International

Chile’s distant paradise where scientists study climate change

Photo: Alberto Peña / AFP

AFP | Alberto Peña

Hidden inside pristine forests in Chile’s deep south, known as the end of the world, lie potential early warning signs of climate change. Puerto Williams on Navarino island, which is separated from the South American mainland by the Beagle Channel, is the world’s southern-most town.

Far from the pollution that blights major urban and industrial centers, it is a paradise that provides unique conditions to study global warming.

“There is nowhere else like it,” Ricardo Rozzi, director of the Cape Horn International Center for global change studies and bio-cultural conservation in Puerto Williams, told AFP.

It is “a place that is especially sensitive to climate change” as average temperatures do not rise above five degrees Celsius. This cold and windy area is the last inhabited southern frontier before reaching the Antarctic.

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The ethnobotanical Omora park is home to an immense variety of lichens, mosses and fungi that scientists study by crouching down onto their knees with magnifying glasses.

In the crystal clear Robalo river, minuscule organisms act as sentinels of the changes produced by global warming. In both the park and river, the alarm bells are ringing.

Moss and lichen on the move

At this latitude — 55 degrees south — climate change has an exponential effect on flora that react by seeking out low temperatures, said Rozzi, 61. “The most obvious aspect of climate change is the rising temperatures,” he said. “These lichens cannot survive” if a certain threshold is passed. To escape the higher temperatures, they move.

“In the case of (mosses) we’ve noticed that they have moved. Before they were between 50 and 350 (meters above sea level) and now they are between 100 and 400,” said Rozzi. He says Omora has more diversity per square meter of lichens and mosses than anywhere else in the world. They also help to absorb carbon dioxide.

Another aspect is the elevational diversity gradient, an ecological pattern in which biodiversity changes with elevation.

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The 700-meter high Bandera hill’s biodiversity changes every 200 meters and there is a mammoth 1.5 degrees Celsius difference in temperature between top and bottom.

“We can see what changes happen in the high mountains and in the area close to the sea in a very short distance, and we can see how the temperature affects the biodiversity that lives in this river,” Tamara Contador, 38, a biologist at the Cape Horn International Center, told AFP.

She studies the gradients themselves. If the height difference between gradients rises or falls on the mountain, scientists can determine whether there has been a global change in temperature. They say there has been.

Avoiding ‘extermination’

“On a global level, the polar and subpolar ecosystems are the most affected by climate change, so we are in a place where climate change has a much bigger effect on biodiversity than other places,” said Contador.

River organisms also form part of the alert system.

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“The organisms that live here are also indicators of water quality and global environmental change,” added Contador.

River organisms move about and have already increased their reproductive cycle, says Rozzi. This confirms there has been a small change to the climate in the area that could have been much greater elsewhere on the planet.

“Some insects that have an annual eggs to larvae to adulthood cycle are now having two cycles because the temperature has risen,” said Rozzi.

By studying these organisms and learning from them “we can avoid crossing the threshold that brings us to the extermination of humanity and other life forms,” he added.

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A glacier over Darwin's mountain range is seen during a journey through the Beagle Channel in the Magallanes region, the southernmost of Chile, on September 23, 2022. - There is a place at the end of the world, in the southernmost point of Chile, where pristine forests hide tiny systems in their depths that already give early warning of the global climate change that the planet is suffering. Beyond the place where the American continent ends, on Navarino Island, crossing the Beagle Channel, Puerto Williams stands as the southernmost city in the world, a place far from pollution and human mistreatment, with unique conditions for the study of climate change. (Photo by Alberto PEÑA / AFP)

International

Spain rebukes U.S. over euthanasia case as minister defends legal framework

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The minister questioned the U.S. government’s stance and urged it not to interfere in matters governed by Spain’s legal and healthcare framework. “Stop fueling an international ultra agenda by meddling everywhere,” García wrote in a message on the social platform X.

In her remarks, García also criticized the U.S. healthcare system, noting that thousands of people die each year without access to medical coverage. She further accused the Trump administration of supporting actions that undermine human rights in international contexts.

García defended the legality of euthanasia in Spain, emphasizing that the procedure is strictly regulated and subject to medical and judicial oversight. “Spain is a serious country, with a strong healthcare system and a legal framework that protects individuals, including those who choose to seek assistance in dying under regulated conditions reviewed by clinical committees and upheld by the courts,” she said.

The case of Noelia Castillo, a 25-year-old woman living with paraplegia, drew widespread attention following a legal dispute with her father, who opposed her decision to undergo euthanasia. The procedure was ultimately carried out in accordance with Spanish law.

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International

New York City lifts TikTok ban on government devices under new security rules

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The initial ban, implemented in 2023 by former mayor Eric Adams, aligned with federal and state-level restrictions across the United States, which limited the use of TikTok on official devices over concerns related to its parent company, ByteDance. The company has previously denied these concerns, calling them unfounded.

Under the updated guidelines issued by the city’s Cyber Command, devices designated for TikTok use by government agencies must not store or access sensitive information. Officials indicated that the policy shift is intended to enhance communication with residents.

“The Mamdani Administration is committed to using every tool in our toolbox to communicate with New Yorkers,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.

Following the announcement, the mayor’s official TikTok account resumed activity after remaining inactive since the ban was first enforced.

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International

Rubio signals possible engagement with Iranian factions amid internal divisions

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Speaking to ABC News’ Good Morning America, Rubio suggested that internal divisions exist within the Islamic Republic and expressed confidence that figures with the authority to act could emerge.

“We are hopeful that this will be the case,” Rubio said. “Clearly, there are people there who are communicating with us in ways that those previously in power in Iran did not. This is reflected in some of the steps they appear willing to take.”

Despite this, Rubio maintained a firm stance toward Iran, reiterating that the ongoing conflict seeks to eliminate its capacity to develop nuclear weapons—an objective that President Donald Trump has previously claimed was achieved during a military strike last year.