Global Disasters/ Significant Events – 1 May 2013

Victims of Dhaka Building Collapse Buried in Mass Funeral

Death toll in Bangladeshi building collapse climbed to 402 with 150 others reported as missing.

The Rana Plaza collapse last Wednesday, which left also 2,500 people injured, became Bangladesh’s worst industrial disaster.

Tens of thousands of garment workers marked International Labor Day in Dhaka, demanding the death penalty for the building owners, while a mass funeral was held for the collapse victims.

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Flooding and Landslides in south China

Floods and landslides triggered by extreme rain events have affected hundreds of thousands of people in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

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Saudi Arabia

Flooding in Saudi Arabia has left at least 13 people dead and four others missing, in the capital Riyadh.

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U.S. Temperature Forecast

U.S. Temperature Forecast for May 1, 2013. 

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UK Government breached the EU air quality law

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the UK government has broken European Union air quality law, and asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxemburg for instructions on the follow-up action, knowingly delaying immediate remedial action to improve the air pollution by about 18 months, said a report.

• The government was found to be in breach of an EU directive for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions.

NO2: Toxic by Inhalation

• A prominent air pollutant, NO2 is produced by burning fuels. It is a reddish-brown gas with a characteristic sharp, acrid odor.

• Internal combustion engines and thermal power stations release millions of tons of  NO2 into the air each year.

• Long-term exposure to low levels of NO₂ (40–100 µg/m³⁾ could decrease lung function and increase the risk of respiratory symptoms.

• Low concentrations (4 ppm) of NO2 will anesthetize the nose, which could lead to overexposure.

• Some 40 out of Britain’s 43 air quality zones exceeded the NO2 limits for 2010.

• London has the highest levels of NO2 among all European capitals.

• Some 29,000 early deaths a year in Britain are attributed to air pollution, said the report.
  

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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 1, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,046 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,046 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs