DEHRADUN, June 30 (AFP) – Some 3,000 people remain missing in India’s flood-ravaged north two weeks after the tragedy, but it is unclear how many of those have been killed, a top state official said on Sunday. About 1,000 people, many of them pilgrims and tourists, are confirmed dead after flash floods and landslides caused […]
By Trend T.Jafarov29 June 2013 Azerbaijan, Baku (Trend) – Lake Urmia’s water level has dropped by another 28 centimeters compared to the same period last year, the head of the department of water and water resources of Iran’s Ministry of Energy, Alireza Daimi said, the İRNA agency reported on Saturday. According to Daimi, the increased […]
PEKANBARU, Indonesia, 25 June 2013 (Associated Press) — Indonesian authorities have arrested eight farmers for setting illegal fires on Sumatra island to clear land after numerous blazes created a thick haze choking parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, police said Tuesday. The farmers were arrested Monday and Tuesday after being caught “red-handed,” said local police […]
By Danish Siddiqui, with additional writing by Anurag Kotoky in NEW DELHI; Editing by Mayank Bhardwaj and Alison Williams25 June 2013 GAUCHAR, India (Reuters) – A rescue helicopter delivering wood for the mass cremations of the victims of flooding in northern India crashed on Tuesday, killing the eight people on board, the government said. Floods […]
[Desdemona wonders if the summer sun in Seattle will again be dimmed by smoke from Siberia megafires, as in 2012.] By Robert Scribbler21 June 2013 Today, a heatwave circling the Arctic set its sights on central Siberia. Temperatures soared into the upper 80s to near 90 degrees over a vast region of Siberian tundra, setting […]
22 June 2013 (VNS) – Southernmost Ca Mau Province is in danger of sinking below sea level in the next few decades due to over-exploitation of underground water if something isn’t done urgently. Experts released the warning at a conference held with the co-operation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Norwegian […]
By Basharat Peer24 June 2013 (The New York Times) – Rain and landslides have limited efforts to rescue the victims of floods in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Military helicopters were unable to fly there for most of Monday, and the Indian Meteorological Department warned of “very severe” rain in the next three days. […]
By Manirajan Ramasamy, Sharon Chen, and Yoga Rusmana; Editing by Stanley James 23 June 2013 (Bloomberg) – Malaysia declared a state of emergency in some areas after air pollution from illegal burning of forests and peat lands in Indonesia reached hazardous levels, while Singapore breathed easier as winds shifted direction. Prime Minister Najib Razak signed […]
By SASHA HAN21 June 2013 BEIJING (ABC News) – The Chinese white dolphin, treasured by the people of Hong Kong people for its pink color and friendly nature, is endanger of being exterminated by pollution and a traffic jam of boats. The dolphin, once the official mascot of the 1997 sovereignty changing ceremonies, draws tourists […]
By Adam Voiland19 June 2013 On 19 June 2013, NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites captured striking images of smoke billowing from illegal wildfires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The smoke blew east toward southern Malaysia and Singapore, and news media reported that thick clouds of haze had descended on Singapore, pushing pollution to record […]