World

Tropical Phuket likely to be caught in center of next El Nino heat wave

Published

9 years ago

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Legacy Phuket Gazette

Tropical Phuket likely to be caught in center of next El Nino heat wave | Thaiger

PHUKET MEDIA WATCH

– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

2011 ninth warmest year in recorded history, NASA says

Phuket Gazette / News Wires

PHUKET: The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since at least 1880 [maybe earlier], according to NASA scientists on Thursday. Nine of the ten warmest years have occurred since the year 2000.

An updated analysis released by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis, shows temperatures around the globe in 2011 and compares them to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century.

The comparison shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago. The average temperature around the globe in 2011 was 0.92 degrees Fahrenheit (0.51 Celsius) warmer than the mid-20th century baseline.

GISS director James E. Hansen stated that the planet is currently absorbing more energy than it is emitting. As a result, people around the world are continuing to see a trend toward higher temperatures.

“Even with the cooling effects of a strong La Nina influence and low solar activity for the past several years, 2011 was one of the 10 warmest years on record,” Hansen said.

The difference between 2011 and the warmest year in the GISS record (2010) is 0.22 degrees Fahrenheit (0.12 Celsius). Because of the large natural variability of climate, scientists do not expect temperatures to rise consistently year after year. However, they do expect a continuing temperature rise over the coming decades.

Hansen said the first 11 years of the 21st century experienced notably higher temperatures compared to the middle and late 20th century. The only year from the 20th century which is in the top 10 warmest years is 1998.

Current higher temperatures are largely sustained by increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. These gases absorb infrared radiation emitted by the Earth and release that energy into the atmosphere rather than allowing it to escape into space. As their atmospheric concentration has increased, the amount of energy “trapped” by these gases has led to higher temperatures.

According to the NASA report, the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere was about 285 parts per million in 1880, when the GISS global temperature record begins. By 1960, the average concentration had risen to about 315 parts per million. Today it exceeds 390 parts per million and continues to rise at an accelerating pace.

In November 2011, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere had reached a new high in 2010, exceeding worst case scenarios which had been set in 2001.

Between 1990 and 2010, the WMO recorded a 29 percent increase in radiative forcing – the warming effect on our climate system – from greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide accounted for 80 percent of this increase, according to the WMO’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

“The atmospheric burden of greenhouse gases due to human activities has yet again reached record levels since pre-industrial time,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said in November. “Even if we managed to halt our greenhouse gas emissions today – and this is far from the case – they would continue to linger in the atmosphere for decades to come and so continue to affect the delicate balance of our living planet and our climate.”

According to the WMO, heat-trapping carbon dioxide concentrations are the single most important man-made greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, and 390 parts per million is the highest level since the start of the industrial era in 1750. The high concentrations of carbon dioxide are primarily because of emissions from combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation and changes in land-use.

In Thursday’s report, Hansen said he expects record-breaking global average temperatures during the next two to three years because solar activity is on the upswing and the next El Nino will increase tropical Pacific temperatures. The warmest years on record were 2005 and 2010, in a virtual tie.

“It’s always dangerous to make predictions about El Nino, but it’s safe to say we’ll see one in the next three years,” Hansen said. “It won’t take a very strong El Nino to push temperatures above 2010.”

— Phuket Gazette Editors

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News Categories: World

Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Grim milestone: 3 million Covid-19 deaths worldwide

Published

3 hours ago

Saturday, April 17, 2021

Neill Fronde

Grim milestone: 3 million Covid-19 deaths worldwide | Thaiger

PHOTO: 3 million Covid-19 deaths recorded around the world.

Today marks a grim milestone as the Covid-19 pandemic has officially caused 3 million deaths around the world, and outbreaks are still surging. Over a year into the pandemic, and we are currently seeing over 700,000 new infections and 12,000 deaths per day, with Brazil, India, and France facing growing crises. The 3 million figure reflects official numbers, though many suspect that real totals are much higher, pointing at government cover-ups and early deaths that were not attributed to Covid-19 when the virus was still in its infancy. Still, the official number is overwhelming enough – equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine, or the state of Arkansas in the US, and larger than world cities like Lisbon, Caracas, Dubai, Manchester or Chicago. Imagine nearly one-third of the people in Bangkok wiped out, or the entire nation of Armenia or Jamaica.

The World Health Organisation laments the dire condition of the world dealing with the pandemic after 16 months and so many opportunities to prevent the spread with basic safety precautions. Brazil has spiralled out of control, racking up 3,000 deaths a day, nearly 25% of all the Covid-19 deaths in the world in the past few weeks. New variants have been spreading like wildfire throughout Brazil as more dangerous strains have wriggled their way into countries around the world.

In India, the distribution of vaccines has been thwarted by swelling Covid-19 outbreaks and deaths. In New Dehli, 13,000 infections were reported in a day amongst the 29 million residents, but the city only has 178 ventilators available as of Wednesday. Only 1.1% of the populations has been vaccinated, and officials faced criticism of their vaccine exports while so many need jabs domestically. But the UN’s Covax vaccination program, which delivers doses to poorer parts of the world was dependant on India, their biggest vaccine supplier. Covax has distributed about 40 million vaccines in over 100 countries so far, but this worsening situation may prevent shots from being received in up to 60 countries until June.

700 million vaccines have been distributed worldwide, but they have been shipped disproportionately to the wealthier populations throughout the world. In rich countries, 1 in 4 people have been vaccinated, while in poor countries that number is less than 1 in 500. In fact, 87% of the vaccines distributed worldwide have been to wealthy nations, and the delays in India due to increasing Covid-19 deaths will not help close that gap for many months to come.

SOURCE: Sky

Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Covid-19 vaccine CEOs say 3rd dose may be needed along with annual jabs

Published

1 day ago

Friday, April 16, 2021

Ann Carter

Covid-19 vaccine CEOs say 3rd dose may be needed along with annual jabs | Thaiger

Stock photo of Pfizer vaccine via Flickr

The CEO for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines says it is likely that people will need a 3^rd dose of the vaccine and to receive it annually. Albert Bourla, told CNBC, that the booster, or 3^rd dose, will be needed less than a year after being fully vaccinated.

“A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a 3rd dose, somewhere between 6 and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed. And again, the variants will play a key role. It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus.”

Bourla’s comment echoes that of Johnson & Johnson’s CEO when he stated in February, that people may need to get vaccinated against Covid-19 annually, just like seasonal flu shots. Both statements reflect the fact that since the vaccine is new, and testing periods are shorter than most vaccines in the past, researchers are still unclear about how long the vaccine will protect against the virus.

Pfizer says that its Covid-19 vaccine was more than 91% effective at protecting against the coronavirus and more than 95% effective against severe diseases up to 6 months after the 2nd dose. Moderna’s vaccine, which uses technology similar to Pfizer’s, was also shown to be highly effective at 6 months.

Just yesterday, the Biden administration’s Covid response chief science officer, David Kessler, noted that new Covid variants could “challenge” the effectiveness of the shots.

“We don’t know everything at this moment. We are studying the durability of the antibody response. It seems strong but there is some waning of that and no doubt the variants challenge … they make these vaccines work harder. So I think for planning purposes, planning purposes only, I think we should expect that we may have to boost.”

Late last month, the National Institute of Health started testing a new Covid vaccine from Moderna in addition to the one it already has, designed to protect against a problematic variant first found in South Africa. The variant is similar to that of the UK one that has recently made landfall in Thailand.

Recent findings, by The Lancet, however, have stated that the UK variant, known as B117, has a higher reproductive rate than other strains, and it’s more transmissible. However, it refuted earlier reports that the strain is more severe. Meanwhile, Thailand’s health minister is confirming his commitment to making AstraZeneca the nation’s chosen vaccine.

SOURCE: CNBC

Economy

China grows 18.3%, the only major economy to grow in 2020

Published

1 day ago

Friday, April 16, 2021

Neill Fronde

China grows 18.3%, the only major economy to grow in 2020 | Thaiger

PHOTO: China - the second largest economy, and only major economy to grow last year.

China’s economy set a record for growth in Q1, 2021, marking an 18.3% jump in year-on-year figures, the biggest quarterly growth in almost 30 years. China only started publishing growth statistics in 1992, and this drastic increase is the fastest growth recorded since then.

The figures, however impressive, are mainly due to what is called a “low base effect” where the change from a low starting point translates into big percentage statistics. Because of the devastating economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Q1 2020 figures were dismal, allowing the big gain over the last year.

Quarter to quarter, the last 3 months saw only a 0.6% growth, but in the last quarter of 2020 China recorded an economic boom of 6.5% according to the Chinese government. Still, the figures are admirable, as China was the only major economy in the world to achieve growth in 2020. Most of the planet struggled to contain global Covid-19 outbreaks, crippling economies across the globe. But China, now the second-largest economy in the world, managed a 2.3% overall expansion. Even Chinese officials called the impressive statistics “better than we had expected.”

China has been growing in terms of imports and exports as well, with exports expanding nearly 31% and imports up 38% by price over last years.

SOURCE: CNN