A Closer Look At Asia: Climate in Focus Launch
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Hello everyone! I’m Joanna from Climate Tracker Asia. Welcome to Climate in Focus - a weekly round-up of climate stories making headlines in the region. We will also keep you updated with opportunities and events!
🌀 SOUTH ASIA: Dozens killed as heavy rains batter India, Nepal
🛣️ PHILIPPINES: Typhoon Kompasu death toll hits 39; agriculture damage nears $40 million
🚗 INDONESIA: Green groups urge ADB to drop $300m loan offer for Borneo road project
➡️ SOUTH ASIA: Dozens killed as heavy rains batter India, Nepal
Monsoon season is over but most places in India experienced heavy rainfall due to a weather disturbance that caused the death of at least 40 people. The death toll is expected to rise as landslides and flooding damaged homes and strand thousands.
The Hindustan Times reports, October is now Delhi’s wettest month since 1960.
The rainfall was so intense that it reached the Himalayas in Nepal.
A scientist from The Indian Meteorological Department said the cloudbursts might have triggered the sudden downpour adding climate change also has a role to play in increasing the moisture-holding capacity of the atmosphere around the world.
Read more in the Hindustan Times.
➡️ PHILIPPINES: Typhoon Kompasu death toll hits 39; agriculture damage nears $40 million
Tropical Storm Kompasu barreled across the Philippines leaving at least 39 dead and damages nearly $40 million
Thousands of farmers and fishermen's livelihood were affected and starting a new life after this disaster would be extremely difficult as the country continues to grapple with rising COVID-19 cases and extended lockdowns. Ilocos Sur, a province in the northern Philippines was among the hardest hit by Kompasu has been placed under a state of calamity.
Following the deadly storm, Greenpeace has urged the Philippine government to adopt and implement disaster risk reduction strategies centered on climate action.
Read more in the Philippine News Agency
➡️ INDONESIA: Green groups urge ADB to drop $300m loan offer for Borneo road project
Climate groups in Jakarta are calling on the Asian Development Bank to tighten its review of a loan proposal from the Indonesian government to fund a road project in Borneo. The organizations claim the proposed project poses risks to indigenous communities, especially to the environment.
It is not yet approved but ADB is considering a loan proposal of $300 million to fund the project’s goals to rehabilitate and modernize 280 kilometers of roads in some provinces in Kalimantan. According to the Indonesian government, the goal is to boost economic growth in the region bordering Malaysia and foste the merger of the two nations' palm oil sectors.
Darwis of the indigenous-led NGO Green of Borneo told Mongabay that these roads will destroy ecosystems and take away customary lands, “The government says it’s for us, but it’s really for the palm oil industry and its plantations.”
In the lead-up to COP26, the Asian climate journalism community is busy setting the stage to build momentum for climate action.
Join us in breaking environment reporting questions in Asia with India’s Manka Behl and the Philippines’ Renee Juliene Karunungan on Thursday 28th October, 2021, 5pm (GMT+8, Manila time).
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