
-
Runners fly to North Korea for first post-Covid Pyongyang Marathon
-
Hamilton rubbishes claims he's lost faith in Ferrari
-
Nintendo Switch 2 sparks excitement despite high price
-
Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest
-
S Korea police raise security levels ahead of impeachment verdict
-
China vows 'countermeasures' to sweeping new US tariffs
-
Trump jolts allies, foes and markets with tariff blitz
-
France says EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs
-
Tsunoda vows to bring 'something different' after Red Bull promotion
-
Verstappen not happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull swap
-
Experts accuse 54 top Nicaragua officials of grave abuses
-
Remains of 30th victim of Los Angeles fires found
-
EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs: France
-
How Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs will impact China
-
Malaysia suspends search for long-missing flight MH370
-
Search for long-missing flight MH370 suspended: Malaysia minister
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
-
Lawson vows to prove he belongs in F1 after shock of Red Bull axing
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
Livestock theft is central to jihadist economy in west Africa
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Danish PM in 'unity' Greenland visit amid US takeover threats
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Lawson says ruthless Red Bull axing was 'tough to hear'
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Thunder roll on
-
Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Japan says US tariffs 'extremely regrettable', may break WTO rules
-
South Koreans anxious, angry as court to rule on impeached president
-
Juve at in-form Roma with Champions League in the balance
-
Injuries put undermanned Bayern's title bid to the test
-
Ovechkin scores 892nd goal -- three away from Gretzky's NHL record
-
Australian former rugby star Petaia signs for NFL's Chargers
-
China says opposes new US tariffs, vows 'countermeasures'
-
Athletics world watching as 'Grand Slam Track' prepares for launch
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Cavs top Knicks
-
Quake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit
-
New Spielberg, Nolan films teased at CinemaCon
-
Shaken NATO allies to meet Trump's top diplomat
-
Israel's Netanyahu arrives in Hungary, defying ICC warrant
-
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
-
Stocks tank, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Altomare hangs on to tie defending champ Korda at LPGA Match Play
-
Paraguay gold rush leaves tea producers bitter
-
Health concerns swirl as Bolivian city drowns in rubbish
-
Syria says deadly Israeli strikes a 'blatant violation'
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuits weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Europe riled, but plans cool-headed response to Trump's tariffs
-
'Shenmue' voted most influential video game ever in UK poll

How El Nino could impact health, food and the economy
The El Nino weather phenomenon is just warming up, according to scientists, potentially paving the way for higher temperatures and extreme weather events in a year that has already seen plenty of both.
The first El Nino in years began last month, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
The naturally occurring warming of temperatures in the Pacific Ocean typically lasts between nine to 12 months, and is expected become stronger towards the end of the year.
Scientists have warned the impacts of El Nino -- combined with human-induced global warming -- will likely stretch beyond the weather.
- Disease -
Vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, have been shown to expand their range as temperatures rise.
Scientists warned that El Nino, coming in addition to already dire global warming, could make the situation worse.
"We can see from previous El Ninos that we get increases and outbreaks of a wide range of vector-borne and other infectious diseases around the tropics, in the area that we know is most affected by El Nino," Madeleine Thomson, head of climate impacts at the Wellcome Trust charity, told journalists on Thursday.
The rise stems from two effects of El Nino: unusual rainfall that increases breeding sites for transmitters such as mosquitoes, and higher temperatures that speed up transmission rates of various infectious diseases.
An El Nino in 1998 was linked to a major malaria epidemic in the Kenyan Highlands.
– Health -
It is difficult to calculate exactly how much El Nino contributes to extreme weather events such as wildfires.
But heatwaves themselves pose a significant danger to health.
"It's sometimes named the silent killer because you don't necessarily see it as a threat," said Gregory Wellenius, head of a climate and health centre at Boston University.
"But heatwaves in fact kill more people than any other type of severe weather events."
More than 61,000 people are estimated to have died due to the heat in Europe alone last summer -- when there was no El Nino.
And July 2023 has now been confirmed as the hottest month in recorded history.
- Food security -
"In an El Nino year, there are countries where the chances of having a bad harvest increase, for example in South and Southeast Asia," said Walter Baethgen of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society.
Last month India, the largest rice exporter in the world, restricted its exports due to crop damage from irregular monsoon rains.
According to the researchers, such actions have the potential for dire consequences for countries dependent on the exports, such as Syria and Indonesia, that could face a "triple challenge" during El Nino.
"The rice harvest in those countries may be lower than normal, the rice trade may be more difficult or less accessible in the international market and because of that, the price of rice will be high," said Baethgen.
"This combination of factors pretty rapidly affects the food insecurity problems," he added.
- Economic growth -
The Panama Canal is central to global trade routes, but last week the passageway announced that low rainfall -- which meteorologists said was exacerbated by El Nino -- forced operators to restrict traffic, resulting in an expected $200 million drop in earnings.
The sidelined ships are just one example of how El Nino can hurt the global economy.
A study published in the journal Science in May estimated that past El Ninos cost the global economy more than $4 trillion in the years that followed them.
Impacts from both El Nino and global warming were "projected to cause $84 trillion in 21st-century economic losses", it said.
However researchers at Oxford Economics have argued against these projections, calling El Nino a "new risk, but not a gamechanger".
The costs may remain unclear, but the scientists hope the predictability of El Nino will improve preparedness for the challenges ahead posed by a warming world.
"Preparation is much more effective than emergency responses," Wellenius said.
L.Mason--AMWN