Violent hurricanes in Gulf Coast offer a tate of things to come as WMO warns of “more hurricanes of categories 4 and 5” this season
As the Gulf Coast of the United States left assessing the massive damage left by hurricane Laura , scientist predict that the strongest storm tied to hit the state of Louisiana since 1856 was just the beginning of more hurricanes to be expected during this season.
“It was a big storm, it generated more accumulated cyclone energy -- which is how we measure these things -- than all the other named storms during August so far,” said Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in reference to hurricane Laura. Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Ms. Nullis added that “it’s the seventh named storm to landfall in the United States this season. The others were relatively minor. And it’s obviously by far the most intense and dangerous hurricane so far this season”.
Quoting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Ms. Nullis said that “the global proportion of tropical cyclones that reach very intense category 4 and 5 levels will likely increase due to anthropogenic [reasons], so that’s human caused, over the next century”. Hurricane Laura intensified within 24 hours from a category 1 to a category 4 hurricane, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.
The accurate forecasts seem to have kept the death toll to a minimum, with some 20 people killed by the hurricane, mainly in the Dominican Republic and Haiti before Laura developed into a hurricane and hit Louisiana.
Precautions will remain crucial as “we still have a long way to go with climatology saying that we have about 70 percent of strong activity in the season still left,” according to the WMO spokesperson. The hurricane season also started earlier this year than is usual.
Global warming provides one reason for expecting more destructive ad powerful storms more frequently, according to Ms. Nullis. It is “basically the laws of physics,” she said. “Storms feed on warm water, higher water temperatures mean higher sea levels which in turn increases the risk of flooding during high tights and so the circle goes on. Warm air holds more atmospheric water which enables tropical storms to strengthen and unleash more heavy rainfall,” she explained.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the United Nations bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made the following comments on the recent violence in Kenya.
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Edited News | ITC
US tariffs uncertainty hurts world economy, with poorest countries hit hardest – top UN economist
A new US decision to further delay the end of a 90-day pause on tariffs is bad for business, a top UN economist said on Tuesday.
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Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza aid site horror continues as more starving people shot trying to get food
Amid intensifying hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, UN humanitarians confirmed disturbing details on Friday of continued killings and injuries of Palestinians desperately seeking food at aid sites.
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Edited News | OCHA
A clearer picture of needs across Iran is beginning to emerge after the conflict this month with Israel, which left hundreds dead, several hospitals hit and a spike in Afghan refugees returning home, the UN’s top official in Tehran said on Tuesday.
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Edited News | WMO
The blistering early-summer heatwave that’s brought life-threatening temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere is a worrying sign of things to come, UN weather experts said on Tuesday.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Human Rights Council annual panel on adverse impacts of climate change.
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Edited News | WHO
The first meagre midweek delivery of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed as they search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
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Statements , Edited News | HRC
Enhanced interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Myanmar presented by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and oral update by Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
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Edited News | UNOG
The conflict-impacted people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) urgently need much more international assistance than they are getting today, the UN’s top aid official said on Thursday.
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Edited News | UNOG
Violence in Myanmar is spiralling as the military junta increases its attacks on monasteries, schools and camps sheltering people uprooted by the civil war, a top independent human rights investigator warned on Wednesday.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan on Palestinians killed seeking food in Gaza
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Edited News | OHCHR
Iran-Israel war: UN rights office concerned over strike on Tehran prison, reported espionage arrests
Tehran’s notorious Evin prison known for holding dissidents should not be a target, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday, a day after a reported Israeli strike on the complex.