Latest news with #ElNiño
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Climate
- New Straits Times
'Hot spell to persist, cloud seeding not feasible yet'
KUALA LUMPUR: The current hot spell affecting parts of the country is expected to persist until the end of this month, said the Malaysian Meteorological Department (METMalaysia). Its director-general, Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip, said the heat was within normal levels and did not meet the criteria for an extreme heatwave, although temperatures in some areas could reach up to 36°C. "Most areas in the country are forecast to receive minimal rainfall over the next week due to the formation of a tropical storm in the western Pacific Ocean near the Philippines. "With the El Niño–Southern Oscillation index predicted to remain at neutral levels through the end of the year, extreme heat is not expected to strike the country during this southwest monsoon season." He said the latest weather forecast model analysis showed that active tropical cyclones in the western Pacific Ocean and South China Sea were disrupting the country's rainfall patterns. As a result, he said, cloud seeding in the northern regions of the peninsula, particularly in Kerian, Perak, was not suitable. "Active tropical cyclones make it unsuitable to carry out cloud seeding. "However, should there be significant weather changes based on updated forecast models, we will inform the relevant authorities," he added. Previously, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said cloud seeding would be carried out to address the issue of dry rice fields caused by declining water levels at Bukit Merah Lake due to the heat. Hisham said METMalaysia acted as a technical adviser and agency upon receiving an official request from any party wishing to conduct cloud seeding, particularly in water shortage crises such as the one in Kerian. "METMalaysia will conduct weather forecast analysis using the latest models, taking into account high humidity levels, the presence of towering cumulus clouds in the targeted areas and atmospheric stability. "These factors will help promote cloud formation and create conditions suitable for generating rain during cloud-seeding operations," he said.
Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
Tropical disturbance near Florida to dump extreme flooding rain along Gulf coast
What comes next remains to be seen, as the core of the storm will glide along the shallow waters of the Gulf, likely paralleling the coastline. There is a 40 percent chance that the storm will form a tropical depression and a lesser chance for winds to strengthen to what would be Tropical Storm Dexter. Essentially, a weak pocket of high pressure over the interior southeast may not be strong enough to direct the storm out to the Gulf, which is a good sign in terms of winds. Regardless, sea surface temperatures in the northern Gulf are running in the upper 80s, with the atmosphere already full of moisture. Heavy rain is a lock across the Gulf coast, bringing flooding chances along the Florida panhandle to Louisiana by later in the work week. Advertisement A 40 percent chance for a tropical system to develop exists, mainly over the Gulf. Model tracks show the storm paralleling the Gulf Coast. Boston Globe The highest risk for extensive flooding exists in portions of Louisiana on Thursday and Friday, where the low-lying plain will be doused with 6 to 12 inches of rain in a hurry. This may lead to numerous flooding events, with flooding emergencies possible across New Orleans and Baton Rouge. As of now, it appears this system will stall out over Louisiana and Mississippi, which can create a very dangerous scenario heading into the weekend. Advertisement There is a chance for parts of the Gulf, especially Louisiana, to see double-digit rainfall totals as the tropical system dumps extreme rainfall. Boston Globe Will New England see remnant impacts? In a way, yes. Most of the moisture will push north along the Mississippi River heading into the weekend and will begin to wring out as the western edge of that pocket of high pressure over the Southeast pulls some of the moisture toward the Northeast. The remnant moisture will marginally support a separate system that will lurk near New England this weekend, but it will be minimal and held mostly to the south of our region. How is Atlantic hurricane season shaping up The current season is pacing ahead of schedule. We've had three named storms already, and the third storm is typically named by an average date of Aug. 3. The first named hurricane typically forms by Aug. 11. So we're essentially about three weeks ahead of a typical year, which usually produces 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, of which three usually evolve into a major, Category 3 or higher, hurricane. The National Hurricane Center predicts an above-average season with 13 to 19 named storms, 6 to 10 hurricanes, and between 3 and 5 major hurricanes. Above-average sea surface temperatures, along with the absence of a formidable El Niño or La Niña, are behind the slight increase in forecast tropical activity this season. NOAA predicts an above-average hurricane season for the Atlantic basin. Boston Globe Ken Mahan can be reached at
AllAfrica
15-07-2025
- Science
- AllAfrica
Was East Asian air cleanup behind recent global warming showtime?
Global warming has picked up pace since around 2010, leading to the recent string of record warm years. Why this is happening is still unclear, and among the biggest questions in climate science today. Our new study reveals that reductions in air pollution – particularly in China and elsewhere in East Asia – are a key reason for this faster warming. Cleanup of sulphur emissions from global shipping has been implicated in past research. But that cleanup only began in 2020, so it's considered too weak to explain the full extent of this acceleration. NASA researchers have suggested that changes in clouds could play a role, through reductions in cloud cover either in the tropics or over the North Pacific. One factor that has not been well quantified, however, is the effect of monumental efforts by countries in east Asia, notably China, to combat air pollution and improve public health through strict air quality policies. There has already been a 75% reduction in east Asian sulphur dioxide emissions since around 2013, and that cleanup effort picked up pace just as global warming began accelerating. Our study addresses the link between East Asian air quality improvements and global temperature, building on the efforts of eight teams of climate modelers across the world. We have found that polluted air may have been masking the full effects of global warming. Cleaner air could now be revealing more of the human-induced global warming from greenhouse gases. In addition to causing millions of premature deaths, air pollution shields the Earth from sunlight and therefore cools the surface. There has been so much air pollution that it has held human-induced warming in check by up to 0.5°C over the last century. With the cleanup of air pollution, something that's vital for human health, this artificial sunshade is removed. Since greenhouse gas emissions have kept on increasing, the result is that the Earth's surface is warming faster than ever before. Our team used 160 computer simulations from eight global climate models. This enabled us to better quantify the effects that east Asian air pollution has on global temperature and rainfall patterns. We simulated a cleanup of pollution similar to what has happened in the real world since 2010. We found an extra global warming of around 0.07°C. While this is a small number compared with the full global warming of around 1.3°C since 1850, it is still enough to explain the recent acceleration in global warming when we take away year-to-year swings in temperature from natural cycles such as El Niño, a climate phenomenon in the Pacific that affects weather patterns globally. Based on long-term trends, we would have expected around 0.23°C of warming since 2010. However, we actually measured around 0.33°C. While the additional 0.1°C can largely be explained by the east Asian air pollution cleanup, other factors include the change in shipping emissions and the recent accelerated increase in methane concentrations in the atmosphere. Air pollution causes cooling by reflecting sunlight or by changing the properties of clouds so they reflect more sunlight. The cleanup in east Asian air pollution influences global temperatures because it reduces the shading effect of the pollution over east Asia itself. It also means less pollution is blown across the north Pacific, causing clouds in the east Pacific to reflect less sunlight. The pattern of these changes across the North Pacific simulated in our models matches that seen in satellite observations. Our models and temperature observations also show relatively strong warming over the North Pacific, downwind from east Asia. The main source of global warming is still greenhouse gas emissions, and a cleanup of air pollution was both necessary and overdue. This did not cause the additional warming but rather, removed an artificial cooling that has for a time helped shield us from some of the extreme weather and other well-established consequences of climate change. Global warming will continue for decades. Indeed, our past and future emissions of greenhouse gases will affect the climate for centuries. However, air pollution is quickly removed from the atmosphere, and the recent acceleration in global warming from this particular unmasking may therefore be short-lived. Laura Wilcox is a professor, National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading, and Bjørn H. Samset is a senior researcher in climate and atmospheric sciences, Center for International Climate and Environment Research – Oslo. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
GMA Network
14-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Legarda urges countries prone to climate change to update policies
A fishpond owner walks on a dried fishpond in Laur, Nueva Ecija on Saturday, April 27, 2024, as extreme heat brought about by El Niño caused some owners to stop operations. The Department of Agriculture earlier said that damage from El Niño has reached around P3.34 billion. DANNY PATA Senator Loren Legarda on Monday called on climate-vulnerable countries, including the Philippines, to update their laws and policies and push for better actions towards climate action and cultural preservation. At a high-level meeting of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20), Legarda said extreme heat alone could cost the Philippines an estimated P466 billion annually by 2030. 'Climate change endangers all that you see and so much more. Climate change imperils not only lives and livelihoods, it threatens to erase who we are,' the senator said. 'It is this understanding that demands we broaden our definition of risk to fully encompass the cultural well-being of our people,' she added. Legarda further pointed out policymakers must ensure that laws in their country reflect their commitment to both climate action and cultural preservation. She also called on colleagues in the Philippine Congress to fully implement the climate prosperity plan. 'Let our collective efforts safeguard our precious cultural treasures, empower our resilient communities, and build a sustainable future for all Filipinos,' Legarda said. The CVF-V20 is a coalition of 74 countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet, including Bangladesh, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Barbados, and the Philippines. — LA, GMA Integrated News
New Indian Express
13-07-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Nipah reality: Vigilance must outlast outbreak
The question that remains unanswered is why only Kerala appears so vulnerable to Nipah. One hypothesis is that the virus may have become endemic to the state. While the exact mechanism that leads to human infections and localised outbreaks remains poorly understood, experts say that deforestation has deprived fruit bats, said to be the natural reservoir of the virus, of their traditional habitats, leading to their shift to urban areas. A similar situation played out in Malaysia in 1998 when bats migrated to orchards following El Niño and deforestation in Kalimantan and Sumatra, leading to an outbreak. Factors like food scarcity, overcrowding, and the stress of habitat loss can also increase viral shedding, experts contend. It could also be a case of improved detection due to heightened surveillance and awareness; in Kerala, all acute encephalitis cases are also checked for Nipah. Infectious diseases such as H1N1, Hepatitis A, and leptospirosis already infect thousands, killing dozens every year in Kerala. This underscores the need to strengthen disease monitoring systems, invest in early-warning infrastructure, and promote behavioural changes at the community level. Eradicating Nipah may not be realistic, but minimising its transmission is. Nipah cannot be seen as a consequence of man-animal conflict, but it does emphasise the need for a better understanding of the human-animal-environment relationship. The WHO's 'One Health' approach, which links human, animal, and environmental health, offers a roadmap for long-term preparedness. Kerala must integrate this approach more systematically into its health governance. Nipah is here to stay. Kerala needs to learn to live with the virus safely.
