Life-Threatening Floods and Heat Waves: Stories from Nature and Climate – World Economic Forum
- This weekly roundup contains the key nature and weather news from the past week.
- Top Nature and Weather Stories: Floods in India and China; Heat waves in Europe and the US; COP28 president urges countries to be “brutally honest” about climate action.
1. Floods force evacuations in India and China
All schools were closed in India’s capital New Delhi and people were urged to work from home on July 13 as the the Yamuna river reached its highest level in 45 years after record rainfall.
Hundreds of people were evacuated to relief camps on July 12, when the river’s water level exceeded its “danger mark” and submerged adjoining parts of Delhi.
The city, home to more than 20 million people, has recorded 113% more rain than average since the monsoon season began on June 1, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal warned that water supplies would be affected and called on Delhi residents to “cooperate with each other in every possible way in this emergency.”
At least 88 people have died in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh as flash floods washed away bridges, cars and houses.
It comes as more than 40,000 people were evacuated due to flooding in the Chinese province of Sichuanstate media reported on July 12, due to unusually heavy rain.
Floods and mudslides have destroyed homes, damaged infrastructure and killed several people.
The World Economic Forum Center for Nature and Climate accelerates action on climate change and environmental sustainability, food systems, the circular economy and value chains, and the future of international development.
- Through Global Association for Plastic Actionthe Forum brings together government, business and civil society to shape a more sustainable world by eradicating plastic pollution.
- Global companies are collaborating through the Forum 1t.org initiative to support 1 billion trees by 2030, with more than 30 companies having already committed to conserving, restoring and cultivating more than 3.6 billion trees in more than 60 countries.
- Through a partnership with US Presidential Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry and more than 50 global businessesthe Forum is encouraging companies to join the First Mover Coalition and invest in innovative green technologies to enable net zero emissions by 2050.
- The Forum is bringing together world leaders to reduce the environmental impact of value chains and make the $4.5 trillion in circular economy opportunity a reality. He African Circular Economy Alliance is funding circular economy entrepreneurs and circular economy activities in Rwanda, Nigeria and South Africa, while the circular electronics in china The project is helping companies reduce and recycle 50% of e-waste by 2025.
- Since its launch in 2020, the Forum’s open innovation platform uplink has hosted more than 40,000 users who are working on more than 30 challenges crowdsourcing solutions to the climate crisis.
- More than 1,000 partners from the private sector, government and civil society are working together through the Water Resources Group 2030 to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. The group has provided close to $1 billion in funding for water-related programs.
Contact Us for more information on how to participate.
2. Heatwaves across Europe and the US as El Niño forecast to continue
The southwestern United States and southern Europe continued to be sweltering under intense heat waves this week, as forecasters predicted the El Niño phenomenon would continue into next year.
As of July 14, around 100 million Americans from Florida to California were under excessive heat advisoriesalerts and notices issued by the National Meteorological Service.
It came as the Climate Prediction Center said there was more than a 90% chance that El Nino conditionswhich brings periods of intense heat, would continue to grow through the fall in the northern hemisphere and peak in the winter.
The European Space Agency uses satellites to monitor temperatures.
Image: European Space Agency
Warnings were also issued across much of southern Europe as the heat wave dubbed “Cerberus” by Italy’s Meteorological Society pushed temperatures to near-record levels.
The Greek authorities expected temperatures as high as 43°C or 44°C. over the weekend, Reuters reports.
“Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are facing a major heat wave with temperatures expected to rise to 48°C on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, possibly the highest temperatures ever recorded in Europe,” said the European Space Agencythat monitors temperatures on land and sea.
As much as 61,000 people are believed to have died in Europe’s heatwaves in the summer of 2022, according to research published on July 10.
On the same day, the World Meteorological Organization confirmed the The first week of July was the hottest on record.
3. News Brief: Other important nature and weather news this week
The COP28 President of the United Arab Emirates, Sultan al-Jaber, has presented a plan for the climate summit to be held in Dubai in November. He urged countries to be “brutally honest about the gaps that need to be filled” and agree on a plan to get back on track to meet climate targets.
John Kerry, the US special envoy on climate change, made it clear that the The United States will not provide reparations to developing countries affected by weather-related disasters. He was speaking at a congressional hearing on July 13.
He the ocean is getting greener because of the climate crisis and changes in plankton, according to research using NASA images, The Guardian reports.
A new analysis reveals the plastics consumed annually by Australians have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 5.7 million cars, more than a third of the total number of cars on Australia’s roads.
Britain has announced plans to remove the current limit on fines for polluters.. The limit, which is currently set at £250,000 ($322,375), will be removed. In addition, the number of crimes that can be prosecuted by environmental regulators will be expanded.
The European Parliament voted on 13 July in favor pass a law to restore degraded natural ecosystemswhich had been hotly contested.
4. More about nature and the climate crisis in Agenda
Long lead times are hindering the speed of development of renewable energy around the world. Digitization of permit application processes, as well as stakeholder engagement, can reduce lead times so that clean energy projects can be built fasteraccording to four clean energy experts.
Young people are becoming catalysts for change in the face of the growing problems of the climate crisis. The world’s youth are at the forefront of building a sustainable future with cutting-edge technology and circular economic models. Here are some of the youth-led initiatives driving real solutions for a sustainable future.
The climate crisis accelerates the global food crisis. Extreme weather, driven by rising temperatures, causes short-term disruptions in crop growth and long-term changes in regional growing conditions. We must act now to protect the most vulnerable, writes Himanshu Gupta, CEO of ClimateAI.
