Archive for August 30th, 2024

30/08/2024

Half the World’s Countries Have Degraded Freshwater Systems

Human Wrongs Watch

By the United Nations Enviroment Programme (UNEP)*

Nairobi, 28 August 2024 In half the world’s countries one or more types of freshwater ecosystems are degraded, including rivers, lakes and aquifers. River flow has significantly decreased, surface water bodies are shrinking or being lost, ambient water is growing more polluted, and water management is off-track.

These are some of the findings of three reports tracking progress on freshwater, published today by UN-Water and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

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30/08/2024

What Is Sea Level Rise and Why Does It Matter to Our Future?

Human Wrongs Watch

By Daniel Dickinson

()* — The level of the sea globally is rising faster and higher than ever before, creating what the United Nations has described as an “urgent and escalating threat” to people around the world.

Children in the Pacific Ocean island of Tuvalu play at a coastal area protected by sandbags.

© UNICEF/Lasse Bak Mejlvang | Children in the Pacific Ocean island of Tuvalu play at a coastal area protected by sandbags.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been visiting the Pacific Ocean nations, Tonga and Samoa, where sea level rise has been one of the key issues he has been discussing with the communities he has met.

On 25 September, global leaders and experts will gather at the UN to discuss how best to address the threat.

Here’s what you need to know about sea level rise:

30/08/2024

Floods, Landslides Wreak Havoc across South Asia

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Over 18 million people in Bangladesh have been affected by severe monsoon conditions, with more than 1.2 million families trapped as flash floods submerge vast areas of the country’s east and southeast.

Flood-affected residents construct makeshift bamboo rafts to navigate submerged streets in Feni district, southeast Bangladesh.
© UNICEF/Salahuddin Ahmed Paulash | Flood-affected residents construct makeshift bamboo rafts to navigate submerged streets in Feni district, southeast Bangladesh.
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The worst affected regions are Chattogram and Sylhet, where major rivers are “flowing well above danger levels”, further aggravating the situation, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
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Initial estimates suggest that around five million people – including two million children – have been affected, many stranded without food and relief.