By Mahfuzur Rahman Dhaka, Sep 20 (IPS) – Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country with floods hitting almost every year, leaving a trail of destruction despite having early warning systems. Now experts say it is time for the delta nation to…
Category: Global warming
Maria destroys Puerto Rico homes, knocks out power
San Juan, Sep 21 (AP/UNB) — The strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years destroyed hundreds of homes, knocked out power across the entire island and turned some streets into raging rivers Wednesday in an onslaught…
17000 farmers to get rehabilitation facilities in Rajshahi
Rajshahi – A total of 17486 flood-hit farmers in Rajshahi will get rehabilitation facilities for recovering their losses. They will get seeds and fertilizer for the cultivation of 1 Bigha land, officers of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) of Rajshahi…
Asian cities’ endless summer
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber and Bambang Susantono Potsdam/Manila – It’s monsoon season in Asia – marking an end to months of scorching temperatures. But the extreme heat will return, with cities facing particularly brutal conditions. Already, Asia’s urban areas experience twice…
Sea is rough Maritime ports to hoist signal 3
Dhaka, Sept 17 – Maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra have been advised to keep hoisted local cautionary signal no three.
Int’l Ozone Day Saturday
Dhaka, Sept 15 – The International Ozone Day will be observed here on Saturday as elsewhere in the world for creating awareness about the depletion of the ozone layer and its adverse effects on this planet’s environment. Since 1995, the…
World’s poor ‘paying the price’ for global crises: UN
Dhaka, Sept 15 (UNB) – People living in poverty around the world are facing increasing multiple threats, including climate change and the global economic crisis, but the political will to tackle the issues is lacking, a United Nations human rights…
Cities flushed with raw sewage as Hurricanes stress systems
By Jennifer A Dlouhy and Ari Natter Hurricane Harvey took aim at one of the nation’s most industrial regions, releasing a stream of toxic pollutants from chemical plants, refineries and Superfund sites in Texas. But when its bigger sister Irma…
Europe leaders view Irma-devastated Carribbean islands
Philipsburg, Sep 13 (AP/UNB) — France’s president and the Dutch king visited Caribbean territories Tuesday that were hammered by Hurricane Irma, bringing in much-needed food, water and medical supplies amid accusations that European governments were unprepared, slow to react and…
Alert: Nature is on the verge of bankruptcy
By Baher Kamal Rome, Sep 12 (IPS) – Pressures on global land resources are now greater than ever, as a rapidly increasing population coupled with rising levels of consumption is placing ever-larger demands on the world’s land-based natural capital, warns…
More Co2 in atmosphere produces food crops short of nutrients
Atmospheric CO2 levels of 550 parts per million (ppm), expected to become the global norm by 2050, will shrink the protein, iron and zinc content in wheat and rice, putting 50 million more Indians at risk of deficiency.
Capital Dhaka paralysed by heavy downpour
“Have to go to Dhanmondi 32 from Shankar. Where is the launch or speedboat terminal?”- says a Facebook post from a netizen of Dhaka city! After a second straight morning of heavy downpour, Dhaka City seems to have transformed into…
10 things to know about the future of water and sanitation
Nathaniel Mason and Miriam Denis Le Sève The world is transforming in many different ways. These shifts – from climate change, o migration, to new technology and urbanisation – will have a significant impact on the management of water resources…
Irma hits west coast of Florida
Hurricane Irma is blasting up the west coast of Florida and is now bearing down on the city of Tampa. Irma made landfall on Marco Island off Florida’s west coast with winds of up to 120mph (192km/h), but has since…
Hurricane force wind gusts batter islands in Florida’s south
Wind gusts close to hurricane force are battering islands in Florida’s south as Hurricane Irma is due to hit the mainland in the coming hours. Water levels are already rising on the coast of the US state where a huge…
Irma lashes Cuba with strong winds, heavy rain
Hurricane Irma is lashing Cuba with strong winds and heavy rain after devastating several Caribbean islands. The category five storm made landfall on the Camaguey Archipelago, off the north-eastern coast. But the Bahamas have largely been spared after Irma changed…
Over 5m told to flee Florida coast Irma onslaught
Miami, Sep 09 (AP/UNB) — Irma trained its sights on Florida and officials warned more than 5 million people that time was running out Friday and ordered them to evacuate ahead of the deadly hurricane as it followed a path…
Creeping climate collapse
At least a decade ago, a retired general at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies said to me that the rich countries will never take climate change seriously until some very big and apparently climate-related disaster happens in…
Hurricane Irma causes devastation across the Caribbean
Hurricane Irma has caused widespread destruction across the Caribbean, reducing islands to rubble and leaving at least seven people killed.
Rain delays resumption of Chittagong Test
Dhaka – Heavy rain delayed the start of the third day’s play in the second and final test between Australia and Bangladesh on Wednesday.
Houston left with a toxic mess as Trump relaxes rules
By BEN LEFEBVRE and ALEX GUILLÉN Explosions and fires at a Houston-area chemical plant triggered an evacuation Thursday in a region still in chaos from Hurricane Harvey — and generated new criticism of President Donald Trump’s efforts to repeal the…
RUET teachers to give a day’s salary to PM’s fund
Dhaka – The teachers of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) have decided to donate one day’s salary to the fund of Prime-Minister of Bangladesh for the purpose of minimizing the misery of the people of flood-affected areas of…
Rising temperatures may limit aircraft takeoffs globally
By Rabiya Jaffery Abu Dhabi, Aug 29 (IPS) – Rising temperatures due to global warming may ground up to a third of aeroplanes worldwide in the decades to come, according to a recently published analysis by Columbia University. During the…
Global Warming puts Asia’s vital yields at high risk
By IPS World Desk Rome, Aug 28 (IPS) – While mainstream media have been widely reporting on the dramatic consequences of tropical storm Harvey in the United States, which has been characterised as the fiercest hurricane to hit this country…
Too poor to escape the Hurricane
In the detritus of Hurricane Harvey a splash of red, white and blue catches the eye. It is a rain-sodden American flag, half-hidden under the green leaves of fallen trees. A few paces away Judie McRae, 44, is inspecting the…
1,000 rescued as Houston hit by ‘catastrophic floods’
More than 1,000 people have been rescued in flooded parts of Houston, as Tropical Storm Harvey continues to batter Texas with heavy rains. There is a “flash flood emergency” across the Houston Metro area, with travel near impossible, the National…
Floods threaten longer term food security in BD: WFP
Dhaka – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing emergency food supplies to more than 200,000 people in northwest Bangladesh, about a week after massive floods inundated more than half the country. WFP, in partnership with local NGOs,…
No end to flood victims’ miseries
Dhaka, Aug 20 – Although the overall flood situation in the country’s northern region improved further on Sunday, thousands of affected people could not return to their houses as those remain still under water amid a crisis of food and…
Berlin confce on Rampal Power Plant and alternative energy held
Berlin – The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports in Bangladesh (NCBD), European Network has demanded the cancellation of Bangladesh Government’s ongoing heinous project of 1320 MW Rampal Coal based power plant situated near world…
Weathering the violence of climate change
Gulrez Shah Azhar Santa Monica – With India experiencing its worst drought in 140 years, Indian farmers have taken to the streets. At a protest in Madhya Pradesh this summer, police opened fire on farmers demanding debt relief and better…