The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
Major economies including the United States and China are considering setting a goal of halving world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 when they hold a summit in Italy next month, a draft document showed. The text also says the 17-member Major Economies Forum (MEF) will seek to double public investments …
Expressing grave concern over the delay in monsoon and insenstivity of the state government to provide power in rural areas, the state BJP has demanded that Uttar Pradesh be declared a drought-hit state. Former minister Surya Pratap Sahi, state general secretary Mahendra Singh and former state chief of Kisan Morcha …
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has demanded that the rich world compensate Africa for global warming and said pollution in the northern hemisphere may have caused his country's ruinous 1980s famines. A U.N. summit scheduled for December in Copenhagen will try to reach global agreement on how to tackle climate …
Manipur State Government departments have earmarked financial resources to tackle a possible drought-like situation in the State. The cost of combating drought is estimated at Rs 4.41 crore to be spent by the agriculture department while the minor irrigation department is expected to spend about Rs 1.5 crore. The agriculture …
Tens of thousands of mobile users in Bangladesh's flood and cyclone-prone areas will now receive advance warning of an impending natural disaster through an alert on their cell phones, a government official says. Bangladesh -- one of the world's most densely populated countries -- is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, …
The North East is staring at a probable drought this year as temperature remains high with a severe deficit of rainfall. Known to experience early and flash floods, the region this time has received scanty rainfall compared to other States of the country, with Meghalaya recording the highest deficit of …
The United States has been resisting European calls for industrialized nations to target an upper limit for global warming of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), according to a draft summit text. Two degrees is seen by the European Union and many developing countries as the threshold beyond which climate change …
It's wheat sowing season on Argentina's Pampas plains, but farmers are biding their time -- praying for rain and a government defeat in Sunday's mid-term election. Months of tax protests by farmers last year sparked broader discontent with center-left President Cristina Fernandez, who faces the biggest test of her turbulent …
IMPHAL, June 21: With the State of Manipur failing to receive sufficient rainfall compared to previous years, the disaster management under the Home Department of the state is all set to declare drought in the state. This decision was taken during a cabinet meeting Saturday evening. However, the cabinet, chaired …
The agriculture ministry is preparing a contingency plan to prevent food shortage---------- For the first time in 30 years, India stares at the probability of a drought, which threatens to worsen the already precarious food demand-supply balance and plunge the country into a deeper food security crisis. The agriculture ministry …
Tibet is facing the worst drought in 30 years which has affected 15.3 per cent of remote Plateau, damaging thousands of hectares and killing 13,601 head of cattle, authorities said on Saturday Nine meteorological centres in Tibet have not seen substantial rain for 226 consecutive days, Xinhua news agency quoted …
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made an unusual request Friday, asking President Obama to declare Fresno County a federal disaster area because of a three-year drought that is straining California
Climate change could lead to a rise in average summer temperatures in parts of Britain that is nearly double the level which the European Union and others say is dangerous, a study said on Thursday. The government-backed report warned that southeast England could see a 3.9 Celsius (7 Fahrenheit) rise …
Rapid rises in temperatures worldwide may overwhelm farmers' efforts to keep up, say experts who want funds to breed new crops and freeze heat-resistant strains bred over past centuries. A Stanford University study to be published on Friday estimates that African growing seasons for the continent's staple foods -- maize, …
Climate change has already caused "visible impacts" in the United States and poses particular risks to the U.S. agriculture and energy industries, a new government report said on Tuesday. The report, which lays out the effects of global warming on specific U.S. regions and sectors, calls for quick policy action …
