As global heating sees a surge in wildfires, we hear from those tackling the blazes, who face injury, death and trauma, often without proper equipment or support
In Greece, fires take up a lot of resources. There isn’t enough money to recruit the number of [firefighters] needed or to buy the necessary equipment. Volunteers plug the gaps.
Continue reading...Researchers call for new firefighting techniques that focus on managing landscapes, as global heating sees increase in blazes
A new approach is urgently needed to tackle global wildfires as current methods are no longer working, draining the public purse and placing lives at risk, according to experts.
This summer saw some of the worst wildfires in history and underscored the destructive impacts of global heating. As Cop26 approaches and is expected to shine a light on the importance of protecting ecosystems and building defences to avoid loss of homes and lives, experts say a lack of foresight and funding worldwide means harmful wildfires will continue to rage, putting communities and firefighters in danger.
Continue reading...Northern California faces flash flood risk and threat of mudslides, especially in fire-charred areas
A huge Pacific storm is poised to unleash conditions known as an “atmospheric river”, with torrential rains and strong winds putting about 10 million people at risk of flash floods in parts of northern California this weekend.
The incoming tempest has raised fears of mudslides, especially in areas charred during record-setting wildfires this summer.
Continue reading...Extreme heat can kill or cause long-term health problems – but for many unendurable temperatures are the new normal
The impact of extreme heat on the human body is not unlike what happens when a car overheats. Failure starts in one or two systems, and eventually it takes over the whole engine until the car stops.
That’s according to Mike McGeehin, environmental health epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “When the body can no longer cool itself it immediately impacts the circulatory system. The heart, the kidneys, and the body become more and more heated and eventually our cognitive abilities begin to desert us – and that’s when people begin fainting, eventually going into a coma and dying.”
Continue reading...At least three people dead and 11 others missing after incident in flood-hit Hebei province
A bus has fallen into a river in northern China, leaving at least three people dead and 11 others missing after flooding from heavy rains destroyed homes and covered farmland in two provinces.
Video posted online showed people on top of an almost submerged bus in a rushing river flowing over a nearby bridge outside the city of Shijiazhuang, about 165 miles (265km) south-west of Beijing.
Continue reading...A sandstorm made by powerful winds whipping up dust from the ground has engulfed Barretos and surrounding towns north of the city of São Paulo. The storms were triggered by the worst drought to hit Brazil in nine decades, which depleted hydroelectric reservoirs, forcing the grid operator to fire up more expensive thermoelectric plants and the government to implement a 'water scarcity' power rate.
Continue reading...Parts of Italy have been hit by extreme weather, with records broken for the amount of rainfall and St Mark's Square in Venice flooded. The commune of Rossiglione in Genoa, Liguria, received 74cm (29.2in) of rain in 12 hours, a European record, while Sicily was also battered by heavy rain and strong winds
Continue reading...A cyclone that made landfall in Oman on Sunday has killed at least 13 people, and others are missing as the storm moved further inland and weakened. Omani state television broadcast images of flooded roadways and valleys as the storm churned deeper into the sultanate, its outer edges reaching the neighbouring United Arab Emirates
Continue reading...Climate crisis brings stark intergenerational injustice but rapid emission cuts can limit damage
People born today will suffer many times more extreme heatwaves and other climate disasters over their lifetimes than their grandparents, research has shown.
The study is the first to assess the contrasting experience of climate extremes by different age groups and starkly highlights the intergenerational injustice posed by the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Those worst hit by global heating are left out of talks, says feminist coalition calling for systemic change
Women must be enabled to play a greater role at the Cop26 summit, as the needs of women and girls are being overlooked amid the global climate crisis, a coalition of feminist groups has said.
The Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice has laid out a call for action at the UN general assembly, including demands that world leaders meeting at Cop26, in Glasgow this November, must end fossil fuel expansion and move to 100% renewable energy.
Continue reading...As sea levels rise, growers are employing innovative methods to adapt to saline soils
Like millions of people across Bangladesh, Anita Bala, 45, relies on a small plot of land to feed her family.
But for years nothing would grow. Her husband farmed shrimp in the salty ponds on their land, but the surrounding ground was barren. Bala’s efforts to cultivate beans and pulses failed repeatedly. Eventually she gave up.
Continue reading...Region’s leaders make joint declaration vowing to step up efforts to address extreme weather
With the catastrophic effects of this summer’s unprecedented wildfires still being counted, leaders from around the Mediterranean – the European region most at risk from climate breakdown – have vowed to intensify their efforts to tackle the challenges posed by extreme weather.
A joint declaration, signed in Athens, has fired the starting shot on what is hoped will bring groundbreaking change in how the neighbouring states shore up their defences against natural disasters.
Continue reading...National disaster declared as crops fail after poor rains and locusts, while ethnic conflicts add to crisis
An estimated 2.1 million Kenyans face starvation due to a drought in half the country, which is affecting harvests.
The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said people living in 23 counties across the arid north, northeastern and coastal parts of the country will be in “urgent need” of food aid over the next six months, after poor rains between March and May this year.
Continue reading...Fire in Andalucía region rages for sixth day having already forced evacuation of thousands of people
Almost 1,000 firefighters and emergency workers are battling one of the most intractable Spanish wildfires in recent years as the blaze rages for a sixth day, after devouring at least 7,400 hectares (18,285 acres) of land in the southern region of Andalucía and forcing the evacuation of more than 2,600 people.
On Sunday, 260 members of Spain’s military emergencies unit were deployed to help tackle the fire, which began last Wednesday in the mountainous Sierra Bermeja above the resort town of Estepona, and which now has a perimeter of 53 miles (85km). Experts hope the rain forecast across much of the country on Monday will help extinguish the blaze.
Continue reading...As both the climate crisis and development intensify, Black cemeteries are now at a disproportionate risk of being lost, some before they have even been officially found
On a cloudy weekend day in May, Jennifer Blanks took a trip to Canaan cemetery in Bryan, Texas. The six-acre site is the final resting place for a community of primarily Black farmers and veterans, with generations stretching back to the 1800s. Among the interred is Powell Harvey, the first Black man to serve as the Brazos county constable.
If Blanks hadn’t known this before visiting, though, she might have missed many of the graves completely.
Continue reading...A powerful earthquake has struck south-west Mexico near the beach resort of Acapulco, killing at least one person who was crushed by a falling post and causing rockfalls and damaging buildings. The 7.0-magnitude quake shook the hillsides around the resort, downing trees and pitching large boulders on to the road
Continue reading...Dozens died across the north-east as the storm system passed through and the climate crisis makes extreme weather more likely
As the north-eastern US reeled from catastrophic damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, politicians and city officials warned that the climate crisis will bring more such events. According to the mayor of New York City, people should prepare for the “very, very worst”.
Related: New York floods: calls for action after 11 die in basement apartments
Continue reading...The US death toll from Hurricane Ida rose towards 60 on Saturday, nearly a week after one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the US mainland made landfall in Louisiana. Two more evacuated nursing home residents were confirmed to have died in the southern state.
Related: Louisiana Shell refinery left spewing chemicals after Hurricane Ida
Continue reading...Tens of thousands of New Yorkers, many immigrants or people of color, live in basements vulnerable to extreme weather
Most people killed in New York City in a record-breaking storm this week lived in basement apartments. Walls of water crashed into their homes, trapping them inside and blocking efforts to help.
Related: ‘People did extraordinary things’: Ida rescuers lauded for heroic efforts
Continue reading...Crews using airboats and helicopters conduct search and rescue missions after at least two people killed
More than 1 million homes and businesses remained without power in and around New Orleans on Monday as residents and authorities began to assess “catastrophic” damage from Hurricane Ida, a 150mph monster storm that was the most powerful ever to hit Louisiana.
Related: New Orleans battered by Hurricane Ida as storm claims first victim in Louisiana
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