Page 52 - Climate Change

Peru declares state of emergency over possible El Nino phenomenon

"The governments of nine departments "do not have the response capacity" to deal with the foreseen situation brought about by the El Nino phenomenon, making national-level assistance necessary"

As rising oceans threaten New York, study says the city is sinking

If rising oceans aren't worry enough, add this to the risks New York City faces: The metropolis is slowly sinking under the weight of its skyscrapers, homes, asphalt and humanity itself. New research estimates the city's landmass is sinking at an average rate of 1 to 2 millimeters per year, something referred to as subsidence. That natural process happens everywhere as ground is compressed, but the study published this month in the journal Earth's Future sought to estimate how the massive weight of the city itself is hurrying things along. More than 1 million buildings are spread across the city's five boroughs. The research team calculated that all those structures add up to about 1.7 trillion tonnes of concrete, metal and glass about the mass of 4,700 Empire State buildings pressing down on the Earth. The rate of compression varies throughout the city. Midtown Manhattan's skyscrapers are largely built on rock, which compresses very little, while some parts of Brooklyn, Queens

Fighting climate change

The West is rapidly abdicating its responsibilities

UN regional group endorses Amazon city to host 2025 climate conference

Brazil's government announced Friday that a UN Latin America regional group has endorsed a Brazilian city in the Amazon region to host the 2025 UN climate change conference, though the world body has not yet publicly confirmed the venue. President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva initially said Brazil will hold the conference, known as COP 30, in the city of Belem, state of Para, in the heart of the Brazilian rainforest, reflecting his intention to bring attention to the Amazon. A statement from the Brazilian government later clarified that the region's support was merely a step in the selection process. The "support for the Brazilian candidacy demonstrates the region's confidence in Brazil's capacity to advance the agenda in the fight against climate change," the statement read. The latest UN climate conference was hosted by Egypt in Sharm el-Sheikh, and this year's will take place in Dubai. The UN has not yet announced the 2024 venue, let alone the 2025 one, but the locations tend to rot

UK students pledge job boycott of insurers over fossil fuels: Report

In the letter, the students said they will pay special focus on insurers that decide to work with TotalEnergies and Equinor

Solar power investment set to surpass oil production spending this year

The growth in clean energy spending is driven by technologies including solar panels and electric vehicles that are key to cutting dependence on the use of oil, coal and natural gas

Experts to draft white paper on methane management for policy measures

A white paper on capturing methane, particularly coal bed methane, would soon be drafted and submitted to the government for it to take policy measures as potential of methane to warm environment is 84 times more than that of carbon dioxide. The white paper would also incorporate findings of the experts that investing in methane capture mining companies can increase revenues by 30 per cent. Methane is the second leading cause of climate change after carbon dioxide. The white paper shall be drafted on the basis of deliberation during day-long workshop Sustainable Mining & Methane Management' jointly organised last week by International Centre for Climate and Sustainability Action Foundation (ICSSA), Society for Clean Environment (SOCLEEN) and the Maharashtra government. It will be submitted to Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Maharashtra, and State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). During the workshop, climate scientists suggested to state ...

Asia water, energy supplies at risk as climate woes mount: Research

The researchers warned that all rivers would face "escalating and compounding water risks ... if we are unable to rein in emissions,"

Brazil builds 'rings of CO2' to simulate climate change in the Amazon

In the depths of the Amazon, Brazil is building an otherworldly structure a complex of towers arrayed in six rings, poised to spray mists of carbon dioxide into the rainforest. But the reason is utterly terrestrial: to understand how the world's largest tropical forest responds to climate change. Dubbed AmazonFACE, the project will probe the forest's remarkable ability to sequester carbon dioxide an essential piece in the puzzle of world climate change. This will help scientists understand whether the region has a tipping point that could throw it into a state of irreversible decline. Such a feared event, also known as the Amazon forest dieback, would transform the world's most biodiverse forest into a drier savannah-like landscape. FACE stands for Free Air CO2 Enrichment. This technology first developed by Brookhaven National Laboratory, located near New York City, has the ability to modify the surrounding environment of growing plants in a way that replicates future levels of ...

One in three people will live in dangerously hot areas by 2080: Report

If emissions are reduced enough to limit global warming, it will bring down the number of people affected to 90 mn in India

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