GENEVA: Heatwaves are expected to persist in a large part of the world throughout August, an adviser on extreme heat said on Friday (July 21), following on from record temperatures in recent weeks. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said earlier this week it expected temperatures in North America, Asia, North Africa and the Mediterranean to be above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) “for a prolonged number of days this week as the heatwave intensifies”. Senior Extreme Heat Advisor for the WMO John Nairn told Reuters,
We should expect or at least plan for these extreme heatwaves to continue through August.
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Southern Europe is grappling with a record-breaking heatwave during the peak summer tourist season, prompting the authorities to warn of an increased risk of health problems and even death. Extreme weather has also disrupted the lives of millions of Americans, with dangerous heat stretching from Southern California to the Deep South. Sweltering heat has also hit the Middle East. Mr. Nairn said climate change meant heatwaves would become more frequent and be spread across the seasons. Mr. Nairn said,
We’re on trend in seeing a rise in global temperatures that will contribute to heatwaves increasing in intensity and frequency. We’ve got quite clear indications that they’re already growing out into spring.
Some countries including the 27-member European Union are hoping all nations will agree at U.N. climate talks later this year to phase out the fossil fuel consumption that causes climate change. Countries with oil and gas resources have opposed the idea. Nairn said,
There is very strong evidence that if we were to eliminate fossil fuels, we would reduce a major contributor to what we are seeing. We can’t turn it around in a hurry, but we certainly can take action.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
