News Digest
January 10, 2024
Deadly California wildfires gut houses, kill five
Wildfires ravaged parts of Los Angeles in California, in the United States, on January 7, killing at least five people and gutting thousands of homes. Aljazeera reports that More than 130,000 residents in different neighbourhoods of Los Angeles city have been ordered to evacuate as the fires, which erupted on January 7, continue to rapidly spread, fuelled by high winds. Climate change has contributed to an increase in the frequency, season length and burned area of wildfires, according to a report by the US Environmental Protection Agency. So, dry conditions aided by Santa Ana winds – dry and hot winds common in the area – most likely caused the wildfires. The dry desert air moves from the interior of the region towards the coast and offshore. It contributes to wildfires because it significantly reduces humidity in the environment due to its dry nature. This causes vegetation to become very dehydrated and susceptible to fire.
Earthquake in Tibet kills 126, causes severe damage
At least 126 people were killed and 188 injured after a powerful earthquake struck the mountainous Tibet region on January 7, reports Aljazeera. China Earthquake Networks Center recorded a magnitude of 6.8 but the United States Geological Survey measured its magnitude as 7.1. Crumbled shop fronts could be seen in a video showing the aftermath in Lhatse, about 150 kilometres east of Shigatse city, with debris spilling onto the road. Shigatse is one of Tibet’s holiest cities and the seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism. Powerful tremors were also felt in northern India’s Bihar state and Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, 400 kilometres away. Chinese broadcaster CCTV says there have been 29 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3 or higher within 200 kilometres (124 miles) of the Shigatse quake epicentre in the past five years.
Stop-work notice at sites after Mumbai air quality dips
In the first few days of January 2025, the areas of Mumbai Central and Mazgaon in Mumbai recorded air quality index above 200 and the rest of the city was polluted. This prompted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to stop work on construction sites, stated a news report in Hindustan Times. The K East ward in Andheri East issued 10 show-cause notices to road contractors for non-adherence to air pollution guidelines. It also issued 462 stop-work notices to construction sites and infrastructure projects that failed to comply with the show cause notices. Seventy-one show-cause notices, meanwhile, have been revoked. It has issued 856 show-cause notices to various construction sites. Rajesh Tamhane, deputy municipal commissioner (environment) said, “We have issued notices to three categories—municipal projects, other projects and construction sites.”
India’s climate report to UN relies on ‘vague’ data
India’s fourth biennial update reports (BUR), submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on December 30, lists its Greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2020, reports The Wire. During that year, the country emitted 2,959 mt of carbon dioxide equivalent (and 2,437 mt if Land Use-Land Use Change and Forestry is included). The main contributors to GHG emissions in 2020 were fossil fuels, methane emissions from livestock and increasing aluminium and cement production, the BUR stated. India’s State of Forest Reports have consistently reported an increase in tree and forest cover, and a corresponding increase in carbon stock, and thereby sequestration. However, scientists in India have also consistently raised concerns about these ISFRs which the BURs quote with concerns around the ISFR’s methodology.
‘There is no space at COP for the truth’
Elisa Morgera, the UN special rapporteur on climate change, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian, voiced her concerns about how and what information is shared within the UN climate negotiations was underscored at Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. She said the annual UN climate summits and the consensus-based, state-driven process is dominated by powerful forces pushing false narratives and by tech fixes that divert attention from real, equitable solutions for the countries least responsible and most affected. “We can observe that some states are not acting in good faith in very clear ways, which is the basis of any international regime. There is widespread disregard for the rule of international law, and also a very clear pushback on the science, and shrinking of civil spaces at all levels. Basically, the truth is out of the conversation. That is the problem – there is no space at COP for the truth,” said Morgera.
Global heating disrupting Earth’s water cycle: Report
The 2024 Global Water Monitor Report, produced by an international team of researchers, has found that rising temperatures, caused by continued burning of fossil fuels, disrupt the water cycle in multiple ways, reports The Guardian. They found rainfall records are being broken with increasing regularity. Global heating can also increase drought by causing more evaporation from soil, as well as shifting rainfall patterns. “In 2024, Earth experienced its hottest year on record and water systems across the globe bore the brunt, wreaking havoc on the water cycle,” said the report’s leader, Prof Albert van Dijk. He said 2024 was a year of extremes but not an isolated occurrence. “It is part of a worsening trend of more intense floods, prolonged droughts, and record-breaking extremes.” The report warned of even greater dangers in 2025 as carbon emissions continued to rise .
Design safe spaces for children to roam freely
Children need an environment in which unhealthy risks from the street such as traffic violence, pollution and noise are minimised, while opportunities for play, independent movement, and social interactions are maximized, opines a Bloomberg article. Paseo Park, a 1.3-mile-long corridor in family-heavy Jackson Heights, Queens in New York, is finally getting a permanent open streets design to reduce car traffic after people experienced the joys of not having to text to make plans, pay for organised after-school activities, or battle with cars when learning to ride a bike. Widening sidewalks, closing streets for play on afternoons and weekends, adding speed humps and opening schoolyards after hours can provide the space. Neighbourhoods that mix housing with retail and offices have built-in amenities that make such spaces more conducive to child independence and whole-family convenience.