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Climate Change

Toxic smog persists over India’s north; Delhi pollution remains severe

India battles air pollution every winter as cold, heavy air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from farm fires started illegally in the adjoining, farming states of Punjab and Haryana

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Residents in India's northern states woke up to another day of poor air quality on Tuesday, as a layer of dense fog shrouded most of the region, and pollution in the capital Delhi remained severe.

India battles air pollution every winter as cold, heavy air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from farm fires started illegally in the adjoining, farming states of Punjab and Haryana.

The air quality index (AQI) touched a peak of 491 in Delhi on Monday, forcing the government to introduce restrictions on vehicle movement and construction activities, and schools to conduct classes online.

On Tuesday, Delhi's 24-hour air quality index (AQI) reading was at 488 on a scale of 500, India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said, and at least five stations in the capital reported an AQI of 500, Retuers reported.

CPCB defines an AQI reading of 0-50 as "good" and above 401 as "severe", which it says is a risk to healthy people and "seriously impacts" those with existing diseases.

Swiss group IQAir ranked New Delhi as the world's most polluted city with air quality at a "hazardous" 489, although that was a significant improvement from Monday's 1,081 reading.

Experts say the scores vary because of a difference in the scale countries adopt to convert pollutant concentrations into AQI, and so the same quantity of a specific pollutant may be translated as different AQI scores in different countries.

India's weather department said a shift in the fog layer towards the northern state of Uttar Pradesh had helped improve visibility over Delhi.

Visibility dropped to zero metres in Uttar Pradesh's capital Agra, which lies southeast of Delhi. The Taj Mahal, India's famed monument of love, has been obscured by toxic smog for nearly a week.

The strict measures to mitigate the impact of high pollution have hurt production at more than 3.4 million micro, small and medium enterprises in the nearby states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, local media reported.

Climate Change

EU pledges €15 million to WFP to help mitigate climate crisis impact on Afghans

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The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a €15 million (US$15.8 million) contribution from the European Union (EU) for its climate related activities in Afghanistan.

According to a statement issued by the EU on Thursday, this contribution will help local communities prepare for natural disasters and face the devastating effects of climate change, and support farmers for more productive and sustainable agriculture.

So far this year, more than 160,000 people have been affected by flooding in Afghanistan. Floods have destroyed almost 20,000 homes, and thousands of hectares of agricultural land.

“The European Union is committed to assisting the people of Afghanistan in adapting to climate change, which is severely threatening food security and livelihoods notably of rural communities, said the EU Chargée d’Affaires to in Afghanistan, Veronika Boskovic Pohar.

“Climate-related shocks also exacerbate host communities’ capacity to support internally displaced people and returnees from neighboring countries, and they discourage farmers in poppy-cultivating areas from sustainably shifting to licit crops.

“This latest contribution increases the European Union’s steady support to WFP’s resilience programme in Afghanistan to a total EUR 85.1 million since 2022”, she said.

Harald Mannhardt, WFP Deputy Country Director in Afghanistan, said: “This latest funding from the European Union comes at a critical moment as WFP earlier this year was forced to halt projects across the country due to a massive funding shortfall.”

Afghanistan is currently ranked seventh on the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index of countries most vulnerable and least prepared to adapt to climate change.

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Climate Change

Malaysia records six months of rain in just five days

One of the worst hit areas was Kelantan which recorded 1,442mm of rain between November 26 and 30

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Six months worth of Malaysia’s average annual rainfall fell within five days across the east coast of the country last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said early Tuesday. 

One of the worst hit areas was Kelantan which recorded 1,442mm of rain between November 26 and 30.

Ibrahim said the high rainfall led to flooding that forced a large number of people in Kelantan and Terengganu to be evacuated.

The recorded rainfall at Irrigation and Drainage Department stations in Tanah Merah and Tumpat, exceeded 1,167mm in just five days.

“According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), the reading (in Kelantan) was at 1,442mm, an extraordinarily high level of rainfall. In Terengganu, MetMalaysia’s Besut station recorded 1,761mm of rain during the same period.

“Overall, the (average) rainfall was 1,349mm, far beyond our expectations,” Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) on Tuesday. 

He also said the government is preparing for the forecast monsoon surge as announced by MetMalaysia, expected to start after Dec 8.

By Tuesday, some residents in the town of Tumpat were returning to submerged homes and shops as deadly floodwaters eased in some areas.

People who returned to their homes found many had collapsed, with parts of walls, roofs and broken furniture lying scattered in pools of water.

Muhamad Alim, a 56-year-old shopkeeper whose food store was inundated, recalled fast-rising waters in his home and his grandchildren crying as the flood surged on Saturday night.

"Electricity was cut off, and there was no water supply. So, we were stuck, sitting there as if we were in the middle of the sea, surrounded by water," he told Reuters.

"You could hear the sound of water rushing cutting through the silence of the night."

Six people have died in Malaysia and more than 150,000 were evacuated during the height of the floods last week, government data showed.

In Thailand, the death toll is 25, and more than 300,000 households were still affected, the interior ministry said.

The number of people in temporary shelters in Malaysia fell to just under 95,000 on Tuesday morning, though the authorities remain on guard for a second wave of floods this week.

Malaysia's Meteorological Department expects a wind convergence to begin on Tuesday, potentially bringing heavy showers, with a monsoon surge to follow on Dec. 8.

In Thailand, the Meteorological Department warned people in the south of the country to beware of heavy to very heavy rains and possible flash flooding and overflows from Dec. 3-5.

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Climate Change

Malaysia and Thailand brace for second wave of heavy rain and possible flooding

Authorities say these have been the worst floods in decades, resulting in the death of at least 27 people across the two countries. 

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Malaysia and Thailand are facing a second wave of heavy rain and potential flooding this week, authorities said Monday following days of torrential rain that caused massive flooding in northern Malaysia and southern Thailand. 

Authorities say these have been the worst floods in decades, resulting in the death of at least 27 people across the two countries. 

Malaysia alone was forced to evacuate over 150,000 people on Sunday and rivers burst their banks and water levels steadily increased. 

By Monday, authorities said the immediate situation had improved in some areas and water levels had eased but weather experts warned that more rain and possible floods were forecast again for Wednesday. 

The northeastern state of Kelantan, which has been the worst hit, was also expected to face a fresh deluge from Wednesday, December 4.

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