Climate change

On the eve of COP29 in Baku, the Indian Climate Report 2024 was released. In the first nine months of the year, as many as 3,238 people lost their lives in the country due to floods, landslides, and heat waves, up 18 per cent. Madhya Pradesh had the highest number of days of extreme weather, while Kerala had the most deaths.

On the Solemnity of All Saints and the proclamation of the Beatitudes as the "path of holiness", the pontiff stressed how war is "ignoble, because it is the triumph of the lie". He called on the faithful to pray for Chad hit by a grave terrorist attack and the Valencian community overwhelmed by storm Dana, a huge "environmental catastrophe". He also turned his thoughts to the "153 women and children massacred in Gaza in recent days.”

The number of such episodes in the country has increased by more than 10 times in the last 30 years, also creating problems for the economy and the health of the population. According to research commissioned by the World Bank, sandstorms lead to the premature death of 78 people per 100,000 inhabitants in Tajikistan, a figure lower only than that of Uzbekistan in Central Asia.

Intense monsoon rains cause havoc. Local authorities report more than 3,000 homes destroyed and at least 14 bridges damaged in various parts of the country. Several roads remain blocked due to debris. The prime minister held an all-party meeting.

The region's main river flows through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and finally empties into the languishing Aral Sea. Its flow is steadily decreasing due to climate change but also due to intensive exploitation for agricultural purposes, aggravated by competition between individual countries. But according to experts, with bottom-up initiatives it would still be possible to snatch it from its decline.

The structure, dating back to the fifth century, is subject to deterioration. Climatologists and authorities have started a collaboration to assess the long-term ‘impact and consequences’ on historical sites. But many architectural treasures are at risk, as are the country's crops and ecosystem in the face of a ‘silent enemy’ that threatens the future and is the focus of the Summit of the Future at the UN General Assembly in these hours.

The UN-backed World Restoration Flagship project seeks to restore 10,000 hectares by 2030. Coastal forests are vital to protect the country from natural disasters such as storm surges and tsunamis, playing a crucial role in resisting climate change. For environmentalists Dissanayake and Semasinghe, mangroves also provide “sustainable livelihoods for rural communities.”

Archbishop Martinelli stresses to AsiaNews the link that makes the declaration signed yesterday in Jakarta and the 2019 text on human fraternity‘different and complementary’. In a world marked by war ‘the danger is getting used to dehumanisation’. Strong ‘symbols’ such as the Tunnel of Friendship or the Abrahamic House are essential. From the Pope also the call to look in depth’ in interreligious dialogue, returning “to the question of God as a fundamental human question”.

So far, the efforts by governments and international organisations to contain the danger have failed. Dengue fever has no cure and the only prevention is via elimination of the Aedes mosquito. The most dramatic situation is in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The Emergency Management Ministry has released data for last month, with almost US$ 11 billion in losses due mainly to floods. Over 300 dead or missing and thousands of damaged houses and hectares of land. Summer in China is the season of typhoons and high temperatures, which this year could exceed 40 degrees Celsius.

More than half of the victims were not registered, arriving via "irregular" channels. The highest number of deaths was reported among Egyptians, but fatalities include people from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan. In the future, global warming will likely make things worse.

Leaders of different faiths met yesterday at a seminar organised by the Archdiocese of Chittagong and World Vision to promote this perspective. Archbishop Lawrence Subrato Howladar wants to see the “strengthening the three-dimensional relationship between the Creator, nature, and human society.” Bangladesh is seventh most affected country in the world by climate change.