The News Caravan

Tag: Extreme

  • 72 pc districts face extreme floods, 25 pc of them have early warning systems: Report

    [ad_1]

    New Delhi: An estimated 72 percent of districts in India are exposed to extreme flood events but only 25 percent of them have level flood forecasting stations, or early warning systems, a new report said on Thursday.

    BookMyMBBS

    Despite high exposure to floods, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim are the best-performing states in terms of flood early warning systems (EWS), according to the report by independent policy research think tank The Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW).

    The report showed that Himachal Pradesh, currently battling massive floods, is among the states with the lowest availability of EWS.

    MS Education Academy

    Uttarakhand, on the other hand, is moderately exposed to extreme flood events but has a high availability of flood EWS, it said.

    Delhi, in the throes of severe flooding due to a raging Yamuna, is moderately exposed to extreme floods and has a moderate level of resilience through EWS.

    Approximately 66 percent of individuals in India are exposed to extreme flood events; however, only 33 percent of them are covered by flood EWS. Moreover, 25 percent of the Indian population is exposed to cyclones and their impacts, but cyclone warnings are available to 100 percent of the exposed population, the report said.

    States such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and West Bengal are at the forefront of building resilience by establishing cyclone EWS.

    “The district-level analysis revealed that while 72 percent of districts in India are exposed to extreme flood events, merely 25 percent of these exposed districts have level flood forecasting stations. This means that two-thirds of individuals in India are exposed to extreme flood events, and only one-third of them have flood EWS,” the report said.

    According to the CEEW, 12 states — Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Bihar — are highly exposed to extreme flood events. However, only three — Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Bihar — have a high availability of flood early warning systems.

    Odisha has moderate EWS availability and the rest low availability, indicating a gap in the planning for installing flood monitoring and forecasting stations, the report said.

    Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana are moderately exposed to extreme floods.

    While Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tripura have a high availability of flood early warning systems, the rest have a moderate resilience through flood EWS.

    States such as Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana have the lowest availability of flood EWS.

    Research shows that 97.51 million people in India are exposed to extreme flood events, and most districts are exposed to more than one extreme event, highlighting the importance of making EWS available to all in the country, especially in the states and districts most exposed to its impacts, the report said.

    It said that more than 88 percent of the Indian states exposed to floods and 100 percent of the states exposed to extreme cyclone events have a high teledensity ratio, which means to access early warnings through telecommunications.

    The recent floods in India and Cyclone Biparjoy have once again shown the importance of investing in early warning systems, said Dr Vishwas Chitale, senior programme lead, CEEW.

    “The country is rapidly expanding its early warning coverage by embracing transformative technologies. However, as we witness swapping patterns in the climatic extremes in the country, where previously drought-prone areas are now facing floods, all states need to ramp up their early warning systems to safeguard lives and livelihoods,” he said.

    According to him, states should leverage state-of-the-art technologies to build inclusive, impact-based multi-hazard early warning systems that involve the local communities for last-mile connectivity.

    “Intensifying adaptation finance for enhancing disaster preparedness is the need of the hour,” he said.

    A CEEW study released in 2021 found that 27 of 35 Indian states and union territories (UTs) are vulnerable to extreme hydro-met disasters and their compounding impacts. Eighty per cent of India’s population resides in these vulnerable regions.

    However, India has been taking steps to build its resilience to the impacts of such extreme events by increasing preparedness and investing in EWS. These systems are being deployed throughout the world as essential instruments for disaster risk reduction.

    At the 2022 UN climate summit in Egypt, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres unveiled an Executive Action Plan to provide “Early Warnings for All”, saying that “one out of three persons globally, primarily in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), lack access to effective early warning systems”. This plan requires an investment of USD 3.1 billion from 2023 to 2027 to make EWS available to everyone across the globe.

    Incessant, heavy rain wrought massive damage in several parts of north India over the last few days.

    Due to a rare interaction of a western disturbance, monsoonal winds and a cyclonic circulation, heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh over the weekend caused flooding and landslides in the hilly terrain.

    The gushing water swept away bridges, homes and cars, and caused widespread devastation in the state.

    Neighbouring Uttarakhand also saw a similar situation with water levels of several rivers crossing the danger mark.

    In Delhi, the Yamuna swelled to 208.62 metres, surpassing the previous all-time record of 207.49 metres set 45 years ago. The raging river inundated nearby streets, impacted public and private infrastructure, road and rail traffic and caused immense hardships to people living in close proximity to the river.

    Curbs have also been placed for the entry of vehicles into the national capital.

    [ad_2]
    #districts #face #extreme #floods #early #warning #systems #Report

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Saudi: Makkah records 181 days of extreme heat in 37 years

    Saudi: Makkah records 181 days of extreme heat in 37 years

    [ad_1]

    Riyadh: Makkah, one of the cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the holiest city in Islam, recorded the highest number of 181 days that witnessed temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius between 1985 and 2022.

    After Makkah, Al-Ahsa saw 167 days, Al-Qaisumah 59, and Dammam 54 days, according to a report issued by the National Center of Meteorology (NCM) in Saudi Arabia.

    In terms of dust storms, Al-Qaisumah recorded the highest number of incidents during the same period with 119 days, followed by Al-Ahsa with 110 days and Rafha with 99 days.

    MS Education Academy

    In terms of thunderstorms, Abha saw 788 days of thunderstorms during this period, followed by Taif with 784 days, Al-Baha with 746 days, Khamis Mushait with 528 days and Bisha with 296 days.

    Khamis Mushait topped the list of cities most exposed to rain for 363 days, followed by Al-Baha with 320 days, Taif with 295 days, Abha with 252 days, and Bisha with 201 days.

    Al-Wajh came first in terms of the number of days of fog recurrence, with 28 days, followed by Yanbu with 22 days, Jeddah with 11 days, Abha with 6 days, and Al-Baha with 4 days.

    The report also highlighted that Dhahran recorded its highest temperature at 51 degrees Celsius in May 2009, while the city of Rafha recorded its lowest temperature at 21 degrees Celsius in 2000.

    Bisha recorded the highest amount of rainfall with 96 mm on May 1, 2013, and the highest amount of precipitation was in Khamis Mushait with 159 mm in May 2019.

    The report indicated that the Al-Jawf region recorded during this period a maximum wind speed of 115 km/h, while the highest frequency of dust storms was recorded in May in Al-Qaisumah 119 times.

    [ad_2]
    #Saudi #Makkah #records #days #extreme #heat #years

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • They warn of great RISK due to TikTok’s EXTREME BEAUTY filter | Artificial intelligence

    [ad_1]

    Mexico.- Who does not like to be attractive in photos? If you are one of those people, you will thank the Artificial Intelligence (AI) As much as I. A ‘extreme beauty’ filter on TikTok has caused a stir on the social platform due to its impressive accuracy and realism.

    ‘Extreme beauty’ filter uses Artificial Intelligence to enhance facial features of users, leaving them with a strikingly beautiful appearance.

    The photo tool that has been created by software company Perfect Corp uses deep learning technology to scan and improve the appearance of users.

    The use of the AI in image editing applications It is not new, there are already applications on the market that allow users to improve their selfies through the use of deep learning algorithms, but the level of realism offered by Perfect Corp has attracted attention.

    Some of the facial modifications that the TikTok option can perform are: wrinkle removal, complexion improvement, skin whitening, eyebrow liner, droopy eyelid reduction, greater intensity in eye color, teeth whitening, among many others.

    If you are a lover of selfies and want to try the ‘extreme beauty’ filter, you should not do much more than go to the Chinese application and enter the recording section.

    Despite the promise of this tool, some TikTok users are concerned about the impact it could have on self-esteem and perception of the body of people, especially those who are vulnerable to social pressure and aesthetic ideals.

    We recommend you read:

    This technology has also been criticized for its potential to perpetuate unrealistic standards of beauty and for the negative effect it can have on mental health.

    My name is Juan Pablo Chaidez Aispuro, born in Culiacán, Sinaloa into a small family that originally consisted of four people: father, mother and two children. From my early years I showed a taste for watching the news and staying informed. I was a graduate of the 2014 – 2018 generation of the degree in Journalism, from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS), the first in that career since its opening. Regarding professional experience, I was able to gain learning during a period of six months in the sports area of ​​the Noroeste newspaper, where I did professional internships. Later, I had the opportunity to spend another six months in the ranks of Radio Sinaloa, particularly in the news program Informativo Puro Sinaloa, of the state government. There I covered local issues, recorded voice for the newscast, contributed content for other broadcasts and had live participation. Since 2020 I have been in Debate, a company that opened the doors for me to integrate as a web reporter, and months later to hold the position of Editor on the Debate.com.mx site.

    see more

    #warn #great #RISK #due #TikToks #EXTREME #BEAUTY #filter #Artificial #intelligence

    [ad_2]
    #warn #great #RISK #due #TikToks #EXTREME #BEAUTY #filter #Artificial #intelligence
    ( With inputs from : pledgetimes.com )

  • Soaring fuel bills may push 141m more into extreme poverty globally – study

    Soaring fuel bills may push 141m more into extreme poverty globally – study

    [ad_1]

    Soaring energy prices triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict could push up to 141 million more people around the globe into extreme poverty, a study has found.

    The cost of energy for households globally could have increased by between 62.6% and 112.9% since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a modelling study by an international group of scientists published in Nature Energy.

    The study modelled the impact of higher energy prices on the spending of 201 groups, representing different expenditure levels, in 116 countries, covering 87.4% of the global population.

    Despite efforts by governments to insulate consumers from the price rises, researchers estimated that overall household expenditure rose by between 2.7% and 4.8%.

    As a result, they estimate that an additional 78–141 million people worldwide could be pushed into extreme poverty.

    One of the report’s authors, Yuli Shan, a professor at the University of Birmingham, said: “High energy prices hit household finances in two ways: fuel price rises directly increase household energy bills, while energy inputs needed to produce goods and services push prices up for those products as well, and especially for food, which affects households indirectly.

    “Unaffordable costs of energy and other necessities will push vulnerable populations into energy poverty and even extreme poverty.”

    Shan added: “This unprecedented global energy crisis reminds us that an energy system highly reliant on fossil fuels perpetuates energy security risks, as well as accelerating climate change.”

    Household gas and electricity bills rose sharply last year, while petrol and diesel prices hit record highs.

    A report prepared for the World Economic Forum in Davos last month said soaring prices for energy and food could persist for the next two years.

    The energy crisis has led to calls for nations to move faster in building renewable energy sources, while governments have turned to polluting fuels such as coal to ensure security of power supplies.

    Another of the report’s authors, Klaus Hubacek of the University of Groningen, said: “This crisis is worsening energy poverty and extreme poverty worldwide. For poor countries, living costs undermine their hard-won gains in energy access and poverty alleviation.

    skip past newsletter promotion

    “Ensuring access to affordable energy and other necessities is a priority for those countries, but short-term policies addressing the cost of living crisis must align with climate mitigation goals and other long-term sustainable development commitments.”

    The UK and Europe have been urged to follow the US’s lead in encouraging green investment through Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

    Western nations have attempted to put a dent in the Kremlin’s coffers by placing a price cap on Russian oil while still allowing it to flow to avoid spiralling fuel prices.

    In recent weeks, wholesale gas prices have fallen as the mild winter and strong gas storage levels in Europe have boosted confidence that countries will not experience energy shortages this winter. However, concerns remain over how nations will replace Russian gas supplies next winter.

    In the UK, energy bills are to rise by 40% in April when government support for bills becomes less generous. National Energy Action estimates there are now 6.7 million UK households in fuel poverty – a figure that has more than doubled since 2020.

    Last week Greenpeace threatened to take legal action against the UK government as it emerged that a target to lift millions of struggling households out of fuel poverty was likely to be missed.

    [ad_2]
    #Soaring #fuel #bills #push #141m #extreme #poverty #globally #study
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • ‘Extreme situation’: Antarctic sea ice hits record low

    ‘Extreme situation’: Antarctic sea ice hits record low

    [ad_1]

    The area of sea ice around Antarctica has hit a record low, with scientists reporting “never having seen such an extreme situation before”. The ice extent is expected to shrink even further before this year’s summer melting season ends.

    The impact of the climate crisis in melting sea ice in the Arctic is clear in the records that stretch back to 1979. Antarctic sea ice varies much more from year to year, which has made it harder to see an effect from global heating.

    However, “remarkable” losses of Antarctic sea ice in the last six years indicate that the record levels of heat now in the ocean and related changes in weather patterns may mean that the climate crisis is finally manifesting in the observations.

    Scientists were already very concerned about Antarctic ice. Climate models suggested as far back as 2014 that the giant West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), which sits on the continent, was doomed to collapse due to the levels of global heating already seen then.

    The increasing loss of sea ice exposes ice sheets and their glaciers to waves that accelerate their disintegration and melting, researchers warned. A recent study estimated that the WAIS would be tipped into gradual collapse – and four metres of sea level rise – with a global temperature rise as low as 1C, a point already passed.

    “I have never seen such an extreme, ice-free situation here before,” said Prof Karsten Gohl, from the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in the Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany, and who first visited the region in 1994.

    Gohl, on board the research vessel Polarstern in Antarctica, said: “The continental shelf, an area the size of Germany, is now completely ice-free. It is troubling to consider how quickly this change has taken place.”

    Prof Christian Haas, also at the Helmholtz Centre, said: “The rapid decline in sea ice over the past six years is quite remarkable, since the ice cover hardly changed at all in the 35 years before.”

    Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in the US have also said a new record low has been set. They said Antarctic sea ice extent fell to 1.91m square kilometres on 13 February, below the previous record set on 25 February 2022.

    skip past newsletter promotion

    Map of Antarctic sea ice extent

    Sea ice melts away in the Antarctic summer before starting to grow again as autumn arrives. “In past years, the annual minimum has occurred between 18 February and 3 March, so further decline is expected,” the NSIDC researchers said. “Much of the Antarctic coast is ice free. Earlier studies have linked low sea ice cover with wave-induced stresses on the floating ice shelves that hem the continent, leading to break up of weaker areas.”

    The German scientists said the “intense melting” could be due to unusually high air temperatures to the west and east of the Antarctic peninsula, which were about 1.5C above the long-term average. Furthermore, there have been strong westerly winds, which increase sea ice retreat. The result is “intensified melting of ice shelves, an essential aspect of future global sea-level rise”, the researchers said.

    Historical records also show dramatic changes in Antarctica, they said. The Belgian research vessel Belgica was trapped in massive pack ice for more than a year in the Antarctic summer 125 years ago, in exactly the same region where the Polarstern vessel is now sailing in completely ice-free waters.

    Prof Carlos Moffat, at the University of Delaware, US, and recently returned from a research cruise in the Southern Ocean, told Inside Climate News: “The extraordinary change we’ve seen this year is dramatic. Even as somebody who’s been looking at these changing systems for a few decades, I was taken aback by what I saw.”

    [ad_2]
    #Extreme #situation #Antarctic #sea #ice #hits #record
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Turkey: 17-year-old Boy Takes THIS Extreme Step to Survive Under Rubble for 94 Hours- Details Here – Kashmir News

    [ad_1]

    Turkey: 17-year-old Boy Takes THIS Extreme Step to Survive Under Rubble for 94 Hours- Details Here

    A 17-year-old boy is sharing his story of survival after spending 94 hours trapped in rubble in the wake of the devastating earthquake that rocked Turkey early Monday.

    Speaking via FaceTime from his hospital bed in Gaziantep, Turkey, Adnan Muhammet Korkut told ABC News he was asleep in his family’s home when the quake hit, and he then “got into the fetal position.”

    While he was trapped, the teenager said that he drank his own urine and ate his family’s flowers to survive. “I set the alarm on my phone for every 25 minutes so I wouldn’t go to sleep. After two days, the battery went dead”, Korkut said.

    As the rescue operation was going on, Korkut said, “I was hearing voices, but was worried they couldn’t hear me. I was afraid that I might get crushed during the rescue efforts. Thank you to the people who came and saved me”, the report added.

    Adnan Muhammet Korkut ht bb
    17-year-old drank urine to survive 94 hours trapped in rubble of Turkey quake

    Many stories of the victims and survivors are making the headlines and garnering the netizens’ attention towards the horrible situation in the earthquake-struck region.

    A toddler on Thursday was rescued after 79 hours from the rubble of a building that collapsed in Turkey’s southern city of Antakya. Footage from Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) also showed how rescue workers looked into a narrow opening in the debris and pulled out the two-year-old.

    Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll passes 28,000 as rescue hopes dwindle

    The death toll in Turkey and Syria from the quake has surpassed 28,000, and hope of finding many more survivors is fading despite some miraculous rescues.

    German rescuers and the Austrian army paused search operations on Saturday, citing clashes between unnamed groups.

    Security is expected to worsen as food supplies dwindle, one rescuer said.

    And nearly 50 people have been arrested for looting, with several guns seized, local media reported.

    Turkey’s president said he would use emergency powers to punish anyone breaking the law.

    An Austrian army spokesperson said early on Saturday that clashes between unidentified groups in the Hatay province had left dozens of personnel from the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit seeking shelter in a base camp with other international organisations.

    (Agencies)

    ALSO READ: Chinese Woman ‘Purchases’ Uninhabited Okinawa Island, Triggers Stir

    ALSO READ: Most Popular Saudi Youtuber Aziz Al Ahmed aka Dwarf Died at the Age of 27

    CLICK ON THE BELOW PROVIDED LINKS TO FOLLOW KASHMIR NEWS ON: 


    Post Views: 683

    [ad_2]
    #Turkey #17yearold #Boy #Takes #Extreme #Step #Survive #Rubble #Hours #Details #Kashmir #News

    ( With inputs from : kashmirnews.in )