Page 49 - Climate Change

UK had the hottest June since 1884, unusual heat to become frequent

The UK sweltered through its hottest June since records began in 1884, the country's weather agency said Monday, adding that human-induced climate change means such unusual heat will become more frequent in the next few decades. The average temperature for June in the UK hit 15.8 degrees Celsius (60.4 Fahrenheit) 0.9 C hotter than the joint previous record of 14.9 C in 1940 and 1976, according to the Met Office's provisional figures. Meteorologists say that thanks to climate change, the chance of beating the previous joint record has at least doubled since the 1940s. Alongside natural variability, the background warming of the Earth's atmosphere due to human-induced climate change has driven up the possibility of reaching record high temperatures, said Paul Davies at the Met Office. By the 2050s, the chance of surpassing the previous record of 14.9 C could be as high as around 50 per cent, or every other year. Large areas of the country, from the Orkney Islands in northern Scotla

Price-sensitive Gen-Z prefers shopping recommendations made by friends

While Gen Z shoppers display a great deal of concern for climate change and sustainability, they are seldom willing to pay the additional cost that goes into making such products

Protecting biodiversity top priority of Modi govt: Environment Min

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday asserted that the protection of biodiversity is the top priority of the Narendra Modi government. Yadav, while addressing the 108th Foundation Day celebrations of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) as the chief guest, said that in the last 10 years, 45 wetlands were declared as Ramsar sites, including 11 in 2022 alone. "Rewilding and biodiversity restoration remain a top priority for our government. Our recent trans-continental reintroduction of cheetah in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh received global acclaim," Yadav said. Seven decades after cheetahs became extinct in India, the Centre brought to the country eight members of the species from Namibia and released those in Kuno. In the second such translocation, 12 cheetahs were flown in from South Africa and released in the same national park. However, three cheetahs died later. "Climate change has busted the myth of human superiority. We are not superior to nature, we

Climate change making wildfires worse, scientists call it new abnormal

It was a smell that invoked a memory. Both for Emily Kuchlbauer in North Carolina and Ryan Bomba in Chicago. It was smoke from wildfires, the odour of an increasingly hot and occasionally on-fire world. Kuchlbauer had flashbacks to the surprise of soot coating her car three years ago when she was a recent college graduate in San Diego. Bomba had deja vu from San Francisco, where the air was so thick with smoke people had to mask up. They figured they left wildfire worries behind in California, but a Canada that's burning from sea to warming sea brought one of the more visceral effects of climate change home to places that once seemed immune. It's been very apocalyptic feeling, because in California the dialogue is like, Oh, it's normal. This is just what happens on the West Coast,' but it's very much not normal here, Kuchlbauer said. As Earth's climate continues to change from heat-trapping gases spewed into the air, ever fewer people are out of reach from the billowing and deadly

Boris ally quits UK govt, accuses Sunak of apathy toward climate issues

A British environment minister who is close to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit on Friday, accusing the current government of apathy toward climate issues. Zac Goldsmith said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was simply uninterested in the environment. This government's apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable, he wrote in a resignation letter released on social media. He said Britain has visibly stepped off the world stage and withdrawn our leadership on climate and nature. Goldsmith, Sunak and Johnson are all members of the governing Conservative Party. Goldsmith, 48, is a long-time conservationist who was appointed to Parliament's unelected House of Lords by Johnson before Johnson resigned almost a year ago amid ethics scandals. Goldsmith's resignation comes the day after he was among eight allies of the former prime minister criticised by lawmakers for trying to undermine a committee investigating whether Johnso

Lockdown in 2020 prevented 27 MT of Himalayan snowmelt: Research

As many as 27 metric tonnes of ice and snow melt in the Himalayas had been prevented by the Indian national lockdown, in place from March 25, 2020, to May 31, 2020, according to a new study. Diminished anthropogenic pollutant emissions during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns reduced snowmelt in the Himalayas, the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Nexus said. Liqiang Zhang from Beijing Normal University, China, and colleagues explored how the sudden, dramatic reduction in particulate pollution in the region affected snow and ice melt, using multiple satellite data as well as a coupled atmosphere-chemistry-snow model. The authors estimate that the reduced anthropogenic pollutant emissions during the Indian lockdown was responsible for 71.6 per cent of the reduction in radiative forcing on snow in April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. This reduction in radiative forcing may have prevented 27 MT in ice and snow melt. The results emphasised

Union Cabinet approves ratification of Headquarters Agreement with CDRI

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the ratification of the Headquarters Agreement between the Government of India and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). The CDRI was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the United Nations climate action summit on September 23, 2019 in New York. It is a major global initiative launched by the government and is seen as India's attempt to obtain a global leadership role in climate change and disaster resilience matters, according to an official release. The Union Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi, has given its approval to the ratification of the Headquarters Agreement (HQA) between the government and CDRI signed on August 22 last year, it said. Ratification of the headquarters agreement will facilitate grant of exemptions, immunities and privileges as contemplated under Section-3 of the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947 and will provide CDRI an independent and internationa

Govt makes draft rules to incentivise voluntary environmental actions

The government has come out with the draft Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules 2023 for incentivising voluntary environmental actions of various stakeholders. According to a notification issued by the Environment Ministry, the Green Credit programme encourages private sector industries and companies as well as other entities to meet their existing obligations, stemming from other legal frameworks, by taking actions which are able to converge with activities relevant for generating or buying Green Credits. The main objectives of the Green Credit Programme are to create a market based mechanism for providing incentives in the form of Green Credits to individuals, farmer producer organisations, cooperatives, forestry enterprises, sustainable agriculture enterprises, urban and rural local bodies, private sectors, industries and organisations for environment positive actions. The programme also envisages to create a mass movement around environment positive actions and realise th

EU faces cliffhanger climate vote after parliament deadlocked on key bill

The European Union is facing a cliffhanger vote next month that will test its global climate and environmental credentials, after its parliament was again deadlocked on pushing a nature restoration bill onwards on Tuesday. The legislature's environment committee emerged deadlocked at 44-44 on the plan to beef up the restoration of nature in the 27-nation bloc that was damaged during decades of industrial expansion. It means the full parliament will be asked to reject it. "The fight is not over. We will do our utmost to rally forces throughout the hemicycle behind an ambitious law to the benefit of people and the planet, said socialist S&D legislator Mohammed Chahim. The parliament's biggest group, the Christian Democrat EPP, has turned against the plan, arguing it is bad for embattled farmers and puts food security at risk at a time when the war in Ukraine has shown that strategic autonomy on foodstuffs can be essential. The bill is a key part of the EU's vaunted European Green ...

Vegetable prices go up due to inadequate rains, soaring temperature

Vegetable prices have gone up due to insufficient rains in the state, traders said on Tuesday. However, the arrival of vegetables from north India is preventing the prices from sky-rocketing, vegetable dealers said. The price of tomatoes which were sold for Rs 20 or Rs 30 per kg, have gone up to Rs 80 at the KR Market itself whereas beans are sold for somewhere between Rs 80 and Rs 100 per kg. Carrot is sold for Rs 60 per kg and Okra (ladies finger) is also available at Rs 40 to Rs 60 per kg. According to vegetable traders in the KR Market here, the primary reason behind the price rise is the inadequate rains in the state this time. "We did not receive proper rains. Also, temperature is high. Due to these two reasons many vegetable crops were damaged. The variation in temperature and lack of proper rain led to pest attack on tomatoes," Manjunath, a trader in KR Market told PTI. He also said the prices of ginger too have gone up due to insufficient rains. Sridhar, another trader,

Reaching ambitious climate targets will run into financial problems: EU

The European Union's auditing agency warned on Monday that there might not be sufficient financing available to meet the bloc's ambitious climate targets. The warning from the Court of Auditors comes as the 27-nation bloc is already struggling to live up to image as the global leader in working toward climate neutrality because of a political fight in the EU legislature to push through environmental protection measures. In a 63-page report, the court also noted that the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, did not include all greenhouse gas emissions in its tallies, which might lead to overly optimistic statistics. The report's authors also found some of the commission's accounting too opaque. Regarding its finding on financing, the court said that 30 per cent of the 2021-2027 budget was to be spent on climate action, or about 87 billion euros (USD 95 billion) a year. This amount is less than 10 per cent of the total investment needed to reach the 2030 targets, estimated at

'Large population does not automatically contribute more to emission'

There is a need to rectify the notion that countries with large populations contribute more to emissions, a senior UNFPA official said, underlining that developing nations face the worst impact despite being some of the lowest producers of greenhouse gases. According to United Nations estimates, India has become the most populous country in the world with over 142 crore people. However, the government is yet to conduct a census for an official figure. Speaking to PTI, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Director of Technical Division Dr Julitta Onabanjo said one of the things "we definitely are trying to also correct is this notion that because you have a large population, it's contributing to climate emissions". "What matters is the pattern of consumption. And we know that, for the most part, it's the developing countries that face the worst impact, yet, they have contributed the least to greenhouse gases," she said. "We would like to build more awareness on this issue." Onaba

Climate change has doubled chances of heatwave in Uttar Pradesh: Report

Climate change at least doubled the chances of heat wave in Uttar Pradesh which swept through the state recently, causing multiple hospitalisations, an analysis conducted using a metric called the Climate Shift Index (CSI) shows. Developed by Climate Central, an independent US-based group of scientists and communicators, CSI is a tool that quantifies the contribution of climate change to daily temperatures. Sixty-eight patients died at the district hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia in five days till Monday amid a punishing heat wave in the region. Officials, however, said only two people died due to heat stroke. According to media reports, the neighbouring Deoria district also saw deaths amid extreme heat. Researchers at Climate Central conducted the analysis using CSI, which measures how often and how much temperatures have shifted from the historical average. A higher index indicates more dramatic change compared to the past. CSI levels above one indicate climate change. Levels

India only G20 country that fulfilled promises on climate change: PM Modi

India is the only G20 country that has fulfilled all the promises it made in Paris on climate change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, asserting that India will not only fulfil its responsibilities but will also help others including the US in this critical area. The Prime Minister was referring to obligations under the 2015 Paris Agreement. As far as India is concerned, the environment, and climate, are extremely important in our cultural traditions for us. The environment is an article of faith. This is not just something that we need to do for convenience. We believe this. We do not believe in the exploitation of nature., Modi said in response to a question by PTI at a joint news conference with President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House. In order for all of creation to work, we can make nature -- we cannot have exploitation of nature and we have always believed this," he said. And on the basis of these values, India is not only doing things for itself

Global south's climate ambition debilitated by debt crisis: Report

A CSE report has found that countries most in need of financial assistance do not receive enough climate finance

Air conditioning in India can raise emissions by 120 mn tonnes by 2050

The increasing use of air conditioners in India could lead to a rise in emissions by as much as 120 million metric tonnes by 2050, according to a study. The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, is the first to illustrate the impacts of climate change on the demand for air conditioners and electricity for cooling in Europe and India. Between now and 2050, with the current fuel mix, there is a risk of a mismatch between what is done for adaptation and mitigation, with increased emissions as a result, the researchers said. The rush to buy new air conditioners in the residential sector and the resulting increased use of electricity associated will characterise both relatively richer but more temperate European countries, and relatively poorer but warmer Indian states, they said. The study estimates that by 2050, under an over 2-3 degrees Celsius warming forecast, air-conditioning uptake could double in Europe and grow fourfold in India, reaching about 40 per cent of .

Beijing breaches 40 deg C for first time in 9 yrs as heatwaves return

Last week, national weather bureau issued an alert for heat stroke, almost a fortnight earlier than in previous yrs, as new record temperatures for the month of June assailed cities across north China

World leaders in Paris seek financial response to climate emergency

World leaders, heads of international organisations and activists are gathering in Paris for a two-day summit aimed at seeking better responses to tackle poverty and climate change issues by reshaping the global financial system. Developing nations point to an outdated system where the United States, Europe, China and other big economies that have caused most climate damage are leaving the poorest countries to deal with the consequences. The Paris talks also come as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a global debt crisis have led to a drop in life expectancy and an increase in poverty in most countries around the world, the United Nations Development Program reported. French President Emmanuel Macron, who organized the summit, said the fight against poverty, efforts to curb global warming and the protection of biodiversity "are closely intertwined. We therefore need to agree together on the best means to address these challenges in the poor and emerging countries." The .

As temp soars in India, officials dispute claims of 100 heat-related deaths

The people most at risk from heat waves are the poor, the old and very young, and those in isolated rural areas

Lack of funding resulting in painful rollbacks: UN Chief Antonio Guterres

Conflicts, climate change and financial turmoil are increasing the need for humanitarian aid, but a lack of funding is resulting in painful rollbacks, the UN chief told a meeting in Geneva