Climate change will cut South Asia’s growth by almost 9 percent by the end of the century unless world governments try harder to counter global warming, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Aug. 19.
The region is home to a fifth of the world’s population and it is already vulnerable to climate extremes: seasonal floods, cyclones and droughts that ravage vast swathes of agricultural land and displace hundreds of thousands of people every year.
Those countries, excluding Sri Lanka, will see more frequent severe weather, damaging property, infrastructure, agriculture and human health, the ADB said. Between 1990 and 2008, more than 750 million people in South Asia were affected by at least one natural disaster, resulting in almost 230,000 deaths, it said.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
The cost of shielding the region against climate change could be lowered if the world’s governments significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions and, if the rise in global temperatures was kept below 2.5 degrees Celsius, that cost could be nearly halved to about US$40.6 billion, or 0.48 percent of GDP, it said.
South Asia also needs to introduce flood and saline-resistant crop varieties, better coastal zone management, improved disease surveillance, protection of groundwater and greater use of recycled water.
(Reuters)
亞洲開發銀行八月十九日指出,氣候變遷將會在本世紀末削減南亞近乎百分之九的成長,除非世界各國政府更努力對抗全球暖化。
此地區是世界五分之一人口的家園,對極端氣候已非常敏感脆弱:蹂躪大片農地的季節性洪水、氣旋,以及乾旱,每年使得數十萬人無家可歸。
亞洲開發銀行說,除了斯里蘭卡之外,嚴峻氣候將會在南亞國家日益常見,損害財產、基礎建設、農業及人類健康。它說,一九九0年到二00八年間,南亞超過七億五千萬人至少受到一個天然災害影響,導致二十三萬人死亡。
亞洲開發銀行表示,如果各國政府有效減少溫室氣體排放量,並且讓全球氣溫升高幅度維持在低於攝氏二點五度,保護南亞對抗氣候變遷的成本可能會降低,有可能減半至約四百零六億美元,也就是南亞國內生產總值的百分之零點四八。
南亞也需要引進抗洪水與鹽水的農作物,更好的海岸區域管理,改善疾病監控,保護地下水並更妥善利用回收水。
(路透/翻譯:顧佳欣)
A: Wow, three Taiwanese restaurants just won the 2024 “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards. B: Awesome! Which three restaurants? A: Taipei’s Logy at No. 22 and MUME at No. 34, and Taichung’s JL Studio at No. 33. B: Actually, there are many more great establishments in Taipei. How about other Asian cities? A: Singapore claimed nine spots this year, making it Asia’s new “food capital.” A: 2024「亞洲50最佳餐廳」名單揭曉了,台灣有3家餐廳上榜。 B: 好厲害,哪3家? A: 台北的Logy和MUME分獲第22和34名,台中的JL Studio獲第33名! B: 其實台北還有很多好餐廳,那其他的亞洲城市呢? A: 新加坡今年入選9家,可說是亞洲美食之都。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once
A situation puzzle is a game in which one person describes a scenario and asks the players to explain it. The situation is deliberately lacking in details, but the players may acquire more information by asking questions — however, these can only be answered with “yes” or “no.” A player wins by describing the approximate events that led up to the situation. To do so, they must use a blend of logical and lateral thinking. A famous example of this is sometimes known as “Turtle Soup.” Here’s the riddle: “A man in a restaurant orders turtle soup, tastes it