Environment

Kanpur:  As tanneries' owners were served with a notice to keep its units closed from February 19 till further notice, the good news in regard to the Ganga river remains quite optimistic. The testing has apparently demonstrated an increase of oxygen level into the river water thereby making it suitable for a ritual dip or sip.

Declaring the samples taken by a team of experts at different spots straight between Ghat and Jajmau bridge, the regional pollution control board officials have said that river water quality was improved amply.

LONDON, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A man died after falling into a river on Sunday as Storm Dennis swept across Britain with the army drafted in to help deal with heavy flooding and high winds.

The man fell into the River Tawe, in south Wales, police said.

The storm also battered much of France, with some 60,000 people suffering power cuts in the northwest of the country.

JACKSON, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mississippi urged thousands of people in the Pearl River flood plain to evacuate as the river reached its highest level in 37 years near the state capital and was not expected to recede for days.

Governor Tate Reeves had declared a state of emergency on Saturday as managers of the Ross Barnett Reservoir just upstream from the state capital of Jackson warned they had to start releasing more water into the Pearl River because it had reached capacity.

SYDNEY, Feb 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) – With homes and businesses battered by the extreme weather on Australia’s east coast, energy provider Ausgrid asked for help from the military, to clear debris and repair electricity.

Speaking with Sky News Wednesday (this) morning, New South Wales (NSW) Minister for Energy and Environment, Matt Kean, confirmed that a request had been made to the Australian military.

“Their CEO (Richard Gross) raised it with me yesterday and I fully support it,” he said, adding, the state government would expedite the call out of the army.

LONDON, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hundreds of flights and train services were cancelled across northwest Europe as Storm Ciara swept in packing powerful winds after lashing Britain and Ireland, where tens of thousands of homes were left without power.

Swathes of northern France were placed on orange alert with people advised to avoid the coast due to possible storm surges.

Britain, which bore the brunt of the storm Sunday with widespread flooding across the north of the country, remained on alert with the Meteorological Office warning of strong winds, heavy rain and snow.

BRASILIA, Feb 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil more than doubled in January compared with the previous year, according to official data published Friday.

More than 280 sq km were cleared, an increase of 108 per cent. It was the largest area cleared in the month of January since 2015, when such data started being collected, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

The data was collected by the INPE’s satellite-based DETER system, which monitors deforestation in real time.

BELO HORIZONTE (Brazil), Jan 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Another torrential downpour left the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte paralyzed, with ruined cars abandoned on streets cake with mud, as the death toll from days of violent weather reached 54.

Another 47,000 people across Minas Gerais, the southeastern state where the city is located, have been forced from their homes since the rains began on Friday, civil defense officials said.

Tuesday evening’s downpour was nothing short of spectacular: 117 millimeters of water in three hours.

MUSCAT, Jan 25 (NNN-ONA) – Heavy rain of varying intensity, detected in some Wilayats in Musandam Governorate.

Following the good weather Oman has been enjoying over the last few days, locals and expats can expect more rain in the coming days.

An update from the Directorate General of Meteorology, at the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA), said that thundershowers are expected from next week.

BARCELONA, Jan 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from a violent storm that has wrought havoc across huge swathes of Spain’s eastern and southern coastline rose to 11, with rescue workers still searching for four people.

The latest victim was a 50-year-old man who was fishing in coastal Ametlla de Mar, according to civil protection authorities in the northeast Catalonia region.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — The prosecution office of the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais said it has filed charges against mining giant Vale and consulting company TUV SUD for intentional murder over the collapse of a tailings dam in 2019.

The collapse of the tailings dam occurred in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, on Jan 25, 2019, leaving 270 people dead and more than 10 missing.

The prosecution office also filed charges against 16 individuals, including former Chief Executive officer of Vale Fabio Schvartsman.