Prevalence of undernourishment (left axis) Number of undernourished (right axis), 2005-2023. After rising sharply from 2019 to 2021, the proportion of the world population facing hunger persisted at virtually the same level for three consecutive years, with the latest estimates indicating a global PoU of 9.1 percent in 2023. In terms of population, between about 713 and 757 million people (8.9 and 9.4 percent of the global population, respectively) were estimated to be undernourished in 2023. Considering the mid-range estimate (733 million), about 152 million more people may have faced hunger in 2023 compared to 2019. Graphic: FAO

Hunger numbers stubbornly high for three consecutive years as global crises deepen: UN report – The world has been set back 15 years, with levels of undernourishment comparable to those in 2008-2009 – 1 in 11 people worldwide faced hunger in 2023, 1 in 5 in Africa

30 September 2024 (World Bank) – Domestic food price inflation remains high in many low- and middle-income countries. Inflation higher than 5 percent is experienced in 77.3 percent of low-income countries (18.2 percentage points higher since the last Update on June 27, 2024), 54.3 percent of lower-middle-income countries (8.7 percentage points lower), 44% of upper-middle-income […]

Myanmar’s rare earth mining industry has become the world’s largest supply, yet the mines’ toxic by-products are poisoning nearby waterways, wildlife, and communities. Photo: Global Witness

Transition minerals: A climate solution that could cost the earth – “We need a just, fair, and equitable transition from fossil fuels to renewables”

10 July 2024 (Global Witness) – Renewable energy is often hailed as a panacea for the energy crisis. But without better consultation and regulation, plans to expand mining for minerals central to the energy transition could be disastrous for people and the planet. To tackle the climate crisis, we need to transition away from fossil […]

Screenshot of the Maricopa County Heat-Related Deaths Dashboard on 28 July 2024. Heat killed 27 people in the county, which is home to Phoenix, and is suspected as the cause of 396 other deaths in 2024. Graphic: Maricopa County

Hundreds of people may have died from heat in one Arizona county in 2024 – Heat-related deaths are underestimated in 297 of the most populous U.S. counties

By Rachel Ramirez 24 July 2024 (CNN) – Hundreds of people may have died from heat in Arizona’s Maricopa County amid another record-breaking summer in the state. Heat has killed 27 people in the county, which is home to Phoenix, and is suspected as the cause of 396 other deaths so far this year, according to […]

The Utility Disconnections Dashboard shows the number and rate of disconnections by utility in each U.S. state. Indiana has the highest disconnection rate. Places with particularly high disconnection rates include Alabama, where the city of Dothan’s municipal utility has disconnected an average of 5 percent of its customers, and Florida, where the city of Tallahassee has a disconnection rate of more than 4 percent. Large investor-owned utilities in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Indiana also top the charts in disconnections, with average rates near 1 percent. Graphic: Energy Justice Lab / CC BY-ND

America faces a power disconnection crisis amid rising heat: In 31 states, utilities can shut off electricity for nonpayment in a heat wave –

By Sanya Carley and David Konisky 5 July 2024 (The Conversation) – Millions of Americans have been sweltering through heat waves in recent weeks, and U.S. forecasters warn of a hot summer ahead. Globally, 2023 saw the warmest June on record, according to the European Union’s climate change service. That heat continued into July, with some of […]

An abandoned home sits across from a vacant lot Wednesday, 22 May 2024, in Hannibal, Missouri. Photo: Jeff Roberson / AP Photo

For shrinking Mississippi River towns, frequent floods worsen fortunes – “Everybody’s gone. This is a ghost town.”

By Michael Phillis, Jim Salter, and Camille Fassett 11 June 2024 WEST ALTON, Missouri (AP) – Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of America’s most storied river. Flooding has pushed people out of their homes near the Mississippi River at […]

A man sits on a bench during a heatwave in New Orleans on Tuesday, 8 August 2023. Photo: David Grunfeld / The Times-Picayune / NOLA.com

“It’s unbearable”: in ever-hotter US cities, air conditioning is no longer enough – “The types of cooling systems that we sold 10 years ago are not able to keep up with the weather we have”

By Delaney Nolan 11 Jun 2024 (The Guardian) – Gloria Gellot, 79, takes a careful seat in a kitchen chair in front of her only air-conditioning unit, massaging her knees. She’s hung a sheet in the doorway to keep the cool air in the kitchen, and drawn shades to keep the sun – already blazing […]

A man stands near his home looking at a street he says has been flooded for months, on Thursday, 7 December 2023, in Prichard, Alabama. Water bubbles up in streets, pooling in neighborhoods for weeks or months. Homes burn to the ground if firefighters can’t draw enough water from hydrants. Utility crews struggle to fix broken pipes while water flows through shut-off valves that don’t work. Photo: Brynn Anderson / AP Photo

Trillions of gallons leak from aging drinking water systems, further stressing shrinking U.S. cities – “It’s a huge problem because infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating”

By Tammy Webber 4 March 2024 PRICHARD, Alabama (AP) – Water bubbles up in streets, pooling in neighborhoods for weeks or months. Homes burn to the ground if firefighters can’t draw enough water from hydrants. Utility crews struggle to fix broken pipes while water flows through shut-off valves that don’t work. For generations, the water […]

Overdose deaths in Baltimore, 1993-2022. Baltimore’s fatal overdose rate has quadrupled since 2013. It dipped in 2022, but preliminary data for 2023, not shown here, indicates overdoses were on track to rise again. Data: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Graphic: Molly Cook Escobar / The New York Times

Almost 6,000 dead in 6 years: How Baltimore became the U.S. overdose capital – “Unprecedented in the city’s history”

By Alissa Zhu, Nick Thieme, and Jessica Gallagher 23 May 2024 (The New York Times) – People in Baltimore have been dying of overdoses at a rate never before seen in a major American city. In the past six years, nearly 6,000 lives have been lost. The death rate from 2018 to 2022 was nearly […]

Maps showing daily temperature variation (DTV, a) and population density in the world (b). Graphic: Liu and Smith-Greenaway, 2024 / PNAS Nexus

Study finds Black and Hispanic Americans are disproportionately exposed to wider temperature swings

22 May 2024 (PNAS Nexus) – Extreme heat can harm human health, but so can extreme temperature swings. Large daily temperature variation (DTV) has been associated with elevated mortality in studies around the world. Trees and other vegetation can lower DTV, as trees reduce temperature through transpiration during the day and also trap long-wave radiation […]

Map showing April 2024 mean temperature in South Asia. The blue outline shows the region with the most extreme heat. Graphic: World Weather Attribution

Sweltering heat across Asia in 2024 was 45 times more likely because of climate change, study finds – “Heat is now among the foremost risks in terms of personal health for millions across the world as well as nations’ economic development”

By Sibi Arasu 14 May 2024 BENGALURU, India (AP) – Sizzling heat across Asia and the Middle East in late April that echoed last year’s destructive swelter was made 45 times more likely in some parts of the continent because of human-caused climate change, a study Tuesday found. Scorching temperatures were felt across large swaths of Asia, […]

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