Venezuela flooding death toll rises after three perish near Maracay
Reuters, 19 Oct 2022
Flooding in Venezuela’s central Aragua state killed at least three people on Monday, adding to the death toll from weeks of intense rains, authorities said. A downpour on Monday afternoon caused a dam to overflow, causing a flood that carried rocks, trees and mud down a main road in El Castano, a suburb of the city of Maracay about 119 kilometers (74 miles) southwest of the capital Caracas.
Heating climate could increase risk of Arctic ‘virus spillover’
Al Jazeera, 19 Oct 2022
A warming climate could bring viruses in the Arctic into contact with new environments and hosts, increasing the risk of “viral spillover”, according to newly published research. Viruses need hosts like humans, animals, plants or fungi to replicate and spread, and occasionally they can jump to a new one that lacks immunity, as seen with the COVID-19 pandemic.
UK shows ‘alarming lack of progress’ in hitting vital 30×30 nature target
The Guardian, 19 Oct 2022
The UK will miss its key nature pledge to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 unless it scraps plans to deregulate environmental protections, a new report has warned. The UK is one of more than 100 countries committed to protecting “30×30” as a way to halt the destruction of the natural world. However, just 3.22% of land in England and 8% of the sea is being properly protected and managed for nature, according to the report from the environmental charities coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL).
Floods and warm weather perfect storm for Japanese encephalitis outbreak, researchers warn
The Guardian, 19 Oct 2022
Warming temperatures combined with flood waters could leave almost 750,000 Australians vulnerable to Japanese encephalitis – a disease that until last year was confined to Asia and far-northern Australia. The mosquito-borne disease was first detected on the Australian mainland in 1998 but its range expanded dramatically this year. Cases were reported in dozens of southern piggeries (pigs are one of the main carriers of the virus) and there were also 31 confirmed cases in humans and six deaths.
More than 80% of US waterways contaminated by ‘forever chemicals’
The Guardian, 18 Oct 2022
Most of America’s waterways are likely contaminated by toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, a new study conducted by US water keepers finds. The Waterkeeper Alliance analysis found detectable PFAS levels in 95 out of 114, or 83%, of waterways tested across 34 states and the District of Columbia, and frequently at levels that exceed federal and state limits.
Massive protest in Paris against inflation and climate crisis
Al Jazeera, 16 Oct 2022
Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Paris adding to growing defiance and anger about inflation, three weeks into a refinery strike that caused fuel shortages across France. The demonstration against the rising cost of living on Sunday was called by the left-wing political opposition and led by the head of the France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Melenchon.
