Quamrul Haider

One year since the breathtaking images mesmerised us, it is time to ask: is the telescope delivering on its promises to transform our knowledge of cosmology? Is it worth the hefty price tag of $10 billion?

Last week, the world witnessed the hottest day in modern history, with the global temperature average rising to a record 17.23 degrees Celsius.

The idea that life could travel through space to land on Earth once seemed outlandish.

Did we really “rise to the climate challenge?”

If you think that rivers only exist on land, think again. Holding an entire river of water in the form of moisture, they also exist in the atmosphere and are known as Atmospheric Rivers (AR).

Today, Dhaka is a dysfunctional megacity, an economic hub that has grown chaotically – outwards and upwards – to absorb more than 20 million people who live there, and hundreds of thousands more arriving each year.

To politicians – most of whom lack an iota of personal integrity – power is control over their citizens, patriotism is servility, and democracy is absolutism

Surreal as it may seem, we have clearly embarked on the path to self-annihilation.

Sea level rise, flash floods, and heat waves are the direct consequences of glacier melting.

Ironically, the UAE has appointed the CEO of one of the world’s largest oil producers to preside over COP28.

In December 2022, my wife and I stepped back in time and walked the footsteps of those who lived in the Mayan era at Chichén Itzá and Chacchobén in Mexico, and Nim Li Punit in Belize.

There have been some pretty amazing scientific discoveries in 2022.

Within the context of climate change, nuclear fusion is an attractive alternative because it does not produce greenhouse gases (GHG).

Has COP27 succeeded or failed? It’s not difficult to answer the question.

Even though it is a chilling concept, there are credible precedents of nuclear winter.

We need visionary leaders to deal with the impending climate catastrophe.

Energy generated from gravity batteries is sustainable.

Instead of effectively tackling the issues related to climate change, world leaders have politicised it over the last 30 years.

The recently launched telescope has expanded the horizon by piercing through the hitherto “dark curtain” of the early universe and presented us with a treasure trove of information.

The summer of 2022 has not yet reached the mid-point, yet we are staring at another year of bleak climate news.