Tag: WHO

Filter By:

WHO: Zika virus recommendations

IMO has issued circular to provide guidance on the Zika situation report issued by the World Health Organizaton. At present the Emergency Committee, convened by the World Health Organization's Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005), has found no justification for restrictions on travel or trade.

Read more

Year of Polar prediction takes shape

  An international action plan to improve predictions of weather, climate and ice conditions in Polar regions has been agreed in an effort to minimize the risks and maximize the opportunities associated with rapid changes in the Arctic and Antarctic environments. A conference from 13-15 July, which grouped operational weather and climate prediction centres, environmental experts, researchers, funding agencies and the shipping and tourist sectors, finalized plans for a Year of Polar Prediction. This will take place from mid-2017 to mid-2019 (in order to cover an entire year in both the Arctic and Antarctic) and will seek to accelerate and consolidate research, observing, modelling, verification and educational activities as part of a wider Polar Prediction Project. There is growing interest in the polar regions, fuelled by concerns about the rapid pace of climate change. The Arctic is heating at roughly twice the global average rate, with consequent reductions in ice and snow cover and melting of glaciers and permafrost. The impact of this is not confined to the Arctic but is felt in other parts of the globe – as exemplified by rising sea levels and changing weather and climate patterns.  “Advances in Polar prediction will lead to improvements in weather ...

Read more

Positive signs from the implementation of fuel switch at berth

  From Clean Air Network (CAN)’s review of the Environmental Protection Department’s 2015 air quality monitoring data, it is found that in general, Hong Kong’s air quality had slightly improved in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period last year. However, pollutant levels still fall short of the WHO standards and even some of the Air Quality Objectives (AQOs).   Levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2), an indicator of marine emissions, exceeded the WHO annual guideline (5 µg/m3) at all monitoring stations except Tai Po. Kwai Chung had the highest SO2 levels among all stations, followed by Tsuen Wan and recorded higher levels when compare to last year, indicating significant contribution from ship emissions. However, positive signs have been found from the first week of implementation of fuel switch at berth. If we compare the first week with last week in June, number of hours of SO2 24-hour concentration exceeding WHO level (20 µg/m3) significantly dropped in July.  When comparing daily average, they are also visibly lower for the days in July and the highest hourly reading is 40% lower in July when compared with last week of June. CAN Chief Executive Officer Kwong Sum Yin said, “The ...

Read more
Page 7 of 9 1 6 7 8 9