Following right on the heels of the constitutional status just afforded to the Maltese national anthem day, which we will now be celebrating every year on December 27, perhaps it would be legitimate to ponder affording the same status to Maltese as a national language.

Indeed, it has a rich, albeit turbulent, history behind it that deserves to be commemorated every year.

The first recorded use of the Maltese language was in 1935 with the publication of the first map of Malta in the Maltese language. Created for use in government schools, this pioneering map was likely the work of British educator Cyril Midgley, with the Maltese translation by Ġanni Cilia, who was then headmaster at the Mġarr primary school. This collaboration reflected early efforts to promote the Maltese language to an official national language.

However, the Maltese language was first officially recognised only on August 16, 1934, when it was declared an official language of Malta, alongside English.

Before this date, Italian was the primary official language used in administration and the law courts. The decision to elevate Maltese to an official language was a significant step in recognising national identity and helped settle a long-running political and linguistic debate known as the "language question".

The Maltese language stands out in Europe as a fascinating linguistic treasure. It's the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet, reflecting centuries of cultural exchange and conquest.

August 16 of every year can be the day when we ought to mark it as the Maltese national language day for generations to come.

                                              The climatic impact of wars

Wars and armed conflicts raged for quite a long time in the Middle East, in Ukraine, and in other hot spots around the globe. The primary concern rightly focuses on the enormous number of casualties and the extensive destruction that these wars and conflicts leave behind.

However, there is another worrying downside to such armed warfare, namely the climatic impact that they cause.

The exchange of fire in multiple areas of the Middle East, particularly the conflict in Gaza, inflicted a massive, often overlooked, carbon footprint on the planet, with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the first 15 months of the Gaza war exceeding the annual emissions of over 100 countries. Beyond direct fighting, the environmental toll includes 60 million tonnes of toxic debris, water pollution, and damage to natural resources that will take decades to remediate, further exacerbating the climate crisis in regions already highly vulnerable.

The common fallout from any war and conflict, from burning oil refineries to sunken ships, threatens lasting repercussions for the health of the affected people, water and food supplies, and ecosystems. It is nothing but a toxic legacy for human health and the environment that could linger long after the fighting ends.

Sunken ships can become long-term sources of pollution if fuel and other hazardous materials leak into surrounding waters. Militaries themselves are huge fossil fuel guzzlers. If the world's militaries were a country, they would have the fourth-biggest carbon footprint in the world, accounting for roughly 5.5% of global emissions.

Any war or conflict is often followed by weak governance, with environmental protection taking a backseat in transitions from war to peace.

As long as wars and conflicts continue, we will continue to see a lot of environmental damage, but there's also potentially a high likelihood that we will have very little transparency around them in the future and very limited capacity in terms of cleaning up or managing any damage that's been caused in so many parts of the globe.

World leaders would be all the wiser if they could stop overlooking the impact of climate change during times of regional wars and armed conflicts.

                                                    Clean swimming waters

 According to the latest European Environment Agency report, while Albania ranks last, with just 16% of waters rated excellent, Malta ranks in the top five, with 92% of sites rated excellent and with beaches like Golden Bay and St Peter's Pool considered perfect for safe and refreshing Mediterranean swims.

However, frequent reports of raw sewage leaks and recent European findings confirming discharges from Mellieħa, Sliema, Birżebbuga, and Żabbar threaten to downgrade Malta's excellent ranking.

The issue is affecting thousands of Maltese citizens who rely on the sea for their wellbeing, recreation, and livelihoods.

Unless immediate action is taken, and if the authorities persist in minimising or outright denying such sewage discharges into our waters, a growing loss of trust in environmental governance will ensue.

Maltese people have a fundamental right to a clean and safe sea but are increasingly encountering polluted waters and closed bathing sites.

The problem of polluted seawater has persisted for years now, posing risks to public health and quality of life. Everything points to systemic pressures on our infrastructure, including overdevelopment and insufficient wastewater treatment capacity, resulting in untreated sewage being discharged into the marine environment across multiple locations, not to mention a deteriorating water quality and damage to our marine ecosystems.

The damage to our tourist trade from closing bays to bathers greatly exceeds the cost of the government's investment in top drainage equipment and its maintenance.