58% Rise In Drowning This Year Between June-July Due To Heatwave: France
France's public health authority said on Friday that more than 100 people had died from drowning between June 1 and July 2 this year, an increase of 58% over the same period last year, blaming it on unusually warm weather at the end of June.
Sante Publique, the French authority, said 429 total drownings had occurred in France between June 1 and July 2, an increase of 95% over that period last year.
"These increases occurred in a context of high temperatures in the second half of June 2025, which led to an increase in people going to swimming areas to cool off," the agency said in a bulletin.
Large swaths of Europe, including France, sweltered over a 10-day heatwave ending July 2. Scientists said 2,300 people died of heat-related causes across 12 European cities during the extreme weather.
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Time of India
17 hours ago
- Time of India
Antimicrobial resistant superbugs could kill millions, cost $2 trillion yearly by 2050: Report
Representative AI-generated image Antimicrobial-resistant superbugs could lead to substantial global mortality and economic losses of approximately $2tn annually by 2050, according to a study, quoted by the Guardian. Analysis from a UK government-sponsored research reveals that rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could result in yearly global GDP losses of $1.7 trillion over the next 25 years without decisive intervention. The Center for Global Development's research indicates severe economic impact on the US, UK and EU economies. Recent reductions in aid funding appear counterproductive, particularly as the UK government has eliminated Fleming fund support for AMR prevention in developing nations. Similarly, the US has confirmed $9 billion in foreign aid reductions, with European nations following suit. Anthony McDonnell, who led the research at the Center for Global Development, explained that initial projections were based on historical resistance trends. He noted that significant aid reductions by the US (80%), UK (from 0.5% to 0.3% of GNI), France, and Germany could accelerate resistance rates to worst-case scenarios. He emphasised that no country, regardless of their AMR control success, should be complacent. Without protecting AMR programmes from funding cuts, global resistance rates could escalate to match severely affected nations, resulting in increased mortality worldwide and substantial economic consequences. The study, covering 122 countries, projects annual GDP losses by 2050 could reach $722 billion in China, $295.7 billion in the US, $187 billion in the EU, $65.7 billion in Japan, and $58.6 billion in the UK under pessimistic scenarios. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation forecasts a 60% increase in AMR-related deaths by 2050, with annual mortality reaching 1.34 million in the US and 184,000 in the UK. Drug-resistant infections are expected to rise significantly. Antibiotic-resistant infections double treatment costs due to increased hospitalisations, extended stays, expensive alternative treatments, and complex care requirements. The research estimates global AMR treatment costs could rise by $176bn annually, with UK costs increasing from $900m to $3.7bn and US costs from $15.5bn to $57bn. The study indicates workforce reductions of 0.8% in the UK, 0.6% in the EU, and 0.4% in the US due to resistant infections. However, increased investment in addressing superbugs could boost annual economic growth by $156.2bn in the US and $12bn in the UK by 2050. Dr Mohsen Naghavi from IHME warned that without immediate action, current medicines might become ineffective, potentially making simple infections lethal, according to The Guardian. This requires governmental policy changes, new drug development, and public education about antibiotics' ineffectiveness against viruses. A UK government representative highlighted their 10-year health strategy addressing AMR, citing progress in reducing antibiotic use in meat production and developing new treatment incentives whilst maintaining international cooperation.
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Time of India
Superbugs could kill millions and trigger $2 trillion economic meltdown by 2050
A recent study highlights an impending global catastrophe: antimicrobial resistance threatens to claim millions of lives. By 2050, the global economy could suffer losses amounting to trillions of dollars. Major economies, including the US, UK, and China, are at risk of severe financial repercussions. Experts emphasize the urgent need for investments in innovative antibiotics and enhanced infection control measures. MRSA bacteria in a petri dish. The US, UK and EU economies are on course to be among those hardest hit by antimicrobial resistance. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads By 2050, if the increase in antimicrobial resistance AMR ) is not stopped, superbugs could kill millions more people and cost the world economy around $2 trillion annually, according to new Centre for Global Development, a report supported by the UK government, cautions that rising AMR rates might deplete global GDP by $1.7 trillion a year over the next 25 read: Untreatable fungal infections are now killing nearly 3.8 mn each year, WHO experts sound alarm Economies such as the US, UK, and EU are projected to suffer some of the heaviest financial blows, leading critics to slam recent cuts to foreign aid budgets as short-sighted and harmful. Fleming Fund , aimed at AMR combatThese concerns follow the UK's recent decision to scrap funding for the Fleming Fund, a programme dedicated to combating AMR in lower-income nations. Similar aid reductions have been made by the US, which slashed its overseas aid by 80%, and various European to the study's worst-case scenarios, Anthony McDonnell, the principal author, cautioned that these aid cuts could hasten resistance rates worldwide. Even nations that are now efficiently handling the threat run the danger of seeing rising infection rates and death tolls in the absence of specialised AMR modelling, which examined the economic and health burden of AMR across 122 nations, forecasts stark worst-case scenario is that by 2050, China's yearly GDP losses might amount to $722 billion, the US $295.7 billion, the EU $187 billion, Japan $65.7 billion, and the UK $58.6 read: AI stuns scientists : Superbug mystery solved in 48 hours after decade long research According to data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the number of deaths from AMR is expected to increase by 60% by 2050, reaching 1.34 million deaths in the US and 184,000 in the UK a sharp increase in drug-resistant bacterial infections is anticipated, which will result in more hospital stays, longer treatment durations, and higher medical cost of treating these infections is already around double that of treating non-resistant the health costs of AMR could rise to $176 billion a year. The UK's annual health bill could surge from $900 million to $3.7 billion, and the US from $15.5 billion to nearly $57 knock-on effect would shrink workforces too: 0.8% in the UK, 0.6% in the EU, and 0.4% in the US. However, the study suggests that investing in solutions, such as developing new antibiotics and improving infection treatment, could deliver substantial economic 2050, the US economy could grow by $156.2 billion annually and the UK by $12 billion if action is Dr. Mohsen Naghavi emphasised that AMR is becoming a bigger threat. Once-treatable illnesses could turn deadly in the absence of immediate, concerted read: Fighting superbugs: New paper-based platform enables rapid antibiotic-resistance screening Policy reforms, the creation of novel medications, and increased public knowledge of the limitations of antibiotics in treating viral infections are all necessary for solutions.A representative representing the UK government reiterated their dedication to combating AMR by developing vaccines, reducing the use of antibiotics in agriculture, and supporting novel treatments. According to the administration, it is still working with other countries to stop the development of antibiotic resistance.
NDTV
a day ago
- NDTV
How Climate Change Is Raising Grocery Bill
A 300% spike in Australian lettuce prices. A 50% rise for European olive oil and 80% for US vegetables. Researchers from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the European Central Bank have traced back those price jumps to extreme weather they say is linked to climate change. The group analyzed 16 weather events around the world between 2022 and 2024. Many were so unusual that a given region had experienced nothing like it prior to 2020, according to the analysis, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters on Monday in Europe. "Unprecedented conditions are set to become increasingly common across the world," the study's authors say. "At the same time, new records for extreme conditions will continue to be set, further from those to which agricultural production and economic systems are currently adapted." Climate change brings with it higher temperatures and extreme rains, which can lower yields and make the crops that are harvested more expensive. British households' food bill, for instance, was 361 pounds (about $484) more in 2022 and 2023 due to climate change, according to estimates by the nonprofit Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. (ECIU staffer Tom Lancaster was a coauthor of the new study.) Consumers globally say they are feeling the effects of climate change on their grocery bills, making food unaffordable for some and posing a challenge for central bankers trying to tame inflation. Here are a few of the price hikes the researchers identified: Soaring US vegetable prices In 2022, California registered its driest three-year period ever recorded, leaving nearly a million acres of farm fields unplanted and producing initial crop revenue losses of nearly $2 billion that year alone. Arizona, which grows most of the US's winter lettuce supply, also saw reductions in the amount of water the state received from the Colorado River, due to a drought-related water shortage in the river basin. These conditions in two major US agricultural states, paired with Hurricane Ian hitting Florida, contributed to a more than 80% hike in the country's vegetable prices compared with the previous year. A wide-reaching Asia heat wave A heat wave that warmed Asia last year to temperatures as high as 115F (46C) was one of the disruptive weather events that led to vegetable prices in China rising more than 40% between June and September. Hot and dry conditions also left South Korean cabbages nearly 70% more expensive than the year prior, according to local media reports. Napa cabbage is commonly pickled into kimchi, a staple local dish, and the government has utilized national stocks to bolster supplies. Australian lettuce's 300% hike Eastern Australia faced record-breaking extreme flooding in early 2022, which was soon estimated to be Australia's costliest ever flood and its fifth most costly disaster. A resulting lettuce shortage led shoppers to complain about prices of around A$12 ($7.81) for a head of iceberg lettuce. The lettuce previously cost roughly A$2.80 a piece, according to the Guardian, representing a more than 300% price increase. Fast food chain KFC even began substituting in cabbage in its burgers. Is climate inflation permanent? Prices tend to respond as soon as one or two months after an instance of extreme heat or drought, says Max Kotz, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral fellow at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. He and the other authors also looked at how unusual weather events were for each region, based on the distribution of measures like temperature over time. They found that heat, drought and floods were occurring at an increased intensity and frequency. El Niño, a climate pattern that occurred from 2023 to 2024, likely also influenced the extreme weather observed, the authors say. These kinds of food price shocks typically turn out to be short-term in nature, because high prices incentivize more production, which brings prices back down, says Andrew Stevenson, a senior climate analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. Products like coffee and cattle are the exception, because they require certain conditions such as a tropical climate or large swathes of land for grazing that limit where they can be grown and bred. Coffee and cattle futures, contracts that represent near-term pricing in those markets, have marched up in price since 2020 - in contrast with futures for a crop like corn that's more easily grown. New US tariffs could further squeeze farmers abroad, says Stevenson. "It puts producers in an uncomfortable position where the price of beef is too expensive to sell at home but not expensive enough to sell with a 50% tariff," he adds. Extreme weather is only expected to continue, and the study recommends that countries consider policies that will help consumers manage rising food prices. Ultimately, though, slashing greenhouse gas emissions and containing global warming will be key to reducing food price inflation risks, the authors say. Climate forecasts can also provide early warnings, and farms can implement adaptations like irrigation, though both approaches have serious limitations.
