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Brazilian Drought Could Last 30 More Years, Meteorologist Says

Herald Tribune: The current drought in southeastern Brazil, the richest, most densely populated region in the country, has created the greatest water shortage in the last 85 years and could last for 30 more years, a meteorologist said Saturday. The meteorologist and partner-director of the consultancy Somar Meteorology, Paulo Ethichury, told Efe that the South American country’s current climate follows a cooling cycle in the Pacific Ocean during recent years, which came after the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, when it...

Pakistan: It’s time to get serious about climate change

Herald Tribune: Sixty-seven years ago, 47 per cent of the land in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was covered by forests, including tracts of virgin forest land in Neelum Valley. Now, the area has been whittled down to just 12 per cent, as deforestation, landslides and sewage water have swept through the region and destroyed the green belt. “In the upper areas of AJK, where there is no liquefied petroleum gas facility, people are cutting the trees to use the wood for fuel in cooking and heating,” explained Secretary...

Brazil’s Rousseff surveys flood damage in home state

Herald Tribune: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff flew over flood-ravaged areas in her native state of Minas Gerais on Friday and announced more humanitarian aid for the victims of the torrential rains that up to now have left 41 people dead in the southeastern part of the country. “It’s terrible,” the head of state told reporters, along with Minas Gerais Gov. Antonio Anastasia and other state and local officials. Minas Gerais has been, together with neighboring Espiritu Santo, the state hit hardest by the...