I had beer and burger at the world's northernmost pub - here's the verdict
The beer is cold, the burgers are hot and my toes are finally starting to thaw. Outside, it's minus 14 degrees Celsius, even though it's summer. We've flopped into chairs around a table at Barentz Gastropub in the settlement of Longyearbyen, Svalbard, an archipelago a short 1200 kilometres from the North Pole.
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Sinar Daily
an hour ago
- Sinar Daily
Half the world faced an extra month of extreme heat due to climate change
The team identified 67 extreme heat events during the year and found the fingerprint of climate change on all of them. 07 Jun 2025 08:01pm A worker cleans the lines of a cooling tower at an ice factory on a hot summer day in Karachi on May 29, 2025. (Photo by Asif HASSAN / AFP) WASHINGTON - Half the global population endured an additional month of extreme heat over the past year because of manmade climate change, a new study found recently. The findings highlight how the continued burning of fossil fuels is harming health and well-being on every continent, with the effects especially under-recognised in developing countries, the authors said. A man drinks water in Ronda, southern Spain as the country faces the first heatwave of the season, on May 28, 2025. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP) "With every barrel of oil burned, every tonne of carbon dioxide released, and every fraction of a degree of warming, heat waves will affect more people," said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London and co-author of the report. The analysis -- conducted by scientists at World Weather Attribution, Climate Central, and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre -- was released ahead of global Heat Action Day on June 2, which this year spotlights the dangers of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. To assess the influence of global warming, researchers analysed the period from May 1, 2024 to May 1, 2025. They defined "extreme heat days" as those hotter than 90 per cent of temperatures recorded at a given location between 1991 and 2020. Using a peer-reviewed modeling approach, they then compared the number of such days to a simulated world without human-caused warming. The results were stark: roughly four billion people -- 49 per cent of the global population -- experienced at least 30 more days of extreme heat than they would have otherwise. The team identified 67 extreme heat events during the year and found the fingerprint of climate change on all of them. The Caribbean island of Aruba was the worst affected, recording 187 extreme heat days -- 45 more than expected in a world without climate change. The study follows a year of unprecedented global temperatures. 2024 was the hottest year on record, surpassing 2023, while January 2025 marked the hottest January ever. On a five-year average, global temperatures are now 1.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels -- and in 2024 alone, they exceeded 1.5C, the symbolic ceiling set by the Paris climate accord. The report also highlights a critical lack of data on heat-related health impacts in lower-income regions. While Europe recorded more than 61,000 heat-related deaths in the summer of 2022, comparable figures are sparse elsewhere, with many heat-related fatalities misattributed to underlying conditions such as heart or lung disease. The authors emphasised the need for early warning systems, public education, and heat action plans tailored to cities. Better building design -- including shading and ventilation -- and behavioral adjustments like avoiding strenuous activity during peak heat are also essential. Still, adaptation alone will not be enough. The only way to halt the rising severity and frequency of extreme heat, the authors warned, is to rapidly phase out fossil fuels. - AFP More Like This
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
ICE deportation blocked by Boston judge: Migrants now in shipping container in Djibouti
By Lindsay Whitehurst Migrants placed on a deportation flight bound initially for South Sudan are now being held in a converted shipping container on a U.S. naval base in Djibouti, where the men and their guards are contending with baking hot temperatures, smoke from nearby burn pits and the looming threat of rocket attacks, the Trump administration said. Officials outlined grim conditions in court documents filed Thursday before U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston, who is overseeing a lawsuit challenging Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts to swiftly remove migrants to countries they didn't come from. Authorities landed the flight at the base in Djibouti, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from South Sudan, more than two weeks ago after Murphy found the Trump administration had violated his order by swiftly sending eight migrants from countries including Cuba and Vietnam to the east African nation. The judge said that men from other countries must have a real chance to raise fears about dangers they could face in South Sudan. The men's lawyers, though, have still not been able to talk to them, said Robyn Barnard, senior director of refugee advocacy at Human Rights First, whose stated mission is to ensure the United States is a global leader on human rights. Barnard spoke Friday at a hearing of Democratic members of Congress and said some family members of the men had been able to talk to them Thursday. The migrants have been previously convicted of serious crimes in the U.S., and President Donald Trump's administration has said that it was unable to return them quickly to their home countries. The Justice Department has also appealed to the Supreme Court to immediately intervene and allow swift deportations to third countries to resume. The case comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by the Republican administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people who are living in the United States illegally. The legal fight became another flashpoint as the administration rails against judges whose rulings have slowed the president's policies. The Trump administration said the converted conference room in the shipping container is the only viable place to house the men on the base in Djibouti, where outdoor daily temperatures rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), according to the declaration from an ICE official. Nearby burn pits are used to dispose of trash and human waste, and the smog cloud makes it hard to breathe, sickening both ICE officers guarding the men and the detainees, the documents state. They don't have access to all the medication they need to protect against infection, and the ICE officers were unable to complete anti-malarial treatment before landing, an ICE official said. 'It is unknown how long the medical supply will last,' Mellissa B. Harper, acting executive deputy associate director of enforcement and removal operations, said in the declaration. The group also lacks protective gear in case of a rocket attack from terrorist groups in Yemen, a risk outlined by the Department of Defense, the documents state. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this story. AG Andrea Joy Campbell: Know your rights when it comes to ICE (Viewpoint) White House says Mayor Wu calling ICE 'secret police' is 'disgusting' and 'dangerous' Milford High student released from ICE detention: 'Nobody should be in here' 'He's going to be set free' — supporters of Milford teen arrested by ICE cheer release Judge orders Milford teen arrested by ICE to be released on bond Read the original article on MassLive.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Coral reefs face race against time as climate change outpaces their survival, says study
WELLINGTON/SOUTH-EAST ASIA (Xinhua): New research shows coral reefs cannot migrate to cooler waters fast enough to survive climate change, as relocation would take centuries, far outpaced by rapid ocean warming, a New Zealand expert said on Saturday. A major study, published in Science Advances, finds that even modest cuts to emissions could be crucial for the survival of coral reefs beyond 2100, according to Christopher Cornwall, one of the authors of the study and senior lecturer in marine biology at New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington. Earlier theories proposed that tropical coral species could escape warming seas by "expanding poleward and establishing new, higher latitude coral reefs," Cornwall said. "Unfortunately, while we've confirmed that coral reef range expansion will indeed eventually occur, the biggest coral losses are expected in the next 50 years, meaning these new, higher-latitude reefs won't form fast enough to save most tropical corals," he said. "Places like northern Florida, southern Australia, and southern Japan might eventually see new reefs, but not soon enough to help many tropical coral species survive the 21st century," he added. Researchers modeling 50,000 reef sites under three emissions scenarios project that even 1.5-2 degrees Celsius of warming could reduce coral populations by a third by 2100, with recovery taking hundreds of years. Coral reefs, which support a third of all marine species and millions of livelihoods, especially in low- and middle-income countries, are highly vulnerable to environmental changes, with their decline expected to worsen as climate change continues, the study said. Researchers stress that mitigating non-climate stressors, such as pollution, could improve resilience in both existing and future reef habitats. - Xinhua
