World grew warmer and more unstable last year
AFP
WASHINGTON — The world is growing warmer, more crowded and more unstable, more according to a report by the
Worldwatch Institute. ‘ The average global temperature last year was 15.32 deg C, up sharply from 15.2 .deg C a year earlier, World-watch said in its annual Vital Signs report, published in 14 languages.
Meanwhile, the global popu1ation grew by 88 million —the equivalent of about 30 new Singapores — with 79 million in the developing countries, the Washington-based group said.
Some 58 million births occurred in Asia.
That pushed the total world population to 5.64 billion last year.
But Worldwatch said global population growth seemed to have reached a plateau, at least temporarily, with in-creases of between 86 million and 90 million people for each of the last 10 years.
In a concrete gauge of social stress, the number of refugees rocketed upwards to 23 million last year, it said, including three million Afghans, 2.7 million Bosnians, ,2.1 million Rwandans and 848,000 Liberians.
Meanwhile, a record four million people contracted the virus that causes Aids last year, pushing the total number of cases to 26 million.
Among new infections, nearly hail were in sub-Saharan Africa and another 1.7 million were in Asia.
Global emission of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), which deplete the ozone layer and aggravate global warming, declined for a sixth consecutive year. CFC production last year was 77 per cent lower than its peak in 1988.
The 10 warmest years since 1950 have all occurred since 1980.
The report said that except for a brief cooling In 1991 resulting from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, the trend was increasing steadily.
It said the use of some alternative energy sources soared last year.
Global wind-power generating capacity jumped 22 per cent to 3,710 megawatts, a net increase of 660 megawatts and an all-time record for the wind-power industry, it said.
World shipments of photovoltaic cells — the tiny, silicon-based chips that make electricity from sunlight —also surged by 14 per cent, to nearly 70 megawatts.
It was the first double-digit growth in three years, and the cost of solar-power cells meanwhile fell by nearly 9 per cent.
Worldwatch said villages in developing countries were using solar cells increasingly as a source of electricity.
Higher output of grains and soya beans had failed to keep up with demand, with worldwide grain stocks diminishing for the second consecutive year, it said. —AFP.
Source : The Straits Times, 22nd May 1995
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