US financier and philanthropist George Soros on Thursday pledged one billion dollars for a new university network project to battle the erosion of civil society in a world increasingly ruled by would-be and actual dictators and beset by climate change.
The past decade has been the hottest on record, the UN said on Wednesday warning that the higher temperatures were expected to fuel numerous extreme weather events in 2020 and beyond.
Last year was the warmest year on record for the world's oceans, part of a long-term warming trend, according to a study released on Monday. “If you look at the ocean heat content, 2019 is by far the hottest, 2018 is second, 2017 is third, 2015 is fourth, and then 2016 is fifth,” said Kevin E. Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, NCAR, and an author on the study.
Low tides have left canals in Venice almost dry, just two months after severe flooding left much of the Italian city under water. Boats have been seen almost beached as water levels dip drastically.
The number of fires in the Amazon rainforest grew 30.5% in 2019 from the previous year, according to data released by space research agency INPE. The agency said the number of fires detected in the Amazon region was 89,178 in 2019 compared with 68,345 fires in 2018.
More than a dozen cities and towns across Italy introduced traffic curbs on Wednesday in a bid to cut harmful emissions following a spike in pollution. A prolonged period of sunny weather with little rain or wind has pushed up air pollution across the country, triggering smog alerts in more than 60 municipalities.
Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg said on Monday that talking to US President Donald Trump at a United Nations summit on global warming would have been a waste of time since he would not have paid any attention.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her New Year's message she is fighting climate change with all her strength to enable future generations to live in peace and prosperity.
United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, issued a 2020 New Year’s message, where he explains the importance of the new generations to confront the raising problems that envolves “a warring world and a warming planet”. In front of the 75th anniversary of the UN, the message follows:
Thousands of firefighters were fortifying containment lines on Monday as temperatures were forecast to soar, increasing the danger of a fresh wave of bushfires across Australia's east coast. More than 100 fires remain ablaze in the region, and authorities warned conditions would worsen on Tuesday, when temperatures were predicted to top 40 degrees Celsius.