In 2024, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded 393 natural hazard-related disasters. These events caused 16,753 fatalities and affected 167.2 million people. Economic losses totaled US$241.95 billion. The year 2024 was marked by extreme temperature events in Asia that caused thousands of deaths, severe droughts in Africa affecting over 25 …
One person has been confirmed dead and over 100 houses affected by another rainstorm on Sunday night in Daura, Katsina State, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. The incident, which left four people hospitalised, occurred after similar incident displaced over 600 people in the area. The latest disaster followed …
Allergies have hit a high ever since the dust storm in the national Capital added to the already polluted air. In the hot summer season, while extreme heat already causes discomfort to the people, conjunctivitis has spread massively among children and adults in Delhi. The communicable disease is an outcome …
As North India awaits its share of Southwest monsoon, do weather occurrences in the pre-monsoon period this year (unprecedentedly violent dust storms and thunderstorms) a forewarning of an impending ecological disaster in the region — the making of a “dust bowl”? Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General of the Centre for …
India remains the fastest growing economy in the world, a poll by Reuters said recently. The finding also found mention in Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s latest blog, where he lauded the ‘phenomenal 7.7 per cent growth rate.’ All this may be good news for Narendra Modi-led BJP government, but …
While the major air pollution threat in Delhi is from the tiny PM2.5 particles that get embedded in the lungs, during the summer, PM10 is the primary pollutant. For five days last week, a thick layer of dust hung over Delhi, keeping the air quality ‘severe’, the worst category in …
JAIPUR/ALWAR/KOTA: Dust storm followed by rains hit various parts of the state leaving two persons dead on Tuesday afternoon. However, rains turned weather pleasant in Jaipur as it brought respite from scorching heat. Sikar’s Srimadhopur town received hails. Jaipur sweltered at 41.2 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. When gusty winds …
The federal government has confirmed that eight people were killed in the aftermath of a windstorm on Saturday in Bauchi State. President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday. Mr Shehu also said the windstorm “destroyed an estimated 1505 houses mainly in the state capital.” …
In 2018 alone, there have been 50 severe storms across 16 Indian states that have led to more than 500 deaths, compared to 22 storms between 2003 and 2017 Dust storm Deadly dust storms sweeping over the densely-populated north Indian plains are part of a "new normal" of disruptive weather …
The air quality in the national Capital improved to 'moderate' on Monday after a week of high pollution levels caused by the dust storm in the western parts of the country. The Delhi government's environment minister Imran Hussain, in a review of ambient air quality on Monday, said the efforts …
The fact is that the storms of this year hold a mirror to our future Over 50 storms in 16 states of India have killed more than 500 people and destroyed acres of crops in two months — April to May this year. This is not normal. Or is this …
NEW DELHI: Winter pollution in the national capital region may be deadly, but summer doesn’t give much respite either. While dust storms from Rajasthan may have led to a sudden severe spike in particulate matter pollution in the capital on Wednesday, the Central Pollution Control Board recently released air-quality data …
The air quality levels in the national Capital remained in the 'severe' category for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. The PM 10 (coarser particles) levels at 981 units were eight times the safe standards while PM 2.5 (one of the major pollutants in Delhi-NCR) levels at 200 units were …
NEW DELHI: Delhi's air quality plunged into the "severe" category on Wednesday as dusty conditions continued for a second straight day, trapping the city under a blanket of heat and particulate matter. PM 10 levels shot up to over eight times the safe standard, levels last seen this winter. Track …
The commencement of rainy season every year in the life of any community is always heralded with joy, hopes and aspirations that the year would be of a tremendous benefit to the socio well-being of that community. This belief however at times make many communities to mark the beginning of …
Rapid loss of coral reefs around the world would double the annually expected damages from flooding, and triple the costs from frequent storms, a study has found. When coupled with sea level rise, flooding could quadruple, according to researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the US. The …
Rapid desertification, water depletion and "abnormal" Western Disturbances, coupled with cyclonic circulations, have contributed to a "spate of dust storms" in the country in the past few month, environmentalist Sunita Narain said today. In a Facebook Live event hosted this evening, she also said that these storms were becoming the …
Western disturbances (WDs) are upper-level synoptic-scale systems embedded in the subtropical westerly jet stream (STWJ), often associated with extreme rainfall events in north India and Pakistan during boreal winter. Here, a tracking algorithm is applied to the upper-tropospheric vorticity field for 37 years of ERA-Interim reanalysis data, giving a catalogue …
The main objectives of this report are to: assess the current state-of-the-art tools and operational practices in tropical cyclone and storm surge forecasting, assess existing operational practices at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) and regionally, and propose recommendations for improvements in the lead times of tropical cyclone forecasts for Bangladesh. …
The Cretaceous greenhouse climate was accompanied by major changes in Earth’s hydrological cycle, but seasonally resolved hydroclimatic reconstructions for this anomalously warm period are rare. We measured the δ18O and CO2 clumped isotope Δ47 of the seasonal growth bands in carbonate shells of the mollusc Villorita cyprinoides (Black Clam) growing …
The onset of hurricane season this week could prove disastrous for Caribbean nations that were slammed by storms last year and are still struggling to rebuild in the face of funding shortfalls, said regional leaders. Countries need to focus on preparing for increasingly ferocious storms rather than just reacting to …
