2024 and continuing into 2025, thousands of green jobs are now at risk posing a significant challenge to the EU’s green transition strategy. Sharp Decline in Production Despite €5 Billion Investment Between 2020 and 2023, Plastics Recyclers Europe reports that the sector attracted €5 billion in investments aimed at meeting EU sustainability targets. Yet despite this significant funding, recycling rates have started to drop. The reasons: rising production costs, soaring energy bills, and growing competition from cheap, low-quality imported plastic much of it with questionable e...

May232025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Early Monsoon Onset May Be Strong—But Faces Risk of Stalling Again

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

India is set for an early and seemingly strong onset of the Southwest Monsoon, but weather models and past trends are raising red flags about a possible stall. The emergence of twin cyclonic systems one in the Arabian Sea and another in the Bay of Bengal could disrupt the seasonal rains just as they begin. Monsoon Arriving Early Kerala to See Rains Before June 1 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that the monsoon has already advanced over parts of the southern Arabian Sea, the Maldives, the Bay of Bengal, and Northeast India. According to their May 21 bulletin, conditions are rapidly becoming favorable for the monsoon to reach Kerala between May 24 and May 27 about a week ahead of the June 1 average. Twin Cyclonic Systems Could Disrupt Monsoon Progress Desp...

May232025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Europe Faces €28.3 Billion in Annual Agricultural Losses Due to Climate Change 70% Uninsured: Study

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Fact Check

A new report reveals that climate change is causing direct and escalating damage to Europe’s agriculture, with annual losses averaging €28.3 billion roughly six per cent of the continent’s total agricultural and livestock output. Startlingly, nearly 70 per cent of these climate-related losses are uninsured or uncompensated, leaving farmers financially exposed to disasters like droughts, floods, and hailstorms. Published jointly by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission the report marks the first comprehensive review of agricultural insurance systems across all 27 EU member states. It paints a grim picture: unless rapid reforms are enacted, uninsured losses in European agriculture could rise from 42 per cent to as high as 66 per cent by 2050. Insurance and risk...

May232025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Ice Giant Shatters: World Largest Iceberg A23a Breaks Up Posing Risk to Penguins, Ships and Climate Stability

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

The world’s largest iceberg, A23a is disintegrating into thousands of smaller ice chunks, posing environmental and navigational threats in the Southern Ocean. NASA’s Aqua satellite, using its MODIS instrument, captured striking images of this slow-motion collapse near South Georgia Island, where the iceberg is currently grounded. A23a with a surface area once estimated at 1,200 square miles roughly the size of South Georgia Island has been slowly breaking apart via a process called "edge wasting." Since becoming lodged again in March, the massive sheet has already lost nearly 200 square miles of ice. NASA reports that the largest fragment so far, dubbed A23c, spans around 50 square miles, while many other splintering pieces still stretch over a kilometre across, making them dangerou...

May222025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Supreme Court Seeks Govt Response on Plea Over Heatwave Deaths, Demands Accountability on National Guidelines

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment, Fact Check

Taking serious note of rising fatalities due to heatwave conditions in India, the Supreme Court has asked the central government to respond within two weeks to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that alleges negligence in enforcing existing national guidelines meant to manage and mitigate extreme heat events. The case, brought before a bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih, points to the death of more than 700 people due to heatwave and heat stress in the previous year alone. Filed by environment activist Vikrant Tongad, the petition seeks urgent implementation of nationwide Heat Action Plans (HAPs) in accordance with the guidelines framed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in 2019. The plea has highlighted that despite clear m...

May222025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Heat Risks Surge for Pregnant Women in India Amid Growing Climate Crisis

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

A new global study has revealed a startling rise in dangerously hot days for pregnant women, with India recording some of the sharpest increases over the past five years. The analysis confirms that climate change is significantly contributing to health risks during pregnancy by increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat exposure. Between 2020 and 2024, India experienced an average of six additional "pregnancy heat-risk days" annually that can be directly attributed to climate change. These days are defined as periods when daily maximum temperatures exceed the 95th percentile of historical local records, a threshold associated with increased risks of preterm birth and other adverse health outcomes for both mother and baby. The report, compiled by Climate Central, analyzed ...

May222025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Storm Brews in Arabian Sea as IMD Warns of Heavy Rainfall, Heat Waves and Monsoon Onset

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

New Delhi, May 22 — A low-pressure system is set to form over the east-central Arabian Sea, just off the Karnataka-Goa coast, by the evening of May 21 and could intensify into a depression by May 22, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its latest bulletin. The development is expected to unleash a spell of intense weather across large parts of India. Extremely heavy rainfall has been forecast at isolated places over Konkan & Goa and coastal Karnataka today. From May 21 to 27, Kerala and Karnataka are likely to experience widespread light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph. Western India is also bracing for a turbulent spell. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecast in parts of Madhya Maharashtra from May 21-2...

May222025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

AI Breakthrough Brings Faster, Localized Thunderstorm Forecasts

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Tech

In a major leap for weather forecasting, researchers have successfully trained artificial intelligence to predict localized thunderstorms with remarkable speed and accuracy marking a turning point for emergency preparedness and public safety. Traditionally, AI has been used to generate global-scale weather forecasts, but its effectiveness at smaller scales like predicting individual thunderstorms was limited due to a lack of high-resolution data. That changed when scientists Flora and Potvin trained Google’s powerful neural network, GraphCast, on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Warn-on-Forecast System. The result is WoFSCast an AI model capable of accurately simulating key storm dynamics such as updrafts and cold air pockets. These features play...

May222025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Broken roads, empty plates: How transport failures fuel Africa’s hunger crisis

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Fact Check

In a powerful new report, the World Bank warns that the battle against hunger in Africa is being lost not in the fields, but on the road. The problem isn’t just about growing more food it’s about getting it to where it’s needed. Titled “Transport for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa,” the report sheds light on a broken supply chain that causes 37% of locally produced food to spoil before it reaches consumers. Across the continent, food meant to feed millions is left to rot in trucks stuck at dilapidated ports, jammed at chaotic borders, or delayed on potholed roads. For a region where 58% of people already face food insecurity, such losses are devastating. Supply Chain Strain Compared to Europe, Africa’s food supply chains are four times longer translating into higher transport...