‘Dangerous new era’: climate change spurs disaster in 2024

Children stand on the roadside on the outskirts of the town of Ongojou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 27 December 2024
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‘Dangerous new era’: climate change spurs disaster in 2024

  • This year was hottest in history, with record-breaking temperatures in atmosphere, oceans acting like fuel for extreme weather
  • World Weather Attribution said nearly every disaster they analyzed over the past 12 months was intensified by climate change

PARIS: From tiny and impoverished Mayotte to oil-rich behemoth Saudi Arabia, prosperous European cities to overcrowded slums in Africa, nowhere was spared the devastating impact of supercharged climate disasters in 2024.
This year is the hottest in history, with record-breaking temperatures in the atmosphere and oceans acting like fuel for extreme weather around the world.
World Weather Attribution, experts on how global warming influences extreme events, said nearly every disaster they analyzed over the past 12 months was intensified by climate change.
“The impacts of fossil fuel warming have never been clearer or more devastating than in 2024. We are living in a dangerous new era,” said climate scientist Friederike Otto, who leads the WWA network.
That was tragically evident in June when more than 1,300 people died during the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia where temperatures hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit).
Extreme heat — sometimes dubbed the ‘silent killer’ — also proved deadly in Thailand, India, and United States.
Conditions were so intense in Mexico that howler monkeys dropped dead from the trees, while Pakistan kept millions of children at home as the mercury inched above 50C.




Students use an umbrella to protect themselves from heat as they travel on a bike after attending their school, in Lahore, Pakistan, on May 21, 2024. (AP/File)

Greece recorded its earliest ever heatwave, forcing the closure of its famed Acropolis and fanning terrible wildfires, at the outset of Europe’s hottest summer yet.
Climate change isn’t just sizzling temperatures — warmer oceans mean higher evaporation, and warmer air absorbs more moisture, a volatile recipe for heavy rainfall.
In April, the United Arab Emirates received two years worth of rain in a single day, turning parts of the desert-state into a sea, and hobbling Dubai’s international airport.
Kenya was barely out of a once-in-a-generation drought when the worst floods in decades delivered back-to-back disasters for the East African nation.




 A woman wades through flood waters at an inundated residential area in Garissa, Kenya, on May 9, 2024. (AFP/File)

Four million people needed aid after historic flooding killed more than 1,500 people across West and Central Africa. Europe — most notably Spain — also suffered tremendous downpours that caused deadly flash flooding.
Afghanistan, Russia, Brazil, China, Nepal, Uganda, India, Somalia, Pakistan, Burundi and the United States were among other countries that witnessed flooding in 2024.
Warmer ocean surfaces feed energy into tropical cyclones as they barrel toward land, whipping up fierce winds and their destructive potential.

Major hurricanes pummelled the United States and Caribbean, most notably Milton, Beryl and Helene, in a 2024 season of above-average storm activity.
The Philippines endured six major storms in November alone, just two months after suffering Typhoon Yagi as it tore through Southeast Asia.
In December, scientists said global warming had helped intensify Cyclone Chino to a Category 4 storm as it collided head-on with Mayotte, devastating France’s poorest overseas territory.
Some regions may be wetter as climate change shifts rainfall patterns, but others are becoming drier and more vulnerable to drought.
The Americas suffered severe drought in 2024 and wildfires torched millions of hectares in the western United States, Canada, and the Amazon basin — usually one of Earth’s wettest places.
Between January and September, more than 400,000 fires were recorded across South America, shrouding the continent in choking smoke.




Smoke billows from the Airport Fire in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, US, on September 9, 2024. (AFP/File)

The World Food Programme in December said 26 million people across southern Africa were at risk of hunger as a months-long drought parched the impoverished region.

Extreme weather cost thousands of lives in 2024 and left countless more in desperate poverty. The lasting toll of such disasters is impossible to quantify.
In terms of economic losses, Zurich-based reinsurance giant Swiss Re estimated the global damage bill at $310 billion, a statement issued early December.
Flooding in Europe — particularly in the Spanish province of Valencia, where over 200 people died in October — and hurricanes Helene and Milton drove up the cost, the company said.
As of November 1, the United States had suffered 24 weather disasters in 2024 with losses exceeding $1 billion each, government figures showed.
Drought in Brazil cost its farming sector $2.7 billion between June and August, while “climatic challenges” drove global wine production to its lowest level since 1961, an industry body said.


Cargo ship carrying new vehicles to Mexico sinks in the North Pacific weeks after catching fire

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Cargo ship carrying new vehicles to Mexico sinks in the North Pacific weeks after catching fire

“There is no visible pollution,” said Petty Officer Cameron Snell, an Alaska-based US Coast Guard spokesperson
“Right now we also have vessels on scene to respond to any pollution”

ANCHORAGE, Alaska: A cargo ship that had been delivering new vehicles to Mexico sank in the North Pacific Ocean, weeks after crew members abandoned ship when they couldn’t extinguish an onboard fire that left the carrier dead in the water.

The Morning Midas sank Monday in international water off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands chain, the ship’s management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime, said in a statement.

“There is no visible pollution,” said Petty Officer Cameron Snell, an Alaska-based US Coast Guard spokesperson. “Right now we also have vessels on scene to respond to any pollution.”

Fire damage compounded by bad weather and water seepage caused the carrier to sink in waters about 16,404 feet (5,000 meters) deep and about 415 miles (770 kilometers) from land, the statement said.

The ship was loaded with about 3,000 new vehicles intended for a major Pacific port in Mexico. It was not immediately clear if any of the cars were removed before it sank, and Zodiac Maritime did not immediately respond to messages Tuesday.

A savage crew arrived days after the fire disabled the vehicle.

Two salvage tugs containing pollution control equipment will remain on scene to monitor for any signs of pollution or debris, the company said. The crew members of those two ships were not injured when the Morning Midas sank.

Zodiac Maritime said it is also sending another specialized pollution response vessel to the location as an added precaution.

The Coast Guard said it received a distress alert June 3 about a fire aboard the Morning Midas, which then was roughly 300 miles (490 kilometers) southwest of Adak Island.

There were 22 crew members onboard the Morning Midas. All evacuated to a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby merchant marine vessel. There were no injuries.

Among the cars were about 70 fully electric and about 680 hybrid vehicles. A large plume of smoke was initially seen at the ship’s stern coming from the deck loaded with electric vehicles, the Coast Guard and Zodiac Maritime said at the time.

Adak is about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) west of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city.

The 600-foot (183-meter) Morning Midas was built in 2006 and sails under a Liberian flag. The car and truck carrier left Yantai, China, on May 26 en route to Mexico, according to the industry
site marinetraffic.com.

A Dutch safety board in a recent report called for improving emergency response on North Sea shipping routes after a deadly 2023 fire aboard a freighter that was carrying 3,000 automobiles, including nearly 500 electric vehicles, from Germany to Singapore.

One person was killed and others injured in the fire, which burned out of control for a week. That ship was eventually towed to a Netherlands port for salvage.

South Korea investigators seek to arrest former President Yoon

Updated 50 min 57 sec ago
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South Korea investigators seek to arrest former President Yoon

  • Yoon was formally stripped of office in April, after being impeached and suspended by lawmakers over his Dec. 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament

SEOUL: South Korean prosecutors asked a court Tuesday for a new arrest warrant to detain ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, after he refused a summons by investigators probing his failed martial law bid.

Yoon was formally stripped of office in April, after being impeached and suspended by lawmakers over his Dec. 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament.

He is already standing trial on insurrection charges, personally attending court to defend himself against the allegations.

However, he has refused several summons issued by a special counsel formed to investigate the martial law declaration that parliament voted to launch earlier in the month.

“Today, the special counsel requested an arrest warrant for former president Yoon Suk Yeol on charges including obstruction of official duties,” the special counsel said in a statement.

“The arrest warrant was requested in order to conduct the suspect’s interrogation,” it said, adding that “he has clearly indicated his intention not to respond to future summons.”

Prosecutor Park Ji-young, a member of the special counsel, said in a news conference that Yoon was just “one of several suspects” that they had summoned to be questioned.


France’s Macron calls talks on New Caledonia future

Updated 24 June 2025
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France’s Macron calls talks on New Caledonia future

  • New Caledonian elected officials, as well as political, economic and civil society leaders would be invited to the discussions to start on July 2

PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday invited New Caledonia leaders to talks next week on the future of the French overseas territory, a year after deadly separatist violence in the Pacific archipelago.
New Caledonian elected officials, as well as political, economic and civil society leaders would be invited to the discussions to start on July 2, a source familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear where the meeting would be held.
The French president in an invitation letter obtained by AFP said discussions would last “as long as necessary” to address key issues “with all the seriousness they deserve.”
“Beyond major institutional topics, I would like for our discussions to touch on economic and societal matters,” Macron added.
Home to around 270,000 people and located nearly 17,000 kilometers (10,600 miles) from Paris, New Caledonia is one of several overseas territories that remain an integral part of France.
New Caledonia has been ruled from Paris since the 1800s, but many indigenous Kanaks still resent France’s power over their islands and want fuller autonomy or independence.
Unrest broke out in May 2024 after Paris planned to give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous long-term residents, something Kanaks fear would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their chances of winning independence.
The riots — the most violent since the 1980s — led to the death of 14 people and billions of dollars in damage.
The president’s decision to host talks alongside the Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls also comes after a French court freed independence leader Christian Tein in June.
Tein, who hails from the Kanak group, had been held in custody in eastern France since June 2024 over the rioting in the nickel-rich archipelago.
Investigating magistrates concluded there was no proof that Tein was preparing an armed uprising against the government, according to a source close to the case.
The last independence referendum in New Caledonia was held in 2021, and was boycotted by pro-independence groups over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Kanak population.
The referendum was the last of three since 2018, all of which rejected New Caledonian independence.
Since the 2021 referendum — which pro-independence campaigners had requested be rescheduled — the political situation in the archipelago has been in deadlock.
Valls led negotiations in May between pro-independence and anti-independence groups, but they did not “reach an agreement about the institutional future of the territory,” Macron said in the invitation letter.
The president in early June declared he wanted a “new project” for New Caledonia.


Major UK supermarket chain to stop sourcing Israeli products

Updated 24 June 2025
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Major UK supermarket chain to stop sourcing Israeli products

  • Co-op board committed to ‘upholding human rights and the rule of law to promote fair trading and peace’
  • Palestine Solidarity Campaign: ‘This is a seismic victory for the solidarity movement in this country’

LONDON: One of Britain’s largest supermarket chains will stop sourcing Israeli products following a sustained Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.

The Co-operative supermarket said the decision was made due to Israeli human rights abuses and violations of international law. It comes into effect this month.

In May, a motion at the Co-op annual general meeting calling for an end to trade with Israel received overwhelming support. The supermarket board’s decision covers 17 “countries of concern,” including Israel.

Co-op will now launch a phased approach to begin removing products sourced from the 17 countries.

The BDS campaign, led by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, saw the Co-op board commit to a “sourcing policy aligned with established co-operative values, upholding human rights and the rule of law to promote fair trading and peace.”

The supermarket will now avoid sourcing products from countries where “there is consistent behavior which would constitute community-wide human rights abuses or violations of international law.”

Through the new policy, Co-op believes it “can make a difference directly or indirectly to those affected and would alleviate suffering.”

Israel is a major exporter of fruit and vegetables to the UK, and its products are widely stocked at British supermarkets, including as ingredients in larger items.

A number of Israeli farms operate facilities in the occupied West Bank, in settlements that are illegal under international law.

PSC hailed Co-op’s decision as a “major victory.” It follows the “Don’t Buy Apartheid” campaign that the organization conducted this year, urging a widespread boycott of Israeli products in British shops, restaurants and venues.

Ben Jamal, PSC director, said: “This is a seismic victory for the Palestinian solidarity movement in this country, which demands that the government, institutions and corporations end all economic, political and military support for the state of Israel, which is conducting a live streamed genocide in Gaza after decades of military occupation and imposing a system of apartheid on Palestinians.

“The Co-op, as befits its history, has shown great moral courage and ethical principle in deciding that it cannot ignore voices from the British public calling out Israel’s gross human rights abuses and violations of international law — and even more importantly, it cannot economically support that regime through doing business in Israel.

“This beacon of leadership must now be taken up by all other supermarket chains which continue to sell Israeli goods, despite knowing they are supporting its war crimes.”  


UK government says Chinese spying on the rise

Updated 24 June 2025
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UK government says Chinese spying on the rise

  • Prime Minister Keir Starmer commissioned an “audit” of Britain’s relations with Beijing
  • The report, published on Tuesday, recommended high-level engagement with China but also building “resilience” against threats

LONDON: Chinese spying and attempts by Beijing to undermine Britain’s democracy and economy have risen in recent years, the UK government said Tuesday in a report on the Asian giant.

Foreign minister David Lammy told parliament the Labour administration would invest £600 million ($818 million) in its intelligence services as a result of the findings.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer commissioned an “audit” of Britain’s relations with Beijing after he swept to power in landslide general election win last July.

The report, published on Tuesday, recommended high-level engagement with China for a “trade and investment relationship” but also building “resilience” against threats posed by Beijing.

“We understand that China is a sophisticated and persistent threat,” but “not engaging with China is therefore no choice at all,” Lammy told MPs.

“Like our closest allies, we will co-operate where we can and we will challenge where we must,” he said, vowing that meant “never compromising on our national security.”

Starmer has vowed to pursue a “consistent” relationship after the previous Conservative government first trumpeted a “golden era” of close diplomatic ties before relations became increasingly strained.

The British PM hopes Chinese investment can help him achieve his main mission of firing up Britain’s economy.

But differences over Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs and Hong Kong — including the imprisonment of media mogul Jimmy Lai — pose hurdles to repairing relations.

In a joint letter coordinated by Reporters Without Borders, 33 organizations around the globe wrote to Starmer on Tuesday asking him to meet Lai’s son Sebastian.

“As a British citizen facing an unthinkable ordeal, Sebastien Lai deserves to hear first-hand from the Prime Minister what the UK is doing to secure his father’s release,” said the letter, which was signed by groups including Amnesty International UK and Human Rights Foundation.

Espionage allegations have also blighted the relationship in recent years, including claims that a Chinese businessman used his links with Britain’s Prince Andrew to spy for the Communist Party.The report noted that “instances of China’s espionage, interference in our democracy and the undermining of our economic security have increased in recent years.”

“Our national security response will therefore continue to be threat-driven, bolstering our defenses and responding with strong counter-measures,” the government said.

Starmer’s administration is due to rule on whether to approve Beijing’s controversial plans to open the biggest embassy in Britain at a new London location.

Residents, rights groups and China hawks oppose the development, fearing it could be used for the surveillance and harassment of dissidents.