DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

[1/4] Smoke rises as a wildfire burns at Dadia National Park in the region of Evros, Greece, August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis Acquire Licensing RightsATHENS, Aug 29 (Reuters) - A wildfire burning in northeastern Greece for 11 days has destroyed an area larger than New York City, the European Union-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Tuesday, as firefighters from five countries battled to contain the flames. New York City takes up 778.2 square kilometres (300.5 square miles). Panagiota Maragou, head of conservation at the Greece division of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said at least 30% of the National Park of Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest had been lost to flames. Thanks to its high biodiversity, the national park was "one of the most important protected areas in Greece and also in Europe, perhaps also on an international scale", she said.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Copernicus, Jiri Nemcik, Maragou, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, We've, Karolina Tagaris, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Twitter, Emergency Management Service, New York City, . Aircraft, World Wildlife Fund, of, Thomson Locations: Evros, Greece, New York City, Alexandroupolis, New York, Serbia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Albania, Czech, Soufli, Europe, Athens, Turkey

☆ Greece battles Europe's deadliest fire of the summer for 10th day
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] View of a burned forest following a wildfire, near the village of Avantas in the region of Evros, Greece, August 28, 2023. The fire which began near the city of Alexandroupolis has raged uncontrolled in northeastern Greece's Evros region, turbocharged by near-gale force winds and high temperatures. All but one of the victims killed so far were irregular migrants hiding in the forest. Scores of people have had to flee their homes across Greece as hundreds of wildfires erupted across the country in the second major fire outbreak of this summer. In July, some 20,000 foreign tourists were evacuated from the island of Rhodes where a wildfire burned resorts and hotels.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Pavlos Marinakis, Marinakis, Karolina Tagaris, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Copernicus, Service, Civil, Thomson Locations: Avantas, Evros, Greece, Alexandroupolis, Greece's Evros, Athens, Rhodes

☆ Campaigners threaten EU with legal action over climate policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The EU law in question is one of more than a dozen policies designed to reduce the bloc's net emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels. That is one of the most ambitious climate targets of any major economy, but the campaigners want it lifted to 65%. The European Commission is examining the request, a spokesperson said. "The Commission does not consider this implementing decision to be in breach of fundamental rights," the spokesperson added, referring to the EU law. All EU countries have approved the collective 55% emissions target, which is fixed into law.

Persons: Andreas Linsbauer, Andrea Millhaeusler, Arnd, Romain Didi, Didi, Kate Abnett, William Maclean, Devika Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Environmental, European Commission, Union, EU, Reuters, European, Thomson Locations: Pontresina, Switzerland, Europe, Brussels, EU, Paris

CNN —A mountain guide found the body of a man believed to have died more than 20 years ago on a glacier in Austria, police announced on Tuesday. The guide discovered the body on Friday on East Tyrol’s Schlatenkees glacier at an altitude of approximately 2,900 meters (9,500 feet) and notified police, who recovered it by helicopter. Police added that the man is believed to have had an accident on the glacier in 2001 and was traveling with ski touring equipment. Cash, a bank card and a driver’s license were found inside a nearby backpack belonging to the man, whom police tentatively identified as a 37-year-old Austrian. The Schlatenkees glacier, where the latest body was found, retreated by an unprecedented 60-100 meters (197-328 feet) between 2019 and 2022, according to Greenpeace.

Persons: Lindsey Nicholson, ” Nicholson Organizations: CNN, Police, University of Innsbruck, Greenpeace Locations: Austria, Switzerland

☆ Return to Office, Ending Work From Home May Make Climate Crisis Worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Whether mandatory return-to-office policies will make the climate crisis worse is an important question, especially as scientists predict that 2023 will be the hottest year on record. But determining whether working from an office is worse for the planet isn't that simple. Failing to find a balance between boosting productivity at the office and protecting the planet risks making the crisis worse. Even though the study only covered the early part of the pandemic, it illustrated how a shift away from office work can have some positive effects for the planet. "There was no clear answer to whether work from home was better or worse for the environment in general terms."

Persons: Rachel, it's, JPMorgan Chase, James Elfer, Elfer, It's, Ty Colman, Colman, Ralf Martin, Martin, teleworking, Megan Litke, We've, Litke, Efler, Operta's Colman, JPMorgan Chase —, Apple, Tony Johnson, Schneider, Johnson, That's, she's, Catherine Boudreau Organizations: Amazon, Google, JPMorgan, Fortune, Employees, Greenhouse, International Energy Agency, IEA, Imperial College Business School, American University, Energy, Target, Dell, Apple, Schneider Locations: , Maryland, Greater London, London, Washington , DC, Williams, Sonoma, North America

☆ After the Maui Fires, Hawaii Will Reinvent Itself Once Again - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Lawrence Downes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The disaster that erased the beloved West Maui town of Lahaina this week comes with the bitter taste of bewilderment. Brush fires met high winds whipped by a far-off hurricane, and overnight a historic town was gone, a pile of smoke and ashes. Living in Hawaii long enough gives you a familiarity with sudden catastrophes, the kind that can obliterate a community in a week, a day or an instant. Drought on Maui turned the grass into ready fuel and heightened the risk of wildfires, and then a hurricane brushed by. And when wildfires swept over Maui and the Big Island, it was a brutal reminder that Hawaii needs to be a serious climate leader, to nurture and spread the environmental consciousness that too many other states lack.

Persons: Brush Organizations: Lahaina Locations: West Maui, Lahaina, Hawaii, Maui

☆ After Lahaina, Hawaii Will Reinvent Itself Once Again - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Lawrence Downes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The disaster that erased the beloved West Maui town of Lahaina this week comes with the bitter taste of bewilderment. Brush fires met high winds whipped by a far-off hurricane, and overnight a historic town was gone, a pile of smoke and ashes. Living in Hawaii long enough gives you a familiarity with sudden catastrophes, the kind that can obliterate a community in a week, a day or an instant. We may not get a definitive verdict on whether Lahaina died for humanity’s environmental sins, but we know that climate change is making Hawaii hotter and drier and that invasive grasses have been allowed to run rampant. Drought on Maui turned the grass into ready fuel and heightened the risk of wildfires, and then a hurricane brushed by.

Persons: Brush Organizations: Lahaina Locations: West Maui, Lahaina, Hawaii, Maui

July was Earth’s hottest month on record, surpassing the global monthly average temperature record set in July 2019, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European Union-funded scientific agency. Deadly heat blanketed parts of North America, Asia and Europe as wildfires blazed in Greece and Canada, hitting economies. Water shortages and high humidity affected parts of the Middle East. Residents in China contended with both extreme flooding and a heat wave as the country set a new national temperature record. All this came on the heels of the world’s hottest June on record.

Organizations: Residents Locations: Union, North America, Asia, Europe, Greece, Canada, East, China

☆ July hit a crucial warming threshold that scientists have warned the world should stay under
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Copernicus scientists say it’s the first summer month that has surpassed 1.5 degrees, offering a glimpse of future summers. Scientists are particularly concerned that global temperature will stay above 1.5 degrees for the long term. Before that, the other months that have been 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times have occurred during winter or early spring. “The year-to-date average is still below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and we find it unlikely that the rest of 2023 will be warm enough to bring the whole year average above 1.5,” he said. Copernicus scientists noted that as El Niño continues to develop, the world may witness more of these unprecedented temperature breaches.

Persons: Rebecca Emerton, Copernicus, Emerton, “ We’ve, ” Emerton, Robert Rohde, ” Rohde, Rohde, “, ”, El Niño Organizations: CNN, Berkeley, Northern Locations: Paris

☆ It’s official: Scientists confirm July was the hottest month ever recorded
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Global air and ocean temperatures soared to a record high in July, according to the EU's climate change service Copernicus, deepening concern among climate scientists at a time when a spate of heat records suggest the planet has entered uncharted territory. The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said Tuesday that the global average surface air temperature in July was confirmed to be the highest on record for any month. July was found to be a whopping 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the average for the 1850-1900 period and 0.33 degrees Celsius warmer than the previous warmest month of July 2019. Meanwhile, global average sea surface temperatures continued to rise in July, the EU's climate monitor said, after a long period of unusually high temperatures stretching back to April. For the month as a whole, the planet's average sea surface temperature was 0.51 degrees Celsius above the 1991 to 2020 average.

Persons: Copernicus, Samantha Burgess, C3S Organizations: South Locations: Europe, North Africa, East, Asia

☆ Extreme heat is the deadliest natural disaster. FEMA can’t treat it like one
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Extreme heat is far deadlier than other natural disasters, killing on average more than twice as many people each year as hurricanes and tornadoes combined, according to data tracked by the National Weather Service. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego recently told Biden the city’s extreme heat is a “long-term emergency.” But it can’t get FEMA federal assistance unless Congress amends the Stafford Act – something some Western lawmakers are pushing for. “Just because we don’t necessarily have the authorities right now in the Stafford Act, that doesn’t mean we’re sitting idly by,” Criswell said. “Right now, FEMA doesn’t treat extreme heat in the same way as it does other disasters because it can’t,” Juanita Constible, senior climate and health advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council, told CNN. “Adding it to that official list from Congress would clarify FEMA’s role in addressing heat,” Keith said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kate Gallego, Biden, Ladd Keith, Deanne Criswell, ” Criswell, ” Juanita Constible, Gallego, Stafford, “, ” Gallego, –, Ruben Gallego, hasn’t, ” Keith, Keith, Constible, ” Constible, there’s, ” Organizations: CNN, National Weather Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, Phoenix, University of Arizona, “, Washington Post, Natural Resources Defense Council, Democratic Rep, Rep, Department of Labor Locations: Stafford, Chicago, Pacific, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Arizona, Maricopa County, Phoenix, San Antonio

☆ Global ocean temperatures are now hotter than ever — with far-reaching consequences for the planet
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Joseph Prezioso | Afp | Getty ImagesThe world's ocean temperatures have climbed to their hottest level on record, according to data from the European Union's climate monitor, prompting scientists to warn of immediate and wide-ranging consequences for the planet. The surface temperature of the world's oceans would typically be expected to reach their highest in March rather than in August, sparking alarm among climate scientists. "The recent ocean warming is genuinely concerning," said Rowan Sutton, professor of climate science at the University of Reading. Sutton said that the latest sea surface temperature data showed that "we may be experiencing not just a record-breaking extreme event but a record-shattering one." The ocean heat record comes as part of a recent trend of extreme heat stretching across the globe, with this July poised to be recognized as the hottest month in history.

Persons: Joseph Prezioso, Copernicus, Rowan Sutton, Sutton Organizations: Afp, Getty, University of Reading Locations: Key West , Florida, Martin County , Florida

☆ Climate change puts sovereigns at downgrade risk, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Rising debt costs would be just one extra facet of the overall economic damage which climate change is already causing. While developing nations with lower credit scores are seen hit hardest by the physical effects of climate change, nations with the highest ranking credit scores were likely to face more severe downgrades simply because they have furthest to fall. The findings come as regulators around the world seek to better understand just how much damage to economies and the global financial system to expect from climate change. A European Central Bank paper last year urged greater clarity in how those risks were being built into credit ratings. S&P Global Ratings has published the environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles used in its credit ratings which include reference to the risk of economic damage from climate change and the costs associated with mitigating it.

Persons: Heatwaves, Patrycja Klusak, Klusak, Fitch, Mark John, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Management, University of East Anglia, UEA, University of Cambridge, Insurance, Allianz, Cambridge, Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Paris, China, India, United States, Canada, Cambridge

☆ Canada guarantees up to $2.2 billion in fresh loans to Trans Mountain expansion project
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Kinder Morgan Inc FollowAug 5 (Reuters) - A Canadian government agency has guaranteed fresh commercial loans of up to C$3 billion ($2.2 billion) to the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project that has suffered repeated cost overruns. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government bought the Trans Mountain pipeline in 2018 from Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) to ensure the expansion project got built and provided a C$10 billion loan guarantee to TMC. It is meant to unlock Asian markets for Canadian oil, which is mostly exported to the United States now. TMC had received a up to C$3 billion loan guarantee between late March and early May this year and had received a C$10 billion loan guarantee in 2022 from the federal government. Canada's finance ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the fresh loan guarantee.

Persons: Justin Trudeau's, Chrystia Freeland, Anirudh, Alistair Bell Organizations: Kinder Morgan, Canadian, Export Development Canada, Justin Trudeau's Liberal, Kinder Morgan Inc, TMC, Finance, Liberal, Thomson Locations: United States, Burnaby , British Columbia, Bengaluru

☆ Canada govt body guarantees up to $2.2 bln fresh loan to Trans Mountain expansion project
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It is meant to unlock Asian markets for Canadian oil, which is mostly exported to the United States now. Critics have also slammed the ownership of a pipeline project by the Liberal government, which they argue runs counter to Trudeau's ambitious climate goals. TMC had received a up to C$3 billion loan guarantee between late March and early May this year and had received a C$10 billion loan guarantee in 2022 from the federal government. Canada's finance ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the fresh loan guarantee. In June, a finance ministry spokesperson said the loan guarantee was "common practice" and did not reflect any new public spending.

☆ Oceans temperatures soared to the highest level on record this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

But what’s clear, she said, is “that current sea surface temperatures are exceptionally and unseasonably warm” and bringing wide-ranging implications, “especially for complex ecosystems such as coral reefs.”Gregory C. Johnson, an oceanographer at NOAA, said sea surface temperatures have soared this year. Surface temperatures tend to remain high from August through to September before starting to decline, said Johnson. “There’s still room to have warmer sea surface temperatures” this year. In the Florida Keys, a marine heat wave has pushed ocean temperatures to record-breaking, “hot tub” levels, leaving multiple coral reefs now completely bleached or dead. Some scientists are concerned that the ocean temperature records set this year could mark the start of an alarming trend for ocean heat.

Persons: El Niño, Kaitlin Naughten, Copernicus, ”, Gregory C, Johnson, “ There’s, –, Samantha Burgess, “ We’ve, ” Johnson Organizations: CNN, Antarctic Survey, Oceanic, NOAA, North Atlantic, Ireland Locations: Florida, North, North Atlantic

☆ Opinion: The Donald Trump and Hunter Biden surprises
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

So it was remarkable Wednesday when the deal for Hunter Biden to plead guilty to two misdemeanors for his failure to pay taxes on time fell apart in a federal courtroom after the judge raised questions about it. Special counsel Jack Smith unexpectedly added a major allegation to the indictment charging former President Donald Trump with mishandling classified documents. The Trump and Hunter Biden developments underlined how America’s political climate is being shaped by what happens in the courts. This addition, an alleged surveillance tape conspiracy, almost reads like a spy novel.”“It features Trump employee and co-defendant Walt Nauta’s surprise clandestine trip to Florida. To W. James Antle III, it was the Hunter Biden plea deal snafu that brought to the forefront the “powerful split screen that drives” how Republican voters see the emerging 2024 presidential race.

Persons: Robert Burns, beasties, ”, Burns, aren’t, Hunter Biden, Jack Smith, Donald Trump, ” Smith, Trump, Dana Summers, Norman Eisen, Walt Nauta’s, Nauta, De Oliveira, De Oliveria, ’, ” Eisen, James Antle III, Hunter, Joe Biden’s, Maryellen Noreika, ” “ Noreika, couldn’t, Joe Biden, wasn’t, ” Bill Bramhall, Mitch McConnell, Sen, Dianne Feinstein, Julian Zelizer, “, ” “, Walt Handelsman, Elon Musk’s, Twitter “, Bill Carter, it’s, … Musk, —, Musk, ” Carter, Bill McGuire, ” McGuire, Mark Wolfe, Cassandra Lovejoy, Clay Jones, David Grusch, Jason Colavito, Colavito, Barbara Lee, Abigail E, Moore, ” Lee, Michael Bociurkiw, Odesa, Vladimir Putin’s, ” Bociurkiw, “ Handshakes, ” Netanyahu Israel’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Frida Ghitis, Netanyahu, Drew Sheneman, Peniel, Joseph, Kamala Harris, Sophia A, Nicole Hemmer, Patrick T, Brown, David J, Skorton, Frank R, Lisa Benson, Barbie, Dean Obeidallah, ‘, GOP Sen, Ted Cruz, Mattel, Barbie —, Greta Gerwig’s, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling —, ” Obeidallah, Taylor Swift Taylor Swift, Swift, Barbra Streisand, Margaret H, Willison, O’Connor Sinéad O'Connor, Andrew Chin, Sinéad O’Connor, Sarah Gundle, Taylor, Sinead O’Connor’s, ” Don’t, Lawrence, Kara Alaimo, Jill Filipovic, Jeff Pearlman, He’s, Catherine Steenkeste, David A, Andelman, Mort Rosenblum, who’s, he’s, ” We’ll Organizations: CNN, Mar, Trump, Justice Department, Fox, Republicans, GOP, of Justice, New York Daily, Times, Twitter, SpaceX, World Meteorological Organization, University College London, Pentagon, “, Disney, Supreme, Agency, Education, African, Trinity, Warner Bros, Warner Bros ., Billboard, Machine, Vogue Theatre, International Herald Tribune Locations: Scottish, Florida, Bedminster, New, California, Rhodes, Corfu, Evia, Europe, United States, Odesa, Miami, York, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Israel’s, North America, Vancouver, Canada, White, Paris, Seine, gunpoint, ”

☆ Melting ice reveals remains of climber lost on glacier 37 years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Nadine Schmidt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Berlin CNN —The remains of a German mountain climber who went missing 37 years ago while hiking along a glacier near Switzerland’s iconic Matterhorn have been recovered, as melting glaciers lead to the re-emergence of bodies and objects thought to be long lost. “DNA analysis enabled the identification of a mountain climber who had been missing since 1986,” police said in a statement. The discovery of the remains of the German climber comes as scientists revealed earlier this week that this month is on track to be the planet’s hottest in around 120,000 years. All glaciers are melting very fast and receding across the European Alps,” Nicholson said. “Some regions of the world are much more dependent on the glacier mountains than we are here – in some cases they are much more vulnerable than the Alps,” Nicholson added.

Persons: “, Lindsey Nicholson, ” Nicholson, ‘ Organizations: Berlin CNN, ” Police, Valais Hospital, Police, University of Innsbruck, CNN, Reuters Locations: Zermatt, Valais, German, Austria

[1/2] A motorist rides past a hoarding decorated with flowers to welcome G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi, India, March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File photoCHENNAI, India/BRUSSELS, July 28 (Reuters) - The Group of 20 (G20) major nations failed on Friday to agree on concrete targets to cut dangerous emissions, releasing only a statement that dismissed current measures to address climate change as "insufficient". Members could not agree on depleting carbon budgets, historical emissions, net-zero goals and the issue of financing to support developing countries, the document showed. China and oil-rich Saudi Arabia backed away from making commitments in the G20 talks, members of a European delegation said. The EU's Environment Commissioner said the G20 countries were "nowhere" on their commitments to address climate change.

Persons: Amit Dave, Virginijus Sinkevicius, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Aftab Ahmed, Kate Abnett, John Stonestreet, Angus MacSwan, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, United Arab Emirates, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, CHENNAI, BRUSSELS, North America, Europe, China, Indian, Chennai, Saudi Arabia, Delhi, Brussels

REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File PhotoSummaryCompanies Breaks previous record set in July 2019, by 0.2CHeatwaves searing Europe, North America and ChinaEarth may not have been this hot in 120,000 years - studyJuly 27 (Reuters) - July 2023 is set to upend previous heat benchmarks, U.N. Secretary-general António Guterres said on Thursday after scientists said it was on track to be the world's hottest month on record. Short of a mini-Ice Age over the next days, July 2023 will shatter records across the board," Guterres said in New York. It is statistically robust," said Piers Forster, a climate scientist at Leeds University in Britain. July is traditionally the hottest month of the year, and the EU said it did not project August would surpass the record set this month. However, scientists expect 2023 or 2024 will end up as the hottest year in the record books, surpassing 2016.

Persons: Guglielmo Mangiapane, 0.2C, António Guterres, Guterres, Karsten Haustein, Michael Mann, Haustein, Piers Forster, Friederike Otto, El Nino, “, Gloria Dickie, Ali Withers, David Stanway, Mark Heinrich, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Meteorological Organization, WMO, Germany's Leipzig University, University of Pennsylvania, Southern, Leeds University, Grantham Institute, El Nino, El, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, Europe, North America, China, New York, Rhodes, U.S, Leipzig, Britain, U.S ., California, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Sicily, Florida, Australia, South Korea, Japan, India, Pakistan, London, Pacific, EU, London , Ontario, Copenhagen, Singapore

☆ July 2023 is planet's hottest month on record, Copernicus reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

We have just lived through the hottest three-week-period on record – and almost certainly in more than a hundred thousand years. “These are the hottest temperatures in human history,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director at Copernicus. Remo Casilli/ReutersThe news that July will be the hottest month comes amid a slew of alarming records that have already been broken – and then broken again – this summer. Last month was the hottest June on record by a “substantial margin,” according to Copernicus. On July 6, the global average temperature rose to 17.08 degrees Celsius (62.74 Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus data, beating the previous temperature record of 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 Fahrenheit) set in August 2016.

Persons: Copernicus, ”, Samantha Burgess, Ronda Churchill, Carlo Buontempo, it’s, Burgess, El, Remo Casilli, we’ve, Fethi Belaid, Kim Cobb, ” Petteri Taalas Organizations: CNN, World Meteorological Organization, Visitor, Popolo, Getty, Brown University, WMO Locations: , California, AFP, Asia, US, China, Europe, Rome, Melloula, Tunisia

☆ July is set to be the hottest month on record
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Photo: Christoph Reichwein/dpaJuly is set to be the hottest month on record. The first three weeks of July have been the hottest three-week period on record, according to a joint statement published by the Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization. This month's record-breaking heat surpasses July 2019, the previous hottest month, and comes on the heels of June setting the record for the hottest June ever. Anthropogenic emissions are ultimately the main driver of these rising temperatures," Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a statement published alongside the announcement. This month has included heat waves that have baked much of North America, Asia and Europe, and wildfires that are ravaging Canada and Greece, Copernicus and the WMO said.

Persons: Christoph Reichwein, Copernicus, It's, Carlo Buontempo, El, Taalas Organizations: World Meteorological Organization, United, El, WMO, El Nino Locations: Greece, Gennadi, Rhodes, Corfu, North America, Asia, Europe, Canada

☆ Secretary of State Antony Blinken says US is 'working to put some stability' into relationship with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Kaanita Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that the US is attempting to strengthen “lines of communication” with China to avoid conflict between the two superpowers. “We are working to put some stability into the relationship, to put a floor under the relationship, to make sure that the competition that we’re in doesn’t veer into conflict,” Blinken told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday. His visit was followed by similar trips by other high-level Biden administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and US climate envoy John Kerry. “I was very clear with my Chinese counterparts,” Blinken told Zakaria, referring to his trip last month. CNN previously reported that one of the key issues that did not get resolved during Blinken’s trip was the restoration of military-to-military communications between US and China.

Persons: Antony Blinken, ” Blinken, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, “, Joe Biden, Biden, Janet Yellen, John Kerry, ”, Blinken, Zakaria, Li Shangfu, Li, Lloyd Austin, “ We’ve, Vladimir, Putin Organizations: CNN, Aspen Security, US, Chinese Defense, China’s Equipment Development Department Locations: China, doesn’t, Colorado, Beijing, Moscow, American, Singapore, Ukraine, Russia

☆ China and the US are talking -- but can they work together?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Beijing views Washington as bent on suppressing its development and global rise, while Washington has proclaimed the need to protect its national security and the world order from an increasingly authoritarian and assertive China. Washington last year imposed sweeping curbs on exports of critical technology to China in the name of security, and Beijing has responded with export controls of its own. China has refused US overtures to restore those ties, apparently until Washington removes sanctions against its defense minister Li Shangfu. US climate envoy John Kerry during a meeting with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in the Great Hall of the People on July 18, 2023 in Beijing, China. But all this doesn’t mean there’s no room to work together, according to Shanghai-based international relations scholar Shen Dingli.

Persons: Nancy Pelosi, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, John Kerry, Li Qiang, Wang Yi, –, ”, Chong Ja Ian, “, Suisheng Zhao, Kerry, Wang, ” Yellen, Li, Li Shangfu, Shi Yinhong, Florence Lo, Shen Dingli, ” Shen, Shen, Blinken, ” Blinken, Xi, Qin Gang, Yun Sun, Chong Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Washington, US, Treasury, National University of Singapore, US Air Force, Air Force, South Carolina . U.S . Air Force, Department of Defense, Reuters, Center for, Cooperation, University of Denver, China’s Communist Party, Renmin University, of, CNN, ”, Economic Cooperation, Foreign, China Program, Stimson, “ Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, Ukraine, United States, China, Taiwan, Bali, —, South Carolina . U.S, Washington, Center for China, South, Shanghai, Asia, Singapore

The intense heat afflicting much of the United States is putting pressure on the nation’s power grid. The agency is predicting unusually high temperatures in most of the country next month, almost everywhere except the northern Great Plains. Late Thursday, the operator of California’s power grid issued an emergency alert urging people to conserve electricity, as high temperatures put unusual strain on the system. In Phoenix, the temperature hit 116 degrees on Thursday, extending the city’s record streak to 21 straight days with temperatures of 110 degrees or higher. The first two weeks of July were likely the Earth’s warmest on record for any time of year, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Organizations: Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration Locations: United States, China, Europe, India, Great Plains, Phoenix

Search resuls for: "US Climate"

25 mentions found