PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE (AFP) – Chilean scientists studying organisms in one of the most remote places on Earth are urging regional leaders to step up efforts to tackle climate change.

A recent expedition, which was delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, sought to investigate harmful organisms and how they are impacting climate change.

Chile’s Magallanes region – on the southern tip of South America where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet – is known as the “end of the world” and extends from Punta Arenas through the Magallanes Strait to the Beagle Channel.

Sailing through peak-lined straits past glaciers and soaring birds, the scientists on board the oceanographic research vessel Cabo de Hornos had their focus trained on the water, which has lower levels of acidity, salt and calcium than other seas and oceans, especially in their shallowest parts.

Scientists believe the conditions found in the water will appear in other parts of the world in the coming decades, as the impact of climate change mounts.

“The regional plans for mitigation and adaptation to climate change are out of date with respect to what is happening in the environment,” Jose Luis Iriarte, who headed the expedition, told AFP.

“The environment is changing quicker than we as a society are responding to it.”

The scientific mission paid special attention to the “red tides” – harmful algal blooms that can turn the sea red.

They were first recorded in the Magallanes region half a century ago and have since been responsible for the deaths of 23 people and poisoned more than 200.

This area is also affected by melting glaciers, a product of global warming.

“We don’t know how these organisms and particularly microorganisms will respond to these effects,” said Iriarte.

The expedition stopped at 14 places, each time taking water samples at different levels up to a depth of 200 metres using a piece of equipment called a rosette.

Another piece of equipment was used to collect soil samples, sometimes at a depth of more than 300 metres.

The scientists also combed the shores for algae and molluscs.

From the highest point on the boat, marine biologist Rodrigo Hucke, one of 19 scientists on the expedition, spent hours scanning the surface of the water.

Spotting a far off whale, he would give the signal and then jump into a small motorboat to try to get as close as possible to the huge mammal in a bid to collect its faeces, with the aim of looking for changes to its diet.

Hucke said there has been a historical lack of action by governments when it comes to the oceans, which cover 70 per cent of the planet’s surface.

He hoped the next United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference – COP27 in Egypt – will mark a true global transformation in how the oceans are managed.

“All of this needs to change in 2022 and there needs to be a concrete decision in advancing toward profound policies of change in how us humans do things,” said Hucke.

He is worried that this region could one day become “one of the last bastions of biodiversity on Earth.”

After the nine-day mission, it was time to head back to laboratories to analyse the information gathered.

“I think we’re the voice of what nature cannot say,” said Wilson Castillo, a biochemistry student who, at 24, was the youngest member of the expedition.

AP – Much of Asia has largely managed to keep Omicron at bay even as the variant rages in other parts of the world, but the region that is home to most of the globe’s population is bracing for what may be an inevitable surge.

Strict quarantine rules for arrivals and widespread mask wearing have helped slow the spread of the highly contagious variant in Asia. Countries such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand quickly reinstated entry and quarantine restrictions in recent weeks after relaxing them in the fall.

But cases are mounting, and experts say the next few months will be critical. Those fears have been amplified by doubts about the effectiveness of the Chinese-made vaccines used in China and much of the developing world.

“Once the pace picks up, its upsurge would be extremely fast,” said Dr Shigeru Omi, a top medical adviser to Japan’s government.

In India, which has been getting back to normal after a devastating COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, Omicron is once again raising fears, with more than 700 cases reported in the country of nearly 1.4 billion people.

The capital, New Delhi, banned large gatherings for Christmas and New Year’s, and many other states have announced new restrictions, including curfews and vaccination requirements at stores and restaurants.

At the crowded Chandni Chowk market in New Delhi, many people were shopping without masks this week. Cycle rickshaw driver Mahesh Kumar said he is afraid of passengers who don’t wear masks.

“There are many people who don’t believe in this disease. They think it doesn’t exist. But I am very scared. I have children and a family,” he said. “If something happens to me, who will take care of them?

Australia is already dealing with multiple COVID-19 surges, with a state leader saying yesterday that “Omicron is moving too quickly.”

Elsewhere, Thailand has topped 700 cases, South Korea has more than 500 and Japan, over 300.

China, which has some of the strictest virus controls in the world, has reported at least eight.

Only four cases have been reported in the Philippines, where people flocked to shopping malls and to mass in the biggest Roman Catholic nation in Asia. Some hospitals have even begun dismantling COVID-19 wards in a move experts say could prove to be premature.

Japan managed to delay the spread of the new variant for about a month largely thanks to its reimposition of entry restrictions, mandatory COVID-19 tests for all arrivals and the isolation of all passengers on a flight if anyone tested positive for Omicron.

But the barrier was broken last week when the first locally transmitted cases were confirmed in the neighbouring cities of Osaka and Kyoto.

Experts are urging the government to prepare for an imminent wave of infections by increasing testing, speeding up booster shots and preparing more beds at hospitals.

“We want to believe the omicron cases could be mild, but its fast-paced infections could quickly multiply the number of patients and could still overwhelm hospitals,” Omi said.

Taiwan, where wearing a face mask is near universal in major cities, has started to offer booster shots of the Moderna vaccine and is urging people get a third shot before an expected influx of people returning home for Lunar New Year at the end of January.

Preliminary research has shown that booster shots of the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines offer continued, though diminished, protection against Omicron.

Meanwhile, China’s attitude toward the virus, Omicron or not, is to stop transmission in its tracks, and the country appears to be getting even tougher with the approach of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February.

Officials locked down the city of Xi’an, a city and administrative area of 13 million people last week, amid a delta outbreak that has infected hundreds of people. On Monday, they ordered everyone to stay at home until another citywide round of testing was completed.

Residents complained on social media about the sudden ban. Many were relying on instant noodles and other packaged food. Some worried how they would get enough food in the coming days, especially fresh vegetables.