Environment

THE HAGUE, Aug 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nearly 400 more people died in the Netherlands than normal during a record-breaking heatwave that swept Europe last month, the country’s statistics agency said.

Dutch temperatures soared to a new high of 40.4 Celsius on July 25, breaking a record dating back to 1944 and rising above the 40 Celsius mark for the first time since records began.

In total 2,964 people died in the week from July 22 to 27, the Dutch Central Statistics Bureau said, adding: “This is almost 400 people more than in an average week in the summer period.”

Kochi, Aug 8; GANASHAKTI: Flight operations at the international airport here have been suspended till Friday morning as floodwaters inundated the apron area (parking area), authorities said.

Earlier on Thursday, flight operations were suspended for four hours till midnight as a precautionary measure in view of heavy rains.

"As the apron area is waterlogged due to the flood, all aircraft operations (have been) suspended at Kochi airport till 9 am on August 9," a statement issued on Thursday by the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) said.

Pune, Aug 9 (PTI) Over 2.85 lakh people have been evacuated due to the devastating floods in Western Maharashtra's five districts including the worst-hit Kolhapur and Sangli, with the death toll reaching 29 on Friday.

The region is being pummeled by rain over the last few days, and major rivers including the Krishna and Panchaganga are in spate.

Divisional commissioner Dr Deepak Mhaisekar said flood waters had begun to recede in Kolhapur and Sangli. "In Kolhapur, the water level has decreased by two feet and in Sangli it has decreased by 3 inches," he said.

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 10 (PTI) As Kerala continues to battle the torrential downpour lashing its shores, death toll has risen to 42 in rain related incidents, including flooding and landslides, with over one lakh people moved to relief camps, officials said on Saturday.

Twenty people have been killed in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, and nine have died in Wayanad in rain related incidents since August 8, officials said quoting reports received till 7 am

NEW DELHI, August 8. /TASS/: Around 130,000 people have been evacuated from the flooded areas in the western Indian state of Maharashtra following powerful monsoon rains. The NDTV channel reported on Thursday that at least 16 people had died there last week due to water-logging incidents.

According to the channel, certain areas of Maharashtra saw the four months' amount of precipitation over the past 15 days. Kolhapur and Sangli Districts are affected the most. The local authorities called on the military to help with the evacuation of residents.

08 August 2019; DW: The meter-tall "Heracles inexpectatus" roamed New Zealand nearly 20 million years ago. Scientists say it may have eaten other parrots with a beak that "could crack wide open anything it fancied."

Scientists in New Zealand have uncovered the remains of a gigantic parrot that roamed the country some 20 million years ago.

Kolkata, Aug 3 (PTI) Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has declared rural West Bengal as open defecation free (ODF) and said that her government will now focus on solid waste management.

Around 1.35 crore households in rural Bengal have been covered by the 'Mission Nirmal Bangla', which aimed at making all villages open defecation free (ODF) by October 2.

30 July 2019; MEMO: Ethiopians from all walks of life took to open spaces nationwide on Monday to take part in a massive campaign that set out to plant 200 million seedlings in a span of 12 hours, reports Anadolu Agency.

The initiative was introduced by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to plant 4 billion tree seedlings in the rainy season of June, July, and August.

29 July 2019; AA: Turkish divers spotted an “aplysia depilans”, a rare species of a sea hare, off western Canakkale province.

Selim Konya, a diving center manager, along with several officials from Istanbul University, recorded spotted the rare sea hare at the depth of 26 meters in the Aegean Sea off Gokceada district.

Noting that it was the first time he saw such a specie, Konya said, “I saw it from a long distance. I was surprised and other divers were also surprised.”

Guwahati, Jul 28 (PTI) The flood situation in Assam remained grim with the toll touching 82 on Sunday, following the death of one more person in Barpeta district.

A population of 21.68 lakh of 1,716 villages in 56 revenue circles of the state is affected by the deluge.

Besides Barpeta, the 17 other affected districts are Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Darrang, Baksa, Nalbari, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup (M), Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat and Cachar, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.