Sri
Lankan authorities are urging hundreds of thousands of people
displaced by flooding not to return to their homes -- warning of more
landslides. About 180 people have been killed since monsoon rains
struck on Friday
Bangladesh
raises highest danger warning as cyclone takes aim
Bangladesh
raised its storm danger signal to the highest level of 10 on Monday
as a severe and intensifying cyclone churned toward its low-lying
coast and was expected to make landfall in the early hours of
Tuesday.
Impoverished
Bangladesh, hit by cyclones every year, warned that some coastal
areas were "likely to be inundated by a storm surge of four to
five feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters)" above normal because of
approaching Cyclone Mora.
The
Disaster Ministry ordered authorities to evacuate people from the
coast, the ministry's additional secretary, Golam Mostafa, told
reporters in Dhaka. About 10 million of Bangladesh's population of
160 million live in coastal areas.
River
ferries had suspended operations and fishing boats called in to
safety.
"Maritime
ports of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar have been advised to lower
danger signal number seven but instead hoist great danger signal
number ten (repeat) ten," a government weather bulletin said.
"The
coastal districts of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Noakhali, Laxmipur,
Feni, Chandpur and their offshore islands ... will come under danger
signal number ten (repeat) ten."
Bangladesh
is hit by storms, many of them devastating, every year. Half a
million people had their lives disrupted in coastal areas such as
Barisal and Chittagong in May last year.
It
is still recovering from flash floods that hit the northeast,
affecting millions of people, in April. Rice prices have reached
record highs and state reserves are at 10-year lows in the wake of
flooding that wiped out around 700,000 tonnes of rice.
The
cyclone formed after monsoon rains triggered floods and landslides in
neighboring Sri Lanka, off India's southern tip, which have killed at
least 177 people in recent days, authorities said, with 24 killed in
storms in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, either by lightning
strikes or under collapsed village huts.
India
warned of heavy rain in the northeastern states of Tripura, Mizoram,
Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh as Mora moved further up the
Bay of Bengal.
RUBBER
AND TEA PLANTATIONS HIT
Floods
reached roof level and cut off access to many rural Sri Lankan
villages, disrupting life for 557,500 people, many of them workers on
rubber plantations, officials said. Nearly 75,000 people had been
forced out of their homes.
Villagers
in Agalawatte, in a key rubber-growing area 74 km (46 miles)
southeast of the capital, Colombo, said they were losing hope of
water levels falling soon after the heaviest rain since 2003.
Fifty-three villagers died and 58 were missing.
"All
access to our village is cut off. A landslide took place inside the
village and several houses are buried," Mohomed Abdulla, 46,
told Reuters.
Some
areas in the southern coastal district of Galle, popular with foreign
tourists, have not received relief due to lack of access.
"My
entire village is cut off and nobody can come to this village,"
C.M. Chandrapla, 54, told Reuters by phone from the tourist village
of Neluwa.
"There
have been no supplies for the past two days. Water has gone above
three-storey buildings and people survive by running to higher
ground."
Sri
Lanka's flood survivors threatened by dengue, disease: aid workers
The
Sri Lankan military has sent in helicopters and boats in rescue
efforts in the most widespread disaster since the 2004 Boxing Day
tsunami. About 100 people were missing in total.
The
meteorology department forecast torrential rains over the next 36
hours.
Residents
in seven densely populated districts in the south and center of Sri
Lanka were asked to move away from unstable slopes in case of further
landslides.
The
wettest time of the year in Sri Lanka's south is usually during the
southern monsoon, from May to September. The island also receives
heavy rains in the North West monsoonal season from November to
February.
Reuters
witnessed some people stranded on the upper floors of their homes.
Civilians and relief officials in boats distributed food, water and
other relief items.
One
of the worst-hit areas was the southern coastal district of Matara
which is home to black tea plantations. Rohan Pethiyagod, head of the
Tea Board in the world's largest exporter of top quality teas, said
supplies would be disrupted for the next auction due to a lack of
transportation.
Sri
Lanka has already appealed for international assistance from the
United Nations and neighboring countries.
Sri Lankan authorities are urging hundreds of thousands of people displaced by flooding not to return to their homes -- warning of more landslides. About 180 people have been killed since monsoon rains struck on Friday
Mercury rising: India records its highest temperature ever
India
recorded its highest-ever temperature on Thursday when the heat in
the town of Phalodi, in the western state of Rajasthan, shot up to a
burning 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
It
was the second day in a row the town experienced temperatures in
excess of 50 degrees Celsius.
Other
towns in the state, such as Churu, also recorded highs of about 50
degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) the same day.
In
New Delhi, the capital, the temperature reached nearly 47 degrees
Celsius on Wednesday.
The
previous temperature record in India was held by Alwar, also in
Rajasthan, at 50.6 degrees Celsius (123.1 Fahrenheit) in 1956.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest
temperature ever was recorded at 56.7 degrees Celsius (134 degrees
Fahrenheit) in Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913.
Rajasthan,
home to the Thar desert, typically records the highest temperatures
in India. Temperatures can soar as a result of incoming western winds
from hot areas.
Red alert issued
The
IMD has issued a red-level alert for Rajasthan as well as for other
states like Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, where temperatures,
despite not having crossed the 50-degree mark, are higher than
average.
India
has recorded higher than normal temperatures throughout 2016.
Many
areas are experiencing severe heat waves and state
governments estimate more than 370 people killed so far.
India
recorded its highest ever temperature on Thursday, in Phalodi,
Rajasthan, where numbers shot up to a burning 51 degrees Celsius
(123.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
This
comes on the back of a searing 2015, when more than 2,500 died in the
summer. 2015's high casualty rate has led to India's National
Disaster Management Authority coordinating with states on heat wave
action plans to spread awareness and establish preventative measures.
Double
whammy of heat wave and drought
The
heat wave has also coincided with another major environmental
problem: drought.
After
two successive below-average monsoons in 2014 and 2015, ground water
levels have receded, impacting many rural Indians who rely on ground
wells for drinking water.
The
western Indian state of Maharashtra is one of the worst impacted,
with the state government organizing emergency 'water trains' to
bring daily supplies to villages.
The
double whammy of heat and drought has led to accidents and
fatalities.
On
Monday, five men died in the northern state of Haryana when they
attempted to restore a well that had fallen into disuse.
Authorities
say the men were killed when they inhaled poisonous gas trapped in
the well.
India's
meteorological department says the heat wave will continue into next
week. Many schools across the country have been operating on
shortened days.
The monsoons are expected
to hit India in June, bringing much-needed rain and relief. The 2016
monsoons are forecast to bring an above-average amount of rainfall.
Unrelated
to the annual monsoons, large parts of Sri Lanka and now southern
India have beenlashed
this week by
rains caused by a tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal.
Pakistan’s
hottest day recorded in Turbat
Citizens
of Turbat sweltered through the hottest day recorded in Pakistan’s
history, as the mercury shot up to 53.5°C on Sunday.
The
temperature equalled the one measured on May 27, 2010 in Mohenjo Daro
which broke a 12-year record – 53°C in Larkana on May 31, 1998.
According
to a senior meteorologist at the Met Department, the previous highest
temperature recorded in Turbat was 52°C on May 30, 2009. He said the
temperature in Turbat kept fluctuating between 50°C and 52°C over
the past few days, but peaked on Sunday.
He
predicted that the current heat wave would persist across the country
for the next three to four days in interior Sindh, southern Punjab
and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Weather
in these parts of the country is expected to remain very hot and dry,
he said.
“Pakistan
is under the influence of extreme climate change and over the past
few years, we have witnessed several extreme weather events,” he
said. Last month’s heat wave broke old temperature records for the
month of April in many cities, he added.
According
to data compiled by the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the
temperature in Sukkur on April 16 was recorded at 47°C. The previous
highest temperature recorded in April was 46.5°C on April 25, 2000.
Meanwhile, temperatures in Larkana, Sibi, Dera Ismail Khan and
Faisalabad broke decades-old records for April, according to the Met
Department’s data.
Dehydration,
gastro cases surge as city grapples with heat
“However
pre-monsoon is expected to start in Pakistan in the second week of
June, which will help bring the temperature down,” said the
meteorologist.
The
Met Department earlier published a temperature reading of 54°C for
Turbat on Sunday – which, if true, would have been one of the
highest ever temperature readings recorded in the world.
The
current record is 56.7°C, recorded in Death Valley, US on June 10,
1913, though some scientists believe that this number is questionable
for various reasons. The next highest and most reliable is 53.9°C
which was also recorded in Death Valley on five occasions – July
20, 1960, July 18, 1998, July 20, 2005, July 7, 2007, and June 30,
2013.
A
figure of 54°C was also recorded at the Mitribah weather station in
Kuwait on July 21, 2016, while Basra, Iraq recorded 53.9°C the very
next day. The readings are currently being investigated by the World
Meteorological Organisation.
No
concrete proposals presented on climate change
At
one point, the record was believed to be 57.8°C, recorded on
September 13, 1922 in Azizya, Libya, but this was discredited by the
World Meteorological Organisation
At least 13 people have died, and over 150 have been hospitalized, including 22 children, when a severe thunderstorm hit the Russian capital Monday, health officials say.
13 Muscovites have lost their lives, with over 400 trees toppled, and more than 150 people seeking medical help, including 22 children, after what Russians are calling a ‘hurricane’ or in Russian ‘ураган’. Reports say that electrical cables were damaged as Moscow was lashed with high winds, hail and torrential rain.
The
winds of up to 110 km/h (70 mph) were described by meteorologists as
extremely rare for the city, and caused structural damage to
buildings.
Over
19 million people from 100 countries were forced to relocate in 2014
due to the effects of natural disasters including drought, soil
degradation, typhoons, cyclones, and other extreme weather events,
according to the Internal
Displacement Monitoring Centre 2015 Report.
The International Organization for Migration has estimated that by
2050, there will be as many as 200
million climate migrants globally.
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