World-wide annual rainfall has become more concentrated leading to a flood-drought cycle in which dried soil has a limited rain absorption capacity. This has been shown by an analyses of global precipitation records from 1980 to 2022. The analysis predicts that rainfall will become even more consolidated as global temperatures continue to rise. An increase of 2°C, could lead to abnormally dry land conditions for roughly a third of the world’s population.
The business of coping with flooding is projected to be a $1.3 trillion business. A variety of strategies are being implemented in coastal cities. This includes underground flood tunnel systems and an $80 billion project in Jakarta, the present-day capital of Indonesia, to make its seawalls which have harmed local communities do the job they are supposed to do.
Economists at the Bank of England have already suggested that Flood Re, the UK’s flood insurer of last resort, may not be channelling enough support to those who need it most.
Lagos, the capital of Nigeria has taken out a $7.5 billion flood-risk insurance policy.
Advancements in autonomy are allowing uncrewed vessels to transit oceans with growing sophistication. A growing network of marine technologies is paving the way for the future of maritime operations. These advancements are being pushed by how many sectors of the maritime industry are facing a shortage of qualified crew members. This is hardly surprising when working sailors have been so open to abuse and are at present left to fend for themselves in the hotspots of geopolitics.
A newwave of mining waste may have reached rivers in the Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory, which borders one of the country’s largest open-pit mines, operated by Mineração Taboca in Presidente Figueiredo, Amazonas. After heavy rains hit the region, the Waimiri Atroari saw toxic stains flowing down a stream that runs through the mining area and empties into the Indigenous Territory.