STORY: Heatwave Linked to Climate Change – WMO, WHO
TRT: 03’20”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 19 July 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
WMO Warns of Frequent Heatwaves until the 2060s
Extreme heat in western Europe is causing devastating wildfires in France and Spain, unprecedented drought in Italy and Portugal, and brought to Great-Britain its highest-ever recorded temperature of 40 degrees Celsius today. With temperatures expected to remain above normal until the middle of next week, the World Metrological Organization (WMO) warned that heatwaves are and will occur more and more frequently. The pattern is linked to the observed warming of the planet that can be attributed to human activity, raising serious concerns for the planet’s future.
“We are expecting to see major impacts on agriculture. During the previous heatwaves in Europe, we lost big parts of harvest. And under the current situation -we are already having the global food crisis because of the war in Ukraine- this heatwave is going to have a further negative impact on agricultural activities” warned Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the WMO at a press conference today in Geneva.
In several countries, several sectors of the economies -including tourism- are suffering as a result.
“The negative trend in climate will continue at least until 2060s, independent of our success in climate mitigation”, Mr. Taalas added. “We have already lost the game concerning the melting of glaciers. We expect that the melting of glaciers will continue for the coming hundreds of years or even coming thousands of years anyhow. And also, sea level rise will continue for the same period”.
Mr. Taalas was wearing short sleeves and a red and blue tie which he chose to illustrate the warming trend he explained.
Air pollution and impact on health
The heatwave also acts as a lid, traps atmospheric pollutants, causing the degradation of air quality and adverse health consequences, particularly to vulnerable people. In the 2003 heatwave, only in Europe, 70 thousand people died.
“Climate change is affecting our health on many ways, not only by heatwaves which are having direct consequences in a number of diseases and conditions, but as well because it will be touching the pillars of our health alerted Maria Neira, Director Environment and Health at the WHO as she explained the access to food and water is at stake, as “we will not have good agriculture production and there will be water scarcity for sure”.
99% of the global population is breathing air that does not meet the health standards set by WHO, she said, with a great impact on people with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.
“The best solution to this will be, again, being very ambitious on tackling the causes of this global warming. We have been alerting for a long time that climate change is affecting very much human health and therefore taking measures to reach the zero carbon and accelerating the transition to clean, renewable sources of energy.”
More deaths among the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions are feared due to the ongoing heatwave, and the challenges for health services to face the increased demand.
Ends
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Edited News , B-roll | OCHA
Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA
Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.
/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/
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Edited News | UNRWA
Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.
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Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
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Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
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Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
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Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.
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Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.
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Edited News | UNMAS
In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.