Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 16 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Historic canals turn green in Belgium’s Ghent amid autumn warmth
AI generated
GHENT, Belgium - A bright green film carpets the historic canals in the medieval Belgian town of Ghent, as tourists and students relax along its edge in the unseasonable autumn warmth.
asserted
tourists → turn → warmth
The blanket of duckweed covering the water has proliferated dramatically due to a lack of rain and record-breaking temperatures.
asserted
blanket → cover → rain
Like much of Europe, Belgium in recent months experienced an exceptional series of heatwaves, with the summer of 2026 being declared the hottest in its history.
asserted
summer → experience → history
“We’ve never seen anything like this here in Ghent,” Davide Siddi, who captains a boat giving tours of the canal, told AFP.
asserted
who → see → AFP
The lack of rainfall coupled with the unusually warm weather – with temperatures in September still regularly exceeding 20 deg C – provide the ideal conditions for the duckweed to flourish.
asserted
duckweed → couple → conditions
“Normally, the plant is found where water is stagnant, but at the moment it is spreading everywhere,” Geert Weymeis, head of Flanders Waterways, told AFP.
asserted
Weymeis → find → AFP
“This is the first time we have seen it grow on such a massive scale here.”
asserted
it → see → scale
Weymeis said the phenomenon mainly affects the Lys, a river that flows from the north of France and empties into the Scheldt river which runs through Ghent’s centuries-old canals.
asserted
which → say → canals
“It could last for a few more weeks if the temperature does not drop significantly,” Weymeis said.
uncertain
Weymeis → last → weeks
Duckweed deprives the flora and fauna in the water of sunlight, but the plant is harmless for humans.
asserted
plant → deprive → humans
Tourists can still safely board the boats that wind their way past the churches and historic buildings in the city centre.
asserted
that → board → centre
Against the blue sky, the pea green coating creates a striking image that passersby stop to photograph.
asserted
passersby → create → image
But there is also a sense of worry over the impact that man-made climate change is having on the environment around them.
asserted
change → be → them
“It’s both beautiful to look at and a cause for concern,” Ramzi Salhi said, after capturing the image.
asserted
Salhi → look → image
The duckweed can clog up the engines of the tourist boats plying the canals and cause them to overheat.
asserted
them → clog → canals
“Over the past month, a few boats have already broken down,” he said.
asserted
he → break → month
The Aporia
