Japan Urges 200,000 People to Evacuate Due to Heavy Rain

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. (AFP)
Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. (AFP)
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Japan Urges 200,000 People to Evacuate Due to Heavy Rain

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. (AFP)
Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water. (AFP)

Nearly 200,000 people in western Japan were urged to evacuate on Saturday as authorities warned of landslides and floods, while the remnants of a tropical storm trickle over the country.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said "warm, moist air... was causing heavy rainfall with thunderstorms in western Japan" partly due to Kong-rey, which was downgraded to an extratropical low-pressure system from a typhoon.

The city of Matsuyama "issued the top-level warning, urging 189,552 residents in its 10 districts to evacuate and immediately secure safety", a city official told AFP.

While the evacuation was not mandatory, Japan's highest-level warning is typically issued when it is extremely likely that some kind of disaster has already occurred.

Forecasters warned that landslides and floods could affect western Japan on Saturday and eastern Japan on Sunday.

Due to rain, Shinkansen bullet trains were briefly suspended between Tokyo and southern Fukuoka region in the morning before resuming on a delayed schedule.

Kong-rey smashed into Taiwan on Thursday as one of the biggest storms to hit the island in decades.

It claimed at least three lives and injured 690 people, according to the National Fire Agency, which added a migrant worker death to the toll on Saturday.

The storm knocked out power to 957,061 households, 27,781 of which were still in the dark as of Saturday.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.



Lahore Air Pollution Hits Historic High, Forcing School Closures

An Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) is pictured on an elevated track amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 3, 2024. (Photo by Arif ALI / AFP)
An Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) is pictured on an elevated track amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 3, 2024. (Photo by Arif ALI / AFP)
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Lahore Air Pollution Hits Historic High, Forcing School Closures

An Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) is pictured on an elevated track amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 3, 2024. (Photo by Arif ALI / AFP)
An Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) is pictured on an elevated track amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 3, 2024. (Photo by Arif ALI / AFP)

Unprecedented air pollution levels in Pakistan's second-largest city of Lahore prompted authorities to take emergency measures on Sunday, including issuing work-from-home mandates and closing primary schools.
The city held the top spot on a real-time list of the world's most polluted cities on Sunday after recording its highest ever pollution reading of 1900 near the Pakistan-India border on Saturday, based on data released by the provincial government and Swiss group IQAir, Reuters reported.
The government has shut primary schools for a week, advising parents to ensure children wear masks, said Senior Minister of Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb during a press conference, as a thick blanket of smog enveloped the city.
Citizens have been urged to stay indoors, keep doors and windows shut, and avoid unnecessary travel, she said, adding that hospitals had been given smog counters.
To reduce vehicle pollution, 50% of office employees would work from home, said Aurangzeb.
The government has also imposed a ban on three-wheelers known as rickshaws and halted construction in certain areas to reduce the pollution levels. Factories and construction sites failing to comply with these regulations could be shut down, she said.
Aurangzeb described the situation as "unexpected" and attributed the deterioration in air quality to winds carrying pollution from neighboring India.
"This cannot be solved without talks with India," she said, adding the provincial government would initiate talks with its bigger neighbor through Pakistan's foreign ministry.
The smog crisis in Lahore, similar to the situation in India's capital Delhi, tends to worsen during cooler months due to temperature inversion trapping pollution closer to the ground.