Connect with us

Politics

Spain Faces Historic Wildfires Amid Growing Climate Change Impact

Published

on

Spain Faces Historic Wildfires Amid Growing Climate Change Impact



The scorching, dry, and windy conditions this summer, which triggered Spain’s worst wildfires in at least 30 years, are now 40 times more likely to occur because of human-driven climate change, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution.

World Weather Attribution is an international collaboration that has conducted over 110 studies on the possible influence of climate change on extreme weather events.

Weather data analysed by a group of 13 scientists found that the extreme conditions that drove last month’s fires in the northwest of the Iberian peninsula, including Portugal, were likely to recur every 15 years due to today’s climate.

The climate is 1.3 degrees Celsius (34.3 Fahrenheit) warmer compared to pre-industrial levels when such events would be expected to occur every 500 years.

Forest fires ravaged more than 1 million hectares of land in the European Union this summer, with Spain and Portugal accounting for about two-thirds of that total.

The fires killed at least eight people, forced the evacuation of thousands and shut railway and motorway traffic in several areas.

They coincided with a 16-day heatwave that was the most intense since records began.

“Extreme weather is becoming more frequent, but deaths and damages are preventable,” said Theodore Keeping, a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Policy Imperial College London.

“For wildfires, there’s an urgent need to control vegetation in rural areas, particularly land that has been abandoned by farmers and shepherds,” he added. “Ultimately, though, the world needs to stop burning oil, gas and coal.”

Heatwaves of similar intensity will occur every 13 years compared to every 2,500 years if there was no man-made climate change, the study found.

The scientists analysed the ‘Daily Severity Rating’ (DSR), a metric that considers temperature, humidity, wind speed and rain to estimate the potential intensity of a wildfire and how difficult it will be to extinguish.

The study focused on the 10 most intense days of the DSR each year and the 10 hottest days each summer in northwestern Spain and northern Portugal.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics

Dubai introduces new public safety laws, fines up to AED2m

Published

on

Dubai introduces new public safety laws, fines up to AED2m


People walk on a promenade overlooking the skyline in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. — Reuters/File
People walk on a promenade overlooking the skyline in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. — Reuters/File 

DUBAI: Dubai has announced the implementation of a new public safety law introducing stricter regulations for public spaces and events, with fines ranging from AED500 ($136) to AED1 million ($272,000), authorities said.

Under the legislation, repeat violations within one year could result in fines of up to AED2 million, officials added.

The new law, which takes effect across the emirate on June 1, sets out enhanced safety requirements for public venues and gatherings.

The rules were issued by Dubai’s Ruler, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Dubai introduces new public safety laws, fines up to AED2m

According to the regulations, public venues and events must ensure safe entry and exit routes, adequate lighting, and capacity limits to prevent overcrowding.

Event organisers will be required to provide firefighting equipment, emergency evacuation plans, first aid facilities, and trained security personnel.

Compliance with safety instructions at public venues has been made mandatory.

The law also requires adherence to designated swimming times at beaches and prohibits access to restricted areas.

Possession of explosives or fireworks without a permit is banned, as is the use and transport of hazardous or flammable materials.





Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

India let Iran warship dock the day US sank another off Sri Lanka, say officials

Published

on

India let Iran warship dock the day US sank another off Sri Lanka, say officials


The Iranian military ship IRIS Lavan is docked at a port in Kochi, India, March 7, 2026. — Reuters
The Iranian military ship IRIS Lavan is docked at a port in Kochi, India, March 7, 2026. — Reuters

India has allowed an Iranian warship to dock as a humanitarian gesture, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday, after the US sank another Iranian navy vessel off neighbouring Sri Lanka.

The Lavan docked at India’s southern port of Kochi on Wednesday, the same day the US submarine struck Iranian navy frigate Dena, after an urgent request from Tehran, an Indian government source told Reuters.

US President Donald Trump has said destroying the Iranian navy is one aim of the war he and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic a week ago.

The Lavan – an amphibious landing vessel, according to the US Naval Institute’s online news site – and two other ships “were coming in for a fleet review and then they got, in a way, caught on the wrong side of the events,” Jaishankar told the annual Raisina Dialogue event.

“I think we really approached it from the point of view of humanity, of other than whatever the legal issues were,” he said. “I think we did the right thing.”

At least 87 people were killed in the US attack on the Dena in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, 19 nautical miles off the coast, outside its maritime boundaries.

India received the docking request for the Lavan on February 28, the day the Iran war started, the source said late on Friday, adding that the request “was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues”.

Its 183 crew members have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi, said the source, who asked not to be identified citing confidentiality.

The Dena was on its way back from a naval exercise organised by India, according to the drill’s website and Sri Lankan officials.

Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that they were escorting the Iranian naval ship Booshehr to a harbour on the eastern coast and moving most of its crew to a navy camp near Colombo.





Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Iran apologises to Gulf but strikes escalate, war surges across region

Published

on

Iran apologises to Gulf but strikes escalate, war surges across region


An explosion on Beiruts southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 6, 2026.— Reuters/File
An explosion on Beirut’s southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 6, 2026.— Reuters/File
  • Iran to suspend strikes on neighbours unless attacks from them.
  • Putin calls for immediate halt to Iran conflict.
  • Iran envoy says 1,332 Iranian civilians killed in war.

Israel and Iran traded attacks on Saturday as the war entered a second week, while the Islamic Republic made an unusual apology to neighbouring states for its “actions”, apparently seeking to calm regional anger at Iranian strikes on Gulf civilian targets.

“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, urging them not to join US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

He said Iran’s temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory.

Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a US air combat centre at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters could not independently verify that report.

Huge explosions were heard in several parts of the Iranian capital, state media reported.

Gulf states hit by drones and missiles

The US-Israeli war on Iran has already spilled beyond Iran’s borders, as Tehran has responded by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations and Israel has launched fresh attacks in Lebanon.

The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have all reported drone and missile attacks over the past week.

Gulf states voiced immediate outrage that their civilian infrastructure — hotels, ports and oil facilities — were struck despite their having had no part in the US-Israeli attacks.

How far Pezeshkian’s statement reflects a decision to back off by Iran, or if it should be read as a warning that Tehran remains ready to strike across the region, is not yet clear, with some strikes still reportedly directed at Gulf states on Saturday morning.

Iran had mended fences with its Gulf neighbours in recent years, including with former regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia — a diplomatic campaign that imploded as the Revolutionary Guards launched a blitz of drones and missiles over the past week.

No deal without surrender, says Trump

While Gulf states host US military bases, they had told Washington they would not allow these to be used for any attacks on Iran.

Iran’s apparent strategy of maximum chaos has driven up the costs of the conflict by raising energy prices, hurting global business and logistics links and shaking trust in the stability of a critical region for the world’s economy.

Pezeshkian’s remarks come as diplomatic prospects for an end to hostilities appear bleak, with US President Donald Trump demanding Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” he added.

The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.

Iranian attacks have killed 11 people in Israel, and at least six US service members have been killed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Pezeshkian over the numerous civilian casualties resulting from “the armed Israeli-American aggression against Iran” and called for an immediate halt to hostilities, the Kremlin said.





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending