JOHANNESBURG: Russia and China will conduct naval drills in the Indian Ocean off the coast of South Africa next month in another indication of their strengthening relationships with Africa’s most developed country amid the war in Ukraine and global financial uncertainty.
The South African armed forces said Thursday that they and the Russian and Chinese navies will engage in “a multinational maritime exercise” from Feb. 17-27 off South Africa’s east coast near the cities of Durban and Richards Bay.
The drills will happen around the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 and will bring more focus on the refusal of South Africa — a leading voice on its continent — to side with the West and condemn Russia’s actions.
The announcement also comes days before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due to visit South Africa and hold talks with South African counterpart Naledi Pandor.
The South African government said last year that it had adopted a neutral stance over Ukraine and called for dialogue and diplomacy, but the upcoming naval drills have led the country’s main opposition party to accuse the government of effectively siding with Russia.
The South African government denies it has taken sides and has called for the end of the war in Ukraine.
But the South African National Defense Force, which incorporates all of its armed forces, said next month’s naval exercise would “strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia and China.” The aim of the drills was “sharing operational skills and knowledge,” the SANDF said.
The three countries also a similar naval exercise in 2019 in Cape Town, while Russia and China held joint naval drills in the East China Sea last month.
South Africa, a key Western partner, was one of several African countries that abstained in a United Nations vote last year condemning Russia’s invasion. The United States and the European Union had hoped that South Africa would support the international condemnation of Russia and act as a leader for other nations in Africa.
President Joe Biden hosted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House in September, when a key talking point was their differences over the war in Ukraine. US secretary of state Antony Blinken visited South Africa last year.
Experts have warned of Russia’s increased military influence in Africa since it first annexed parts of Ukraine in 2014, while the Biden administration also recognizes the importance of strengthening relations on the continent after China has spent decades entrenching itself in Africa’s natural resources markets. Improving relations with South Africa is central to the US effort of limiting Russian and Chinese influence.
The South African government drew more attention over its stance regarding Russia in October when it said it would allow a superyacht linked to Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov to dock in Cape Town despite him being under US and EU sanctions.
The South African government has also been accused of allowing another sanctioned Russian vessel to dock at a naval base near Cape Town in December.
South Africa’s relationship with Russia is largely because of the support the Soviet Union gave to Ramaphosa’s now-ruling African National Congress party in its fight to bring down apartheid, the regime of repression against the country’s Black majority. Apartheid ended in 1994 when the ANC won the first democratic elections in South Africa and Nelson Mandela became president.
Russia, China to hold naval drills off South Africa
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Russia, China to hold naval drills off South Africa
- The South African armed forces said they and the Russian and Chinese navies will engage in “a multinational maritime exercise” from Feb. 17-27
- The drills will happen around the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24
World not ready for rise in extreme heat, scientists say
- In a new study, they looked at different global warming scenarios to project how often people in the future might experience temperatures considered uncomfortably hot or cold
PARIS: Nearly 3.8 billion people could face extreme heat by 2050, and while tropical countries will bear the brunt, cooler regions will also need to adapt, scientists said Monday.
Demand for cooling will “drastically” increase in large countries like Brazil, Indonesia, and Nigeria, where hundreds of millions of people lack air conditioning or other means to beat the heat.
But even a moderate increase in hotter days could have a “severe impact” in nations not accustomed to such conditions, such as Canada, Russia, and Finland, said scientists from the University of Oxford.
In a new study, they looked at different global warming scenarios to project how often people in the future might experience temperatures considered uncomfortably hot or cold.
They found “that the population experiencing extreme heat conditions is projected to nearly double” by 2050 if global average temperatures rise 2°C above preindustrial times.
But most of the impact would be felt this decade as the world fast approaches the 1.5°C mark, said the study’s lead author Jesus Lizana.
“The key takeaway from this is that the need for adaptation to extreme heat is more urgent than previously known,” said Lizana, an environmental scientist.
“New infrastructure, such as sustainable air conditioning or passive cooling, needs to be built out within the next few years to ensure people can cope with dangerous heat.”
Prolonged exposure to extreme heat can overwhelm the body’s natural cooling systems, causing symptoms ranging from dizziness and headaches to organ failure and death.
It is often called a silent killer because most heat deaths occur gradually as high temperatures and other environmental factors work together to undermine the body’s internal thermostat.
Climate change is making heatwaves longer and stronger, and access to cooling — especially air conditioning — will be vital in the future.
The study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, projected that 3.79 billion people worldwide could be exposed to extreme heat by mid century.
This would “drastically” increase energy demand for cooling in developing nations where the gravest health consequences would be felt. India, the Philippines, and Bangladesh would be among the countries with the largest populations affected.
The most significant change in “cooling degree days” — temperatures hot enough to require cooling, such as air conditioning or fans — was projected in tropical or equatorial countries, particularly in Africa.
Central African Republic, Nigeria, South Sudan, Laos, and Brazil saw the biggest rise in dangerously hot temperatures.
“Put simply, the most disadvantaged people are the ones who will bear the brunt of this trend, our study shows for ever hotter days,” said urban climate scientist and research co-author Radhika Khosla.
But wealthier countries in traditionally cooler climates also “face a major problem — even if many do not realize it yet,” she added.
Countries like Canada, Russia, and Finland may experience steep drops in “heating degree days” — temperatures low enough to require indoor heating — under a 2°C scenario.
But even a moderate rise in hotter temperatures would be felt more acutely in countries not designed to withstand heat, the authors said.
In these countries, homes and buildings are usually built to maximize sunlight and minimize ventilation, and public transport runs without air conditioning.
Some cold-climate nations may see a drop in heating bills, Lizana said, but over time these savings would likely be replaced by cooling costs, including in Europe, where air conditioning is still rare.
“Wealthier countries cannot sit back and assume they will be OK — in many cases, they are dangerously underprepared for the heat that is coming over the next few years,” he said.
