Category: Current Affairs

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Powerful Tornadoes Warn Us About the Effects of Climate Change

white and black buildings under blue sky during daytime

15 March 2022 – by Deniz Saygi

Powerful tornadoes slammed a 200-mile path through six states in the Midwest and South of the United States last December, causing houses and factories to be demolished and approximately $5 billion losses. According to the reports, Kentucky is the worst-hit state concerning losses and casualties.  

After being hit by tornadoes, a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky was levelled causing casualties. Moreover, police and fire stations were destroyed, giant trees were uprooted, homes were flattened and power lines went down. 

After these unfortunate events, Joe Biden declared that he will require the Environmental Protection Agency to examine the role of climate change and global warming regarding recent tornadoes and storms.

In general, 1,500 tornadoes occur annually in the United States. The cluster of tornadoes that happened last December was exceptionally rare in terms of the season, the intensity and the length of the storm paths, experts state. 

“It was really a late spring type of setup in the middle of December. Usually, there’s not a lot of instability in the winter that’s needed for tornadoes because the air isn’t as warm and humid. This time there was,’’ says Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor from Northern Illinois University. 

The catastrophic effects of climate change are one of the drivers of the risks of hurricanes, wildfires, winter storms and hail storms because the rising temperature caused by global warming makes extreme weather conditions potentially more destructive. In light of these reasons, it is necessary to investigate the origins of extreme weather conditions in connection with climate change and take precautions accordingly – as suggested by scientists.

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Migrants Crossing US-Mexico Border Face Severe Dehydration

brown wooden fence near green trees during daytime

14 February 2022 – by Deniz Saygi 

Thousands of migrants – of whom, many are children – suffer from deadly heat conditions at the US-Mexico border. As the effects of climate change worsen day by day, extreme weather conditions are causing a high risk of dehydration and death amongst migrants who try to enter the States through the Sonoran Desert.

In order to calculate the deadliest areas in the U.S. – Mexico Border, scientists and researchers used a biophysical model of human dehydration. According to the report made by this model, it was found that most of the deaths were caused primarily by severe dehydration. After organizing the dataset in the regions with the casualties, severe dehydration that leads to death, water loss, organ failure, disorientation and physiological challenges in animal species were linked together for the report. 

“We provide the first empirical evidence that the physiological stresses experienced by humans attempting to cross the Sonoran Desert into the U.S. are sufficient to cause severe dehydration and associated conditions that can lead to death. A disproportionately large percentage of migrant deaths occur in areas where the predicted rates of water loss are highest,” says Ryan Long, an associate professor of wildlife sciences at the University of Idaho. Long also underlines the importance of access to drinking water supplies for preventing the risks at the highest rates of water loss during migration across the borders in the region. 

Models developed for fighting against climate change and water scarcity unfortunately show us that these type of border crossings will only become more dangerous over time, increasing the already large number of people who do not make it across. Measures must be taken immediately to mitigate this crisis.

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Chile’s ”Flowering Desert” Reflects an Adaptation Process for Climate Change

yellow petaled flower

8 February 2022 – by Deniz Saygi

As the driest desert in the world, Chile’s Atacama Desert shows how plants adapt to climate change: Every few years, a little corner of the desert is covered with purple and yellow flowers. This extraordinary blossom event is locally known as the ”flowering desert.” 

Though it has been observed that some parts of the Atacama Desert can go years without seeing rain, amongst 200 species of flowers, the ”pata de guanaco” and ”yellow ananuca” can bloom in an uninhabitable environment of the desert. As a consequence, scientists have a chance to study the species that can adapt to extreme climate changes. 

To study this specific adaptation event occurring in the Atacama Desert, a complex ecosystem has been created for flower seeds to lie dormant in the soil for decades and wait for enough rainfall in order to allow them to bloom.

“When there is a certain amount of precipitation, which has been estimated at approximately 15 cubic millimetres, it triggers a large germination event,” said Andrea Loaiza, a biologist from La Serena University who works on this study. Loaiza also stated that the bloom is happening on an irregular schedule, and the last significant one occurred in 2017. In respect of its irregularity, this blossom event may not happen forever since the ecosystem of the area has a very fragile nature and any kind of disruption can break the balance.

“To adapt to a climate crisis, we need to understand the natural processes. We want to learn from these plants because these species demonstrate different adaptation mechanisms,” said Andres Zurita, a geneticist who also works on this study.

It should be remembered that it is crucial to study these endemic species to understand how they manage to survive in extreme conditions and take precautions for the regions (like the Atacama Desert) that are vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change.

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Argentina and Ecuador Offer their Creditors to Create Payment Mechanisms for Ecosystem Services

foamy wave rolling over azure sea surface

20 January 2022 – by Deniz Saygi

The COP26 Climate Talks in Glasgow introduced a new discussion about how the richest and developed countries can help the poorer ones to make a transition in terms of both cleaner and sustainable energy. In this regard, Argentina and Ecuador offered a solution to their creditors: Climate action instead of money. 

Alberto Fernández, the President of Argentina, stated the country needs more flexibility to pay the debt of US$45 billion that Argentina owes to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the country’s efforts to slow the effects of climate change should be recognised. In this context, he pointed out that they are willing to link part of the payment to essential investments in green infrastructure. Fernández also declared that Argentina cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 27 per cent since 2016, as promised. 

“The health crisis of the pandemic only exposed a much bigger crisis affecting the environment, society and the economy. We must create mechanisms to pay for ecosystem services, swapping debt for climate action and installing the concept of environmental debt,” said Fernández during the COP26 United Nations Climate Summit in Glasgow at the Forum gathering over 120 leaders.

In addition to Argentina’s demand, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso asked for the country’s foreign debts to be swapped for conserving the Galapagos Islands. Lasso declared that the marine reserve of the Galapagos Islands which are considered a natural treasure would be expanded by 60,000 square kilometres and required its creditors the debts of the country to be regulated as the conservation debt for the archipelago. 

“We estimate it will be the biggest debt swap for conservation that has taken place globally until now,” Lasso said during a news conference on the sidelines of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow.

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Turkey at High Risk of Water Scarcity

turkey flag hanging on bridge

7 January 2022 – by Deniz Saygi

As a water-stressed country, Turkey has faced severe droughts since the 1980s on account of the combination of overpopulation, unplanned urbanization, industrialisation, climate change and global warming. The water in the dams supplying the major cities of Turkey has been reduced since there is no rainfall.

Istanbul, a prominent centre of trade and commerce of Turkey, is experiencing critically low levels of water. The megacity is at the risk of running out of water in the next few months, according to the report by the UCTEA Chamber Of Chemical Engineers. Consequently, Turkey’s most populous city is experiencing the lowest level of water in 15 years, and this situation raised fears of a persistent drought.

Not only Istanbul, but also Turkey’s major cities are facing water scarcity too: For example, Izmir and Bursa are struggling with dams that are at the risk of scarcity due to the poor rainfall. Moreover, farmers – especially from the Konya plain and Edirne province – are warning of increasing crop failures and food shortages because of the prolonged lack of rainfall by reason of climate change. Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, also has been going through the most severe period of drought in recent years. Citizens of Ankara has been warned about the lack of rainfall could cause a significant water shortage in the near future. 

According to the report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 60 per cent of Turkey’s land area is prone to desertification. The report also underlines the Mediterranean Basin as one of the world’s climate hotspots that occurred due to climate change and global warming. Under these circumstances, the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey will most likely become progressively drier and drastically warmer if necessary measurements are not taken. 

P.S. I would like to thank Mr. Mert Kocal for his contributions to this article.

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Auckland Proposes “World-First” Climate Tax for Residents

Auckland on sunset (landscape)

13 December 2021 – by Evelyn Workman

Residents of Auckland, the most populous city in New Zealand, will have to pay around 1 dollar per week under a proposed new climate tax. The money raised from the tax will go towards making the city greener and reducing emissions.

The plan was announced by Auckland mayor, Phil Goff, on December 1. Auckland officials have said that the proposal is one of the first of its kind in the world. 

Homeowners will be taxed on average $NZ1.10 a week, which is estimated to raise around $574m over 10 years. The proceeds will be added to a proposed fund which aims to design a more environmentally friendly city through a range of initiatives, including decarbonising the transport sector and making more green spaces.

One of the big aims is to decarbonise the ferry fleet, as this currently contributes 21% of the city’s emissions from transport. In addition to this, the fund will also create more routes for pedestrians and cyclists, and create a greener city by planting more trees.

In a statement, Mayor Goff said, “While nobody relishes the idea of paying more rates, we’ve heard clearly from Aucklanders that they want us to do more on climate change and to improve our public transport system. We must be able to say to future generations that we used every tool in the toolbox to tackle the climate crisis.”

“Long after COVID-19 ceases to be a major threat to us, there will be the ongoing crisis caused by climate change – we can’t afford to put off any longer the action needed to avoid a climate disaster,” the mayor added.

The rate is an important part of the “mayoral proposal” that will be voted on next year.

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Latin American Countries Are Facing ‘’Internal Climate Migration’’

close-up photography of world map

22 November 2021 – by Deniz Saygi

Climate change impacts every area involved with human interaction, and these suffering areas could force people to migrate in distress. Regarding these unfortunate events, the governments are expected to declare an emergence of hotspots where livelihoods are threatened by climate change as early as 2030. These hotspots will continue to intensify and expand – if governments will not take action to reduce climate emissions. 

Today, climate change is emerging as a dominant cause of internal migration throughout Latin American countries. According to the Groundswell Report, internal climate migrants could number over 17 million, representing up to 2.6 per cent of the region of South America’s total population. 

In the recent past, floods and landslides displaced 295,000 people in Brazil, while Hurricane Dorian caused 465,000 new displacements in seven countries in the Caribbean. Also, concerning the decrease in the production of crops and food shortages, Guatemalan people were forced to migrate after droughts and floods. 

Currently, this internal migration process is gradually evolving amongst Latin American countries since the region is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. By 2030, Latin Americans could lose their jobs (2.5 million jobs, in particular) because of the increasing heatwaves. Moreover, it is estimated that the damages caused by climate change and global warming will cost the countries in the region US$ 100 billion per annum by 2050. Therefore, internal migration amongst the regions is inevitable. 

To incorporate the internal migration component into their climate change strategies and regulations, some Latin American countries are making progress: For example, Peru’s Framework Law on Climate Change calls for addressing forced migration as a result of negative climate impacts. Additionally, Honduras’s National Strategy for Climate Change proposes to establish both legal and institutional frameworks for the adaptation strategies with regard to the migrations due to climate change. 

Needless to say, the governments must promote adaptation measures to reduce vulnerability and prevent internal migration for the effects of climate change in the regions where the local people and small scale industries suffer most. Also, a more inclusive focus on adaptation and resilience strategies is needed to support vulnerable communities at risk of migration between Latin American countries.

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The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics is Given to Research on Climate Change

iceberg on water

8 November 2021 – by Deniz Saygi

Regarding his work of climate change models that provide help for predicting the impact of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane etc.) on climate change, Syukuro Manabe, a senior meteorologist at Princeton University, won the Nobel Prize in Physics (along with Klaus Hasselmann, a professor at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, and Giorgio Parisi, a professor at the Sapienza University of Rome).

Using a high-speed computer in the 1960s, Mr Manabe has developed physical models which predicted that if the level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere doubles, the global surface temperature increases by 2.36 C. In 1989, he gained success in developing a model for the scientific predictions about global warming by involving the weather conditions of the atmosphere, ocean and land. Manabe also led a research team concerning global warming and climate change in Japan for four years beginning from 1997.

Highlighting the difficulty of carrying out the experiments to classify the problems and their status, Syukuro Manabe underlines the significance of the scientific predictions to fight against global warming and climate change. Since his numerical modelling system predicts and investigates how the Earth’s surface temperatures are influenced by atmospheric conditions and the Earth’s complex climate systems, Syukuro Manabe’s ideas and works are foundational for all modern climate researches that have been ongoing.

“Climate [policy] involves not only the environment but also energy, agriculture, water and just about everything you can imagine. I never imagined that this thing I was beginning to study [would have] such huge consequences,” Mr Manabe said during the conference after winning the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics.

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Paraguay Faces the Most Critical Level of Drought in its History

brown soil

26 October 2021 – by Deniz Saygi

The Paraná River – which winds through southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, southeastern Uruguay, and northern Argentina – is at its lowest level since 1944 and has been experiencing severe drought since 2019. In comparison with the other countries, Paraguay suffers the most because of this unfortunate situation since the country is landlocked and mostly relies on its rivers concerning its many social, environmental, and commercial services. As a consequence, a state of emergency on the Paraná River has been declared by the government. Moreover, the CAF-Development Bank of Latin America listed Paraguay as the most vulnerable country to climate emergency amongst the South American countries. If the necessary precautions are not taken, the increase in the level of drought will bring uncontrollable difficulties in the economies of South American countries, which have local development models to a large extent, and will cause extreme losses, especially in regions regarding rich biodiversity hotspots such as the Amazons.

Juan Carlos Muñoz, director of Paraguay’s National Shipping and Ports Administration Body (ANNP) states that the drought has affected the economy tremendously. Mr Muñoz also declares that the shipping sector regarding river transport has faced a great loss of revenue (nearly $100 million). Furthermore, there is a record of enormous deforestation mainly caused by both state-propelled soybean and cattle ranching booms. These sectors are currently having struggles for exporting their products by river transport due to the drought levels of the Paraná River.

Roger Monte Domecq, a hydrology professor at the National University of Asunción, underlines the increasing evidence that proves the droughts all across the region are caused by human-driven factors. Domecq also said it is a necessity that more studies are needed to be conducted in order to determine the specific impacts of global warming, high levels of deforestation and land-use transformation observed across the region – particularly in the Amazon area where the water cycle feeds precipitation within the Paraná Basin is being disrupted. According to Domecq, there are no significant rain periods that will be coming next few months. ”There is no end to the drought sight. The weather phenomenon known as La Niña – which brings dry weather to the Paraná Basin – is looming,” he said.

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Over 2 Million Kenyans Are at Risk of Starvation Due to Ongoing Drought

green leaf tree near mountain covered by snow at daytime

12 October 2021 – by Evelyn Workman

A severe drought affecting half of Kenya has led to an estimated 2.1 million people facing starvation. The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said people living in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) region of the country will be in “urgent need” of food aid over the next six months.

The crisis is the cumulative impact of two consecutive poor rainy seasons coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, diseases and pests, leading President Uhuru Kenyatta declaring the drought a national disaster on 8th September. 

The two previous rainy seasons, the 2020 short rains (October to December) and the 2021 long rains (March to May), were both characterised by late onset rainfall and poor distribution of rainfall, across the ASAL. Furthermore, the upcoming short rains season (October to December 2021) is forecasted to be below average, exacerbating the already deadly conditions facing people living in the region. 

Secretary general of the Kenya Red Cross, Asha Mohammed, highlighted the interplay of several factors in worsening the situation in the region, “You have two seasons of depressed rains, desert locusts ravaging farmlands in the same counties and people fighting over the few resources available. That is the making of a disaster.”

The number of people facing insecurity is expected to rise to nearly 2.4 million from November of this year, according to the latest Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. 

Due to many open water sources drying up across pastoral agricultural areas, the NDMA has reported that pastoralists have had to walk further in search of water. Household trekking distances to watering points have increased to an average of 2 to 6 kilometers, up from an average of 1 to 5 kilometers. Consequently tensions among communities have risen, as people have had to travel longer distances and along different routes in search of food and water, according to an assessment by the ASAL Humanitarian Network.