Environmental developments worldwide in May 2021

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - May saw several reports on climate change and the environment, including a "sea snot outbreak" and an agreement between G7 countries on taking new steps against fossil fuels.

Spain is heating up faster than the global average, according to a study, which found that 2020 is that country’s hottest year on record.

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

May 1:

- Sea snot, or mucilage, starts expanding and becomes more visible on Turkey's Sea of Marmara.

May 3:

- Climate change is among issues discussed by Canadian, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and the US foreign ministers as part of a G7 conference in the UK, during their first in-person meeting since the advent of the coronavirus last year.

May 5:

- Acute food insecurity reaches five-year high worldwide as the international community grapples with conflict, coronavirus pandemic and climate change, according to a report by Global Network Against Food Crises.

May 6:

- Among all potential dangers of climate change, the top risk it poses to Turkey is its threat to food security and water supplies, a climate expert tells Anadolu Agency.

May 7:

- A total of 984 meteorological disasters occurred in Turkey in 2020, the highest number since 1940, according to official figures.

- Despite the oil wealth, citizens in South Sudan are experiencing high levels of hunger because of the current lean season, a UN report warns.

May 11:

- At least 9.2 million people in Nigeria face a crisis or worse levels of food insecurity between March and May this year amid armed conflicts, COVID-19's effects and climate change, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

May 13:

- A total of 289 bird species have been observed this year in Turkey, according to the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks on World Migratory Bird Day.

May 14:

- Spain is heating up faster than the global average, according to a study, which finds that 2020 is the country’s hottest year on record.

- A new study by an international group of researchers find for the first time that human-produced greenhouse gases are shrinking the stratosphere.

May 18:

- Ethiopia will plant 6 billion tree seedlings during the coming rainy season, the prime minister’s office announces.

- The International Energy Agency releases the "world’s first comprehensive roadmap" for the global energy sector to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

May 20:

- The African Development Bank makes a grant of $686,000 to the UN World Food Programme to provide relief to about 72,000 people on the brink of drought-caused starvation in southern Madagascar, the UN body said.

- The world's largest iceberg calves from Antarctica, it is close to 80 times the size of Manhattan.

May 21:

- Amnesty International urges donors, foreign governments and regional leaders to ramp up aid efforts to avert a potential humanitarian crisis in Madagascar as millions face hunger due to a devastating famine in the south.

- Environment ministers of G7 countries agree to take new steps against the use of fossil fuels as they would deliver climate targets in line with limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 C.

May 22:

- The International Day for Biological Diversity is marked around the world online by stressing the cruciality of biodiversity for sustaining life.

May 25:

- The Swedish Embassy in Mogadishu announces it donated 75 million kronar ($9 million) to strengthen health and protection services for women and children in the Horn of Africa country.

May 26:

- A giant tortoise found on the Galapagos Islands is confirmed to have come from a species that scientists thought had been extinct more than a century ago.

May 27:

- The world is closer than ever to reach an annual average global temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the World Meteorological Organization, the lower of the two temperature limits set by the landmark Paris Agreement.

- The Federal Court of Australia rules that the country's environment minister has an obligation to children to consider the harm caused by climate change.

May 28:

- Turkish Central Bank published a study on financial risks stemming from climate change and environmental finance for the first time in its 32nd Financial Stability Report.