Environmental developments worldwide in February 2022

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) – A number of reports on climate change and its growing impact were released in February along with encouraging initiatives and pledges for environmental protection.

A list of environmental developments, reports and events compiled by Anadolu Agency is as follows:

Feb. 1:

- Water level at Zambia's Victoria Falls significantly increases thanks to the prevailing good rainfall in the southern African nation.

- Bangladesh suspends two chief officers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Gazipur city over the deaths of 11 zebras.

- Tons of extra medical waste from the COVID-19 pandemic response put global health waste management systems under tremendous pressure, threatening human and environmental health, says the World Health Organization.

Feb. 2:

- The UN’s specialized agency for information and communication technologies launches a new community platform driven by artificial intelligence that aims to step up global collaboration on the use of AI to advance sustainable development.

Feb. 3:

- The Amazon rainforest saw its worst level of deforestation in January, with around 360 square kilometers (139 square miles) of forest lost, according to data released by Brazil's national space research institute.

Feb. 4:

- Extreme weather events across Europe cause the deaths of up to 145,000 people in the last four decades, according to a report by the EU’s environment agency.

Feb. 7:

- Drought in Somalia escalates, and the country is "staring at a potential catastrophe," says the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Feb. 8:

- A severe drought that hit the Horn of Africa region kills thousands of livestock and left millions of people facing extreme famine, according to a World Food Program report.

- The United Nations Children’s Fund projects that up to 20 million people in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia will need water and food assistance in the next six months as the driest conditions in four decades afflict the region.

Feb. 10:

- Germany appoints Jennifer Morgan as Greenpeace International's executive director, making her the country's first special climate envoy.

Feb. 18:

- The number of people displaced by the current drought in Somalia doubled in January from 245,000 to 554,500, according to the UN.

Feb. 21:

- Turkiye's first climate council kicked off with the aim to form a roadmap in line with the Paris Agreement to reach the 2053 net-zero emissions target.

Feb. 22:

- The Climate Law, for which preparations are underway, will be framework legislation that will shape Turkiye's environment for the next 100 years, says the urbanization and climate change minister.

Feb. 25:

- A model green village in Tanzania's smoke-belching city of Dar es Salaam unveils its sustainability plans, outlining aggressive actions it will take to address urgent environmental challenges in order to create a better future.

Feb. 28:

- Climate adaptation investments need to speed up to restore degraded ecosystems effectively and equitably, given that climate change affects the lives of billions of people worldwide, says the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.