A power outage occurred at the Sofitel Fidji Resort and Spa in Nadi, Fiji, on Tuesday, October 6, during the late morning. The incident caused the conference room to lose power and the air conditioning to fail, forcing the preparatory meeting for COP31—known as the "pre-COP"—to be interrupted for half an hour. The meeting, which was meant to prepare for the upcoming climate negotiations, took place in an uncomfortable and oppressive atmosphere. This event is part of a series of challenges faced in climate-related discussions. COP31, scheduled for November 2026 in Antalya, Turkey, was decided upon at the conclusion of COP30 in Brazil last year. However, the negotiations will be led by Australia. In an effort to highlight the challenges faced by Pacific island nations threatened by climate change, Australia ensured that the pre-COP would be held in Fiji and Tuvalu. This included inviting a dozen heads of state and government, which is unusual as the pre-COP is typically attended by ministers and technical staff. Only 14 leaders attended, all from the Pacific region, with the exception of representatives from East Timor and Mauritius. Maina Talia, the minister of Climate and Environment of Tuvalu, expressed disappointment and frustration at the absence of leaders from the world's largest greenhouse gas emitting countries. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also acknowledged some responsibility for the situation. In a separate development, researchers discovered that the Guliya glacier on the Tibetan Plateau, which is more than 6,000 meters above sea level, contains climate data dating back over 128,000 years. This makes it one of the oldest climate archives available. The discovery, based on ice cores collected in 1992 and 2015, is featured on the cover of the American magazine Science Advances from October 2. In Thailand, floods continued to affect more than 3 million people a week after a severe flood in late September, according to the Bangkok Post. Bangkok, built on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, is sinking and has a bowl-like shape that makes drainage difficult. Rapid and chaotic urban expansion, combined with inadequate drainage infrastructure, has worsened the city's vulnerability to flooding. These challenges are becoming more frequent due to the increasing occurrence of extreme weather events. Meanwhile, concerns are growing over the environmental impact of large data centers, which are energy-intensive, require significant mineral resources, and use large amounts of water. Google recently launched the first test satellite for its Suncatcher project on October 1. The long-term goal is to create a "real orbital data center," as noted by Scientific American. The advantage of such a system would be the availability of free and abundant solar energy. However, the project is still in its early stages and far from being fully operational.