Children bathing in the Gomati River in northern India during the country’s heat wave in April. Photo: AP
Almost half a billion children in Southeast Asia are living in extremely high temperatures, as life-threatening heat waves caused by the climate crisis become more persistent and more frequent. Unicef writes this in a press release today.
The committee has analyzed data from 2020, they show that approximately 469 million children in countries such as Afghanistan, India and Pakistan were exposed to temperatures above 35 degrees for 83 days or more per year. This means that Southeast Asia is the most affected region for those under the age of 18.
The analysis also showed that 76 percent of children in Southeast Asia were exposed to extreme heat compared to 32 percent globally, writes CNN.
– The countries in the region are not the hottest in the world right now, but the heat brings with it life-threatening risks for millions of vulnerable children. We are particularly concerned about infants, toddlers, malnourished children and pregnant women as they are most susceptible to heatstroke and other serious effects, says Sanjay Wijesekera, Unicef’s Regional Director for Southeast Asia.
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Agneta Elmegård
4 August 10.55
Greentopia is a climate meeting organized before Way Out West opens its doors. The meeting discusses how events can accelerate behavioral changes on the theme “events as a force for change”. Photo: Adam Ihse/TT
Soon it will be time for one of Sweden’s biggest music festivals Way Out West. But in the hours before the festival opens the entrance gates to Slottsskogen, some of the world’s leading climate researchers, opinion leaders, artists and activists as well as business leaders gather to discuss how festivals can accelerate behavioral changes, system shifts and climate change in general. The initiative is called Greentopia and is being organized for the second year in a row.
– Around 20 million event tickets are sold in Sweden every year. This means that the events meet a lot of people over the course of a year and it means that we, together with the Swedish people, can drive change, says Joppe Pihlgren, who is operations manager at Svensk Live, in a press release.
Among others present are Stockholm’s Resilience Center, Greenpeace, Climate Live, Locker Room Talk, Fridays for Future, Roskildefestivalen and Chalmers.
Christina Nordh
4 August 09.34
A mosquito, but not culex modestus. Photo: AP
Extreme weather, forest fires and floods have accompanied climate change.
But there are other changes that are not as obvious to the eye. A virus-carrying tropical mosquito has now been found in Finland.
The species culex modestus was discovered during a count of the number of mosquito species in the country and the tropical mosquito became species number 44.
Culex modestus carries the virus that can cause Nile fever, West Nile fever. The disease is usually associated with Central Africa.
Those who contract Nile fever often have flu-like symptoms. Less than one percent of those infected develop serious illness with signs of brain or meningitis.
In Great Britain, the mosquito was discovered in the south-east of England as early as 2012.
Agneta Elmegård
3 August 14.11
Sacred Joshua trees are falling to the flames as the US experiences its worst heat wave in human history. Photo: Ty O’Neil/TT
The American city of Phoenix experienced this weekend, which passed its 31st consecutive day of at least 43.3 degrees. Fires are raging in the Mojave Desert with fire tornadoes destroying the remaining vegetation in the Californian nature reserve. And several other parts of the country are grappling with record temperatures, according to The Guardian.
Las Vegas is experiencing its hottest July ever. The city is nearing its 2010 record for average high and low temperatures each day for July, which stands at 35.5 degrees.
July has been so hot in the United States so far that scientists estimate it will be the hottest month on record and probably the hottest human civilization has experienced, according to estimates from the World Meteorological Organization and the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
The record temperatures across the US have killed dozens of people, and the poorest Americans are said to be suffering the most.
– To explain it simply: heat kills, says Kristie Ebi, a professor at the University of Washington who researches heat and health. Once a heat wave starts, mortality increases after about 24 hours, she told The Guardian.
Christina Nordh
August 310.47
Mondello beach in Palermo July 16, when the temperature was over 40 degrees. Photo: Alberto Lo Bianco/AP
Four-fifths of the world’s population was affected by extreme heat last month, according to a new report from the US nonprofit Climate central. The unusually high temperatures are linked to climate change, write The Times.
According to the organization, 6.5 million people were affected by at least one day in July when the soaring temperatures were at least three times as likely to have been caused by climate change.
– We see persistently elevated temperatures that have a strong climate signal in the daily temperatures that lie like a tropical band around the planet, says Andrew Pershing, head of climate science at the organization, in the report.
During a 14-day heat wave in July, the temperature in Sicilian Palermo was 5.6 degrees warmer than normal. According to the researchers, the extreme heat was five times more likely due to climate change.
The organization specifically points out the tenth of July as the day when most people were exposed to the extreme heat. On that day, 3.5 billion people were affected by extreme heat globally – which was three times more likely due to climate change.
Footnote: Last November, the world’s population passed eight billion.
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Have looked everywhere about the forest fire around Norberg. Assume it is under control as there is no news.
Hugo
Hello! News about the forest fire in Norberg can be found here. And here.
When will politicians learn the difference between environment and climate?
The climate is the relationship with the sun, the movements of the earth which are the major factors. Sweden’s role in this does not exist at all, on the other hand China emits enormous amounts of carbon dioxide and increases the burning of fossil substances every year by 33 times Sweden’s total emissions. Our politicians strain mosquitoes and swallow elephants. The attack to save the environment & climate is not about Sweden at all, but rather countries like China.
Lena Karlsson
Haven’t read in the online newspaper about the new findings from SLU about bald cutting, why?
Anders Eriksson
What responsibility do municipalities have for the climate? In my vicinity, I see a municipality in an expansive phase where they don’t even seem to have thought about e.g. emissions from traffic, noise, access to groundwater, impact on nearby watercourses.
Annie
The truth is that many municipalities are lagging behind in this work and there is no regulated “agreement” between the state and municipalities to act against Agenda 2030 or the national climate goals in 2045.
I’m a little tired of trudging around among washed-up plastic and other trash here on the west coast. There is a beach cleaner map and many cleaners but it must be stopped at the source. What is being done on that front?
Pray
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The Skåne coast is identified as a national risk area for flooding and erosion – Löderup’s beach is particularly vulnerable.
– Climate change means that we have to abandon the view of what the coasts look like today, says Per Danielsson at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.
Kristianstad is Sweden’s lowest situated city.
New and higher dikes are now being built.
– We are doing this to protect the city against high tides and future sea level rises, says Karl Erik Svensson, project manager for the dike construction.