Environmental developments worldwide in August 2021

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - August saw several reports on climate change and the environment. Record-breaking temperature in Spain and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) report as well as large and intense forest fires around the world made global headlines.

The IPCC Working Group I report, titled Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis, highlights that global temperatures will likely rise 1.5 degrees Celsius by around 2030.

Here is a look at environmental developments, reports, events and stories compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Aug. 2:

- Authorities in China say floods that hit the central region of Henan in July killed over 300 people.

Aug. 3:

- Wildfires spread to many parts of the world, according to US space agency NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS).

Aug. 4:

- Forest fires are a global threat just like the COVID-19 pandemic, says Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Aug. 5.

- A series of devastating bushfires in Australia had a greater impact on the world's 2020 climate than the pandemic-driven lockdowns, according to new research.

Aug. 6:

- Following a decade-long burst, wildfires around the world may start to decline as trees are wiped out by blazes or extreme drought, according to a recent US study.

Aug. 8:

- A laboratory technician in the central African country of the Republic of Congo devises a process to extract electricity from cassava – a woody shrub cultivated throughout the tropical world for its tuberous roots.

Aug. 9:

- The IPCC Working Group I report, titled Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis, highlights that global temperatures will likely rise 1.5 degrees Celsius by around 2030.

Aug. 10:

- Spain is on the threshold of its first major heat wave of the summer, state meteorologists warn.

- Responding to growing criticism over the government’s failure to properly tackle the raging forest fires in Greece, the prime minister apologizes to the nation for the inefficacy of the state mechanism and promised action against those responsible for the crisis.

- Global warming will affect Turkey just like every other country worldwide, and even after the end of this century, it could lead temperatures in Turkey to soar as much as a drastic 6.5 degrees, warns a scholar from the Turkish capital Ankara.

- The Australian prime minister refuses to commit to the UN target of net zero emissions by 2050.

- Wild African lions' numbers are falling at an alarming rate, with an international animal welfare group raising a red flag on Tuesday over the decline, partly due to global wildlife trade.

Aug. 11:

- Japan is mulling to conduct research on developing “sustainable food source” on the moon.

- International climate objectives will not be met with the exclusion of low-carbon nuclear power, which has the lowest emissions after hydropower, according to a UN report.

- Vatsala, a female elephant at the Panna Tiger Reserve in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state, is believed to be 105 years old on the eve of World Elephant Day.

- Kenya has seen a 25% rise in the number of lions since the 2010 census, Kenya’s tourism and wildlife minister said at a ceremony in the capital Nairobi.

Aug. 12:

- North Korea’s Premier Kim Tok Hun visits the flood-hit South Hamgyong province to inspect damage and launch a “recovery campaign.”

Aug. 13:

- July 2021 was the warmest month ever recorded, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says as concerns continue to mount over the ravaging effects of climate change.

Aug. 14:

- Turkey receives condolence messages from around the world because of deadly floods in the Black Sea region that have claimed dozens of lives.

Aug. 16:

- As a heat wave that brought the hottest temperature ever recorded to Spain with 57.7 C (135.86 F), firefighters are scrambling to contain dozens of forest fires across the country.

Aug. 19:

- The UN humanitarian team in South Sudan warns that climate change fuels conflict over shrinking resources and puts humanitarians in danger in the country.

Aug. 24:

- The glaciers on Mt. Agri, Turkey's highest point with an altitude of 5,137 meters (over 16,853 feet), continue melting due to the effects of climate change.

Aug. 26:

- Turkey and the UK can do a lot together on issues related to climate change, especially in areas like clean growth technology and electric cars, says Britain’s minister for exports.

Aug. 29:

- The UN Children’s Fund warns of health risks for most Iraqi children as they have no access to safe and drinkable water.

- A dead whale was found on a beach in southern Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.

Aug. 30:

- Large globules of mucilage which had been sighted since March in the Sea of Marmara offshore Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul are now absent.

Aug. 31:

- Calling climate change a global challenge, Japan’s foreign minister says that innovation is the key to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.