Page 10 - Global Warming

In Brazil's Amazon, rivers fall to record low levels during drought

The Negro River, the Amazon's second largest tributary, on Monday reached its lowest level since official measurements began near Manaus 121 years ago. The record confirms that this part of the world's largest rainforest is suffering its worst drought, just a little over two years after its most significant flooding. In the morning, the water level in the city's port went as low as 13.5 metres (44.3 feet), down from 30.02 metres (98.5 feet) registered in June 2021 its highest level on record. The Negro River drains about 10% of the Amazon basin and is the world's sixth largest by water volume. Madeira River, another main tributary of the Amazon, has also recorded historically low levels, causing the halt of the Santo Antonio hydroelectric dam, Brazil's fourth largest. Throughout Brazil's Amazon, low river levels have left hundreds of riverine communities isolated and struggling to get access to drinkable water. The drought also has disrupted commercial navigation that supplies ...

Aerosols heating up Himalayan climate, accelerates glacier's retreat: Study

Aerosols are heating up the Himalayan climate and contributing significantly to the accelerated retreat of the glaciers and changes in the precipitation patterns over the Hindu Kush-Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau (HKHTP) region, researchers said. Aerosols alone account for more than half of the total warming of the region's lower atmosphere, with the remainder coming from greenhouse gases, the researchers from the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, and Helmholtz Centre Potsdam and the University of Leipzig, Germany found in a joint study. According to the study, aerosols will likely remain a key factor driving climate change over the region. The researchers observed the concentrations of aerosols and the the amount of heat absorbed (radiative forcing) across several locations in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), the Himalayan foothills and the Tibetan Plateau. These are "relatively poorly studied regions with several sensitive ecosystems of global importance, as well as highly vulnera

India to push developed nations to become 'carbon negative' before 2050

India, which is resisting calls to commit to a deadline for phasing out its own use of coal and other fossil fuels, is set to make its proposal at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai later this year

Antarctica's ice shelves reduced by 40% in volume over 25 years: Study

As many as 71 of the 162 ice shelves surrounding Antarctica have reduced in volume over 25 years from 1997 to 2021, with a net release of 7.5 trillion metric tonnes of meltwater into the oceans, according to a study. The research, published in the journal Science Advances, found that almost all the ice shelves on the western side of Antarctica experienced ice loss. On the other hand, most of the ice shelves on the eastern side stayed the same or increased in volume. Over the 25 years, the scientists calculated almost 67 trillion metric tonnes of ice were exported to the ocean, which were offset by 59 trillion metric tonnes of ice being added to the ice shelves, giving a net loss of 7.5 trillion metric tonnes. "There is a mixed picture of ice-shelf deterioration, and this is to do with the ocean temperature and ocean currents around Antarctica," said Benjamin Davison, a research fellow at the University of Leeds, UK, who led the study. "The western half is exposed to warm water, whi

Tragedy in Sikkim

The catastrophe underlines big dam weaknesses

Some plants may worsen air pollution on a warming planet, shows study

On a warming planet, plants like oaks and poplars will emit more of a compound that exacerbates poor air quality, contributing to problematic particulate matter and low-atmosphere ozone, a study shows. The same compound, called isoprene, can also improve the quality of clean air while making plants more resistant to stressors including insects and high temperatures. "Do we want plants to make more isoprene so they're more resilient, or do we want them making less so it's not making air pollution worse? What's the right balance?" said Tom Sharkey, a professor at Michigan State University in the US. "Those are really the fundamental questions driving this work. The more we understand, the more effectively we can answer them," Sharkey said. Isoprene from plants is the second-highest emitted hydrocarbon on Earth, only behind methane emissions from human activity. Yet most people have never heard of it, the researchers said. Isoprene interacts with nitrogen oxide compounds found in air

COP28: BASIC countries demand equity at centre of Global Stocktake

The principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC) must be at the centre of the Global Stocktake -- a periodic review of global efforts to achieve goals of the Paris Agreement -- and operationalised in its each and every component, BASIC countries have said. In their submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) outlining their expectations from the Global Stocktake (GST) in September, the BASIC group said it should acknowledge the existing implementation gaps, particularly those related to the pre-2020 period. The BASIC group comprises Brazil, South Africa, India, and China. The developed nations either acknowledge their historical responsibilities, take lead in climate action or admit their failure to do so, they said. The Global Stocktake is a two-year UN review process to evaluate collective global progress in meeting the Paris Agreement's goals. Initiated in Glasgow in 2021, the ...

Global warming a problem but can't sacrifice growth, says CEA Nageswaran

Says global economy was going through a period of uncertainty

Glaciers in Switzerland lose 10% of their ice volume in two years

Swiss glaciers have lost as much ice over this two-year period as was lost over the three decades between 1960 and 1990

Itziar Irakulis Loitxate: The climate sleuth tracking methane leaks for UN

The 27-year-old PhD student isn't a detective but she may be the closest thing the world has to climate police

IAEA conference: India spells out plans to use N-power to achieve Net Zero

India on Wednesday spelt out plans to generate 22 GW power through nuclear energy to achieve Net Zero emissions for addressing the challenges posed by climate change. At the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Ajit Kumar Mohanty shared India's ambitious plans to step up nuclear power generation during a meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. Mohanty is in Vienna to attend the annual IAEA General Conference. Grossi posted on X, "Greetings to Mohanty on India's ambitious plans to reach 22 GW through nuclear energy for Net Zero." Addressing the conference, Mohanty said Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has been setting records in extended continuous power plant operations and maintaining excellent safety records. Some of its units have operated continuously for more than 365 days (a year) on 42 occasions and more than 700 days on five occasions. One remarkable achievement is that unit-3 at Kakrapar

Boost in solar energy, EV sales gives hope for climate goals: Research

The window to limit human-caused warming to a globally agreed goal is narrowing but still open because of the huge growth of solar energy and electric vehicles sales worldwide, a report said on Tuesday. For the last two years, the rate of the build up of solar energy and electric vehicle sales were in line with achieving emissions reductions targets that will help cap warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said. But renewable power needs to triple by 2030, the sale of EVs needs to rise much more sharply 70 per cent of all vehicle sales as opposed to the current 13 per cent and methane emissions from the energy sector needs to fall by 75 per cent if global warming is to be curbed to the the Paris Agreement goal. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is up to 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. Investments in climate action also need to rise, from USD 1.8 trillion i

Biden using executive power to create New Deal-style American Climate Corps

After being thwarted by Congress, President Joe Biden will use his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training programme. In an announcement on Wednesday, the White House said the programme will employ about 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires. The climate corps had been proposed in early versions of the sweeping climate law approved last year but was jettisoned amid strong opposition from Republicans and concerns about cost. Democrats and environmental advocacy groups never gave up on the plan and pushed Biden in recent weeks to issue an executive order authorising what the White House now calls the American Climate Corps. The programme is modelled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, created in the 1930s by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, as part of the New Deal. This

India's renewable energy boom not fast enough for 1.5-degree C goal: Report

India's renewable sector is booming but just not fast enough to become 1.5-degree Celsius compatible, and the country is heading in the opposite direction entirely when it comes to phasing out coal power, a new report by Climate Action Tracker claimed on Tuesday. The Union environment ministry, however, said the report completely ignores the concept of "fair share and cumulative historical responsibility of developed nations". It said the Indian government has been implementing a number of schemes and programmes, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation and the report totally ignores this aspect. The report by the independent research group that tracks government climate action and measures it against Paris Agreement goals comes on the eve of the United Nations' Climate Ambition Summit. It analyses whether the plans of 16 countries to decarbonise their power sector align with the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. These 16 countries include Australia, Braz

Earth's warmest Aug saw 65 countries set record high temperatures: Report

Thirteen per cent of the Earth's surface, spanning 65 countries, experienced record high temperatures in August, while the rest of the world braved significantly higher temperatures compared to the 1951-1980 average, according to a new analysis conducted by an independent US-based non-profit organisation. Berkeley Earth, which focuses on environmental data science and analysis, said last month was the warmest August since records began to be kept in 1850, with "particularly warm conditions" prevailing in parts of India, Japan, North Atlantic, Eastern Equatorial Pacific, Northern South America, Central America, parts of Africa and the Middle East. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a US government agency, said on Thursday that 2023 witnessed Earth's hottest August in its 174-year climate record. The sizzling month also marked the northern hemisphere's warmest meteorological summer and the southern hemisphere's warmest meteorological winter on record, the NOAA

World off track to curb global warming, but offers ways to fix: UN report

With the world far off track on its 2015 pledge to curb global warming, a new United Nations report central to upcoming climate negotiations details how quickly and deeply energy and financial systems must change to get back on a safer path. The window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all is rapidly closing, Friday's report warned. The globe has to cut its emissions of heat-trapping gases by 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, and 60% by 2035, the report said. To get there, the report said, the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels is required, using a phrase international climate negotiators have shied away from before. It also said phasing out the internal combustion engine would be a huge help. And the way money flows such as investments, subsidies, loans, grants and payments for people and places hurt by warming's extreme weather also has to change, the report recommended. It said countries need to stop USD 450 billion in annual subsidies for coal,

High-income nations of G20 fall drastically short on climate action: Oxfam

Even if the high-income G20 countries, including the US, the UK, Australia and Germany, were to reduce their domestic emissions to zero by 2030, they would still fall significantly short of their fair-share benchmarks for emissions reduction, according to a new paper published by Oxfam International. The paper by the global non-governmental organisation evaluates the fairness and ambition of national greenhouse gas reduction targets, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), of the G20 countries, using three distinct approaches. These approaches were employed to gauge the strength of the conclusions drawn. If all approaches arrived at similar results, it would suggest that the conclusions were robust. The findings reveal that the G20, collectively as well as the most high-income countries of the bloc individually, are failing to meet the necessary levels of ambition required to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The gap between the collective NDCs o

World losing race to meet climate change commitments: COP28 president

The summit, which opened on Monday, is focused on mobilising financing for Africa's response to climate change

Heatwaves getting more deadly, frequent; old, ill, poor more vulnerable

Previous projections of heat-related mortality were mostly based on calculations that used one climate model over a specific period of time

Climate change fingerprints all over monsoon this year, say experts

Barring the cumulative rainfall over the country, this year's monsoon has been anything but normal and experts point to climate change as the underlying cause. From a cyclone with the longest lifespan in the Arabian Sea to devastating floods in parts of northwest India and the adjoining Himalayan states, as well as a prolonged break in the monsoon, the unmistakable imprints of climate change are evident this year, asserted Mahesh Palawat, vice president (Climate Change and Meteorology) at private forecasting agency Skymet Weather. In early June, cyclone Biparjoy delayed the onset of the monsoon over Kerala and the advance over southern India and the adjoining western and central parts of the country. Meteorologists say the cyclone experienced rapid intensification initially and maintained its strength due to an unusually warm Arabian Sea. They emphasise that cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are intensifying rapidly and retaining their potency for longer perio