Archive for August 20th, 2023

20/08/2023

Despite Growing Risks, Humanitarians Uphold Commitment to Serve #NoMatterWhat

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Conflict and insecurity in countries such as South Sudan and its neighbour to the north are set to make 2023 another year of high death tolls and and injuries for aid workers in the field, the UN warned on Thursday []. 

Displaced people fleeing the crisis in Sudan arrive in Renk, South Sudan.
© UNOCHA/Iramaku Vundru Wilfred | Displaced people fleeing the crisis in Sudan arrive in Renk, South Sudan.

The grim forecast comes ahead of World Humanitarian Day, commemorated annually on 19 August.

Since the start of the year, 62 aid workers have been killed, 84 have been wounded and 34 kidnapped, the UN said, citing provisional data from the independent research organization Humanitarian Outcomes. Last year, the death toll reached 116.

South Sudan remains the most dangerous place to be a humanitarian. Forty attacks and 22 fatalities have been reported there as of 16 August.

read more »

20/08/2023

Scorching ‘New Normal’ as World Buckles under Extreme Heat: World Meteorological Organization

(UN News)* — Heatwaves sweeping large parts of the world offer yet another reminder that extreme weather events boosted by human-induced climate change have become “the new normal”, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Friday [].

Rising sea levels are threatening the future of low-lying islands in the South-West Pacific.
© WMO/João Murteira | Rising sea levels are threatening the future of low-lying islands in the South-West Pacific.

Weather agency Spokesperson Clare Nullis said that heat warnings have been issued by many weather services across Europe this week, including in France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, parts of the Middle East were expected to see temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius in the coming days, and Japan was experiencing a “prolonged” heatwave which shattered temperature records.

read more »