Climate Change
Typhoon Yagi leaves dozens dead and causes major damage in Vietnam
Thirty five people have died and 24 are missing, mostly because of landslides and floods triggered by the typhoon
Typhoon Yagi, Asia's most powerful storm this year, left dozens dead in northern Vietnam and widespread damage as it churned westwards, preliminary government estimates showed on Monday, while the weather agency warned of more floods and landslides.
Thirty five people have died and 24 are missing, mostly because of landslides and floods triggered by the typhoon, Vietnam's disaster management agency said.
The typhoon made landfall on Saturday on Vietnam's northeastern coast, home to large manufacturing operations of domestic and foreign companies, and was downgraded to a tropical depression on Sunday by the meteorological agency, Reuters reported.
It cut power to millions of households and companies, flooded highways, disrupted telecommunications networks, downed a medium-sized bridge and thousands of trees and brought to a halt economic activity in many industrial hubs.
Managers and workers at industrial parks and factories in Haiphong, a coastal city of two million, said on Monday they had no electricity and were trying to salvage equipment from rain in plants whose metal sheets roofing had been blown away.
"Everyone is scrambling to make sites safe and stocks dry," said Bruno Jaspaert, head of DEEP C industrial zones, which host plants from more than 150 investors in Haiphong and the neighboring province of Quang Ninh.
"Lots of damages," said Hong Sun, the chairman of the South Korean business association in Vietnam when asked about the typhoon's impact on Korean factories in coastal areas.
The weather agency warned of more floods and landslides, noting that rainfall ranged between 208 mm and 433 mm in several parts of the northern region over the past 24 hours.
State-run power provider EVN said that more than 5.7 million customers lost power during the weekend as dozens of power lines were broken, but electricity was restored on Monday to nearly 75% of those affected.
Climate Change
Afghanistan’s air pollution better than last year: officials
The National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) said on Sunday that air pollution in Afghanistan has decreased this year compared to last year.
Zainul Abedin Abed, the agency’s deputy director for policy and expertise, said in a press conference that in the past three months, Kabul authorities took 4,211 vehicles off the road that were releasing excessive emissions.
He also stressed that the world should not politicize the issue of climate change and that developed countries should pay “compensation” to poor countries to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
“Compensation should be taken from developed countries and compensation should be paid to the affected countries. The withdrawal of the Americans or Donald Trump from the Paris Agreement is a violation of human principles. Climate change is a human issue. There must be engagement on this issue. Instead of political considerations, engagement should be opted,” Abed said.
Officials from the National Environmental Protection Agency also said that aid to fight the effects of climate change has not been cut.
“As far as we know, mostly humanitarian aid has been cut off, but projects in the environment and climate change sectors have not been impacted,” said Rohullah Amin, head of climate change department at the National Environmental Protection Agency.
NEPA officials also said that in cooperation with other government agencies, a six-month action plan has been developed to prevent the increase of air pollution.
According to officials, since the Islamic Emirate’s return to power in 2021, the agency has held 3,000 awareness programs to reduce air pollution, in which more than 500,000 people have participated.
Officials at the agency also called on Kabul residents to refrain from using fuel that causes air pollution.
However, a number of Kabul residents complain about the increase in air pollution in recent days and ask the authorities to take more practical measures.
Air pollution in Kabul has always been a source of concern for the residents of the city.
Climate Change
1 dead, thousands evacuated as Australia’s northeast battles floods
“Residents in low-lying areas should collect their evacuation kit and move to a safe place on higher ground. This situation may pose a threat to life and property,” regional emergency management authorities said
One person died on Sunday in Australia's north Queensland state in heavy flooding, authorities said, urging thousands of people to move to higher ground because of torrential rains.
Queensland authorities said major flooding was underway in coastal Hinchinbrook Shire, a locality of about 11,000 people about 500 kilometers north of state capital, Brisbane. Several suburbs in the nearby city of Townsville were also affected, authorities said.
North Queensland has large zinc reserves as well as major deposits of silver, lead, copper and iron ore. Townsville is a major processing center for the region's base metals. In 2019, severe floods in the area disrupted lead and zinc concentrate rail shipments and damaged thousands of properties, Reuters reported.
"Residents in low-lying areas should collect their evacuation kit and move to a safe place on higher ground. This situation may pose a threat to life and property," regional emergency management authorities said on Sunday morning.
The flooding was triggered by heavy rain from a low-pressure system rich in tropical moisture, Australia's weather forecaster said on its website, adding that 24-hour rainfall totals were likely up to 30 centimeters.
"The potential for heavy, locally intense rainfall and damaging winds may continue into early next week subject to the strength and position of the trough and low," it said.
Frequent flooding has hit Australia's east in recent years including "once in a century" floods that inundated the neighboring Northern Territory in January 2023 during a multiyear La Nina weather event.
Climate Change
Stanekzai calls on int’l community to help combat climate change effects in Afghanistan
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, deputy foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, says the use of bombs and chemical weapons during decades of war in Afghanistan has harmed the country's environment.
Speaking at a National Climate Change Conference in Kabul on Wednesday, Stanikzai called on the international community and countries involved in Afghanistan's wars to not politicize environmental issues and to cooperate with Afghanistan.
“Those harmful bombs, devices, chemical weapons, and explosives that were used here unfortunately still have visible effects. In many of our areas, landmines are buried, and their effects are being seen in the second generation today,” said Stanekzai.
He further stated that 80 percent of Afghanistan's forests have been destroyed due to the wars and stressed that to overcome the current crisis, the country’s water resources must be managed, as Afghanistan is already facing a water shortage.
He said: “You can see that across all of Afghanistan, the water levels are dropping, and Afghanistan is facing a water shortage. If we don’t control our water, and if things continue this way, it will be detrimental to us, and a day will come when we won’t have any water to drink anywhere in Afghanistan.”
Meanwhile, Muti-ul-Haq Khalis, head of the National Environmental Protection Agency, stated at the conference that climate change is a global phenomenon, and addressing it requires joint efforts and cooperation. He called on the world to assist Afghanistan.
Deputy Minister of Economy Abdul Latif Nazari also stated: “Sanctions should be lifted, and restrictions must be removed so that institutions and organizations can cooperate more easily with our agencies, including the National Environmental Protection Agency, without facing
problems in financial transactions.”
In the meantime, the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, said that UNAMA supports efforts to combat the effects of climate change in Afghanistan.
“I promise that UNAMA will support efforts to combat the effects of climate change. UNAMA plans to hold national and international meetings this year on climate change and its impacts in Afghanistan. I also urge UN agencies and NGOs to support these efforts with technical expertise and practical knowledge,” said Otunbayeva.
Currently, Afghanistan is the sixth most vulnerable country in the world due to climate change.
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