1. Experts warn of a severe dengue outbreak in Kerala, call for improved clinical surveillance

Taking precaution: Mass fogging to chase away dengue-causing mosquitoes being held in Thiruvananthapuram. 

Public health experts have called for close monitoring and surveillance of dengue cases admitted in Kerala hospitals for possible change in clinical patterns, like unexpected liver failure, as a switch in circulating dengue virus (DENV) serotypes could lead to a severe outbreak this season.

In fact, epidemiologists who have been closely following the evolution of the circulating dengue virus types in the State since 2017 think that the DENV shift or switch might have already happened because 70% of the dengue case samples studied in 2022 in Thiruvananthapuram district were DENV3 serotype and some of the samples, DENV4.

All four in Kerala

Kerala has been hyperendemic for all four serotypes of DENV for the past two decades or more, meaning that all four serotypes are in circulation in the State throughout the year. Historically, however, surge in cases has usually been due to DENV1 and DENV2. There has been a shift in this pattern since 2019, according to researchers who studied the epidemiological and clinical characterisation of DENV serotypes in two districts in southern Kerala from 2017-2019.

They reported that while in 2017, DENV1 and DENV2 were the predominant serotypes, there was a marked increase in the proportion of DENV4 cases (34.56%) in 2019.

The study warned that the rise in DENV4 put forth the possibility of a more severe future outbreak.

Nearly 80% of dengue infections are usually asymptomatic (‘inapparent dengue’) and these sub-clinical infections in the community go untested as these are taken for simple viral fever.

A dengue infection confers lifelong immunity only to that particular serotype and temporary cross-immunity against other serotypes. Once this cross-immunity wanes, a second infection by a different serotype can trigger a severe immune response, leading to severe and life-threatening conditions such as dengue shock syndrome or haemorrhagic syndrome.

2. Preparedness pays off

India escaped the fury of the cyclone because of early warnings from the IMD

A potent cyclonic storm, Biparjoy, swept through Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan last week and while it did cause noticeable destruction to the infrastructure, scores of injuries and cattle deaths, there have been only two reported casualties. The India Meteorological Department began issuing its first reports on the cyclone’s trajectory as early as June 8, and by June 11, the agency first indicated that the storm would not bypass India, as previously estimated, but would likely sharply swing towards coastal Saurashtra, Gujarat. The storm was also categorised as falling in the ‘very severe’ category — average wind speeds of over 115 kmph. The four days of lead time and an estimate of its strength gave enough time for district authorities in Gujarat to begin evacuating people — nearly 1,00,000 people in the coastal regions of the States were moved to shelters and close to 30 central and State disaster relief teams were kept ready. The railways cancelled several trains and fishermen too received advance warnings of the cyclone’s impact, that kept them away from the sea.

There were power outages in 1,092 villages, about 5,120 electricity poles were knocked down and an estimated 186 transformers and 2,502 feeders were damaged in the Saurashtra-Kutch region. While shops and establishments have reportedly re-opened, a full return to normalcy is still awaited. Experience from recent years shows that cyclones, whether in the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea, and their expected impact can be precisely gauged only 36-60 hours ahead. While a greater lead time should in theory mean more time for preparation, the nature of coastal infrastructure, inefficient communication networks and livelihood patterns, combined with the natural fury that cyclones bring about, mean that there are limits to precautionary measures. A cyclone in 1998, that struck Gujarat, reportedly killed nearly 3,000 people, and it can be safely said that India has moved beyond that era. However, there are newer threats on the horizon. Several studies warn that the Arabian Sea, thanks to the effects of global warming, is likely to be the fountainhead of many more severe cyclones. Frequent evacuation cannot be implemented as a permanent policy intervention and efforts must be made to ensure that coastal-regulation-zone norms that prescribe the kind of structures permissible at specific distances from the shoreline must be strictly implemented. The dwellings of rural, coastal inhabitants must be strengthened and natural bulwarks such as mangroves at wetlands must be buttressed for improved resilience.

3. Responsibility and the complexities of climate leadership

Sheikh Hasina is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh

Over the last few weeks, there has been an increasingly vocal campaign to unseat the President-Designate of COP28, Minister Sultan Al Jaber of the host nation, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This includes a recent letter from United States and European parliamentarians calling for his removal on the grounds that he is CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. As representatives of developing countries in the climate change front line, i.e., Bangladesh and the Maldives, and as leaders of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a group of 58 of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries hosting 1.5 billion of the world’s poorest people, we know only too well the urgency of the climate challenge. We have endured climate-related economic losses of $500 billion in the last two decades alone.

This is a journey of unity

However, we also recognise that this journey, towards a clean energy future, is one we must embark on together. Fossil fuel-dependent economies are critical to these efforts, and they clearly have a more difficult task defining their energy transition strategy. It is important to avoid division and we must continue to engage our fellow parties at COP28 and elsewhere on the best way forward for their economies and for the planet.

Sultan Al-Jaber has led Masdar, the renewable energy company which has made huge investments in solar and wind projects. The UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant, which was recently opened, generates 6 gigawatts (5.6 or 5.8?) of clean power. Masdar and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) recently signed an agreement aiming to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030. This is leadership of our global clean energy future, in the most practical sense.

Finance will be crucial for COP28. Our programme of Climate Prosperity Plans, including the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan adopted in Bangladesh, seeks to generate inward investment of tens of trillions of dollars in building clean energy infrastructure. This climate prosperity agenda recognises that economic growth for the poorest countries is non-negotiable, and that our prospects should not be curtailed so that the rich countries can keep on polluting.

Luckily we do not seek coal, oil and gas; we seek electricity, transport and industry, all of which can now be increasingly delivered with clean energy. We seek the UAE’s leadership in helping secure investments supported by sovereign wealth funds and multilateral development banks which can deliver the huge boost in climate prosperity we need.

Debt is a barrier

Many of our nations are also crippled by unsustainable debts, including debts which are becoming unpayable due to climate damages largely caused by emissions elsewhere. Rather than going one by one over the financial cliff, we urgently need a collective approach which recognises the debt problem and the barrier it now poses to clean energy investment and climate adaptation. Sovereign wealth funds and multilateral development banks (MDBs) could assist in de-risking restructured debts and insuring re-issued climate bonds, as Sultan Al-Jaber has suggested. Sultan Al-Jaber can now demonstrate to Europe and North America what leadership really means by explicitly signalling to sovereign wealth funds and MDBs that he wants to see their full participation. We further call on the UAE leadership for a clean energy target starting in 2025, transforming the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company into the Abu Dhabi Clean Energy and Grid Company by 2030, and towards global financial reform including of the International Monetary Fund.

Thus, finance continues to be central to the COP outcome. The Loss and Damage fund that was secured last year in Sharm El-Sheikh must not be just be another empty bank account, and fossil fuels-dependent economies can demonstrate their commitment to a shared future by making subscriptions to support funding for climate damages in the most vulnerable countries, well in advance of the COP.

There are no winners and losers in a global climate breakdown, the oil industry included. As representatives of the most climate vulnerable developing nations, we call on American and European parliamentarians to reconsider their position. Instead of seeking to exclude relevant parties and stakeholders, we believe everyone should participate in decisions with such important ramifications.

Holding COP28 in the UAE, and with Sultan Al-Jaber as COP President-Designate, may well be an opportunity to engage the fossil fuels industry to make some significant and quantifiable commitments to emissions cuts and climate action in general. Time is running out, and we all need to work together to save the 1.5°C Paris target before it is too late.

The misplaced campaign to unseat the President-Designate of COP28 could result in setbacks to emissions cuts and climate action.

4. Gita Press, Gorakhpur, awarded Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021

The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 will be conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur, one of the largest publishers of religious texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana and the Upanishads.

The decision to confer the award on Gita Press was taken by a jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after due deliberations on Sunday in recognition of the publishing house’s “outstanding contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods”, the Culture Ministry said in a statement.

While recalling the contribution of Gita Press in promoting the Gandhian ideals of peace and social harmony, Mr. Modi observed that the conferment of the award was a recognition of the work done by the institution in community service.

The annual Gandhi Peace Prize was instituted in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The award carries an amount of ₹1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite handicraft or handloom item.

The previous awardees include organisations such as the Indian Space Research Organisation, Ramakrishna Mission, Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari and Sulabh International, New Delhi.

It has also been awarded to former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela, social worker Baba Amte, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh.

Centenary year

Gita Press is one of the world’s largest publishers, having published 41.7 crore books in 14 languages, including 16.21 crore Bhagavad Gita. It completes 100 years of its establishment in 2023. “The institution has never relied on advertisement in its publications, for revenue generation. Gita Press along with its affiliated organizations, strives for the betterment of life and the well-being of all,” the Ministry said.

According to the official website of the Gita Press, the institution’s main objective is to “promote and spread the principles of Sanatana Dharma, the Hindu religion among the general public by publishing Gita, Ramayana, Upanishads, Puranas, Discourses of eminent Saints and other character-building books and magazines and marketing them at highly subsidised prices”.

It has published 41.7 crore books in 14 languages, including 16.21 crore copies of the Gita.

5. In Mann Ki Baat, PM speaks on Emergency, efforts to eradicate TB

BJP members and workers listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat, at Majnu Ka Tila in New Delhi on Sunday. 

Modi hails the achievements of sportspersons in his monthly radio broadcast; Congress takes a dig at PM over ‘silence’ on Manipur violence

Ahead of his state visit to the U.S., Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed a special out-of-turn episode of Mann Ki Baat, where he sought the blessings of the citizens for the trip and also recalled the horrors of the Emergency, saying that “as India is the mother of democracy, we can never forget June 25”, the day the measure was imposed.

Mr. Modi said that usually the episode was put out on the last Sunday of every month, but since he was travelling to the U.S., he wanted to speak to the people before that.

Mr. Modi hailed the progress that is being made towards a tuberculosis-free India by 2025. He spoke of how dairy farming was picking up pace in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla, India’s strong disaster response strategy as seen in the preparations for Cyclone Biparjoy, the need to conserve nature through means like rainwater harvesting and afforestation, and the continuous hard work of the nation’s sportspersons, which was bringing international laurels.

However, the Congress took the opportunity to take a dig at the Prime Minister’s silence over the ethnic violence in Manipur, where over 100 have been killed and tens of thousands displaced.

Jairam Ramesh, Congress leader, said in a tweet, “So one more Mann ki Baat but Maun (Silence) on Manipur. The PM patted himself on the back for India’s great capabilities in disaster management. What about the entirely man-made [actually self-inflicted] humanitarian disaster in Manipur. Still no appeal for peace from him. There is a non-auditable PM-CARES Fund, but does the PM even care for Manipur is the real question.”

In the episode, Mr. Modi tied the themes of his topics around public participation, citing the role of the people in helping preparations for Biparjoy, their efforts to conserve water, and their active participation in the mission to eradicate TB.

Mr. Modi mentioned the Nikshay Mitra programme, under which social organisations, villages, panchayats and individuals can “adopt” TB patients to help and support and remove the stigma.

Reminding listeners that June 25 was nearby, Mr. Modi said, “It was a dark period in the history of India. Lakhs of people opposed the Emergency with full might. The supporters of democracy were tortured so much during that time, that even today, it makes the mind tremble. I wish that, today, when we are celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav we must also have a glance at such crimes which endanger the freedom of the country.”