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Express Tribune
a day ago
- Climate
- Express Tribune
Extended heatwave to test survivability limits
From Nigeria to Japan, Pakistan to Spain, the month of June was the hottest ever recorded in 12 countries and was exceptionally warm in 26 other countries, according to AFP analysis of data from the European monitor Copernicus. Some 790 million people around Europe, Asia and Africa experienced their hottest June to date. For the residents of 26 other states, including Britain, China, France, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, the month of June was the second hottest on record. Heatwaves are more frequent and intense because of global warming, experts say. Temperatures soared to record highs for June in Pakistan, home to a population of 250 million, and in Tajikistan, which has 10 million people. The June records followed an exceptionally hot spring in Central Asia. Several countries including Pakistan and Tajikistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan experienced their warmest spring (April-June) ever recorded. For hundreds of millions of people living in Pakistan and India extended summer heatwaves have become a terrifying reality that's testing survivability limits and putting enormous strain on energy supplies, vital crops and livelihoods. Both countries experience heatwaves during the summer months of May and June. Ayoub Khosa, who lives in Dera Murad Jamali, said the heatwave had arrived with an "intensity that caught many off guard," creating severe challenges for its residents. "One of the major issues is the persistent power outages," said Khosa, who told CNN they could last for up to 16 hours a day. "This has intensified the impact of the heat, making it harder for people to cope," he said. Testing survivability limits Experts say the rising temperatures are testing human limits. Pakistan and India, both countries with glaring disparities in development, are expected to be among the nations worst affected by the climate crisis — with more than 1 billion people predicted to be impacted on the subcontinent. The cascading effects will be devastating. Likely consequences range from a lack of food and drought to flash floods from melting ice caps, according to Mehrunissa Malik, a climate change and sustainability expert from Islamabad. Heatwaves have in the past have increased demand for electricity, leading to coal shortages while leaving millions without power. Trains have been cancelled to conserve energy, and schools have been forced shut, impacting learning.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Climate
- Associated Press
A wildfire outside Madrid sends a cloud of smoke over the Spanish capital
MADRID (AP) — An uncontrolled wildfire burned outside Madrid on Thursday, sending a giant cloud of smoke over the Spanish capital. The fire broke out in the town of Mentrida in central Spain's Castile-La Mancha region about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the capital. Local authorities urged residents to stay home and close their windows. Spanish authorities said the blaze had burned around 3,000 hectares (roughly 7,400 acres) by the late evening. Large parts of Spain are under heat and fire warnings, with temperatures on Thursday reaching 37 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in Madrid. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.
Euractiv
4 days ago
- Business
- Euractiv
MEPs push back against lack of dedicated EU space budget
Despite strong efforts by MEPs to secure a dedicated space budget line in the European Commission's new near €2 trillion spending plan for 2028–2034, no such provision appears in the proposal tabled on 16 July. The Commission has instead decided to merge numerous funds into a single €451 billion European Competitiveness Fund so it can be more adaptable to shifting political priorities. "Europe will miss the opportunity to assert its sovereignty in space," French socialist MEP and vice-chair of the sky and space intergroup, François Kalfon, told Euractiv of the decision to scrap a specific space pot. French centrist and former rapporteur for the secure telecommunications satellites regulation covering the IRIS² programme, Christophe Grudler, also said that the European Parliament is seeking to amend the proposal, adding: "You cannot just hand out billions blindly." Last month, a group of cross-party, space-focused MEPs had urged the Commission to allocate a dedicated €60 billion space budget in the next MFF, or multiannual financial framework, matching the industry's top estimates for funding the bloc's space ambitions. Unlike other industries, space companies provide satellites and maintenance services to the EU's operational constellations – such as Earth observation program Copernicus, geolocation system Galileo, and the upcoming secure communications system IRIS². The lack of a dedicated space budget is a U-turn for an industry which has become accustomed to planning investments around predictable public procurement by the EU, set in stone since 2021 in a space funding scheme of €18.7 billion. Under the new approach, the Commission has allocated €131 billion to "resilience and security, defence industry, and space" – but without any breakdown between different budget lines. This means the budget for space is unknown and could fluctuate based on changing priorities. The decision to cut out a dedicated space envelope has drawn swift criticisms from MEPs considering that without a dedicated budget line the bloc's space industry could struggle to plan major investments to operate and maintain the bloc's three major constellations. (nl)
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
‘Silent killers': Climate change made European heatwaves deadlier; temperatures up by 4°C
Climate change made European heatwaves deadlier; temperatures up by 4°C Human-induced climate change made the recent heatwaves across Europe significantly more intense, with temperatures in many cities up to 4°C higher than they would have been without global warming, according to a recent study. Researchers from five European institutions studied 12 cities, including major capitals such as Paris, London and Madrid, which have a combined population of over 30 million. They concluded that additional heat likely led to a higher number of heat-related deaths than would have occurred in a cooler climate, scientists said on Wednesday, reported AFP. The findings raise fresh concerns about the increasing risks to public health, particularly for vulnerable groups. Heatwaves spanned from late June to early July, saw temperatures soar past 40°C in several European countries, setting new records and triggering health warnings. According to the EU's climate monitor Copernicus, June was the hottest on record in western Europe. The extreme heat forced the closure of schools and tourist attractions in many areas. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dukung Orang Terkasih Menghadapi Limfoma: Mulai Di Sini Limfoma Klik Di Sini Undo Analysis of historical weather data revealed that, in all but one of the 12 cities studied, the temperatures would have been 2–4°C cooler without the influence of human-caused climate change. 'What that does is it brings certain groups of people into more dangerous territory,' said Ben Clarke, a researcher from Imperial College London, which co-led the study along with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 'For some people, it's still warm, fine weather. But for now a huge sector of the population, it's more dangerous,' he added. For the first time, the study also attempted to estimate the number of deaths attributable to the heatwave and the role climate change played. 'An increase in heatwave temperature of just two or four degrees can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of people,' said Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, a lecturer at Imperial College London. 'This is why heatwaves are known as silent killers. Most heat-related deaths occur in homes and hospitals out of public view and are rarely reported,' he added. The researchers were based in the UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland, emphasised that their estimate was only a partial snapshot of the overall impact, as official figures are not yet available. Heatwaves pose the greatest danger to the elderly, children, the sick, outdoor workers and those without access to cooling or shade. Urban areas face heightened risks due to the heat island effect, where buildings and paved surfaces absorb and retain more heat than surrounding areas.
BBC News
12-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Intense Mediterranean Sea heatwave raises fears for marine life
Warmer water at the seaside might sound nice for your holiday dip, but recent ocean heat in the Mediterranean Sea has been so intense that scientists fear potentially devastating consequences for marine temperature of the sea surface regularly passed 30C off the coast of Majorca and elsewhere in late June and early July, in places six or seven degrees above probably warmer than your local leisure centre swimming has been the western Med's most extreme marine heatwave ever recorded for the time of year, affecting large areas of the sea for weeks on end. The heat appears to be cooling off, but some species simply struggle to cope with such prolonged and intense warmth, with potential knock-on effects for fish give you some idea of these temperatures, most leisure centre swimming pools are heated to roughly 28C. Competitive swimming pools are slightly cooler at 25-28C, World Aquatics pools are a bit warmer, recommended at 29-31C or 30-32C for babies, according to the Swimming Teachers' balmy temperatures might sound attractive, but they can pose hidden threats. Harmful bacteria and algae can often spread more easily in warmer seawater, which isn't treated with cleaning chemicals like your local pool. Sea temperatures of 30C or above are not unprecedented in the Med in late they are highly unusual for June, according to data from the European Copernicus climate service, Mercator Ocean International, and measurements at Spanish ports."What is different this year is that 30C sea temperatures have arrived much earlier, and that means that we can expect the summer to be more intense and longer," said Marta Marcos, associate professor at the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain."I grew up here, so we are used to heatwaves, but this has become more and more common and intense." "We're all very, very surprised at the magnitude of this heatwave," added Aida Alvera-Azcárate, an oceanographer at the University of Liege in Belgium."It's a matter of high concern, but this is something we can expect to be happening again in the future." Marine heatwaves are becoming more intense and longer-lasting as humanity continues to release planet-warming gases into our atmosphere, principally by burning coal, oil and fact, the number of days of extreme sea surface heat globally has tripled over the past 80 years, according to research published earlier this year."Global warming is the main driver of marine heat waves… it's essentially transferring heat from the atmosphere to the ocean. It's very simple," said Dr Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable because it's a bit like a bathtub, largely surrounded by continents rather than open means water cannot escape easily, so its surface heats up quickly in the presence of warm air, sunny skies and light winds - as happened in June. For that reason, the Med is "a climate change hotspot" said Karina von Schuckmann of Mercator Ocean International, a non-profit research heat peaked as June turned to July, after which stronger winds allowed deeper, cooler waters to mix with the warm surface above and bring temperatures temperatures remain above average and there could be consequences for marine life that we don't yet know about. Most life has a temperature threshold beyond which it can't survive, though it varies a lot between species and sea creatures can also suffer from prolonged heat exposure, which essentially drains their energy through the summer to a point where they can no longer cope."I remember four years ago diving in September at the end of summer, we found skeletons of many, many, many populations," said Emma Cebrian, an ecologist at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes in and seagrasses act a bit like the forests of the Mediterranean Sea, home to hundreds of species, as well as locking up planet-warming carbon dioxide."Some of them are well adapted to typical Mediterranean warm temperatures, but actually they often cannot withstand marine heatwave conditions, which are becoming more extreme and widespread," said Dr Cebrian. The heat can also cause what ecologists call "sub-lethal effects", where species essentially go into survival mode and don't reproduce."If we start to see ecological impacts, there will almost certainly be impacts on human societies [including] losses of fisheries," warned Dan Smale, senior research fellow at the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth."We'll have to wait and see, really, but because the temperatures are so high this early in the summer, it is really alarming."The fast-warming Med is "a canary in the coal mine for climate change and marine ecosystems," he ocean heat can also supercharge extreme seas mean extra evaporation, adding to the moisture in the atmosphere that can fuel extreme other conditions are right, that can lead to devastating flooding, as happened in Libya in 2023 and Valencia in 2024. And warmer waters can reduce the cooling effect that coastal populations would usually get from the sea could make things very uncomfortable if there's another heatwave later in the summer, Dr Marcos warned."I'm pretty sure that's going to be horrible." Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
