Where are we on the environment? #2

Global events in October in five headlines, for those interested in the environment, sustainability and energy transition.

1.

Meteorologist Véronique Ducrocq, who specialises in the study of Mediterranean phenomena, states that the storms on the 1st and 2nd of October over the Maritime Alps were an exceptional event that usually occurs once every 100 years. This year, however, it is already the second occurrence, and rainfall reached 500 mm (500 litres per m² of land).

2.

According to a report published by the Royal Society, huge changes have been recorded in the structure and size of the Great Barrier Reef: northern and central regions have been worst hit, but the apparent stability of the other zones will not last long due to multiple disturbances, state experts.

3.

A study by the University of Alaska and the United States Geological Survey has identified that the extent of sea ice between the far east of Russia and Alaska is at its lowest level in 5,500 years.

4.

The report from the UN and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters of the University of Leuven shows that over the last 20 years there have been over 7,000 natural disasters, causing the deaths of 1.23 million individuals. The most worrying events are flooding, landslides and droughts. Floods, in particular, have risen in number from just over 1,000 between 1980 and 1999 to over 3,000 between 2000 and 2019.

5.

Various experts have analysed microplastic pollution on the seabed of the Great Australian Bight, looking at six different areas of varying depth, and discovered a greater presence of microplastics than previously recorded, equal to 14 million tonnes.