International press review
In the spotlight: global warming causes an unprecedented heat peak in Europe
Audio 05:29
A pharmacy thermometer shows a temperature of 43 degrees Celsius (109.4F), as a heat wave hits France, in Nantes, France, July 13, 2022. REUTERS - STEPHANE MAHE
By: Anne Corpet Follow
4 mins
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The heat wave in Europe is on the front page of many newspapers, particularly in Great Britain, with the same photo which appears on the front page of the
Times
, the
Sun
, the
Daily Telegraph
and the
Daily Mail
: that of a guard of the royal palace of Buckingham to whom a policeman makes drink water.
These guards must indeed remain motionless in their red uniforms and under their high cap with black hairs.
A form of torture under these temperatures: these hats weigh 680 grams and are made of bear hair.
Perfectly unsuitable when it's around 40 degrees.
An unprecedented peak of heat
Britain has one of the oldest temperature records in the world.
They have been archived since 1660, explains the
Washington Post
.
And to go back even further, the daily interviewed a paleo-climatologist "
There is no direct evidence that the United Kingdom has exceeded 40°C in the last 6000 years
," he said.
The researchers estimate that before the industrial revolution, Britain could record such a temperature once every seven thousand years.
"
Today the probability of recording such peaks has increased to once every hundred years, but is accelerating.
Britain will exceed 40 degrees every three or four years if it continues to emit so much pollution, every fifteen years if it fulfills its promise to limit carbon emissions.
»
In Spain,
El Païs
interviewed street sweepers in Madrid, particularly affected by the infernal temperatures.
One of them died last Friday, victim of heatstroke.
"
Since then, we've all been worried
," testifies Roberto, an assumed name because the cleaning companies have ordered their workers not to speak to the press.
In addition to the outdoor conditions, street sweepers have to deal with a uniform that is not suitable for working in the summer.
No fur cap, but polyester shirts: "
All that you sweat, you keep it, and you are always warmer
" details Mariano, another employee who adds "
When I come to certain streets, I know I won't find an inch of shade.
The ideal would be to be there earlier but that does not depend on me.
»
In the United States, the state of climate emergency could be pronounced
"
The president has made it clear that if the Senate does not act to address the climate crisis and strengthen our national clean energy industry, he will,
" said a White House official in the columns of the
Washington Post.
However, the presidency failed this week to get its climate package voted on, following the blocking of the Democratic senator from West Virginia, a mining state.
"
A presidential decree would notably allow Joe Biden to limit oil drilling in federal waters and to stimulate the use of renewable energies
" explains the daily, before weighing "
but it would risk being countered in court, which could harm future environmental laws
.
Last month, the newspaper recalls, the Supreme Court curtailed federal powers to regulate carbon emissions.
In his editorial in the
New York Times
, the Nobel laureate in economics Paul Krugman slams the Republican Party for its irresponsibility in the face of climate challenges.
“
There is a clear parallel between environmental policies and those related to the COVID pandemic
” writes the editorialist under the title “
politics and the climate are worse than you think
”.
And Paul Krugman develops “
The overwhelming scientific consensus in favor of vaccination or environmental protection policies is not an asset, quite the contrary, because the modern Republican Party is hostile to science.
This hostility is the fundamental reason why we seem ready to do nothing while the planet burns.
»
A damning report on biodiversity in Australia
It is also for political reasons that the publication of a report on the deterioration of the environment has been delayed in Australia.
This report has existed since last December, but the Conservative Prime Minister had kept it under his elbow until the federal elections, which he still lost, reports the
Guardian
.
The document published this morning makes a damning inventory of the state of biodiversity in the country.
"
Australia is the continent that has lost the most mammals, nearly 40% of species that have disappeared globally,
" reports the
Sydney Morning Herald
.
In Melbourne,
The Age
specifies that since 2016, more than 200 plants or animals have been added to the list of endangered species.
"
This shocking report shows that we must act now
,” concludes the daily.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the Prime Minister is picking cherries.
Justin Trudeau went to a producer in British Columbia and saw it himself while trying to fill his basket: the harvest is 30 to 40% lower than the annual average.
"
Extreme temperatures are at the origin of this drop in production
" believes the operator interviewed by the
Globe and Mail
, "
it's the new normal, we really have problems with the climate
"
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