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Hello,
Record-breaking flooding has hit the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kazakhstan and parts of central Russia this week. But first, a little housekeeping. Sustainable Switch will be on a short break and will be back with you on April 25.
Now, back to the flooding in the UAE as the nation was still grappling with the aftermath of a record-breaking storm on Thursday that brought much of the country to a standstill this week.
A storm hit the UAE and Oman bringing record rainfall that flooded highways, inundated houses, knocked out power, grid-locked traffic and trapped people in their homes.
At least 20 people were reported to have died in the deluge in Oman while one person was said to have died in floods in the UAE that closed government offices and schools for days.
Also on my radar today:
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A person walks in flood water caused by heavy rains, with the Burj Khalifa tower visible in the background, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky
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Heaviest rains in 75 years
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Flooding trapped residents in traffic, offices and homes as the UAE recorded its heaviest rains in the 75 years that records have been kept, authorities said.
Authorities have told government employees and students to stay home while waterlogged roads are cleared.
The airport struggled to get food to stranded passengers with nearby roads blocked by flood waters.
In Dubai, operations at the airport, a major travel hub, remain disrupted after Tuesday’s storm flooded the runway, resulting in flight diversions, delays and cancellations.
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It was climate change, not cloud seeding
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The UAE lacks much of the needed drainage infrastructure to handle heavy rain. It is not uncommon for roads to become partially submerged underwater during extended periods of rainfall. It typically only ever rains a few times a year.
The UAE also frequently conducts cloud seeding operations to increase rainfall. Cloud seeding is a process in which chemicals are implanted into clouds to increase rainfall in an environment where water scarcity is a concern.
A forecaster from the national meteorology center denied any cloud seeding operations had taken place recently.
Climate experts say rising temperatures caused by human-led climate change are leading to more extreme weather events around the world, such as the storm that struck the UAE and Oman.
“It’s likely that the storm was kind of supercharged by climate change because there’s just more moisture available in the air for any storm system to then precipitate out,” said Colleen Colja, a climate scientist at Imperial College London.
Researchers anticipate that climate change will lead to heightened temperatures, increased humidity and a greater risk of flooding in parts of the Gulf region. The problem can be worsened in countries like the UAE where there is a lack of drainage infrastructure to cope with heavy rains.
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Floods in Russia and Kazakhstan
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Elsewhere, Russia’s Urals region and northern Kazakhstan are suffering the worst flooding in memory, as large snowfalls have melted rapidly and heavy rain has fallen on ground that was already waterlogged before winter.
Almost 117,000 people have been evacuated due to floods in Kazakhstan, the Central Asian nation’s emergencies ministry said.
About 16,000 people have already returned to their homes, the ministry said in a statement, as water has receded in some regions. But evacuations continued in North Kazakhstan, Aktobe, West Kazakhstan regions, he said.
As floods engulfed large parts of central Russia, residents of one village defied advice to flee their homes and started building a homemade dam.
Some villagers took time off work to join in, and by the peak of activity late last week a couple of hundred people were working around the clock, with dozens of others providing food, he said.
Residents said the embankment had prevented floodwater from engulfing a large area with houses, apartments, a kindergarten and a medical center.
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Hot lava flows from Mount Ruang volcano during an eruption in Sitaro, North Sulawesi province, Indonesia. Antara Foto/HO/BPBD Kab Sitaro/via REUTERS
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- Volcano: Indonesia shut a provincial airport and evacuated hundreds of people from the vicinity of the Ruang volcano after it belched explosive plumes of lava, rocks and ash for days, officials said on Thursday, declaring the highest alert on the situation.
- Singapore plans to work with international partners to raise $5 billion to help fund Asia-focused climate projects, a senior monetary official said.
- Heat wave: In late March and early April, days and nights of extreme heat above 40° Celsius (104°F) gripped many West African countries. Temperatures soared so high in Mali and Burkina Faso they equated to a once in 200-year event, according to the report on the Sahel region by World Weather Attribution (WWA).
- Members of Ghana’s LGBT community and activists are waiting to see whether the West African country’s president will sign into law a bill that would further restrict their rights and likely worsen the persecution many face.
- Workers’ rights: British trade union law breaches workers’ human rights as it does not protect them from sanctions short of dismissal for taking part in industrial action, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled.
- Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law the first measure passed in the U.S. that aims to protect the data found in a person’s brainwaves. Sponsors of the bill said it was necessary as quick advances in neurotechnology make scanning, analyzing and selling mental data increasingly more possible – and profitable.
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United Nations General Secretary António Guterres shares his thoughts on the climate crisis with the coalition of finance ministers for climate action:
“Storms, floods, fires and droughts are decimating economies around the world.
“Funds that should be building roads, educating children, and curing the sick, are being swallowed up by the climate crisis.
“Yet you know that without action, today’s costs will seem like small change.
“We can still avert the very worst of climate chaos by limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But only if we act now.
“It is vital that all countries come forward with new and ambitious national climate action plans – or Nationally Determined Contributions – by next year.
“These plans should align with the 1.5 degree limit, covering all emissions and the whole economy, and reflect national circumstances.
“And they should map a just pathway to phase out fossil fuels, and embrace the benefits of renewable energy.
“Finance ministers are vital in designing national climate plans that support national development plans, and double as national investment plans – spurring sustainable development.”
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Japan’s artistic gymnast Daiki Hashimoto attends an unveiling ceremony of official uniforms for the Paris Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Japanese Olympians stepping up to the podium in Paris will have more than a medal to be proud of this summer: the carbon footprint of their eco-friendly team kits.
Unveiling Team Japan’s official wear, Asics said the jackets, trousers and other items athletes will wear on the podium and at press conferences would have the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during production stamped on them, in a nod to the green goals put forth by the host city.
The team’s warm-up suit jacket shows 8.8 kg of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) were emitted in its production while bottoms show 5.5 kg of CO2e.
The Tokyo-based company said it reduced emissions on the official kits by about 34% from the last Games in Tokyo by using recycled and lighter material as well as renewable energy at its factory in Japan.
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- April 19, Tennessee, United States: The hourly factory workers at Volkswagen’s assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will vote on whether to join the United Auto Workers in a key moment for the U.S. auto sector and whether the union can successfully start organizing non-union automakers.
- April 19, Washington D.C., U.S.: Activists protest on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Spring Meetings calling for more action on climate issues.
- April 19, India: Citizens will cast their votes in the first phase of the 7-stage parliamentary election – the world’s largest – in simmering summer heat. Weather authorities in the country have warned of more heat-wave days than normal between April and June this year.
- April 23, Ottawa, Canada: The United Nations Environment Programme negotiations will try to deliver the world’s first treaty to control plastic pollution. The session will be held in Ottawa from April 23 to May 1, 2024.
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Today’s Sustainable Switch was edited by Christina Fincher
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