World's Largest Iceberg A23a Breaks Free, Drifts In The Southern Ocean

LONDON, Dec 16: After being grounded for over 30 years, the world's largest iceberg, A23a, has started drifting in the Southern Ocean. This massive iceberg, which is roughly double the size of Greater London and weighs approximately one trillion tonnes, broke off from Antarctica's Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986. Since then, it had remained stuck on the seabed near the South Orkney Islands in the Weddell Sea until it began its slow movement northwards in 2020.

"It's exciting to see A23a on the move again after periods of being stuck. We are interested to see if it will take the same route the other large icebergs that have calved off Antarctica have taken. And more importantly what impact this will have on the local ecosystem," said Dr Andrew Meijers, who is an oceanographer with the British Antarctic Survey.

The journey of iceberg A23a has been marked by fascinating scientific events. A23a broke free from Antarctica in 1986 but got stuck in the Weddell Sea's bottom mud for 30 years. It remained a static "ice island" until 2020 when it finally began to drift again. Slowly at first, it then accelerated northward, moving towards warmer air and waters.

For several months, the iceberg was trapped in a rare oceanographic phenomenon known as a Taylor Column, where rotating water above a seamount held it in place. This unusual event caused A23a to spin in a single spot, delaying its expected rapid drift north.

As A23a continues on its journey, it is anticipated to follow the Antarctic Circumpolar Current into the Southern Ocean. This current is likely to drive the iceberg towards the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Once it reaches this region, A23a will encounter warmer waters, leading to its eventual break-up into smaller icebergs and subsequent melting.

Biogeochemist Laura Taylor, who was on board a research vessel, expressed hope that scientists would be able to study the impact of the massive iceberg A23a on the surrounding ecosystems as it melts and breaks apart.

"We know that these giant icebergs can provide nutrients to the waters they pass through, creating thriving ecosystems in otherwise less productive areas," Ms Taylor said.

"What we don't know is what difference particular icebergs, their scale, and their origins can make to that process. We took samples of ocean surface waters behind, immediately adjacent to, and ahead of the iceberg's route. They should help us determine what life could form around A23a and how it impacts carbon in the ocean and its balance with the atmosphere," she added.

South Korea’s capital sees heaviest November snow in 100 years

SEOUL, Nov 27: The heaviest snowfall for November in 117 years blanketed Seoul and the surrounding regions Wednesday, causing injuries, disrupting traffic and cutting off power supplies, as authorities are on high alert for more snow later this week.

As of 3 pm, the capital city had received 18 centimeters of snow, marking the biggest snowfall in November since modern weather observations began in 1907, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The new record coincided with the first snow of the season in Seoul.

The previous record was 12.4 cm set on November 28, 1972, the state weather agency said.

The city of Incheon, west of Seoul, also had record snowfall for November of 14.8 cm as of 3 pm, beating the previous record of 8 cm set in 1972, Yonhap news agency reported.

Suwon, south of Seoul, received 21 cm of snow as of 3 pm, the largest ever for any November precipitation, according to the KMA.

Snow and rain are forecast nationwide until Thursday morning, though the precipitation will continue into the afternoon in parts of Gangwon Province and North Gyeongsang Province, and until late Friday night in the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, and on Jeju Island.

The interior ministry had upgraded the operations of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to Level 2 and raised the heavy snow warning from “caution” to “alert.”

While standard measurements for the capital city are taken at the Seoul weather station in Jongno Ward, by district, Seongbuk Ward and Gangbuk Ward in the city’s north had received 20.6 cm and 20.4 cm of snow, respectively, as of 7 am Wednesday.

A heavy snow warning was issued in the northeastern districts of Seoul, including Nowon, Seongbuk and Dobong, according to the KMA and the Seoul metropolitan government. A warning is issued when snowfall reaches 20 cm within 24 hours.

Wealthy nations' finance goal 'too little, too distant': $300 billion climate deal an illusion, says India

BAKU, Nov 24: Negotiators at this year’s United Nations climate summit struck an agreement on Sunday here in Azerbaijan to triple the flow of money to help developing countries adopt cleaner energy and cope with the effects of climate change. Under the deal, wealthy nations pledged to reach $300 billion per year in support by 2035, up from a current target of $100 billion.

The pledged support is, however, less than one-fourth of the demand of $1.3 trillion per year.

Even as the deal was struck, India’s representative Chandni Raina raised objections to the adoption of the document. “I regret to say that this document is nothing more than an optical illusion. This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face. Therefore, we oppose the adoption of this document.”

It is not quite clear whether India’s opposition has been registered formally. According to the norm of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the final decision cannot be taken by the presidency unless all countries formally agree to it.

While expressing their reservation about the final decision, developing and least-developed countries agreed to accept it with the hope of pushing forward the agenda more strongly in future, particularly during the next COP in Brazil. Initially, these countries had insisted on at least $500 billion per year in climate finance support but the developed countries did not yield.

“The Donald Trump factor might have pushed the developing countries to accept the $300-billion annual target as they perhaps feared worse once Trump, a self-declared climate sceptic, takes over as US President next year,” an analyst said.

Experts point out that developing countries need at least $1.3 trillion to counter the ever-increasing climate change impacts. The UNFCCC text also requested developing countries to contribute voluntarily through South-South cooperation. In other words, India, China and other emerging economies were urged to support smaller climate-vulnerable countries in the region.

The final seven-page UNFCCC text on finance also mentioned the need for “all actors to work together to scale up funds to developing countries from public and private sources to $1.3 trillion per year by 2035.

“This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country,” said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UN Climate Change.

“But like any insurance policy, it only works if premiums are paid in full and on time. Promises must be kept to protect billions of lives,” Stiell said, hinting at the poor performance of the developed countries in paying the committed amount in the past.

“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work to do… so this is no time for victory laps,” Stiell added.

India was not allowed to issue a formal statement before the gavel was banged to declare the deal done.

“India does not accept the goal proposal in its present form. Developed countries taking the lead for a mobilisation goal of a mere sum of $300 billion and that too to be only reached by 2035, that’s almost 11 years later, and that too from a wide variety of sources,” India’s statement read.

The statement said that “the goal is too little, too distant, it is 2035, it is too far gone”.

Harjeet Singh, climate activist and global engagement director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said that developed countries “persistently ignore the desperate pleas for substantial increases in climate finance, a sum that should be in the trillions to effectively transition away from fossil fuels and shield vulnerable populations from climate impacts”.

He observed that “the flawed negotiation process at COP29, where rich countries presented their finance targets on the final negotiation day, forcing talks into overtime, has only deepened the rift”.

UN climate talks in disarray as developing nations stage walkout

BAKU, Nov 23: Negotiators from small island states and the least-developed nations have walked out of negotiations during overtime United Nations climate talks, saying their climate finance interests were being ignored.

Nerves frayed on Saturday as negotiators from rich and poor nations huddled in a room at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan to try to hash out an elusive deal on finance for developing countries to curb and adapt to climate change.

But the rough draft of a new proposal was soundly rejected, especially by African nations and small island states, according to messages relayed from inside.

“We’ve just walked out. We came here to this COP for a fair deal. We feel that we haven’t been heard,” said Cedric Schuster, the Samoan chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States, a coalition of nations threatened by rising seas.

“[The] current deal is unacceptable for us. We need to speak to other developing countries and decide what to do,” Evans Njewa, chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group, said.

When asked if the walkout was a protest, Colombia Environment Minister Susana Mohamed said: “I would call this dissatisfaction, [we are] highly dissatisfied.”

With tensions high, climate activists also heckled United States climate envoy John Podesta as he left the meeting room.

They accused the US of not paying its fair share and having “a legacy of burning up the planet”.

Developing countries have accused the rich of trying to get their way – and a smaller financial aid package – via a war of attrition. And small island nations, particularly vulnerable to climate change’s worsening effects, accused the host country presidency of ignoring them throughout the talks.

Panama’s chief negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez said he has had enough.

“Every minute that passes, we are going to just keep getting weaker and weaker and weaker. They don’t have that issue. They have massive delegations,” Gomez said.

“This is what they always do. They break us at the last minute. You know, they push it and push it and push it until our negotiators leave. Until we’re tired, until we’re delusional from not eating, from not sleeping.”

The last official draft on Friday pledged $250bn annually by 2035, more than double the previous goal of $100bn set 15 years ago, but far short of the annual $1 trillion-plus that experts say is needed.

Developing nations are seeking $1.3 trillion to help adapt to droughts, floods, rising seas and extreme heat, pay for losses and damage caused by extreme weather, and transition their energy systems away from planet-warming fossil fuels and towards clean energy.

Wealthy nations are obligated to pay vulnerable countries under an agreement reached at COP talks in Paris in 2015.

Delhi pollution 65 times above WHO acceptable limit just days after Diwali

NEW DELHI, Nov 3: Delhi Air Quality Index (AQI) continues to deteriorate as it crossed the 400 mark on Sunday, two days after Diwali. The air pollution level now lies in the alarming 'hazardous' category in the national capital as of 10:30 am, which is detrimental to the health of people living in Delhi and its adjoining areas.

A thick layer of smog engulfed the national capital, and the AQI was recorded above 300 in most areas, making Delhi-NCR's PM2.5 levels over 50 times more threatening than the WHO-prescribed limit, according to the AQICN data.

An AQI, which is a report of the quality of air in a region, is considered ‘poor’ between 200-300, ‘very poor’ at 301 and 400, severe at 401 and 450 and above 450 is “severe-plus” and can cause damaging health concerns to residents.

Meanwhile, the AQI figure soared from 327 to 447 within 12 hours in Delhi. At 9 pm on Saturday, Delhi's AQI was recorded at 327 in most areas. In areas like Anand Vihar, the AQI remained above 500 after 8:30 am.

Alipur, Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Aaya Nagar, Bawana, Burari, Mathura Road, IGI Airport, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Narela, Patparganj, Rohini, Shadipur, Sonia Vihar, Wazirpur, Mandir Marg, Nehru Nagar, Najafgarh and other weather-monitoring stations witnessed "very poor" air quality, according to the Sameer app that provides hourly updates of the National AQI published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

AQI levels in various Delhi areas on Sunday as of 9 am:

Anand Vihar - 532 (hazardous)
Alipur - 318 (hazardous)
Punjabi Bagh - 381 (hazardous)
Narela - 295 (very poor)
RK Puram 329 - (hazardous)
Bawana - 382 ((hazardous)

On Friday a day after the Diwali celebration, the city's air quality was recorded in the 'very poor' category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Most areas in the capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) over 350, raising health concerns for residents.