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Toxic smog engulfs India’s New Delhi, prompting closures

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It happens every winter in India’s sprawling capital: the cold air arrives, trapping the dust and other pollutants emitted by its 20 million residents. The result? A filthy, choking haze that engulfs the city and halts daily life.

For the third day this week, air quality in the city passed the “severe” threshold, reaching 445 on Friday, India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences said. The figure is 10 times the target level established in the World Health Organization’s 2021 air quality guidelines, which advises a 24-hour mean of 45.

As the smog descended on Delhi and the surrounding areas, officials on Friday ordered schools, factories and construction sites closed and banned diesel trucks from bringing nonessential goods to the capital. About half of the city’s government employees were urged to work from home.

The WHO estimates that millions die annually due to air pollution, and recognizes it as the world’s largest environmental health threat. IQAir, a Swiss air quality company, ranked New Delhi as the most polluted capital in 2021.

Air pollution has been linked to heart diseases, a higher risk of stroke and lung cancer, and in 2019 was the leading cause of death in India, according to government data.

Siddharth Singh, the author of “The Great Smog of India,” tweeted that, unlike immunity developed from a virus or a vaccine, “the human body cannot get used to air pollution,” as “the particulate matter enters your lungs, your bloodstream, and then lodges itself in your organs.”

Both the state and federal governments in India have faced criticism for failing to tackle the air pollution problem. And as the crisis mounted this week, regional politicians tried to blame each other for the health hazard.

In a news conference on Friday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that Delhi and Punjab should not be held responsible for the smog, which he called “a northern India issue.”

He said that there would be no solution without joint state and federal action, adding that the six months since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) formed a government in Punjab was “not enough” for the government to implement solutions.

India’s Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, however, blamed the northern Punjab state for failing to stop farmers from burning crop residues, writing on Twitter that “there is no doubt over who has turned Delhi into a gas chamber.”

In a Twitter thread in October, Vimlendu Jha, environmentalist and founder of the youth organization Swechha, said the Delhi government lacks “political will and urgency.”

The central and state governments “have FAILED to find a medium to long term solution to this problem,” Jha wrote, “often stopping at just blaming the farmers and passing the buck, instead of farm reforms, crop rotation incentives, technology assistance etc.”

The crisis comes as India’s government called Friday for rich countries to deliver on their pledge of providing $100 billion in annual climate finance to developing countries — and to increase the amount at the U.N. climate conference next week.

Masih reported from New Delhi.



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Thailand nightclub fire: 13 people killed as blaze engulfs building

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The fire broke out at around 1 a.m. at the Mountain B nightclub, a one-story building in the Sattahip district of Chonburi province, southeast of Bangkok and about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Pattaya City, a popular tourist resort destination, Thai police said.

Police Colonel Wuttipong Somjai told CNN that the fire took place during a live music performance and burn injuries ranged from “mild to serious.”

All those who died were Thai nationals, he confirmed. Rescue officials said one of those dead was a 17-year-old, the youngest fatality identified so far.

Col. Somjai said investigations into the cause of the fire were now underway.

People couldn’t escape

Nattanit Pikulkaew said she was at the nightclub to celebrate her brother’s birthday and was near the front of the stage when a woman ran in shouting that the roof was on fire.

Seconds later, she saw that the speakers on stage were in flames.

“Within no time, the fire had spread to the ceiling,” she told CNN, adding that as members of the audience tried to flee the entrance to the club became jammed.

“I saw people trying to break the glass walls but they were too thick,” she said.

Her brother suffered severe burns and is in a critical condition; his friend died inside the building.

Raphon Namtham, a local musician who regularly performs at the nightclub on Monday evenings, told CNN the venue opened two months ago and had become popular with locals for its live band performances, which took place nightly from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. “Customers come to drink and dance,” he said.

He was not at the nightclub when the fire broke out but said the front door was the only entry and exit point for customers.

Musicians would enter and exit via the back door, which would be locked during performances, he said.

He added that the nightclub’s ceiling was lined with acoustic panels which were highly inflammable.

Namtham said the band Taew Waew had been performing at the time of the fire and that its replacement singer and keyboardist were among those who had died. He said the drummer was on a ventilator for life support at a nearby hospital.

Photos by a local search operation Rescue Sattahip showed badly charred seats inside the venue.

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Londoners urged not to travel as heat wave engulfs Europe

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The UK Met Office issued an amber extreme heat warning from Sunday through Tuesday as temperatures will likely surpass the country’s 2019 record temperature of 38.7 Celsius (101.7 degrees Fahrenheit), posing a risk to passengers.

“Due to the exceptionally hot weather that is expected next week, customers should only use London’s transport network for essential journeys,” Transport for London (TfL) chief operating officer Andy Lord said.

Temporary speed restrictions will be introduced to London’s tube and rail services “to keep everyone safe,” Lord added, urging travelers to “carry water at all times.”

Searingly hot temperatures can damage power lines and signaling equipment. TfL has said it will try to keep services running smoothly and use increased inspections to alleviate the impact of extreme heat.

Regular track temperature checks will take place to prevent tracks from bending or buckling, TfL said in a statement. The network will also check air conditioning units across the Tube network and air cooling systems on the capital’s double-decker buses.

Motorists have also been encouraged not to drive during the hottest spells of the day.

‘Lives are at risk’

The UK Met Office has said people’s lives are at risk as temperatures could reach 40C (104F) early next week.

It issued its first ever red extreme heat warning for parts of the country including London and Manchester, calling the alert “a very serious situation.”

“If people have vulnerable relatives or neighbours, now is the time to make sure they’re putting suitable measures in place to be able to cope with the heat because if the forecast is as we think it will be in the red warning area, then people’s lives are at risk,” Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said.

The UK Health Security Agency also increased its heat health warning from tier three to tier four — the equivalent of a “national emergency.”

Wildfires ravage Spain, France and Portugal

Elsewhere in Europe, wildfires ravaged parts of Spain, France and Portugal Friday in the blistering heat, burning forests and prompting widespread evacuations.
Over 400 people were evacuated from Mijas, a picturesque village in Malaga, southern Spain as a new wildfire erupted, Reuters reported. About 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) away, beachgoers in Torremolinos spotted smoke billowing near coastal hotels. Authorities in Catalonia suspended sports and camping activities in about 275 towns and villages to prevent fire hazards.

Flames have also engulfed parts of Extremadura in western Spain, as well as the central Castille and Leon region. The wildfires threaten historical landmarks including a 16th century monastery and a national park, while over 18,500 acres of forest have been destroyed.

Water-bomber aircraft and over 1,000 firefighters have been deployed in southwestern France to contain two blazes exacerbated by strong winds and tinderbox conditions, Reuters reported. Elsewhere 11,300 people have been evacuated since wildfires exploded near Dune du Pilat and Landiras, where about 18,000 acres of land has been burnt.

Temperatures were expected to exceed 40C in Portugal, where five districts were on a red extreme heat alert and more than 1,000 firefighters confronted 17 wildfires, according to authorities.

There was a spike in heat wave-related casualties in western Europe. Portugal recorded 238 excess deaths from July 7 to 13, according to the country’s DGS health authority. Spain registered 237 excess deaths from July 10 through July 14, according to estimates from the country’s health ministry. The death toll could rise further as figures for July 15 are yet to be released. In June, 829 estimated excess deaths were recorded in Spain due to the heat, the health ministry said.

Climate crisis pushes extreme weather

Scenes of firefighters tackling wildfires and roads melting in extreme heat may look dystopian, but UK forecasters say these phenomena are a result of the ongoing climate crisis.
In the summer of 2020 meteorologists at the UK Met Office used climate projections to predict the weather forecast for July 23, 2050 — and the results are startlingly similar to their forecast for Monday and Tuesday.
“Today, the forecast for Tuesday is shockingly almost identical for large parts of the country,” Simon Lee, an atmospheric scientist at Columbia University in New York, tweeted Friday, adding in a later post that “what is coming on Tuesday gives an insight into the future.”
“We hoped we wouldn’t get to this situation,” the Met Office’s climate attribution scientist Nikos Christidis said in a statement. “Climate change has already influenced the likelihood of temperature extremes in the UK. The chances of seeing 40°C days in the UK could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence.”

The chance of exceeding 40 degrees is “increasing rapidly,” Christidis said.

CNN’s Manveena Suri, Angela Fritz and Rachel Ramirez contributed reporting to this post.



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Heat wave engulfs East Coast with temperatures approaching 100 degrees

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A major heat wave that blasted Texas with historically high May temperatures is swelling toward the Ohio Valley and East Coast, where highs are set to catapult above peak summer levels through Sunday.

The abnormally hot weather — arriving more than a month before the summer solstice — is an ominous signal of the effects of human-caused climate change, which is increasing the intensity, frequency and duration of heat waves and extending summerlike conditions deeper into both spring and fall.

Every season except summer is getting shorter, a sign of trouble for people and the environment

By Saturday, temperatures are predicted to surge into the 90s for millions along the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor from Richmond to Boston. The scorching temperatures — about 20 degrees above normal — combined with moderately high humidity will increase the risk of heat-related illness.

When the heat peaks on Saturday, scores of daily record highs are predicted; a few locations in the Northeast could register their highest temperature ever observed during May and their hottest weather recorded so early in the calendar year. Some locations in the interior Northeast could see temperatures higher than they typically see through an entire summer.

Heat advisories are in effect for much of the Acela Corridor in the Northeast, including Philadelphia, Newark, parts of the New York City metro, Hartford, Conn., Providence, R.I., and Boston, where heat indexes — reflecting how hot it feels factoring in the air temperature and humidity — could range between 100 and 105 degrees. It’s the first heat advisory issued during the month of May by the National Weather Service in New York dating back to at least 2006; the same is true for the Boston office.

The hot weather is coinciding with a busy weekend for outdoor activities, including many college commencements and the 147th running of the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, where record highs in the mid- to upper 90s are expected.

The first instance of excessive heat is often the most dangerous as people are not yet acclimated to high temperatures. Outdoor workers, older adults, young children and people without access to air-conditioning are most vulnerable to heat-related illness.

“The abrupt beginning of hot temperatures early in the season after a relatively cool spring brings an increased risk of heat illnesses unless proper precautions are taken,” the National Weather Service serving Washington and Baltimore wrote in a special statement. “Reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Plan to wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing, and seek shade from the sun. Schedule frequent rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned environments.”

D.C. could see hottest May weather in at least a decade on Saturday

A staggering 125 million Americans are slated to experience temperatures topping 90 degrees in the next several days. Already the heat has gathered across the southern United States, the product of sinking air, high pressure and a “zonal” west-to-east jet stream that’s allowed toasty temperatures to build northward.

Parts of Central Texas made it above 105 degrees on Thursday, and mid- to upper 90s were ubiquitous across the South. Dallas is having its hottest May on record so far, and Abilene has seen a record number of 100-degree days during the month. San Antonio has notched more 100-degree days this May than it did in the entirety of last summer.

Now the air flow ahead of a strip of low pressure approaching from the Midwest and Ohio Valley will allow the skyrocketing temperatures to surge up the East Coast, with 90s from the Gulf Coast of Florida to northern Vermont and the Canadian border.

The heat will reach a climax on Saturday before being shunted to the immediate Interstate 95 corridor ahead of a cold front on Sunday. By Monday, highs about 15 to 20 degrees cooler — more commensurate with seasonal norms — will return.

Monthly records in jeopardy in New England

In Boston, a 91-degree high is forecast for Saturday and 94 degrees on Sunday. But just a few miles inland in the Merrimack Valley, highs might climb into the upper 90s. It’s not out of the question that, with westerly winds and downsloping air, one or two locations may nick 100 degrees. Downsloping is the process by which air descending from a high elevation to a low one compresses and warms, drying out and heating up further.

That’ll likely net a record in Boston for Sunday, where the current number to beat is 93 degrees, set in 1959.

Hartford is expected to hit 97 or 98 degrees on Saturday and 96 on Sunday. That will smash daily records if realized and threaten an all-time monthly record of 99, last set in 2010. The average high for mid- to late May is 73 degrees.

Average high temperatures during the month of May in Hartford have risen 1.5 degrees since 1950, and 90-degree days are nearly twice as common, boosted by human-caused climate change.

Worcester, Mass., is slated to shatter its monthly record two days in a row. Since bookkeeping began in 1892, the city hasn’t jumped above 94 during the month of May. It is forecast to hit 97 on Saturday and 97 on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the New York City metro area will see highs climb into the upper 90s just west of the city on Saturday and Sunday. Central Park might hover around 91 degrees, falling shy of the 93 and 96 records for Saturday and Sunday, respectively, that have stood since 1996.

Mid-Atlantic, Southeast to sizzle

In D.C., a high of 94 is projected for Friday and 96 on Saturday. Sunday will be a hair cooler, likely in the lower 90s. Saturday’s reading could snag a record and, if it reaches 97 degrees, become the hottest temperature observed in D.C. so early in the year.

Philadelphia also has a strong chance to break its record of 95 Saturday.

Across the Southeast, upper 90s are expected on Friday, with a few 100-degree readings possible in central North Carolina. Even at the beaches, Wilmington, N.C., could reach 95 degrees. Mid- to upper 90s will fill most of the Gulf Coastal states and reach all the way west to Texas.

Temperatures will finally drop after this weekend, as a strong cold front plows through the region.

The same front is bringing snow to Denver after a day that peaked around 90 degrees and is triggering areas of severe thunderstorms across the central United States.

Signs point to a renewed warm-up into the middle of next week.

Jason Samenow contributed to this report.



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Orange County fire: Hundreds remain under evacuation orders as Coastal Fire engulfs at least 20 homes

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Concerns loom that embers may spread in coming days as California and the region expect temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above average into early next week, with forecast highs topping 100 degrees in parts of the state, CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said.

Allan Aguilera and his family decided to evacuate Laguna Niguel on Wednesday when they saw the scope of the flames from a lookout point in the neighborhood, he told CNN.

“When we reached the top, we saw the full scale of how big the fire was and witness how quickly it was spreading,” he said. “There were tons of people in the area doing the same, watching the fire before the winds changed and began pushing the flames closer and closer. At that point we decided to leave and go prepare for potential evacuation.

“The situation was incredibly tense, but we kept our cool, gathered our most valuable belongings … and made an early evacuation to avoid any potential bottle-necking if the worst case scenario were to play out,” he added.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, though investigators say “circuit activity” was going on “close in time” to when it was reported, Southern California Edison said in an initial incident report released Wednesday. The utility did not provide any more details on the circuit activity, and fire officials did not comment or confirm any details during a Thursday news conference.

Two firefighters were treated at a hospital as some 550 firefighters work to contain the blaze, Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief and Incident Commander Shane Sherwood said.

The sudden blaze surprises officials

The speed and intensity of the Coastal Fire shocked officials and scientists who say there was not a high risk of fire Wednesday. While winds that helped fuel the fire reached up to 30 mph, according to the National Weather Service, gusts off the Pacific Ocean were cool and humid.

“The humidity was high, which isn’t necessarily optimal to get that kind of burning,” said Greg Martin, a meteorologist at the weather service office in San Diego, said Thursday. “I was really surprised when I saw the smoke plume yesterday evening on my commute and wondered what was burning.

“That was not what I would have thought would be an ideal situation, and yet we had a substantial fire,” he said.

Though the winds were not typical of high fire risk, the region is suffering from a prolonged intense drought, the US Drought Monitor says. Dry brush and vegetation will increasingly feed fires like the one in Orange County, the county fire chief said.

“The fuel beds in this county, throughout Southern California, throughout the West, are so dry that a fire like this is going to be more commonplace,” Brian Fennessy said.

“We’re seeing spread in ways that we haven’t before,” he said. “Five years ago, 10 years ago, a fire like that might have grown to an acre, couple acres” before firefighters could control it. But now, “fire is spreading in this very dry vegetation and taking off.”

Residents of Laguna Niguel neighborhoods were under mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday and Thursday as city officials declared a state of emergency so resources could be accessed quickly.

The West faces a new climate reality

The Coastal Fire comes as the West suffers from a multi-year drought that is not expected to abate in the coming months, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s spring outlook.
Experts are concerned with how early fires are striking this year in California, where fire seasons have historically peaked starting in late summer. In January, over 600 acres of the state’s Monterey County were burned by the Colorado Fire.

“It’s a result of climate change, it’s a result of the drought we’re seeing,” Issac Sanchez, Cal Fire’s battalion chief of communications, told CNN. “The Coastal Fire is a graphic example that you don’t need thousands of acres burned to impact you.”

“It’s way too early” for a fire like the Coastal Fire in Southern California, said Bill South, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Hanford. “This has the potential to be a very bad fire season. And as everyone knows, we’re in a drought here throughout the entire state of California.”

In the past week alone, extreme drought expanded from covering 40% to 60% of the state, the US Drought Monitor reported Thursday, and January to April were California’s driest first four months of the year on record.
The extreme drought conditions afflicting the West are the worst in centuries, a recent study found. Researchers determined the period from 2000 to 2021 was the driest in 1,200 years.

CNN’s Rachel Ramirez, Angela Fritz, Chad Myers, Ella Nilsen, Stephanie Elam, Christina Maxouris, Aya Elamroussi, Sarah Moon and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.

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5-alarm fire engulfs Home Depot in San José, California

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Firefighters on Saturday battled a 5-alarm fire at a Home Depot in San José, California, the San José Fire Department said. Crowds gathered to watch in the parking lot as the inferno spewed a massive column of smoke into the air.

Thirty fire units consisting of 100 firefighters were on hand to battle the blaze, CBS San Francisco reports. SJFD got control of the blaze around 11:45 p.m. local time, CBS San Francisco reports.

No injuries to any employees, customers or firefighters have been reported, according to CBS San Francisco. The roof of the Home Depot had mostly collapsed on Saturday.

SJFD battalion chief Brad Cloutier said Saturday that the initial focus was to evacuate the building. Cloutier said extinguishing the fire proved challenging for several reasons, including windy conditions and the materials inside the store.

“Paint, paint thinner, lumber, all sorts of flammable materials, plastic lawn chairs, things that burn pretty readily and a lot of them and a large store – so challenges as far as that went,” he said, according to CBS San Francisco. “Also the wind this afternoon was a little significant as you saw when you got here.”

Cloutier said fire crews were also dispatched to the south of the fire in case embers blown by the wind caused any nearby homes to ignite.

A nearby animal hospital also had to be evacuated, SJFD said. Several bystanders helped to evacuate the animals.

“We were actually headed to Oakridge mall to buy some tea, and my husband said let’s go check out and see if we can help with the animals. So we went inside and we just started opening all the doors,” Evelyn Skoff told CBS San Francisco. “We took them all out to the back and there were a bunch of people out there just helping us gather these animals, so it was really cool to see all the teamwork.”  

“I also helped with her. We went around and opened all the cages to make sure they got out in time,” said Tatum Sullivan, according to CBS San Francisco.

The fire did not spread to the animal hospital, but the building did sustain smoke and water damage, according to CBS San Francisco.

The fire was so intense that it showed up on the National Weather Service’s radar.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.



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Fire Engulfs McLean Home Owned by Former Virginia Gov., 2 Injured – NBC4 Washington

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A fire overran a large home in McLean, Virginia, early Wednesday, drawing firefighters from nearby counties and leaving two people injured, officials said.

The home is owned by former Sen. and Virginia Gov. Charles Robb and his wife, Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, the daughter of president Lyndon B. Johnson, according to property records. Officials didn’t immediately say who was in the house when the fire broke out.

Flames were burning throughout the first floor of the home in the 600 block of Chain Bridge Road when firefighters arrived, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said.

The fire spread to the second floor, and flames were seen erupting from the roof, photos show. Smoke could be seen across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., witnesses said.

Two people were taken to hospitals with injuries that are not life-threatening, officials said.

Firefighters from Fairfax, Arlington and Montgomery counties worked together to bring the blaze under control, and no other injuries were reported, officials said.

Video showed the home smoldering and collapsed.

Investigators are looking into what caused the fire.

Robb was the governor of Virginia from 1982 to 1986 and a U.S. senator between 1989 and 2001.

Robb purchased the home in 1973, according to property records. It was valued at more than $3 million last year.

Virginia Route 123/Chain Bridge Road was closed between Glebe Road and Merrie Ridge Road, our news partners WTOP reported.

Stay with News4 for more on this developing story.



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World

For Johnson, a Political Rebuke as Omicron Variant Engulfs Britain

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LONDON — In the pre-dawn hours of Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson learned that his Conservative Party had crashed to defeat in a district it had represented for more than a century. Twelve hours later, Britain reported more than 90,000 new cases of Covid-19 as the Omicron variant engulfed the country.

Each of those events would be daunting enough on its own. Together, they pose a uniquely difficult challenge to Mr. Johnson as he struggles to navigate his nation through the latest treacherous phase of the pandemic.

The electoral defeat exposed the vulnerability of a prime minister who built his career on his vote-getting skills. Normally reliable Conservative voters turned on the party in striking numbers, disgusted by a steady drip of unsavory ethics disclosures and a growing sense that the government is lurching from crisis to crisis.

The defeat came on top of a mutiny in the ranks of Conservative lawmakers, around 100 of whom voted against Mr. Johnson’s plan to introduce a form of Covid pass in England earlier in the week. Having been politically rebuked, he now has less flexibility to impose new restrictions to curb a virus that is spreading explosively.

Mr. Johnson is betting he can avert a full-blown crisis by massively accelerating Britain’s vaccine booster program. But so far, the rate of infections is outrunning the percentage of people getting their third shots. With the variant doubling every 2.5 days, epidemiologists warn that some type of lockdown might ultimately be the only way to prevent an untenable strain on hospitals.

“What on earth is the prime minister going to do if the rising Covid numbers means he is getting strong scientific advice to take further restrictive measures?” said Jill Rutter, a senior research fellow at UK in a Changing Europe, a research institute.

Mr. Johnson was able to pass his recent measures thanks to votes from the opposition Labour Party. But that dramatized his political weakness, Ms. Rutter noted, and resorting to it again would further antagonize his own rank and file. “That’s politically a terrible place for the prime minister to be,” she added.

Indeed, Mr. Johnson needs to worry about fending off a leadership challenge — a once-remote scenario now suddenly plausible as Conservative lawmakers worry that the calamitous result in North Shropshire, a district near England’s border with Wales, could translate into defeat in the next general election.

The victorious Liberal Democrat candidate, Helen Morgan, overturned a majority of almost 23,000 won by the former Conservative lawmaker, Owen Paterson, at the last general election, in 2019. Mr. Paterson, a former cabinet minister who had held the seat since 1997, resigned last month after breaking lobbying rules, despite an unsuccessful effort by Mr. Johnson to save him.

About the only reprieve for Mr. Johnson is that Parliament recessed for the Christmas holiday on Thursday. That will temper the momentum behind any possible leadership challenge, at least until Conservative lawmakers return to Westminster after the New Year and assess the state of their party and the country.

A prime minister who just a week ago was promising to save Christmas may now need Christmas to save him.

“I totally understand people’s frustrations,” Mr. Johnson said on Friday. “In all humility, I’ve got to accept that verdict.” But he also blamed the news media, telling Sky News, “some things have been going very well, but what the people have been hearing is just a constant litany of stuff about politics and politicians.”

Mr. Johnson’s standing has been weakened by claims, widely reported in the papers, that his staff held Christmas parties in Downing Street last year at a time when they were forbidden under coronavirus restrictions.

The cabinet secretary, Simon Case, had been investigating those allegations but on Friday evening, he abruptly withdrew after a report surfaced that he was aware of a separate party held in his own office last year. Though another civil servant, Sue Gray, will take over the investigation, the latest disclosure is only likely deepen to public suspicion about the government’s behavior.

Even before the election loss in North Shropshire, there was speculation that Mr. Johnson could face a formal challenge to his leadership, little more than two years after he won a landslide election victory in December 2019.

To initiate a no-confidence vote, 54 lawmakers would have to write to the chairman of the committee that represents Conservative backbenchers, Graham Brady. Such letters are confidential, but analysts do not believe that prospect is close.

Even so, Friday’s result will increase jitters in Downing Street. North Shropshire was one of the Conservative Party’s safest seats, in a part of Britain that supported Brexit, Mr. Johnson’s defining political project. Many Labour Party voters and others hostile to the Conservatives coalesced around the Liberal Democrats, the party deemed most likely to defeat the Tories in that region — a practice known as tactical voting.

Were this to be repeated nationally in the next general election it could deprive the Conservatives of perhaps 30 seats and, in close contest, affect the outcome, said Peter Kellner, a former president of the polling firm YouGov.

“Tactical voting has a chance to make a material difference to the politics of Britain after the next general election,” he said.

In recent weeks, Labour has moved ahead of the Conservatives in several opinion surveys, which also recorded a steep drop in Mr. Johnson’s approval ratings. Political analysts said that could also put the prime minister in a vulnerable position, given the transactional nature of his party.

“The Tory Party is a ruthless machine for winning elections,” said Jonathan Powell, a former chief of staff to Prime Minister Tony Blair. “If that is continuing into an election cycle, the party will get rid of him quickly.”

But while the political climate remains volatile, most voters are more preoccupied by the effect of the Omicron variant as they prepare for the holiday season. Scientists said it was too soon to say whether the variant was less severe than previous ones, but they warned that even if it was, that would not necessarily prevent a swift rise in hospital admissions, given the enormous number of infections.

“If you have enough cases per day, the number of hospitalizations could pose potentially great challenges for any hospital system,” said Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, whose frightening projections about the virus prompted Mr. Johnson to impose his first lockdown in March 2020.

Ms. Rutter said Mr. Johnson could yet emerge unscathed if the variant is milder than feared, hospitals are not overwhelmed, and the booster program is effective. Earlier this year, his fortunes revived when Britain’s vaccination rollout was fast and effective, allowing him to remove all restrictions in July.

By weakening Mr. Johnson’s position, however, the defeat in North Shropshire is also likely to embolden his rivals, among them the chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, and the foreign secretary, Liz Truss. Any resulting tensions within the cabinet are likely to erode Mr. Johnson’s authority further.

All of that is a dangerous recipe for a prime minister who may find himself forced to return to Parliament to approve further restrictions.

“In March 2020, he had massive political capital coming off the back of that fantastic election victory,” Ms. Rutter said. “He’s managed in that time to pretty much squander that political capital, certainly within his party.”

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Volcanic lava in Spain’s La Palma engulfs more houses

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LA PALMA, Spain, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Buildings near the volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma were engulfed by rivers of lava early on Saturday, with the drama of the red-hot eruption intensified by the spectacle of flashes of lightning.

The magma destroyed at least four buildings in the village of Callejon de la Gata, Reuters witnesses said.

There were a series of 37 seismic movements on Saturday, with the largest measuring 4.1, the Spanish National Geological Institute said.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting on Sept. 19 and has destroyed more than 800 buildings and forced the evacuation of about 6,000 people from their homes on the island. La Palma, with a population of about 83,000, is one of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.

Lightning flashes were seen near the eruption early on Saturday. A study published in 2016 by the journal Geophysical Research Letters found lightning can be produced during volcanic eruptions because the collision of ash particles creates an electrical charge.

The lava from the volcano has engulfed over 150 hectares (370 acres) of farm land, most of it used for the cultivation of bananas that are one of the main crops on the island.

Airlines flying to the Canary Islands were advised to load extra fuel in case planes had to change course or delay landing because of ash, said a spokesman for Enaire, which controls the navigation in Spanish airspace.

La Palma’s airport has been closed since Thursday because of ash, Spanish air traffic operator Aena (AENA.MC) said. read more but the other airports in the archipelago remained open.

Reporting by Silvio Castellanos, Juan Medina, Graham Keeley; editing by Frances Kerry and Jason Neely

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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World

Kamala Harris in Singapore: Afghanistan fallout engulfs Harris’ first day of Southeast Asia trip

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Harris’ stops in Singapore and Vietnam have assumed outsized importance for their potential to reassure foreign leaders of the United States’ continued commitment to its allies. Particularly in Vietnam where Harris heads Tuesday — as images of the 1975 fall of Saigon have stirred comparisons to evacuations in Kabul — the vice president will work to maintain her focus on Asia, a region President Joe Biden wants to prioritize as he ends 9/11-era conflicts.

Yet on Monday, reporters beamed in on a monitor from another room to pepper Harris on the tumultuous Afghanistan exit as she stood alongside Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loon in a joint press conference after their first bilateral meeting, providing a first look at how the vice president is approaching the unfolding crisis.

“There’s no question there will be, and should be, a robust analysis of what has happened,” Harris said, as she sidestepped answering whether she was personally satisfied with the operational steps being taken during the US withdrawal. Officials separated reporters traveling with the vice president from the politicians because of Singapore’s Covid-19 restrictions.

Harris said in April she was among the last advisers Biden consulted before making his decision to end the Afghanistan war, and she has joined the multitude of briefings he’s received on the matter over the past week. Her advisers had faced questions ahead of her trip about whether the tumultuous end to the 20-year war would undermine her message to leaders in Asia about America’s commitments abroad.

There had already been some questions about Biden’s attention to southeast Asia; he hasn’t spoken directly to a leader from the region since taking office. Part of the reason he’s explained for ending the Afghanistan war is a desire to shift focus to modern-day issues, like countering China’s rise.

On Monday, even as Harris sought to project the administration’s focus on bolstering its influence in Asia, she still faced questions about the Afghanistan crisis.

“Right now, we are singularly focused on evacuating American citizens, Afghans who worked with us, and Afghans who are vulnerable, including women and children,” Harris added. She also defended President Joe Biden, saying he’d shown “great emotion” over the images coming out of Afghanistan.

Responding to the Afghanistan crisis while on foreign soil is part of the steep challenge Harris faces this week as she travels to Singapore and Vietnam, as the once-low-risk trip to friendly nations comes at the same time as a chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Political experts, and even her own allies, say Harris faces enhanced pressure to fulfill dual responsibilities largely unfamiliar to her in the seven months she’s been in office: Deliver a foreign policy win for an administration in crisis and embody Biden’s call to pivot US focus abroad to counter a rising China.

“It’s going to be a real sticking point for her to exude that America is here and we’re committed to the things that we say we’re committed to,” a source close to Harris told CNN last week.

Harris’ comments on Monday echoed Biden’s statements in previous days, saying that the time for reflection and criticism will come later as the focus remains on the dangerous mission of evacuating tens of thousands from the now-Taliban-controlled city. But that notion has not stopped the barrage of questions over the administration’s competency and who is to blame for the collapse in Kabul.

“The reason I’m here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously, understanding that we have many interests and priorities around the world,” Harris said Monday. “I am here in Singapore as a reaffirmation of our commitment to our membership in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Monday agreements

Following Harris’ meeting with Lee, the White House announced several initiatives with the Singapore government aimed at “strengthening and deepening” the administrations’ partnerships in Southeast Asia. The agreements focus on easing supply chain issues compounded by the pandemic, combating cybersecurity threats, addressing climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Harris and Lee will launch the US-Singapore Dialogue on Supply Chain, according to a fact sheet provided from her office, which would be a “high level dialogue on enhancing cooperative efforts to promote greater supply chain resilience.’ CNN reported Friday that trade would factor into the theme of global competition on the vice president’s trip, as the US grapples with the global microchip shortage

On cybersecurity, the pair announced they’ve finalized “three agreements that will expand cybersecurity cooperation with respect to the financial sector, military-to-military engagement, and regional capacity-building.’

And the US and Singapore say they will track Covid-19 variants together more closely as well as partners in research for treatments, among other agreements on defense issues.

Afterward, the vice president received a briefing from Singaporean defense officials on the US-Singapore defense relationship at the Changi Naval Base before addressing US sailors aboard the USS Tulsa.

She thanked troops for their efforts in Afghanistan, as discussions are underway about the potential for remaining in Kabul beyond the August 31 deadline to exit the country so US troops can finish the evacuation effort.

“The men and women who have served in Afghanistan — including some who are here today, and I have read about your service — and those who are serving there right now, I just want to say we are all grateful to the men and women in uniform and the embassy staff on the ground who are bringing safety to Americans and the Afghans who worked side by side with us and to other Afghans at risk,” Harris said.

“And they’re doing this mission in an incredibly challenging and dangerous environment, and the President and I are thankful for their service.”

Then Harris turned back at the task at hand, deepening the relationship in the Indo-Pacific, a region she called “critical” to the United State’ security.

Biden has centered his domestic economic policy agenda around beefing up the country’s infrastructure and manufacturing ability to compete with China, making it no secret he intends to fight the battles of the “next 20 years,” instead of the last, a part of his reason for withdrawing from Afghanistan.

“At the same time, other missions continue all around the world. So, you all are here in Singapore — and Southeast Asia, and the Indo Pacific — with a mission of your own, a mission that is vital to the American people,” Harris said to US sailors after touring the combat ship USS Tulsa. “The Indo-Pacific is critical to the security and prosperity of the United States.”

The vice president is scheduled to give remarks Tuesday in Singapore laying out the administration’s vision for the region, a White House official said, focused on security, economic partnerships, and global health.

“The Vice President will discuss a theme she has discussed many times before — she believes we are embarking on a new era. Our world is more interconnected and interdependent than ever before, therefore, the only way to move forward is together,” the official .

CNN’s kevin Liptak, Sophie Jeong, Chandler Thornton and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.

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