Typhoon Gaemi’s trail of destruction

Climate Focus

By Edson Caldas, Newsletter Editor, Reuters Digital

Hello,

I’m taking a break from my usual Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter duties (in case you’re not subscribed yet, there’s no time better than now) to cover for my colleague Sharon Kimathi. She will be back on Tuesday. If you read yesterday’s Sustainable Switch, you already know it’s been a busy week for climate news. Let’s dive right into it.

After killing dozens of people in Taiwan and the Philippines, Typhoon Gaemi is now pummeling towns in China’s coastal Fujian province with heavy rains and strong winds.

It is the most powerful storm to hit the country this year. The storm has affected almost 630,000 people in Fujian so far, with almost half of them having to be relocated.

Before that, Gaemi flooded several Taiwanese cities and towns. It also sank a freighter and grounded eight others in the Taiwan Strait (for more on this, take a look at the Climate Lens section below).

It doesn’t come out of nowhere. In a paper published today, scientists said climate change is driving changes in rainfall patterns across the world, which could also be intensifying typhoons and other tropical storms.

Stronger tropical storms are part of a wider phenomenon of weather extremes driven by higher temperatures, scientists say.

Days after the world registered its hottest day on record (twice in a row), United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for countries to address the urgency of the issue. “Extreme heat is the new abnormal,” he said.

A cyclist cools off at a fountain at Madrid Rio park during the second day of the heatwave in Spain. REUTERS/Ana Beltran

A raging wildfire has devastated the town of Jasper, potentially destroying up to 50% of structures, and firefighters were trying to save as many buildings as possible on Thursday. There are currently 176 wildfires burning in the province of Alberta, more than 50 of which are out of control.

In more wildfire news, a man was arrested on suspicion of starting one that forced thousands to flee their homes in a fast-moving blaze that is the largest in California so far this year. The 42-year-old suspect was detained by arson investigators with the state California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, along with police.

Heavy rains triggered a landslide burying people in the Gofa Zone of southern Ethiopia on Sunday night and a second one on Monday engulfed those engaged in rescue efforts. The death toll stands at 257, but is expected to almost double, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The wait is over — Paris 2024 kicks off today. And with medals made of iron salvaged from Eiffel Tower refurbishments and stadium seating of recycled plastic, the Games aim to be the greenest of all time. We have an explainer on their efforts towards meeting that goal.

As Japan struggles with a “desertification of the sea” or “isoyake” problem, researchers are feeding vegetables to hungry sea urchins — a popular sushi ingredient — to try and stop them from eating dwindling stocks of ocean seaweed. You can watch our video here, and also read more about it.

Taiwan’s coast guard is trying to rescue dozens of sailors stranded off the southern coast after Typhoon Gaemi sank a freighter and grounded eight others in the Taiwan Strait.

One crew member was found dead, while four were rescued and four others were missing after a Tanzania-flagged cargo ship sank off Taiwan’s southern Kaohsiung port. Seventy-nine crew members still awaited rescue on eight other freighters that were stranded, the coast guard said.

This is how many specimens of Brazilian sharpnose shark scientists studied over almost three years, all of which have tested positive for cocaine, according to a study by the Oswaldo Foundation Cruz, an institute of science, technology and health. (And no, you didn’t just read the synopsis for the sequel to Cocaine Bear.)

These predators off the coast of Brazil’s party city Rio de Janeiro were consuming the potent stimulant due to its release from inadequate sewage treatment facilities and clandestine refining operations.

Sustainable Switch is sent three times a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.

Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you’re signed up for, click here.

Reuters Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement