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WASHINGTON, Feb 28, 2024 (AFP) Cities across the United States and Canada reached record February temperatures this week, with multiple municipalities experiencing summer-like heat despite three remaining weeks of winter. The midwestern city of Saint Louis, in Missouri, saw the mercury hit 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday, the highest temperature ever recorded in that month, after the heat peaked at 80F on Monday. An El Nino weather pattern is at play, in […]
Australian firefighters were working to contain a “volatile” bushfire in the southern state of Victoria on Friday, urging thousands of people to evacuate rural areas threatened by the blaze. The out-of-control blaze, about two hours’ drive northwest of state capital Melbourne, has already burned through about 10,000 hectares (24,000 acres) of forest and farmland. Almost 1,000 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blaze. “They will be supported by water-bombing aircraft, including the large […]
New York, NY (February 13, 2024): A dire warning rang out at the UN Security Council today as world leaders grappled with the intertwined threats of climate change, food insecurity, and conflict. Secretary-General António Guterres painted a grim picture, describing “a hellscape of hunger and heartache” for millions due to a global food crisis, fueled by both climate chaos and ongoing conflicts. “Empty bellies fuel unrest,” Guterres stressed, highlighting the close connection between food […]
LOS ANGELES, Feb 6, 2024 (AFP) – A powerful storm lashing California on Monday has left at least three people dead and caused devastating mudslides and flooding, after dumping months’ worth of rain in a single day. More than ten inches (25 centimeters) of rain was recorded in one part of Los Angeles County in 24 hours of downpour, with no letup forecast in the coming days. Mountainsides collapsed in the tony Hollywood Hills area, […]
Santiago, Feb 5, 2024 (AFP) – The confirmed death toll from ferocious wildfires in central Chile has risen to 112, an Interior Ministry official said Sunday. Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve told a press conference that the medical examiner has received “112 people dead, 32 bodies identified,” adding that there were still “40 active fires” in the country. Responders continued to battle fires in the coastal tourist region of Valparaiso amid an intense summer heat wave, with […]
MANILA, Feb 3, 2024 (AFP) – The death toll from landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain in the southern Philippines in the past week has risen to 14, official tallies showed Saturday. Rain has pounded parts of Mindanao, the country’s second-largest island, on and off for weeks and forced tens of thousands of people into emergency shelters. At least 10 people died in recent days in the mountainous gold mining province of Davao de […]
LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 2, 2024 (AFP) – In a Pakistan paediatric ward, a chorus of infant coughs and straining lungs is the toll of a frigid winter, compounded by choking smog and lagging vaccination rates. “Please pray for him,” the mother of four-month-old pneumonia patient Ibrahim begs a nurse in Lahore, delicately arranging a blanket around ventilator tubes piping air in and out of his heaving chest. The eastern megacity is blanched every winter by […]
By Rosa SULLEIRO BARCELONA, Feb 1, 2024 (AFP) – Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region declared a drought emergency for Barcelona on Thursday and the surrounding area, which will now face tighter water restrictions following three years without significant rain. The head of the regional government of Catalonia, Pere Aragones, announced the step after reservoirs in the Mediterranean region saw their water levels falling to below 16 percent of full capacity. That is the benchmark set by […]
BERLIN, Jan 26, 2024 (AFP) – European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned on Friday that global disruptions and volatility are the “new normal”, with more geo-economic tensions on the horizon. “2024 will be a decisive year, with more geo-economic tensions expected — from the Red Sea to the Taiwan Strait — which also means more frequent disruptions to supply chains and greater volatility on the energy markets,” she told a climate conference in […]
By Alejandro Rincon BOGOTÁ, Jan 26, 2024 (AFP) – Colombia appealed on Thursday for international aid as it battled dozens of forest fires burning vast swathes of the country and encroaching on homes in the capital. For four consecutive days, hundreds of firefighters and volunteers have fought the inferno tearing through the forested mountains above Bogota, some armed with little more than water bottles and face masks. The fires have blanketed the capital in smoke, […]
UNITED NATIONS, United States, Jan 24, 2024 (AFP) – The island nation of Palau made history this week when it became the first country to ratify last year’s historic United Nations treaty for the protection of the Earth’s oceans. The so-called High Seas Treaty was adopted by UN member states in June, after more than 15 years of discussions. It can go into effect 120 days after being ratified by 60 countries — a goal […]
By Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Jan 12, 2024 (AFP) – This year could be hotter under El Nino’s influence than the record-shattering 2023, the United Nations warned Friday, as it urged drastic emissions cuts to combat climate change. The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said new monthly temperature records were set every month between June and December, and the pattern is likely to continue due to the warming El Nino weather phenomenon. The US National Oceanic […]
