Climate Actions Archives - Page 71 of 79

Jun202024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Climate Change Poses Growing Threat to Maternal and Infant Health, New Research Finds

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Learning & Developments

Climate change, one of the most pressing health threats facing humanity, is now being linked to long-term adverse health and socioeconomic effects on children born during periods of extreme heat. A systematic review of existing research has revealed alarming connections between rising temperatures and poor health outcomes for both mothers and their babies, prompting urgent calls for action. Rising Temperatures and Health Risks The new study highlights that global warming, an integral aspect of climate change, is exacerbating health issues, particularly among vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children. Previous research has already established that heat exposure during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, congenital abnormalities, gestational hypert...

Jun192024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Scientists Warn: Climate Change Could Bring Deadly Heat and Humidity to More Regions

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Learning & Developments

Recent weather patterns have brought extreme heat to many parts of the world, but in most inhabited regions, it typically doesn't become "too hot for people to live," especially in dry climates. In these areas, our bodies can usually cool off through the evaporation of sweat. However, in regions where hot deserts meet warm oceans, dangerous heat and humidity can combine, posing serious health risks. Regions like the Middle East, Pakistan, and India frequently experience deadly combinations of heat and humidity during summer heat waves. The humid air from nearby seas hampers sweat evaporation, preventing our bodies from cooling effectively. Hundreds of millions of people in these areas lack access to air conditioning, making the situation even more dire. Wet Bulb Temperatures and Thei...

Jun182024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Water Shortages Feared as Hindu Kush Himalaya Records Second-Lowest Snow Persistence on Record, Warns ICIMOD Report

Breaking News, Climate Actions

Snow persistence, the fraction of time snow remains on the ground, is significantly lower than normal in the Hindu Kush Himalaya this year, with serious implications for downstream communities’ water security. Leading experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), which publishes the annual Snow Update Report, warn water management officials to initiate drought management strategies and pre-emptive emergency water supply measures. The report reveals that snowmelt, a critical source of water, contributes approximately 23% of the total water flow to 12 major river basins originating in the HKH region. However, its contribution varies significantly among rivers: the Amu Darya receives 74% of its flow from snowmelt, the Helmand 77%, and the Indus 40%. ...

Jun172024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Nepal’s Wildfires Intensify: Over 5,000 Blazes Recorded in 2024 Amidst Climate Change and Forest Mismanagement Concerns

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters

Nepal is grappling with an alarming increase in the frequency and intensity of wildfires, with nearly 5,000 incidents recorded this year alone. This makes 2024 the second-worst year for wildfires since records began in 2002, surpassed only by the devastating fire season of 2021, which saw over 6,300 outbreaks. In the past 12 months, more than 100 people have lost their lives due to wildfires, and the capital city, Kathmandu, was shrouded in hazardous wildfire smog for days on end. Climate models predict that Nepal will continue to experience more frequent drought conditions in the future, likely exacerbating the wildfire situation. However, forest scientists suggest that the increasing incidence of wildfires is not solely due to climate change. They point to changes in Nepalese communit...

Jun172024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Crores of Premature Deaths Linked to Air Pollution in India Over Four Decades

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

A comprehensive study led by researchers from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has revealed that air pollution from fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been linked to approximately 2.61 crore premature deaths in India between 1980 and 2020. This makes it one of the most extensive studies on air quality and climate, utilizing 40 years of data to assess the health impacts of PM2.5. According to the study, the average life expectancy in India has been significantly reduced due to conditions caused by PM2.5 pollution, such as strokes, heart and lung diseases, and cancer. The study also noted that weather patterns have exacerbated the impact of pollution, increasing the death toll by 14%. “Asia was estimated to have the largest number of PM2.5-attributable premature deat...

Jun152024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Haryana Chief Secretary Declares Solid Waste Emergency in Gurugram: Urgent Measures Launched Following Supreme Court Directive

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Haryana Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad announced that there is a huge amount of solid waste in Gurugram due to the large amount of untreated sewage, which is adversely affecting the environment and public health. The move is in response to the Supreme Court's May 13 judgment and the National Green Tribunal's observations on the need for a cleaner environment. In its May 13 decision, the Supreme Court said that a large amount of unprocessed solid waste destroys the environment, which is the main factor affecting the unpolluted life of citizens guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution. The NGT, in its order dated September 23, 2022, observed that the situation is an environmental emergency, but the required seriousness has not yet been resolved. The chief secretary, in an order issued...

Jun152024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Huge Success for Ozone Layer: Scientists Hail Rapid Decline in Harmful Gases, Thanks to Montreal Protocol

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Scientists said on Tuesday that international efforts to protect the ozone layer had been a "huge success" after they revealed that the harmful gas in the atmosphere is declining faster than previously thought. The Montreal Protocol, signed in 1987, aims to detect ozone-depleting substances found mainly in refrigerants, air conditioners, and aerosol sprays. New research has found that atmospheric levels of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), harmful gases that cause holes in the ozone layer, will rise in 2021—five years earlier than predicted. "This is a big achievement. We can see that things are going in the right direction," the lead author of the study, Luke Western, from the from the University of Bristol in England, told AFP. The most harmful CFCs were phased out in 2010 to...

Jun142024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Machine Learning Revolutionizes Climate Modeling: Faster, Cheaper, and More Accurate Predictions for Cities

Breaking News, Climate Actions

New Study Finds Breakthrough in Using AI for Detailed Climate Forecasting. Climate models are a key technology in predicting the impacts of climate change. By running simulations of the Earth's climate, scientists and policymakers can estimate conditions like sea level rise, flooding, and rising temperatures, and make decisions about how to appropriately respond. However, current climate models struggle to provide this information quickly or affordably enough to be useful on smaller scales, such as the size of a city. Now, authors of a new open-access paper published in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems have found a method to leverage machine learning to utilize the benefits of current climate models while reducing the computational costs needed to run them. "It turns...

Jun142024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

NASA Confirms Disturbing Climate Milestone: 12 Consecutive Months of Record High Temperatures

Breaking News, Climate Actions

Understanding the current climate crisis isn't just about grasping complex variables it's about confronting stark facts. Here's one that should grab attention: every single month over the past year has set a new global temperature record for that month. NASA's latest data for May 2024 continues a worrying trend of record-breaking temperatures observed since June 2023. April, March, February, and January all saw unprecedented highs, following a similar pattern throughout 2023, from June to December. "This streak is unprecedented in our records and signals a deepening climate crisis," states NASA administrator Bill Nelson. "Communities worldwide, from Arizona to California to Nevada, are experiencing extreme heat at levels never before seen." Clear Alarming Trend The graph depict...

Jun102024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Newly Discovered Fossils Suggest Ancient Age of Monotremes in Australia

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Environment

Bones encased in rock rotted away, and water-borne silica seeped into the crevices, solidifying into opal and preserving precious details for 100 million years. The resulting fossils now provide evidence that there may have been an Age of Monotremes before other mammals came to dominate. "It's like discovering a whole new civilization," says Australian Museum paleontologist Tim Flannery. "Today, Australia is known as a land of marsupials, but discovering these new fossils is the first indication that Australia was previously home to a diversity of monotremes." Currently, only five species of these rare mammals exist: one platypus and four echidna species, shared between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Due to their reptilian-like egg-laying feature, it has long been thought that these...