Indus

Death of a delta: Pakistan's Indus sinks and shrinks

BY ZAIN ZAMAN JANJUA

  • Khatti is preparing to move his family to nearby Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and one swelling with economic migrants, including from the Indus delta.
  • Salt crusts crackle underfoot as Habibullah Khatti walks to his mother's grave to say a final goodbye before he abandons his parched island village on Pakistan's Indus delta. 
  • Khatti is preparing to move his family to nearby Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and one swelling with economic migrants, including from the Indus delta.
Salt crusts crackle underfoot as Habibullah Khatti walks to his mother's grave to say a final goodbye before he abandons his parched island village on Pakistan's Indus delta. 
Seawater intrusion into the delta, where the Indus River meets the Arabian Sea in the south of the country, has triggered the collapse of farming and fishing communities. 
"The saline water has surrounded us from all four sides," Khatti told AFP from Abdullah Mirbahar village in the town of Kharo Chan, around 15 kilometres (9 miles) from where the river empties into the sea.
As fish stocks fell, the 54-year-old turned to tailoring until that too became impossible with only four of the 150 households remaining. 
"In the evening, an eerie silence takes over the area," he said, as stray dogs wandered through the deserted wooden and bamboo houses.
Kharo Chan once comprised around 40 villages, but most have disappeared under rising seawater.
The town's population fell from 26,000 in 1981 to 11,000 in 2023, according to census data. 
Khatti is preparing to move his family to nearby Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and one swelling with economic migrants, including from the Indus delta.
The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, which advocates for fishing communities, estimates that tens of thousands of people have been displaced from the delta's coastal districts.
However, more than 1.2 million people have been displaced from the overall Indus delta region in the last two decades, according to a study published in March by the Jinnah Institute, a think tank led by a former climate change minister.
The downstream flow of water into the delta has decreased by 80 percent since the 1950s as a result of irrigation canals, hydropower dams and the impacts of climate change on glacial and snow melt, according to a 2018 study by the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water.
That has led to devastating seawater intrusion.
The salinity of the water has risen by around 70 percent since 1990, making it impossible to grow crops and severely affecting the shrimp and crab populations.
"The delta is both sinking and shrinking," said Muhammad Ali Anjum, a local WWF conservationist.

'No other choice'

Beginning in Tibet, the Indus River flows through disputed Kashmir before traversing the entire length of Pakistan.
The river and its tributaries irrigate about 80 percent of the country's farmland, supporting millions of livelihoods.
The delta, formed by rich sediment deposited by the river as it meets the sea, was once ideal for farming, fishing, mangroves and wildlife.
But more than 16 percent of fertile land has become unproductive due to encroaching seawater, a government water agency study in 2019 found.
In the town of Keti Bandar, which spreads inland from the water's edge, a white layer of salt crystals covers the ground.
Boats carry in drinkable water from miles away and villagers cart it home via donkeys.
"Who leaves their homeland willingly?" said Haji Karam Jat, whose house was swallowed by the rising water level. 
He rebuilt farther inland, anticipating more families would join him. 
"A person only leaves their motherland when they have no other choice," he told AFP.

Way of life

British colonial rulers were the first to alter the course of the Indus River with canals and dams, followed more recently by dozens of hydropower projects. 
Earlier this year, several military-led canal projects on the Indus River were halted when farmers in the low-lying riverine areas of Sindh province protested.
To combat the degradation of the Indus River Basin, the government and the United Nations launched the 'Living Indus Initiative' in 2021.
One intervention focuses on restoring the delta by addressing soil salinity and protecting local agriculture and ecosystems. 
The Sindh government is currently running its own mangrove restoration project, aiming to revive forests that serve as a natural barrier against saltwater intrusion. 
Even as mangroves are restored in some parts of the coastline, land grabbing and residential development projects drive clearing in other areas.
Neighbouring India meanwhile poses a looming threat to the river and its delta, after revoking a 1960 water treaty with Pakistan which divides control over the Indus basin rivers.
It has threatened to never reinstate the treaty and build dams upstream, squeezing the flow of water to Pakistan, which has called it "an act of war".
Alongside their homes, the communities have lost a way of life tightly bound up in the delta, said climate activist Fatima Majeed, who works with the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum.
Women, in particular, who for generations have stitched nets and packed the day's catches, struggle to find work when they migrate to cities, said Majeed, whose grandfather relocated the family from Kharo Chan to the outskirts of Karachi.
"We haven't just lost our land, we've lost our culture."
zz/ecl/lb

flooding

Beijing lifts rain alert after tens of thousands evacuated

BY ISABEL KUA

  • Authorities evacuated over 82,000 people at risk from heavy rainfall as of Monday evening, state news agency Xinhua said, citing the city's flood control headquarters.
  • Beijing lifted a severe weather alert on Tuesday but warned residents to stay vigilant against natural disasters after authorities evacuated more than 82,000 people over fears of deadly floods in the Chinese capital.
  • Authorities evacuated over 82,000 people at risk from heavy rainfall as of Monday evening, state news agency Xinhua said, citing the city's flood control headquarters.
Beijing lifted a severe weather alert on Tuesday but warned residents to stay vigilant against natural disasters after authorities evacuated more than 82,000 people over fears of deadly floods in the Chinese capital.
The municipal weather office had imposed a red rainstorm warning -- the highest in a four-tier system -- on Monday, forecasting heavy downpours until Tuesday morning.
The office lifted the alert early Tuesday morning, saying in a social media statement the weather system had weakened as it drifted eastwards.
But it continued to warn of isolated downpours across outlying parts of the city, adding that people "must not let up after strong rains have passed" as landslides or other disasters may follow.
Authorities evacuated over 82,000 people at risk from heavy rainfall as of Monday evening, state news agency Xinhua said, citing the city's flood control headquarters. It was unclear when they may return.
Officials warned of flooding risks in the northeastern suburb of Miyun -- the hardest hit by the recent deluge -- as well as southwestern Fangshan, western Mentougou and northern Huairou.
In Miyun, where dozens died last week, most of the recent floodwater had receded on Tuesday -- leaving behind a trail of debris including tree branches and piles of bricks.
AFP reporters saw dented cars, toppled tractors and household items like strollers and luggages strewn across the muddy ground.
Twisted metal railings and slanted utility poles still lined the roadside as workers in neon yellow vests and wearing hard hats worked to clear the wreckage.
Nearby, trees had been uprooted, lying in a river gushing with murky brown water.
Last week, floods in Beijing's northern suburbs killed at least 44 people and left nine missing, according to official figures.
Residents of flood-hit areas told AFP journalists they had been surprised at the speed with which the rushing water had inundated homes and villages.
The devastation prompted a local official to make a rare admission that there had been "gaps" in disaster readiness.
"Our knowledge of extreme weather was lacking," Yu Weiguo, the district's ruling Communist Party boss, said.

Restoring order

At a meeting on Monday, the municipal government stressed the need to "restore the normal order of life and production in post-disaster areas as quickly as possible".
China's public security ministry also warned people to be on guard against "rumours", including exaggerating the extent of natural disasters to create panic, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday.
China has been lashed by heavy rains in recent weeks, with heavy flooding in the north followed by intense precipitation along the southern coast. 
Parts of the southern city of Hong Kong were brought to a standstill on Tuesday by flooding caused by heavy rains, after the highest-tier rainstorm warning was issued for the fourth time in eight days.
Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer, when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.
China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense.
But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.
isk-oho/djw

climate

Record heatwave blasts northern Vietnam

  • Outside Hanoi, stations in the provinces of Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Lang Son, Bac Ninh, Haiphong and Ninh Binh all reported record August highs.
  • Northern Vietnam is sweltering under a blistering heatwave, with 17 places across seven provinces reporting record highs for the month of August and electricity demand spiking as people try to stay cool, authorities said Tuesday.
  • Outside Hanoi, stations in the provinces of Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Lang Son, Bac Ninh, Haiphong and Ninh Binh all reported record August highs.
Northern Vietnam is sweltering under a blistering heatwave, with 17 places across seven provinces reporting record highs for the month of August and electricity demand spiking as people try to stay cool, authorities said Tuesday.
Temperatures peaked on Sunday and Monday across the densely populated Red River Delta region, a hugely important industrial and agricultural area, with the capital Hanoi experiencing its first-ever August day above 40C.
While Vietnam experiences hot weather every year, scientists say human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns, including higher temperatures.
The normally bustling streets of Hanoi were quieter on Tuesday as locals hid from the burning heat.
Flower seller Ngo Thu Thuy told AFP of her exhaustion from riding her flower bike in the heat.
"I earn less as no one bothers to buy flowers in this heat. I still have to try my best to earn my living" said Thuy, 38, covered from head to toe to protect herself from the sun.
A construction worker who identified himself as Nam said "too many buildings and vehicles" has turned Hanoi into "a pan on fire" over the past two days.
Records set in past heatwaves in 2021 and 2024 were broken at 17 weather stations around the north, though rain forecast for Tuesday evening is expected to bring cooler temperatures.
One weather station in downtown Hanoi recorded a high of 40.3C, beating the city's previous August record of 39.8C set in 2021.
Outside Hanoi, stations in the provinces of Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Lang Son, Bac Ninh, Haiphong and Ninh Binh all reported record August highs.
"The air humidity in Hanoi and the delta area on Monday was only up to 52 percent, causing a distinct feeling of dryness and heat," Vietnam's top weather forecaster Nguyen Van Huong said in a statement released by the ministry of agriculture and environment.
Vietnam's electricity company EVN said consumption in Hanoi hit an all-time record at 1:28 pm (0628 GMT) on Monday as residents sought to cool off with fans and air-conditioning.
"I cannot imagine spending the night without air conditioning over the past few days," office worker Dang Xuan Huong told AFP.
"It's so strange that we are in August and it is still burning hot", Huong said.
But relief could be on the way -- rain forecast for Tuesday night is expected to bring temperatures down.
tmh/pdw/dhc

climate

Japan sets new record high temperature of 41.8C

BY TOMOHIRO OSAKI

  • Last week in tourist hotspot Kyoto the mercury hit 40C, the first time any of its observation points -- the oldest opened in 1880, the newest in 2002 -- had seen such a high, authorities said.
  • Japan logged two new heat records in a day on Tuesday, with the mercury hitting 41.6C and then 41.8C, the weather office said, warning temperatures may rise further still.
  • Last week in tourist hotspot Kyoto the mercury hit 40C, the first time any of its observation points -- the oldest opened in 1880, the newest in 2002 -- had seen such a high, authorities said.
Japan logged two new heat records in a day on Tuesday, with the mercury hitting 41.6C and then 41.8C, the weather office said, warning temperatures may rise further still.
Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as climate change creates ever more erratic weather patterns, and Japan is no exception.
The scorching temperatures in the city of Isesaki on Tuesday surpassed the previous record seen in the western Hyogo region of 41.2C only last week.
Japan's summer last year was the joint hottest on record, equalling the level seen in 2023, followed by the warmest autumn since records began 126 years ago.
Last week in tourist hotspot Kyoto the mercury hit 40C, the first time any of its observation points -- the oldest opened in 1880, the newest in 2002 -- had seen such a high, authorities said.
Experts warn Japan's beloved cherry trees are blooming earlier due to the warmer climate -- or sometimes not fully blossoming -- because autumns and winters are not cold enough to trigger flowering.
The famous snowcap of Mount Fuji was absent for the longest recorded period last year, not appearing until early November, compared with the average of early October.
July was also the hottest since records began in 1898, the weather agency said Friday, with the average monthly temperature 2.89C above the 1991-2020 average.

South Korea sizzles

South Korea also saw its second-hottest July, with an average temperature of 27.1C, according the meteorological office, which has been collecting such data since 1973. 
The hottest July on record in South Korea was in 1994, when the average temperature reached 27.7 degrees Celsius.
In Japan some dams and paddies nationwide are experiencing a water shortage, with farmers complaining that the sizzling heat combined with the lack of rain is slowing rice cultivation. 
Precipitation in July was low over wide areas of Japan, with northern regions facing the Sea of Japan experiencing record low rainfall, it added.
The rainy season ended about three weeks earlier than usual in western regions of Japan, another record.
Every summer, Japanese officials urge the public to seek shelter in air-conditioned rooms to avoid heatstroke.
The elderly in Japan -- which has the world's second-oldest population after Monaco -- are particularly at risk.
This year western Europe saw its hottest June on record, as extreme temperatures blasted the region in punishing back-to-back heatwaves, according to the EU climate monitor Copernicus.
Dangerous weather stretched into July, with separate research estimating that climate change made the temperature up to 4C hotter, pushing the thermometer into deadly territory for thousands of vulnerable people and greatly worsening the projected death toll.
Millions were exposed to high heat stress as daily average temperatures in western Europe climbed to levels rarely seen before -- and never so early in the summer.  
tmo-stu/fox

tourism

Water shortages spell trouble on Turkey's tourist coast

BY RéMI BANET

  • "Our parents used to draw water from a depth of eight to nine metres, but now we have to go down to 170 metres (560 feet)," said Alyanak, the 39-year-old village chief in Germiyan. 
  • Ali Alyanak and his neighbours in Turkey's tourist hub Izmir now have to draw water from a shrinking aquifer 170 metres underground even as hotel pools remain full -- a sign for many of the region's dire water crisis amid prolonged drought.
  • "Our parents used to draw water from a depth of eight to nine metres, but now we have to go down to 170 metres (560 feet)," said Alyanak, the 39-year-old village chief in Germiyan. 
Ali Alyanak and his neighbours in Turkey's tourist hub Izmir now have to draw water from a shrinking aquifer 170 metres underground even as hotel pools remain full -- a sign for many of the region's dire water crisis amid prolonged drought.
"Our parents used to draw water from a depth of eight to nine metres, but now we have to go down to 170 metres (560 feet)," said Alyanak, the 39-year-old village chief in Germiyan. 
To cope, authorities in nearby Cesme, a popular seaside resort in Izmir province on Turkey's western coast, are restricting drinking water access to 10 hours a day.
The city of Izmir itself, Turkey's third largest, will cut that access to just six hours starting Wednesday.
Desolate images from the large nearby dam that supplies Cesme, widely broadcast on television, illustrated the risks for the region: its water level has plunged to three percent of capacity, leaving behind a barren landscape. 
For Alyanak and many others, the culprit is clear.
"Hotels are the main problem: The water in the pools evaporates, towels are washed daily and people take three to five showers a day, as soon as they go swimming or come back from outside," Alyanak fumed. 
"It's a waste".
Climatologists say the Mediterranean basin -- which concentrates 30 percent of world tourism -- will see a sharp decline in rainfall over the coming decades, raising fears of more frequent and severe droughts as a result of global warming.

Seawater pools?

The almost complete absence of rainfall since autumn is largely responsible for the current crisis, with some scientists calculating that 88 percent of Turkey's territory is at risk of desertification.
Last week, mosque loudspeakers across Turkey issued prayers for rain.
But experts also highlight the impact of tens of thousands of visitors, which is putting pressure on tourism hotspots throughout the Mediterranean.
Selma Akdogan of the Izmir Chamber of Environmental Engineers said tourists consumed "two to three times" more water than locals.
This at a time when "water levels are falling not only in summer but also in winter", she said, noting that "Rainfall is less regular but more intense, making it more difficult for the soil to absorb rainwater."
She wants local authorities to have hotels fill their swimming pools with seawater, for example, and for locals to give up lawns and grass in favour of less water-intensive yards.

'A real problem'

At the helm of a luxury 253-room establishment overlooking the turquoise waters of the Aegean sea, Orhan Belge has little patience for the media focus on the issue. 
"Big four- or five-star hotels like ours have water tanks of 200-250 tonnes. We have water 24 hours a day," said Belge, who is also president of the city's hoteliers' union.
For him, the solution to water shortages lies mainly in desalination, a costly and energy-intensive process already used by some hotels in the region. 
The manager of a small hotel in the city, who asked to remain anonymous, acknowledged that "water shortages are a real problem," but said he was primarily worried that use restrictions would prompt tourists to look elsewhere.
"Last summer, we were fully booked during the same period. And we were still full two weeks ago," he said.
"Now, the hotel is 80 percent empty and we have no reservations for August."
Sabiha Yurtsever, an 80-year-old retiree who has spent every summer in Cesme for the past 25 years, said she could not remember a summer so dry. 
She blamed both the government and hoteliers for making the region unliveable.
"When forests burn, they build hotels instead of replanting," said Yurtsever, who spends the rest of the year in Izmir.
"The fewer trees you have, the less rain you will get."
rba/ach/fo/js

plastic

Decision time as plastic pollution treaty talks begin

BY ISABEL MALSANG

  • To hammer home the message, a replica outside the UN of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture "The Thinker" will be slowly submerged in mounting plastic rubbish during the talks.
  • Countries were to start the clock Tuesday on 10 days of talks aimed at hammering out a landmark global treaty on combating the scourge of plastic pollution.
  • To hammer home the message, a replica outside the UN of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture "The Thinker" will be slowly submerged in mounting plastic rubbish during the talks.
Countries were to start the clock Tuesday on 10 days of talks aimed at hammering out a landmark global treaty on combating the scourge of plastic pollution.
Three years of negotiations hit the wall in South Korea in December when a group of oil-producing states blocked a consensus.
Since the failure in Busan, countries have been working behind the scenes and are giving it another go in Geneva, in talks at the United Nations.
Key figures steering the negotiations said they were not expecting an easy ride this time round, but insisted a deal remained within reach.
"There's been extensive diplomacy from Busan till now," UN Environment Programme executive director Inger Andersen told AFP.
UNEP is hosting the talks, and Andersen said conversations across, between and among different regions and interest groups had generated momentum.
"Most countries, actually, that I have spoken with have said: 'We're coming to Geneva to strike the deal’.
"Will it be easy? No. Will it be straightforward? No. Is there a pathway for a deal? Absolutely."

Human bodies riddled

Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body.
In 2022, countries agreed they would find a way to address the crisis by the end of 2024.
However, the supposedly final round of negotiations on a legally-binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the seas, flopped in Busan.
One group of countries sought an ambitious deal to limit production and phase out harmful chemicals.
But a clutch of mostly oil-producing nations rejected production limits and wanted to focus more narrowly on treating waste.
Ecuadoran diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chairing the talks process, said an effective, fair and ambitious agreement was now within reach.
"Our paths and positions might differ; our destination is the same," he said Monday.
"We are all here because we believe in a shared cause: a world free of plastic pollution."

'Plastic-free future'

More than 600 non-governmental organisations are attending the Geneva talks.
Valdivieso said lessons had been learned from Busan, and NGOs and civil society would now have access to the discussions tackling the thorniest points, such as banning certain chemicals and capping production.
"To solve the plastic pollution crisis, we have to stop making so much plastic," Greenpeace delegation chief Graham Forbes told AFP.
The group and its allies want a treaty "that cuts plastic production, eliminates toxic chemicals, and provides the financing that's going to be required to transition to a fossil fuel, plastic-free future", he said.
"The fossil fuel industry is here in force," he noted, adding: "We cannot let a few countries determine humanity's future when it comes to plastic pollution."

Dumped, burned and trashed

Well over 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items.
While 15 percent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine percent is actually recycled.
Nearly half, 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter.
A report in The Lancet medical journal warned Monday that plastic pollution was a "grave, growing and under-recognised danger" to health, costing the world at least $1.5 trillion a year in health-related economic losses.
The new review of existing evidence, conducted by leading health researchers and doctors, compared plastic to air pollution and lead, saying its impact on health could be mitigated by laws and policies.
To hammer home the message, a replica outside the UN of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture "The Thinker" will be slowly submerged in mounting plastic rubbish during the talks.
The artwork, entitled "The Thinker's Burden", is being constructed by the Canadian artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong.
"If you want to protect health, then we need to think about the toxic chemicals that are entering our environment," he told AFP.
But Matthew Kastner, spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, said the plastics industry and the products it makes were "vital to public health", notably through medical devices, surgical masks, child safety seats, helmets and pipes delivering clean water.
rjm-im-bur/gv/tc

weather

Hong Kong hit by flooding after flurry of rainstorm warnings

  • Tuesday's "black" rainstorm warning in Hong Kong was the fourth in the span of just over a week, beating the previous record of three such warnings in a year.
  • Parts of Hong Kong were brought to a standstill by flooding caused by heavy rains on Tuesday, after the highest-tier rainstorm warning was issued for the fourth time in eight days.
  • Tuesday's "black" rainstorm warning in Hong Kong was the fourth in the span of just over a week, beating the previous record of three such warnings in a year.
Parts of Hong Kong were brought to a standstill by flooding caused by heavy rains on Tuesday, after the highest-tier rainstorm warning was issued for the fourth time in eight days.
The financial hub has suspended school classes and opened temporary shelters, and some hospital services have also been affected. 
The city's weather observatory hoisted the "black" rainstorm warning -- meaning downpours exceeding 70 millimetres in an hour -- late on Monday and again in pre-dawn hours.
On Tuesday morning the city's weather observatory warned there could be "severe flooding", adding that hourly rainfall had already exceeded or was expected to exceed 100 millimetres in some regions. 
Images circulated on social media showed cars nearly submerged at an outdoor parking lot in the eastern Tseung Kwan O district.
Emergency room service at the Queen Mary Hospital was affected due to "severe flooding" on some roads, health authorities said.
Public transport slowed to a crawl in some districts and a handful of subway station exits have been closed, according to local media.
Eighteen cases of flooding have been identified as of Tuesday morning, according to the Drainage Services Department, adding that 11 had been resolved.
Neighbouring Chinese tech hub Shenzhen issued the "red" rainstorm warning on Tuesday, the first time since 2018, according to media reports.
Tuesday's "black" rainstorm warning in Hong Kong was the fourth in the span of just over a week, beating the previous record of three such warnings in a year.
Scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.
China is the world's biggest emitter, though it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse aiming to become carbon-neutral by 2060.
hol/reb/dhc

GrandCanyon

Grand Canyon fire rages, one month on

  • The level of containment -- the amount of the perimeter where firefighters have completely stopped the fire's progress -- stood at 13 percent on Monday.
  • A month after a wildfire erupted at the edge of the Grand Canyon, US firefighters were struggling Monday to bring the blaze under control.
  • The level of containment -- the amount of the perimeter where firefighters have completely stopped the fire's progress -- stood at 13 percent on Monday.
A month after a wildfire erupted at the edge of the Grand Canyon, US firefighters were struggling Monday to bring the blaze under control.
A lightning strike on July 4 -- Independence Day in the United States -- sparked a fire that spread rapidly on the northern rim of the canyon, a major draw for domestic and international tourists.
The Dragon Bravo Fire -- named after the Dragon rock formation near the conflagration's start -- was initially allowed to burn unabated as part of a natural cycle that thins vegetation and renews the landscape.
But a week later, strong winds whipped through Arizona and fanned the fire, pushing it through a major hotel, as well as the North Rim Visitor Center and some guest cabins.
A nearby water treatment plant was also damaged, venting chlorine gas into the environment.
The blaze, which now stands at over 123,000 acres (50,000 hectares), is being actively fought with more than 1,000 personnel on site, battling the flames from the air and from the ground.
"Yesterday, crews patrolled and monitored the east and west flanks of the fire," said a Monday update from incident commanders.
"Despite relative humidities as low as four percent they were able to hold the fire's growth to a minimum. 
"In the southwest part of the fire, crews were able to go direct on the fire. Last night they walked sections of the perimeter searching for signs of heat, a process required before lines can be declared contained."
The level of containment -- the amount of the perimeter where firefighters have completely stopped the fire's progress -- stood at 13 percent on Monday.
Operations throughout the day looked set to be helped by the local topography along the northern part of the fire, despite continued critical fire weather, the update said.
"The pinon-juniper fuels in the area will assist since they do not carry the fire as effectively as mixed conifer or ponderosa stands," it continued, in reference to the vegetation growing in the vicinity.
Humidity remains low in the region, with a disappointing seasonal monsoon bringing rain far below expected levels.
Scores of wildfires burn across North America every year, many of them started by lightning.
Those that do not threaten population centers are now frequently left to burn by forest managers who understand the need for the kind of woodland renewal such blazes bring.
The policy contrasts with what was previously in effect for much of the last 150 years, where managers took an aggressive firefighting stance.
Doing so had the unintended effect of leaving some areas overstocked with fuel and liable to burn much hotter and faster when they did catch fire.
While wildfire is a natural phenomenon, human activity -- specifically the unchecked use of fossil fuels -- is changing the climate, often making blazes more likely and more destructive.
hg/jgc

Sweden

Exceptional Nordic heatwave stumps tourists seeking shade

BY ANNA KORKMAN

  • Tourism has been on the rise in Nordic countries in recent years, driven in part by the trend of "coolcations" -- where tourists flee the heat of the Mediterranean for milder temperatures in the north.
  • Nordic countries are relieved after battling an exceptional heatwave which shattered the hopes of foreigners seeking to cool off in the far north -- a disappointment meteorologists warn is likely to be repeated.
  • Tourism has been on the rise in Nordic countries in recent years, driven in part by the trend of "coolcations" -- where tourists flee the heat of the Mediterranean for milder temperatures in the north.
Nordic countries are relieved after battling an exceptional heatwave which shattered the hopes of foreigners seeking to cool off in the far north -- a disappointment meteorologists warn is likely to be repeated.
Tourism has been on the rise in Nordic countries in recent years, driven in part by the trend of "coolcations" -- where tourists flee the heat of the Mediterranean for milder temperatures in the north.
But this year record-breaking temperatures in July dashed tourists' hopes of escaping the intense heat.
On Monday, the Finnish Meteorological Institute said in a statement that the country had just emerged from 22 days of temperatures over 30C -- the longest such heatwave since records began in 1961.
July was also the third hottest month recorded in Norway since records began in 1901, with temperatures 2.8 degrees Celsius higher that the seasonal average nationwide, according to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
A two-week heatwave, between July 12 and 25, was also the hottest ever recorded in the country.
So-called "tropical nights", where the temperature doesn't drop below 20C, have become commonplace in the region.

Tourists' hot surprise

The unusually high temperatures have been a shock to tourists seeking to escape the heat elsewhere.
Moussaab El Bacha, a Stockholm resident, told AFP about his parent's surprise when they came over from Morocco to visit.
"They were actually quite surprised by the intensity of the heat here. They had expected a cooler break from the Moroccan summer, but instead, it felt like the heat followed them all the way to Sweden," he said.
"It was a bit surreal for them to experience such high temperatures this far north — they kept saying: 'Are we sure we didn't just land in southern Spain?'"
In Haparanda, in Sweden's far north, temperatures reached 25C or above for 14 consecutive days in July, and in Jokkmokk, the heatwave lasted over 15 days, something not seen in a century, according to the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI).

An ice rink oasis

In Rovaniemi, a Finnish town north of the Arctic Circle which bills itself as the hometown of Santa Claus, temperatures reached above 30C last week.
The municipality of Joensuu in southeastern Finland opened an ice rink for people to cool off in, to reduce pressure on the local healthcare services, North Karelia's regional healthcare services chief Mikael Ripatti told AFP.
Ripatti said emergency rooms had become overcrowded as people sought care for heat-related health issues.
"The aim was to provide a place to go if it was too hot at home," Ripatti said.
Other cities opened up similar cooling facilities to the public, with a shop in Helsinki letting people lie down next to its cooling shelves.

Arctic heating

The Arctic region is heating far faster than other parts of the planet. 
Of the continents overall, Europe has seen the fastest warming per decade since 1990, followed closely by Asia, according to global data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"The length of the period and the high temperatures throughout the day in all parts of the country were very unusual this time," Ketil Isaksen, a climate researcher with the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, said in a statement.
"This type of heatwave has become more likely with climate change," the researcher added.
Scientists say recurring heatwaves are a marker of global warming and are expected to become more frequent, longer, and more intense.
"There have been heatwaves in the past and there will continue to be heatwaves in the future," Hannele Korhonen, a research professor at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, told AFP.
But as climate change drives up global temperatures we are "exceeding the heatwave threshold more often, and the heatwaves are hotter", she added.
"An in-depth attribution study would be necessary to pinpoint or assess the role of climate change in the prolonged heatwave (that struck) northern Sweden," Sverker Hellstrom, a meteorologist at SMHI, told AFP.
However, he added: "The frequency of such weather events has increased and may continue to rise in the future."
bur-phy/jll/rlp

plastic

A 'Thinker' drowns in plastic garbage as UN treaty talks open

  • The sculpture will slowly disappear under layer upon layer of bottles, toys, fishing nets and other garbage during the 10 days of talks starting Tuesday, aimed at sealing the first international accord to tackle plastic pollution.
  • A replica of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture "The Thinker" outside the United Nations headquarters was being slowly submerged in plastic rubbish Monday as countries gathered in a bid to finalise a global treaty on plastic pollution.
  • The sculpture will slowly disappear under layer upon layer of bottles, toys, fishing nets and other garbage during the 10 days of talks starting Tuesday, aimed at sealing the first international accord to tackle plastic pollution.
A replica of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture "The Thinker" outside the United Nations headquarters was being slowly submerged in plastic rubbish Monday as countries gathered in a bid to finalise a global treaty on plastic pollution.
The sculpture will slowly disappear under layer upon layer of bottles, toys, fishing nets and other garbage during the 10 days of talks starting Tuesday, aimed at sealing the first international accord to tackle plastic pollution.
Six metres (20 feet) tall, the artwork, entitled "The Thinker's Burden", is being constructed by the Canadian artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong.
He hopes it will strike a chord with diplomats from the UN's 193 members and make them think about "the health impacts of plastic pollution: not just on our generation, but on all future generations", Von Wong told AFP.
Sitting on a representation of Mother Earth, this "Thinker" holds crushed plastic bottles in one hand and looks down at a baby held in the other.
"Over the course of the next 10 days, we're going to be slowly adding more and more plastic to this art installation to show the growing cost that is being passed on to future generations," Von Wong said.
"If you want to protect health, then we need to think about the toxic chemicals that are entering our environment," he said.
"We need to think about limits on plastic production. We need to think about a strong, ambitious plastics treaty."
Well over 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items.
While 15 percent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine percent is actually recycled.
Nearly half, 46 percent, ends up dumped in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter.
In 2022, countries agreed to find a way to address the crisis by the end of 2024, but a fifth round of talks in December last year in Busan, South Korea, failed to overcome fundamental differences.
Plastics break down into bits so small that not only do they find their way throughout the ecosystem but into human blood and organs, recent studies show, with largely unknown consequences.
lme-im-rjm/js

seaweed

Pacific algae invade Algeria beaches, pushing humans and fish away

  • The alga originates from temperate waters around Japan and the Korean peninsula in the northwest Pacific Ocean.
  • At a beach near Algiers, brown algae native to the Pacific Ocean cover the golden sand,  posing a threat to ecosystems native to the area and their stench repelling swimmers at the peak of summer.
  • The alga originates from temperate waters around Japan and the Korean peninsula in the northwest Pacific Ocean.
At a beach near Algiers, brown algae native to the Pacific Ocean cover the golden sand,  posing a threat to ecosystems native to the area and their stench repelling swimmers at the peak of summer.
Following a recent government call to help clear beaches swarmed by the seaweed species known scientifically as Rugulopteryx okamurae, several volunteers and charities have stepped in.
"When it washes up, we can't swim," said Salim Hemmedi, a 43-year-old vacationer at a beach in Sidi Fredj, where volunteers raked up heaps of the plant.
"We hope the situation will improve so that we can enjoy ourselves... and that children can swim in peace."
The alga originates from temperate waters around Japan and the Korean peninsula in the northwest Pacific Ocean.
It was first spotted in Algeria in late 2023, according to Lamia Bahbah, a lecturer and researcher at the National School of Marine Sciences and Coastal Planning.
And lately, some have noted that it has been increasingly washed ashore.
Youcef Segni, a marine engineer and biologist, said the algae proliferated at a significantly higher rate than in 2023 and 2024.
"They invade the habitats of other algae in the seabed, which leads to the disappearance of some species," he said, adding that it can also displace some native fish.

Fast reproduction

In France, Spain and Portugal, the Rugulopteryx okamurae species has also been observed.
Earlier this year, Spanish football club Real Betis introduced kits repurposed from the seaweed to raise awareness about the issue.
A 2023 study by the Marine Drugs journal said the alga's invasive character led to "a replacement of the native biota and an occupancy rate that reached almost 100 percent in some locations" in Portugal.
In Algeria, the plant has been spotted in at least three of the country's 14 coastal provinces, including the capital where 16 beaches are affected, authorities said.
"Are the waters suitable for swimming? Yes," said Environment Minister Nadjiba Djilali during the cleanup campaign, adding there were no records of the plant causing allergies.
Researcher Bahbah said stopping its proliferation was "unfortunately impossible at this stage".
She said the plant reproduces at a high rate, both sexually and asexually.
The species can reproduce through fragmentation, meaning new individual algae can develop from fragmented pieces of other Rugulopteryx okamurae algae.
The algae spread mainly by clinging to the hulls of boats, and the Mediterranean's moderate temperature favours the seaweed's fast reproduction.
"We are going to fight it," said Fella Zaboudj, a state engineer in marine sciences, adding that researchers were monitoring its spread, development and evolution.
Zaboudj said research was also under way to determine whether the algae could be repurposed as fertiliser.
str-abh-iba/bou/ser

oil

BP makes largest oil, gas discovery in 25 years off Brazil

  • The discovery comes as a boost to the struggling energy major as it undergoes a major overhaul to focus on its more profitable oil and gas business, shelving its once industry-leading renewable energy strategy. 
  • Britain's BP announced Monday it made its biggest oil and gas discovery in 25 years off the coast of Brazil, as it shifts back to its fossil fuel business.
  • The discovery comes as a boost to the struggling energy major as it undergoes a major overhaul to focus on its more profitable oil and gas business, shelving its once industry-leading renewable energy strategy. 
Britain's BP announced Monday it made its biggest oil and gas discovery in 25 years off the coast of Brazil, as it shifts back to its fossil fuel business.
The discovery comes as a boost to the struggling energy major as it undergoes a major overhaul to focus on its more profitable oil and gas business, shelving its once industry-leading renewable energy strategy. 
The company said it had located oil and gas at the Bumerangue prospect, 404 kilometres (251 miles) from Rio de Janeiro, in a water depth of 2,372 metres.
"This is another success in what has been an exceptional year so far for our exploration team, underscoring our commitment to growing our upstream," said Gordon Birrell, BP's executive vice president for production and operations.
It marks the 10th discovery by BP in 2025.
Shares in the company rose more than one percent on London's top-tier FTSE 100 index following the announcement.
BP is ramping up its global exploration programme, with around 40 wells planned over the next three years, including as many as 15 to be drilled this year.
The group expects to grow its daily global output to between 2.3 million and 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2030.
"BP will want to use its latest numbers to convince the market it has truly revamped its strategy and moved away from the green push which proved unpopular with a significant portion of its shareholder base," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
BP publishes its latest earnings on Tuesday, after rival Shell last week reported a 23-percent slide in first-half net profit, hit by lower oil and gas prices.
ajb/lth

Shein

Italy fines fast-fashion giant Shein for 'green' claims

  • The fine was imposed on Infinite Styles Services Co. Ltd, the company responsible for managing Shein's product trading websites in Europe, the authority said in a statement.
  • Italy's competition watchdog said Monday it has fined the company responsible for Shein's websites in Europe one million euros ($1.15 million) for false and confusing claims about the e-commerce giant's efforts to be environmentally "green".
  • The fine was imposed on Infinite Styles Services Co. Ltd, the company responsible for managing Shein's product trading websites in Europe, the authority said in a statement.
Italy's competition watchdog said Monday it has fined the company responsible for Shein's websites in Europe one million euros ($1.15 million) for false and confusing claims about the e-commerce giant's efforts to be environmentally "green".
The AGCM watchdog accuses the China-founded fast-fashion colossal of having "adopted a misleading communication strategy regarding the characteristics and environmental impact of its clothing products".
The fine was imposed on Infinite Styles Services Co. Ltd, the company responsible for managing Shein's product trading websites in Europe, the authority said in a statement.
The AGCM accused it of "misleading and/or deceptive environmental messages and claims... in the promotion and sale of Shein-branded clothing products".
These were "in some instances, vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic, and in others, misleading or omissive".
In particular, claims about the recyclability of products "were found to be either false or at least confusing", it said.
Consumers could easily be led to believe Shein products were made exclusively from sustainable materials and fully recyclable, "a statement which, given the fibres used and current recycling systems, does not reflect reality".
The AGCM also took issue with the retailer's claims it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 and reach zero emissions by 2050.
These "vague" pledges by a company which has seen phenomenal growth in recent years were "contradicted by an actual increase in Shein's greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 and 2024", it said.
In a statement to AFP, Shein said it had "cooperated fully" with the watchdog's investigation and "took immediate action" to address the concerns, saying all environmental claims on the website were now "clear, specific and compliant with regulations".
Environmentalists have long warned of the damage wreaked by the fast-fashion sector's wasteful trend of mass producing low-cost clothes that are quickly thrown away.
Fast fashion uses up massive amounts of water, produces hazardous chemicals and clogs up landfills in poor countries with textile waste, while also generating greenhouse gases in production, transport and disposal.
ide/ar/lth

Global Edition

Torrential rain in Taiwan kills five over past week

BY JOY CHIANG

  • Two people were killed and hundreds injured as the storm dumped more than 500 millimetres of rain across the south over a weekend. 
  • Storms dumped more than two metres of rain in parts of Taiwan over the past week, killing five people and triggering floods and landslides in central and southern areas, authorities said Monday.
  • Two people were killed and hundreds injured as the storm dumped more than 500 millimetres of rain across the south over a weekend. 
Storms dumped more than two metres of rain in parts of Taiwan over the past week, killing five people and triggering floods and landslides in central and southern areas, authorities said Monday.
Torrential rain has lashed swathes of the island since July 28, forcing several thousand people to seek shelter, damaging roads, and shuttering offices.
Maolin, a mountainous district in southern Taiwan, recorded more than 2.8 metres (nine feet) of rain since July 28, the Central Weather Administration (CWA).
That's more than Taiwan's annual rainfall of 2.1 metres last year, according to the agency's data.
It was the first time since 1998 that "Taiwan has seen seven consecutive days each with over 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rainfall," said Chen Yi-liang, director of CWA's weather forecasting centre.
The unusually heavy downpours were caused by a low-pressure system and strong southwesterly winds, CWA forecaster Li Ming-siang told AFP.
"The southwesterly winds have brought heavy moisture from the South China Sea to Taiwan," Li said.
Li said southwesterly winds were normally brought by typhoons affecting the island and seasonal rain in May and June.
This time it was caused by Typhoon Co-May pushing southwesterly winds further north as it swept past eastern Taiwan on its way to China, Li said, adding the rain was not linked to climate change.
The average rainfall across the island last month was the highest for the month of July since 1939, the CWA said.
The torrential rain follows Typhoon Danas, which hit Taiwan in early July. 
Two people were killed and hundreds injured as the storm dumped more than 500 millimetres of rain across the south over a weekend. 
"We rarely encounter a disaster of this scale," Premier Cho Jung-tai said during a visit to a flood-hit area in the southern Tainan City on Monday.
"From Typhoon Danas up to now, we've faced nearly a month of continuous and heavy rainfall."
The week of bad weather left five people dead, three missing, and 78 injured, a disaster official said.
Nearly 6,000 people were forced to leave their homes.
The state weather forecaster expects the rain to ease in the coming days. 
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.
joy/amj/mtp

climate

Beijing issues new storm warning after deadly floods

  • The municipal weather service announced a red alert -- the highest in a four-tier system -- forecasting heavy rain from noon on Monday until Tuesday morning.
  • Beijing issued its highest alert for rainstorms on Monday, days after deadly deluges swept parts of the Chinese capital and triggered a rare apology from under-prepared officials.
  • The municipal weather service announced a red alert -- the highest in a four-tier system -- forecasting heavy rain from noon on Monday until Tuesday morning.
Beijing issued its highest alert for rainstorms on Monday, days after deadly deluges swept parts of the Chinese capital and triggered a rare apology from under-prepared officials.
The municipal weather service announced a red alert -- the highest in a four-tier system -- forecasting heavy rain from noon on Monday until Tuesday morning.
Most parts of the city are expected to see 100 millimetres (four inches) of rain during a six-hour period overnight, but outlying areas could experience between 150mm and 200mm, authorities said.
"There is an extremely high risk of flash floods, mudslides, landslips and other natural disasters in mountain areas," the Beijing government said on an official social media account.
"Citizens are advised not to go outside unless necessary," it said.
Tens of thousands of people in northern China were evacuated as torrential rains wreaked havoc in parts of the north since last month.
Beijing was struck hard last week, when floods in its northern suburbs killed at least 44 people and left nine missing, according to official figures.
Some 31 fatalities occurred at an elderly care centre in Miyun district, prompting a local official to admit "gaps" in disaster readiness.
Residents in flood-hit areas told AFP reporters at the scene that they had been surprised at the speed with which the rushing water inundated homes and devastated villages.
The city water authority on Monday again listed Miyun as highly vulnerable to flooding, alongside Fangshan, Mentougou and Huairou districts, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer, when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.
China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change and contribute to making extreme weather more frequent and intense.
But it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.
mjw/oho/fox

energy

'Let's go fly a kite': Capturing wind for clean energy in Ireland

BY PETER MURPHY

  • Ireland's wind energy sector has long been touted as full of potential.
  • On Ireland's blustery western seaboard researchers are gleefully flying giant kites -- not for fun but in the hope of generating renewable electricity and sparking a "revolution" in wind energy.
  • Ireland's wind energy sector has long been touted as full of potential.
On Ireland's blustery western seaboard researchers are gleefully flying giant kites -- not for fun but in the hope of generating renewable electricity and sparking a "revolution" in wind energy.
"We use a kite to capture the wind and a generator at the bottom of it that captures the power," Padraic Doherty of Kitepower, the Dutch firm behind the venture, told AFP. 
At its test site in operation since September 2023 near the small town of Bangor Erris, the team transports the vast 60-square-metre (645,000-square-feet) kite from a hangar across the lunar-like bogland to a generator. 
The kite is then attached by a cable tether to the machine and acts like a "yo-yo or fishing reel", Doherty said.
"It gets cast out and flies up, the tether pulls it back in, over and over again, creating energy," he said, testing the kite's ropes and pulleys before a flight.
The sparsely populated spot near the stormy Atlantic coast is the world's first designated airborne renewable energy test site. 
And although the idea is still small in scale, it could yet prove to be a mighty plan as Ireland seeks to cut its reliance on fossil fuels such as oil and gas.
"We are witnessing a revolution in wind energy," said Andrei Luca, operations head at Kitepower, a zero-emissions energy solutions spin-off from the Delft University of Technology.
"It took nearly 25 years for wind turbines to evolve from 30 kilowatt prototypes to megawatt scale, and decades to offshore wind farms we see today," he added.
The system flies autonomously, driven by software developed at the university in the Netherlands, but Doherty acts as the kite's "pilot" on the ground, monitoring its flight path for efficiency. 
The kite flies up around 400 metres (1,300 feet) and reels in to about 190 metres, generating around 30 kilowatts for storage.
The force spins "like a dynamo on a bike", Doherty said, adding that "it generates up to two and a half tonnes of force through each turn".
The electricity is stored in batteries, similar to solar photovoltaic systems, with the kite currently able to fully charge a 336 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery.
"That's a meaningful amount of energy, sufficient for powering a remote outpost, a small island, polar station, or even a construction site," Luca said.
"Add additional kites and we can power a bigger island."

'Mobile, flexible'

According to Doherty, a chief advantage of the kite system is its flexibility and swift start-up capability.
"We can set up in 24 hours and can bring it anywhere, it's super mobile, and doesn't need expensive, time- and energy-consuming turbine foundations to be built," he said. 
A kite system is "way less invasive on the landscape (than wind turbines), produces clean energy and doesn't need a supply chain of fuel to keep running", Luca added.
During January's Storm Eowyn, which caused widespread and long-lasting power outages in Ireland, the system showed its value in Bangor Erris, according to Luca. 
"Paired with a battery, it provided uninterrupted electricity before, during and after the storm," he said. 
Ireland's wind energy sector has long been touted as full of potential.
But progress on large-scale delivery of onshore and offshore turbines has been held up by planning delays and electricity grid capacity constraints.
The Irish government has set ambitious targets for offshore wind energy to deliver 20 gigawatts of energy by 2040 and at least 37 gigawatts by 2050.
In 2024, Irish wind farms provided around a third of the country's electricity according to Wind Energy Ireland (WEI), a lobby group for the sector. 
This compares to the UK where, according to trade association RenewableUK, wind energy from the country's combined wind farms first reached 20 gigawatts in November 2022.
The ability of airborne wind energy (AWE) systems to harness high-altitude winds with relatively low infrastructure requirements "makes them particularly suitable for remote, offshore or mobile applications," Mahdi Salari, an AWE researcher at University College Cork, told AFP.
But he said Kitepower would face challenges on "regulation, safety, and system reliability". 
Such technology however could plug gaps in places where "land availability, costs or logistical constraints hinder the deployment of traditional wind turbines", Salari said.
By the 2030s, he said: "I expect AWE to contribute meaningfully to diversified, flexible and distributed renewable energy networks".
pmu/jkb/jwp/js/tc

weather

17 heat records broken in Japan

  • Japan this year had its hottest June and July since data collection began in 1898, with the weather agency warning of further "severe heat" in the months ahead.
  • Seventeen heat records were broken in Japan on Monday, the weather agency said, after the country sweltered through its hottest ever June and July.
  • Japan this year had its hottest June and July since data collection began in 1898, with the weather agency warning of further "severe heat" in the months ahead.
Seventeen heat records were broken in Japan on Monday, the weather agency said, after the country sweltered through its hottest ever June and July.
Heatwaves are becoming more intense and frequent worldwide because of human-caused climate change, scientists say, and Japan is no exception.
The city of Komatsu, in the central region of Ishikawa, saw a new record of 40.3 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
Toyama city in Toyama prefecture, also in the central region, hit 39.8C (103F), the highest temperature since records began, according to the JMA.
Fifteen other locations across cities and towns soared to new highs between 35.7C (96F) and 39.8C, added the JMA, which monitors temperatures at more than 900 points in Japan.
On July 30, Japan experienced its highest recorded temperature, a sizzling 41.2C (106F) in the western region of Hyogo.
The rainy season ended about three weeks earlier than usual in western regions of Japan, another record.
With low levels of rainfall and heat, several dams in the northern region were almost empty, the land ministry said, with farmers worried that a water shortage and extreme heat could result in a poor harvest.
Experts warn Japan's beloved cherry trees are blooming earlier due to the warmer climate, or sometimes not fully blossoming because autumns and winters are not cold enough to trigger flowering.
The famous snowcap of Mount Fuji was absent for the longest recorded period last year, not appearing until early November, compared with the average of early October.
Japan this year had its hottest June and July since data collection began in 1898, with the weather agency warning of further "severe heat" in the months ahead.
The speed of temperature increases across the world is not uniform. 
Of the continents, Europe has seen the fastest warming per decade since 1990, followed closely by Asia, according to global data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
nf-kh/aph/jfx

history

80 years on, Korean survivors of WWII atomic bombs still suffer

BY KANG JIN-KYU WITH HARUMI OZAWA IN HIROSHIMA

  • Kim Hwa-ja was four on August 6, 1945 and remembers being put on a makeshift horse-drawn trap as her family tried to flee Hiroshima after the bomb.
  • Bae Kyung-mi was five years old when the Americans dropped "Little Boy", the atomic bomb that flattened Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
  • Kim Hwa-ja was four on August 6, 1945 and remembers being put on a makeshift horse-drawn trap as her family tried to flee Hiroshima after the bomb.
Bae Kyung-mi was five years old when the Americans dropped "Little Boy", the atomic bomb that flattened Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
Like thousands of other ethnic Koreans working in the city at the time, her family kept the horror a secret.
Many feared the stigma from doing menial work for colonial ruler Japan, and false rumours that radiation sickness was contagious.
Bae recalls hearing planes overhead while she was playing at her home in Hiroshima on that day. 
Within minutes, she was buried in rubble.
"I told my mom in Japanese, 'Mom! There are airplanes!'" Bae, now 85, told AFP.
She passed out shortly after.
Her home collapsed on top of her, but the debris shielded her from the burns that killed tens of thousands of people  -- including her aunt and uncle.
After the family moved back to Korea, they did not speak of their experience.
"I never told my husband that I was in Hiroshima and a victim of the bombing," Bae said.
"Back then, people often said you had married the wrong person if he or she was an atomic bombing survivor." 
Her two sons only learned she had been in Hiroshima when she registered at a special centre set up in 1996 in Hapcheon in South Korea for victims of the bombings, she said.
Bae said she feared her children would suffer from radiation-related illnesses that afflicted her, forcing her to have her ovaries and a breast removed because of the high cancer risk.

A burning city

She knew why she was getting sick, but did not tell her own family. 
"We all hushed it up," she said. 
Some 740,000 people were killed or injured in the twin bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
More than 10 percent of the victims were Korean, data suggests, the result of huge flows of people to Japan while it colonised the Korean peninsula.
Survivors who stayed in Japan found they had to endure discrimination both as "hibakusha", or atomic bomb survivors, and as Koreans.
Many Koreans also had to choose between pro-Pyongyang and pro-Seoul groups in Japan, after the peninsula was left divided by the 1950-53 Korean War.
Kwon Joon-oh's mother and father both survived the attack on Hiroshima.
The 76-year-old's parents, like others of their generation, could only work by taking on "filthy and dangerous jobs" that the Japanese considered beneath them, he said.
Korean victims were also denied an official memorial for decades, with a cenotaph for them put up in the Hiroshima Peace Park only in the late 1990s.
Kim Hwa-ja was four on August 6, 1945 and remembers being put on a makeshift horse-drawn trap as her family tried to flee Hiroshima after the bomb.
Smoke filled the air and the city was burning, she said, recalling how she peeped out from under a blanket covering her, and her mother screaming at her not to look.
Korean groups estimate that up to 50,000 Koreans may have been in the city that day, including tens of thousands working as forced labourers at military sites.

Stigma

But records are sketchy.
"The city office was devastated so completely that it wasn't possible to track down clear records," a Hiroshima official told AFP.
Japan's colonial policy banned the use of Korean names, further complicating record-keeping.
After the attacks, tens of thousands of Korean survivors moved back to their newly-independent country.
But many have struggled with health issues and stigma ever since.
"In those days, there were unfounded rumours that radiation exposure could be contagious," said Jeong Soo-won, director of the country's Hapcheon Atomic Bomb Victim Center.
Nationwide, there are believed to be some 1,600 South Korean survivors still alive, Jeong said -- with 82 of them in residence at the center.
Seoul enacted a special law in 2016 to help the survivors -- including a monthly stipend of around $72 -- but it provides no assistance to their offspring or extended families.
"There are many second- and third-generation descendants affected by the bombings and suffering from congenital illnesses," said Jeong.
A provision to support them "must be included" in future, he said.
A Japanese hibakusha group won the Nobel Peace Prize last year in recognition of their efforts to show the world the horrors of nuclear war.
But 80 years after the attacks, many survivors in both Japan and Korea say the world has not learned. 

'Only talk'

US President Donald Trump recently compared his strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 
"Would he understand the tragedy of what the Hiroshima bombing has caused? Would he understand that of Nagasaki?" survivor Kim Gin-ho said. 
In Korea, the Hapcheon center will hold a commemoration on August 6 -- with survivors hoping that this year the event will attract more attention.
From politicians, "there has been only talk... but no interest", she said.
oh-kjk/ceb/djw/jfx

science

Patrick Star and 'Drag Queen' crab: underwater robot live stream captivates Argentines

BY FERNANDO LAGARRETA, WITH LEILA MACOR IN BUENOS AIRES

  • "There are cold-water corals with the same colors as those in the Caribbean.
  • A robot explores the dark, cold, deep sea floor of the South Atlantic, transmitting images of vibrant coral and fish never seen before as scientists give live commentary via YouTube.
  • "There are cold-water corals with the same colors as those in the Caribbean.
A robot explores the dark, cold, deep sea floor of the South Atlantic, transmitting images of vibrant coral and fish never seen before as scientists give live commentary via YouTube. And Argentines can't get enough of it.
The Argentine-American scientific mission is for the first time exploring the Mar del Plata canyon, a submarine gorge which plunges nearly 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) deep, off the coast of the seaside resort of the same name.
The awed conversations between scientists leading the expedition and the explanations they give to viewers allow the public a rare insight into the hidden wonders of marine biology.
In one instance, the camera on the SuBastian underwater robot shows a weird-looking, little white animal. One of the scientists on the team can be heard asking her colleagues, "Do we want it?"
"Yes, yes, we want it!" reply dozens of messages in the live stream chat before the image shows the suction device being activated to suck up the specimen for study. 
"Oh, I love these little creatures," says one user. "I'm obsessed!" comments another. "Don't take the little one away!" pleads a third.
The live stream began a week ago and exceeded one million views per day since Thursday, when it also began to be broadcast on television.
"There are cold-water corals with the same colors as those in the Caribbean. How can that be? At a depth of 3,000 meters!" Pablo Penchaszadeh, a marine biologist and painter who is on board the expedition as an artist, told AFP.

Patrick Star

The 20-day expedition "Underwater Oases of the Mar del Plata Canyon" involves 25 scientists -- most of them from the Argentine research agency CONICET.
Part of the GEMPA deep sea study group, with support from the US Schmidt Ocean Institute, it will end on August 10.
Aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's "Falkor (too)" ship, scientists remotely operate the robot, which can descend to a depth of 4,500 meters (14,700 feet).
They collect biological samples with its robotic arms and other instruments, and send back high-definition images.
"The fact that anyone can connect from home and see what we are seeing live is a unique opportunity," explains expedition leader Daniel Lauretta in a statement. 
"Science is no longer something distant or inaccessible, but becomes part of everyday life."
This week, social media users were delighted when an orange starfish with two symmetrical bumps resembling buttocks appeared on the live stream. It quickly prompted comparisons with Patrick Star, from the popular animated series SpongeBob SquarePants.
Memes circulated joking that "Patrick is Argentine," marine biology became a trending topic on social media, and the broadcast reached the screens of hundreds of thousands of captivated viewers.
"I came to see the big-bottomed star, is it here?" asked one user upon entering the YouTube chat. 
Spectators also gave other sea creatures nicknames: a king crab was dubbed "Drag Queen," and sea cucumber was fondly called "Sweet Potato."

'Beacon of light'

This is the first time that human eyes -- albeit remotely -- have seen this underwater oasis in real time, where the cold, nutrient-rich Malvinas current and warm, salty Brazil current converge.
The confluence is "one of the most energetic regions in our global Ocean," according to the website of the Schmidt Institute, with the temperature difference creating an area teeming with marine wildlife and flora.
"We are already seeing incredible things: animals that have never been recorded in this area, underwater landscapes that look like something from another planet, and behaviors that surprise even the most experienced scientists," said Lauretta.
But funding for such expeditions is under threat in Argentina. 
CONICET, the government's scientific research arm, has been severely underfunded by libertarian President Javier Milei, who has implemented draconian cuts to public spending with his infamous "chainsaw."
Its budget fell by 21 percent last year, salaries have plummeted by 35 percent since the Milei took office in December 2023, and the cuts have led to an exodus of scientists.
As a result, in between "oohs" and "aahs" of wonder, messages of support are flooding the live stream's chat: "Long live Conicet!".
"Seeing people being passionate about their job is attractive," said Tomas Atilio Luppi, a biologist at the CONICET-affiliated marine and coastal research institute in Mar del Plata, who is not directly involved in the campaign.
"This is happening at a very difficult time," he told AFP of the popular broadcast. "Science is in a very complicated position, both financially and in terms of support and human resources."
"The fact that this craze is happening is like a beacon of light."
bur-lm/dg/db/aks/st

waste

New push to reach plastic pollution pact

BY ISABEL MALSANG

  • IPEN's Beeler said negotiators want to avoid another round of talks, but that does not assure an all-encompassing deal will be reached. 
  • Negotiators will take another stab at reaching a global pact on plastic pollution at talks opening Tuesday in Geneva but they face deep divisions over how to tackle the health and ecological hazard.
  • IPEN's Beeler said negotiators want to avoid another round of talks, but that does not assure an all-encompassing deal will be reached. 
Negotiators will take another stab at reaching a global pact on plastic pollution at talks opening Tuesday in Geneva but they face deep divisions over how to tackle the health and ecological hazard.
The coming 10 days of talks involving delegates from nearly 180 nations follows a failure to reach a deal last December on how to stop millions of tonnes of plastic waste entering the environment each year.
Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peak, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body.
In 2022, countries agreed they would find a way to address the crisis by the end of 2024, but the talks in Busan, South Korea failed to overcome fundamental differences.
One group of countries sought an ambitious globally binding agreement to limit production and phase out harmful chemicals.
However, a group of mostly oil-producing nations rejected production limits and wanted to focus on treating waste.
The stakes are high. If nothing is done, global plastic consumption could triple by 2060, according to OECD projections. 
Meanwhile, plastic waste in soils and waterways is expected to surge 50 percent by 2040, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which is acting as the secretariat for the talks.
Some 460 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is single-use. And less than 10 percent of plastic waste is recycled. 
Plastics break down into bits so small that not only do they find their way throughout the ecosystem but into human blood and organs, recent studies show, with largely unknown consequences on the health of current and future generations.

'Forever chemicals'

Despite the complexity of trying to reconcile the diverging interests the environment, human health, and industry "it's very possible to leave Geneva with a treaty," UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen told the press in the runup to the talks.
The text published after the failed talks in South Korea contained 300 points that still needed to be resolved.
"You have over 300 brackets in the text, which means you have over 300 disagreements," said Bjorn Beeler, executive director and international coordinator at IPEN, a global network aimed at limiting toxic chemicals. "So 300 disagreements have to be addressed." 
The most divisive issue is whether to restrict production of new plastic, with petroleum-producing nations like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia opposing limits.
Another contentious point: establishing a list of chemicals considered dangerous, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of synthetic chemicals often called forever chemicals as they take an extremely long time to break down. 
Bjorn Beeler, head of the IPEN network of activist groups working to eliminate pollutants said that no one wants the talks to go to a third round and the diplomats need to show progress.
The "context is difficult," a diplomatic source acknowledged on condition of anonymity, saying they could not ignore the changed US attitude towards multilateral initiatives under Donald Trump's administration.

Lobbyists at work

Meanwhile, developing nations are keenly interested in talks "either because they are plastic producers with a risk of a strong impact on their economies or because they suffer from plastic pollution and demand accountability," said the same source.  
In Nice in June, at the UN Oceans Conference, 96 countries, ranging from tiny island states to Zimbabwe, including the 27 members of the European Union, Mexico and Senegal, called for an ambitious treaty, including a target to reduce the production and consumption of plastics.
Ilane Seid, chair of the Alliance of Small Island states (AOSIS), said "the treaty should cover the full life cycle of plastics and this includes production. It should not be a waste management treaty."
"Governments must act in the interest of people, not polluters," said Graham Forbes, the head of Greenpeace's delegation at the talks, who denounced the presence of industry lobbyists. 
IPEN's Beeler said negotiators want to avoid another round of talks, but that does not assure an all-encompassing deal will be reached. 
"The escape hatch is most likely a skeleton that's going to be called a treaty, that needs to have finance, guts, and a soul to be actually something effective," he said. 
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