Red Alert For Heavy Rainfall In Uttarakhand, Telangana, Bihar & Coastal Andhra Pradesh

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand, Bihar, Telangana and Coastal Andhra Pradesh today. Senior IMD scientist Dr. R K Jenamani said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over Odisha, Chhattisgarh, East Madhya Pradesh and parts of North East India, AIR reported.

The weather department also forecast thunderstorms accompanied by “lightning and gusty winds at isolated places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, North Interior Karnataka and Vidarbha,” the public broadcaster said. 

Temperatures cross 40°C in southern Europe, Spain wildfires ‘clear warning’ of climate emergency, says minister 

Southern Europe is facing a “deadly” heatwave, with temperatures of up to 44°C, according to the Guardian. The heatwave-fuelled wildfires killed two people in Spain. The country’s environment minister said the blazes are proof of the country’s vulnerability to global heating. Aagesen’s comments came a day after temperatures in parts of southern Spain surged past 45°C (113°F), the Guardian reported. Bloomberg reported that “Electricite de France SA was forced to shut four atomic reactors after a swarm of jellyfish clogged up filter drums at its Gravelines power plant”.

66 missing in Uttarakhand flash floods

A week after flash floods hit Dharali village in Uttrakhand, at least 66 people are still missing, BBC reported citing official statement. Only one body has been recovered so far, the statement added, revising an earlier death toll of four.

Flash floods on Tuesday hit Dharali village burying entire buildings, roads, trees and plantations, satellite images taken two days after the disaster show, HT reported.  The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) identified a glacial lake upstream of the Kheer Ganga river, which experts said may have been set off by a glacier collapse. However, NIDM did not confirm that glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) could be the cause of the disaster, the newspaper said.

This hypothesis, NIDM said, is based purely on “remote sensing and topographical analysis.”

“High-resolution imagery, in-situ field surveys to confirm moraine stability and sediment dynamics, and hydrological modeling will be essential to validate or rule out the role of this glacial lake,” it added.

Uttarkashi disaster highlights trade-offs for construction, around 13,000 more trees to be felled? 

Uttarakhand flash floods and landslides, in the heart of the Bhagirathi Ecosensitive Zone (BESZ) have yet again highlighted the trade-offs involved in the construction of the final stretch of the Char Dham road, HT reported. The outlet added that “the forest clearance for the stretch between Tekhla and Badethi has been pending since December last year. Constructing this stretch will involve the felling of 530 trees.” Data available on the ministry’s website added that a key concern is the need to protect the forests and green cover in the BESZ.

The newspaper cited a government website saying: “It requires minimal cutting of trees in the BESZ for road construction and avoiding multiple roads connecting a village to the state or national highways. …The plan for widening this stretch will fell 12,995 trees in the BESZ. Almost 6,000 deodar trees are to be felled between Jhala and Gangotri, Bhatt had pointed out that in the latter stretch,” the annexures state, adding that the count of trees to be felled is sourced from a submission on record by Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH).

The outlet reported that residents are particularly concerned that conditions recommended by the Supreme Court appointed high powered committee on the Char Dham project in respect of the stretch of around 100 km connecting Uttarkashi to Gangotri and passing through the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone, have been ignored.

Critical minerals may face shortages under 2°C pathways: Study

As many as 13 critical minerals for low-carbon energy may face shortages under 2°C pathways “if progress in intensity reduction and recycling efficiency remains conservative”, reported a new study published by Nature. 

Scientists analysed 557 mitigation pathways from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report using the Global Resource Evaluation of Abatement Technologies model, to systematically quantify demand and potential shortages for 40 minerals critical to 17 energy technologies. 

They found that all pathways may experience global shortages of up to 12 minerals by 2100 under the moderate scenario, with more severe shortages of indium, tin, cadmium and tellurium related to thin-film photovoltaic, wind and nuclear power (>50% of pathways). 

Regional disparities would intensify these risks, particularly in developing, resource-vulnerable regions (for example, the Middle East and Africa), with potential shortages reaching 24 minerals, scientists said. The researchers said “decarbonization requires more than technological innovation. It demands the strategic integration of diversified energy technology portfolios, aggressive recycling, material substitution and global trade cooperation, alongside moderate gross domestic product growth.”

Drough-heatwave: Rice yields in south-east Asia will “drop sharply” by end of century

A new study found compound drought–heatwaves (CDHW) have seriously threatened the agricultural industry, mainly rice crops in Southeast Asia. Scientists investigated the projected changes in CDHWs and rice yield in the region, and further examined the potential driving factors behind extreme weather on yield. Results indicated a projected 550% increase in the annual occurrence of drouth-heatwave, which correlates significantly with a 27% decrease in rice yield by the end of the 21st century. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) emerges as a major factor contributing to the reduction in rice yield drouth-heatwave events.

Australia: Great Barrier Reef suffers biggest annual drop in live coral since 1980s after devastating coral bleaching

A new report found that the Great Barrier Reef suffered “its biggest annual drop in live coral in two out of three areas monitored by scientists since 1986”.

Western Australia’s coast has “suffered the worst bleaching on record after the state’s ‘longest, largest and most intense’ marine heatwave”, BBC News reported. It added: “The damage – which will take months to assess – spans 1,500km and includes areas previously unscathed by climate change. Coral reefs worldwide have been suffering from a two-year-long global coral bleaching event, due to record high ocean temperatures.” 
The Guardian reported that over 100 scientists and marine managers will gather in Perth on Tuesday for a special meeting to discuss the devastating event that bleached and killed corals on remote reefs earlier this year. The marine heatwave that hit reefs from the world heritage-listed Ningaloo to the remote Ashmore Reef left many scientists shocked, the newspaper said.

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