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Euronews
21-05-2025
- Euronews
Breda becomes the EU's first official National Park City
The creative, cobblestoned Dutch city of Breda has officially become the first National Park City in the European Union. Officially designated by the National Park City Foundation in May, Breda joins London, Adelaide and Chattanooga as the fourth member of a growing global movement to make urban areas greener, healthier and more connected to nature. This new status recognises more than a decade of work to restore wetlands, green its streets and bring residents into the process. It also signals a shift in how cities across Europe redefine their relationship with nature. The National Park City initiative was launched in the UK in 2019 to promote nature-connected, environmentally just urban living. Cities don't need to meet traditional national park criteria. Instead, they must show a city-wide commitment to sustainability, biodiversity and public access to green space. Breda's application caught the attention of assessors with its strong environmental leadership, citizen engagement and urban planning that places nature at its core. 'I absolutely loved exploring Breda and learning about all the things they are doing to make their city greener, healthier and wilder – from restoring a river through the middle of the city to innovative community food growing programmes, tiny forests set up by schools, wildlife-friendly gardens and public art,' says Daniel Raven-Ellison, founder of the National Park City Foundation. 'I am sure that people of all ages and backgrounds in Breda will be inspired by becoming a National Park City and want to explore how they can be part of its growth and story.' Breda is now the fourth city to earn National Park City status, joining London, Adelaide and most recently Chattanooga. Nine other cities are currently working towards it, too. Breda has long prioritised nature-based solutions, from transforming quaysides into biodiverse urban gardens to replacing concrete tiles with grass, flower beds and trees. Today, 60 per cent of Breda is made up of green space, from historic forests like the Mastbos – one of the oldest in the Netherlands – to nature reserves, parks and waterways. By 2030, local leaders aim to make it one of the most nature-rich cities in Europe. But the status also reflects a buy-in from residents. The city has become a leader in green design, using nature-based solutions to improve liveability and manage climate risks. And residents have been active participants in that process, often greening their own streets, installing rooftop gardens and developing green schoolyards, according to Breda Stad in een Park, a grassroots movement that helped to lead the city's efforts to become a National Park City. 'This title is a recognition for the many residents, entrepreneurs and organisations who are committed to greening Breda and an inspiration to continue doing so,' says Joost Barendrecht, chairman of Breda Stad in een Park. 'It's an incentive to make more [people] enthusiastic about getting started with greenery. It doesn't always have to be big. A [simple] garden is a nice contribution.' Across the EU, cities are increasingly stepping in the same direction as Breda. From car-free zones inParis to flood-proofing efforts inCopenhagen, local leaders are responding to climate change and declining biodiversity with initiatives that aim to make urban settlements greener, more livable and future-ready. For example, access to green space significantly reducesheat-related health risks – a benefit Breda now exemplifies and otherEuropean cities might seek to emulate. 'London and Breda are the first National Park Cities in Europe, but there's no shortage of others that want and need to be greener, healthier, wilder, cooler and fairer,' says Raven-Ellison. 'National Park Cities are helping to show the way, forming strong relationships and exchanging optimism, ideas, knowledge and energy.' If you're wondering why Arctic temperatures are rising so much faster than predicted, scientists at Kyushu University think they've found an answer: it's in the clouds. In a study published in Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research, researchers from Kyushu University analysed 30 leading climate models and compared them to satellite observations of Arctic cloud patterns. They discovered a widespread modelling error. Most simulations overestimate the amount of ice and underestimate the amount of liquid in wintertime Arctic clouds. That may sound like a small detail, but it has big consequences for how accurately scientists can predict warming in one of the world's most sensitive regions. The Arctic is warming three to four times faster than the global average. A major reason for this is how clouds interact with heat. In summer, so-called mixed-phase clouds – which contain both ice crystals and supercooled liquid water – reflect sunlight, cooling the surface. But in the dark winter months, these same clouds trap heat and insulate the surface like a thermal blanket. 'The more liquid water these clouds contain, the better they are at trapping heat,' explains study co-author Momoka Nakanishi. Most models, however, suggest that clouds have less ice in them than they do. That could explain why the rate of Arctic warming in recent decades has outpaced predictions. It could also warp future projections – but not in the way you might think. As the Arctic continues to warm, more ice in clouds converts to liquid, increasing their heat-trapping power. This creates a short-term condition known as 'cloud emissivity feedback,' which accelerates warming. But, the researchers add, there's a limit to it. Once clouds are rich enough in liquid, they begin to absorb heat and re-emit it to Earth completely. Meaning, additional warming makes little difference, because the clouds are already re-emitting heat to the maximum extent possible. Since many climate models don't accurately represent how much liquid is already present, they could be predicting greater warming than is likely in the future. In other words, they underestimate today's warming and overestimate tomorrow's. Fixing this flaw, researchers argue, could improve not just Arctic projections but also extreme weather forecasts in other parts of the world, which are influenced by polar systems. The study adds context to another sobering piece of research, published earlier this month in Communications Earth & Environment. That study found that even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C, we could still trigger irreversible melting in the massive polar ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, leading sea levels to rise several metres even under optimistic emissions scenarios. Both studies point to the same truth: our understanding of polar regions, from clouds to ice melt, is still catching up with reality. If climate models continue to lag observed trends, the world could be blindsided by faster-than-expected changes in sea level, weather extremes and ecosystem collapse. As cloud study co-author Takuro Michibata put it, 'Fixing these models is essential not just for the Arctic, but for understanding its impact on weather and climate change across the globe.'
Euronews
21-05-2025
- Euronews
Could Arctic clouds explain why climate models keep failing?
The creative, cobblestoned Dutch city of Breda has officially become the first National Park City in the European Union. Officially designated by the National Park City Foundation in May, Breda joins London, Adelaide and Chattanooga as the fourth member of a growing global movement to make urban areas greener, healthier and more connected to nature. This new status recognises more than a decade of work to restore wetlands, green its streets and bring residents into the process. It also signals a shift in how cities across Europe redefine their relationship with nature. The National Park City initiative was launched in the UK in 2019 to promote nature-connected, environmentally just urban living. Cities don't need to meet traditional national park criteria. Instead, they must show a city-wide commitment to sustainability, biodiversity and public access to green space. Breda's application caught the attention of assessors with its strong environmental leadership, citizen engagement and urban planning that places nature at its core. 'I absolutely loved exploring Breda and learning about all the things they are doing to make their city greener, healthier and wilder – from restoring a river through the middle of the city to innovative community food growing programmes, tiny forests set up by schools, wildlife-friendly gardens and public art,' says Daniel Raven-Ellison, founder of the National Park City Foundation. 'I am sure that people of all ages and backgrounds in Breda will be inspired by becoming a National Park City and want to explore how they can be part of its growth and story.' Breda is now the fourth city to earn National Park City status, joining London, Adelaide and most recently Chattanooga. Nine other cities are currently working towards it, too. Breda has long prioritised nature-based solutions, from transforming quaysides into biodiverse urban gardens to replacing concrete tiles with grass, flower beds and trees. Today, 60 per cent of Breda is made up of green space, from historic forests like the Mastbos – one of the oldest in the Netherlands – to nature reserves, parks and waterways. By 2030, local leaders aim to make it one of the most nature-rich cities in Europe. But the status also reflects a buy-in from residents. The city has become a leader in green design, using nature-based solutions to improve liveability and manage climate risks. And residents have been active participants in that process, often greening their own streets, installing rooftop gardens and developing green schoolyards, according to Breda Stad in een Park, a grassroots movement that helped to lead the city's efforts to become a National Park City. 'This title is a recognition for the many residents, entrepreneurs and organisations who are committed to greening Breda and an inspiration to continue doing so,' says Joost Barendrecht, chairman of Breda Stad in een Park. 'It's an incentive to make more [people] enthusiastic about getting started with greenery. It doesn't always have to be big. A [simple] garden is a nice contribution.' Across the EU, cities are increasingly stepping in the same direction as Breda. From car-free zones in Paris to flood-proofing efforts in Copenhagen, local leaders are responding to climate change and declining biodiversity with initiatives that aim to make urban settlements greener, more livable and future-ready. For example, access to green space significantly reduces heat-related health risks – a benefit Breda now exemplifies and other European cities might seek to emulate. 'London and Breda are the first National Park Cities in Europe, but there's no shortage of others that want and need to be greener, healthier, wilder, cooler and fairer,' says Raven-Ellison. 'National Park Cities are helping to show the way, forming strong relationships and exchanging optimism, ideas, knowledge and energy.' If you're wondering why Arctic temperatures are rising so much faster than predicted, scientists at Kyushu University think they've found an answer: it's in the clouds. In a study published in Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research, researchers from Kyushu University analysed 30 leading climate models and compared them to satellite observations of Arctic cloud patterns. They discovered a widespread modelling error. Most simulations overestimate the amount of ice and underestimate the amount of liquid in wintertime Arctic clouds. That may sound like a small detail, but it has big consequences for how accurately scientists can predict warming in one of the world's most sensitive regions. The Arctic is warming three to four times faster than the global average. A major reason for this is how clouds interact with heat. In summer, so-called mixed-phase clouds – which contain both ice crystals and supercooled liquid water – reflect sunlight, cooling the surface. But in the dark winter months, these same clouds trap heat and insulate the surface like a thermal blanket. 'The more liquid water these clouds contain, the better they are at trapping heat,' explains study co-author Momoka Nakanishi. Most models, however, suggest that clouds have less ice in them than they do. That could explain why the rate of Arctic warming in recent decades has outpaced predictions. It could also warp future projections – but not in the way you might think. As the Arctic continues to warm, more ice in clouds converts to liquid, increasing their heat-trapping power. This creates a short-term condition known as 'cloud emissivity feedback,' which accelerates warming. But, the researchers add, there's a limit to it. Once clouds are rich enough in liquid, they begin to absorb heat and re-emit it to Earth completely. Meaning, additional warming makes little difference, because the clouds are already re-emitting heat to the maximum extent possible. Since many climate models don't accurately represent how much liquid is already present, they could be predicting greater warming than is likely in the future. In other words, they underestimate today's warming and overestimate tomorrow's. Fixing this flaw, researchers argue, could improve not just Arctic projections but also extreme weather forecasts in other parts of the world, which are influenced by polar systems. The study adds context to another sobering piece of research, published earlier this month in Communications Earth & Environment. That study found that even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C, we could still trigger irreversible melting in the massive polar ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, leading sea levels to rise several metres even under optimistic emissions scenarios. Both studies point to the same truth: our understanding of polar regions, from clouds to ice melt, is still catching up with reality. If climate models continue to lag observed trends, the world could be blindsided by faster-than-expected changes in sea level, weather extremes and ecosystem collapse. As cloud study co-author Takuro Michibata put it, 'Fixing these models is essential not just for the Arctic, but for understanding its impact on weather and climate change across the globe.' As nasty tornadoes popped up from Kansas to Kentucky, a depleted National Weather Service was in scramble mode. The agency's office in Jackson, Kentucky, had begun closing nightly as deep cuts by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency began hitting. But the weather service kept staffers on overtime Friday night to stay on top of the deadly storms, which killed nearly 20 people in the Jackson office's forecast area. It's a scenario likely to be repeated as the US is on track to see more tornadoes this year than in 2024, which was the second-busiest tornado year on record. Forecasters said there was at least a 10 per cent risk of tornadoes Tuesday for 10.6 million people in parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Weather service veterans expressed concern about the agency's ability to keep up in the face of the cuts. Rich Thompson, lead operations forecaster at the NWS Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said the job is getting done. But he acknowledged that staffing cuts have 'made it harder on us.' "It has made it hard on the local offices just to make sure that we have all of our important duties covered. But, I mean, most of the people take those important duties seriously, so we're going to do what it takes to cover it,' Thompson said. 'I hope we're not in the same staffing situation long term. ... It would be hard to sustain this for months or years.' NWS spokesperson Erica Grow Cei said the Jackson office 'remained fully staffed through the duration of the event using surge staffing' and had support from neighboring offices. The Storm Prediction Center had tallied 883 local tornado reports this year as of Monday, which was 35 per cent higher than average for this time of year. Many former weather service employees, especially those fired by the Trump administration, remain connected to the agency's inner workings. They describe an agency that's somehow getting forecasts and warnings out in time, but is also near the breaking point. 'They'll continue to answer the bell as long as they can, but you can only ask people to work 80 hours or 120 hours a week, you know for so long,' said Elbert 'Joe' Friday, a former weather service director. 'They may be so bleary-eyed, they can't identify what's going on on the radar.' Tom DiLiberto, a weather service meteorologist and spokesman who was fired in earlier rounds of the job cuts, said the situation is like a boat with leaks 'and you have a certain amount of pieces of duct tape and you keep moving duct tape to different holes. At some point, you can't.' As of March, some of the weather service offices issuing tornado warnings Friday and Sunday were above the 20 per cent vacancy levels that outside experts have said is a critical threshold. Those include Jackson, with a 25 per cent vacancy rate, Louisville, Kentucky, with a 29 per cent vacancy rate, and Wichita, Kansas, with a 32 per cent vacancy rate, according to data compiled by weather service employees and obtained by the AP. Technologies used to predict tornadoes have significantly improved, but radar can't replace a well-rested staff that has to figure out how nasty or long-lasting storms will be and how to get information to the public, said Karen Kosiba, managing director of the Flexible Array of Mesonets and Radars (FARM) facility, a network of weather equipment used for research. 'There really are not enough people to handle everything,' said University of Oklahoma meteorology professor Howard Bluestein, who chased six tornadoes Sunday. 'If the station is understaffed, that could affect the quality of forecasts." Former weather service Director Louis Uccellini said budget cuts have drastically reduced the number of weather balloon launches, which provide critical information for forecasts. And weather service workers aren't being allowed to travel to help train local disaster officials for what to do when they get dangerous weather warnings, he said. Though the number of tornadoes is nearly at a record pace, Thompson and other experts said the tornado outbreak of the last few days is mostly normal for this time of year. For tornadoes to form, the atmosphere needs a collision of warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and storm systems chugging through via the jet stream, the river of air that brings weather fronts from west to east, said Thompson, Bluestein and Harold Brooks of the weather service's National Severe Storm Laboratory. 'The moisture that we're getting from the Gulf of Mexico is a lot more than we used to get,' said Bluestein. 'That makes the likelihood that we're getting a stronger storm higher and that's pretty unusual.' Temperatures in the Gulf are a couple of degrees warmer than usual for this time of year, according to the weather service. The connection between climate change and tornadoes is not as well understood as the links between other types of extreme weather such as heavy rainfall and heat waves, experts say. 'Under the climate change scenario, we're kind of supercharging the atmosphere on some days and then actually reducing the favorability on others,' said Ohio State University atmospheric sciences professor Jana Houser. Scientists are also seeing more tornadoes in January, February, March and other times when it used to be too cold for twisters to form, especially in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee, she said. More people are also living in harm's way, Brooks said. That's why Uccellini and others see increasing risks to people and property. 'When you have this kind of threat and you're understaffed at some point, something's going to slip through the cracks," Uccellini said. 'I can't tell you when it's going to happen.'
France 24
20-05-2025
- France 24
Dutch museum removes 'priceless' Benin Bronzes for return to Nigeria
The artefact is a "Benin Bronze", a priceless cultural object looted from modern-day Nigeria more than 120 years ago, now being removed from display and returned to its rightful home. The Wereldmuseum (World Museum) in Leiden is restoring 113 of the ancient sculptures, the latest single return, as pressure mounts on Western governments and institutions to hand back the spoils of colonial oppression. "These don't belong here. They were violently taken, so they need to go back," museum director Marieke van Bommel told AFP in an interview. "This is a typical example of looted art," added the 50-year-old. The story of the Benin Bronzes is one of violence and tragedy. It began when nine British officers were killed on a trade mission to the then independent kingdom of Benin, in the south of present-day Nigeria. The British reaction was fierce. London deployed a military expedition to avenge its officers. The troops killed several thousand locals and torched Benin's capital city. They looted the royal palace, stealing hundreds of artworks, including the Benin Bronzes. Most of the ornate bronzes were then sold to finance the expedition, auctioned off or sold to museums across Europe and the United States. This was in 1897 and 128 years later, Nigeria is still negotiating the bronzes' return around the world -- with mixed results. The Netherlands has agreed to return 119 bronzes in total -- six more are coming from Rotterdam -- and Germany has also begun handing back its loot. However, the British Museum in London has refused to return any of its famed collection. A law passed in 1963 technically prevents the museum from giving back the treasures. 'Follow this example' Museum director Van Bommel hopes the Dutch example will be picked up around the world. "I think we all agree that this collection doesn't belong in European museums. We do hope that other countries will follow this example," she said. The collection is priceless, said Van Bommel. "It's a cultural value, so we never put a price on it." The museum in Leiden has also restored hundreds of pieces of colonial loot to Indonesia, a former Dutch colony, Mexico and a community in the United States. Van Bommel said they had struck a deal to keep four of the bronzes on loan, so visitors can continue to learn their story. "We want to talk about the expedition, but also about the whole subject of restitution," she said. In the meantime, the museum will replace their collection with a display of contemporary art. As for the bronzes, they will be shipped to Lagos in mid-June. Former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari declared in 2023 that the returned works would be given to the Oba -- the traditional ruler -- and not to the Nigerian state. There are plans to build a museum in Benin City in southern Edo state, where the bronzes will have pride of place.
