By Cornie HuizengaHong Kong, December 5, 2012. Improvements in air quality improvements in Asian cities that were visible in the last decade have stalled and the levels of fine particulate matter (PM10), the most important air pollutant in terms of health impact, are back to pre-2000 levels and still climbing in many of the cities […]
By Jethro Mullen11 December 2012 (CNN) – The death toll from the destructive typhoon that savaged the southern Philippines last week has climbed above 700, authorities said Tuesday, warning that the final number may be much higher. Nearly 900 people are still unaccounted for in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha, the strongest and deadliest storm […]
By Bullit Marquez9 December 2012 NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) – The number of people missing after a typhoon devastated parts of the southern Philippines jumped to nearly 900 after families and fishing companies reported losing contact with more than 300 fishermen at sea, officials said Sunday. The fishermen from southern General Santos city and nearby […]
NEW BATAAN, Philippines, 8 December 2012 (CBS/AP) – A typhoon that killed nearly 600 people and left hundreds more missing in the southern Philippines has made a U-turn and is now threatening the country’s northwest, officials said Saturday. The weather bureau raised storm warnings over parts of the main northern island of Luzon after Typhoon […]
By Liz Neisloss and Jethro Mullen8 December 2012 Montevista, Philippines (CNN) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has declared a state of national calamity as the death toll from Typhoon Bopha, the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in decades, continues to climb. At least 459 people have died since the typhoon, known locally […]
By Sikander Shaheen6 December 2012 ISLAMABAD (The Nation of Pakistan) – A top UN diplomat has cautioned that Pakistan faces potential threat of flash flooding for the next year, saying that over a million flood-affectees in Sindh are still in need of food assistance. “Climate change is causing extremely unexpected changes in the weather, a […]
Typhoon Bopha, an incredibly powerful typhoon, has killed hundreds, triggered landslides and floods and left immeasurable destruction in its path in the Philippines. The death toll stands at over 500 – entire families washed away – many still missing. At least 200 of the victims died in Compostela Valley alone. A muddy wasteland of collapsed […]
China is now the biggest importer, exporter, and consumer of illegal timber in the world. Its footprint impacts vital forest ecosystems ranging from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar to remote areas of Africa. With domestic forests incapable of meeting surging demand, China has a gaping and growing timber deficit that can only be filled by […]
NEW BATAAN, Philippines, 7 December 2012 (AP) – Rescuers were digging through mud and debris Friday to retrieve more bodies strewn across a farming valley in the southern Philippines by a powerful typhoon. The death toll from the storm has surpassed 500, with more than 400 people missing. More than 310,000 people have lost their […]
By BETTINA WASSENER5 December 2012 HONG KONG (The New York Times) – Air pollution has worsened markedly in Asian cities in recent years and presents a growing threat to human health, according to experts at a conference that began on Wednesday [Better Air Quality Hong Kong 2012]. Clean Air Asia, a regional network on air-quality […]