At least 15 people were killed in floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in India’s northeastern state of Meghalaya last week, which shares a border with northern Bangladesh, where at least six people were killed at the same time.
Among the victims in Meghalaya were seven members of a single family who were buried alive in South Garo Hills district, two people whose vehicle was swept away by floodwaters, and a man who was killed by a falling tree, Reuters reported. The floods submerged vast areas of farmland, causing significant damage to crops, though the full extent is still being assessed, the report added.
Reuters also noted that several parts of South Asia have been ravaged by floods during the June-September monsoon season. In early October, at least 244 people, including dozens of children, were killed in landslides and floods in Nepal after two days of incessant rains washed away homes, roads, power plants, and bridges. In August, floods in Bangladesh killed over 70 people and caused an estimated $1.2 billion in damages, according to a study by the think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue, as cited by Reuters.
Deforestation is surging worldwide, warns global assessment
The world lost forest cover equivalent to 9.1 million football fields, or 6.37 million hectares, due to deforestation, according to the 2024 Forest Declaration Assessment, a new report by a group of research organisations. This loss was 45% higher than the target set by over 140 countries to eliminate deforestation by 2030. The report, cited by Down to Earth (DTE), revealed that deforestation has worsened over the past decade.
The report highlighted that primary tropical forests, which are crucial for carbon storage and biodiversity protection, lost 3.7 million hectares in 2023, hindering efforts to protect these forests by 38%.
Moreover, forest degradation—damage without complete destruction—is 10 times worse than deforestation, impacting 62.6 million hectares in 2022. The report analysed global trends, noting that while Brazil has made some progress in reducing deforestation, overall trends remain negative. Bolivia’s deforestation rates continue to rise, and Indonesia has seen a sharp increase, reversing earlier successes in these regions, according to the DTE report.
Storm Milton leave 24 dead in Florida
Hurricane Milton left at least 24 people dead in Florida, CBS News reported, as the storm made landfall on Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane before moving over the Atlantic Ocean. The storm left more than 1.3 million people without power across the state. Florida’s coast continues to be battered by heavy rain, with communities bracing for storm surges and subsequent flooding, according to The New York Times.
Officials stated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is equipped to meet the immediate needs of those affected by the hurricane. However, President Joe Biden noted that the agency will require additional funds to handle future disasters, NBC News reported. The report also mentioned that Milton brought so much rain to parts of Florida’s Tampa Bay area that it “qualified as a one-in-1,000-year rainfall event.”
The Atlantic pointed out that the back-to-back intense hurricanes followed early predictions of a “monstrous” 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, despite an unexpected lull during the typical peak in late August and early September. The article suggests that this shift indicates our collective understanding of how hurricane seasons unfold is becoming increasingly unreliable.
Rare climate phenomena behind 2016 Pacific Marine heatwave, reveals study
A new study has found that the 2016 southwest Pacific marine heatwave, which spanned over 1.7 million square kilometers, was caused by a “rare” combination of an extreme El Niño event and a strong Madden-Julian Oscillation, Science.org reported.
Scientists used sea surface temperature data, atmospheric reanalysis, and an ocean model to investigate the drivers of the heatwave. They discovered that low wind speeds and high humidity contributed to the “exceptional warming” observed in the region. The researchers noted that “the hazardous ecological impacts of this extreme event underscore the need to improve our understanding of the mechanisms driving marine heatwaves, which could lead to better seasonal predictions.”
Permafrost reduces riverbank erosion by nearly half in Arctic rivers, finds study
The presence of permafrost nearly halves riverbank erosion rates in an Arctic river, according to a new study. Researchers noted that riverbank erosion can release long-stored carbon and “jeopardize” Arctic infrastructure and communities.
By using high-frequency satellite observations, the study found that permafrost—ground that has been frozen for at least two years—reduces erosion rates by 47% along the Koyukuk River in central Alaska. The researchers also used modeling to predict that the “complete thaw of permafrost may lead to a 30-100% increase in the migration rates of Arctic rivers.”
Climate change threatens South Caucasus region, including COP29 host Azerbaijan
Climate change, driven by rising global temperatures, is impacting the South Caucasus region, which includes Armenia, Georgia, and COP29 host Azerbaijan. The two defining features of the region—the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea—are undergoing rapid changes, exposing these countries to new threats they had not previously faced, according to a new study reported by Down to Earth (DTE).
A recent media report quoted an Iranian government official warning that up to a quarter of the Caspian Sea’s water (around which these countries are situated) could dry up within the next 20 years. “Climate change affects the entire region, which includes vast mountain ecosystems and remote coastal zones,” noted a report titled Climate Change and Security in the South Caucasus, published a few years ago.
The report was prepared by the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC), a partnership of five international organizations. It highlights that a ‘climate risk country profile’ of Armenia, prepared by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, warns that “Armenia could experience warming significantly above the global average, with potential warming of 4.7°C by the 2090s compared to the 1986-2005 baseline under the highest emissions pathway (RCP8.5).”
The expected rise in maximum and minimum temperatures poses major threats to human health, livelihoods, and ecosystems, the report adds.
In neighboring Azerbaijan, the host of COP29, the country’s NC3 report noted an increase in temperatures of 1.3°C by 2010, relative to the average annual temperatures observed between 1961 and 1990, as outlined in its profile on the EU4Climate portal.
Temperatures in Azerbaijan are projected to rise at a faster rate than the global average, with potential warming of 4.7°C by the 2090s compared to the 1986-2005 baseline under the highest emissions scenario (RCP8.5), the report adds.
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