7 January 2025 (UNEP)* —In the unusually hot summer of 2016, a bacterium that causes anthrax killed more than 2,500 reindeer in Siberia’s remote Yamal Peninsula, according to one study.
Credit: AFP/Olivier Morin
Normally locked deep in a layer of permanently frozen land, or permafrost, the once-dormant pathogen eventually spread to humans, claiming the life of a 12-year-old boy and causing dozens of others to fall ill.
Some researchers believe the outbreak is a sign of things to come. As climate change rapidly warms the Artic, scientists say it could unleash a wave of potentially deadly microbes that for centuries have been trapped in ice.
(UN News)* — “We saw dead bodies scattered to the left and right, decomposing in the sun”, recounts Jonathan Dumont, Head of Emergency Communications at the World Food Programme (WFP). A veteran of conflict zones around the world, he says that the destruction and suffering he witnessed in Gaza is on a “different scale”.
Since the fierce bombardment of Gaza by Israel began in October 2023, in response to a deadly Hamas attack on the country, over 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, and over 100,000 injured.
The vast majority of Gazans, around 90 per cent, are internally displaced, forced to relocate several times to avoid airstrikes and fighting.
Text and graphics: Simon Randles | Research: Farah Bayadsi
“Look at the olives,” says Adlah Taha Abdallah Ali, 66, in the fields of her home village of Al Khadr, Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank. “See how they are dry … they did not get their share of water. Because of the high temperatures, there is not much oil in them.”
Adlah, like her fellow farmers across the region, is battling with the effects of a warming planet.
Geneva, 03 January 2025 (IOM)* – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply alarmed by the devastating impact of winter rains and freezing temperatures on displaced Palestinians in Gaza, adding to the unparalleled humanitarian catastrophe.
(UN News)* —Newborns and infants in Gaza have reportedly died of hypothermia, deaths described by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as preventable. The news comes amid continued Israeli bombardments and an expected further drop in temperatures.
In Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes are sheltering in tents, the temperatures are expected to drop further in the coming days.
Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, reported in a statement on Friday [] that, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, four newborns and infants died in recent days from hypothermia.
(UN News)* — Health challenges in northwest Syria have escalated due to harsh winter conditions, exacerbating the vulnerability of displaced populations, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)-led Health Cluster reported on Friday [].
It also cited rising cases of respiratory illnesses, compounded by inadequate heating, overcrowded camps and damaged infrastructure.
“There is continuous significant rise in influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), since the beginning of winter with subsequent rise in hospital visits and heightened public health concerns,” the Health Cluster said.
(UN News)* — Fresh details of the Israeli airstrike on Sana’a airport, which occurred as Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) was preparing to fly out of the country, have been provided by Julien Harneis, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen.
On 26 December, Israeli forces struck Sana’a International Airport, Red Sea ports and power stations. Tedros was at the airport when it was hit, along with Mr. Harneis and other members of a UN party negotiating the release of several UN workers held hostage by Ansar Allah, the de facto authorities in Sana’a.
Tedros and his colleagues were finally able to leave Yemen on Friday [].
(Jerusalem) –Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinian civilians in Gaza of adequate access to water since October 2023, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths and thus committing the crime against humanity of extermination and acts of genocide, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on 19 December 2024.
Israel’s Crime of Extermination, Acts of Genocide in Gaza
(UN News)* —The UN Secretary-General on Thursday [] condemned the deadly escalation between Yemen and Israel, following Israeli airstrikes that reportedly killed at least three people, injured dozens, and struck critical civilian infrastructure, including Sana’a International Airport.
The strikes targeted Sana’a International Airport, Red Sea ports, and power stations, injuring also a member of the UN Humanitarian Air Crew at the airport.
A high-level UN delegation, led by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was at the airport when the strikes occurred, following discussions on Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and the release of detained UN personnel.
As we near the end of another year of war and humanitarian crisis, UN News is highlighting the extraordinary work of staffers in the field who feed our story-telling efforts for global audiences.
UNRWA | UNRWA worker Louise Wateridge visiting a shelter in Nuseirat, Gaza (Nov 2024)
Our first UN News Champion is Louise Wateridge of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNWRA. Louise’s reporting and communications expertise has enriched our coverage and demonstrated why the UN matters to millions of beneficiaries around the world.
Credit: AFP/Olivier Morin
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