2 OPPOSE SL PM IN UPCOMING POLLS
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition became embroiled in a power struggle on Tuesday as two challengers came forward to oppose Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to be candidate for a looming presidential election. Wickremesinghe had been the clear front-runner to be the United National Party candidate until parliament speaker Karu Jayasuriya and deputy party leader Sajith Premadasa threw their hats into the ring. Voting already risks controversy with Gotabaya Rajapakse, younger brother of Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapakse, leading the opposition bid despite outstanding court cases and criminal inquiries. WASHINGTON: The world may become hotter than previously expected by the end of the century, according to a major study by some 100 of the top researchers in the field in France.
In the worst-case scenario, average global temperatures may rise 6 degrees to 7 degrees Celsius by 2100, according to the work released by France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the atomic energy commission (CEA) and weather office Meteo-france.
That reading is about 1 degree Celsius hotter than previous projections. It’s also well above the 2-degree threshold endorsed by the United Nations. Beyond that level, storms are likely to become much more powerful and sea levels more than 1 metre higher.
The two updated models by the French researchers take a closer look at the regional effects of higher temperatures. They integrate the latest understanding of atmospheric physics and have higher resolution, CEA climate scientist Pascale Braconnot said in a press conference on Tuesday.
In the more pessimistic scenario, all summers in France by the end of the century will be hotter than the 2003 heatwave year, CNRS climate researcher Olivier Boucher said.
GRETA THUNBERG WINS TOP AMNESTY AWARD Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future youth movement received Amnesty International’s Ambassadors of Conscience award on Monday for their work highlighting the need for urgent action to avert climate disaster.
The 16-year-old received a standing ovation from students at The George Washington University in the US capital where the ceremony was held.