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1 min ago

China should "step up to their responsibility" on the climate crisis, Jake Sullivan says

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN that China should "step up to their responsibility" to reduce emissions under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and "should not be able hide behind any kind of claim that they're a developing nation.

The Paris Agreement, Sullivan said, "lays out that every country, including China, has a responsibility to reduce emissions and the world should step up and encourage, indeed, pressure China to take far more dramatic action to reduce emissions."

WATCH:

13 min ago

What extreme weather looks like around the world

From CNN staff

From searing heat to devastating floods and choking wildfires, millions of people around the world are battling extreme weather fueled by the human-caused climate crisis.

Canadian wildfire smoke is bringing unhealthy air across the northern tier of the United States this week, triggering air quality alerts for more than a dozen states from Montana to Vermont.

The plume was birthed from nearly 400 fires ignited in Canada’s province of British Columbia in the past week, nearly half of which were started by 51,000 lightning strikes from thunderstorms, the British Columbia Wildfire Service said.

The searing heat wave in Italy has prompted authorities to add 20 cities — including Rome and Florence — to a “red alert” list, indicating emergency conditions where people will face a very high health risk due to the intense heat.

The Italian Island of Sardinia is expected to register record 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature on Tuesday, CNN’s affiliate Sky TG24 reported in their latest forecast. 

India has been hit by severe flooding and landslides during its monsoon season, with thousands forced to flee after heavy rains battered villages and turned roads into rivers.

The Yamuna River — a major waterway overflowing near India’s capital Delhi — reached the highest level on record, authorities said last week.

Across the US, more than 90 million people are under heat advisories, including at least 50 million who have been under heat alerts for the past 10 days. There have been heat alerts for dangerously high temperatures in the Southwest — stretching from Texas to Arizona — for 38 consecutive days dating back to June 10. 

And the streak is expected to continue across the region through at least July 28, with overnight temperatures providing very little relief, the National Weather Service warned.

Phoenix, Arizona, once again hit 110 degrees Monday for a record-tying 18th consecutive day at that temperature or higher.

The record is expected to be broken Tuesday as the streak continues, with temperatures of at least 115 degrees forecast for Phoenix every day through next weekend.

As the scorching triple-digit temperatures persist, there have been 12 confirmed heat related deaths recorded in Phoenix just for the first week of July, according to data from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. 

8 min ago

World's largest and most populous continent is acutely vulnerable to climate crisis

From CNN's Heather Chen

Asia, with an estimated total population of 4.4 billion people, is acutely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with recent bouts of extreme weather resulting in water shortages, crop failures and an economic slow down.

That vulnerability was thrown into sharp focus last year when catastrophic flooding hit Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people and leaving millions homeless.

The South Asian country is now dealing with its worst economic crisis in decades, worsened by inflation spiking because of the floods ruining last year’s harvests.

Neighboring India, the world’s most populous nation, is among the countries expected to be worst affected by the climate crisis, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), potentially affecting 1.4 billion people nationwide.

Double crisis of heat and flooding: After suffering recent blistering heat waves in the north and east, thousands were then forced to flee severe flooding in northern states like Himachal Pradesh last week after heavy rains battered villages and turned roads into rivers. 

Every year, India is hit by severe flooding and landslides during the monsoon season, which drenches the country from June to September. 

Northeastern Assam, a state with a population of more than 31 million people, is among the worst hit. 

More than 495,000 people spread across 22 districts were impacted by floodwaters and about 14,000 evacuated to relief camps when rain swept across the region. Disaster management officials and state authorities in late June reported at least 10 deaths since the rains began.

Poorest worst hit: The impact of such weather extremes is hard to miss and India’s poor are among the most vulnerable. Floods have posed a particular danger to the 35% of the population — roughly 472 million people — who live in urban slums, according to the World Bank.

Read the full story here.

36 min ago

Biggest polluters shouldn't "play politics" as climate crisis grips US and China, expert says

From CNN's Beijing bureau and Nectar Gan

Climate talks held this week between the United States and China send "a hopeful signal," according to Li Shuo, senior global policy adviser at Greenpeace China.

“Amid high heat in Beijing and much of the northern hemisphere, the long shut door of US-China climate engagement has been half opened," Li said. "The two major emitters are trying to get their climate talks back on track."

US climate envoy John Kerry met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Tuesday in Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, as the world’s two biggest polluters resume long-stalled climate talks

Wang is the top foreign policy chief for the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's most senior foreign policy adviser. 

As part of the three-day visit, Kerry had a full day of discussions with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in Beijing on Monday.

Li said both countries must continue efforts to work together on climate, especially in the run up to the COP28 global climate meeting in November and December.

“To find common ground, both the US and China should look no further than their shared sufferings from this summer’s severe weather events," Li said. "To play politics when the global climate crisis is in full display would be irresponsible. Our planet as well as this consequential bilateral relationship deserve far better."

59 min ago

South Korean president vows to "overhaul" approach to extreme weather after deadly flooding

From CNN's Yoonjung Seo in Seoul, South Korea and Alex Stambaugh 

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Monday to "overhaul" the country's approach to extreme weather from the climate crisis after heavy rains triggered flooding and landslides, killing dozens of people. 

"These extreme weather events will be commonplace going forward, so we must accept climate change is happening and deal with it," Yoon said in a cabinet meeting Monday, according to a statement from the president's office. 

"The perception that it’s unavoidable because climate change is an anomaly must be overhauled,” he said, urging officials to act with “utmost determination.”

At least 41 people have died and nine people remain missing in the country as a result of heavy rain, according to the Ministry Interior and Safety. Among the deaths, 14 were killed after being trapped in an underpass in the city of Cheongju that flooded on Saturday, according to the ministry. 

The South Korean government and provincial police said they have launched investigations into the deadly underpass flooding.

1 hr 14 min ago

Millions of people across the world are battling extreme weather. Here's what you need to know

From CNN staff

Blisteringly high temperature are expected to endure across the globe, breaking records on multiple continents, as experts urge world leaders to act now on the climate crisis.

Southern European countries such as Italy and Greece are grappling with extreme heat this week, causing great discomfort for millions of people. Parts of China and the United States have also been experiencing soaring temperatures. 

Asia, the world’s largest and most populous continent, is reckoning with the deadly effects of extreme summer weather, as countries endure blistering heat waves and record monsoon rainfall, with governments warning residents to prepare for more to come.

Here's what you need to know:

• Climate emergency takes hold: The head of the World Health Organization has urged world leaders to "act now" on the climate crisis, saying it "is not a warning. It’s happening." As the human-caused climate crisis accelerates, scientists are clear that extreme weather events such as heat waves will only become more frequent and more intense. Global temperatures have already risen 1.2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels due to humans burning planet-heating fossil fuels. “This is just the beginning,” said Simon Lewis, the chair of global change science at the University College London.
• US: Millions of people in the Southwest and Southern United States face dangerously high temperatures. Some places, like Texas and Arizona, have been enduring a weekslong heat streak. Phoenix once again hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43°C) Monday for a record-tying 18th consecutive day at that temperature or higher. More than 90 million people are under heat advisories across the US, including at least 50 million who have been under heat alerts for the past 10 days.
• Europe: High temperatures are expected to continue across parts of southern Europe this week, as the continent braces for its second extreme heat wave, putting people’s health at risk and setting the stage for wildfires. Italy, Spain and Greece have already faced unrelenting heat for days, but the European Space Agency has warned the heat wave is just beginning. In Italy, which has been particularly hard hit, temperatures in many cities are expected to soar above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
• China: Temperatures hit 52.2 degrees Celsius (126 Fahrenheit) on Sunday in northwest China and more than five weather stations exceeded highs of 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) Monday — among the hottest in history. This follows a record hot summer in the capital Beijing. The heat wave hits amid the arrival of US Climate Envoy John Kerry in China for talks between the world's two biggest polluters. China is also experiencing downpours and flooding, particularly in the south.
• Asia: While some regions grapple with searing heat, others face deadly downpours. Torrential rains have inundated parts of Japan, China, South Korea and India this month, upending the lives of millions and causing flash floods, landslides and power cuts. At least 41 people have been killed in South Korea due to flooding and landslides, including 13 trapped in a flooded underpass. In Japan, record rainfall resulted in devastating flooding that killed at least six people. It's a pattern seen throughout the region — from parts of the Philippines and Cambodia where widespread flooding has led to transport disruptions — to parts of India where record rainfall brought several states to a near standstill and claimed the lives of dozens.

1 hr 33 min ago

WHO chief urges world leaders to "act now" on climate crisis

From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite

The head of the World Health Organization on Monday urged world leaders to "act now" on the climate crisis as parts of the globe face a brutal heat wave.

"In many parts of the world, today is predicted to be the hottest day on record. And these records have already been broken a few times this year. Heatwaves put our health and lives at risk," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet Monday.

"The #ClimateCrisis is not a warning. It’s happening. I urge world leaders to ACT now," he said.

2 hr 29 min ago

Wildfire smoke from Canada expected to impact air quality in the US this week

From CNN's Caitlin Kaiser

Canadian wildfire smoke is bringing unhealthy air across the northern tier of the United States this week, triggering air quality alerts for more than a dozen states from Montana to Vermont.

The smoke could linger into Tuesday across parts of the East Coast, but is not forecast to reach the same “hazardous” levels there as it did in early June. The smoke should get less potent as the week progresses, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

The plume was birthed from nearly 400 fires ignited in Canada’s province of British Columbia in the past week, nearly half of which were started by 51,000 lightning strikes from thunderstorms, the British Columbia Wildfire Service said. Some of those thunderstorms were “dry” or produced inconsequential amounts of rain to help quench any fires — a dangerous prospect in a province experiencing the worst level of drought.

The province is expected to receive federal assistance to help with its ongoing wildfires, according to a Sunday news release from Public Safety Canada.

As of Monday, there are more than 882 fires burning throughout Canada. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre says at least 581 of the current wildfires are considered “out of control,” according to its website.

Wildfire smoke contains tiny pollutants known as particle matter, or PM 2.5, that can get into the lungs and bloodstream once inhaled. These pollutants most commonly cause difficulty breathing and eye and throat irritation but have also been linked to more serious long-term health issues like lung cancer, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2 hr 36 min ago

US and China — the world's biggest polluters — meet on climate change against backdrop of global heat wave

From CNN's Nectar Gan and Sharon Braithwaite

As John Kerry arrived in Beijing Sunday for a long-awaited trip to restart climate negotiations, the United States climate envoy stepped off the plane into one of the hottest summers ever recorded in the Chinese capital.

Since 1951, Beijing has seen temperatures breaching 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) on 11 days — with almost half of them occurring in the past few weeks, including a new record for the city’s hottest day in June. On Sunday, China set an all-time national high temperature at 126 degrees Fahrenheit (52.2 degrees Celsius).

In the United States, an extreme heat wave is also swelling, with temperatures in the Southwest forecasted to be in the triple digits this week.

It’s a global problem: the planet’s hottest day ever was recorded for four straight days earlier this month.

As the world’s two biggest polluters — with China’s emissions of planet-heating pollution more than double those of the US — the two countries account for nearly 40% of global emissions.

During meetings with the leaders, Kerry told CNN in a recent interview that US officials were planning to press China on commitments to cut back on burning coal and to slash its emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Beijing, meanwhile, is likely to ask Washington to remove tariffs on Chinese solar panels, according to analysis from Li Shuo, senior global policy adviser at Greenpeace China.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN that China should "step up to their responsibility" to reduce emissions under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and "should not be able hide behind any kind of claim that they're a developing nation.

The Paris Agreement, Sullivan said, "lays out that every country, including China, has a responsibility to reduce emissions and the world should step up and encourage, indeed, pressure China to take far more dramatic action to reduce emissions."

WATCH:

From searing heat to devastating floods and choking wildfires, millions of people around the world are battling extreme weather fueled by the human-caused climate crisis.

Canadian wildfire smoke is bringing unhealthy air across the northern tier of the United States this week, triggering air quality alerts for more than a dozen states from Montana to Vermont.

The plume was birthed from nearly 400 fires ignited in Canada’s province of British Columbia in the past week, nearly half of which were started by 51,000 lightning strikes from thunderstorms, the British Columbia Wildfire Service said.

The searing heat wave in Italy has prompted authorities to add 20 cities — including Rome and Florence — to a “red alert” list, indicating emergency conditions where people will face a very high health risk due to the intense heat.

The Italian Island of Sardinia is expected to register record 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature on Tuesday, CNN’s affiliate Sky TG24 reported in their latest forecast. 

India has been hit by severe flooding and landslides during its monsoon season, with thousands forced to flee after heavy rains battered villages and turned roads into rivers.

The Yamuna River — a major waterway overflowing near India’s capital Delhi — reached the highest level on record, authorities said last week.

Across the US, more than 90 million people are under heat advisories, including at least 50 million who have been under heat alerts for the past 10 days. There have been heat alerts for dangerously high temperatures in the Southwest — stretching from Texas to Arizona — for 38 consecutive days dating back to June 10. 

And the streak is expected to continue across the region through at least July 28, with overnight temperatures providing very little relief, the National Weather Service warned.

Phoenix, Arizona, once again hit 110 degrees Monday for a record-tying 18th consecutive day at that temperature or higher.

The record is expected to be broken Tuesday as the streak continues, with temperatures of at least 115 degrees forecast for Phoenix every day through next weekend.

As the scorching triple-digit temperatures persist, there have been 12 confirmed heat related deaths recorded in Phoenix just for the first week of July, according to data from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. 

Asia, with an estimated total population of 4.4 billion people, is acutely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with recent bouts of extreme weather resulting in water shortages, crop failures and an economic slow down.

That vulnerability was thrown into sharp focus last year when catastrophic flooding hit Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people and leaving millions homeless.

The South Asian country is now dealing with its worst economic crisis in decades, worsened by inflation spiking because of the floods ruining last year’s harvests.

Neighboring India, the world’s most populous nation, is among the countries expected to be worst affected by the climate crisis, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), potentially affecting 1.4 billion people nationwide.

Double crisis of heat and flooding: After suffering recent blistering heat waves in the north and east, thousands were then forced to flee severe flooding in northern states like Himachal Pradesh last week after heavy rains battered villages and turned roads into rivers. 

Every year, India is hit by severe flooding and landslides during the monsoon season, which drenches the country from June to September. 

Northeastern Assam, a state with a population of more than 31 million people, is among the worst hit. 

More than 495,000 people spread across 22 districts were impacted by floodwaters and about 14,000 evacuated to relief camps when rain swept across the region. Disaster management officials and state authorities in late June reported at least 10 deaths since the rains began.

Poorest worst hit: The impact of such weather extremes is hard to miss and India’s poor are among the most vulnerable. Floods have posed a particular danger to the 35% of the population — roughly 472 million people — who live in urban slums, according to the World Bank.

Read the full story here.

Climate talks held this week between the United States and China send "a hopeful signal," according to Li Shuo, senior global policy adviser at Greenpeace China.

“Amid high heat in Beijing and much of the northern hemisphere, the long shut door of US-China climate engagement has been half opened," Li said. "The two major emitters are trying to get their climate talks back on track."

US climate envoy John Kerry met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Tuesday in Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, as the world’s two biggest polluters resume long-stalled climate talks

Wang is the top foreign policy chief for the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's most senior foreign policy adviser. 

As part of the three-day visit, Kerry had a full day of discussions with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in Beijing on Monday.

Li said both countries must continue efforts to work together on climate, especially in the run up to the COP28 global climate meeting in November and December.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Monday to "overhaul" the country's approach to extreme weather from the climate crisis after heavy rains triggered flooding and landslides, killing dozens of people. 

"These extreme weather events will be commonplace going forward, so we must accept climate change is happening and deal with it," Yoon said in a cabinet meeting Monday, according to a statement from the president's office. 

At least 41 people have died and nine people remain missing in the country as a result of heavy rain, according to the Ministry Interior and Safety. Among the deaths, 14 were killed after being trapped in an underpass in the city of Cheongju that flooded on Saturday, according to the ministry. 

The South Korean government and provincial police said they have launched investigations into the deadly underpass flooding.

Blisteringly high temperature are expected to endure across the globe, breaking records on multiple continents, as experts urge world leaders to act now on the climate crisis.

Southern European countries such as Italy and Greece are grappling with extreme heat this week, causing great discomfort for millions of people. Parts of China and the United States have also been experiencing soaring temperatures. 

Asia, the world’s largest and most populous continent, is reckoning with the deadly effects of extreme summer weather, as countries endure blistering heat waves and record monsoon rainfall, with governments warning residents to prepare for more to come.

Here's what you need to know:

The head of the World Health Organization on Monday urged world leaders to "act now" on the climate crisis as parts of the globe face a brutal heat wave.

Canadian wildfire smoke is bringing unhealthy air across the northern tier of the United States this week, triggering air quality alerts for more than a dozen states from Montana to Vermont.

The smoke could linger into Tuesday across parts of the East Coast, but is not forecast to reach the same “hazardous” levels there as it did in early June. The smoke should get less potent as the week progresses, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

The plume was birthed from nearly 400 fires ignited in Canada’s province of British Columbia in the past week, nearly half of which were started by 51,000 lightning strikes from thunderstorms, the British Columbia Wildfire Service said. Some of those thunderstorms were “dry” or produced inconsequential amounts of rain to help quench any fires — a dangerous prospect in a province experiencing the worst level of drought.

The province is expected to receive federal assistance to help with its ongoing wildfires, according to a Sunday news release from Public Safety Canada.

Wildfire smoke contains tiny pollutants known as particle matter, or PM 2.5, that can get into the lungs and bloodstream once inhaled. These pollutants most commonly cause difficulty breathing and eye and throat irritation but have also been linked to more serious long-term health issues like lung cancer, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As John Kerry arrived in Beijing Sunday for a long-awaited trip to restart climate negotiations, the United States climate envoy stepped off the plane into one of the hottest summers ever recorded in the Chinese capital.

Since 1951, Beijing has seen temperatures breaching 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) on 11 days — with almost half of them occurring in the past few weeks, including a new record for the city’s hottest day in June. On Sunday, China set an all-time national high temperature at 126 degrees Fahrenheit (52.2 degrees Celsius).

In the United States, an extreme heat wave is also swelling, with temperatures in the Southwest forecasted to be in the triple digits this week.

It’s a global problem: the planet’s hottest day ever was recorded for four straight days earlier this month.

As the world’s two biggest polluters — with China’s emissions of planet-heating pollution more than double those of the US — the two countries account for nearly 40% of global emissions.

During meetings with the leaders, Kerry told CNN in a recent interview that US officials were planning to press China on commitments to cut back on burning coal and to slash its emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Beijing, meanwhile, is likely to ask Washington to remove tariffs on Chinese solar panels, according to analysis from Li Shuo, senior global policy adviser at Greenpeace China.