Terrible floods in India cost $10 billion loss: UK charity report

Agencies
December 28, 2020

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London, Dec 28: Fifteen extreme weather events, influenced by climate change, were identified globally this year, including the terrible floods that struck India cost $10 billion, killing 2,000, a UK charity report said on Monday.

The London-based Christian Aid's report, 'Counting the cost 2020: A year of climate breakdown', said 10 of those events cost $1.5 billion or more.

The US was hit by the highest costs due to the record-breaking hurricane season and fires.

Most of these estimates are based only on insured losses, meaning the true financial costs are likely to be higher.

While the report focuses on financial costs, which are usually higher in richer countries because they have more valuable property, some extreme weather events in 2020 were devastating in poorer countries, even though the price tag was lower.

South Sudan, for example, experienced one of its worst floods on record, which killed 138 people and destroyed the year's crops.

Some of the disasters hit fast, like cyclone Amphan, which struck the Bay of Bengal in May and caused losses valued at $13 billion in just a few days.

Other events unfolded over months, like floods in China and India, which had an estimated cost of $32 billion and $10 billion respectively.

Six of the 10 most costly events took place in Asia, five of them associated with an unusually rainy monsoon.

And in Africa, huge locust swarms ravaged crops and vegetation across several countries, causing damages estimated at $8.5 billion.

The outbreak has been linked to wet conditions brought about by unusual rains fuelled by climate change.

But the impact of extreme weather was felt all over the world. In Europe, two extra-tropical cyclones, Ciara and Alex, had a combined cost of almost $6 billion.

The US suffered from both a record-breaking hurricane season and a record-breaking fire season adding up to more than $60 billion in damages.

Some less populated places also suffered the consequences of a warming world.

In Siberia, a heat wave during the first half of the year set a record in the city of Verkhoyansk, with temperatures reaching 38 degrees Celsius.

A few months later, on the other side of the world, heat and drought drove the fires in Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.

While there were no human casualties reported from these events, the destruction of these areas has a great impact on biodiversity and the planet's capacity to respond to a warmer world.

While climate change may have influenced all these events, many of the countries that bear little responsibility for global warming were affected.

This includes Nicaragua, which was hit by hurricane Iota, the strongest storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, and the Philippines, where typhoons Goni and Vamco made landfall almost back-to-back.

These extreme events highlight the need for urgent climate action.

The Paris Agreement, which set the goal of keeping temperature rise "well below" 2 degrees Celsius, and ideally 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial levels, has just turned five years old.

It is critical that countries commit to bold new targets ahead of the next climate conference, which will take place in Glasgow in November 2021.

The report's author Kat Kramer, Christian Aid's climate policy lead, told IANS: "The Covid-19 pandemic has understandably been a major worry this year. For millions of people in vulnerable parts of the world, climate breakdown has compounded this.

"The good news is that, like the vaccine for Covid-19, we do know how to fix the climate crisis. We need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, boost clean energy investment and help those who are suffering on the frontline.

"Whether it be floods in Asia, locusts in Africa or storms in Europe and the Americas, climate change has continued to rage in 2020. It is vital that 2021 ushers in a new era of activity to turn this tide.

"With US President-elect Biden in the White House, social movements across the world calling for urgent action, post-Covid green recovery investment and a crucial UN climate summit hosted by the UK, there is a major opportunity for countries to put us on a path to a safe future."

Roxy Mathew Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, said: "2020 was exceptionally warm, as far as the Indian Ocean is concerned. We saw record temperatures in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, straddling between 30-33 degrees Celsius.

"These high temperatures had the characteristics of marine heat waves that might have led to the rapid intensification of the pre-monsoon cyclones Amphan and Nisarga. Amphan was one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal during the pre-monsoon season."

M. Shahjahan Mondal, climate scientist and Director of the Institute of Flood and Water Management, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said: "Scientific evidence shows that the intensity of the tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal has been increasing over the past few years because of the temperature rise, and cyclone Amphan was one of the strongest ever recorded this year as a consequence.

"Moreover, the 2020 flood was one of the worst in the history (of Bangladesh), as more than a quarter of the country was under water."

"Not only is this linked with changing climatic conditions and global warming, but also linked with changing land-use patterns and deforestation. Unfortunately, the situation might be worsening in the coming years if we fail to achieve the Paris climate goal to restrict global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius."

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News Network
November 12,2024

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Mysuru, Nov 12: Zameer Ahmad Khan, the Tourism and Waqf minister of Karnataka, who stirred a controversy by addressing the Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy as ‘Kaala Kumaraswamy’ has tendered apologies for his remarks.

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Tuesday, Minister Zameer stated that he will apologise if remarks have hurt JD-S workers.

“We both are very close. Then, in a total of 24 hours, we were together for 14 hours. He used to fondly address me as “kulla” (shorty) and I used to address him as “kariyanna” (blacky, kaalia),” Minister Zameer stated.

“I am not addressing him as ‘kaalia’ for the first time. I have not said something highly derogatory. It is being made as big in the backdrop of elections. With love, he used to call me a shorty and I called him a blacky. If I had caused pain to anyone by my words I apologise,” he said.

He further stated: “Kumaraswamy had said that he didn’t want the votes of the Muslim community. But now they are attempting to purchase Muslim votes. Against this backdrop, I have made the remark.”

Minister for Home G. Parameshwara stated on Tuesday, “Minister Zameer and Kumaraswamy are close friends. Their comments against each other are not significant.”

Zameer Ahmad Khan, the Tourism and Waqf minister of Karnataka stirred a controversy on Monday as he addressed the Union Minister as ‘Kaala Kumaraswamy’.

JD-S on Tuesday demanded a public apology and resignation of Minister for Waqf and Tourism Zameer Ahmad Khan over his ‘racist’ remarks.

“Remember, there is no place here for your divisive policies. You have insulted the people by making ethnic, racist and discriminatory statements. You should apologize to the people of the state and resign,” the JD (S) demanded in the post.

Union Parliamentary Affairs and Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju reacted sternly to the racist jibe and stated, “I strongly deplore Congress Minister Zameer Ahmed calling Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Kumaraswamy as 'Kaalia Kumaraswamy'.

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News Network
November 4,2024

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Hundreds of Israeli settlers conducted a brutal attack in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

The settlers set fire to numerous homes and vehicles of Palestinians and then moved to the main road connecting Ramallah to other cities, targeting Palestinian cars passing by.

They stormed the city of al-Bireh, near Ramallah, and burned Palestinian property and vehicles.

A woman sustained injuries after the settlers hurled stones at her vehicle, according to Palestinian news outlets.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank because of Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 43,341 people, mostly women and children, since last year’s October.

The Monday settler attack came as the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas warned of Israel’s plans to annex the West Bank and drive Palestinians out.

“We warn of the grave danger posed by the plans led by the extremist occupation regime and illegal settler groups to displace the residents of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank,” Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said.

Israel's far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the full annexation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip last week.

Smotrich asserted that Israel should unequivocally declare there would be no Palestinian state.

He repeated his proposal of expanding Israeli settlements within the West Bank and other occupied territories.

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News Network
October 31,2024

Udupi: Falling prey to a sophisticated a “digital arrest” scam, Prameela (39) found herself defrauded of a staggering ₹11,87,463. The plot, orchestrated through deceptive tactics, left her financially devastated.

On October 25, Prameela received a call from an unknown number claiming a parcel, allegedly sent by one Wang Ming Zi, was flagged due to containing suspicious items: 5 kg of clothes, 8 ICICI credit cards, and 700 grams of MDMA. Adding to the urgency, the caller asserted that an FIR had already been filed against her.

The caller then transferred Prameela to a supposed representative of the 'Bombay Cyber Crime Branch,' who introduced himself as Manish Kumar, claiming to be a senior executive at DTDC Mumbai. Manish directed her to connect via Skype video call, asking her to download the app and search for the ID [email protected].

Once on the call, Prameela was requested to provide her Aadhaar card details, which she complied with. She soon received what appeared to be a formal arrest order listing her name, address, and Aadhaar information. Under pressure, Prameela disclosed her bank account details and balance to the caller. Exploiting this trust, the scammer then transferred ₹11,87,463 from her account.

Following the incident, Prameela lodged a complaint with the Shirva police, who have since registered a case under sections 316(2), 318(4), 351(2) of the BNS, and 66(C), 66(D) of the IT Act. The authorities are now investigating this alarming case of digital fraud.

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