Before RSID: <<2026-10-08T23:31Z MFSK-32 @ 14070000+1500>>
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Welcome to program 470 of Shortwave Radiogram.
I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.
Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:
1:42 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
2:54 MFSK32: Ship detour around Panama Canal due to drought
6:21 MFSK64: Solar boom rapidly transforming emerging economies
12:18 MFSK64: This week's images
27:54 MFSK32: Closing announcements
Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net
And visit http://swradiogram.net
We're on Bluesky now: SWRadiogram.bsky.social
And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram
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From Bloomberg via gCaptain.com:
Ships Take Long Way Around as Drought Snarls Panama Canal
October 7, 2026
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Magellan jumped more than
70% both in August and September from year-ago levels as ships
diverted from the drought-stricken Panama Canal, Chilean Navy
data requested by Bloomberg show.
Sparse rainfall linked to El Niño lowered water levels in the
Panama Canal, prompting authorities to restrict crossings. Middle
East disruptions have also prompted some operators shipping goods
from South America and West Africa to Asia to avoid the region
and likely reroute through the Strait of Magellan, Bloomberg
Intelligence analyst Kenneth Loh said.
"The drought in Central America has certainly been the primary
culprit," he said. "That has also compelled many shipowners and
operators to pay extraordinarily hefty fees to skip queues. For
ships that wish to avoid these transit restrictions, long queues
or high fees, rerouting via Magellan presents a natural
alternative."
The shifts highlight how climate and geopolitical disruptions at
major maritime chokepoints are reshaping global trade routes and
increasing the importance of alternatives. While sailing through
the Strait of Magellan adds distance and fuel costs, its
toll-free passage offers shipowners another option when
constraints elsewhere drive up delays and transit costs.
The surge in traffic, which began in July, also coincided with
the winter season, when heavy snowfall in the Andes slowed truck
traffic between Chile and Argentina, according to the latest
available data from the Punta Arenas Maritime Governor’s Office,
part of the Chilean Navy. The upward trend is expected to
continue in the coming months as the cruise season gets underway,
it said.
The increase was detected among vessels of between 60,000 and
65,000 gross register tons, or GRT, though the Navy did not
provide details on the types of vessels involved. The data are
based on local pilotage statistics for 2025 and 2026, covering
Jan. 1, 2025 through Sept. 24, 2026.
https://gcaptain.com/ships-take-long-way-around-as-drought-snarls-panama-canal/
Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...
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Before RSID: <<2026-10-08T23:35Z MFSK-32 @ 14070000+1488>>
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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64
Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
From Deutsche Welle:
The solar boom is rapidly transforming emerging economies
Kira Schacht
October 7, 2026
Renewable electricity is cheaper than ever. While the West got
rich on coal and oil, some of the world's poorest countries are
banking on solar, wind and water instead.
As emerging economies and global living standards rise, is the
world in for another fossil fuel boom? The data says not.
Countries from Southeast Asia to Sub-Saharan Africa aren't
investing in fossil fuels as the West did; they're investing in
electricity powered by renewables.
When the US and Europe industrialized in the 19th and 20th
centuries, they did so using fossil energy. From coal ovens, gas
heating and combustion-engine cars to electricity produced in
coal and gas power plants, entire societies relied on polluting
fuels.
Yet while burning fossil fuels allowed industrialized countries
to boom, it also caused the climate crisis that is linked to
extreme weather events around the world today.
Renewable electricity is rapidly becoming the cheapest option
Many of the same countries that became economically powerful off
the back of fossil fuels are now trying to transition to
renewables, but centuries of legacy infrastructure hold them
back.
Because a gas boiler won't run on wind power and a diesel truck
cannot be solar-powered, societies looking to shift to green
energy need to use more electricity and increase their share of
renewables.
That is where many middle- and lower-income countries have an
advantage. With less existing energy infrastructure built around
fossil fuels, they are better placed for a faster rollout of
renewable electricity sources.
In many instances, solar power in particular is now cheaper to
produce than fossil electricity. And unlike large coal or gas
plants, which take years to construct and millions in
investments, solar and wind farms can be built quickly and with
much less upfront cost.
At the same time, according to an analysis by renewables think
tank Ember, electronic devices like refrigerators, electric
stoves or air conditioners have all become much cheaper in the
last decades, making electricity a more affordable option as an
energy source for cooking, heating and more.
While electric cars are still a luxury item in most places, their
prices are coming down too. And a UN study found that in India,
Indonesia and Vietnam electric scooters and motorbikes already
cost the same as petrol models. Yet a lot less to fuel.
All this means that renewable electricity is quickly becoming the
best choice for the wallet — not just for the climate. And
countries are taking note.
"We're seeing a leapfrog take place right across the emerging
markets," said Kingsmill Bond, energy strategist at Ember. "The
whole of Asia is electrifying quickly, and the whole of Europe
and the United States is stagnant."
Lower-income countries are electrifying faster
In 2023, only around a quarter of global electricity was
generated by renewables. But that figure is rising fast, and
almost all new capacity added these days is based on solar or
wind power.
Lower-income countries already use less fossil fuels and more
renewables than higher-income ones.
And large middle-income economies are outpacing richer ones as
well. In 2023, solar power alone made up at least six percent and
ten percent of electricity in India and Vietnam, respectively.
The global average was five percent.
Lower-income countries are electrifying without the fossil
detour
This boom has meant middle- and lower-income countries are
electrifying fast, consuming less energy directly from fossil
fuels than richer countries. Vietnam, for instance, is already
using more electricity than the US, Europe and even China, and
India is following the same path.
But the potential for energy leapfrogging might be particularly
high in low-income countries, especially across Sub-Saharan
Africa.
Countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Namibia are rapidly
expanding their energy infrastructure to meet the demands of a
growing, young population. But rural areas in many countries are
not connected to electricity grids.
Joel Nana, project manager at South African NGO Sustainable
Energy Africa says that "even when there is access to power, it's
often not reliable."
Until a few years ago, he says, people defaulted to diesel
generators to meet their energy needs. That came at a cost
because importing fuel is particularly expensive in many African
countries, meaning energy crises and oil price fluctuations hit
much harder.
Renewables for energy access and independence
These factors make solar power a solution for both energy access
and independence. And it has become so cheap that Nana says it's
a "no-brainer."
"Some businesses can make back their investment in just two
years, so why would you want to deploy anything else?" he said.
"Solar has rapidly become the de facto default technology that
everyone falls back on."
And once it is set up, it is very effective. Sub-Saharan Africa
is extremely well-suited to solar power. It gets more sun than
almost anywhere in the world, and has enough space for solar
farms to cover electricity demand hundreds of times over.
"If you add solar plus batteries, you can get cheap electricity
about 90 percent of the time from the sun alone", said Kingsmill
Bond.
Countries like Namibia, South Africa, Kenya and Senegal have
expanded their solar capacity massively in the past few years.
In a 2026 report for African Tech Futures Lab and Ember, Nana
analyzed import data from China and estimated that around 100,000
solar panels were installed across Africa every day in 2026, up
45 percent from just the previous year.
Similar trends are emerging all across the world. In Pakistan,
for example, people have been buying solar panels from China en
masse in the past few years to avoid steep electricity grid
prices and frequent power outages.
Cheap energy boosts economies
Aleksi Lumijärvi, director for knowledge, policy and finance at
the International Renewable Energy Association says these
decisions can have a major impact on the global economy in the
coming decades.
"Industrial companies will find that it will be cheaper to move
production to, for example, somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa,
because they have this cheap, clean solar power plus batteries
available."
Kingsmill Bond says where electricity is cheap and abundant,
wealth will follow.
"You're going to have faster growth in the emerging markets, you
will have fewer financial crises. It will make a material
difference to people's quality of lives."
Nana says the next step for African countries is to establish
policies that ensure everyone benefits from the solar boom.
"We are heading towards the most decentralized grid in the whole
world within the next five years," he told DW. His mantra for
governments, he says, is: "This is happening, whether you like it
or not." He expects a wave of new energy regulations, many of
which are now in the final stages of negotiation, to come into
effect across Africa in the coming months and years.
"Countries are realizing it's in their interest to integrate this
technology into national strategies, to share the benefits and to
make use of this competitive advantage."
https://www.dw.com/en/emerging-economies-are-embracing-solar-power-and-skipping-fossil-fuels-much-faster-than-europe-or-the-us/a-79474847
Data:
https://github.com/dw-data/leapfrogging
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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64
Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
This week's images ...
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A Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) in autumn colors
at the Tu Hwnt l’r Bont tea rooms in Llanrwst, Wales.
tinyurl.com/26cylkc3 ...
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The Moon and Venus converge over Cherry Springs State Park,
Pennsylvania, October 6. tinyurl.com/24nzwozk ...
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Leaves beginning to change colors in Georgetown, Washington DC.
tinyurl.com/24au57ns ...
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The recently restored boardwalk at Muskegon State Park in
Michigan. tinyurl.com/29syw3ao ...
Sending Pic:150x201C;
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A Purple Bearded Wild Iris at Great Salt Plains State Park in
northern Oklahoma. tinyurl.com/2xtoxmp7 ...
Sending Pic:149x190C;
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Changing colors at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle.
tinyurl.com/2clvm9ko ...
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The entire east side of an apartment building in Alton, Illinois,
covered in blocks of color and birds. tinyurl.com/26rftjhq ...
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The River Ness in Inverness, Scotland, under a full moon.
tinyurl.com/255g7y9w ...
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Our painting of the week is "The New Tree" (pastel pencils on
sanded paper, 2023) by Clarence A. Porter (Canadian).
tinyurl.com/28mc7tp4 ...
Sending Pic:151x202C;
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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...
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Before RSID: <<2026-10-08T23:57Z MFSK-64 @ 14070000+1488>>
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I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave
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