Raging wildfires across Los Angeles County have killed five people, destroyed over 1,100 buildings, and forced thousands to evacuate as firefighters battle extreme conditions.
A series of devastating wildfires sweeping through Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the US, have killed at least five people, injured several others, and destroyed over 1,100 structures, according to authorities.
The Palisades Fire, which erupted in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, has grown to engulf 15,800 acres (63.9 square km) as of Wednesday afternoon, with zero containment, according to Cal Fire. Fueled by extreme winds and dry conditions, the blaze has destroyed approximately 1,000 buildings, including high-value homes nestled between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
“Extreme fire behavior continues to challenge firefighting efforts as winds and dry conditions fuel the Palisades Fire.”
Thousands of residents have been evacuated, with new warnings issued for Malibu. Iconic landmarks, such as the Getty Villa museum and the Eames House, are under threat, while three schools in the Palisades area have sustained significant damage.
Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire, burning near Altadena and Pasadena, has scorched over 10,600 acres (42.9 square km) since Tuesday evening. This fire has claimed five lives and caused multiple injuries, with firefighters working tirelessly to slow its advance and protect critical infrastructure.
Another wildfire, the Hurst Fire, rapidly spread in Sylmar overnight, consuming more than 700 acres (2.83 square km) by Wednesday afternoon.
Authorities have attributed the perilous wildfire conditions to a combination of strong winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation. Gusts of up to 160 kph were reported, prompting a Particularly Dangerous Situation red flag warning that will remain in effect through Thursday.
Over 4 million customers across Southern California are facing power outages, with impacts reported in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego counties.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as tens of thousands were ordered to evacuate. Firefighters are battling to contain the blazes under extreme conditions, emphasizing the urgent need for preparedness and support.
Severe cold wave grips Delhi, disrupting rail services and filling night shelters, while air quality improves slightly but stays critical…reports Asian Lite News
The national capital experienced severe weather early Monday, with plummeting temperatures and biting winds. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded a temperature of 11.4 degrees Celsius at 5:30 am. The IMD forecasted a minimum temperature of 11 degrees Celsius and a maximum of around 18 degrees Celsius for the day.
Rain lashed parts of Delhi and Gurgaon, intensifying the chill as a cold wave gripped the region. The dense fog disrupted railway operations, causing several trains to run late at New Delhi railway station.
Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category, with an AQI of 316 at 6 am, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board. An AQI between 301 and 400 is considered ‘very poor,’ while 401-500 is ‘severe.’
On Sunday, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) withdrew Stage-III GRAP measures in Delhi-NCR following notable air quality improvements. However, Stage-I and Stage-II measures remained active. Improved weather conditions and increased wind speeds helped reduce the AQI to 339 at 4:00 pm and 335 at 5:00 pm, with forecasts suggesting further improvements.
Stage-III GRAP measures, which include restrictions on non-essential construction and hybrid learning for students up to grade V, were previously enforced due to rising pollution levels but were lifted on December 27.
The cold wave has driven many homeless individuals to seek refuge in night shelters, with full occupancy reported at shelters near Yamuna Bazar, Kashmere Gate, and AIIMS. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) has set up 235 pagoda tents for the homeless. Residents huddled around bonfires or sought shelter as temperatures continued to dip.
The area then appeared stable until July 2021, when there was a further minor collapse. Ground investigations proved there was a 3.5 metre diameter shaft, which had been plugged with concrete between 4.5 metres and 6 metres below ground level by the National Coal Board in the 1970s
Safety works have been completed by the Mining Remediation Authority to protect residents in Arley Lane, Wigan, from ground collapses caused by a historical coal mine shaft.
Teams designed a permanent solution, pouring more than 120 cubic metres of concrete in one day to form a 0.5-metre thick, heavily-reinforced, high-specification cap with a diameter of 16 metres over the shaft.
The authority has records of mining in the area as far back as 1840 and Malcolm Scott, regional project manager for the public safety and subsidence team, said, “There were a few challenges to this project. We couldn’t excavate deep enough to place the reinforced cap on the upper surface of the bedrock due to the constraints of the garden and extensive tree removal that would have been required. Therefore an oversized octagonal cap was constructed, 2 metres below ground level, to cover a collapse zone of around 13 metres. As Arley Lane is single-track we had to bring in compact concrete mixer trucks, about half the size of the vehicles we normally use, and we also had to pour a temporary layer of thin concrete to give access to the site during the construction phase. A minor collapse near a recorded mine shaft was first reported in December 2018, which was excavated and filled with stone in January 2019. The site was then monitored and works were needed again following more ground movement in April 2019.”
The area then appeared stable until July 2021, when there was a further minor collapse. Ground investigations proved there was a 3.5 metre diameter shaft, which had been plugged with concrete between 4.5 metres and 6 metres below ground level by the National Coal Board in the 1970s.
The drilling also showed that solid rock – known as rockhead – was around 11 metres below ground level, allowing clays and looser material to migrate into the shaft beneath the plug, so a resin grout injection was used to try to stabilise the ground, but further loss of material was reported in May 2023, which meant the new cap was needed.
Following the latest works, the area has now been backfilled to create a soil base and site demobilisation will start this week, leaving only turfing and landscaping works for 2025.
As part of the work to keep people safe and provide peace of mind, you can report a coal mine hazard, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 0800 288 4242.
Garcetti further emphasised that the India-US partnership is the “most resilient relationship” in the world and is growing from “administration to administration to party to party….reports Asian Lite News
US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, lauded the US-India Climate Partnership while pressing a strong case for preserving the planet, which he said is ‘crying’ demanding attention towards its needs. Addressing the SAWIE Leadership Summit on Monday, Garcetti said that Planet Earth is reminding the humans of her needs.
“Our planet will continue to remind us of her needs. Our planet is crying out for us to listen and to take care of each other. To not become more atomized but to become more connected. To figure out not the ways and the things that divide us, which seems to be increasingly sometimes what our politics are about, but to remind ourselves of the humanity that connects us with ourselves and the planet that sustains us,” he said at the event.
He further emphasised that the India-US partnership is the “most resilient relationship” in the world and is growing from “administration to administration to party to party.”
“It’s (relationship between India-US) the most resilient relationship in the world and it is growing from administration to administration to party to party… Since the late ’90s, we’ve been building a model for why we have diplomacy, why our people engage with each other and why crossing oceans in this Indo-Pacific is so critical, not just to the survival of our people and our countries, but to this world,” he said.
The US envoy said that peace, prosperity, planet, and people were the four Ps to be paid attention to for attaining sustainability. On a witty note, he also gave Hindi terminologies of the wordings.
“So, I came up with these four P’s…I’m giving a series of four speeches that started with peace, prosperity, planet, and our people. I won’t go into the other three today, but peace is everything from our defence partnership to human rights and civil, values and things that preserve the peace. Prosperity is our economic work and our technology driven work of our critical emerging technologies. Our people are the cornerstone of everything we do [like] our educational exchanges, putting cricket into the Olympics, looking at ways that we can share and understand our culture. But this level describes the work that we do that ignores borders, those things, whether it’s health pandemics and health work that we do, or the climate crisis, that really is about our planet above all else,” Garcetti said.
He added, “So those four P’s which are also kind of four S’s in Hindi, so shanti, samriddhi, swasth, which is really health, the health of our planet and our people and subdefining the s in Hindi maybe logon ki sajehdari which is a kind of a people partnership. Those are the four S’s.”
Garcetti said that the summit highlighted the challenges to preserve the planet. Citing the devastation caused by Covid pandemic, the Ambassador stressed the need to work for the environment.
“Today I really want to focus on our planet because it is the cradle of our health and everything that we do stems from that. This summit highlights an essential truth that preserving our planet requires us to face challenges that really know no boundaries. Climate change, public health threats, the demand for sustainable energy, I would offer are the biggest threats that we have lived through in recent history,” the US envoy said.
He added, “Think about the trauma of the COVID pandemic and what our children will live through. Because every child today, in the same way that some of us, when we were growing up, feared nuclear annihilation knows unlike that, which might happen that climate damage is happening and they fear their future.” (ANI)
Keir Starmer’s Labour government arrives with a mandate that transcends traditional political recalibration. The proposed Great British Energy represents nothing short of a revolutionary approach to national economic strategy. This is not merely a state-owned utility, but a comprehensive attempt to reimagine Britain’s industrial future through a green lens, writes Ashraf Nehal
The conference hall in Baku stood as a testament to global political indifference. While world leaders—Biden, Xi, Ursula, Modi—conspicuously absented themselves from COP29, the United Kingdom under Keir Starmer emerged as a solitary beacon of climate commitment, challenging the prevailing narrative of diplomatic paralysis. This was more than a mere diplomatic gesture; it was a profound declaration of intent, signaling a fundamental shift in how a nation can approach the most critical challenge of our time. The United Kingdom, historically a significant carbon emitter, was now positioning itself as a potential catalyst for meaningful global climate action.
The timing could not be more precarious. As global temperatures continue their relentless ascent and extreme weather events become increasingly frequent, the world teeters on the precipice of environmental catastrophe. Traditional global powers have demonstrated a remarkable capacity for inaction, transforming climate conferences into performative exercises of diplomatic theatre. Yet, in this landscape of collective abdication, the United Kingdom under Keir Starmer’s leadership offered a dramatically different narrative—one of pragmatic ambition, systemic transformation, and political courage that challenges the entire conceptual framework of national economic strategy.
This moment represents far more than a simple policy pivot. It is a fundamental reimagining of national purpose, an acknowledgment that climate action is not an optional strategy but an existential imperative that will define the economic and social landscape of the 21st century. The United Kingdom, with its complex industrial history, global financial influence, and evolving political consciousness, finds itself at a unique historical juncture. The question is no longer whether climate action is necessary, but whether a nation can truly transform its entire economic and industrial paradigm in response to the greatest challenge of our generation.
From Tory’s Stagnation to Labour’s Strategic Vision
The transition from Conservative to Labour governance represents more than a typical political shift; it is a seismic recalibration of national economic and environmental philosophy. Under Rishi Sunak’s leadership, the Conservative government epitomized climate policy contradictions—rhetorically acknowledging the environmental crisis while systematically undermining any meaningful action. In 2023, the government granted nearly 50 new oil and gas exploration licenses in the North Sea, a decision that laid bare the fundamental disconnect between political rhetoric and substantive environmental commitment. The North Sea Transition Deal, developed in 2022, was a masterclass in performative policy-making, criticized by the Climate Change Committee for having targets “significantly lower” than required to meet the UK’s carbon budgets.
This Conservative approach was characterized by a regulatory environment that actively discouraged renewable energy development. Onshore wind farm projects were systematically obstructed by bureaucratic restrictions, creating an investment landscape hostile to green energy innovations. The result was a stark misalignment between the UK’s stated climate ambitions and the practical mechanisms designed to achieve them—a deliberate strategy that prioritized short-term industrial interests over long-term environmental sustainability. Regulatory frameworks seemed designed not to facilitate green transition, but to protect existing fossil fuel infrastructure, reflecting a deep-seated resistance to fundamental economic transformation.
In stark contrast, Keir Starmer’s Labour government arrives with a mandate that transcends traditional political recalibration. The proposed Great British Energy represents nothing short of a revolutionary approach to national economic strategy. This is not merely a state-owned utility, but a comprehensive attempt to reimagine Britain’s industrial future through a green lens. The numerical commitments are both ambitious and potentially transformative: an 81% emissions reduction target by 2035, £6.6 billion allocated for home efficiency upgrades, and a commitment to achieving zero-carbon electricity by 2030. These are not just statistical targets, but a holistic approach to economic and environmental policy that recognizes climate action as the primary driver of future economic prosperity.
Implementation: The Razor’s Edge of Transformation
The most critical challenge facing Labour’s climate agenda lies not in crafting ambitious targets, but in navigating the complex terrain of implementation. Current assessments reveal a sobering reality: only 32% of required emissions reductions are covered by credible policies. This implementation gap represents more than an administrative challenge; it is a complex political and economic puzzle that demands unprecedented levels of coordination, innovation, and political courage.
The North Sea energy ecosystem embodies the intricate challenges of this transition. Generations of workers have built careers in fossil fuel industries, and a just transition is simultaneously an economic necessity and a moral imperative. Labour must orchestrate a delicate balance: maintaining economic stability while fundamentally reshaping industrial infrastructure. This requires more than policy documents; it demands a comprehensive strategy that addresses workforce development, regional economic revitalization, and technological innovation in a holistic, interconnected manner.
The financial sector watches this transformation with a mixture of skepticism and potential excitement. Can green investment truly deliver competitive returns? Can Britain emerge as the “clean energy superpower” that Starmer envisions? These are not rhetorical questions but complex economic calculations that will determine the success of this grand experiment. The transition requires not just policy changes, but a fundamental reimagining of industrial strategy, investment frameworks, and national economic priorities.
Global Implications: Beyond National Boundaries
COP29 exposed a brutal geopolitical reality: meaningful climate action is happening in spite of, not because of, major global powers. By positioning itself as a potential bridge between developed and developing nations, the UK is attempting a diplomatically nuanced approach that recognizes the global nature of the climate challenge. The UK’s emissions have already fallen by over 50% since 1990—a remarkable achievement that provides a foundation for further transformation.
Labour’s climate agenda represents a calculated gamble—a recognition that the green transition is simultaneously the greatest economic opportunity and the most significant industrial challenge of the 21st century. Jobs will be created, industries will be transformed, and national economic strategies will be fundamentally reimagined. The United Kingdom stands at a critical juncture, offering not just a national strategy, but a potential global blueprint for adaptive, sustainable economic development.
Climate change does not negotiate. It demands comprehensive, systemic responses. And in this global challenge, the United Kingdom appears prepared to offer more than rhetoric—it offers a potential pathway to transformation, challenging the global community to move beyond performative commitments to substantive, revolutionary action.
Gusts of 35-45mph are more widely expected inland, and up to 70mph in coastal areas, meaning some travel disruption and further power cuts are possible
Forecasters say strong winds will continue to batter the UK on Sunday in the wake of Storm Darragh which left two men dead and thousands left without power.
The Met Office has issued four yellow weather warnings for wind across much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, along with south-east Scotland.
Gusts of 35-45mph are more widely expected inland, and up to 70mph in coastal areas, meaning some travel disruption and further power cuts are possible.
The Met Office issued a rare red weather warning for wind on Saturday as Storm Darragh brought gusts of up to 93mph as it swept across the UK.
The two victims of Saturday’s storm were killed in separate incidents when trees fell on their vehicles in Lancashire and the West Midlands. The Energy Networks Association said on Saturday evening that 259,000 customers were still without power.
It added that engineers would be working through the night said they would be working through the night and into Sunday to restore power.
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said more than 20,000 properties were without power on Saturday evening and warned it may take days for supplies to be fully restored. At the storm’s peak, more than 48,000 premises were affected. Sixty-four flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – and 147 flood alerts are in place for parts of England following heavy rain, according to the Environment Agency.
In Wales, which is still recovering from the flooding left by Storm Bert last month, Natural Resources Wales says 25 flood warnings and 49 alerts are in force. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has two flood warnings in place.
Disruption to train travel is also expected to continue, with National Rail warning passengers to check their journeys before travelling.
It said there is likely to be “significant disruption with heavy rain and wind” to services in south-west Scotland, north and south-west England and Wales. Operators including Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railways, Northern, LNER and Transport for Wales currently face delays and cancellations.
Belfast International Airport said that a full flight schedule is planned for Sunday but it could be subject to delays. Storm Darragh was the fourth named storm of the season following Bert and Conall last month.
Millions sent alert
Around three million people in parts of Wales and south-west England were sent an emergency alert from the government as Storm Darragh approached. It was the largest use of the warning system yet and has been sent to the mobile phones of people in areas covered by the Met Office red weather warning for the storm.
The alert made a loud siren-like sound when it was delivered to devices, even if they were set on silent, and lasted for around 10 seconds.
Red weather warning issued
A rare red warning for wind for parts of North Wales, has been issued by the Met Office as Storm Darragh sweeps in. The eight hour top Met Office alert comes into force tomorrow (Saturday) at 3am, lasting until 11am, covering Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd. It also covers other parts of west and south Wales.
Weather forecasters have urged people to take extra care. A Met Office statement said: “A period of extremely strong winds will develop during the early hours of Saturday morning as Storm Darragh moves across the Irish Sea.
“Gusts of 90 mph or more are possible over coasts and hills of west and south Wales, as well as funnelling through the Bristol Channel with some very large waves on exposed beaches.
“The strongest winds will begin to ease from late morning, though it will remain very windy with Amber wind warnings still in force until the evening.”
The statement added: “Keep yourself and others safe; avoid travelling by road during potentially dangerous conditions. It is not safe to drive in these conditions. Don’t risk injury to others or damage to your property. If you can do so safely, check for loose items outside your home and secure them. Items include; Christmas decorations, bins, garden furniture, trampolines, tents, sheds, and fences. Being outside in high winds makes you vulnerable to injury. Stay indoors if you can. ”
Over 200 flood alerts
As the winds subsided, the rain poured down. Natural Resources Wales issued 27 flood warnings and there were 17 more in England. There were also more than 200 flood alerts, where flooding was possible. In Scotland, where an amber warning was in place, there were warnings in the Borders and Tayside.
Most people avoided the roads, but a few took a risk. Woodbine, who runs Woody’s Glamping, a site in the foothills of Snowdonia, said a family with four children had turned up unexpectedly, asking to stay in one of his tents. He put them up in a more secure lodge instead.
“My wife said to them: ‘there’s a warning – please, if you’re leaving, you’re going to have to take it very, very carefully’.”
Traffic cameras showed mostly empty roads yesterday. Even the M25’s “road to hell” section near Heathrow was comparatively quiet – the airport had suffered 83 cancellations by Saturday afternoon, according to Flightaware, a tracking service, with dozens more flights cancelled elsewhere and ferry crossings at Stranraer, the Western Isles, Holyhead and Fishguard also halted. Network Rail listed 14 disruptions.
People who did venture out found few places to go in the worst affected areas. Events were cancelled and businesses stayed shut after the storm knocked out power. The Energy Networks Association said 177,000 homes in mainland Britain were without electricity yesterday afternoon, and its member networks’ online incident maps showed a sea of dots stretching from Eastbourne on the south coast to Bamburgh in Northumberland.
Precious saltmarsh is being restored in a corner of the River Dart in Devon with £200,000 of funding from the Environment Agency…reports Asian Lite News
With £200,000 of funding from the Environment Agency, Duchy of Cornwall, South Hams District Council and South Devon National Landscape, work is well underway to restore around 4 hectares of marshes.
The restoration work is important because more than 85% of England’s saltmarsh has been lost in recent centuries to development pressure, land use change and coastal squeeze – with the potential to lose more to sea level rise and climate change. Saltmarshes are essential as they capture carbon, protect shorelines from erosion, provide habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife and help clean water.
Emma Magee, the Environment Agency’s South Devon catchment coordinator, said, “These places are too important for people and wildlife to let them just slip away. We need people to see and feel a connection to these places to help care for them.”
There is plenty of evidence of that connection with more than 200 hazel and willow bundles being made by volunteers from Parklife South West CIC and nature recovery trainees. These bundles will be staked into the marshes to build up sediment levels and plant life.
As well as delivering the bundles, Dart Harbour has also run boat trips to take people out to see the marshes.
Just downstream of Totnes, works at the 40ft off and Home Reach marshes are nearly complete. The project team’s attention is now on improving pedestrian access, footpaths and adding signage within Long Marsh, near Steamer Quay. Works start next month and will be completed by March 2025.
New, rare and protected plant species have been recorded for the first time and international saltmarsh experts are helping advise on plans to make the most of this opportunity.
Paul Britton, Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority’s harbour master, said, “It’s great to be getting spades in the mud. As stewards of this stunning estuary, we are very pleased to be playing our part in restoring these vital habitats, providing our staff, boats and equipment to work alongside scientists and local volunteers on these fragile ecosystems.”
The Saltmarsh Artist Collective is planning a Saltmarsh celebration day early next year in Totnes with an installation, workshops and film screenings. Local school children are making seed bombs with seeds collected on the marsh to help colonise new stretches of mud flat. Schumacher College students have also visited the reedbeds at Sharpham.
Jane Brady, co-founder of BLC, said, “The significance of this partnership for us is that it elevates the role of a place-based Community Interest Company in restoring a constellation of saltmarsh clusters to health.”
Tom Stratton, land steward for the Duchy of Cornwall in Devon, said, “We have a strong interest in the sustainability and resilience of all our natural systems and this project provides an early example of saltmarsh restoration in the South West which we hope will protect this valuable resource for years to come whilst storing carbon and providing unique habitat.”
The forecasters warned that alongside the chilly temperatures, some should expect wintry showers and snow in the days ahead. …reports Asian Lite News
The Met Office has warned Brits to expect more snow next week as temperatures plunge to below freezing in some regions. After a relatively mild weekend with highs of 16C in the southwest, temperatures are expected to drop as low as minus 7C in parts of rural Scotland on Monday night.
The forecasters warned that alongside the chilly temperatures, some should expect wintry showers and snow in the days ahead.
“Tuesday will start with a widespread frost and potentially patchy fog in places,” the Met Office said in its outlook for next week. “Rain will spread east later in the day or overnight into Wednesday, with some snow likely in places initially, mainly over high ground in Scotland and northern England.”
Mild weather on Sunday will be followed by “wet and windy” conditions in parts of the UK, including Wales and northwest England.
“Starting on Monday we will see some colder weather arrive,” spokesperson Becky Mitchell said. “Temperatures will be a bit below average to start next week. Monday we have got some showery outbreaks of rain and northerly wind. Tuesday we will have a band of rain gradually moving in from the west. The temperatures this whole time will be around mid-single figures, so feeling pretty chilly. We will have some overnight frost as well, particularly on Monday night. Temperatures on Monday could fall as low as about -7C in parts of rural Scotland overnight. That is likely to be the coldest night of the week. Thereafter temperatures are probably turning average from midweek, with rain at times and some dry interludes too.”
The plunging temperatures come after weeks of disruption across the UK due to severe weather. The Met Office issued weather alerts for rain across parts of the UK when Storm Conall arrived earlier this week, with many told to prepare for flooding, power cuts and travel chaos.
It came just days after Storm Bert caused havoc across many areas of the UK.
Communities in England and Wales were starting a “massive clean-up” following the widespread flooding, with residents in some affected areas saying they do not believe the debris will be cleared by Christmas.
Social activists claim that 337 tonnes of hazardous waste remains in a shed of the now-defunct Union Carbide despite Rs 126 crore being given to the Madhya Pradesh government by the Centre for disposal. …reports Asian Lite news
Haunting memories of the Bhopal gas tragedy are still fresh for an ex-scientist at Union Carbide’s Research Centre even after 40 years, who vividly remembers waiting for a bus ride on December 3, 1984, unaware of the worst industrial disaster in the days of limited sources of information.
The scientist, who requested anonymity, left his home in Arera Colony around 8-8:12 AM and expected his usual bus ride to reach the Union Carbide research centre. However, as minutes ticked by and the bus didn’t arrive by 8:30 am, a sense of unease grew.
In the absence of the Internet, mobile phones or social media, people used to rely on landline phones, telegrams, radio bulletins, newspapers, paan and tea shops to keep them updated about happenings in their city and the country, he said.
“As we waited for the bus, a passerby hurriedly told us that gas had leaked resulting in many deaths. I heard about the gas tragedy at a paan shop. Rumours were spreading like wildfire which left us confused,” the scientist told PTI on Monday.
The scientist said he and others decided to go to the factory in an auto-rickshaw.
We saw people running helter-skelter en route to the office located atop Shyamala Hills overlooking the picturesque Upper Lake, he recalled.
“At the Union Carbide research centre, we saw the deployment of police at the gate who didn’t allow us to go inside,” he said.
The scientist further said he heard that gas had leaked from the plant and bodies piled up in the Government Hamidia Hospital.
“Finally, the company management informed us through a message that the research centre will remain closed for the day and asked us to go home,” he said, adding that they returned home around 9.30-9.45 am.
He learned about the magnitude of the tragedy, which turned out to be the world’s worst industrial disaster, from a colleague told about it by the company management.
After a week, the research centre staff was asked not to leave their houses.
“We were also told to remove our nameplates mentioning that we were working in Carbide for our safety considering the anger among people,” he said.
Senior press photographer Gopal Jain said nobody knew what happened exactly and rumours flew thick and fast.
“Around 2.30 am, a woman relative came to my house in the Teen Shade area with her eyes red. She told us dacoits had attacked the old Bhopal area by burning red chillies in large numbers. She said the entire area is engulfed in smoke,” he told PTI.
Jain immediately rushed out of his house to find several people running in the opposite direction of the Old Bhopal area towards the new Bhopal locality.
“Things became clear on December 3 morning when I went to Hamidia Hospital, which was a scene of chaos. Several bodies were lying at the hospital,” Jain reminisced.
The photographer said he learnt about the gas leak tragedy at the hospital.
“I immediately informed BBC veteran Mark Tully over the phone from the city exchange (Department of Telecommunication). Tully flew to Bhopal the same day in a special plane,” he said.
Senior journalist Virendra Sinha, who was working for Samachar Bharti news agency and residing in Old Bhopal, reminisced that he left the city on December 2 for Delhi via Uttar Pradesh to attend a marriage reception.
“I was getting ready in the Delhi office before leaving for Banda in UP when my brother sent a message on the office telex. ‘We all are fine and don’t worry about anything. Go ahead with your programme’,” Sinha said, adding that he was confused as everything was fine when he boarded the train.
He said the nature and scale of the gas tragedy was initially unclear as the incident occurred in the night. “Initial news reports suggested that 8 to 10 people died and 30 to 40 fell unconscious after gas leaked in Bhopal,” he said. Sinha said when he reached Banda the next day, he sent someone to fetch the newspaper “Aaj”.
“The newspaper edition had a banner headline about the Bhopal Gas Tragedy stating that nearly 10,000 people died and over 2 lakh injured,” he recalled.
Sinha decided to rush back to Bhopal without attending the marriage reception.
“The magnitude of the tragedy became clear later,” said Sinha, who retired from Bhasha news agency, the Hindi service of PTI.
On the intervening nights of December 2-3, 1984, the highly toxic methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant, killing 5,474 persons and maiming more than five lakh others.
However, even after 40 years, a sense of closure eludes some survivors who are afflicted by congenital disorders.
Bhopal resident Sharda Yadav’s two sons, in their 20s, are congenitally disabled, a disorder linked to the exposure of their father to the gas that leaked from Union Carbide’s plant.
Like Sharda Yadav, Abdul Saeed Khan, an ex-Union Carbide employee, is also living with his twin sons born with a congenital disability, which a senior doctor attributed to a “genetic mutation” among the victims of the industrial disaster.
Social activists claim that 337 tonnes of hazardous waste remains in a shed of the now-defunct Union Carbide despite Rs 126 crore being given to the Madhya Pradesh government by the Centre for disposal.
In that time, 6,288 people crossed the Channel, compared with 768 over the same period last year. …reports Asian Lite News
The number of small boat arrivals since Keir Starmer took power has passed 20,000, with the Home Office claiming a record number of calm autumnal days in the Channel was responsible.
A 31-day period in October and November had the highest ratio of so-called “red days” – when weather conditions make crossings likely or very likely – since records began in 2018, according to a leaked analysis.
In that time, 6,288 people crossed the Channel, compared with 768 over the same period last year. The data will be used by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, to explain why the number of crossings by small boats carrying people seeking refuge has jumped in recent weeks.
After a fortnight when bad weather prevented any crossings, two dinghies reached UK waters after midnight on Saturday with a combined total of 122 people onboard. This took the number of people who have arrived since 4 July to 20,110.
It comes as Cooper prepares to make a statement to the House of Commons on a deal she signed last week with the Iraqi government on joint cooperation to tackle people-smuggling gangs and increase returns of rejected claimants.
According to Home Office data covering 11 October to 10 November, 26 of the 31 days were classified as “red”, compared with just three over the same dates in 2023. When the Conservative government left office, 2024 was on track to be the busiest ever year for small boat arrivals, with 13,574 people crossing the Channel in the six months leading up to the election.
That was almost 19% more than the 11,433 who crossed in the same period in 2023, 5% more than the 12,900 in the previous record year of 2022, and more than double the 6,594 in 2021. In her statement to the Commons on Monday, Cooper is expected to contrast the government’s strategy with the record of her predecessors, who she will say lost control of every aspect of the immigration and asylum system, from small boat arrivals and asylum hotel costs to the total levels of net migration.
It took about eight and a half months for arrivals to pass 20,000 after Rishi Sunak became prime minister. His tenure began in the autumn, meaning his first few months in power coincided with winter weather conditions when typically fewer crossings take place.
By contrast, Starmer took on the role in the middle of the summer period when crossings are usually at their most numerous amid spells of better weather. It has taken about five months for arrivals to pass 20,000 since he came to power.
A Labour source said: “Robert Jenrick told the truth last week. He said the Tory party’s ‘handling of immigration let the country down badly’ and ‘caused immense and lasting harm’. We will not repeat those same mistakes.”
The government minister Pat McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that the UK “will always need migration” but that it had to be balanced with training the British workforce so “you’re not over-reliant on immigration”.
He said Labour would not be setting net migration targets but would publish a plan next week to reduce legal and illegal migration.
The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, admitted on Wednesday that previous Tory governments had failed to keep their promises on immigration, and she pledged to launch a radical review of Tory immigration policies.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics on Thursday showed that net migration ballooned to 906,000 in 2023.