Latest news with #Drought
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Cold front to dump ‘decent dose' of rain on drought-affected parts of south-east Australia
Drought-affected areas in south-eastern Australia can expect a 'decent dose' of rain when a cold front arrives later this week, with some places likely to see the best rain of the year so far. With one low-pressure system already delivering windy and wet conditions to the south-east on Tuesday, a second front – currently sitting off Western Australia – was expected to sweep across the country from Wednesday to Sunday, bringing a welcome band of rain to parched areas of South Australia, northern Victoria and south-western New South Wales. As that second system made its way east, it was expected to link up with tropical moisture from the Indian Ocean, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. 'More moisture means more rainfall,' said senior BoM meteorologist Angus Hines, who said the rain was expected to stretch 'pretty far and wide' – through South Australia, Victoria, NSW, and most of Queensland and Tasmania. 'Lots of people will be getting some rain.' That 'decent dose' of rainfall would be particularly welcome for drought-affected areas, Hines said, but was unlikely to address the significant deficits many places have seen. 'I would anticipate probably at least some locations will get the best rain of the year so far,' Hines said. But after 18 months of dry weather, it would take more than one good wet weather event to catch up, he said. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Large tracts of southern South Australia, as well as parts of western Victoria and north-west Tasmania, have recorded their lowest rainfall on record, in the 18 months from January 2024 to end of June 2025, according to the BoM. The drought has seen Adelaide's water reservoirs drop to their lowest levels in decades. Dams were currently sitting at 42% capacity. And much of southern Australia – from west to east – have seen below average or very much below average totals. On Tuesday, the first front would reach Victoria and alpine New South Wales, with only a fleeting band of rain and the potential for snow at the highest peaks. The main impact would be strong winds, Hines said, which were already blowing across southern parts of the country moving through South Australia, Victoria and parts of Tasmania. 'It is a blustery old day across the southern states, with wind being the main threat,' he said. 'There are a number of damaging wind warnings through Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, and just squeaking across the border into the snowy mountains of New South Wales. 'We've seen lots of gusts in excess of 100km/h yesterday evening, overnight [and] into this morning. We actually saw one particularly strong wind gust at Mount Hotham in Victoria, 150km/h,' he said. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The heaviest rainfall totals were expected to be 15 to 25mm, with isolated totals exceeding that. In Victoria, damaging, locally destructive wind warnings were current on Tuesday morning for central, eastern, Gippsland, Wimmera and the south-west, with blizzard conditions for alpine areas. In South Australia, severe weather warnings for damaging winds were in place for Kangaroo Island and parts of the Mount Lofty Ranges, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and south-east districts. As the winds moved through, temperatures would feel colder. Adelaide could expect a top of 13C on Tuesday, with showers and gusty winds. The low-pressure system would reach Tasmania later Tuesday afternoon, bringing strong and gusty winds as well as widespread, although mostly lighter rainfall in southern areas. Damaging winds were likely for the state's central and north-western districts. Hobart would reach 17C. On Tuesday, a cloudy day was expected for Sydney, with a top of 20C. Showers and a top of 16C were expected in Canberra and Melbourne, and 17C in Perth. Possible showers were forecast for Brisbane and 22C. Darwin would be partly cloudy and 31C.
France 24
15-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
'The moment of truth': French PM Bayrou lays out budget cuts
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Telegraph
10-07-2025
- Climate
- Telegraph
Cecilia Tortajada
Hosepipe bans are here again. The UK must prepare for the coming era of drought
Al Jazeera
27-06-2025
- Science
- Al Jazeera
India's innovation push falters with researchers denied timely funding
New Delhi, India – Getting into one of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) schools was supposed to be the end of the financial woes for Paras* and his family. Instead, things have only worsened due to the federal government's long delays in dispensing Paras's monthly fellowship allowance of 37,000 rupees ($435). At the IIT, Paras is a research fellow, looking into solutions to a global public health crisis created by the spread of infectious diseases. His fellowship comes from the INSPIRE scheme, funded by India's Department of Science and Technology (DST). But delays in the scheme's payment have meant that Paras was not able to pay the instalments on the laptop he bought for his research in 2022. His credit score plummeted, and his savings plans crashed. Paras's parents are farmers in a drought-affected region of western India, and their income depends on a harvest that often fails. So, he has resorted to borrowing money from friends, including as recently as between August and December, he told Al Jazeera. Paras is not alone. Al Jazeera spoke to nearly a dozen current and former fellows enrolled in top institutes across India under the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) programme. The interviewees studied at institutions such as the IITs, a network of engineering and technology schools across the country, the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, another network. All had gone from three to as long as nine months without a stipend. The funding delays and procedural lapses have marred the fellowship and impaired their research capacity, they said. Many researchers recently took to social media to complain, tagging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh. 'For over a year now, many of us who are pursuing PhDs under DST-funded fellowships have not received our stipends,' Sayali Atkare, an INSPIRE fellow, wrote on LinkedIn. 'This has pushed many young researchers into severe financial and emotional stress.' Last year, India ranked 39th in the Global Innovation Index of 133 countries, up one spot from the year prior. It leads lower-middle-income countries like Vietnam and the Philippines in innovation. China leads upper-middle-income countries and is followed by Malaysia and Turkiye. The federal government termed the ranking an 'impressive leap' in a news release. It said that India's 'growing innovation potential has been supported by government initiatives that prioritise technological advancement, ease of doing business, and entrepreneurship'. At a federal government conference in April, Modi boasted of India's growing research acumen. Under his leadership in the past decade, the government has doubled its gross spending on research and development from 600 billion rupees ($7.05bn) to more than 1,250 billion rupees ($14.7bn), while the number of patents filed has more than doubled – from 40,000 to more than 80,000. The numerous steps taken by the government – like doubling of expenditure on R&D, doubling of patents filed in India, creation of state-of-the art research parks and research fellowships and facilities – ensure 'that talented individuals face no obstacles in advancing their careers', Modi said. However, an analysis of government documents, budgets and interviews with researchers reveals that the government is more focused on commercial research, primarily product development led by start-ups and big corporations. It is offering little funding for research conducted at the country's premier universities. For instance, in the current financial year, 70 percent of the Science and Technology Department's annual budget has been allocated to a scheme under which interest-free loans are provided to private companies conducting research in sunrise domains, such as semiconductors. At the same time, the government has made misleading statements about its investments in the country's research institutes, including with schemes like the INSPIRE fellowship, where funds have actually been cut instead of being increased as touted by the government. Poor pay, funding delays The INSPIRE scheme offers PhD and faculty fellowships to 'attract, attach, retain and nourish talented young scientific Human Resource for strengthening the R&D [research and development] foundation and base'. The fellowships are offered to top-ranking postgraduate students and doctoral researchers to conduct research in areas from agriculture, biochemistry, neuroscience and cancer biology to climate science, renewable energy and nanotechnology. Under the scheme, PhD fellows are to receive 37,000 rupees ($435.14) to 42,000 rupees ($493.94) per month for living expenses and 20,000 rupees ($235.21) annually for research-related costs, such as paying for equipment or work-related travel. Faculty fellows are offered teaching positions with a monthly salary of 125,000 rupees ($1,470) and an annual research grant of 700,000 rupees ($8,232). In the year 2024-25, 653 fellows were enrolled in the PhD fellowship, and 85 in the faculty fellowship programme. 'I couldn't attend an important annual meeting in our field because it required travel, and I was not sure if I would get my allowance,' a faculty fellow at an institute in eastern India said. He has not received his payments since September 2024. Atkare, the PhD student who wrote about the government's failure on LinkedIn, also wrote, 'We've made endless phone calls, written countless emails – most of which go unanswered or are met with vague responses. Some officials even respond rudely.' Another INSPIRE PhD fellow told us of a running joke: 'If they pick up the phone, you can buy a lottery ticket that day. It's your lucky day.' In May, DST Secretary Abhay Karandikar accepted that there were funding delays and said that they would soon be resolved. Karandikar told the Hindu newspaper that he was 'aware' of the disbursement crisis but said that from June 2025, all scholars would get their money on time. 'All problems have been addressed. I don't foresee any issue in the future,' he said. Al Jazeera requested a comment from the science and technology minister, the DST secretary and the head of the department's wing that implements the INSPIRE scheme, but has not received a response. Dodgy math In January, the federal government folded three R&D-related schemes to start Vigyan Dhara or 'the flow of science' to ensure 'efficiency in fund utilisation'. The INSPIRE scheme had been funded under one of those schemes. But instead of efficiency, there has been chaos. Under Vigyan Dhara, DST asked institutes to set up new bank accounts, leading to delays in payments for INSPIRE fellowships. New Delhi also said that it had 'significantly increased' funding for the Vigyan Dhara scheme, from 3.30 billion rupees ($38.39m) in the last financial year to 14.25 billion rupees ($167.58m) in the current financial year. However, that math was incomplete. The 3.30 billion rupees ($38.39m) is what the government earmarked for the scheme, which was only launched in the last quarter of the fiscal year. The budget for the full fiscal year of the three schemes that Vigyan Dhara replaced amounted to 18.27 billion rupees ($214.93m). So, in effect, the current budget saw a 22 percent decrease in allocation from 18.27 billion rupees to 14.25 billion rupees ($167.58m). Overall, budget for Vigyan Dhara's constituent schemes reduced 67.5 percent from 43.89 billion rupees ($513.2m) in financial year 2016-17 to 14.25 billion rupees ($167.6m) in financial year 2025-26. DST officials did not respond to Al Jazeera's query requesting clarification of Vigyan Dhara's budgetary allocations. Commercialisation of research On the other hand, the Indian government earmarked 200 billion rupees ($2.35bn) for the new Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme targeting the private sector. This money is part of a larger 1-trillion-rupee ($11.76bn) corpus previously announced by India's finance minister to provide long-term financing at low or no interest rates. These changes in schemes are intended to make India a 'product nation', get more patents filed in India, and curb the brain drain, as Union Minister Aswini Vaishnaw and DST officials explain in different videos. But the plight of the researchers at state-run organisations remains unaddressed. 'The government throws around big terms but those toiling in laboratories are suffering,' said Lal Chandra Vishwakarma, president of All-India Research Scholars Association. 'Stipends should be similar to salaries of central government employees. Fellows should get their money every month without fail,' he said. In the current scenario, most fellows Al Jazeera spoke to said that they would prefer a fellowship abroad. 'It's not just about funds but the ease of research, which is much better in Europe and USA. We get so much staff support there. In India, you get none of that,' said a professor at an IIT, who supervises an INSPIRE PhD fellow who faced funding issues. While the private sector is being heavily financed, researchers told us they downplay their funding costs as that improves their chances of landing government research projects. 'Cutting-edge research is so fast, if we lose the first few years due to cost-cutting, we are behind our colleagues abroad,' the IIT professor said. 'Once we submit necessary documents, like annual progress reports, DST takes at least three months to release the next instalment. It's usual,' said a PhD fellow who is a theoretical mathematician. 'Right now, I would say only people with privilege [and high-income backgrounds] should be in academia. Not because that's how it should be, but because for others, it's just so hard,' the IIT professor said. *Al Jazeera has changed names to protect the identity of interviewees.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Florida faces rising heat, soaking rains as summer kicks off
The Brief Florida is staring down a higher-than-normal chance of both above-average temperatures and above-average rainfall through July, August and September, which means more heat and rain are coming at the same time. As of June 19, nearly all of peninsular Florida is in some level of drought, except for the Orlando metro. The higher-than-normal chance of above-average rainfall could possibly lead to trouble in the tropics. FLORIDA - The long-anticipated three-month summer outlook was released this week by federal forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, and let's just say it's about to get wetter and even warmer. Florida is staring down a higher-than-normal chance of both above-average temperatures and above-average rainfall through July, August and September, which means more heat and rain are coming at the same time. Local perspective As of June 19, nearly all of peninsular Florida is in some level of drought, except for the Orlando metro. The Panhandle region is also no longer in drought. The recent rains have helped a lot, but there's still much more to be done for most of our state. From the citrus groves of Polk County to the wetlands of Broward, soil moisture has been falling behind — fast. News of a rainy summer may interrupt pool and beach plans, but it isn't all bad. However, we are about to enter a pretty dry next week as the summer's first heat wave overtakes the eastern third of the U.S. Dig deeper The higher-than-normal chance of above-average rainfall could possibly lead to trouble in the tropics. Although NOAA doesn't make hurricane-specific forecasts in the graphic below, the above-normal precipitation forecast for Florida during the heart of hurricane season is definitely consistent with an active tropical pattern. Whether it's tropical storms or hurricanes, those downpours could be part of the reason rain chances are running higher. And with drought-parched ground, initial rains might run off rather than soak in, potentially boosting flash flooding risks. Then again, a few well-timed tropical systems — minus the damaging winds — could also help alleviate drought conditions across the state. In short, while the storm risk is real, there's also an opportunity for drought recovery — if the rain comes in manageable waves. Big picture view Nationwide, this summer is shaping up to be hot and dry in all the usual places — and then some. Above-normal temperatures are expected across much of the west, Southwest and Northeast, with a particularly high probability centered on the Intermountain West and Four Corners region, as well as New England. Meanwhile, the Upper Midwest and Plains will likely face a dryer-than-average season, which has big implications for corn and soybean crops — especially if early drought signals persist or expand. And don't forget the cities. With New York City, Boston and D.C. in line for above-average heat, expect urban heat risk and energy demand to spike. In places where air-conditioning access is limited, public health could be on the line — especially during multi-day heat waves. What you can do Seasonal outlooks show general trends, not specific forecasts. They don't tell us what will happen on any given day, whether highs or lows are driving the trend of temperatures being "above-normal" in this case, or give exact probabilities of it being warmer or cooler for your location. They also don't predict specific temperatures (highs or low), rainfall amounts, or even whether it'll be rain or snow. Rest assured, if we get snow in Florida this summer, there are bigger problems! What To Expect Florida's summer forecast is hot, humid and stormy, but also hopeful for beneficial rain (in the context of drought.) While the drought is real, so is the potential for a rebound. Just keep an eye on the tropics. We'll likely have higher energy bills with air conditioning working harder, but potentially lower water bills with less irrigation needed. As we say around here: When it rains, it really pours. Track live when storms move across your area using the FOX 35 Storm Tracker Radar below. You can also watch as heavy rain moves across Central Florida on our Live Weather Cameras' page here. Brevard County Flagler County Lake County Marion County Osceola County Orange County Polk County Seminole County Sumter County Volusia County U.S./National Radar STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by FOX 35 Storm Team Meteorologist Brooks Garner and gathered from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
