The National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) of Afghanistan has voiced concern over the country’s exclusion from the upcoming international climate change conference in Brazil, despite Afghanistan being one of the most vulnerable nations to climate impacts. The conference is scheduled to begin tomorrow (Monday).

In an official statement, NEPA emphasized that, with a coordination mechanism and a comprehensive roadmap prepared, the Afghan delegation was fully ready to participate.

The agency also highlighted the lack of financial and technical support from global climate funds and urged the United Nations to recognize Afghanistan’s legitimate rights and ensure the country’s inclusion in such international forums.

The statement added: “The failure to invite Afghanistan’s delegation to this conference and other similar meetings demonstrates that the United Nations is not upholding global justice for the Afghan people in the area of climate change. The people of Afghanistan had the right to participate in this global forum and defend their rights.”

Afghanistan had taken part in last year’s climate change conference held in Azerbaijan.

Nearly one million people have fled their homes as Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the most powerful storm to hit the Philippines this year, began lashing the country’s northeastern coast on Sunday.

Authorities have warned that the storm’s massive wind and rain band could engulf two-thirds of the archipelago, threatening catastrophic damage just days after another deadly typhoon ravaged the region.

With winds reaching 185 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 230 kph, Fung-wong — known locally as Uwan — was tracked near the coastal waters of Pandan, Catanduanes Province before noon Sunday.

Government forecasters said the super typhoon is expected to make landfall later Sunday or early Monday along the Aurora or Isabela coasts.

The storm comes as the nation is still reeling from Typhoon Kalmaegi, which tore through central provinces earlier in the week, killing at least 224 people and leaving widespread devastation before moving on to Vietnam, where five more people died. In response, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a state of emergency, citing both the destruction from Kalmaegi and the anticipated impact of Fung-wong.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who oversees the country’s disaster response, urged residents to evacuate before conditions worsen. “We need to move people out now,” he said in a televised address. “Once the rains intensify and flooding begins, rescue operations become extremely difficult.”

More than 916,000 residents in high-risk coastal and mountain villages across the Bicol region and nearby provinces have already been evacuated. Officials warned that over 30 million people could face the storm’s effects — including flash floods, landslides, and storm surges reaching up to 3 meters along exposed coastlines, including parts of Metro Manila.

Power outages have been reported in several eastern towns as the typhoon’s outer bands moved inland. Authorities have suspended schools and government offices across northern regions for Monday and Tuesday, while airlines have canceled at least 386 domestic and international flights. More than 6,600 passengers and crew remain stranded in ports, where ships have been barred from sailing due to dangerous seas.

Despite the scale of the crisis, the Philippines has not yet requested international aid, though the United States and Japan have offered assistance if needed.

The Philippines, located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is among the world’s most disaster-prone nations, enduring around 20 typhoons annually, in addition to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

As Fung-wong advances, emergency teams remain on high alert — bracing for what could be one of the country’s most destructive storms in years.

Heavy rainfall in Mexico has left at least 27 people dead and more missing, authorities said on Friday, as downpours triggered several landslides, cut off power in some municipalities and caused rivers to burst their banks.

Civil protection authorities in Hidalgo state reported 16 deaths and said at least 1,000 homes and hundreds of schools had been affected, Reuters reported. 

Puebla state Governor Alejandro Armenta said at least nine people had died due to incidents such as landslides and another five had been reported missing. Authorities reported two more deaths in Veracruz state.

“We are working to support the population, open roads and restore electrical services,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a post on X. She shared photos of emergency responders carrying supplies as they waded knee-deep in flooded streets.

A video from the Navy showed an officer searching for stranded people as he advanced down a street neck-deep in water in Poza Rica, where heavy rains and the flooding of the Cazones river brought much of Veracruz town under water.

The ministry of defense said it had deployed over 5,400 personnel to help monitor, evacuate and clean up affected areas.

Meanwhile, storms Raymond and Priscilla have been dumping rains on the Baja California peninsula and the country’s western Pacific seaboard.