Andrea Celeste Saulo, an Argentine meteorologist and educator, was elected the World Meteorological Organization’s secretary general on 1 June 2023. Geneva, 8 August 2024. (Nora Teylouni / Le Temps)

UN weather chief Celeste Saulo: We can't let fear of climate change paralyse us. Since the beginning of the year, the Argentine meteorologist has become the first woman to lead the World Meteorological Organization. As if destined by her name to care for the whims of the sky, the new secretary general is resolute in her commitment to tackle the growing number of extreme weather events.

💉POLIO VACCINATION IN GAZA. A campaign to immunise children in Gaza against polio kicked off on Sunday and is due to continue over the week, before resuming in a month’s time to provide under-10-year-olds with their second dose. The drive comes after an infant was diagnosed with the disease, which may lead to paralysis, and Israel agreed to “humanitarian pauses” to allow for 640,000 children to receive the vaccine.

Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s representative for Gaza and the West Bank, told journalists at the Palais des Nations on Friday that oral immunisation will be carried out in stages in Central Gaza, followed by South and North Gaza areas, each lasting at least over three days.

He said the drive was taking place under “incredibly complex and challenged policies”, where the ideal door-to-door approach is not possible. The move also comes days after the UN was forced to pause operations in the central part of the enclave after Israel issued an evacuation order.

📖Read about what’s happening on the ground: UN operations in Gaza halted: ‘We’ve already lost everything’

💼LABOUR PAINS. On Wednesday, the International Labour Organization will publish its latest update on global employment, focusing on youth. The ILO reported earlier this year an improvement in the global labour market for people 15-24 years old, but for many, the post-pandemic recovery has not had an impact, with an estimated 65 million people, or 13 per cent of youth, still unemployed.

Disparities prevail particularly between developed and developing countries, with many people in the latter remaining in unprotected, often precarious, informal jobs.

🌬️DIRTY AIR AND THE CLIMATE. To mark the International Day of Clean Air, the WMO will publish a report on how climate change, wildfires and air pollution are linked.

Last week, scientists who created a tool to visualise how air pollution has evolved in global cities hope it may nudge authorities to take action. Meanwhile, a study in Nature found that carbon emissions generated from massive wildfires in 2023 were more than those produced by all but the world’s three largest emitters – China, the United States and India.

– By Paula Dupraz-Dobias

Sudan war: what way forward? For over 16 months, Sudan has been ravaged by war, displacing more than 10 million people and leaving tens of thousands dead. UN human rights chief Volker Türk has described the conflict as a “senseless war”. Yet, international efforts, from Jeddah to Cairo to Geneva, have failed to stop the fighting. With negotiations at a standstill and the humanitarian crisis deepening, what will it take to resolve the conflict? Can the country be steered again towards civilian rule? Can accountability and the hope of seeing justice one day pave the way for lasting peace?

Join Geneva Solutions and the Geneva Press Club on 9 September at the Domaine de Penthes for a discussion with Dr Mohamed Salih Yassin, a former member of Sudan’s transitional government and key figure in the pro-civilian coalition Tagadum, a member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan and Amnesty International’s Sudan researcher, Abdullahi Hassan.

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