South Asia – आवारा मुसाफिर

South Asian eateries try ‘going local’ as recovery strategy

January 3, 2023845 Views

Hotels and restaurants across South Asia have had to adapt and reimagine dining out since the pandemic ripped through the region, forcing many out of business. Those that have survived are tapping local sources and going online. In India, from hole-in-the-wall casual eateries to fine dining, restaurants were devastated by lockdowns and virus outbreaks, with millions losing their jobs since COVID-19 hit in early 2020. People sit for a meal at a local restaurant in Goa, India, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Vineeta Deepak) In neighboring Sri Lanka, where the tourism-driven economy also has been hammered by political upheavals and shortages, the situation remains dire. Saman Nayanananda, a food and beverage manager at a hotel chain in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, says g...

जलवायु परिवर्तन

As Himalayan glaciers melt, a water crisis looms in South Asia

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

October 8, 2022854 Views

Warmer air is thinning most of the vast mountain range’s glaciers, known as the Third Pole because they contain so much ice. The melting could have far-reaching consequences for flood risk and for water security for a billion people who rely on meltwater for their survival. Spring came early this year in the high mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, a remote border region of Pakistan. Record temperatures in March and April hastened melting of the Shisper Glacier, creating a lake that swelled and, on May 7, burst through an ice dam. A torrent of water and debris flooded the valley below, damaging fields and houses, wrecking two power plants, and washing away parts of the main highway and a bridge connecting Pakistan and China. Pakistan’s climate change minister, Sherry Rehman, tweeted vide...

खबरनामाघटनाएंजलवायु परिवर्तन

Future super cyclones would expose more people to extreme flooding

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

May 9, 20221055 Views

Research shows, devastating impact on people in South Asia in future years At a time, when India’s east coast is bracing for cyclone Asani, a new study has revealed that super cyclones, the most intense form of tropical storm, are likely to have a much more devastating impact on people in South Asia—including India and Bangladesh—in future years. The international research, led by the University of Bristol, looked at the 2020 Super Cyclone Amphan – the most costly cyclone to make landfall in South Asia – and projected its consequences in different scenarios of sea level rise due to global warming. Its findings, published in the Royal Meteorological Society journal Climate Resilience and Sustainability, showed if the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere continues at...