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

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She passed away at a care center in Sant Pere de Ribes, about 40 kilometers from Barcelona, where she had been living for some time, according to Spanish media reports.

In an interview broadcast a day earlier on Antena 3, Castillo expressed her exhaustion after enduring prolonged suffering. She indicated that her decision was influenced by a combination of personal circumstances and health-related challenges, including family conflicts and a condition of paraplegia following a previous incident that left her with lasting physical consequences.

Spain legalized euthanasia in 2021, becoming one of the few countries that allow patients under strict conditions to seek medical assistance to end their lives in order to avoid what the law defines as unbearable suffering.

The case has reignited debate in Spain over the ethical, legal, and family dimensions surrounding euthanasia, as well as the broader issue of support for individuals in vulnerable situations.

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International

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More than 300 U.S. service members have been injured since the start of the conflict with Iran on February 28, the United States Central Command confirmed on Friday.

“Since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 303 U.S. service members have been wounded. The vast majority of these injuries are minor, and 273 troops have already returned to duty,” said U.S. Navy Captain Tim Hawkins.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to AFP, indicated that 10 American troops remain seriously injured.

According to the latest figures, an additional 13 U.S. service members have been killed since the conflict began, including seven in the Gulf region and six in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Iran’s armed forces warned on Friday that hotels hosting U.S. troops in the region could be considered legitimate military targets.

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“When U.S. forces enter a hotel, from our perspective that hotel becomes American,” said armed forces spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi in remarks broadcast on state television.

International

Iran rejects negotiations as tensions escalate with United States

Iran has no intention of entering negotiations and will continue to resist, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday night, dismissing recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump about possible talks.

Speaking to state television, Araghchi argued that Washington’s call for negotiations reflects a position of weakness. He added that the Islamic Republic seeks to end the war on its own terms, ensuring that such a conflict does not recur in the future.

Meanwhile, the White House issued a stark warning, stating that Trump would “unleash hell” on Iran if it refuses to accept a deal to end the conflict. Despite Tehran’s rejection, U.S. officials maintained that discussions remain ongoing.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt reinforced the administration’s position, warning that failure to acknowledge what she described as Iran’s military defeat would result in even stronger action from Washington.

The increasingly aggressive rhetoric from both sides has diminished hopes for a near-term de-escalation in the conflict, which began following U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28.

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As tensions continue to rise, the prospect of a diplomatic resolution remains uncertain amid conflicting narratives and escalating threats from both governments.