1st or 3rd world, no discrimination here
While nature's fury does not discriminate between rich, not-so-rich and poor nations, costs are far higher for developing countries. Even so, building resilience and minimising losses from climate-induced extreme weather events has now become a concern for the developed world as well. The sequence of events leading to the Texas floods is eerily familiar - a slow-moving storm bringing intense rainfall, overwhelming riverbanks, and inundating small towns with water that rose faster than many could escape.
No country can afford to disregard climate risk in its economic and policy calculus. Strengthening infra and integrating climate risk into planning and construction, improving weather forecasting, and investing in robust early warning systems are critical.
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Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Trump visits Texas: US President in flood-ravaged state; gets briefed by emergency responders
US President arrived in central Texas on Friday to survey the catastrophic damage caused by flash floods that have killed at least 120 people, including dozens of children, and left over 170 missing. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Touching down in Kerrville - the heart of the disaster zone- Trump was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The president could be seen meeting with first responders, local officials, and grieving families at a briefing site near uprooted trees and emergency vehicles. Wearing a white 'USA' ballcap, Trump received situational updates from emergency personnel alongside Governor Abbott, as reported by Associated Press. The First Lady, dressed in a khaki jacket, olive pants, and Converse sneakers, joined him in meeting rescue crews and posing for photos with hardhat-clad officials. 'I'm going to be with some of the great families,' Trump had told reporters before departing Washington, calling the floods a 'terrible thing' and a '100-year catastrophe.' Trump will also reportedly conduct an aerial tour of the worst-affected areas later today (local time) aboard Marine One. The flyover is expected to give him a firsthand view of the flood's toll, particularly along the Guadalupe River, which surged rapidly on July 4, sweeping away summer camps, homes, and vehicles. At least 36 children were among the dead, with 27 fatalities at Camp Mystic alone. Officials fear the toll may still rise as search efforts continue into their eighth day. While Trump has expressed support for installing improved flood warning systems, he brushed aside criticism that federal agency cuts may have hampered the response. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'The local officials were hit by this just like everybody else,' he told NBC News. Kerr County Commissioner Jeff Holt, who met the president Friday, said the visit sends an important signal. 'He's here to pledge federal support, like he already has with FEMA. That's what a leader does,' said Holt who also serves in the local fire department, as quoted by AP. Trump's visit comes as the response- including delayed evacuation alerts- faces scrutiny. A House Oversight Committee inquiry is underway, and lawmakers have requested records from FEMA and other agencies to assess whether staffing cuts or internal changes contributed to the crisis. The president has not directly addressed the future of FEMA, despite his administration's broader push to devolve disaster management to states. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the federal response as 'swift and efficient.'
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Temperatures along equatorial Pacific Ocean to remain neutral till October: NOAA
The US agency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral conditions would prevail along the equatorial Pacific Ocean until October this year, meaning the Indian summer monsoon would not be under the threat of either El Niño or La Niña till the end of this season. Part of the ENSO climatic cycle, El Nino is known to negatively interfere with the monsoon and in the past, subdued rainfall was linked to the conditions. 'ENSO neutral conditions are likely over the Northern hemisphere during August-October. Later, La Niña conditions increase during the winter of 2025-2026,' NOAA said in its latest monthly ENSO bulletin. The sea surface temperatures recorded along the equatorial Pacific Ocean in June ranged between 0 and 0.4 degree Celsius. The coupled ocean-atmospheric system in the tropical Pacific Ocean reflected ENSO neutral conditions. Earlier this month, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had also said that the latest Monsoon Mission Climate Forecast System (MMCFS) and other climate models suggest that these neutral conditions will likely persist till the end of the monsoon season. On the ENSO component close to home, known as the Indian Ocean Dipole, the Met department had said, 'Currently, neutral Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions are being observed over the Indian Ocean. The model forecast indicates a possible transition to negative IOD conditions during the coming months'. ENSO, an ocean-atmospheric phenomenon considered as one of the most important recurring natural events capable of altering the global atmospheric circulation, has three phases: warm (El Nino), neutral, and cool (La Nina). La Niña is known to positively influence the southwest monsoon and bring normal or above-seasonal rainfall, and El Niño has been linked with below-average seasonal rainfall and even droughts in some years.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Trump-Linked weather privatization plan raises ethics concerns as commerce chief Lutnick faces scrutiny
Plan to replace government with private weather companies Trump picks people with business ties to weather companies Live Events Elon Musk and SpaceX might gain too Lutnick still has financial ties to weather businesses Ethics & legal issues More on Trump's picks and private weather deals FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Howard Lutnick is the U.S. Commerce Secretary now. He used to run a big money company called Cantor Fitzgerald, but handed it over to his two sons after getting the government job, as per the now helps oversee government weather agencies like the National Weather Service and NOAA. These agencies give people free weather info, especially important during natural disasters like the recent deadly Texas flooding, according to the report by team and some Republicans have been trying to privatize weather forecasting for years. If this happens, private companies would sell weather info, and free government data could be cut down, according to the like Rick Spinrad, former NOAA chief under Biden, are worried that poor people might not get accurate weather info unless they pay. Spinrad said: 'It's like turning the weather service into Netflix for weather,' according to the report by Associated picks for weather jobs have ties to private weather companies. His NOAA nominee Neil Jacobs used to work for Panasonic Weather and supports nominee, Taylor Jordan, is a lobbyist for weather clients like AccuWeather, Spire, and Commerce Dept said they'd follow ethics rules and get legal advice before working on issues linked to old clients, as per the report by Associated Musk gave over $250 million to support Trump. His companies SpaceX and Starlink are regulated by the NOAA's space office, which lost 1/3 of its staff after budget cuts pushed by a Trump-linked efficiency staff cuts might help Musk's companies grow in the weather satellite market. Musk has left Washington and is not close to Trump anymore, but his influence remains. Musk didn't respond to questions about this, as per the report by Associated though Lutnick quit as CEO, he's still selling off his shares in Cantor Fitzgerald. His sons, Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, now run the company. He asked for a waiver to work on things that could affect his family's business during his divestment process, as per the Fitzgerald owns part of a weather company called Satellogic, which makes disaster and weather images using satellites. Lutnick helped raise money for Satellogic and was on its board. Cantor still owns around 13% of Satellogic, as mentioned in the report by Associated Press.U.S. officials can't make decisions that help their own or spouse's businesses, but that rule doesn't apply to their adult kids. Lutnick's ethics plan says he's following the rules, but experts are still concerned about conflicts of while under Lutnick, paid a $6.75 million SEC fine for giving misleading info to investors about Satellogic. Trump's 2026 budget plan wants to cut $8 billion from NOAA's satellite program, as stated by NOAA pulls back, companies like Satellogic could take over and profit. Satellogic says it can give real-time weather images and claims it's ready to 'dominate the Earth Observation industry', as per the report by Associated Jacobs, Trump's NOAA nominee, has been acting NOAA head before and wants private firms to do more worked with Spire Global and Lynker, who get millions from NOAA, as per the also said the U.S. should stop giving commercial weather data for free to the world. Taylor Jordan, another nominee, still works at a lobbying firm representing many weather-related companies, according to the report by Associated Lutnick is the U.S. Commerce Secretary and used to run Cantor Fitzgerald, a firm linked to private weather say it could limit free weather info for poor people if private firms take over.
