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Saudi Arabia Elected to Chair Panel on Tropical Cyclones in Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea

Flag of Saudi Arabia.
Flag of Saudi Arabia.
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Saudi Arabia Elected to Chair Panel on Tropical Cyclones in Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea

Flag of Saudi Arabia.
Flag of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia was unanimously elected to chair the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Panel on Tropical Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, SPA said on Thursday.
Ayman bin Salem Ghulam, CEO of the National Center for Meteorology (NCM), expressed his gratitude to the member states of the committee for selecting him as the chairman of the committee.
Ghulam said the Kingdom’s appointment as the committee chair is a testament to the country’s pioneering role and its commitment to addressing critical issues related to disasters and their significant impact on humanity, both regionally and internationally.
He further highlighted the increasing frequency of tropical cyclones in the region and the world, which requires all nations to play a larger role in addressing such challenges.
To effectively respond to these tropical conditions, Ghulam highlighted the importance of strengthening monitoring and forecasting systems to accurately predict cyclones and improving preparedness measures to minimize loss of life and property.
Additionally, Ghulam underlined the importance of supporting decision-making tools to enhance resilience and adaptation to climate change. He also highlighted the need to develop early warning systems to mitigate the risks associated with natural disasters.

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Injured Seals Get Care and Sanctuary at a New Center in the Netherlands 

A seal swims in a tank at the new seal sanctuary in Lauwersoog, northern Netherlands, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP)
A seal swims in a tank at the new seal sanctuary in Lauwersoog, northern Netherlands, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP)
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Injured Seals Get Care and Sanctuary at a New Center in the Netherlands 

A seal swims in a tank at the new seal sanctuary in Lauwersoog, northern Netherlands, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP)
A seal swims in a tank at the new seal sanctuary in Lauwersoog, northern Netherlands, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP)

Gliding gracefully through the waters at his new home, Witje pauses briefly to peer through a large window at the curious and admiring visitors.

The 4-month-old gray seal is a lucky survivor able to swim in one of nine new tanks at the World Heritage Center, or WEC, a recently opened seal rescue facility in Lauwersoog, in the north of the Netherlands.

He was brought in after being orphaned and was suffering from a swollen flipper and a damaged eye.

“On a yearly basis, we roughly treat about 200 seals,” Sander van Dijk, the curator of the center, told The Associated Press. In 2024, researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands counted around 24,000 seals across the Wadden Sea.

Most are pups who get separated from their mother, known as howlers for their plaintive wailing. Others are injured by floating debris or are struck by passing vessels.

“If we look at our own data over the past 15 years, we just see every year more seals that somehow get entangled in waste in the sea, mostly fishing nets,” Van Dijk said.

The WEC, which officially opened to the public Saturday, replaces the Pieterburen Seal Center, a rescue facility set up in 1971 to treat injured seals found in and around the nearby Wadden Sea, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Witje’s tank is an upgrade from his previous quarters. He gets to swim in water directly from the sea, rather than tap water, in order to maintain a habitat as close as possible to the seals’ natural environment.

“They are adapted to living in seawater. It’s good for their fur. But also seawater, through its salt, has some properties that makes wounds heal faster,” Van Dijk said.

The WEC can treat around 70 seals at a time and has 12 intensive-care units for animals with serious injuries who are able to recover in special enclosures which offer a calm environment. They are prevented from swimming in order to rest and the space is cleaned frequently to prevent infections from waste.

The new building, which cost over 40 million euros ($45 million), with financing provided by local and regional governments as well as charitable organizations, tells more than just the story of the seas. It’s an educational space which teaches visitors about the Wadden Sea, the largest continuous system of intertidal flats in the world, extending along the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.

The new facility is significantly closer to the sea than the previous location. The tanks for the 10 seals currently residing at WEC look out over the water. Caregivers at the center are optimistic that Witje will soon recover enough to be released back into the waves.