The beginning of May is when brush clearance inspections start for the city of Los Angeles with an eye on the start of the wildfire season. Firefighters advise residents to trim weeds and grass as well as the bottoms of bushes and trees to reduce the amount of fuel available should a blaze begin. Minimum clearances around properties are also checked. A failed inspection could cost more than $2,000 in fines and fees.
Although 2024 is not forecast to be as severe for wildfires in North America as the blazes of previous years, the memory of infernos, burning skylines and dangerous, smoke-filled air is enough to have everyone preparing for the worst.
The most obvious example of such destruction was in 2018, when celebrities including Neil Young, Kim Basinger, Miley Cyrus and Gerard Butler were among those whose homes were burned amid the thousands of fires that hit southern and northern California, including Malibu.
TV images of famous locations going up in clouds of smoke, as well as the raging orange glow overwhelming once-picturesque landscapes, came across as apocalyptic. The people and land of California endured but a huge price was paid.
University researchers have estimated that the economic cost from the 2018 wildfires was about $148.5 billion, which equates to about 1.5 per cent of the state’s annual gross domestic product. There were $32.2 billion in health costs and indirect losses because of disruption to 80 sectors valued at $42.7 billion. The knock-on effect on the wider US economy was estimated at $45.9 billion as a result of the impact on national supply chains.
“We were able to sketch a more comprehensive picture about economic losses due to the wildfires, but we cannot measure people’s psychological trauma and other social impact, and I am sure that is more profound than the economic cost,” said Dabo Guan, a professor of climate change economics and chair of University College London’s Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management.
Climate change has, together with rising populations and economic growth, increased the consequences from more frequent wildfires. The response to such disasters has not always been adequate. These have included poor communications, lax land and forest management and substandard fire-suppression efforts, as well as flawed decision making.
Since 2018, fire prevention strategies in California have become more targeted. Tactics such as intentional blackouts have become the norm and prevention is being taken increasingly seriously as demonstrated by the fines for failing a property inspection.
The state has always been a resilient place. The reality of being located on the San Andreas Fault has meant that people and businesses based in California have had to accept a higher threshold of risk to be based there. The psychology of this presents a strange dichotomy. An online search for why businesses set up in California when there are earthquakes and wildfires offers results about resilience, preparedness and warning systems. So why even be there?
Ironically, the state’s weather is famously pleasant all year round. It has a relentless PR machine that doesn’t stop in Hollywood. It has been the fifth largest economy in the world since 2017, one place below Japan and one above India. On a per capita basis, California is the second largest economy in the world.
Agriculture, film and television, technology, and tourism are some of California’s biggest sectors. Finance and insurance too. The rewards on offer are considerable and you can take your business to the world from there. Just ask Disney - or aviation companies. Archer and Joby, for example, which are planning to bring air taxis to the UAE, are introducing the next phase of autonomous mobility. They are both California-based companies.
The state is home to 40 million people and an estimated 18,237 foreign-owned businesses were operating there, according to 2022 figures.
However, California does have some major problems aside from the risk of natural disasters. These include a huge inequality problem and a homelessness crisis. Its high taxes and cost of living, as well as a demanding regulatory environment, are also challenging features. Nevertheless, its economic diversity and consumer base make it a highly resilient place, attracting foreign direct investment year after year.
The example of California thriving amid its environmental threats offers an argument for other regions to explore the best defences against the long-term effects associated with climate change and extreme weather. The answer might be to ensure that you are never not on the front foot.
One aspect of an offence first posture is to ensure policies promote a diversified economy and support and attract entrepreneurs, innovators and talent. Add to this the advantage of a multilingual, multicultural and internationally minded workforce, helped by a world-class education system featuring high levels of research and development.
Taken together, some of the above sound a lot like the characteristics being developed in the UAE, where the last few weeks have also shown us – like California’s wildfires – that we cannot take anything for granted when it comes to global warming.
Record rainfall and related flooding could well be a more frequent feature in this region. As well as strengthening precautions and preparedness, boosting emergency responses and communication, and ensuring that infrastructure can cope, an adaptable and resilient economy is also important to ensure a country can cope with such risks and prosper for years to come.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Results
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Baaher, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Mootahady, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Dubai Canal, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Harrab, Bernardo Pinheiro, Majed Al Jahouri
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
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CREW
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
