Portugal safety and security report Wednesday 20th March 2024
Good morning. Yesterday the World Meteorlogical Organisation (WMO) released its Report and it makes sombre reading.
The WMO warns that heat waves, floods, droughts, forest fires and the rapid intensification of tropical cyclones are sowing “misery and chaos”, disrupting the daily lives of millions of people and causing economic losses worth several billion dollars, warns the World Meteorological Organization. Record ocean temperatures, rising sea levels and retreating glaciers in 2023 culminated a decade that was the hottest ever, taking the planet “to the brink of the abyss”, the UN warned this Tuesday.
A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations agency, shows that records have been broken, and in some cases “pulverized,” in terms of greenhouse gas levels, surface temperatures, heat content and ocean acidification, sea level rise, extension of the Antarctic ice sheet and retreat of glaciers.
The planet is “on the verge of collapse” and “pollution caused by fossil fuels is causing unprecedented climate chaos”, warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “There is still time to throw a lifeline to people and the planet” said António Guterres, stating that it is necessary to act now.
The long-term increase in global temperature is due to the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which reached record levels in 2022. And she also left a warning: “The global meteorological community is warning the entire world and sounding the alarm: we are on red alert.” The full press release can be read here: https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/climate-change-indicators-reached-record-levels-2023-wmo
We are also in Portugal at present experiencing dust from the Sahara which will be us for at least well into the weekend. Although this is a moderately high concentration it is not close extreme levels we experienced in 2022 when the sky was almost orange in some places. We will continue to monitor.
Despite this Portugal is among the 20 countries in the world with the best air quality, according to a list released yesterday that analyses the air of 134 countries. The analysis, for 2023, is part of the 6th Annual Report on Air Quality in the World, carried out by IQAir, a Swiss technology organization whose mission is to empower people, organizations and governments to improve air quality. For the results now released, in some cases worrying, IQAir used data from 30,000 air quality monitoring stations in 7,812 locations in 134 countries, territories and regions. In last place, in position 134, comes Bangladesh, followed by Pakistan, India, Tajikistan and Burkina Faso. You can read the full press release following this introduction.
For those of you in the Algarve I hope you are able to attend the Albufeira Civil Protection Knowledge Fair which is being held on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of March 2024. There will be a diverse range of activities and will take place at the EMA – Espaço Multiusos de Albufeira, (next Lidl supermarket) from 10am to 7pm.
Safe Communities Portugal will be making a presentation of our work at the fair on Friday 22nd March at 2pm. This will be in English and I hope that you are able to attend. I can assure you that it will be an informative session with plenty of opportunity to ask questions.
In addition to the presentations those visiting have access to the Exhibition of Equipment and Resources for Civil Protection Agents and Cooperating Entities, the Virtual Risk Room, the Algarve Seismic and Tsunami Risk Study Simulator, the Crash Simulator for Children and Young people, Tornado and Volcano Simulator and visiting the GNR Cavalry. Highlighted is the possibility of participating in various screenings and awareness-raising actions, namely on smoking cessation, blood pressure, blood glucose and oximetry, oral health, diabetes, prevention, bathing safety, rescue and relief, awareness-raising action on the Asian mosquito, prevention accidents, first aid, reading labels, among others.
So you can see there are good reasons to attend.
Our team look forward to meeting you at the event.
News.
2023 World Air Quality Report
Steinach, Switzerland, March 19, 2024 (Lusa) – Portugal is among the 20 countries in the world with the best air quality, according to a list released today that analyses the air of 134 countries.
The analysis, for 2023, is part of the 6th Annual Report on Air Quality in the World, carried out by IQAir, a Swiss technology organization whose mission is to empower people, organizations and governments to improve air quality.
For the results now released, in some cases worrying, IQAir used data from 30,000 air quality monitoring stations in 7,812 locations in 134 countries, territories and regions.
In last place, in position 134, comes Bangladesh, followed by Pakistan, India, Tajikistan and Burkina Faso.
To prepare the list, the organization’s main indicator is the so-called fine particles (PM2.5), measured in micrograms per cubic meter. They are linked in particular to combustion engines and have significant impacts on human health.
According to the report, Bangladesh had 79.9 micrograms per cubic meter of annual average, more than 15 times higher than that approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), which recommends a maximum of five micrograms.
In the European Union, the maximum permitted levels are 25 micrograms.
On the map of countries, on a colour scale where the best positions are in green, there are more than 90 with a less good classification.
Russia (10 micrograms, in position 94) is the first nation in green, followed by others such as Spain (9.9 micrograms), France in position 99 (9.5 micrograms), and the United Kingdom (7 .7 micrograms). Portugal, in position 118, accounts for 6.8 micrograms.
The best classification goes to French Polynesia, in place 134, with 3.2 micrograms of fine particles per cubic meter.
This means that only 16 countries/regions have better air than Portugal, in the list now released.
By capital cities, New Delhi, in India, is the most polluted, followed by Dhaka, in Bangladesh, and Ouagadougou, in Burkina Faso. Rome, Berlin and Paris are on the yellow list and Lisbon appears on the green list, ahead of other green capitals such as London, Madrid, Copenhagen or Luxembourg.
San Juan (Puerto Rico) appears as the least polluted, followed by Wellington, Canberra and Reykjavik.
If only the European continent is taken into account (represented by 2,006 cities in 43 countries), Bosnia-Herzegovina appears as the most polluted country, while the least polluted is Iceland (average concentration of 04 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter of air). In Europe Portugal is in 37th place out of 43 (1 being the best and 43 being the worst), just behind Iceland, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Ireland.
In terms of European cities, last year only 7% (135) reached the WHO values, including all cities in Iceland. Cities in Portugal are classified as green, but not at the value recommended by the WHO.
Among the main conclusions of the global report, it is highlighted that only seven countries complied with the WHO’s annual directive (Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand), that a third of the population in Africa does not have access to data on air quality, that PM2.5 concentrations have increased in almost all Southeast Asian countries, and that the 10 most polluted cities in the world are in Asia.
Begusarai, India, was the most polluted metropolitan area of 2023, with India being the country of the four most polluted cities in the world.
The European Union should soon have a new law on the matter, and a new directive on ambient air quality should be voted on in April by the European Parliament.
Air pollution is responsible for around 300,000 premature deaths per year in Europe, making it the main environmental threat to health, warns the European environmental organization EEB.
It contributes, he says, to health problems that include heart attacks, strokes, respiratory diseases, diabetes, dementia, cancer and delays in children’s cognitive development.
Although the exact cause is unknown this is a reminder to regularly check your cylinders and gas tubes if you use them. How long has it been since you’ve checked or replaced the tube that takes gas from the bottle to the stove or BBQ? There are rules and concerning the use of gas cylinders as such equipment are the causes every year for many accidents and risks in kitchens and housing. For instance flexible rubber tubes must comply with the requirements set out in standard NP 4436 and must not exceed 1.5 meters in length. And are valid for five years from the date of manufacture and must be assembled so as to: not come into contact with the hot parts of the equipment; not subject to the action of flames or combustion products and not cross the back of the stove. Ensure your safety and that of everyone who lives under your roof, follow the rules described and check the pipe connection regularly.
The Graça Funicular, which will connect this Lisbon neighbourhood to Mouraria, was inaugurated this Tuesday, 15 years after it began construction, leading to an overrun of the initial budget by 7 million euros. The inauguration was in charge of the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, who highlighted the importance of the work for the residents of Graça and Mouraria, who had been waiting for the funicular since 2009 because the project “was at a standstill”.
I hope you were able to attend one of the civil protection day events that were held throughout on the country on 1stMarch. Safe Communities Portugal was at the one held in Quarteira, an event that received many visitors. If you did not, there are plenty more opportunities as throughout the country, during the month of March, the Regional and Sub-regional Emergency and Civil Protection Commands mark the date, promoting, in partnership with the Humanitarian Firefighter Associations, Municipal Civil Protection Services and other Civil Protection Agents, activities for different audiences, such as simulations, exhibitions and/or days of reflection, focusing on a decentralized celebration, closer to the citizen, thus highlighting the crucial role that the local level plays in the national civil protection system and in the coordination of efforts between all agents in order to face increasingly complex challenges.
Monitoring this subject, there does appear to be a number of widespread scams/frauds mainly through text messaging and emails, ranging from AT (tax authority), calls in English from someone pretending to police saying you are under investigation; the purchase and sale of vehicles, property rental fraud, EDP scams etc. There are many of these around and it is important to check carefully before clicking on and links or providing personal information. Remember if an offer appears too good to be true then it is likely a scam!
The expedition brings together 22 researchers from five nationalities on board the Merian , on one of the most sophisticated research ships.
Yellow level rough seas and strong winds warnings were in place at the time and the ANEPC had earlier advised “Do not practice activities related to the sea, namely sport fishing, nautical sports”. The fact that the students were in trouble, that they had to be rescued and that five were in a state of “hypothermia”, begs the question, why in view of the warnings in place this training session went ahead in the first place? It could have been far more serious if it was not the prompt action of the emergency services.
The number of foreign students attending Portuguese schools has increased in recent years and in 2021/2022 there were more than 100 thousand, equivalent to almost one in 10 of the total universe.