World hits streak of record temperatures as UN warns of ‘climate hell’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a special address on climate action at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on World Environment Day, Jun. 5, 2024. (AFP)
Updated 06 June 2024
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World hits streak of record temperatures as UN warns of ‘climate hell’

  • This 12-month average does not mean that the world has yet surpassed the 1.5 C (2.7 F) global warming threshold
  • UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized how quickly the world was heading in the wrong direction and away from stabilizing its climate system

BRUSSELS/GENEVA: Each of the past 12 months ranked as the warmest on record in year-on-year comparisons, the EU’s climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for urgent action to avert “climate hell.”
The average global temperature for the 12-month period to the end of May was 1.63 degrees Celsius (2.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average — making it the warmest such period since record-keeping began in 1940, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
This 12-month average does not mean that the world has yet surpassed the 1.5 C (2.7 F) global warming threshold, which describes a temperature average over decades, beyond which scientists warn of more extreme and irreversible impacts.

In a separate report, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said there is now an 80 percent chance that at least one of the next five years will mark the first calendar year with an average temperature that temporarily exceeds 1.5C above pre-industrial levels — up from a 66 percent chance last year.
Speaking about the findings, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized how quickly the world was heading in the wrong direction and away from stabilizing its climate system.
“In 2015, the chance of such a breach was near zero,” Guterres said in a speech marking World Environment Day.
With time running out to reverse course, Guterres urged a 30 percent cut in global fossil fuel production and use by 2030.
“We need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell,” he said, adding: “The battle for 1.5 degrees will be won or lost in the 2020s.”

’WAY OFF TRACK’
Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels — the main cause of climate change — hit a record high last year despite global agreements designed to curb their release and a rapid expansion in renewable energy.
Coal, oil and gas still provide more than three quarters of the world’s energy, with global oil demand remaining strong.
The latest climate data show that the world is “way off track” from its goal of limiting warming to 1.5 C — the key target of the world’s 2015 Paris Accord, WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said.
“We must urgently do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions, or we will pay an increasingly heavy price in terms of trillions of dollars in economic costs, millions of lives affected by more extreme weather, and extensive damage to the environment and biodiversity,” Barrett said.
Barrett described the cooling effect of La Nina weather conditions, which are expected to take hold later this year, as “a mere blip in the upward curve” in the heat felt across the globe.
“We all need to know that we need to reverse this curve and we need to do it urgently,” she said.
While last year registered as the warmest calendar year on record at 1.45 C (2.61 F) above pre-industrial temperatures, at least one of the next five years is likely to be even warmer than 2023, the WMO data show.
Scientists at Copernicus said there were some surprising developments — such as the steep loss of Antarctic sea ice in recent months — but that the overall climate data were in line with projections of how rising greenhouse gas emissions would heat the planet.
“We have not seen anything like this in the last several thousand years,” said Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo.
Guterres took aim at fossil fuel companies.
“The Godfathers of climate chaos – the fossil fuel industry – rake in record profits and feast off trillions in taxpayer-funded subsidies,” he said.
Drawing a comparison with many governments’ restrictions on advertising for harmful substances like tobacco, he said, “I urge every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies, and I urge news media and tech companies to stop taking fossil fuel advertising.”


Malaysia’s Anwar says don’t single out China in sea tensions

Updated 3 sec ago
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Malaysia’s Anwar says don’t single out China in sea tensions

  • There will always be border disputes in Asia, and China should not be singled out because of tensions in the South China Sea, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday
DAVOS: There will always be border disputes in Asia, and China should not be singled out because of tensions in the South China Sea, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Anwar said that Malaysia had border issues with Singapore and its other neighbors in Southeast Asia but they still managed to cultivate good relations.
While Malaysia also has maritime issues with China, it will push ahead with improving ties because it is an important country, he said.
“We have excellent relationship with Singapore. We still have border issues with them,” Anwar said.
“I treat the Thais as my family members, the leaders, but still we have some border issues with them. So it is with Indonesia, with the Philippines.
“(But) we don’t go to war, we don’t threaten. We do discuss. We get a bit... angry, but we do focus on the economic fundamentals and move on,” he added.
“Why is it that we must then single out China as an issue?” Anwar asked.
“That’s my only contention. Do I have an issue about it? Yes, but do I have a problem? No. Do we have any undesired tensions? No,” he said.
He said that while Malaysia has strong ties with the United States, China is an important neighbor that it must also engage with.
“Of course, people highlight the issue of the South China Sea... But may I remind you that Malaysia is a maritime country,” he said.
China has been “very reasonable” in dealing with Malaysia, Anwar added.
“They take us seriously, more seriously than many of the countries of our old allies and friends,” he said, without mentioning any country.
China has ruffled diplomatic feathers in Southeast Asia because of its assertion that it owns most of the strategic waterway despite an international ruling that the claim has no legal basis.
This has pitted it against Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, which have partial claims to the sea.
In recent years, China and the Philippines have seen an escalation of confrontations, including boat-ramming incidents and Chinese ships firing water cannons on Filipino vessels.
The clashes have sparked concern they could draw the United States, Manila’s long-time security ally, into armed conflict with China.

Washington’s UN nominee supports Israeli biblical claim to West Bank

Updated 16 min 39 sec ago
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Washington’s UN nominee supports Israeli biblical claim to West Bank

  • ‘It’s going to be very difficult to achieve peace if you continue to hold the view that you just expressed,’ senator tells Elise Stefanik
  • Republican congresswoman for New York accuses international body of being ‘cesspool of antisemitism’

LONDON: The new US nominee for UN ambassador has backed Israeli biblical claims to the entire West Bank.

Elise Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman for New York, was being questioned on her stance by Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen during a Senate confirmation hearing.

“You told me that, yes, you shared that view,” Van Hollen said. “Is that your view today?” Stefanik said: “Yes.”

Her stance is at odds with international law, multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and a longstanding international consensus on the issue.

“It’s going to be very difficult to achieve peace if you continue to hold the view that you just expressed,” Van Hollen said.

During the hearing, Stefanik criticized the UN for its alleged anti-Israel bias, claiming that the organization is a “cesspool of antisemitism.”

She said: “Our tax dollars should not be complicit in propping up entities that are counter to American interests, antisemitic, or engaging in fraud, corruption or terrorism.”

The US is the largest funder of the UN and houses its secretariat in New York City. Washington pays about 22 percent of the UN’s regular budget.


India and US trying to arrange Modi meeting with Trump next month, sources say

Updated 23 min 48 sec ago
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India and US trying to arrange Modi meeting with Trump next month, sources say

  • Washington sees India as a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter its rival China
  • Trump’s return to office has raised worries among officials in New Delhi about imposition of tariffs on India

NEW DELHI: Indian and US diplomats are trying to arrange a meeting in February between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in Washington, two Indian sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
India, a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter China, is keen to enhance trade relations with the US and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas, two topics that will be on the agenda if the leaders meet, the sources said.
Trump’s return to the White House has raised worries among officials in New Delhi about imposition of tariffs on India, which he has listed as one of the countries that has high tariffs on US products and has indicated that he favored reciprocating them.
But the sources said New Delhi was willing to offer some concessions to Washington — although it has not been officially informed of any plans by US to impose reciprocal tariffs — and was also open to offering incentives to attract more US investment in India.
Officials hope that an early meeting between the pair will help get ties off to a positive start in Trump’s new term, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Trump visited India in February 2020 during his previous term in office. Then, he was cheered by more than 100,000 Indians at a cricket stadium in Modi’s political homeland in Ahmedabad, where he promised India “an incredible trade deal.”
In 2019, Trump held a “Howdy Modi” rally with Modi in Houston, drawing 50,000 people, mainly Indian Americans.
Laying the groundwork for a new Modi-Trump meeting is also on the agenda of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who attended Trump’s inauguration on Monday and met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The United States is India’s largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023/24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion.
Other topics of discussion between the two leaders would be enhancing partnership in technology and defense sectors, the sources said.
Migration would be another area of discussion, as Trump has pledged a crackdown on illegal immigration but has said he is open to legal migration of skilled workers.
India, known for its massive pool of IT professionals, many of whom work across the world, accounts for the bulk of the skilled worker H-1B visas issued by the United States.
Rubio discussed with Jaishankar concerns related to “irregular migration” on Tuesday, the US State Department said.


India turns to geo-tagging to conserve Kashmir’s iconic ‘Chinar’ trees

Updated 45 min 53 sec ago
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India turns to geo-tagging to conserve Kashmir’s iconic ‘Chinar’ trees

  • The trees are a cultural and ecological symbol of the restive northern territory
  • The trees face threats from rising urbanization, road-widening projects, diseases

SRINAGAR: Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir are geo-tagging thousands of ‘Chinar’ trees to create a comprehensive database for their management and help conserve them amid threats from rising urbanization, road-widening projects and diseases.
The trees are a cultural and ecological symbol of the restive northern territory, which is claimed in full by India and Pakistan and ruled in part by both, but hundreds of them have been lost over the last few decades.
Under the geo-tagging process, QR codes are attached to each surveyed tree, recording information about 25 characteristics, including its geographical location, health, age, and growing patterns, enabling conservationists to track changes and address risk factors.
The public can also scan the code to access the details, Syed Tariq, the head of the project, told Reuters.
“We have geo-tagged nearly 29,000 trees, but we still have more small-sized trees that haven’t been tagged... These will be tagged in due course,” Tariq said.
The Chinar trees take around 150 years to reach their full size of up to 30 meters (100 ft) in height with a girth of 10 to 15 meters (30 to 50 ft) at ground level.
The oldest Chinar in the region lies on the outskirts of the city of Srinagar and is around 650 years old.
“We are using a USG-based (ultrasonography-based) gadget capable of determining risk levels without human intervention. The gadget will assess risk factors, eliminating the need for manual evaluation,” Tariq said.
The portion of Kashmir under India’s control was roiled by violence for decades as militants fought security forces, but the conflict has eased in recent years, leading to a gradual rise in development projects and tourism.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kashmir last week to inaugurate a tunnel and, during the event, said that numerous road and rail connectivity projects in the region would be completed in the coming days.


Afghans fleeing Taliban appeal to Trump for exemption from order suspending refugee relocation

Updated 53 min 12 sec ago
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Afghans fleeing Taliban appeal to Trump for exemption from order suspending refugee relocation

  • Estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021
  • Trump’s administration says US Refugee Admissions Program will be suspended from Jan. 27 for three months

ISLAMABAD: Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday to President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support US troops.
An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when US troops pulled out of the country after two decades. They want to resettle in the US via an American government program set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the US government, media, aid agencies and rights groups.
But in his first days in office, Trump’s administration announced the US Refugee Admissions Program would be suspended from Jan. 27 for at least three months. During that period, the White House said that the secretary of homeland security in consultation with the secretary of state will submit a report to the president whether the resumption of the program is in the US interest.
“Many of us risked our lives to support the US mission as interpreters, contractors, human rights defenders, and allies,” an advocacy group called Afghan USRAP Refugees — named after the US refugee program — said in an open letter to Trump, members of Congress and human rights defenders.
“The Taliban regards us as traitors, and returning to Afghanistan would expose us to arrest, torture, or death,” the group said. “In Pakistan, the situation is increasingly untenable. Arbitrary arrests, deportations, and insecurity compound our distress.”
Hadisa Bibi, a former student in Kabul who fled to neighboring Pakistan last month, said she read in newspapers that Trump suspended the refugee program.
“Prior to restrictions on women’s education in Afghanistan, I was a university student,” she said. “Given the risks I face as a women’s rights advocate, I was hoping for a swift resettlement to the United States. This would not only allow me to continue my higher education but also offer a safer and brighter future.”
She said she witnessed several Afghans arrested by Pakistani police, which left her in fear, “confined to my room like a prisoner.”
According to the Afghan USRAP Refugees group, flights to the US for many Afghans had been scheduled for January, February and March after they were interviewed by the International Organization for Migration and US Embassy officials.
“We seek the reversal of the ban on the refugee program on humanitarian ground,” said Ahmad Shah, a member of the group, who was hoping to leave Pakistan for the United States in March after undergoing all interviews and medical tests.