Heavy Rain Pounds Western Japan as 2 Tropical Storms Approachhttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5289106-heavy-rain-pounds-western-japan-2-tropical-storms-approach
Heavy Rain Pounds Western Japan as 2 Tropical Storms Approach
People clean mud and debris from a flooded area after heavy rain brought by Tropical Storm Mekkhala in Hsinchu, Taiwan, June 26, 2026. (Reuters)
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Heavy Rain Pounds Western Japan as 2 Tropical Storms Approach
People clean mud and debris from a flooded area after heavy rain brought by Tropical Storm Mekkhala in Hsinchu, Taiwan, June 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Heavy downpours triggered flooding in parts of western Japan on Friday as two approaching tropical storms added to a seasonal rain front already stuck above the country.
Storm Mekkhala was off the western coast of Japan's southern remote island of Amami as of late afternoon Friday as it headed northeast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Another storm, Higos, was traveling nearby and the two storms are expected to reach the Tokyo region Saturday while dumping heavy rain, the JMA said.
Earlier Friday, a man was injured as he fell into a waterway in Nara, according to Japan's NHK public television.
Television footage from Kyoto showed the Kamo River swollen with muddy water. A flooding alert was issued in parts of Kyoto, Osaka and other areas in western Japan.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said more than 30 homes were flooded in Nara and Hiroshima on Friday. Heavy rain also disrupted some train operations and flights in the area.
Invasive Species Thrive as Global Warming Transforms the Mediterraneanhttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5305682-invasive-species-thrive-global-warming-transforms-mediterranean
A lionfish lies after being caught in a trap in the coastal city of Limassol, Cyprus, July 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Invasive Species Thrive as Global Warming Transforms the Mediterranean
A lionfish lies after being caught in a trap in the coastal city of Limassol, Cyprus, July 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Pepis, the bearded skipper of a small fishing boat, deftly picks up two lionfish caught in experimental traps off the coast of Cyprus, cuts off their venomous spines, guts them and tosses them into a bucket.
Around him, the Mediterranean looks like a pane of glass, its calm surface giving little hint of the dramatic transformation unfolding underwater.
Pepis' practiced routine is part of a wider effort by scientists to track and control the spread of invasive species, such as lionfish, in these waters. Here life is changing, caused by a combination of warming sea temperatures and the Suez Canal, which has eased access for fish from more tropical climes.
A new species is estimated to enter the Mediterranean every two weeks, according to a recent survey collated by the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, based on research by scientists based in 11 countries.
In all, there are more than 1,000 non-indigenous species in the Mediterranean, the report said, up from fewer than 800 counted in another study by the European Environment Agency in the 2012 to 2017 period.
The tropical newcomers from the Red Sea and beyond are displacing native species, reshaping food chains and threatening fisheries, experts said.
That is just another sign of the impact of climate change which has wreaked such havoc on land this summer in Europe, causing record heatwaves, wildfires and drought. And it's a big worry for environmentalists: Despite accounting for just 0.8% of the global ocean area, the Mediterranean supports a share of the world's marine species that some estimates place as high as 18%.
“Changes have been drastic, especially since 2000,” said Periklis Kleitou, a marine scientist at the Cyprus-based Marine and Environmental Research (MER) lab which is looking at ways to reduce the impact of invasive species.
“We see more and more non-indigenous species proliferating and dominating the marine environment and, unfortunately, fewer native species.”
A yellowspotted pufferfish swims inside an aquarium in Heraklion, on the island of Crete, Greece, August 9, 2026. (Reuters)
NEW ARRIVALS TAKE OVER
The lionfish looks like an underwater punk, sporting a spiky mohican above a permanent scowl. It has no known predator in the Mediterranean and has a voracious appetite for native fish and crustaceans, scientists say.
Around Cyprus, MER is testing selective traps designed to attract lionfish and blue crabs while allowing other species to escape.
In Greece, increasingly common alien species are disrupting marine ecosystems.
More than 230 have entered Greek waters in recent decades, said Paraskevi Karachle, research director at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research.
Newcomers disrupt the ecosystem in differing ways. Rabbitfish graze heavily on algae, creating barren areas underwater and competing with the Mediterranean's native herbivorous fish, said Karachle.
The Lagocephalus pufferfish, also known as silver-cheeked toadfish, a carnivore whose toxins can be fatal to humans, attacks other fish and is associated with reports of reduced octopus catches. Silver and speckled with black dots, it looks like a bruiser with bulging eyes and buck teeth.
Greek and Cypriot authorities have offered fishermen bounties on pufferfish hauls.
"Invasive species are taking over our seas, and that affects the local biodiversity as well as the economy," said Christina Kakoulli, a marine biologist at MER.
A lionfish with risotto is served on a plate in a restaurant in the coastal city of Limassol, Cyprus July 17, 2026. (Reuters)
LOOKING AT WAYS TO ADAPT
Scientists are looking for ways to adapt. One option is to get consumers used to eating new types of fish. Lionfish is safe to consume once the spines are removed. Pepis the skipper advises dusting it with flour before frying.
"In the beginning people were afraid, but now they understand it's a high quality, delicious fish," said Petros Yiangou, a chef who works with MER on Life Prometheus, a European Union-funded project that looks at ways to reduce accidental capture of sharks and rays, while encouraging ways to harvest invasive species.
Markets are emerging in Lebanon and Türkiye, while Atlantic blue crabs have found customers in Tunisia.
Greek marine researchers have tested ways of removing toxins to turn pufferfish into fishmeal for farmed sea bass, Karachle said. Other research has explored possible uses for alien species in cosmetics, food supplements, leather products and pain relief.
Finding uses for the newcomers might be easier than finding one single trigger point for their spread and impact. Scientists say the situation needs sustained, long-term monitoring.
"The sea is very complicated," Kleitou said. "It has so many confounding variables interacting at the same time."
Spain Prepares for Eclipse under Shadow of Wildfire Riskhttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5305677-spain-prepares-eclipse-under-shadow-wildfire-risk
Residents and firefighters work to extinguish an advancing wildfire near Formariz in Zamora province, Spain, July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Spain Prepares for Eclipse under Shadow of Wildfire Risk
Residents and firefighters work to extinguish an advancing wildfire near Formariz in Zamora province, Spain, July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Spain is rolling out a massive police operation and public safety campaign ahead of a rare total solar eclipse on August 12 that will coincide with one of the country's highest-risk periods for wildfires.
Regional governments along the eclipse path across Spain – offering the best views of the solar event in mainland Europe – are seeking to corral an expected influx of 6 million people by designating 660 official viewing sites, along with parking and camping areas.
More than 35,000 officers will be deployed in a security operation to minimize the risks – such as fires caused by dropped cigarettes – linked to large gatherings in natural areas, Virginia Barcones, secretary-general for Civil Protection and Emergencies at Spain's Interior Ministry, told Reuters.
"We've had an extremely tough summer in Spain, with yet another series of major forest fires. That's why we must restrict any kind of activity that could generate a spark," Barcones said.
TEMPERATURES SET TO REACH 40 DEGREES CELSIUS
A control room in Madrid seen by Reuters is where authorities will lead a surveillance operation in coordination with regional governments.
The full solar eclipse, visible in totality only from Spain and Iceland early on Wednesday evening, offers an example of how climate change will reshape the management of major public events.
Several Spanish regions are under alerts issued by weather agency Aemet for the day of the eclipse due to temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and a "high" or "very high" wildfire risk.
Spain, along with France and Greece, has already battled heatwaves and severe wildfires this summer across an increasingly tinder-dry Europe.
By Monday evening, three major wildfires were burning in the provinces of Huelva, Segovia and Huesca. So far this year, fires have scorched about 200,000 hectares – six times more than by the same date in 2025, according to the Environment Ministry.
"This is a very bad time of year ... It's statistically the week when the most wildfires occur in Spain," said Raul de la Calle, secretary-general of the Association of Forest Technical Engineers.
RURAL CROWDS FUEL FEARS
Some residents of small towns have launched their own public awareness campaigns, urging visitors to avoid sensitive natural areas.
In Buitrago de Lozoya, a town of 2,000 residents north of Madrid, local group Monte en Pie (Keeping Woodlands Alive) staged a protest against events planned near forests.
The nearby town of Tres Cantos cancelled all eclipse-day events because of wildfire risks, though around 3,000 people – including Madrid's regional leaders – are still expected at an observation site near Buitrago.
Monte en Pie argues that while the eclipse will last only a few minutes, the damage caused by a major wildfire could endure for decades.
"We are in a high wildfire-risk area. Barbecues and the use of machinery are prohibited because the countryside is extremely dry ... The more people there are, the greater the danger," said Ana Hernandez, the group's leader.
Authorities estimate around 1.5 million people could be on the roads during the day, travelling to rural northwestern and central Spain that is along the total eclipse's path.
National and local authorities have launched public awareness campaigns, warning in local and social media and in visitors' forums online against parking in unauthorized areas, littering, using barbecues or venturing into fire-prone countryside.
Fire risks do not however appear to be deterring astro-tourists. Travel platform Booking.com reported foreign searches more than tripled in inland cities such as Burgos and Soria, while Amadeus travel data showed bookings to the northern region of Asturias were up 292% from a year earlier.
Around 70% of Spain's rental motorhomes, camper vans and caravans, around 500,000 vehicles, have already been booked for the eclipse period, industry association ASEICAR said.
AI's Hunger for Power Sparks US Private Gas Plant Boomhttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5305665-ais-hunger-power-sparks-us-private-gas-plant-boom
This handout satellite image obtained from Planet Labs on August 7, 2026 and taken on July 14, 2026 shows the xAI Colossus 2 data center in south Memphis, Tennessee. 2026 Planet Labs PBC/AFP
AI's Hunger for Power Sparks US Private Gas Plant Boom
This handout satellite image obtained from Planet Labs on August 7, 2026 and taken on July 14, 2026 shows the xAI Colossus 2 data center in south Memphis, Tennessee. 2026 Planet Labs PBC/AFP
As US tech companies race to build the data centers fueling the AI boom, they are increasingly putting up their own power plants -- off the grid and running on gas -- to get online faster.
Analysis by the research firm Cleanview, shared with AFP, identified around 60 data centers planned for the coming years with a combined 97 gigawatts of "behind-the-meter" generation into the early 2030s -- around the total installed capacity of Mexico.
The climate implications could be enormous.
The precise figure depends on how many are built, how efficient the turbines are and how often they run, but even with very conservative assumptions, the plants would easily top 200 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
That's equal to annual emissions of more than 46 million gasoline-powered cars.
The latest addition to the tally -- a 7.5 GW plant in Texas powering Amazon data centers -- shows how analysts often have to piece together clues to link projects to hyperscalers.
The plant got air pollution permits in January, Amazon received construction permits last week, and satellite imagery confirmed clearing had begun at the site named in the plant's air permit records. Cleanview then confirmed the link with Amazon directly.
- Poor efficiency -
Alongside greenhouse gases, gas plants emit fine particulate matter, linked to a range of heart and lung problems; nitrogen oxides, which aggravate respiratory disease; and hazardous air pollutants including mercury, formaldehyde and benzene.
"Powering data centers with behind-the-meter generation that relies heavily on dirty gas or diesel turbines is a surefire way to needlessly pump a variety of hazardous pollutants into local communities' air while worsening climate change," John Rogers, associate director of energy analytics at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told AFP.
"These dirty plants, which are also subject to less public accountability, are unacceptable when record heat and fires are showing us that we need to change course," said Yuqi Zhu, a senior policy analyst at Natural Resources Defense Council.
The practice began as an oddity, exemplified by Elon Musk's decision to truck in mobile gas turbines to an xAI data center in Memphis in 2024. xAI still accounts for most of the two gigawatts online today.
But Cleanview's analysis finds nearly every hyperscaler is pursuing such projects, including Meta, Microsoft and Oracle. AI labs including OpenAI and Anthropic have signed leases for more than 10 gigawatts of behind-the-meter power.
Instead of the equipment utilities normally buy, they have turned to more exotic and more polluting options, including trailer-mounted generators, turbines originally designed for aircraft and warships, piston engines of the kind commonly found in vehicles, and refurbished turbines from industrial operations.
- Test case -
Development tilts toward Republican-leaning states, with Texas far in the lead at more than 40 gigawatts announced.
The NAACP civil rights group has filed suit against xAI, accusing it of unlawfully operating turbines in Mississippi to power its Memphis data center.
"We are concerned that if this case is decided against us, data centers across the country will be emboldened to go forward," Laura Thoms, enforcement director at Earthjustice, which is co-representing the NAACP, told AFP.
President Donald Trump's administration has created a voluntary "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," under which signatories promise not to pass data center costs on to residential consumers, something Thoms fears will only accelerate the problem.
Gas was already enjoying a renaissance before Trump returned to office, according to data compiled by Atlas Public Policy.
After years of decline, new announced fossil fuel capacity for the grid hit a low in 2022, rebounding the following year as the AI boom took hold.
"In the first half of 2026 alone, we're already seeing that the announced new (fossil) capacity is higher than it's been in the last 10 years, so that's a pretty significant sign," said Rachel Reolfi, a senior policy analyst at the group.
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