OFWs in Europe brace for cost-of-living squeeze

Tougher times are looming for Filipinos in Europe as the Middle East war drives up the cost of living for them as well as for their families back home, raising concerns over the sustainability of remittance flows in the months ahead, according to a Madrid-based consultancy firm.

“The European Filipino diaspora and the effects of the Iran War have forced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to contend with the challenges of both residing abroad while maintaining and sustaining their family ties back in their homeland,” Conectando Filipinas said in a statement over the weekend.

According to the firm, OFWs are facing rising living costs in Spain, the UK, France, and Germany.

Citing estimates from a French-based online rental platform, it said that a one-bedroom apartment costs between €900 and €1,200 a month.

“Food expenses, aside from dining, are spiraling because of the high cost of fuel (and its impact on)  product and packaging, manufacturing, and logistics,” it said.

“These rising costs directly affect OFWs’ ability to manage their finances and sustain remittances to their families,” it added.

Philippine inflation accelerated to 4.1% in March from 2.4% in February and 1.8% a year earlier, breaching the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) 2-4% target band.

“These combined pressures abroad and at home are reshaping how OFWs manage their financial obligations,” the firm said.

“The decline in the quality of life among OFW families in the Philippines underscores the importance of maintaining a strong and constructive link between the European Filipino diaspora and their communities back home,” it added.

It said that Filipinos in Europe are expected to increase, especially in Portugal and Spain, which could grow remittances from the two countries.

“However, the war could also bring about job losses and delayed or reduced salaries, leading to a downturn in remittance volumes,” it said.

Conectando Filipinas estimates that an OFW typically sending home €300  could end up sending only €150 due to the impact of the Middle East conflict, “reflecting a survivalist scenario where high local inflation in Europe forces a significant cut in transfers.”

Alternatively, monthly remittances could actually increase to €500 if OFWs practice the kind of “altruism” observed in migrant workers. Under such a scenario, migrant workers prioritize family welfare  during periods of economic stress.

“Over the longer term, the escalating conflict is expected to pose broader risks to financial systems and remittance channels,” the firm said.

“The escalating Mid-East conflict will impair the flow of funds from Europe to the developing economies of Asia. Money transfers face security risks and financial services disruption,” it added, noting that this could delay the critical help for OFW families.

If the war is prolonged, the firm expects it to affect employers’ sources of income, with these pressures passed on to workers through decreased incomes, forced relocations, and strained employer-OFW relationships.

The BSP reported that cash remittances coursed through banks rose 2.6% to $2.79 billion in February.

Source: Business World

Climate crisis ‘wreaking havoc’ on Earth’s water cycle

Global heating is supercharging storms, floods and droughts, affecting entire ecosystems and billions of people

The climate crisis is “wreaking havoc” on the planet’s water cycle, with ferocious floods and crippling droughts affecting billions of people, a report has found.

Water is people’s most vital natural resource but global heating is changing the way water moves around the Earth. The analysis of water disasters in 2024, which was the hottest year on record, found they had killed at least 8,700 people, driven 40 million from their homes and caused economic damage of more than $550bn (£445bn).

Rising temperatures, caused by continued burning of fossil fuels, disrupt the water cycle in multiple ways. Warmer air can hold more water vapour, leading to more intense downpours. Warmer seas provide more energy to hurricanes and typhoons,

supercharging their destructive power. Global heating can also increase drought by causing more evaporation from soil, as well as shifting rainfall patterns.

Deadly flash floods hit Nepal and Brazil in 2024, while river flooding caused devastation in central Europe, China and Bangladesh. Super Typhoon Yagi, which struck south-east Asia in September, was intensified by the climate crisis, as was Storm Boris which hit Europe the same month.

Droughts also caused major damage, with crop production in southern Africa halving, causing more than 30 million people to face food shortages. Farmers were also forced to cull livestock as their pastures dried up, and falling output from hydropower dams led to widespread blackouts.

“In 2024, Earth experienced its hottest year on record and water systems across the globe bore the brunt, wreaking havoc on the water cycle,” said the report’s leader, Prof Albert van Dijk.

He said 2024 was a year of extremes but that was not an isolated occurrence. “It is part of a worsening trend of more intense floods, prolonged droughts, and record-breaking extremes.” The report warned of even greater dangers in 2025 as carbon emissions continued to rise .

The 2024 Global Water Monitor Report was produced by an international team of researchers from universities in Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany and elsewhere. The team used data from thousands of ground stations and satellites orbiting the Earth to assess critical water variables such as rainfall, soil moisture, river flows, and flooding.

They found rainfall records are being broken with increasing regularity.

For example, record highs for monthly rainfall were set 27% more often in 2024 than in the year 2000 and daily rainfall records were set 52% more frequently. Record lows were set 38% more often. “So we are seeing worse extremes on both sides,” said Van Dijk.

In southern China from May to July, the Yangtze and Pearl rivers flooded cities and towns, displacing tens of thousands of people and causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to crops. The river floods in Bangladesh in August after heavy monsoon rains affected almost 6 million people and destroyed at least a million tonnes of rice.

Meanwhile, in Spain in October more than 500mm of rain fell in eight hours, causing deadly flash floods. The city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, was inundated with two months’ worth of rain in just three days in May, transforming roads into rivers.

“Heavy rainfall events also caused widespread flash flooding in Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing more than 1,000 people,” Van Dijk said. The flooding also displaced 1.5 million people.

In the Amazon, drought struck. “Wildfires driven by the hot and dry weather burned through more than 52,000 sq km in September alone, releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases,” Van Dijk said. “From historic droughts to catastrophic floods, these extreme events impact lives, livelihoods, and entire ecosystems.”

The researchers said seasonal climate forecasts for 2025 and current conditions suggested droughts could worsen in northern South America, southern Africa, and parts of Asia. Wetter regions such as the Sahel and Europe may face elevated flood risks.

“We need to prepare and adapt to inevitably more severe extreme events,” said Van Dijk. “That can mean stronger flood defences, developing more drought-resilient food production and water supplies, and better early warning systems. Water is our most critical resource, and its extremes – both floods and droughts – are among the greatest threats we face.”

Source: The Guardian

World food prices dip 2% in 2024

World food commodity prices declined by 2.1 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday, but they remain considerably higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

FAO's overall Food Price Index averaged 122.0 points 2.6 points or 2.1 percent lower than the average value in 2023.

However, food prices increased over the course of the year, with the index climbing from 117.6 points in January to 127.0 in December.

The index rose 6.7 percent from December 2023 to 2024, with meat, dairy and food oils accounting for the increase.

The United Nations' food agency tracks monthly and global changes in the international prices of a set of globally traded commodities.

Food prices also remain considerably higher roughly 26 percent than they were five years ago.

The disruption to global trade during the Covid-19 pandemic initially saw food prices dip but they later climbed higher amid the surge in inflation as the global economy rebounded.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent them spiking to records, since both nations are major wheat exporters, but efforts to ensure shipments were not blocked led to prices easing lower until the beginning of 2024.

The dip in the average value for the index between 2023 and 2024 was mainly due to falls in cereals and sugar prices.

Cereals dropped 13.3 compared to 2023, and the FAO's sugar price index fell 13.2 percent.

The decreases were offset in part by a 9.4-percent rise in the vegetable oil price index.

Source: Manila Times