Global environmental developments in August

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Several reports regarding climate change and its growing effects were released in August along with encouraging initiatives and pledges for environmental protection.

Below is a list of environmental developments, reports and events compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Aug. 2:

- Climate financing in Africa needs to be a focus for implementing mitigation and adaptation measures, say experts.

Aug. 5:

- China suspends climate change cooperation with the US in retaliation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

Aug. 7:

- The US Senate passes a sweeping $430 billion bill intended to fight climate change, lower drug prices and raise some corporate taxes.

- Improper e-waste management in Bangladesh is posing a threat to the environment, causing soil degradation and water contamination with heavy and toxic base metals, according to experts.

Aug. 6:

- After an invitation from the Commonwealth to become a member of its steering committee on climate finance, Zambia says it would work to expand access to funds over the next few years.

Aug. 9:

- US President Joe Biden says the mass destruction caused by powerful floods in the state of Kentucky is yet another reminder of the devastating effects of climate change.

Aug. 10:

- The number of drought-related displacements in Somalia surpasses the million mark for the first time since January 2021, according to the UN.

Aug. 12:

- An official drought is declared across parts of the UK after prolonged heatwaves and dry weather.

- An unprecedented monsoon spell that causes widespread devastation across Pakistan is also adding to an already escalating food inflation, aside from exacerbating fears of food insecurity, warn experts.

- Turkish scientists on an expedition to the Arctic circle complete studies on the effects of global warming on polar sea ice and glaciers, which are crucial in the planet's heat balance and in danger of disappearing as temperatures hit unprecedented levels.

Aug. 13:

- One of the most significant water sources in the UK is documented by Anadolu Agency to be almost totally dried up in various locations along its 120-kilometer (75-mile) area.

Aug. 14:

- The UK records 500 more wildfires this year than all of 2021.

Aug. 15:

- Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki admits the country was slow to react to an ecological disaster unfolding in the Oder River, firing two top officials.

Aug. 16:

- The official Meteo France weather service says the forecast is for a “risk of violent phenomena” with heavy rains and storms after a recent heatwave.

- The Spanish island of Menorca is put on alert for a meteotsunami as a storm barrels toward the Balearic Islands.

- Firefighters continue to struggle, particularly in the Spanish region of Alicante and Portugal’s highest mountain range, as meteorological conditions are complicating efforts to control two massive wildfires.

Aug. 18:

- With Nepal recently announcing it nearly tripled its wild tiger population, experts stress focusing on several "challenges" that lie ahead in maintaining the tiger population in the Himalayan country.

- France is gripped by an intense drought despite two days of rainfall which brought respite from a scorching heatwave.

Aug. 21:

- Argentina orders armed forces to help respond to forest fires that are burning in the Parana Delta for more than two weeks.

- Portugal begins to impose a three-day entry ban to forests to prevent possible fires.

- Australian activist Mina Guli, who set out to run 200 marathons in drought-stricken regions to draw attention to global water shortages that are increasing with climate change, ran her 78th race in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul.

Aug. 22:

- France enforces a ban on advertising fossil fuels, natural gas is exempted from the prohibition until June 2023.

- Authorities in China continue to issue red alerts and urge residents to exercise extreme caution as the country swelters in unusually high temperatures this summer and faces a "dire" drought crisis.

Aug. 23:

- Canada and Germany sign a deal for clean energy that will help the European country in its biggest transformation "since the beginning of the industrial revolution."

Aug. 24:

- Millions of Pakistanis are struck by treacherous monsoon rains and flooding as Islamabad sought the international community's help to cope with the escalating magnitude of the catastrophe.

- China launches a remote sensing satellite into space which "will mainly be used to provide remote sensing services in the fields of land resources management, agricultural resources survey, environment monitoring and city applications."

Aug. 26:

- Pakistan declares a national emergency and orders the army to assist the civil administration in relief and rescue operations as the death toll from rain-related incidents surpassed the grim figure of 900.

- The harsh drought in the Horn of Africa is expected to get worse as the region braces for a fifth consecutive failed rainy season, says the World Meteorological Organization.

Aug. 27:

- Shale gas production may be brought back on the table to alleviate the European energy crisis similar to coal and nuclear power, which is long-shelved due to mounting reactions from environmentalists.

Aug. 28:

- Pope Francis calls for international cooperation to help Pakistan which is battered by heavy monsoon rains and massive floods.

Aug. 29:

- Some 22,500 children die from air pollution in Nigeria's most populous southwestern state of Lagos in 2021, according to environmental authorities.

Aug. 30:

- The UN and Pakistan's government issue a flash appeal for $160 million to cope with the devastation caused by unprecedented rains and floods in the South Asian country.

- A drought is officially declared across South West England following prolonged dry weather not experienced in 90 years.

Aug. 31:

- France's weather bureau terms this summer season as the second hottest in the last century.

- At least 22 million residents in Pakistan, or 10% of the population, are potentially exposed to flooding, according to a map published by the UN Satellite Center.