2. No time to lose on ocean treaty as threats to high seas rise, Greenpeace report says
Governments have no time to lose when it comes to implementing a new global ocean treaty to protect the high seas as threats from human activities intensify, a report by environmental group Greenpeace said. The group said fishing hours on the high seas increased by 8.5% from 2018 to 2022, and were up 22.5% in areas that need special protection.
Unsustainable practices have also risen, including longlines that ensnare marine mammals or seabirds. Greenpeace warned that “new industries wait in the wings”, including the mining of minerals in the seabed as well as ocean carbon removal technology, which are not yet properly regulated. See more on mineral mining in today’s Climate Lens.
3. Mediterranean’s devastating Storm Daniel may be harbinger of storms to come
Storm Daniel, which wrought devastation across the Mediterranean in the past week, killed 15 people in central Greece where it dumped record quantities of rain before sweeping across to Libya where thousands died in a huge flood.
As the storm moved along the North African coast, Egypt’s authorities sought to calm its worried citizens by telling them Daniel had finally lost its strength. But global warming means the region may have to brace in future for increasingly powerful storms of this kind, the Mediterranean’s equivalent of a hurricane known as a “medicane”.
4. Isolated Morocco earthquake survivors feel forgotten by state as they await help
Villagers in some of the most isolated areas hit by Morocco’s earthquake were still living in makeshift tents and relying on donkeys to bring vital supplies as they waited for state aid to reach them nearly a week after the disaster. While orderly camps of large, government-issued tents and military field hospitals have sprung up in some of the larger towns, parts of the rugged region are still surviving on donations left on roadsides by citizens.
5. Unrelenting rain causes more than 100 landslides, traps residents in floodwaters in southern China
Days of relentless rain from the remnants of former Typhoon Haikui have caused more than 100 landslides, trapped about 1,360 residents in floodwaters and killed at least seven people in China’s south, said state media.
