Science & Nature
Activists call on UK to prepare CI for climate change
(CNS): Following the Nor’wester that struck parts of the Cayman Islands coastline earlier this month, local environmental activists are urging the UK government to help implement preventative strategies to prepare these islands for a safer, more sustainable future as climate change begins to take its toll. A new report by Sustainable Cayman stresses the “impending catastrophe” […]
CUC denies conflict, blames licensing obligation
(CNS): Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) has claimed it is not conflicted over the bidding process for the generation of renewable power, even though it worked with OfReg to shape the bid. Officials have said that under CUC’s Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Licence, it is obligated to assist the regulator with the facilitation of competitive bids […]
Geospatial image update captures changing landscape
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Department of Lands and Survey, using a specialist private company, has completed an updated aerial image survey of the three Cayman Islands showing the state of the landscape, as captured in February 2023, including topographic data such as buildings and roads. The project used state-of-the-art technology to capture orthomosaic imagery, which […]
DoE stresses problems with current coastal setbacks
(CNS): The Department of Environment has undertaken a review of properties damaged by last week’s powerful Nor’wester, which brought high seas and near galeforce winds. The damage to these coastal structures caused environmental, financial and personal loss, and the DoE has received footage and inquiries about the vulnerability of these properties. In many cases, when […]
Hottest January on record exceeds 1.5°C benchmark
(CNS): The average global temperature last month was 1.66°C above pre-industrial levels, the warmest January on record, and rounded off a 12-month period over which the planet topped the 1.5°C benchmark, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has confirmed. In its monthly climate update on the changes in global air and sea temperatures, C3S reported […]
Scientists suggest introducing cat 6 hurricane level
(CNS): A group of scientists are suggesting changes to the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale to account for stronger storms. As global warming leads to more intense tropical cyclones (TCs), a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer-reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests […]
Storm mashes north shorelines of Cayman Islands
(CNS): The storm currently passing the Cayman Islands brought extensive damage and severe flooding to the north shore of the three islands. However, in a video posted on social media, Henry Scott showed how some properties on Cayman Brac were saved from extreme damage by the seagrape trees left to grow on the beach in […]
Residents urged to heed warning over gale force winds
(CNS): The National Weather Service and Hazard Management Cayman Islands have said that as the strong cold front expected to affect the Cayman Islands tonight moves closer to our area, residents should expect near gale force winds and very rough seas. Weather conditions began deteriorating Monday and will get worse into tomorrow. Wave heights of up […]
CINWS issues severe weather alert and marine warning
(CNS): A marine warning is in effect for all of the Cayman Islands for Monday and Tuesday as a strong cold front is expected to enter this area tomorrow morning. According to the Cayman Island National Weather Service, there is a strong high-pressure system behind the front over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. As the […]
Trust backs NCA as development outpaces conservation
(CNS): The National Trust for the Cayman Islands has hit out at those claiming development is being fettered by conservation legislation. The long-established non-profit organisation, which has a permanent seat on the National Conservation Council, has said that it is difficult, if not impossible, to see how the National Conservation Act is stopping development, given […]
Fish in quiet waters increased threefold during lockdown
(CNS): When compared to data from 2018, there was a significant increase in reef fish biomass in the waters off Grand Cayman during the COVID-19 lockdown, according to research published in the scientific journal Nature Scientific Reports. Researchers from the Central Caribbean Marine Institute found that fish in and around the George Town Harbour increased […]
