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How climate change fuels extreme heat

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How climate change fuels extreme heat

Heatwaves across Asia and beyond have already broken records this year, while the arrival of the El Nino climate phenomenon will mean even more extreme temperatures.
Here AFP looks at how climate change produces extreme heat, how scientists evaluate heatwaves and the risks to human health:

What is extreme heat?

Extreme heat is defined from a baseline of the average temperature in any one location, which varies widely across the world.

So a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) could be record-breaking in parts of Canada in spring, but might be below average for the same period in the Middle East.

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What role does climate change play?

“Greenhouse gases trapping heat are at the root of the problem,” said Martin Jucker, a lecturer at the University of New South Wales’ Climate Change Research Centre. Gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide play a crucial role in stopping heat from being reflected or lost from our atmosphere.

When this process is balanced, it keeps the planet at a livable temperature.

But an unsustainable increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere means more heat is being trapped, creating an overall global warming effect and other climate anomalies. For example, warming air holds more moisture, which produces stronger and more frequent storms.

Overall, climate change is strengthening the duration, intensity and geographical reach of heatwaves, scientists say.

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What about human interventions?

The problem is made worse in some places by the way cities are built — the so-called heat island effect, where urban conglomerations are warmer than surrounding rural areas. This happens because cities with too little greenery and too much concrete, asphalt and other building materials absorb heat and often offer insufficient shade.

The use of cooling technologies like air conditioners creates surging demand for energy, including the fossil fuels that are behind the climate crisis in the first place.

Are all heatwaves linked to climate change?

To determine climate change’s role in any given event, experts use a technique called attribution science. They simulate a world with and without climate change, using historical and more recent measurements, or computer models.

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Comparing the two then “gives us a measure of how much more likely a given extreme is under climate change”, Jucker told AFP.

Findings for over 500 events have been collected by the organisation Carbon Brief, with most shown to have been made more severe or more likely because of climate change.

Just a handful, including some floods, droughts and extreme cold, have been found to have no clear link to human activity, while in other cases experts found the evidence inconclusive.

“Every heatwave in the world is now made stronger and more likely to happen because of human-caused climate change,” according to Friederike Otto, a scientist at Imperial College London and pioneer of attribution methodology.

How does extreme heat affect people?

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Exposure to higher-than-normal temperatures produces health problems ranging from heatstroke and dehydration to cardiovascular stress. Those with pre-existing heart conditions are especially vulnerable, as the body’s response to heat is to pump more blood to the skin to help with cooling.

Risk is also unevenly distributed, with the elderly and the unwell more vulnerable, and those who work outdoors or live in places without air conditioning more likely to suffer.

The deadliest heat combines soaring temperatures with high humidity — the moist air undermines the body’s ability to cool off by sweating.

In May, a study warned a fifth of the world’s population would be exposed to extreme and potentially life-threatening heat by the end of the century on our current climate track.

“For every 0.1C of warming above present levels, about 140 million more people will be exposed to dangerous heat,” the study published in Nature Sustainability warned.

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Estonia summons Russian embassy chief over GPS jamming

Estonia summons Russian embassy chief over GPS jamming

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Estonia summons Russian embassy chief over GPS jamming

Estonia’s foreign ministry has summoned the head of the Russian embassy in Tallinn to protest the jamming of GPS signals, the Baltic country said on Wednesday.

Estonia accuses neighbouring Russia of violating international regulations by disturbing GPS navigation in airspace above the Baltic states, echoing concerns from airlines that say they have contended with such interference for months.

The Estonian foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires to convey its message. Moscow and Tallinn last year expelled each other’s ambassadors as relations deteriorated in the wake of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Jamming the GPS signal is an element of Russia’s hybrid activities, disrupting everyday life and threatening the security of allies,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a statement.

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Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

GPS, short for Global Positioning System, is a network of satellites and receiving devices used for positioning, navigation and timing on Earth in everything from ships and planes to cars.

The jamming of GPS signals can be disruptive to commercial airliners but they can usually navigate by other means.

Finnish carrier Finnair last month said it would pause all flights to Tartu in Estonia to allow the local airport to upgrade its navigation system, which has so far relied only on GPS.

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Australia boosts funds to Taiwan-ally Tuvalu amid Pacific contest for influence with China

Australia boosts funds to Taiwan-ally Tuvalu amid Pacific contest for influence with China

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Australia boosts funds to Taiwan-ally Tuvalu amid Pacific contest for influence with China

Australia will quadruple its financial assistance to Tuvalu, a Pacific Island nation at risk from rising seas, to cement a landmark climate migration and security deal as China also courts small island states.

On a visit to Tuvalu, foreign minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday evening Australia has committed A$110 million ($72.27 million) in its national budget to Tuvalu.

The sum includes A$50 million ($32.85 million) to build the first undersea cable connecting the island’s residents to global telecommunications services, and A$19 million for a land reclamation project to fortify Tuvalu’s coastline from rising seas.

Another A$15 million will be spent on a national security coordination centre, as well as A$10 million in direct budget support.

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The funding is a significant boost on the A$17 million ($11.17 million) Australia provided to Tuvalu in 2023-24.

China’s ambitions for a greater security presence in the Pacific became an election issue in Tuvalu in January, as two leadership contenders said Tuvalu should consider switching ties from Taiwan to Beijing for more funds, and revise a new security pact with Australia.

Neighbour Nauru cut ties with Taiwan a fortnight before Tuvalu’s vote, after China built a port and promised more aid.

Tuvalu’s new prime minister Feleti Teo pledged to stick with Taiwan, and to ratify the Falepili Union signed with Australia in November. The treaty allows Tuvalu citizens to migrate to Australia for work or study, while recognising Tuvalu continues to exist despite the rising sea levels.

“Australia has provided a security guarantee to support Tuvalu in a humanitarian disaster, a pandemic or the event of attack,” Wong said in a speech on Wednesday evening.

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“It is also the first time in history that two nations have agreed in a legally binding instrument that statehood endures in the face of sea level rise,” she added.

The treaty allows Australia to vet Tuvalu’s deals with third countries in a broad range of security areas from ports to telecommunications.

On Thursday, Wong and Teo are expected to say that the security cooperation does not limit Tuvalu’s ability to enter into diplomatic agreements with other nations, according to an advance copy of a joint statement viewed by Reuters.

“We recognise that the people of Tuvalu deserve the choice to live, study and work elsewhere, as climate change impacts intensify at home,” the text of the statement reads.

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Probe launched after Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without front landing gear

Probe launched after Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without front landing gear

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Probe launched after Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without front landing gear

A FedEx Airlines Boeing cargo plane landed at Istanbul Airport on Wednesday without its front landing gear, a Turkish Transport Ministry official said, adding there were no casualties and authorities had launched an investigation.

The aircraft, flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, informed the control tower in Istanbul that its landing gear had failed to open and touched down with guidance from the tower, managing to remain on the runway, a ministry statement said.

Airport rescue and fire fighting teams were scrambled before landing, but no one was injured. The ministry gave no reason for the failure.

The aircraft involved is a nearly 10-year-old Boeing 767 freighter, one of the most common cargo planes and based on the 767 passenger model dating back to the 1980s.

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An official from Turkey’s transport ministry said its teams were conducting examinations at the scene as part of the ongoing investigation, but did not provide further details.

Boeing referred queries to FedEX, which said in a statement it was coordinating with investigation authorities and would “provide additional information as it is available”.

Video footage obtained by Reuters showed sparks flying and some smoke as the front of the plane scraped along the runway before coming to a halt and being doused with firefighting foam. No fire appeared to have broken out.

The video showed the pilots holding the plane’s nose above the runway for several seconds after the main wheels had touched the ground, apparently executing the emergency drill for landing with a retracted nose gear that pilots train for, according to the SKYbrary aviation database.

In June last year, a small 22-year-old Boeing 717 flown by Delta Airlines made a similar smooth landing without a nose gear in Charlotte, North Carolina, in an incident later blamed on a fractured component.

The runway was temporarily closed to air traffic, but other runways at Istanbul airport were still operating normally, the airport operator IGA said.

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Manufacturers are not typically involved in the operation or maintenance of jets once they enter service, but Boeing has been under intense media and regulatory scrutiny following a series of incidents on its smaller 737.

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