International News
In Zimbabwe, where 60 per cent of the population is projected to be food insecure by the end of 2020, the World Food Programme appealed for $250 million to prevent a human catastrophe. A nationwide COVID-19 lockdown has led to joblessness in urban areas, growing hunger in rural areas and hyperinflation that has made basic goods unaffordable.
Exceptional and prolonged heat in Siberia has fuelled devastating Arctic fires, the World Meteorological Organization said today, noting that temperatures in Siberia again topped 30°C this week. The heat will influence weather and climate in lower latitudes, where hundreds of millions of people live, it warned.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
Severe flooding in Bangladesh is currently affecting some 1.4 million people, with United Nations agencies providing $5.2 million in early funding. In China, heavy rains have impacted more than 38 million people, while floods and landslides in Nepal have led to more than 100 deaths.