Global environmental developments in November 2020

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - November saw several reports of climate change and extreme weather events and China's banning all kinds of solid waste imports as of January next year as well as massive planting saplings activities in Turkey as part of the country's annual afforestation day.

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

Nov. 2:

- The Labor Party and Green Party in New Zealand sign an agreement to "working together to make progress on important areas like climate change, environment and child and community wellbeing issues over the next 3 years."

- Thousands of South Sudanese are facing a humanitarian crisis, including a heightened risk of hunger, malnutrition, and disease after months of armed conflicts and floods, warns the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

- The public-private partnership (PPP) can play a greater role in accelerating the realization of low carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure, experts say during the 5th summit of Istanbul PPP Week.

Nov. 4:

- The US officially exits the Paris Agreement, making the country the only major polluter in the world leaving the historic pact reached to combat climate change.

Nov. 5:

- Europe sees its warmest October on record, while globally, it is the third warmest October, according to Copernicus Climate Change Service.

- Amid ever-rising concerns over climate change and environmental degradation, the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM) seeks to raise awareness on the European Green Deal, according to the body.

- In the already malnourished regions of South Sudan, the latest floods have brought doom for health facilities and nutrition for children, according to UNICEF.

Nov. 6:

- Lending to developing countries to reduce the effects of climate change, also known as climate financing, expanded to $78.9 billion in 2018 -- up by 11% from the year before, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Nov. 9:

- Heavy snow and freezing rain hit parts of the Canadian Prairies on which is recorded as all-time November snow records.

- A state of emergency was declared in Napier, New Zealand, following the heaviest rain in 57 years in the country.

- Over 199,000, the highest number to date, loggerhead turtle hatchlings have reached the sea in specially protected environmental areas of Turkey, according to officials.

Nov. 10:

- The African migratory red locust outbreak in Namibia’s Zambezi region is brought under control after a team of experts fought the plague for several weeks, according to authorities.

Nov. 11:

- Denmark's planned cull of its entire mink population after some animals in the country are found with a mutated version of the coronavirus is in disarray after opposition lawmakers and farmers objected to the process.

- Turkey has set a goal to plant a total of 7 billion saplings across the country by the end of 2023, says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, marking the National Afforestation Day on Nov.11.

- As the novel coronavirus continues to hit the tourism industry across the globe, Sri Lanka’s mission in Ankara hosts an extraordinary online safari tour.

Nov. 12:

- Low immunization, especially in hard-to-reach areas, urbanization, malnutrition, and pollution due to the burning of woods were cited as the causes for pneumonia deaths in Nigeria, according to the local newspaper The Guardian.

Nov. 13:

- According to video footage on Russian media and social media accounts, Armenians damage the environment and burn houses in Kalbajar, located northwest of Nagorno Karabakh which was occupied in 1993.

Nov. 16:

- Somalia’s ongoing seasonal rains affect nearly 214,000 people, says the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Nov. 17:

- Global actions to tackle climate change are currently failing to protect the people who are most at risk, the International Red Cross said in a report, noting that over the past decade, 83% of disasters are caused by extreme weather and climate-related events.

Nov. 18:

- The sale of new petrol and diesel cars to be banned in the UK after 2030, as part of a plan to tackle climate change, the British government announces.

Nov. 19:

- UN's World Toilet Day is marked around the world as this year's theme underlines the significance of sustainable sanitation and climate change.

- Floods caused by heavy rains in South Sudan affect more than a million people since July, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says.

Nov. 20:

- After being found in the deepest point in the world, the Marina Tech, microplastics are now found near the Earth's highest point, the death zone of Mount Everest, according to Business Insider.

- Philippines state climate bureau warns that two to three tropical cyclones may enter the country’s weather monitoring area in December, local media reports.

Nov. 22:

- Turkey expresses its determination to achieve a “fair position” within the scope of the international regime to combat climate change in an addendum statement to the G20 Leaders' Summit Declaration.

Nov. 23:

- CO2 level in the atmosphere hits a new record of 410.5 parts per million in 2019 and will likely rise this year despite a minor cut in emissions due to COVID-19 lockdowns, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

- The 15th G20 Leaders' Summit hosted by Saudi Arabia ends with promises made on global cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, climate change action and debt relief for the poorest countries.

- US President-elect Joe Biden named John Kerry, the former state secretary, as a special presidential envoy for the climate to lead the country's fight against climate change.

- The Australian government announces an $18 million package to protect koalas around the country.

Nov. 25:

- China announces banning all kinds of solid waste imports as of January next year, according to the country's Ecology and Environment Ministry.

Nov. 30:

- Animal lovers, artists and government officials join an emotional moment in Pakistan’s capital to see off the country’s "loneliest" elephant as it left for a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia to spend its retired life.

- The risk of transmission of mosquito-borne diseases in South Australia is at its highest since the 2010- 2011 summer, according to health authorities.