Tiempo Climate Newswatch

Haiti and the Dominican Republic have been hard hit by flooding, with over 1700 feared dead. The impact has been aggravated by deforestation.

Flash floods destroyed homes and washed away roads in towns and villages across Haiti and the Dominican Republic. "We believe there are more than a total of 48,000 people affected in the two countries," said Elisabeth Byrs, a Geneva-based spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The UN's World Food Programme is flying 8,000 tonnes of aid into the region as part of a massive relief effort.

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• ENN
• BBC
• BBC

• ABC News
• Newsday

"There is dramatic climate change happening in the Arctic right now... about two to three times the pace of the whole globe," said Robert Corell, chairman of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA).

As a result of the warming, Inuit hunters are reported to be falling more frequently through the thinning ice, buildings on permafrost are being destabilized and ecological habitats are being disrupted. There may be benefits, though, as a sea route from the Pacific to the Atlantic open up and Russia gains easier access to oil and gas. The new ACIA report combines input from scientists, indigenous peoples and eight Arctic rim nations.

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• CNN
• Arctic Climate Impact Assessment

Nepal can act as a model country for the use of alternative energy to mitigate global climate change, according to a recent report.

Nepal’s total greenhouse gas emissions are less than 0.01 percent of the global total but it has great potential for clean energy. For example, a promising alternative to fossil-fuel based vehicles is electric vehicles. Nepal is ideal for promotion of electric vehicles because they use hydropower, a local and clean resource, instead of imported fossil fuel, and the driving conditions are appropriate.

More information

• Earth Times