Global environmental disasters in March 2022

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - In the third month of 2022, the world witnessed a number of unexpected environmental developments and disasters, including heavy rains and floods in Australia and Brazil, heavy snowfall in Turkiye, deadly cyclones in Madagascar and Mozambique, wildfires in Greece, and volcanic eruptions in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

Below is a timeline compiled by Anadolu Agency:

March 2:

- Death toll from heavy rains and floods in Australia rises to 12 after four more people die in New South Wales.

March 4:

- Death toll from heavy rains and mudslides in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil rises to 232.

March 8:

- Large volcano eruption shakes Papua New Guinea, raising tsunami concerns.

- Death toll from floods battering Australia’s east coast rises to 20 as bodies of a man and a woman are discovered in floodwaters in Sydney.

March 9:

- Heavy rains in Zambia’s North-Western province leave at least 1,600 people homeless.

March 11:

- Hundreds of flights cancelled in Turkiye as heavy snowfall hits metropolis of Istanbul.

- At least two people confirmed dead and hundreds of others affected as powerful cyclone hits northern Madagascar.

March 12:

- At least 10 people killed by tropical cyclone in Mozambique’s northern Nampula province.

March 15:

- Saharan dust cloud blankets the Iberian Peninsula, tinting skies across Spain and Portugal in surreal tone of red.

March 16:

- Triggered by heavy rains, landslide in northern Peru buries at least 60 homes with people inside.

March 17:

- Death toll from Tropical Cyclone Gombe in Mozambique’s northern Nampula province rises to 53.

March 22:

- At least five people killed in floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

March 26:

- Thousands of people evacuate their homes after the Philippines' Taal volcano sends ash and steam hundreds of meters into the sky.

March 30:

- Wildfire erupts in a wooded area of Greece’s Aegean island of Samos.