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Record Breaking Heatwave in the U.S; China and Europe Also Experiencing Wildfires and Extreme Heat; Russia and Ukraine Reach Grain Deal. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 25, 2022 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[02:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching "CNN Newsroom" and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just, ahead record-breaking temperatures are sweeping across three continents. Bringing with them dangerous wildfires.

Russia admits it was behind an attack in the key port city of Odessa in Ukraine. But says the deal to allow Ukrainian grain exports will go on as planned.

And the pope arrives in Canada in the spirit of penance to offer an apology to the country's indigenous people.

And good to have you with us. We begin with the blistering temperatures of the northern summer. As record-breaking heat waves sweep across China, Europe, and the United States. Right now, millions of Americans are still under heat alerts across parts of the U.S. On Monday, three cities in the Northeast saw record-breaking high temperatures. And in the next 24 hours, we could see the same happening in the Pacific Northwest.

In Europe, the scorching heat is helping fuel wildfires in some areas. This was the scene on the Greek island of Lesbos as crews battled the fire raging near a popular tourist destination. It's one of several wildfires burning across the country.

In London, crews were battling three separate weather-related fires on Sunday. Officials say all three are now under control. Another fire was also reported in Surrey, just southwest of the capital.

Millions of people are also dealing with sweltering conditions in China. Right now, more than 65 cities and counties are under red alert. The country's highest heat warning.

Well CNN is covering this story from every angle with reporters all around the globe. Polo Sandoval is in New York, Camila Bernal is in California. CNN's Nina dos Santos in London and our Steven Jiang is in Beijing. Well, to the U.S. East Coast first where more than 90 million

Americans are under heat alerts as oppressive temperatures blanket large parts of the country. The northeast has been especially hard hit and officials have confirmed at least one heat related death. CNN's Polo Sandoval has the story from New York.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDET: All weekend long, millions of Americans forced to find creative ways of keeping cool as a heat wave persisted throughout much of the northeast extending down the eastern seaboard and affecting many people as far as the southern plains here with temperatures rising extremely high.

In nearby Newark and Jersey, the National Weather Service here confirming on Sunday that they saw a high of 102 degrees, that making the fifth consecutive day that they saw temperatures reach a triple digits. The longest streak as far as the heat wave goes since their record keeping started in 1931. So that's an important perspective.

Here in New York City, though authorities confirming the death of one individual on Saturday, one person with pre-existing health conditions according to the medical examiner who died from heat exposure according to officials here. So really what we saw and heard all weekend long from health officials throughout the country was that people take those warning seriously, stay indoors in air conditioning, or if you're out and about to try to stay cool.

Mayor Eric Adams here in New York City saying largely it seems that that was the case over the weekend as hospitals now report any major increase in heat related illnesses. Part of that likely because of what city officials did here on Sunday, reducing the length of the New York City triathlon out of fears that they could potentially see heat related illness among the over 2,000 participants of that annual event. Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: The extreme heat combined with years of drought is fueling a wildfire near Yosemite National Park in California. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate from rural communities where the fast-moving oak fire has burned more than 15,000 acres. Camila Bernal has more now on that story.

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CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Firefighters here are working around the clock doing everything they can both in the air and on the ground to stop these flames. But they say this fire has been difficult for a number of reasons. First, the weather, the drought. They say that the afternoon is really the worst time because they're seeing the temperatures increasing. They see the humidity drop and the winds picking up.

They also say the terrain is making things difficult because it is very steep. So, it's hard for these firefighters to get close to the flames. And finally, they also say it's hard to get to the people, the homes. They say that a lot of these homes in the area are large. They sit in maybe five acres of land. A lot of it is covered by a forest. A lot of times it's overgrown and dry. So, it makes it difficult not just for the firefighters, but it makes it dangerous for the people who live in this area.

There are many who have already evacuated. Authorities are asking people to listen to the warnings, to get their belongings and leave if they are under those evacuation orders. But there are others who say they just don't want to leave. I spoke to someone who's lived here for 20 years, John Mullen, and here's what he told me.

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JOHN MULLEN, RESIDENT, MARIPOSA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: You get a little nervous, but when there's -- when the embers are -- Friday night was the worst nights for us on tip top.

BERNAL: Why?

MULLEN: Because the stuff was coming out of the sky and it'll spot. The fires will, you know, jump to our property so we had to be, you know, prepared. I've seen a fire before so I feel like I can protect myself. I have no kids with me in my house so, I can leave at a moment's notice.

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BERNAL: And we are expecting progress because we are seeing more resources. On Saturday, there were are about 400 people that were working on this fire. By Sunday, more than 2,000 people were working on the fire. Camila Bernal, CNN, Mariposa County.

CHURCH: Well, it's not only the U.S. that's experiencing oppressive heat. Our Nina dos Santos is standing by just outside London and CNN's Steven Jiang is in Beijing with the latest on conditions in China. So, let's start with you Nina. You're there in a field just outside of London and these temperatures have been very difficult for people in those -- in that part of England. Talk to us about what they have had to deal with right now.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at least the temperature is nowhere near where it was this time last week when remember, Rosemary, in terms of degree celsius, it hit a record surpassing 40 degrees celsius for the first time on record for the United Kingdom. Now, it's much, much cooler, but as you can see, if I just step away, the grassland behind me is completely parched and dry and that is where the risk continues to be.

So, just as we saw last week, yesterday overnight, we saw four or five spontaneous, seemingly spontaneous fires break out in grassland just like this. I'm in a place called Hayes, just a few miles outside of the center of London. We're somewhere between London and Heathrow Airport, which is obviously a huge corridor of activity in this one are the largest capital cities in the world.

And just about half a mile down that way, we had about 12 acres worth of burning grassland on a Sunday afternoon. It took firefighters several hours to try and extinguish the flames. In fact, they only managed to get the blaze under control about 10 or 11 hours away. And behind us, among the country roads, behind where our camera man is standing, you're still seeing fire trucks there in case anything reignites.

And to the west of London, in Surrey in Farnham, we also saw grassland ablaze. Also, in the south of the capital and other parts of the outside area, as well, including Epping Forest over in the east. Now, why is all this happening? Well, the fire brigade continues to warn people that conditions are so parched and dry that even if the temperature has gone down, is still relatively windy. It hasn't rained much since those record temperatures.

And they are advising people to be very vigilant to not use barbecues, also not throw any unextinguished flames or cigarettes on the ground because they say this tinderbox dry and specter of wildfires is something that, yes, London is unused to, but they're going to have to get more and more used to. The fire brigade had its busy day since World War II just this time last week, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. Such a problem because it's not a part of the world that's used to dealing with these temperatures and conditions. No air conditioning in a lot of areas. Nina dos Santos there. Steven Jiang, let's go to you now in Beijing and problem with high temperatures right across China. How are people sheltering from this?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Rosemary. This heat wave has been unrelenting and widespread, hitting almost every part of the country from the southeast including Shanghai and its surrounding areas and down to Guangzhou and Hong Kong. But also, in the northwestern part of the country, the Xinjiang region that has seen temperatures over 40 degrees celsius for the past few days.

And as of Monday, 67 Chinese cities across the vast nation actually have issued their highest-level red alert, meaning temperatures in their locations could surpass 40 degrees in the coming 24 hours.

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So, as you can imagine, people across the nation are trying to escape the heat in their hometowns. I just returned from the southern island of Hainan, often nicknamed China's Hawaii, the resorts there are filled with domestic travelers and with the crowds really flocking to pools and beaches, really undeterred by all the challenges of traveling in China these days, including the potential risk of getting stranded because of the government's assistance on a zero COVID policy.

So, this is really the double whammy millions of Chinese are facing right now, not only the heat wave, but also this resurgence of COVID cases across the nation. On Monday, the health authorities reporting more than 600 cases across the country for the previous 24 hours. A really alarmingly high by Chinese standards. That's why lockdowns and mass testing have made a comeback with a vengeance in many locations including in Shanghai.

Remember, they had to go through a two-month brutal lockdown in April. And the city just reopened on June 1st, but already for the past few weeks they've been dealing with a very stubborn new outbreak with the authorities there ordering new rounds of mass testing for much of the city's 25 million residents.

And the next round is happening Tuesday through Thursday, when the temperature is forecast to hit as high as 38 degrees celsius. So, very unpleasant experience to really go through, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, most definitely. Steven Jiang joining us there from Beijing. Nina dos Santos just outside of London. Many thanks to you both. Alright, I want to bring in CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri now to look at these high temperatures across the globe. It's just extraordinary. Is this the new normal, Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It seems like it. You know, the long duration of this particular heat wave and just seeing these records fall left and right, the pattern is certainly beginning to shift. And you can see this here, at a 37.4 celsius, which is 99 degrees Fahrenheit here across Hong Kong on Sunday afternoon. That had never happened in recorded history, hottest temperature all-time.

And guess what, Saturday slightly cooler than this, it was the hottest temperature all-time up until Sunday came around. And then Friday slightly cooler than that also, was the hottest temperature until Saturday came around. So, it kind of gives you the sense of scale here. Three consecutive days of all-time temperatures observed across Hong Kong from Friday into Sunday.

But the heat remains but here. A few slight showers and thunderstorms do pop up towards the latter portion of the week. That brings relief for some areas, but every time you're talking about temps climbing up to say 40, which is about 104 Fahrenheit, 42, which is about 108 Fahrenheit, that is incredible heat here.

Typically, the average is into the middle of 30, which puts you in the middle 90's Fahrenheit. So well above the seasonal averages. In fact, in Shanghai, how about three red alerts, which are issued typically when you observe a 104-degree Fahrenheit afternoon. They've had three of those so far this year. Seventeen of them since the year 1873.

So, again, speaking of how severe and extensive the heat wave here has been that we've had three events take place, but only 17 had been accumulated prior to that in over 140 plus years. But across Chongqing area with a population twice the size of New York City, temperatures climbing up to 104, which again is 40 Celsius by Tuesday. Notice some relief across this area here as thunderstorms move in Thursday and Friday and we get a little bit of a break.

Now, Europe, much the same has been in place. Since the year 2019, the countries of Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have all seen their hottest temperatures ever recorded across those nations. Now, some relief in store here initially as we get much cooler air on the horizon. Southern periphery stays pretty war. Areas across the south do begin to see some heat building a little farther towards the north. And we had had some severe weather to tell you about as well.

I think Berlin to Prague, even around (inaudible) to Venice, some strong storms in the past 24 hours and additional storms in store later on today. But look at these storm reports across Poland. This is ping pong ball sized hail coming down across Poland.

Of course, instability with these storms fueled quite a bit by the heat that was already in place sets off these strong storms that we've seen. But in Paris, temperatures will want to climb up again into the upper 80s, which will be close to say 30, 31 celsius by the latter portion of this week.

Rosemary, across the Northeastern U.S., it feels like 105 in places like Philadelphia, Boston, close to 100 degrees. Of, course work your way towards areas that have been very hot. Little Rock, 109 to 112 in the Pacific Northwest. Essentially, the air conditioning of the United States where it's typically the coolest where most people don't even have A.C. units, temperatures there are climbing up to 100 even 109 in a few spots going into Monday and Tuesday before cooler weather arrives, Rosemary.

CHURCH: I mean, I do worry about those people who don't have air conditioning, don't have any relief. Pedram Javaheri, many thanks staying on top of those extreme weather conditions. Appreciate it.

And straight ahead, Russia changes its story, what they are saying now about weekend missile strikes on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa.

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Plus, how a new Ukraine-Russia deal on grain exports could help ease the global food crisis. We'll have the details for you on the other side of the break.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, efforts to restart grain exports from Ukraine seem to be picking up momentum. Moscow says Russia, Turkey and another party still to be determined will be escorting vessels carrying those shipments through the Black Sea. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations signed a deal Friday to restart the exports.

Since the start of the war, Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports trapping millions of tons of grain and deepening a global food crisis. Russia admitted on Sunday its forces had hit a Ukrainian warship in Odessa with high precision missiles. And Kyiv is warning that provocations like this will put the deal at risk.

Meantime, Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is trying to shore up support in Egypt and Africa. After meeting with top officials in Egypt, he will stop in Ethiopia, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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All countries that rely heavily on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine.

Well, Ukraine says, it intends to abide by the agreement on grain exports despite the Russian missile strikes on Odessa over the weekend. Moscow has now officially said it carried out the latest attack on the port city. CNN's Ivan Watson is in Ukraine with more.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After initially denying responsibility for cruise missile strikes on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on Saturday morning, the Russian foreign ministry has pulled a complete 180, now claiming responsibility for the attack, saying they were carried out with caliber cruise missiles that hit as Moscow claims, a Ukrainian naval vessel in the port.

Now, the attacks on Saturday have been condemned by the Ukrainian government because they were carried out just hours after Russia signed a deal mediated by Turkey and the United Nations with Ukraine to allow the export of Ukrainian wheat on cargo ships from Odessa and two other Ukrainian ports.

The criticism has been echoed by the U.S. government, by the U.K. and by the European Union's foreign policy chief. That said, the Ukrainian say they plan to try to adhere to the agreement, which the U.N. secretary general has said could be a beacon of hope on the Black Sea because we have seen global grain prices soaring since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year.

Ukraine is one of the world's biggest producers of wheat and that has plunged now, tens of millions of people into acute hunger the U.N. says. Meanwhile, Russia's top diplomat, at a meeting in Egypt has said that Russia does also intend to adhere to the agreement and went on to say that he believes Russian, Turkish ships, as well as another country ships that has yet to be determined would escort cargo ships from Ukraine imports to the Bosporus Strait where the ships will then go on and bring their valuable grain to world markets. Ivan Watson, CNN, Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine.

CHURCH: Matthew Schmidt is a professor of national security and political science at the University of New Haven. Thank you so much for joining us.

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, PROFESSOR OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: My pleasure.

CHURCH: So, on Saturday, Russia fired multiple missiles at the key Ukrainian sea port city of Odessa. Just hours after the U.N. and Turkey made a deal with Russia to reopen shipping ports to allow Ukraine to restart grain exports, shielded by supposed safe corridors. What impact does that attack and potentially others have on getting grain exports out of Ukraine and around the world to help ease an international food crisis?

SCHMIDT: In the immediate term, probably none. In other words, the grain is still going to go out at that port, but it was almost as if President Zelensky had his press release already typed up before the attacks. Now, you see, we told you, you can't trust them. What the Russians did was essentially follow the exact letter of the law. They weren't supposed to attack any sea based, you know, ships or parts of this process. So, instead they attacked the city. We'll see how they hue towards that as we go on. But the real thing that worries me is there is a 40- million-ton shortfall that we are facing this fall in wheat and this deal is still only going to put, at best, if it works efficiently and if the Russians are firing rockets in Odessa, it won't, so at best it will put 25 million tons out there. So, we're still facing a food crisis this fall.

CHURCH: Yes, clearly. And of course, in the meantime, it has to be said that Russia is also destroying grain fields, targeting grain storage facilities, adding to that global food crisis. So, what needs to be done about Russia's actions and what will likely happen next then? You seem confident that this grain or a large portion of it will still get out.

SCMIDT: It's in everybody's benefits to get some of the grain out. I think Russia will do what it does. It will follow the technical letter of the law and it will gaslight. It will say that what it's doing when it's attacking the land or when it is harassing ships, isn't in violation, even though everybody else looks at it and says that it is.

And it will force the Ukrainians to basically decide to let it go or not. And I think that they will because it's in their benefit to get the grain out.

CHURCH: Certainly, the optics of this export deal signed by Russia appeared to show that it is not really worth the paper it's written on.

[02:24:56]

So, what does it tell us about making deals with Russia since as you point out, there is no --they're not actually breaking the law, this is a political deal isn't it? And that at the moment, they're not really fulfilling their side of the deal?

SCHMIDT: Well, I think a lot of this is the fact that, A, Ukraine needs the money for the exports. B, Ukraine cares about behaving in a western way, in a western standard, with western values, and is trying to avert a food crisis because it's the right thing to do.

And those two things, like any western power facing a country like Russia, knows, right, means the you end up tying your hand behind your back and going ahead and going through with this process even though you know that the deal isn't worth the paper it's written on.

CHURCH: Alright, Matthew Schmidt, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

SCHMIDT: My pleasure.

CHURCH: The U.S. says if the efforts to export Ukrainian grain via sea routes fail, there is a contingency plan involving road, rail, and rivers. The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development spoke to CNN's Larry Madowo about the plan in Kenya.

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SAMANTHA POWER, ADMINISTRATOR, USAID: Well, we have been living the contingency plan because there is no way you can trust anything that Vladimir Putin says. We are working with the Ukrainians on plan B. Plan B involves road and rail and river and, again, you know, sending in barges and, you know, adjusting the rail system so that they are better aligned with those in Europe so that the exports can move out more quickly.

But there is no substitute for Putin allowing the blockade to end. His blockade to end. And the grains being sent out most efficient way possible especially because we've lost so much time.

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CHURCH: Power says she believes adding the grain exports to the global market will help drive down prices.

Well, still to come Pope Francis arrives in Canada to deliver an apology to the country's indigenous communities. We will have a report from Edmonton.

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CHURCH: Pope Francis is in Canada this week as the church tries to atone for decades of abuse against indigenous people. The Roman Catholic leader is on what He has called a tour of penance. He is said to apologize for the church's involvement with so called residential schools. These were facilities where indigenous children were abused, separated from their families and forced to assimilate into white culture.

CNN's Paula Newton has more now from Alberta.

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PAUL NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a pope who is not in the best of health. He is 85. He is in firm, having those mobility issues. And yet he is coming here to Canadian soil after having already canceled other trips this year. This is what he calls atonement, right? He calls it his journey of penance. He was asked, other popes have been asked to come here too and make this apology for what it is really appalling, appalling conditions that these children who were ripped away from their families were put in these residential homes.

They were abused emotionally, physically, sexually. What has happened here is it is led to what we call intergenerational trauma. The survivors tell us they just never knew in their life, how to raise their own families, how to behave, how to love and were taught to be shamed, really for their own culture and their own background. A lot of those schools were run by the Catholic Church and think about that, that the abuse happened at the hands of priests, nuns and school staff. I want to show you now that he is going to be making quite a cross country track for a man who as I said is 85. The big marquee moment of this trip will be tomorrow when he goes just a little bit outside of Edmonton and goes in fact to an indigenous community where he will speak that apology. He's already set it in Rome a few months ago, but on Canadian soil, he will end up doing that.

Before he left again, he repeated in a tweet saying please join me in prayer. And he established in this tweet really saying that look, this is a journey of penance, and he means that with all sincerity. I think the issue is how survivors are taking this right now. Some of them are gratified but so many of them that we've spoken to have a lot of ambivalence about him coming here and really want the Catholic Church to do more with atonement.

And a lot of that comes from financial settlements, but also to let go the impunity with which the Catholic Church has operated here in this country for so many decades.

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CHURCH: CNN's Paula Newton there in Edmonton, Canada.

An infant is among at least 17 people found dead after a boat capsized of the Bahamas. The Bahamian prime minister says the victims were Haitian migrants likely trying to reach the United States. 25 people were rescued on Sunday, but the boat was carrying as many as 60 when it capsized. Officials in the Bahamas say this was a human smuggling operation and they are threatening prosecution. Thousands of Haitians are fleeing their country as it's rocked by instability and gang violence.

An Australian journalist says she was forced to publicly retract some of her work after being abused and threatened by the Taliban. In an article published by foreign policy, Lynn O'Donnell says "I left Afghanistan today after three days of cat and mouse with Taliban intelligence agents who detained abused and threatened me and forced me to issue a barely literate retraction of reports they said, had broken their laws and offended Afghan culture. If I did not, they said they would send me to jail."

O'Donnell had been in Afghanistan investigating reports of women and girls forced into marriage with Taliban fighters. Here's what she told CNN.

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LYNNE O'DONNELL, JOURNALIST: What they call now their General Directorate of Intelligence Ahmad Zahir said to me, that the decision was his and his alone. He wanted to have a meeting with me to discuss face to face my crimes, and that if I did not have the meeting, he would order all border points to close and against me and not allow me out of the country. They came over. They were very rude to me from the get-go and a very Kafkaesque sort of way said that I knew my crimes and they'd look at each other and say, she knows her crimes.

And then they took me away to the headquarters of the intelligence agency and they kept me there for four hours.

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CHURCH: The Taliban accused O'Donnell of being an intelligence agent. A number of advocacy groups have condemned their treatment of her.

Saving the date. Iraqi farmers struggle against the climate crisis trying to make production of the age-old staple fruit flourish again. We'll take a look at that on the other side of the break.

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CHURCH: The date is a Middle Eastern staple food that's popular all over the world. But environmental changes are making it hard to produce the fruit. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh looks at how Iraqi farmers are trying to save the date.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At the entrance of Iraq and Hajarah desert, thousands extend across the horizon. Young date palms recently planted in hopes of saving an age- old staple that is now under threat.

MOHAMED ABDUL-MAALI, COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, FADAKA DATE PLANTATION (through translator): The date palm is a symbol and pride of Iraq. That's what we wanted to replant palm trees to restore this culture to where it used to be a country of more than 30 million palm trees.

KARADSHEH: Iraq's long been one of the top date producers in the world with millions of date palm tree groves across the country. But swaths of once thriving plants have since withered away dehydrated and blighted by environmental changes.

MUSSA MOHSEN, OWNS AROUND 800 DATE PALM TREES (through translator): Before we had an abundance of water, rainwater too coming from the mountains. This area was like a sea but due to the lack of rain the land started drying up gradually.

KARADSHEH: Decades of drought in addition to ongoing conflicts are slowly creating desert like conditions in once lush areas. And as water levels decline, salt levels rise, posing new challenges for those hoping to keep the industry alive.

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ALAA AL-BADRAN, AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER (through translator): The issue of water salinization began around the mid 90s which created another issue for us other than the issue of cutting. Now if people want to plant new palm trees, they will face saltier water and soil.

KARADSHEH: The U.N. stated in a press release that it is supporting Iraq and mitigating and adapting to climate change. The country's environmental situation has been subject to a number of converging pressures ranging from poor water quality, deforestation, soil salinity to air pollution, conflict and land use change.

Amid efforts to reverse some of those collective impacts on a key agricultural sector, some of those who depend on its success fear the worst.

ALI HUSSEIN, DATE FARMER (through translator): What is in my heart is a dread, never seen the palms again. We are waiting for the pumps to come back. But over here, everything is there. There is no water, nothing. I don't know that it will come back. I worry the beautiful days won't ever come back.

KARADSHEH: Whether the date palm industry can be revitalized before it's too late remains to be seen as Iraq tries to save a national icon from our global climate crisis. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. For those of you in North America, CNN NEWSROOM continues after a quick break. And for our international viewers World Sport is coming up next.

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