Australia blanketed in biggest snowfall since mid-80s
Cars, roofs and gardens were completely white as a cold air front dropped as much as 16in (40cm) of snow on parts of northern New South Wales on Saturday, the most since the mid-1980s, said Miriam Bradbury, a meteorologist at Australia's weather bureau.
Snow also settled in areas of the neighbouring state of Queensland for the first time in 10 years, she said.
Ms Bradbury said climate change has made Australia's weather more volatile in recent years but that this sort of event had occurred several times in the historical record.
'What makes this event unusual is how much snow we had but also how widespread, covering quite a large part of the northern tablelands,' she said.
With heavy rain lashing other areas, the New South Wales State Emergency Service said it had responded to more than 1,455 incidents. It said more than 100 vehicles had been stranded by snow, storms had damaged buildings and it had issued several major flood warnings.
Tens of thousands of homes spent the night without power, state broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Police in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, said a car had become stuck in floodwater on Saturday evening and a female passenger in her 20s was swept away. The search was continuing on Sunday, they said.
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Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pakistani musicians use folk songs and rap to raise climate change awareness
Climate Pakistan Floods Singer UMERKOT, Pakistan (AP) — Villagers hush when Pakistani folk musician Sham Bhai starts singing about climate change, her clear voice rising above the simple squat dwellings. 'We are the people of the south. The winds seem to be blowing from the north. The winds seem cold and warm. My heart is burned from seeing the collapsed houses in the rain. Oh, beloved, come home soon.' Sham is from Sindh, the Pakistani province worst-hit three years ago by climate-worsened deluges that affected tens of millions of people nationwide and washed away homes, farmland and infrastructure. She has toured a dozen villages in Sindh during the past two years, teaching people about climate adaptation and resilience through song, a useful medium for sharing information in places where literacy is low and internet is scarce. 'When we give a message through song, it is easy to communicate to people because they understand it,' the 18-year-old singer told The Associated Press. She was performing in Umerkot district, singing in her native tongue and official provincial language, Sindhi, which is more likely to be spoken and understood in places like Umerkot than the official and national language of Pakistan, Urdu. Sindh recorded more than 1,000 rain-related deaths in a few months in 2022. The damage remains visible. Broken roads and flattened houses that residents never rebuilt. Floods submerged swathes of Sham's district, Tando Allahyar. News footage showed people wading through waist-deep water. "The meaning of the song is that poor people's homes built on mud are not strong," Sham explains. "Women and children face hardship during the rains because they are vulnerable in the absence of men who go away to work. The women of the house call on their men to return because the weather is so bad.' Poverty and illiteracy deepen people's vulnerability Alternating patches of parched and lush farmland flank the road to Umerkot. Dry and wet spells buffet the province, and local farmers have to adapt. They now focus on winter crops rather than summer ones because the rain is more predictable in the colder months. 'The monsoon season used to come on time, but now it starts late,' farmer Ghulam Mustafa Mahar said. 'Sometimes there is no rain. All patterns are off-course due to climate change for the last five years.' He and others have switched from crops to livestock to survive. There is little infrastructure away from the center of the district. Children get excited seeing sedans crunch through the dust. The area is mostly poor and very hot. Sindh's literacy rate falls to 38% in rural areas. Sham said singing informs those who can't learn about climate change because they can't read. Mindful of their audience, the three singers warm people up with popular tunes to catch their attention before launching into mournful tunes about the wind and rain, their lyrics inspired by writers and poets from Sindh. 'People are acting on our advice; they are planting trees and making their houses strong to face climate change,' said Sham. ' Women and children suffer a lot during bad conditions, which damage their homes.' Women and girls of all ages can be seen working outdoors in Sindh, tending to crops or livestock. They gather food and water, along with wood for fuel. They are predominantly restricted to this type of work and other domestic chores because of gender norms and inequalities. When extreme weather strikes, they are often the first to suffer. One villager said when heavy rain battered homes in 2022, it crushed and killed whoever was inside, including children. One woman is rapping for climate justice People in rural areas have no idea what climate change is, said Urooj Fatima, an activist from the city of Jhuddo. Her stage name is Sindhi Chhokri, and she is known locally for campaigning on issues such as women's rights. But she has turned her attention to raising awareness about climate change since flooding devastated her village in 2022 and again in 2024. 'We can engage a lot of audiences through rap. If we go to a village and gather a community, there are a maximum of 50. But everyone listens to songs. Through rap, we can reach out to hundreds of thousands of people through our voice and our message.' She said hip-hop isn't common in Pakistan, but the genre resonates because of its tradition as an expression of life, hardship and struggle. She has yet to finish her latest climate change rap, but wrote one in response to the 2022 flooding in neighboring Balochistan, the country's poorest and least developed province, because she felt it wasn't getting enough attention. She performed it at festivals in Pakistan and promoted it across her social media accounts. Officials at the time said more help was needed from the central government for people to rebuild their lives. 'There are potholes on the road; the roads are ruined,' raps Urooj. 'I am telling the truth. Will your anger rain down on me? Where was the Balochistan government when the floods came? My pen thirsts for justice. Now they've succeeded, these thieving rulers. This isn't a rap song, this is a revolution.' She and her sister Khanzadi campaign on the ground and social media, protesting, visiting villages, and planting thousands of trees. She wants the Sindh government to take climate change awareness seriously by providing information and education to those who need it the most, people living in rural areas. 'This happens every year,' said Urooj, referring to the floods. 'Climate change affects a person's whole life. Their whole life becomes a disaster.' She cites the disproportionate and specific impact of climate change on women and girls, the problems they experience with displacement, education, hygiene, and nutrition, attributing these to entrenched gender discrimination. 'For women, there are no opportunities or facilities. And then, if a flood comes from above, they face more difficulties.' She elicits controversy in rural areas. Half the feedback she receives is negative. She is undeterred from speaking out on social taboos and injustice. 'Rap is a powerful platform. If our rap reaches just a few people, then this is a very good achievement. We will not let our voices be suppressed. We will always raise our voices high.' ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
35 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Pakistani musicians use folk songs and rap to raise climate change awareness
UMERKOT, Pakistan (AP) — Villagers hush when Pakistani folk musician Sham Bhai starts singing about climate change, her clear voice rising above the simple squat dwellings. 'We are the people of the south. The winds seem to be blowing from the north. The winds seem cold and warm. My heart is burned from seeing the collapsed houses in the rain. Oh, beloved, come home soon.' Sham is from Sindh, the Pakistani province worst-hit three years ago by climate-worsened deluges that affected tens of millions of people nationwide and washed away homes, farmland and infrastructure. She has toured a dozen villages in Sindh during the past two years, teaching people about climate adaptation and resilience through song, a useful medium for sharing information in places where literacy is low and internet is scarce. 'When we give a message through song, it is easy to communicate to people because they understand it,' the 18-year-old singer told The Associated Press. She was performing in Umerkot district, singing in her native tongue and official provincial language, Sindhi, which is more likely to be spoken and understood in places like Umerkot than the official and national language of Pakistan, Urdu. Sindh recorded more than 1,000 rain-related deaths in a few months in 2022. The damage remains visible. Broken roads and flattened houses that residents never rebuilt. Floods submerged swathes of Sham's district, Tando Allahyar. News footage showed people wading through waist-deep water. 'The meaning of the song is that poor people's homes built on mud are not strong,' Sham explains. 'Women and children face hardship during the rains because they are vulnerable in the absence of men who go away to work. The women of the house call on their men to return because the weather is so bad.' Poverty and illiteracy deepen people's vulnerability Alternating patches of parched and lush farmland flank the road to Umerkot. Dry and wet spells buffet the province, and local farmers have to adapt. They now focus on winter crops rather than summer ones because the rain is more predictable in the colder months. 'The monsoon season used to come on time, but now it starts late,' farmer Ghulam Mustafa Mahar said. 'Sometimes there is no rain. All patterns are off-course due to climate change for the last five years.' He and others have switched from crops to livestock to survive. There is little infrastructure away from the center of the district. Children get excited seeing sedans crunch through the dust. The area is mostly poor and very hot. Sindh's literacy rate falls to 38% in rural areas. Sham said singing informs those who can't learn about climate change because they can't read. Mindful of their audience, the three singers warm people up with popular tunes to catch their attention before launching into mournful tunes about the wind and rain, their lyrics inspired by writers and poets from Sindh. 'People are acting on our advice; they are planting trees and making their houses strong to face climate change,' said Sham. ' Women and children suffer a lot during bad conditions, which damage their homes.' Women and girls of all ages can be seen working outdoors in Sindh, tending to crops or livestock. They gather food and water, along with wood for fuel. They are predominantly restricted to this type of work and other domestic chores because of gender norms and inequalities. When extreme weather strikes, they are often the first to suffer. One villager said when heavy rain battered homes in 2022, it crushed and killed whoever was inside, including children. One woman is rapping for climate justice People in rural areas have no idea what climate change is, said Urooj Fatima, an activist from the city of Jhuddo. Her stage name is Sindhi Chhokri, and she is known locally for campaigning on issues such as women's rights. But she has turned her attention to raising awareness about climate change since flooding devastated her village in 2022 and again in 2024. 'We can engage a lot of audiences through rap. If we go to a village and gather a community, there are a maximum of 50. But everyone listens to songs. Through rap, we can reach out to hundreds of thousands of people through our voice and our message.' She said hip-hop isn't common in Pakistan, but the genre resonates because of its tradition as an expression of life, hardship and struggle. She has yet to finish her latest climate change rap, but wrote one in response to the 2022 flooding in neighboring Balochistan, the country's poorest and least developed province, because she felt it wasn't getting enough attention. She performed it at festivals in Pakistan and promoted it across her social media accounts. Officials at the time said more help was needed from the central government for people to rebuild their lives. 'There are potholes on the road; the roads are ruined,' raps Urooj. 'I am telling the truth. Will your anger rain down on me? Where was the Balochistan government when the floods came? My pen thirsts for justice. Now they've succeeded, these thieving rulers. This isn't a rap song, this is a revolution.' She and her sister Khanzadi campaign on the ground and social media, protesting, visiting villages, and planting thousands of trees. She wants the Sindh government to take climate change awareness seriously by providing information and education to those who need it the most, people living in rural areas. 'This happens every year,' said Urooj, referring to the floods. 'Climate change affects a person's whole life. Their whole life becomes a disaster.' She cites the disproportionate and specific impact of climate change on women and girls, the problems they experience with displacement, education, hygiene, and nutrition, attributing these to entrenched gender discrimination. 'For women, there are no opportunities or facilities. And then, if a flood comes from above, they face more difficulties.' She elicits controversy in rural areas. Half the feedback she receives is negative. She is undeterred from speaking out on social taboos and injustice. 'Rap is a powerful platform. If our rap reaches just a few people, then this is a very good achievement. We will not let our voices be suppressed. We will always raise our voices high.' ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Rental units in unincorporated L.A. County must stay cool under new law
Los Angeles County will soon require landlords in unincorporated parts of the county to keep their rental units 82 degrees or below to protect vulnerable tenants from the impacts of climate change. Supervisors said Tuesday that the law, which passed 4-0, was necessary to combat heat-related deaths, which have increased across the nation. Supervisor Kathryn Barger was not present for the vote. 'As we continue to face warmer summers, the ordinance is meant to provide relief to our unincorporated residents and to protect them from the dangers of extreme heat in their homes,' said Supervisor Hilda Solis, who pushed for staff to start drafting the law last year. The law is set to take effect next month, but it will not be enforced until Jan. 2027, though landlords can ask for an extension. Both old and newly constructed rental units will need to comply. Read more: Triple-digit temperatures on deck as heat wave descends on SoCal, elevating fire, health concerns Landlords with fewer properties will have additional time. Supervisor Janice Hahn introduced an amendment so that landlords who own 10 units or less will be able to keep just one room at 82 degrees or lower until 2032. Officials said deadly heat waves, which have become more frequent and intense across the state, presented a clear public health emergency for the county. 'Communities across Los Angeles County in my district, especially in the San Fernando Valley, are experiencing previously unimaginable temperatures,' said Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. 'Woodland Hills alone has recorded 121 degrees. This is unthinkable.' In Phoenix, landlords are required to keep units with air conditioning at 82 degrees or below. In Clark County, Nev., units can't go above 85 degrees. In Palm Springs, units need to have air conditioning and can't go above 80 degrees. Officials said the new law will be enforced through complaints, so tenants can call the county if they believe the temperature in their unit is too high. An inspector with the county's Department of Public Health would then be dispatched to inspect the unit. Barbara Ferrer, the head of the department, said the goal was to get the homes as cool as possible without issuing a fine. 'The way forward, frankly, isn't going to be to rely on that authority to issue citations,' she said. 'It's going to be to educate folks.' Read more: Dealing with extreme heat is a full-time job for parents of young kids — and their schools County officials said they were encouraging landlords to cool down units through 'passive," environmentally-friendly methods other than air conditioners. That could include blackout curtains, reflective roofing and triple-paned windows Fred Sutton, with the California Apartment Assn., said he was concerned that, by requiring every room to be at a certain temperature, landlords could be penalized if just one room got too hot. 'You could have your bedrooms, living room, and dining room actively cooled, but the kitchen is not actively cooled and gets to 83 degrees,' he said. 'You are creating really tough scenarios in a building that's totally adequately cooled.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
