Another temperature record was recorded in Kiev – for the first time in 143 years of observations, the average daily air temperature was +7.3 ° C, according to the website of the weather station of the Central Geophysical Observatory named after Boris Sreznevsky on Thursday.
“In Kiev, January 18, for the first time in 143 years of observations, the average daily air temperature was +7.3 ° C, which is 1.6 ° C above the record temperature value for the day in 1993. Climatic norm was exceeded by 9.8 ° C, which corresponds to the weather at the beginning of April”, – said meteorologists.
As noted in the report, the maximum temperature in the capital rose to +10.2 ° C, exceeding the previous record for 2007 by 0.8 ° C. The minimum temperature in Kiev did not fall below 3.7°C. The previous record was in 1990 and was 3,4°C.
Ukraine in 2022 reduced the export of pig iron in physical terms by 59% compared to the previous year – up to 1 million 325.275 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), during this period, the export of pig iron in monetary terms decreased by 61.1% – to $638.774 million.
In 2022, Ukraine imported 40 tons of cast iron worth $23 thousand, while in 2021 – 185 tons of cast iron worth $226 thousand.
Exports were mainly to the United States (38.47% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (32.91%) and Turkey (8.12%), imports – from Germany (100%).
As reported, Ukraine in 2021 increased the export of pig iron in volume terms by 4.2% compared to 2020 – up to 3 million 235.772 thousand tons, the export of pig iron in monetary terms increased by 78.1% – to $ 1 billion 642.596 million. In this export was carried out mainly in the United States (53.61% of supplies in monetary terms), Italy (22.08%) and Turkey (9.74%).
In 2021, Ukraine imported 185 tons of cast iron worth $226 thousand from Germany (74.34%), Russia (20.35%) and Slovakia (5.31%), while in 2020, Ukraine imported 593 tons worth $417 thousand.
After opening a permanent mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the Pivdenno-Ukrainian NPP, such missions began their work at the Rivne NPP and in the Chernobyl NPP zone, said Rafael Grossi, director general of the agency.
“IAEA continues to expand its presence in Ukraine. Today I launched the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission in Chernobyl,” Grossi said on Twitter Wednesday.
He noted that agency specialists will remain at all Ukrainian nuclear power plants to provide vital nuclear safety assistance “during these difficult and challenging times.”
Earlier, the IAEA Director General announced the opening of a mission to the Rivne NPP.
For its part, the RNPP noted on Facebook on Wednesday that two IAEA nuclear safety and security experts remain at the RNPP site for a permanent mission.
“Their purpose will be to continuously monitor and control the nuclear and radiation safety of the power plant. The mission members will report on any threats that may be posed by military activities and will also keep in touch with the agency about the needs of the plant,” the report explains.
RAES Director General Pavel Kovtonyuk said he hopes IAEA’s permanent missions to nuclear power plant sites will not allow the aggressor country to disrupt the safety and physical protection of the power plants.
“The experts will also see the work of our personnel and equipment during probable attacks on the energy infrastructure. Our close liaison with the IAEA will emphasize the importance of security issues for nuclear power plants by international institutions and the UN,” Kovtonyuk commented, as quoted in the RAES report.
According to the head of Gosatomregulirovanie Oleg Korikov, cited in a report of RAEC, it is necessary to work out mechanisms of complete cessation of cooperation with Russia in the use of nuclear energy and mechanisms to limit the rights of Russia at the IAEA.
The RAEC specified that up to 12 experts of the agency would work at all Ukrainian nuclear power plants, which should become an important step in the work to assist Ukraine in the conditions of Russian aggression.
As it was reported, on 16 January, the IAEA mission started its work at the Pivdenno-Ukrainian nuclear power plant, and since September, the agency’s permanent mission has been working at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The decision to open an IAEA mission at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant was also announced.
Thirty-two countries have imposed restrictions in connection with an outbreak of coronavirus in China, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said.
“By mid-January, 32 countries in the world have imposed special restrictions on tourist entry associated with travel from China. Most of them are Asian and European countries,” the report said.
According to the organization, this could slow the recovery of international tourism after the coronavirus pandemic, as China was the largest outbound tourism market in the world until 2020. In 2022, international tourist arrivals were reported to be only 63% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
On January 8, Chinese authorities lifted some of the restrictions on travel to the country for foreign tourists and the departure of its citizens abroad. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country after abandoning the “zero tolerance for covid” policy, many governments began imposing entry restrictions on tourists who had visited China before traveling to their country. In particular, Japan, South Korea, India, the United States, Spain, Italy, and many other countries require such passengers to test negative for coronavirus or proof of vaccination, and some have introduced mandatory testing.
India has probably already surpassed China in terms of population, and experts expect the growth to continue at least until 2050.
According to the independent World Population Review (WPR), India’s population was 1.417 billion at the end of 2022. Another analytical platform, Macrotrends, estimates India’s population at 1.428 billion.
China’s population declined last year for the first time in more than 60 years – by 850,000 to 1.412 billion people, according to data released Tuesday by China’s State Statistics Office.
India, where half the population is under the age of 30, is expected to be the fastest-growing economy in years to come. To take advantage of rising demographics, the country’s government needs to create millions of jobs, Bloomberg notes.
“What’s needed now is a massive economic support program that would create jobs in a variety of sectors,” said Nomura Holdings Inc. economist Sonal Varma. – And we’re already seeing the foundations for that being laid.”
WPR expects India’s population to continue to grow at least through 2050.
According to the UN, more than half of global population growth between 2022 and 2050 will come from just eight countries: India, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.
Three ships carrying corn and wheat left Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reported.
“Three ships left Ukrainian ports on January 17, carrying a total of 119,000 tons of grain and other food as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the report said.
Two dry-cargo vessels Kestrel S (26.5 thousand tons of wheat) and Great Arsenal (25.5 tons of wheat) went to Turkey. Navios Helios vessel will deliver 67 thousand tons of corn to China.
Four dry-cargo ships are also on their way to Ukrainian ports, which on Tuesday passed through the maritime humanitarian corridor.
The JCC reported that “77 applications for participation in the initiative have been submitted.” Nine ships are awaiting permission to enter Ukrainian ports, while 24 loaded dry cargo ships are waiting to depart for their destinations.
“As of January 17, the total tonnage of grain and other agricultural products exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 17,757,311 tons. A total of 1,307 dry cargo vessels have been allowed to move so far: 649 to arrive at Ukrainian ports and 658 to leave them,” the JCC summarized.
