Page 52 - Climate Change

G20 concludes ECSWG meet, commits to deliver tangible outcomes for climate

Blue economy, arresting land degradation, and promoting circular economy among priorities for the third Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group meeting

First climate development financial institution runs into FinMin roadblock

Ministry ready to offer provisions to ease global climate funding

Extreme weather killed 2 million, cost $4.3 trillion in 50 years: WMO

India lost over 130,000 lives; most economic damage seen in US, while 9 in 10 deaths worldwide took place in developing countries

Over 60 crore people would be exposed to dangerous heat: Research

Researchers at Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter assessed what 2.7-degrees Celsius warming would mean for those living outside the "climate niche"

Climate change to push 30% species over tipping points: Research

Climate change is likely to abruptly push up to 30 per cent species over tipping points as their geographic ranges reach unforeseen temperatures, according to a study. The researchers found that if the planet warms by 1.5 degrees Celsius, 15 per cent of species they studied will be at risk of experiencing unfamiliarly hot temperatures across at least 30 per cent of their existing geographic range in a single decade. However, this doubles to 30 per cent of species at 2.5 degrees Celsius of warming, they said. The study, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, analysed data from over 35,000 species of animals -- including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, corals, fish, cephalopods and plankton -- and seagrasses from every continent and ocean basin, alongside climate projections running up to 2100. The researchers investigated when areas within each species' geographical range will cross a threshold of thermal exposure, defined as the first five consecutive years ...

Top headlines: Centre may delay ECGC IPO; G7 sets net zero target at 2050

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G7 calls majors economies to commit to reaching net zero emissions by 2050

The G7 countries have asked all major economies, including India and China, to commit to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and let their emissions peak by 2025. They also committed to work together with other developed countries to fully meet the goal of jointly mobilising USD 100 billion annually in climate finance (for the period from 2020 to 2025) this year --three years late -- to help developing and poor countries fight climate change, according to a communique. However, the communique released on Saturday after the meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Japan, doesn't mention if this amount will be increased for the post-2025 period. The group of seven, comprising the US, France, the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan, represent the world's richest democracies. Under its G7 presidency, Japan invited India and seven other countries to the summit as guests. "We call on all Parties especially major economies whose 2030 NDC targets or long-term low GHG emission development ...

4 river basins in Himachal Pradesh see decline in snow cover: Research

The seasonal snow cover of Chenab, Beas, Ravi and Satluj river basins in Himachal Pradesh has declined by 10 per cent in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22, according to a study by the state's Centre on Climate Change. The study of snow cover is an important input to understand its contribution in different catchments to sustain the hydrology of river basins. Himachal Pradesh receives winter precipitation in the form of snow at higher altitudes and most of the major rivers in the state such as Chenab, Beas, Parvati, Baspa, Spiti, Ravi and Satluj, and their perennial tributaries originating in the Himalayas depend upon seasonal snow cover for water discharge, the study said. Mapping the winter precipitation in all the river basins namely Chandra, Bhaga, Miyar, Beas, Parvati, Jiwa, Pin, Spiti and Baspa was done using advanced wide field sensor satellite data from October 2022 to April 2023, Director-cum-Member Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment

Climate change driving threat of fungal infections in humans: Research

Global rise in temperatures is increasing the threat of fungal infections, which can be fatal to human lives, according to US health officials

Fighting climate change: As developed nations fall behind, India takes lead

India has made green development, climate finance and sustainable lifestyles its number one priority in its G20 presidency this year, and has reportedly weighed joining the Climate Club

Italy's deadly floods example of climate change's all-or-nothing extremes

The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italy's northeast are another drenching dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. The coastal region of Emilia-Romagna was struck twice, first by heavy rain two weeks ago on drought-parched ground that could not absorb it, causing rivers to overflow overnight, followed by this week's deluge that killed 14 and caused damages estimated in the billions of euros. In a changing climate, more rain is coming, but it's falling on fewer days in less useful and more dangerous downpours. The hard-hit Emilia-Romagna region was particularly vulnerable. Its location between the Apennine mountains and the Adriatic Sea trapped the weather system this week that dumped half the average annual amount of rain in 36 hours. "These are events that developed with persistence and are classified as rare,' Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Italy's Civil Protection Agency,

'More likely than not': Rise in world temp to breach 1.50C by 2027

Weather phenomenon, while distinct from climate change, is likely to boost extremes and bring warmer weather to North America and drought to South America, with the Amazon at greater risk of fires

One-fifth of Indians likely to be exposed to below-normal monsoon: SASCOF

There is a 52 per cent probability of below-normal precipitation in the north and a 40 per cent probability of below-normal rainfall in the central parts of the country

April heatwaves were '30 times more likely' due of climate change: Experts

Human-caused climate change made April's record-breaking humid heatwave in India, Bangladesh, Laos, and Thailand at least 30 times more likely

UN forecasts 2 in 3 chance of briefly hitting key heat limit soon

There's a two-out-of-three chance within the next five years that the world will temporarily reach the internationally accepted global temperature threshold for limiting the worst effects of climate change, a new World Meteorological Organisation report forecasts. It likely would only be a fleeting and less worrisome flirtation with the agreed-upon climate danger point, the United Nations weather agency said on Wednesday. That's because scientists expect a temporary burst of heat from an El Nino will supercharge human-caused warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas to new heights and then slip back down a bit. The 2015 Paris climate agreement set 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) as a global guardrail in atmospheric warming, with countries pledging to try to prevent that much long-term warming if possible. Scientists in a special 2018 United Nations report said going past that point would be drastically and dangerously different with more death, destruction and damag

Countries need to integrate climate change in regional, global plans

Women and children are vulnerable to the effects of climate change in terms of their health and wellbeing, a top WHO official said, stressing the need for a united approach by countries in promoting the integration of health and climate change in their regional and global plans to consider their needs. Citing an example, Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at the World Health Organisation, Geneva, said pregnancy represents a moment of heightened vulnerability to climate hazards. This is due to the various physiological changes that take place in pregnancy and that make this population particularly sensitive to heat stress, Dr Banerjee, who was here last week to attend the 'International Maternal Newborn Health Conference' (IMNHC 2023), said. "The same is for newborns: their immature immune systems and their reduced ability to regulate their own temperature puts them at greater risk when climate extremes occur- not to ..

Billion new ACs will save lives from soaring temps but will cook the planet

But expanding AC coverage too quickly also threatens to worsen the crisis it's responding to. Most units use a refrigerant that's far more damaging than carbon dioxide

Big money rushes into carbon capture and storage. Can it deliver this time?

But after decades of failing to reach the scale needed to make a real difference, the people responsible for approving generous subsidies and directing billions in investment want proof

European Union adopts law banning products which fuel deforestation

The 27 European Union countries have formally adopted new rules that should help the bloc reduce its contribution to global deforestation by regulating the trade in a series of goods. Under the legislation, companies trading palm oil, cattle, wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy will need to verify that the goods they sell in the EU have not led to deforestation and forest degradation anywhere in the world since 2021. The regulation also covers derived products such as chocolate or printed paper. Forests are an important natural means of removing greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere, since plants absorb carbon dioxide when they grow. According to the World Resource Institute, a forest area the size of 10 soccer pitches disappears in the world every minute and the EU says that without the new regulation it could be responsible for the loss of 248,000 hectares of deforestation per year a surface almost as large as member country Luxembourg. The law will force companies to sh

Rich countries not doing enough to control climate change: Pacific island

Pacific Island leaders are criticising rich countries for not doing enough to control climate change despite being responsible for much of the problem, and for profiting from loans provided to vulnerable nations to mitigate the effects. Leaders and representatives from Pacific Island nations demanded at a UN climate change conference on Monday in Bangkok that the world make more effort to put aside differences in combating the environmental impact, especially as their countries emerge from the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Mark Brown of the Cook Islands said the finance model for combatting climate change giving out loans to reduce the impact is not the way to go for countries in his region with such small populations that produce inconsequential amounts of carbon emissions but suffer the most from the effects. He encouraged a shift toward grants or interest-free loans to help ease the financial burden on poorer countries. All we're doing is adding