(UN News)*— Amplified by wildfires and desert dust fanned by climate change, more frequent heatwaves are leading to a sharp drop in air quality and human health, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a new report on Wednesday [].
UN News | In early June 2023, strong wind brought heavy smoke from wildfires in Canada to New York City.
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The news came as the UN chief released a strongly worded statement on a record summer of global warming in the northern hemisphere, according to the European Union’s climate service Copernicus and WMO.
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Earth has just experienced its hottest August on record – by a large margin – and the second hottest month ever after this July.
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Factoring in June, they represent the hottest three month period ever, the data indicates. The year overall is the second warmest on record behind 2016.
(UN News)* — Startling findings from a new UN data platform reveal that the marine dredging industry is extracting a staggering six billion tons of sand and sediment annually.
This is equivalent to over one million dump trucks every day – placing immense pressure on marine biodiversity and the well-being of coastal communities.
Geneva, 5 September 2023 (IOM)*– The number of people internally displaced has nearly doubled since the start of the conflict in Sudan according to the latest figures by the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM).
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People fleeing the ongoing fighting in Sudan arrive in Chad. Photo: IOM/F. Ada Affana
(UN News)* — Food assistance to two million people in Afghanistan will have to be cut later this month, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday [].
Forced to take the drastic measures citing a “massive funding shortfall”, WFP will only be able to provide emergency assistance to three million people per month across the country from October.
(UN News)* — An unprecedented number of migrants and refugees continue to cross the dense tropical jungle between Colombia and Panama known as the Darien Gap, risking their lives and facing horrific human rights abuses, the UN rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday [].
So far this year, more than 330,000 people have crossed the Darien Gap on their journey towards North America – the highest annual figure recorded to date, OHCHR said. One in five was a child.
(UN News)* — Members of the African diaspora continue to face immense challenges participating in public life in many countries, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said in a new report on Tuesday [].
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Unsplash | UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged States to “accelerate action towards meaningful, inclusive and safe participation for people of African descent in every aspect of public affairs”.
It details how systemic racism, marginalization and exclusion, rooted in the legacies of enslavement and colonialism, continue to have a negative effect on all aspects of life.
An eyewitness account of one community being pushed to the brink as the World Food Programme is forced to cut food assistance to 10 million people.
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WFP is cutting food assistance to 10 million people in Afghanistan including this community in Kabul. Photo: WFP/Hasib Hazinyar
The children stare at us, all curious. They are, by now, used to seeing World Food Programme (WFP) staff zipping in and out of the informal settlement they live in on the outskirts of Kabul, in white SUVs.
Only this mission is not to deliver food or sign anyone up for anything. It’s simply to place on the record how people are doing after we cut food assistance to them altogether.
(UN News)* — The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and 64 humanitarian and national civil society organisations on Monday [] appealed for $1 billion to provide essential aid and protection to more than 1.8 million people fleeing the ongoing conflict in Sudan who are expected to arrive in five neighbouring countries by the end of 2023.
Since the crisis began when rival military groups clashed in mid-April, projections of growing numbers of people trying to escape fighting have sharply spiked upwards.
“The crisis has triggered an urgent demand for humanitarian assistance, as those arriving in remote border areas find themselves in desperate circumstances due to inadequate services, poor infrastructure and limited access,” said Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR Regional Bureau Director for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes, and Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation.
In the mountainous province of Bukidnon in the southern Philippines, local indigenous groups are being forced to adapt to the alarming impacts of climate change. With UN support, communities are making significant strides, using centuries-old knowledge to forge sustainable solutions.
Local tribal leader Jemuel Perino discussed the success of local initiatives, supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Adaption Fund Climate Change Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA), in educating his community on effective prevention and mitigation techniques to deal with the growing impacts of climate change.
“The indigenous cultural communities have their own centuries-old knowledge, systems, and practices and have kept them alive,” Mr. Perino said. “In the Philippines, the Government is promoting their use in environmental protection and conservation.”
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim argues that Innovative global development finance ecosystems are needed to unlock equitable international financing flows while preserving the fiscal sovereignty of developing countries to pursue development pathways unique to their circumstances and realities.
A view of an artificial installed at Mon Choisy Beach to combat soil erosion and create resilience. The installation will break up the waves before they reach the shore and will also act as a habitat for fish. Credit: Reuben Pillay/Climate Visuals Countdown
PORT LOUIS, Sep 4 2023 (IPS)* – The Africa Climate Summit 2023 is expected to start with renewed hope. In its 60+ years of post-independence history, Africa has contributed around 3% of Green House Emissions, accounts for approximately 2.6% of global trade, and less than 3% of the world’s GDP in 2021.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 