The devastating floods in Pakistan remain the focus of this weekend, with over 1,200 people killed and thousands displaced as nearly one-third of the country went under water. Meanwhile, in the US, California continues to be reeling under both the heat wave and wildfires.
Here are the top stories of this week
1. Aid pours into Pakistan; deaths from floods cross 1,200 mark
The death toll in Pakistan floods crossed 1,200 Friday as planes carrying relief material flew into Islamabad. So far, Pakistan has received aid from China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Uzbekistan, UAE. and some other countries, reported the news agency AP. This week, the United States also announced to provide $30 million worth of aid for the flood victims.
Right now, Pakistan is at the forefront of the climate crisis. pic.twitter.com/M0iIlMO0Be
The heavy flooding is said to be triggered by climate change, with the melting ice from Himalayas worsening the situation. Global warming is accelerating the loss of Himalayan glaciers much faster than scientists previously thought, destabilising a fragile system that’s helped regulate the earth’s atmosphere and key water cycles for millennia. The impact is most acute in Pakistan, reports news organisation Bloomberg. Read here.
2. An earthquake… during a talk about earthquakes
Two earthquakes hit Liechtenstein just as lawmakers in the tiny Alpine principality were debating the pros and cons of quake insurance. Lawmaker Bettina Petzold-Maehr had just warned that the chances of all Liechtenstein citizens being affected by an earthquake striking the country was high when the first small temblor hit shortly before 2 pm (1200GMT) Thursday.
You couldn’t make this up. An earthquake in Liechtenstein has interrupted a debate in Liechtenstein’s state parliament about…earthquakes. #Erdbeben #Liechtenstein #earthquake pic.twitter.com/zzObnJ4598
— Piebe-Guido van den Berg (@TeamSuomi) September 1, 2022
Petzold-Maehr laughed and continued until the second quake struck, visibly shaking the room. “This is getting a bit much, you never know if there’ll be aftershocks,” speaker Albert Frick said, announcing a 15-minute recess. (AP)
3. Hawaii quits coal in bid to fight climate change
The last bits of ash and greenhouse gases from Hawaii’s only remaining coal-fired power plant slipped into the environment this week when the state’s dirtiest source of electricity burned its final pieces of fuel. The last coal shipment arrived in the islands at the end of July, and the AES Corporation coal plant closed Thursday after 30 years in operation. The facility produced up to one-fifth of the electricity on Oahu — the most populous island in a state of nearly 1.5 million people.
Hawaii shut down its last coal-fired power plant as the state intends to transition entirely to renewable energy by 2045 https://t.co/f9i0tZcpqO pic.twitter.com/c1HRhLUWIK
“It really is about reducing greenhouse gases,” Hawaii Gov. David Ige said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And this coal facility is one of the largest emitters. Taking it offline means that we’ll stop the 1.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases that were emitted annually.” (AP)
4. Weavers recycle shopping bags to shield Spanish village from sun
The sun beats down on the narrow streets of the Spanish village of Valverde de la Vera, filtered through multi-coloured shades made out of plastic shopping bags and the remains of old advertising billboards.
A group of mostly elderly residents have got together to weave the panels out of recycled materials to decorate their home, protect their neighbours from the scorching heat and do their bit for the environment.
“We value the shade, especially because of the high temperatures that we have had this year, but also because … they were made by people from the village,” resident Marina Fernandez, a 41-year-old architect and designer, told Reuters. Weavers use knitting needles to wind the plastic into thin strips which are then made into shades and hung over the streets to shield people from the sun.
5. California wildfires prompt evacuations amid heat wave
California wildfires chewed through rural areas north of Los Angeles and east of San Diego, racing through bone-dry brush and prompting evacuations as the state sweltered under a heat wave that could last through Labor Day.
The Route Fire near Castaic in northwestern Los Angeles County raged through more than 8 square miles of hills containing scattered houses.
Traffic was snarled on Interstate 5, a major north-south route running through fire area. Containment was estimated at 12%. Media reports showed a wall of flames advancing uphill and smoke billowing thousands of feet into the air while aircraft dumped water from nearby Castaic Lake.
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