Heatwave sees record high temperatures around world this week

From Europe to Africa, extreme and widespread heat raises climate concerns in hottest La Niña year to date on record
Jonathan Watts The Guardian 13 Jul 18;

Record high temperatures have been set across much of the world this week as an unusually prolonged and broad heatwave intensifies concerns about climate change.

The past month has seen power shortages in California as record heat forced a surge of demand for air conditioners. Algeria has experienced the hottest temperature ever reliably registered in Africa. Britain, meanwhile, has experienced its third longest heatwave, melting the roof of a science building in Glasgow and exposing ancient hill forts in Wales.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the rising temperatures were at odds with a global cyclical climate phenomena known as La Niña, which is usually associated with cooling.

“The first six months of the year have made it the hottest La Niña year to date on record,” said Clare Nullis of the WMO.

Taiwan is the most recent place to report a new high with a temperature of 40.3C in Tianxiang on Monday. This followed a flurry of other anomalies.

Last week, a weather station at Ouargla in Algeria’s Sahara Desert, reported a maximum temperature of 51.3C on 5 July, the highest temperature reliably recorded in Africa.

Even when the sun goes down, night is not providing the cooling relief it once did in many parts of the world. At Quriyat, on the coast of Oman, overnight temperatures remained above 42.6C, which is believed to be the highest “low” temperature ever recorded in the world. Downtown Los Angeles also saw a new monthly July minimum overnight record of 26.1C on 7 July.

Globally, the warmest year on record was in 2016, boosted by the natural climate cycle El Niño. Last year, temperatures hit the highest level without that amplifying phenomenon. This year, at the other cooling end of the cycle, is continuing the overall upward trend.

Swathes of the northern hemisphere have seen unusually persistent warmth due to strong, persistent high pressure systems that have created a “heat dome” over much of Eurasia.

“What’s unusual is the hemispheric scale of the heatwave,” said Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. “It’s not just the magnitude in any one location but that high temperatures are being seen over such a large area.”

Northern Russia’s exceptionally sunny weather – seen on TV by billions thanks to the World Cup – has caused wildfires that affected 80,000 hectares of forest near the Krasnoyarsk region, which reported daily anomalies of 7C above average. The Western Siberian Hydromet Center has issued storm warnings after temperatures of more than 30C for five days. Climate watchers fear this will accelerate the melting of permafrost, releasing methane – a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.

In California, daytime records were also set last week at Chino (48.9C), Burbank airport (45.6C) and Van Nuys airport (47.2C). In Canada, at least 54 deaths have been attributed to the prolonged heatwave and high humidity in Quebec. Montreal saw a new record high temperature of 36.6C on 2 July.

In Europe, the WMO has warned of droughts, wildfires and harvest losses after the second hottest June on record. Over the past two weeks, records have been set in Tbilisi (40.5C), Shannon (32C), and Belfast (29.5C)

Britain has cooled slightly in the past two days, after 17 days of temperatures over 28C. This was the third longest heatwave on record, following the record 19-day run in 2013 and the famous summer of 1976, when there were two prolonged spells of 18 days and 15 days. Dean Hall of the UK’s Met Office said Britain’s temperatures were forecast to rise again over the coming week.

The concern is that weather fronts – hot and cold – are being blocked more frequently due to climate change. This causes droughts and storms to linger, amplifying the damage they cause. This was a factor in the recent devastating floods in Japan, where at least 150 people died after rainfall up to four times the normal level.

Paolo Ruti of the WMO said it was difficult to ascribe any one weather event to climate change, but that recent high temperatures, intense rains and slow-moving fronts were in line with forecasts of how rising emissions will affect the climate.

“Recent analysis suggests that anthropogenic forcing might indeed affect the characteristics of summer blocking events in the Euro-Asia sector, in particular leading to longer blocking episodes,” he said.

Extreme weather events have buffeted much of the world over the past 12months, from the “Day Zero” drought in Cape Town to the abnormally powerful hurricanes Harvey and Irma that buffeted the east coast of the US and Caribbean.

Underscoring the link, a new report from scientists at the World Weather Attribution group indicates that manmade climate change and its effect on rainfall made the recent Cape Town drought three times more likely.

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Best of our wild blogs: 13 Jul 18

Sliver of Changi still lively
wild shores of singapore

Feeding “Fluffy” the Juvenile Albino Collared Kingfisher
Singapore Bird Group

Pulau Sekudu or Frog Island (青蛙岛)
Offshore Singapore

Job: Part-time Entomological Curation Assistant @ Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (Deadline: 15 August 2018)
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Local NGOs push Singapore banks on coal: Stop using our money to fuel climate change
eco-business

Meeting the rare China Clam
Mei Lin NEO

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MPA: Queen of the Netherlands complied with Singapore requirements

Malay Mail 11 Jul 18;

SINGAPORE, July 11 — Queen of the Netherlands, a sand dredger, complied with Singapore’s port entry and departure requirements, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said today.

The vessel also complied with the reporting procedures when navigating in the Singapore Strait during the period in question, an MPA spokesperson said in an email reply to Bernama.

MPA was asked whether it was aware of the existence of the dredger as a news report claimed that it “has been spotted sailing back and forth between Johor and southern Singapore along a sea route well known for its smuggling activity”.

A check by a Malaysian daily on June 28 on the marine traffic website showed that the ship was in Singapore waters and had been there since June 18.

“The movement of the Queen of the Netherlands showed that it exited Malaysian waters on or before June 18 and was travelling between the Changi southern tip and also parts of Jurong Island in Singapore.

“The vessel seems to be making several back-and-forth stops in between its journey last week as Singapore’s southern area has several small islands south of Sentosa Island and also Jurong Island,” a source was quoted as saying by the daily.

The source said the southern part of Singapore waters was known to be undergoing land reclamation works involving the merger of smaller islands to form a bigger island for commercial usage.

“If indeed the vessel was carrying sand for Malaysian domestic usage, its passage will bypass the islands and proceed to Johor’s west coast near Iskandar Puteri, Kukup or Pontian instead,” said the source, adding that the many stops and travel in Singapore waters were an indicator that something was not right.

Queen of the Netherlands was dubbed the largest and most powerful dredger in the world after lengthening in 2009.

Constructed in 1998, the Dutch Trailing suction hopper dredger is now a 230.71-metre long vessel with a 33,423 gross tonnage. — Bernama


Giant dredger sailing between Johor and Singapore on sand smuggling route
Malay Mail 28 Jun 18;

JOHOR BARU, June 28 — For the past one month, a titanic Dutch sand dredger dubbed the “world’s largest floating vacuum cleaner” has been spotted sailing back-and-forth between Johor and southern Singapore along a sea route well known for its smuggling activity.

The 230.71-metre long vessel with 33,423-gross tonnage has been identified as the “Queen of the Netherlands” and was recently seen in the waters off Teluk Ramunia in Kota Tinggi, raising suspicions that it may have been used in the illegal sale of sand outside the country.

Malaysia has banned sand export since 1997. It is still listed as a prohibited export item in the Customs Department’s list.

A check on the marine traffic website yesterday showed the ship was in Singapore waters and has been there since June 18.

At present, the appearance of the Queen of the Netherlands in Malaysian waters has not triggered alarms among the authorities due to ongoing land reclamation works in Teluk Ramunia on Benalec Holdings Berhad’s 677.2-hectare Pengerang Maritime Industrial Park.

The Kota Tinggi area is also known for having several sand quarries in its district.

However, satellite tracking of the vessel showed that it has been sailing on a sea route that was said to be popular with sand smugglers in 2010.

A maritime source familiar with the routes said the Queen of the Netherlands movement is peculiar, based on satellite tracking data from Inmarsat-C, which is used by sea vessels as part of their Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS).

“The movement of the Queen of the Netherlands showed that it exited Malaysian waters on or before June 18 and was travelling between the Changi southern tip and also parts of Jurong Island in Singapore.

“The vessel seems to be making several back-and-forth stops in between its journey last week as Singapore’s southern area has several small islands south of Sentosa Island and also Jurong Island,” the source told Malay Mail today on condition of anonymity.

According to the source, the southern parts of Singapore’s waters are known to be undergoing land reclamation works involving the merger of smaller islands to form a bigger island for commercial usage.

“If indeed the vessel was carrying sand for Malaysian domestic usage, its passage will bypass the islands and proceed to Johor’s west coast near Iskandar Puteri, Kukup or Pontian instead,” said the source, adding that the many stops and travelling in Singapore’s waters was an indicator that something was not right.

Another source familiar with sand dredgers said the Queen of the Netherlands is used mainly for island creations and land reclamation works.

“The massive sand dredger is capable enough to not only dredge and expel sand and stones, but can also to be used as a sand storage vessel,” said the source.

Checks showed that the Queen of the Netherlands is a Dutch Trailing suction hopper dredger ship constructed in 1998.

A trailing suction hopper dredger, in layman terms, is basically ship that has a full sailing capacity used to maintain navigable waterways, deepening the maritime canals that are threatened to become silted, to construct new land elsewhere or to replace sand eroded by storms or wave action on the beaches.

This is made possible by large powerful pumps and engines able to suck sand, clay, silt and gravel. It is also used mainly for constant delivery of sand for land reclamation works.


A tracking route of the Dutch sand dredger Queen of the Netherlands that shows its movement in the south part of Singapore shuttling between the waters off Jurong Island and also the south-east part of the island republic. — Picture courtesy of source

In 2009, the Queen of the Netherlands was lengthened. It was touted the largest and most powerful dredger in the world then.

The vessel, currently flying a Cyprus flag, has been used in high-profile salvage and dredging operations including the investigation into the Swissair Flight 111 crash and in the controversial Port Phillip Channel Deepening Project in Australia.

Those familiar with dredging vessels have dubbed the Queen of the Netherlands as “the world's largest floating vacuum cleaner”.

Malay Mail understands that maritime authorities are able to track and verify the vessel’s movement easily via their maritime radar as well as via its automatic identification system (AIS).

“The AIS tracking system is used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS). At the same time Malaysia has several maritime enforcement agencies such as the marine police, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and Marine Department to investigate the allegations of illegal sand smuggling,” a source said.

In open waters, the AIS functions as an automated tracking system that displays other vessels in the vicinity. It works as a broadcast transponder system which operates in the VHF mobile maritime band.

A vessel fitted with a AIS system will also show on the screens of other vessels in the vicinity, provided the vessel is fitted with the system.

In 2010, The Star reported that sand worth millions of ringgit had been illegally “floated” out of the country daily via Sungai Johor in Johor Baru since 2007.

The report found that the sand ended up in Singapore, despite a ban on sand export imposed by the Malaysian government.

The culprits were suspected to be part of a syndicate and had used barges to pass through the international waters from Kota Tinggi and Ulu Tiram where they load up sand for shipment to Pulau Punggol Timur in Singapore.

However, there have been some exceptions to the sand export ban.

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry under the Najib administration had granted approved permits to two companies to export sand to India late last year.

However, the approval was only for sand sources from dredging the Sungai Pahang and Sungai Kelantan river estuaries in those states under a special arrangement on a case-by-case basis.

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Malaysia: Awareness campaign, research helps overcome fireflies extinction

Nik Sukry Ramli New Straits Times 12 Jul 18;

KUANTAN: More awareness and research campaigns need to be undertaken to ensure firefly colonies along Sungai Cherating do not go extinct.

National University of Singapore (NUS) Research Fellow, Dr Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh said the insects were very sensitive to their environment and vulnerable to the threat faced by mangroves and pollution of river water which could affect their breeding.

"Their habitat should be properly maintained and, if possible, there should be no mangrove forest exploration activities or development purposes in the immediate vicinity.

"Perhaps we can increase awareness campaigns as well as provide research grants to researchers to conduct a more in-depth study on this incredible insect’s life-cycle," she said at the launch of the World Fireflies Celebration Day 2018 here.

The event jointly organised by Firefly Pals and the Turtles Conservation Society of Malaysia (TCS) is to mark the World Fireflies celebration which takes place in the first week of July each year.

Present were TCS Executive Director, Dr Chen Pelf Nyok as well as some 50 participants at the event which saw them being briefed on the importance of fireflies. They also took part in fireflies activities along the river.

On the species found in the Cherating river, Wan Faridah said their scientific name is ‘Pteroptyx bearni' and the first evidence of the insect in the Cherating river was recorded in 1993.

Wan Faridah said a similar species of fireflies which was found in Singapore in 1909 had likely become extinct.

She said there is a possibility that the fireflies in the Cherating river may face a similar threat if no proactive action is taken to manage their ecosystem.

"We should not only be focusing on the process of conservation of these firefly areas ... usually, we just replant Berembang trees as an example of where they (fireflies) live.

"By right we should conduct research on the fireflies ecosystems, how they live, from the larval stage to their food types. This is to ensure continuity of breeding of the fireflies on a regular basis," she said.

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Malaysiam Sabah: Orang utan, elephant deaths

Busy week for Sabah Wildlife
Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 12 Jul 18;

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Wildlife department is facing a busy week having to deal with two dead animals and a lost baby elephant in the east coast of Sabah.

An adult male elephant named Sapa, who was injured by a snare trap in Lahad Datu and rescued on June 1, died at the Bornean Elephant Sanctuary in Kinabatangan yesterday although he had been active and showed healing symptoms.

On the same day, the department was alerted that an Orangutan carcass was found lying near the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve in Sandakan.

The department spokesperson Siti Nur’Ain Ampuan Acheh said Sapa died despite of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory treatment.

“(Sapa’s) death is due to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome due to septicemia which might be due to bacterial infection (from deep wound on its right forelimb).

“(As for the Orang Utan), personnel from the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre rushed to the scene upon receiving the report and found the carcass on the ground without any sign of infliction or physical injury,” she said in a statement.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday in Tawau, a weak baby elephant was found wandering alone at the Brumas Plantation in the district.

Siti said district wildlife personnel had secured and provided medical assistance to the three-week-old male calf.

“The baby elephant was taken to Tawau and given milk formula and fluids intravenously and transported to Sepilok this morning.

“It is bright and alert and receptive to drinking milk. Some small wounds were found in different parts of the body and are now being treated.”

As for the sighting of a turtle carcass at Jesselton Point terminal here yesterday, the department could not find the body which probably drifted elsewhere due to strong currents.


Bacterial infection likely cause of death of elephant in Sabah
stephanie lee The Star 13 Jul 18;

KOTA KINABALU: The elephant which died at the Borneo Elephant Sanctuary on Wednesday (July 11) might have died due to a bacterial infection.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said from the post mortem conducted on Thursday (July 12), it was found that the bull elephant named Sapa had multiple organ dysfunction.

"Sapa was rescued in June and he was found to have deep cut wounds on his legs due to snare traps," he said.

He said though Sapa had seemed to be recovering, the post-mortem findings did not support the theory.

Sapa had collapsed in the morning and was given treatment with fluids, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory medicine.

The 20-year-old elephant did not respond to the treatment and died at 4pm.


Bull elephant rescued from rope traps dies at Kinabatangan sanctuary in Sabah
stephanie lee The Star 12 Jul 18;

KOTA KINABALU: A rescued bull elephant has died at the Borneo Elephant Sanctuary in Kinabatangan on Wednesday (July 11).

The elephant named "Sapu" was a victim of snare traps when it was rescued from the Sapagaya Waterfall near the Danum Valley forest reserve on June 1.

Sapu was found with two rope snares bound tightly around its front legs with deep wounds. However, it had been recuperating and responding well to treatments.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said Sapu however collapsed in the morning and died at about 4pm without regaining consciousness.

“We will reveal the cause of death once we know,” Tuuga said when contacted.

Meanwhile, a wildlife conservationist based in Sabah said snare traps for wildlife are deadlier than bullets, as they are cheap, easy to get and silent.

“Almost anyone can get or make the traps,” said the conservationist who did not want to be named.

Though the poacher who set the traps may aim for other animals such as wild boars, larger creatures including elephants can still be victims and die a long, agonising death.


Orangutan found dead near forest reserve in Sandakan
stephanie lee The Star 13 Jul 18;

Carcass of an orang utan near the Sepilok Forest Reserve.

KOTA KINABALU: An Orangutan was found dead in an orchard near the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve in Sandakan on Wednesday (July 11).

Workers at a nearby resort found the carcass of the adolescent male primate and later informed wildlife officials.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said a team was sent to the scene.

"Our rangers found the carcass on the ground without any signs of injury," he said.

"A full post-mortem will be conducted to find out its cause of death," he said.

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Indonesia: Plastic waste poses threat to Indonesian seas - Minister

Azis Kurmala Antara 12 Jul 18;

A number of residents as members of the Earth Hour Community wearing plastic-made clothing appealed to residents to reduce the use of bags made of plastic that cause climate change. (ANTARA FOTO/Rony Muharrman).

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti believes that plastic waste had become a threat to Indonesian seas.

"Hence, various parties must work together to overcome the problem," Pudjiastuti noted here on Thursday.

All parties have a responsibility to ensure that plastic waste should not end up in the sea.

The existence of illegal fishing vessels is not the only threat to Indonesia`s marine resources.

Plastic waste has become one of the main threats in recent days, the minister remarked.

The Indonesian government had earlier committed to reducing plastic waste in its maritime areas, Expert Staff for Marine Ecology and Marine Resources of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Aryo Hanggono stated.

"The government will reduce plastic waste up to 70 percent by 2025," he remarked.

Currently, he noted that a draft of the presidential regulation on the management of plastic waste at sea was being formulated to ensure coordination between the central and local governments.

He noted that banana peels took two weeks to decompose, while plastic bags took 10-20 years to decompose, and plastic bottles took hundreds of years to decompose.

In addition, he remarked that several studies also indicated that if no significant changes are brought about, the ratio of plastic to fish in the oceans is expected to reach three is to one by 2025, and the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

The fisheries and maritime sector has now become Indonesia`s prime source of economic income.

However, sustainability will not be achieved unless the sector is really preserved.

Meanwhile, Executive Director of Kehati Foundation M. S. Sembiring pointed out that Indonesia has the world`s largest biodiversity.

President Jokowi Widodo earlier remarked that Indonesia had to take serious measures to exploit its maritime resources, which he believes were the future of the country`s economy.

He said only a small part of the maritime resources worth Rp17 quadrillion (US$1.28 trillion) annually could be exploited.

"Maritime resources are the key to improving the people`s welfare and ensuring social justice in the country," the president added.


Editor: Bustanuddin

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Indonesia: Police’s work in orangutan cases lauded

N. Adri The Jakarta Post 12 Jul 18;

Conservation group the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) lauded the local police for their swift action in solving two cases of brutal orangutan slaughter in Kalimantan this year.

Two orangutans were killed separately in February, one at nearby Kutai National Park in East Kalimantan and the other in January in South Barito, Central Kalimantan. Local police managed to arrest the suspects within two weeks of each incident.

“We thank all stakeholders [particularly the police] for their hard work in enforcing the law,” COP director Ramadhani said on Thursday.

On Feb. 19, East Kutai Police named four men of Teluk Pandan and a 13-year-old suspects of the brutal orangutan killing 12 days after spotting the dying creature. Around 130 air rifle pellets were found in the corpse, along with 19 fresh stab wounds.

The case was brought to the Sangatta District Court in late April, around two months after the incident.

On Tuesday, the court sentenced each of the four men to seven months in prison for the intentional killing of the orangutan. The court also ordered them to pay Rp 50 million (US$3,478) in fines or serve an additional two months in prison. The boy was released as he is a minor.

In the case of the Central Kalimantan killing, the South Barito Police named two suspects on Jan. 30, 15 days after a headless carcass of an orangutan was found floating in a river in Kalahien village. The Buntok District Court sentenced each man to six months in prison and Rp 500,000 in fines in May.

The COP, however, found the convictions were too lenient to deter the culprits and to mitigate the damage to the conservation of the critically endangered species, which is protected by the law. Violators are punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to Rp 100 million. (nor/ipa)

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Best of our wild blogs: 12 Jul 18

29th July 2018 (Sunday): FREE Guided Herp Walk @ Treetop Walk
Herpetological Society of Singapore

Li Jia Yang: Sustainable Palm Oil Activism on Campus
People's Movement to Stop Haze

Calling for volunteers for 21 July 2018 NUS–NParks Marine Debris sampling at Lim Chu Kang mangrove
News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore

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No penalty for not implementing environmental impact mitigation measures: Sun Xueling

Fann Sim Channel NewsAsia 11 Jul 18;

SINGAPORE: Developers are not penalised for not implementing proposed environmental impact mitigation measures, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development Sun Xueling in Parliament on Wednesday (July 11).

She was responding to MP for Nee Soon GRC Louis Ng's question on whether measures have been put in place to reduce roadkill in the Mandai area, following the deaths of a pregnant wild boar and a Sambar deer in June.

She said that Mandai Park Development (MPD) is responsible for implementing measures to mitigate the impact of its development work on wildlife in the area.

However, even though there are no penalties imposed, there is an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) that the developer has implemented.

"The EMMP is monitored and reviewed by an environmental and advisory panel which includes subject matter experts from the scientific community, academia, nature groups and private sector. If there are unanticipated environmental impacts that require additional mitigation, MPD should modify their EMMP in consultation with the relevant technical agencies," Ms Sun said.

She added that MPD has undertaken a number of measures to reduce roadkill in the area, such as installing hoardings around the development areas on Mandai Lake Road.

"MPD, the relevant government agencies, and the nature community are currently discussing the need for additional hoardings. Where it is ascertained that additional hoardings will protect wildlife, the relevant government agencies will work with MPD to determine the location of these hoardings," she added.

Following at least five reported incidents of animals killed in the area since development started last year, wildlife activists have asked why the planned Eco-Link overpass was not completed before construction works started.

Mr Ng also asked if the overpass is one of the measures listed in MPD's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

"I have to check whether it's part of the EIA. In my understanding, it was," she said.

She added that construction of the Eco-Link bridge has already started.

Source: CNA/fs

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Seaman responsible for fatal ship collision near Pulau Sebarok jailed for two years

Shaffiq Idris Alkhatib Straits Times 11 Jul 18;

SINGAPORE - The first chief officer of a 108m-long dredger which was involved in a fatal collision in the waters off the southern island of Pulau Sebarok last year was neither qualified nor certified to be in control of a ship that size, a district court heard on Wednesday (July 11).

Nevertheless, Chinese national Ding Zongde, who was working on board the Dominica-registered JBB De Rong 19, continued to navigate the vessel and ignored the directions given by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

It ended up in the path of the Indonesia-registered Kartika Segara, an 180m-long tanker, which ploughed into the right side of the dredger, causing it to sink. Five crew members of JBB De Rong 19 were killed.

Ding, 53, was jailed for two years on Wednesday after pleading guilty to causing the deaths by performing a rash act on Sept 13 last year.

With 12 crew on board, the JBB De Rong 19 was passing through Singapore waters to deliver sand for reclamation works in Johor.

Kartika Segara, which had 26 crew members, was on its way to the port of Baubau, in south-east Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok said Ding was one of two chief officers on board JBB De Rong 19.

Ding took over from the other chief officer at around 11pm on Sept 12 last year while Malaysian Mohd Zuhair Roslan, 26, manned the radio as the Chinese national could not speak English.

APP Kok said: "The accused and Mohd Zuhair had difficulties communicating verbally... As such, the pair communicated by using simple hand gestures."

Ding later spotted Kartika Segara on his ship's right side a distance away. After receiving instructions from Singapore's Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) operated by MPA, Mr Zuhair signalled to Ding that he should give way to the tanker.

The court heard the Chinese national ignored the instructions as he felt that JBB De Rong 19 could make it ahead of Kartika Segara.

At 12.35am on Sept 13 last year, VTIS Central asked JBB De Rong 19 to take immediate action to avoid a collision.

APP Kok told the court: "JBB De Rong 19 was ordered to slow down and give way. Mohd Zuhair acknowledged the direction and signalled to the accused to slow JBB down. The accused then cut the vessel's engines. Only when the accused realised that a collision was imminent did he put the vessel's engine in full reverse. A few seconds later, Kartika Segara collided into the starboard quarter (right side) of JBB."

The dredger lost power and was plunged into darkness. It sank less than a minute after the collision . The bodies of four Chinese nationals and Mr Zuhair were discovered between Sept 13 and Nov 5 last year.

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Urban warming worsening problem in Singapore, action needed while studies are ongoing: Researchers

Today Online 12 Jul 18;

SINGAPORE — Government agencies and researchers have embarked on studies to make Singapore cooler, with surprising findings already unearthed along the way.

Besides the effects of climate change, Singapore is hotter than it should be because of the urban heat island (UHI) effect.

At certain times of the day, built-up areas can be more than 7°C hotter than areas which are more rural. This is due to heat trapped from energy consumed by air-conditioning systems and vehicles, for instance, the presence of less vegetation, and building materials that absorb and store heat from the sun.

Mr Peter Ho, chairman of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), said that urban warming is a complex problem that poses a long-term risk, but it is “not easy to see”.

Speaking at the Cooling Singapore symposium on Wednesday (July 11), he highlighted that addressing the UHI effect is “vital to maintaining or improving the liveability of our city”.

“As we continue to urbanise, provide jobs and homes to a growing population, urban warming will only increase unless we take steps to address the problem.”

Singapore ranks second in the world in population density, after Monaco, Mr Ho noted. If unchecked, further warming can increase the risk of heat-related fatalities.

Together with the URA and the Housing and Development Board (HDB), researchers began modelling studies this year on areas in the Jurong Lake District, Punggol housing estate and a new area to be developed in the Central Business District (CBD) near Asia Square.

They want to see how different mitigation measures can be applied, and the benefits of each measure.

Dr Juan Angel Acero from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (Smart) said that having plants on the facade of buildings can improve the level of comfort felt outdoors by people within a 4m range, but this has little or no impact at greater distances.

Void decks at public housing blocks can have a positive impact, especially in the late afternoon and evening. And new developments can change air patterns and increase thermal stress, depending on weather conditions.

Some results have been counter-intuitive. For instance, more vegetation does not always improve the comfort felt outdoors by people, because trees can reduce wind speed and increase humidity, Dr Acero said.

The Jurong Lake District and CBD case studies — done with the URA — aim to get the best “urban parameters” for outdoor thermal comfort, he added. Actions have focused mainly on the orientation and arrangement of buildings, with the aim of considering shadow and spaces for airflow.

The Punggol case study, done with the HDB, aims to analyse the impact of mitigation measures, such as retrofitting, for an existing development.

The researchers have also found that more reflective roofs can achieve up to a 1.29°C reduction in temperature, and increasing density will lead to higher temperatures of up to 1.4°C in certain areas at certain times of the day, Dr Acero said.

Industrial areas lead to a maximum increase of 0.6°C and the impact on neighbouring areas can reach 0.2°C.

The studies are part of the ambitious Cooling Singapore research project, which started last year and is led by the Singapore-ETH Centre. Funded by the National Research Foundation’s Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (Create) programme, its collaborators are the National University of Singapore, Smart and TUM Create, which comprises research teams from Nanyang Technological University and Germany’s Technical University of Munich.

A 14-member UHI taskforce that includes representatives from the HDB, URA, Land Transport Authority and universities has been set up.

RESIDENTS SAY NO TO COOL BUS STOPS

The project has also captured the voices of residents here.

Researchers held a workshop for 48 HDB dwellers, and surveyed more than 400 Punggol residents face-to-face between February and June this year on their preferred mitigation strategies and activities they would like to do outdoors, among other questions.

Green streetscapes and green facades were among their preferred choices, while nobody was in favour of cool bus stops.

Ms Lea Ruefenacht of the Singapore-ETH Centre, who is one of four researchers on the citizen participation surveys, said that the respondents preferred improving the traffic situation and spending as little time as possible at bus stops.

An online survey will be conducted from next month, and the researchers hope to get about 2,000 respondents, Ms Ruefenacht said.

In the private sector, Singapore District Cooling — a subsidiary of utility provider SP Group — could try out outdoor cooling systems at an event space near the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort with the URA, and at an al fresco cafe later this year, its deputy managing director Foo Yang Kwang said.

On Tuesday, HDB and SP Group signed an agreement to explore the development of a centralised cooling system for flats in the new Tengah HDB town. It is envisaged as a more energy-efficient service to which residents may subscribe, instead of using conventional air-conditioning systems. Based on its calculations, savings of 30 to 35 per cent are possible, Mr Foo said on Wednesday.

The urban warming problem is not only about temperature. Cooling Singapore’s principal investigator Peter Edwards said that there is good evidence to suggest it has contributed to a marked increase in the intensity of extreme rainfall.

“Singapore has a very substantial UHI effect and it’s getting worse, and it clearly is going to be important to do something about it,” he said.

While more research is needed, “the implementation needs to begin now”, Professor Edwards said. “We can’t wait until the final best research results are in. The research and the implementation will have to go hand in hand.”

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PUB launches smart road map to improve water management

Vanessa Lim Channel NewsAsia 11 Jul 18;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's national water agency has devised a road map that will progressively see artificial intelligence, big data and smart work redesign being rolled out over the next five years to improve its operations and water management.

PUB announced on Wednesday (Jul 11) that the road map will help to achieve smarter water quality management and work process.

"Business as usual is not sustainable," said Mr Michael Toh, PUB's chief information officer.

"Not adopting new technology exposes us to inefficiencies and risk, and can render us obsolete or unable to adapt to technological disruptions," he added.

SMART WATER QUALITY MONITORING

As part of its smart road map, the water agency is exploring two pieces of innovation for remote water quality management.

The first is an autonomous boat that can navigate itself through choppy waters to collect samples. First piloted at Pandan reservoir in November 2017, the boat's effectiveness in monitoring water quality is currently being evaluated.

PUB is also developing a device that can perform automated microscopic imaging of water samples and identify micro-invertebrates - small organisms found in raw water.

This will help to improve the existing process, which requires a trained biologist to manually count the number of micro-invertebrates in a sample. This process could take up to two hours per sample.

Source: CNA/ec


PUB to test self-driving boats, insect-identifying sensors in drive to digitalise water system
Jose Hong Straits Times 11 Jul 18;

SINGAPORE - National water agency PUB on Wednesday (July 11) launched a five-year road map to digitalise Singapore's water system in the light of constraints such as increasing demand, rising operational costs, manpower constraints and climate change.

The road map leverages technology, such as self-piloting boats to monitor water quality, or artificial intelligence that can identify insect larvae species almost immediately, as ways to boost efficiency and productivity.

Similar to the agency's robot swans, the self-piloting boat will monitor the quality of water. It can measure indicators such as acidity, temperature, oxygen levels and the presence of algae.

Unlike the swans, which operate in reservoirs, the boat can withstand waves of up to 2m in height and PUB hopes to deploy it in the seas around desalination plants.

"With desalination as a source of water for us, there is a need to monitor water from the sea more closely," said the PUB's chief information officer Michael Toh.

The boat is currently undergoing testing at Pandan Reservoir.

PUB is also testing a system that can identify the presence and species of insect eggs and larvae in water. Dragonflies, for instance, are extremely sensitive to pollution and their presence can tell how healthy an environment is.

PUB microbiologist Martin Tay said that if the sensor detects a sudden drop in larvae or eggs, it can alert the agency immediately, letting it know that something is wrong.

Dr Tay said that trained microbiologists are currently needed to manually identify eggs and larvae, with each sample taking two hours to analyse.

The water agency will start training the system to differentiate different species of eggs and larvae, and plans to start deploying sensors around reservoirs by 2020.

PUB is also looking at installing a pre-emptive leak management system to tackle the issue of pipe leaks, which have led to fountains on the roadside and traffic disruptions several times in the past 12 months.

Sound will play a key role in the system, which will consist of sensors placed along a length of the piping network.

By knocking on the pipes and calculating how long sound takes to travel from one sensor to another, PUB will be able to tell how thin - and hence corroded - a pipe has become from the inside and can then decide if it needs to be either reinforced or replaced.

PUB's latest announcements come amid a broader move to leverage technology in the environment and environmental services sector. The French energy management and automation company Schneider Electric, for example, is using the Internet of things to improve the sustainability of water and waste water plants.

"Employees can now use mobile devices, data analytics, augmented reality and transparent connectivity to monitor and control their facilities, hence, increasing productivity levels," a company spokesman said.

Talking about the benefits to consumers, he said: "While the long-term impact of digitalisation is difficult to predict, we believe that through technology, an ecosystem can be built which helps customers reduce their own energy consumption by 30 per cent through active energy efficiency and sustainability solutions."

PUB's Mr Toh said: "Business as usual is not sustainable. Not adopting new technology exposes us to inefficiencies and risk, and can render us obsolete or unable to adapt to technological disruptions."

He added: "Data driven insights will also help PUB attain higher levels of operational efficiency, improve our incident response times, and ultimately serve our customers better."

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