According to the UN relief coordination office, OCHA, 998,918 people across all 25 districts have now been affected, with 212 deaths reported and 218 people missing. More than 180,000 people from over 51,000 families are sheltering in 1,094 government-run safety centres as search and rescue efforts continue. Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on 28 November before […]
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson Clare Nullis told reporters in Geneva that Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam are among the countries most affected by what she described as “a combination of monsoon-related rainfall and tropical cyclone activity”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep sadness over the tragic loss of life across the […]
Since mid-November, overlapping tropical storms and intensified monsoon systems have triggered catastrophic flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Viet Nam. UN teams across the region are supporting government-led emergency operations with food, health, water and sanitation aid, medical deployments and early recovery assessments, as heavy rains continue and fears grow that […]
The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) first State of the Climate in the Arab Region report paints a stark picture of a region under constant pressure from rising temperatures and increasingly extreme weather. The UN agency noted that “a number of countries [in the Arab region] reported temperatures of above 50°C (122°F) last year, while average […]
As communities struggle to rebuild, many have little time to grieve the immense losses they have suffered. Since June, over six million people in Pakistan have been affected by what have been described as “unusually heavy monsoon rains” which have claimed nearly 1,000 lives, including about 250 children. Residents are still recovering from flash […]
Three women in Jamaica whose lives were upended by the destructive force of a hurricane which battered the Caribbean island are looking to rebuild their future. Right before Hurricane Melissa swept across Jamaica in late October 2025, Rose* took her two children to a friend’s sturdy concrete home to keep them safe. When they returned […]
“The Global Environment Outlook lays out a simple choice for humanity: continue down the road to a future devastated by climate change, dwindling nature, degraded land and polluted air, or change direction to secure a healthy planet, healthy people and healthy economies,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. The report has input from 287 multi-disciplinary […]
As the world moves to slow climate change and create a more sustainable future, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) named five new climate visionaries on Wednesday as its 2025 Champions of the Earth — the UN’s highest environmental honour. These five extraordinary leaders, who work on issues ranging from climate justice to sustainable cooling and forest […]
The assembly is the world’s highest-level decision-making body for matters related to the environment. More than 6,000 people – representing 186 countries – took part in the week-long gathering which was held at the headquarters of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Wide-ranging resolutions The UNEA-7 resolutions cover issues such as the sound management of minerals and materials essential to the shift to clean […]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk echoed this message in Geneva earlier this year and posed a question before the Human Rights Council: “Are we taking the steps needed to protect people from climate chaos, safeguard their futures and manage natural resources in ways that respect human rights and the environment?” His answer […]
Current estimates place the total damage and loss between $8 billion and $15 billion – nearly a quarter of Jamaica’s gross domestic product (GDP), said Dennis Zulu, UN Resident Coordinator for Jamaica, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. The hurricane affected more than 626,000 people and claimed 45 lives, underscoring its […]
Hostilities have been intensifying between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and two armed groups – the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia that has been battling the military government for control since April 2023 and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North. Over the weekend, drone attacks targeted a UN base killing six peacekeepers from the UNIFSA mission, while […]
Now 18, she’s involved in aerospace projects with other young women through the Shakthi SAT initiative and she’s keen to explore the intersection between computer engineering and science, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous robotics and embedded systems that control satellites, drones and rockets. “I’m learning things I once only dreamed of, and we’re going to […]
“Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that their partners continue their scale-up efforts, despite reported Israeli airstrikes across the Strip,” he said, noting that some strikes hit areas near the so-called ‘Yellow Line’ – a buffer zone marked by the Israeli military inside Gaza as part of the ceasefire agreement. “We stress again that all […]
More than 60 people have reportedly been killed in the continuing series of attacks since early September “in circumstances that find no justification in international law,” Volker Türk said in a statement. He urged the US to halt its “unacceptable” operations and take measures to prevent the “extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever […]
António Guterres spoke by phone to Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness earlier in the day emphasising afterwards in a statement that “international support is crucial” as the country deals with the effects of the category 5 storm which brought rain, storm surges and catastrophic flooding. “He calls for the mobilisation of massive resources to deal […]
Yet, amid this rapid transformation, one question rises above all: how can innovation truly serve the people, as more and more of them migrate to cities? That question lies at the heart of this year’s World Cities Day, which will be celebrated in Bogotá, Colombia, under the theme People-Centred Smart Cities. Organized by the UN’s […]
The hurricane caused widespread damage to homes, infrastructure and crops, leaving thousands displaced. However, extensive storm preparation by governments, assisted by UN agencies and other NGOs, appears to have helped lessen the impact and saved lives in many areas. In Cuba, the hurricane struck the province of Santiago de Cuba with winds exceeding 200 km/h […]
That’s the main message in this year’s Adaptation Gap Report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). By 2035, developing nations will need well over $310 billion per year in dedicated funding to adapt to a planet increasingly altered by polluting fossil-fuel emissions, the report states. “Climate adaptation” refers to the ways countries respond to actual […]
Addressing a joint summit between the UN and Southeast Asian nations in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Secretary-General António Guterres described the region as “a beacon of cooperation” and a vital pillar of global stability. With Timor-Leste’s accession, he said, the collective spirit of the regional organization known as ASEAN had “grown stronger,” making the bloc […]