Oceans hit record-high July temperatures

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0:41Hello and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service. Coming to you live from London, I'm Rajini Vaidyanavan. On today's programme, Russian officials say a Ukrainian drone strike on a major industrial city in Tartistan, hundreds of kilometres east of Moscow, has killed at least 13 people, wounding many more. We'll have more from Moscow. And how Harry Potter fans forced a rethink on a multi-million dollar project in Wales. Incredibly, the person who actually did all the surveying didn't know who Dobby was, fair enough. And there was hundreds of calls made to the company asking them, please, please, please, do not do this to Dobby's grave, because apparently it was going to go directly under Dobby's grave, which, again, is quite a shock anyway, because even if Dobby's grave wasn't there, I think it would have spoiled what is naturally a very beautiful beach.

1:32But we stopped it. I mean, how many fictional characters do you know that that's happened to? I don't know of many. I think this is probably one of the first that I've heard of, a fictional character actually stopping some surveying happening. We'll have more on the power of muggles later in the hour. But first, for weeks, we've been talking about a heatwave across Western Europe. which shows no sign of easing yet. The UK and France are bracing for their fifth heatwave each of the season. And now it's been confirmed that the world's oceans hit their hottest ever recorded temperatures in July. That's according to the EU's climate monitoring service, Copernicus.

2:11Officials say the El Nino weather system, which develops in the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere above it, is playing a part. Samantha Burgess is deputy director of Copernicus. So what more is her report saying? For July, we really saw exceptional temperatures for the month across a large part of the world. And it was the second warmest July globally. In Europe in particular, we saw this combination of record high heat conditions from that series of heat waves, record low rivers and record low rainfall. So it's been incredibly dry up to six weeks in some parts of Europe. And this has also led to drought and to extreme wildfire risk.

3:02Samantha, is this the new normal? So I don't really like that term because the new normal anticipates that we'll kind of stay in this state. And unfortunately, that's not the case. As our climate continues to warm, our heat waves will continue to get more intense, more frequent and last longer. So until we get to net zero, we will continue to be in a shifting climate where the extremes do get worse. So this is about putting pressure on politicians then to meet those targets? Well, ultimately, our responsibility is to report on the science and to provide clear and compelling evidence of the impacts of climate change, not only in Europe, but globally.

3:49And what do these records and the research that you've done tell us about the next few years ahead? So at the moment, 2026 is likely to be in the top three warmest years. The impacts that we've seen over the summer are likely to have implications for food and energy security later this year because of the yield reductions for both energy and agriculture through the record dry and low river levels. with El Nino intensifying later this year. We're already seeing record ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific, but we know the peak of the impact on global temperatures is the year after the El Nino event.

4:37So 2027 is likely to be the warmest year on record and beat 2024, which was the previous warmest year on record. How much is all of this a wake-up call for policymakers and politicians? We discussed that briefly earlier, but of course, there is pressure, isn't there, for people to change the way that we all live, I suppose. And a lot of that does also come from governments. Yeah, it does. And, you know, it's not just about changing the way we live. So mitigation is obviously part of it. But we also need to adapt to our present climate reality. And that means that we need to protect the most vulnerable of our society.

5:19we need to manage for hot conditions so when we green our cities that lowers the temperatures by you know up to five to seven degrees so the more green spaces we have in cities the better it is not only for temperature but also for soaking up water when it rains enabling it to stay in the environment rather than go down the drain and into the ocean so there's a lot of adaptation measures that we can do to adapt to our warmer world. Not having barbecues, being very fire risk aware to make sure that when we have these fire weather conditions, we're not accidentally doing things that, you know, people just want to enjoy themselves over the summer holidays.

6:09But we really need to understand that we can't use barbecues or light fires where there's high fuel loads around us because the implications of those fires are catastrophic, not only for the people who live in those regions, but the associated ecosystems. So all of us have a responsibility is what you're saying? Yes, definitely. And we can all do our part, but it also needs to be led by policy changes and by clear information of how to behave in a warmer world. So how to be sensitive to heat, to make sure we can protect ourselves from heat stress, to prevent additional burdens on the healthcare system.

6:52So we do need to arm ourselves with that level of education. But equally, there is a responsibility for that information to be clear and publicly available. That's Samantha Burgess, the Deputy Director of Copernicus, which is the European Union's climate change agency. Well, the record heat's having an impact on many things. health, homes, infrastructure, and all of that comes with an economic cost. This is a situation when it comes to Europe. All in all for the EU, we estimate it costs us about one percent of GDP for this year. So that's really quite sizable. That's about the entirety of the forecasted economic growth for the EU at the beginning of this year.

7:35And we expect that to be more or less wiped out. With the extreme heat and drought that we've been having, you'll just get lower crop So that means ultimately less food available, right, and less income for the farmers producing it. Another one that's very visible is the transport sector, where at some points water levels have just come so low that we basically can't navigate rivers anymore, or at least not with the bigger ships. We'll bring you more of that interview later in the programme. But as you heard there, rivers in Europe are feeling the heat. Officials in Poland say the Vistula River in Warsaw has dropped to historic lows.

8:12And it's not just there. Officials in Germany say falling water levels on the River Rhine could mean that in effect it's split into two separate sections for cargo boats. Reports suggest the river's forecast to drop below 10 centimetres this week at a key section at Kalb, which has already hit record lows. And that would make it too low for commercial shipping and also for cruises. Well, Aileen Spantig is a journalist with the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. She's been reporting on the river and its problems from very close by in Bonn. I'm right now looking outside the window from my office in Bonn, Germany, and it's right next to the Rhine River.

8:52I see the dry leaves from the trees. Usually they are green and lush, you know, they are just yellow and brownish. And when I look towards the river, I just see the dry riverbed and the bit of water that is left. I see the grey stones covered in mud and a few ships passing by. And when did it start to look like this? It started looking like this way earlier in the year than expected. It gets hot in summers sometimes. And we had droughts like that in previous years. But this year, it just started way earlier, like already a couple of weeks ago. The weather forecast is still sunny and warm. And what's the smell then there as well?

9:41Yeah, you know, I go for walks along the Rhine or last evening, I went for a little bicycle ride along the Rhine. And you can smell it because it smells way more like algae because the riverbed dries out. and then you have this algae on the stones and it just leaves this smell. And normally when I go for a walk, the air is fresh. You have the river clearing the air. But this time it just smelled like dust and this fishy algae smell. There's a plan now potentially to split the river to two separate sections because of these falling water levels. What more do we know about that? Yeah, so the concern is that this could already happen this week, that they would kind of have to split the river, which means they have to bridge critical stretches with trucks.

10:34So the most critical point where water levels are measured is close to a little, you can imagine it like a pittoresque little river island with a cute little German castle on it, which looks really nice if you pass by. But because of this river island, the river is even more narrow there because the island sits right in the middle. And if the water level there drops even more, it means that for ships, it becomes impossible. So you would kind of have to find a solution that you put the freight on trucks and you manage to pass on the freight from one point to the next point, bridging that critical stretch.

11:22How concerned are people about the water levels and, of course, the implications of that, as you just outlined there? Yeah, for the German industry, it's devastating. And if you go along the Rhine, you see on the right and left, you see little chimneys, little pipes, because a lot of factories and companies are strategically located right next to the rivers, because that's how they get their raw materials. So a ship would load at one point, they would load like raw materials, and they would ship a little bit along the river and then unload it right to the factory. And that's why all those factories, they are right next to the Rhine.

12:00And now it's difficult for them to get their raw materials. But that also goes beyond Germany. Of course, the Rhine connects into other countries and connects to other critical rivers and ports. So this river is quite important for Germany. 80 % of its inland shipping of goods relies on this river. It's important for Germany when it comes to commerce, but it's also such an iconic river, isn't it, for people where you are? Yeah, there are a lot of, yeah, also tourists coming here to enjoy the scenic view. You have a beautiful railway track right along the Rhine River from which you can see this little pittoresque castle.

12:42So tourists coming are also for that motive. And a couple of days ago, it already happened that one of those passenger ships ran aground and was stuck in the river and for a couple hours couldn't move and had to get help. So what had already happened to passenger ships is, of course, also the concern for ships that are carrying industrial freight. That's Aileen Spantig from Deutsche Welle. Well, some breaking news we want to bring you. And a large earthquake has shaken Western Colombia with a magnitude of 7.4. That's according to the U.S. Geological Survey. We're just hearing that six airports in the country have suspended their operations after that major earthquake.

13:27We'll have more on that developing story in about half an hour or so from now. This is NewsHour. Coming up on NewsHour, the Italian diver who stumbled across a 2 ,000-year-old shipwreck and its intact cargo. At some point in the bottom of 46 metres of depth, we saw in the monitor some very strange structure and I decided to go down and check it out. Some of the other headlines we're watching this hour and officials in Russia say a Ukrainian drone strike on a major industrial city in Tatarstan has killed at least 13 and wounded many more. Police in eastern India have used tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of young people protesting against alleged corruption in civil service exams.

14:15And football confederations representing more than half of the members of FIFA have issued a blistering statement on the conduct of the presidents of the sports governing body, Jani Infantino. Those are some of the headlines.

14:34This is Rajini Vaidyanathan with NewsHour, coming to you live from the BBC here in London. A BBC Africa Eye investigation's been told that two days before he was shot dead, a South African police detective predicted he'd be killed by the country's special forces. At the time of his death, Frans Mathipa was looking into their alleged role in the disappearance of a suspected Islamic State group militant. Seven Special Forces soldiers and one other are due to stand trial in connection with the detective's murder. Of those, seven are accused, alongside four others, of abducting and murdering the suspected IS militant.

15:12They deny the allegations. Dino Mitani has this report.

15:21So this is the final road on Matheba's last journey. It is indeed. And we are about to, in just a few metres, approach the site where he died. On a Sunday evening in August 2023, Lieutenant Colonel Franz Matiba was found shot dead in his car by the side of the N1 motorway outside Pretoria. The 53-year-old detective was a veteran of the Hawks, an elite police unit whose responsibilities include investigating crimes against the state. He was the finest man. He was a trusted and loyal man. That is how France was. Brigadier Paulina Sekopela was Matiba's commanding officer. She says Matiba was killed while investigating whether Special Forces soldiers were behind the disappearance of suspected IS militant Abdallah Abadiga in December 2022.

16:17Matiba had applied for a court order to force the military to hand over information, but after one meeting with the special forces, he made a chilling prediction to his boss. He said, brigadier, you know, is the boy that's going to kill me? I'm going to die. Police say that two days later, on 6 August 2023, Matiba was lured to a petrol station in eastern Pretoria, where he believed he would meet an informant. But they didn't show up. BBC Africa Eye has seen CCTV pictures which show Matiba driving away on the motorway with a black BMW following him. He was shot dead shortly after. Seven Special Forces soldiers and one other are due to stand trial in connection with the detective's murder.

17:06Of those, seven are accused, alongside four others, of abducting and murdering Abadiga. They deny the allegations. Give me a lighter. You can just light the papers. Over a backyard barbecue, Colonel Tolly Fruchtenberg, a former counter-terrorism police chief, tells BBC Africa Eye that South Africans should be concerned by Matiba's murder. The late killers of Matiba are the persons that are supposed to protect us. Who can we trust? Can we trust our government? He believes Matiba was close to uncovering the truth behind Aberdeega's disappearance. Colonel Fruchtenberg has revealed that before he went missing, Aberdeega was being used as an intelligence asset.

17:53But he thinks his handlers underestimated him. I cannot say which intelligence organisation used him. We should tell an organisation, domestic or international, I will go that far. Most probably he's laying somewhere in a shallow grave. The BBC contacted the Department of Home Affairs and the South African National Defence Force for comment. They did not respond. Meanwhile, three years on from Matiba's death, his daughter Basitsana says her family are still waiting for his killers to be held to account. I'm never gonna hug my dad anymore. Why? Why my dad? Because he was doing his job. We need justice.

18:41We need justice. You can hear more on this investigation in Special Forces on Trial. That's on the documentary podcast.

18:53he was the big-eared wide-eyed flesh-colored house elf who met his end in harry potter and the deathly hallows well for the harry potter fans among us dobby's demise was one of the saddest moments from the books and films well it was filmed for the big screen in pembrokeshire in wales the location then became a hugely popular shrine to the character so much so that when a multi-million dollar underground cable project threatened its future, hundreds of fans lobbied the company to change its course. Muggle power prevailed and the cable was rerouted, while Victoria McLean's a Harry Potter superfan who lives close to Dobby's memorial.

19:33It's like a homage where people can come and say goodbye to an incredibly loved fictional character from the Harry Potter series. The beach itself, Freshwater West, is very much a natural, been-left-alone beach. It's not a typical tourist attraction. There are no shops selling Welsh merchandise. There are no kind of restaurants or bars. It is literally a natural beach with beautiful sand dunes, a stunning beach. And it's just a very natural landscape that the producers of Harry Potter decided that was going to be the final resting place of Dobby, the house elf. And it's become a makeshift grave for Dobby, a memorial site for him.

20:13Yes, it has. He was buried there. He died on the beach during Deathly Hallows Part 1 at the end of the film. Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen Harry Potter. And he was buried at Shell Cottage. Instead of using magic to create his grave, Harry wanted to do it himself and dig it by hand. And then we can see in the film that Ron and Hermione are carrying Dobby's lifeless body up to the place where Harry has chosen for his final resting place. after protecting them for many years. Dobby was the loyal house elf, wasn't he? A real part of the Harry Potter books. And of course, as you mentioned, the film there.

20:56The reason this has all become a new story is because they wanted to build undersea cables in the area. And you and other fans managed to stop that because Dobby's grave was going to be in its path. Is that right? That is very true. Yes. But incredibly, the person who actually did all the surveying didn't know who Dobby was, fair enough. And there was hundreds of calls made to the company asking them, please, please, please do not do this to Dobby's grave. Because apparently it was going to go directly under Dobby's grave, which, again, is quite a shock anyway, because even if Dobby's grave wasn't there, I think it would have spoiled what is naturally a very beautiful beach.

21:35But we stopped it. I mean, how many fictional characters do you know that that's happened to? I don't know of many. I think this is probably one of the first that I've heard of a fictional character actually stopping some surveying happening. Could his grave not have been moved somewhere close by even so this important project could go ahead? I don't think so. I think there has been many websites dedicated to Dobby's grave, helping people to find the location of Dobby's grave. It's been many, many, many years in the process. And I think when you look at the site, there is so many hand-painted rocks there.

22:14There are monuments to Dobby that have been there for many years that I think is something that people, they go there and they feel close to these characters. And it's probably one of the many places in the UK where you don't have to pay for entrance to see something as important in the stories. so Dobby's grave is a permanent reminder of how important he is to us as the fans and for us to be able to go there and pay respects to Dobby it's incredible and I love the fact that the fandom has that power even to this day years later. Indeed the power of the muggle movement Harry Potter super fan Victoria McLean there.

22:54You're listening to NewsHour.

23:26We'll see you next time. you need. Lives Less Ordinary love stories from the BBC World Service. Listen now, search for Lives Less Ordinary wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

23:44Welcome back to NewsHour. Denmark's preparing to scrap its royal warrant system, ending a centuries-old royal seal of approval used by businesses to market everything from beer to cars. Many warrant holders rarely supply goods or services to the Danish royal family and some companies, which do, aren't warrant holders at all. Business Daily's Daniel Rosny has been to Copenhagen to meet companies facing this change in the coming years. Some of the most well-known Danish brands and businesses, such as Carlsberg and Lego, have a royal warrant. And as well as global brands, there are also smaller, independent companies too, which all have a warrant.

24:26My name is Barrett Hertz and I'm the sixth generation of Denmark's oldest jewellery store. It's called Peter Hertz. We've been here since 1834. The Hertz family have had the title of royal court jeweller for 120 years. Since the business was founded and passed down through six generations, it has been awarded royal warrants by five Danish monarchs. I think it's kind of an understanding that we have in the store because we've had it for so many years. It kind of defines us who we are as well. Does it give you any kind of status? It gives it kind of a credibility that, okay, if this is a brand approved by the royal court, then they must be trustworthy in a way.

25:06Because of the history that the P. Hertz store has in Copenhagen, Barrett has been given permission to keep the crown on the facade of the store once the royal warrant has been phased out. People really feel that the store is a part of the Copenhagen picture when you walk down Kumagel and you see that all the way from almost the round tower and you can see down. My name is Camilla Somot and I am an owner of an old candy factory. It is a hard-boiled candy. And what do you call this? What is it? It's to cut the candies. So it cuts them triangle. This is a family-run business and Camilla is the fifth generation to take charge.

25:46So you still use traditional methods? Yes. Everything in here is handmade. Simode has had a royal warrant since 1991. It's something the company proudly put on its packaging. It was a major step up. And it was also because it was a time before social media. It was a time before internet. So it was a quality stamp. But two years ago, things changed. I've spent a lot of time and a lot of energy to focus on the more modern approaches now, which is Google reviews and trust pilots, because that is what the modern generation uses more so than the Royal Warrant title. But I do know that quite a few tourists, they appreciate it more and they follow that more, want to see the stores and the shops that has the title.