The UN's weather agency has warned that the hazards of air pollution arising from climate change are being overlooked in the battle against global warming.
The World Meteorological Organisation, an intergovernmental group promoting international co-operation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics, said air quality goes “hand-in-hand” with higher temperatures.
On Wednesday, it published its third annual Air Quality and Climate Bulletin, highlighting the danger of heatwaves and how climate change and air quality must be tackled together.
The report details how heatwaves triggered wildfires in the north-west US, while high temperatures accompanied by desert dust carried across Europe led to dangerous air quality in 2022.
“Heatwaves worsen air quality, with knock-on effects on human health, ecosystems, agriculture and indeed our daily lives,” said WMO secretary general Prof Petteri Taalas.
“Climate change and air quality cannot be treated separately. They go hand-in-hand and must be tackled together to break this vicious cycle.
“This Air Quality and Climate Bulletin relates to 2022. What we are witnessing in 2023 is even more extreme. July was the hottest ever month on record, with intense heat in many parts of the northern hemisphere and this continued through August.
“Wildfires have roared through huge swathes of Canada, caused tragic devastation and death in Hawaii, and also inflicted major damage and casualties in the Mediterranean region.
“This has caused dangerous air quality levels for many millions of people, and sent plumes of smoke across the Atlantic and into the Arctic,” said Prof Taalas.
Dr Lorenzo Labrador, a WMO scientific officer in the Global Atmosphere Watch network, said smoke from wildfires creates a “witch's brew”.
“Heatwaves and wildfires are closely linked,” he said.
“Smoke from wildfires contains a witch’s brew of chemicals that affects not only air quality and health, but also damages plants, ecosystems and crops – and leads to more carbon emissions and so more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.”
Air quality and climate are interconnected because substances responsible for climate change and the degradation of air quality are often emitted by the same sources, and because changes in one inevitably cause changes in the other, the report said.
It said last year's summer led to hundreds of air quality monitoring sites exceeding the World Health Organisation’s ozone air quality guideline level.
In Europe, this followed the heatwave from the south-west, moving to Central Europe and finally reaching the north-east, it said.
This brought an unusually high amount of desert dust over the Mediterranean and Europe during the second half of August 2022.
“The coincidence of high temperature and high aerosol amounts, and therefore particulate matter content, affected human health and well-being,” the report said.
“While high-altitude (stratospheric) ozone protects us from the harmful ultra-violet rays of the sun, ozone close to the Earth’s surface is harmful to human health. It also can reduce both the quantity and quality of yield of staple food crops.”
The WMO report said that globally, ozone-induced crop losses average 4.4 per cent to 12.4 per cent for staple food crops.
It said wheat and soybean losses were as high as 15 per cent to 30 per cent in key agricultural areas of India and China.
“Heatwaves and dry conditions are conducive to wildfires which, once started, grow rapidly as they encounter dry, easily combustible vegetation. Such situations can lead to an increase in aerosol emissions,” said the report.
However, it also emphasised how parks and tree-covered areas within cities can improve air quality, absorb carbon dioxide and lower temperatures.
On Wednesday, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the EU's climate monitoring service, said June to August 2023 has been the warmest on record globally “by a large margin”, with an average temperature of 16.77°C – which is 0.66°C above average.
It said the European-average temperature for summer was 19.63°C, which was 0.83°C above average.
Summer 2023 saw marine heatwaves in several areas around Europe, including around Ireland and the UK in June, and across the Mediterranean in July and August, it said.
“The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
“Climate breakdown has begun,” he warned. "Our climate is imploding faster than we can cope.”
C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess said August was the warmest on record.
“Global temperature records continue to tumble in 2023, with the warmest August following on from the warmest July and June leading to the warmest boreal summer in our data record going back to 1940,” she said.
Ms Burgess added that “2023 is currently ranked as the second warmest, at only 0.01ºC behind 2016 with four months of the year remaining”.
“Meanwhile, the global ocean saw in August both the warmest daily surface temperature on record, and it’s the warmest month on record,” she said.
“The scientific evidence is overwhelming – we will continue to see more climate records and more intense and frequent extreme weather events impacting society and ecosystems, until we stop emitting greenhouse gases.”
C3S said every day from July 31 to August 31 saw global average sea surface temperatures exceeding the previous record from March 2016.
DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
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The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Challenge Cup result:
1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday
AC Milan v Sampdoria (2.30pm kick-off UAE)
Atalanta v Udinese (5pm)
Benevento v Parma (5pm)
Cagliari v Hellas Verona (5pm)
Genoa v Fiorentina (5pm)
Lazio v Spezia (5pm)
Napoli v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Roma (5pm)
Torino v Juventus (8pm)
Bologna v Inter Milan (10.45pm)
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EA Sports FC 24
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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Honeymoonish
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More on animal trafficking
Match info:
Leicester City 1
Ghezzal (63')
Liverpool 2
Mane (10'), Firmino (45')