Environment

PANDEGLANG/SERANG, Indonesia, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of a deadly tsunami hitting Sunda Strait in western Indonesia has risen to 373, with 1,459 others injured, while rescue efforts have continued amid challenges from bad weather and damaged access.

Jakarta, Dec 24 (AFP) The death toll from a volcano-triggered tsunami in Indonesia has risen to 281, with more than 1,000 people injured, the national disaster agency said Monday, as the desperate search for survivors ramped up.

"The number of victims and damage will continue to rise," said agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the wave, which slammed into the coast of southern Sumatra and the western tip of Java about 9:30 pm (1430 GMT) on Saturday after a volcano known as the "child" of Krakatoa erupted.

KANPUR: Though Sisamau Nullah with a cost of 63 crore rupees has been tapped, the Ganges' biological water quality is yet not improved in every respect. It stays nearly on the same assessment which was done during the year 2014-15 and the year 2015-16 respectively.

This glaring fact has surfaced following a recent report presented by the Central Pollution Control Board. The analysis is in compliance with the apex court’s order.

KANPUR: 126-year-old Sisamau Nullah has been tapped. A report to this effect has been submitted to the Union minister Nitin Gadkari by Jal Nigam. This will make available clear water to the bathers at ghats viz., Rani Ghat, Bhairon Ghat, Magzine Ghat and Hospital Ghat. Informing of this step, V.V. Pant, district magistrate, said that whatever problems prevailed so far was removed now. The tapping report has already been sent to the state government.

18 Dec 2018; AFP: Losses from natural and man-made disasters are estimated to total $155 billion (136 billion euros) this year, down sharply from a hurricane-plagued 2017, the reinsurance giant Swiss Re said Tuesday.

The trio of hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma last year pushed losses to $350 billion, but Swiss Re noted that a "number of smaller and mid-sized events, alongside some major man-made disasters" in 2018 were still cause for serious concern.

16 Dec 2018; AFP: Nations on Sunday struck a deal to breathe life into the landmark 2015 Paris climate treaty after marathon UN talks that failed to match the ambition the world's most vulnerable countries need to avert dangerous global warming.

Delegates from nearly 200 states finalised a common rule book designed to deliver the Paris goals of limiting global temperature rises to well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit).

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California moved Friday to eliminate climate-changing fossil fuels from its fleet of 12,000 transit buses, enacting a first-in-the-nation mandate that will vastly increase the number of electric buses on the road.

The California Air Resources Board voted unanimously to require that all new buses be carbon-free by 2029. Environmental advocates project that the last buses emitting greenhouse gases will be phased out by 2040.

ATOWICE, Poland (AP) — The executive director of Greenpeace International says the U.S. delegation to the U.N. climate talks is putting itself in the way as the rest of the world is taking efforts to forge an agreement on fighting global warming.

Jennifer Morgan, speaking on the last scheduled day of the U.N. climate talks, said Friday that U.S. envoys were “certainly protecting representing the interests of The United States.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the government agency that monitors climate change says that in nearly two years he has never discussed the issue with President Donald Trump.

Acting National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Adm. Timothy Gallaudet said in a press conference at a scientific meeting this week, “I personally have not briefed the president on climate change.”

Gallaudet said he doesn’t know if others had briefed the president. He did note that he was in the room when Trump signed a bill aimed at keeping plastic trash out of the ocean.

KATOWICE, Poland (AP) — Germany is reluctant to host the 2019 U.N. climate talks after Brazil’s incoming right-wing government canceled its offer.

Deputy environment minister Jochen Flasbarth told reporters on the sidelines of this year’s meeting in Poland that Berlin has signaled to the United Nations it’s “not available for an event on the scale of last year.” He cited the increased costs of organizing the meeting at short notice.