Armed Conflict and Climate Crisis Threatens the Lives of Millions in Yemen

Yemen is currently in the midst of a severe humanitarian crisis that has been exacerbated by a litany of environmental issues. Years of armed conflict, constant windstorms, flooding, mass displacement, cholera outbreaks, and acute food insecurity have all compounded into a severe issue for millions of Yemeni people. Currently, it is estimated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that approximately 70 percent of Yemen’s population depends on humanitarian aid to survive.

Bangladesh Flash Floods ‘Tragic Reminder’ of Impact of Climate Disasters

Since late August, severe flash floods and monsoons plaguing Bangladesh have affected nearly 6 million people. Bangladeshi officials have declared the floods to be the country’s worst climate disaster in recent memory. These recent floods follow the wake of Cyclone Remal, which devastated Bangladesh and West Bengal earlier this year.

Lack of Accountability for War Crimes in Libya Raises Instability

The situation in Libya continues to grow more dire every year since the emergence of the al-Kaniyat militant group. From 2013 to 2022, al-Kaniyat had been responsible for a multitude of human rights violations, including mass killings, kidnappings, forced displacements, torture, and sexual violence. The lack of accountability for these injustices has spurred renewed conflict, which threatens to destabilize Libya years later.

Humanitarian Crisis As Floods, Prolonged Heavy Rains Impact Chad

Since June of this year, Chad has been facing an extended period of heavy rainfall. Major flooding has triggered the onset of a significant humanitarian crisis, as all aspects of Chadian life, including health, food production, and community, have been negatively impacted. Additionally, response plans are severely compromised due to high levels of hostility taking place in neighboring nations.

Infection Rates Among Children Show Worrying Increase in Gaza

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues, so does the spread of illness among Palestinian children. Already facing widespread malnutrition, starvation, dehydration, and unhygienic living conditions, hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza face the risk of contracting a multitude of diseases.

In the Midst of Hostilities Hunger Escalates in Sudan

The ongoing humanitarian crisis taking place in Sudan, which is a result of the civil war that began last year, continues to escalate as hunger and displacement plague the population, according to spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, during a press briefing on August 21, 2024.

Conditions Grow Dire in Myanmar

On August 21st, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric spoke at a press briefing at the United Nations Headquarters about the ongoing Rohingya genocide taking place in Myanmar. Dujarric detailed high levels of hostility and displacement in the Shan, Mandalay, and Rakhine regions, which have significantly intensified since late June of this year.

Gaza War: Displaced Palestinian Families Struggle to Access Basic Services

The latest Israeli evacuation order on August 17 led to the displacement of over 13,000 individuals, Secretary General’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told a press conference at the UN headquarters.

Conditions In Zimbabwe Worsen From El Niño Drought

Half of Zimbabwe's crops were destroyed and about 7.6 million people are at risk of acute hunger as a result of the El Niño weather phenomenon.

The Troubling Truth of Mpox

On August 15th, the Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, stated at a press briefing at the United Nations Headquarters that the Mpox epidemic continues to surge in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spreads throughout Africa. The alarming frequency of these cases constitutes a global health concern. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is an epidemic that has grown exponentially in severity over the past two years. Originating in Central Africa in 1970, rates of infection have risen significantly since late 2023, with a new variant of the infection, known as clade 1 Mpox, infecting over 17,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. These cases have generated increasing alarm, so much so that the World Health Organization has declared Mpox to be a worldwide public health emergency. Shortly after this declaration, the first case of clade 1 Mpox was reported in Sweden which greatly elevated global concern of a worldwide epidemic.

The Price Women Pay for Climate Change

Global warming, widely believed to be a universal crisis, will actually impact girls and women far more than boys and men. It is already known that we live in a patriarchal world, one in which men are afforded far greater opportunities for success while women generally hold less societal power and have access to fewer resources. This especially pertains to developing countries in which agriculture related work, usually delegated to females, depends on a variety of environmental factors and subsequently, significantly hurts their livelihoods.

Are Sustainable Cities a Pipe Dream?

Cities, once thought to be modern utopias that foster innovation, inclusivity, and commerce, actually ended up being hubs for environmental degradation. Although the concept of urban living is inextricable from humanity, there are proposed ways to make them less environmentally taxing. One such solution is the idea of a sustainable city, otherwise known as a metropolis that effectively consumes fossil fuels and disposes of emissions with regards to the longevity of the planet as well as the economic wellbeing of its citizens. Cities can also be considered sustainable so long as they curb the consequences of consumption through means such as recycling or using healthier energy sources. Although this sounds like a simple path forward in Earth’s journey of decarbonizing, we must take a plethora of issues into consideration, such as transportation, housing, manufacturing, trade, and comfort.

Is Artificial Intelligence The Way Forward or Backward?

Contrary to popular belief, artificial intelligence has been a cornerstone of technological progress for much longer than the past few years. Computer scientist Alan Turing brought forth the concept of computers solving complex human problems with his invention of the Turing Machine in 1936. This machine provided solutions to a seemingly infinite number of problems, yet the technological limitations of the early 1900s proved that this number was indeed very finite. Flash forward to the 2020s, artificial intelligence has become a widespread practice, impacting different fields such as music, art, science, forensics, finance, agriculture, and many others. Although artificial intelligence has been hailed as the future of human progress, it also poses a risk to this future due to its significant carbon footprint.