extreme weather

Dateline Geneva Podcast (Cover)
United Nations

UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva: Climate warning, Afghanistan, Burundi, Yemen

16 September 2021
UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva

In this week’s show, an appeal for support for Afghanistan’s people from António Guterres, who also warns that we’re at a “tipping point” for climate action; we also hear from the fifth and final Commission of Inquiry report on Burundi – it’s still talking of crimes against humanity…. And an interview with UN-appointed independent human rights expert Dr Ardi Imseis, on Yemen’s unrelenting conflict and its impact on the country’s most vulnerable people.

Audio -
15'19"
A woman walks in Badakhshan, a province located in the farthest north-eastern part of Afghanistan.
Unsplash/Joel Heard

News in Brief 3 September 2021

3 September 2021
News in Brief
  • Afghanistan: ‘major’ crisis looming, UNHCR warns
  • Clean air improvements from COVID lockdowns confirmed: WMO
  • Iran must halt execution of Kurdish prisoner, rights experts urge
Audio -
3'41"
A woman walks through water in an area affected by flooding in East Jakarta, Indonesia.
© UNICEF/Arimacs Wilander

News in Brief 1 September 2021

1 September 2021
News in Brief
  • Mu COVID-19 variant tracking latest: WHO
  • ILO: More than 4 billion people still lack social safety net
  • Climate hazards increased over past 50 years, UN agencies warn
Audio -
3'18"
A wildfire burns in a national park in Oregon, USA.
Unsplash/Marcus Kauffman

News in Brief 12 August 2021

12 August 2021
News in Brief
  • UN weather agency WMO seeks to confirm 48.8C ‘record’ heat spike in Sicily
  • Afghanistan seeks spike in people fleeing amid Taliban advance
  • 3 new COVID-19 drugs picked for latest #Solidarity trials: WHO
Audio -
4'11"
A firefighter battles a wildfire. (file)
Unsplash/Fabian Jones

UN weather agency seeks to confirm 48.8°C ‘record’ heat spike in Sicily

12 August 2021
Climate and Environment

UN weather experts said on Thursday that they’re “actively looking” into a possible record temperature for Continental Europe of 48.8 Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit) near the town of Syracuse in Sicily, amid devastating wildfires in Mediterranean countries and Russia.

The aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Barbuda.
UNDP/Michael Atwood

Climate change affects everyone, but we can still hold back global warming: IPCC report

9 August 2021
Interviews

As preparations gear up for this November’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the leading scientific body responsible for assessing the latest evidence on climate change says human activity is “indisputably” to blame.

Jonathan Lynn, Spokesperson for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told UN News’s Daniel Johnson, that there is a chance that by limiting greenhouse gas emissions, we can slow down sea level rise and significantly slow global warming.

Audio -
7'2"
Rescuers pull villagers from flood waters in Xingyang city in China's Henan Province.
China Fire and Rescue

Water-related hazards dominate list of 10 most destructive disasters

23 July 2021
Climate and Environment

Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing global climate, water-related hazards top the list of natural disasters with the highest human losses in the past 50 years, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Emergency workers rescue an elderly person in Xuchang, in China's Henan Province.
China Fire and Rescue

News in Brief 21 July 2021

21 July 2021
News in Brief
  • Flood-hit China region saw a year’s worth of rain in under a week: WMO
  • Liverpool’s historic waterfront removed from UNESCO World Heritage List
  • WHO chief backs Tokyo Olympic Games’ ‘power to inspire’
Audio -
2'55"
Street scenes in Havana, Cuba (File)
Unsplash/Jennifer Chen

News in Brief 16 July 2021

16 July 2021
News in Brief
  • Cuba: Bachelet calls for release of detained protesters, urges dialogue
  • Deadly flooding in Europe and heatwaves highlight need for climate action: WMO
  • DRCongo’s Beni city attacked for first time in 2 years: UNHCR
Audio -
3'45"
Floods have affected cities across Europe, including Zurich in Switzerland.
Unsplash/Claudio Schwarz

Deadly flooding, heatwaves in Europe, highlight urgency of climate action

16 July 2021
Climate and Environment

Heavy rainfall that has triggered deadly and catastrophic flooding in several western European countries, is just the latest indicator that all nations need to do more to hold back climate change-induced disasters, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.