Nov 28 – This is an excerpt of the Sustainable Switch Climate Focus newsletter, where we make sense of companies and governments grappling with climate change on Fridays.
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The death toll from this week’s floods in Southeast Asia rose to at least 241 on Friday, with authorities working to rescue those stranded, restore power and communications and coordinate recovery efforts as the waters began to recede.
Large parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were struck by cyclone-fuelled torrential rain, with a rare tropical storm forming in the Malacca Strait.
Residents in Thailand’s southern city of Hat Yai told Reuters they had not received clear warnings from local authorities as the incessant rains swelled water levels, echoing wider complaints over the government’s handling of the crisis.
In previous years, announcements by local authorities warned people to evacuate ahead of possible floods, said 60-year-old Daeng, whose home was by the flood waters, bringing down the second floor, swamping rooms and sweeping away the family’s television and even the water tank.
“But this time, nothing,” she said, adding: “We’ve lost everything”.Meanwhile, Cyclone Ditwah swept across Sri Lanka on Friday, leaving 46 people dead and 23 more missing, officials said, with the weather department warning the storm could intensify as it moves across the island over the next 12 hours.
Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said across the country 43,991 people were evacuated to schools and other public shelters.
Before I go any further, Sustainable Switch will be taking a break next week. I will be back with all the latest climate news on December 7.
People and vehicles wade through a waterlogged street following heavy rainfall in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, November 28, 2025. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
NUMBER OF THE WEEK
$3 billion
That’s what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will provide in new funding to reduce lead in drinking water.
WHAT TO WATCH
Residents in the flood-prone province of Bulacan in the Philippines expressed outrage over alleged corruption that they say has left communities submerged and businesses shuttered. Click here for the full Reuters video.
CLIMATE LENS
A record year sees a near three-fold increase in fundraising achieved over fewer roundsU.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has been slashing spending for science services at a time of surging demand for analytics due to escalating climate change and extreme weather. That is helping to drive a data industry boom for private data companies like Climate X that are providing everything from drought or pollution risk assessments to locations for untapped mineral reserves. Click here for the full Reuters story.Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also subscribe here.
Sustainable Switch Climate Focus was edited by Alexander Smith
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