Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.2 earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.9 earthquake hits south of Panama.
5.4 earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
Two 5.3 earthquakes hit the Kermedec Islands.
Two 5.1 earthquakes hit the Kermedec Islands.
5.0 earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.0 earthquake hits Tarapaca, Chile.
5.0 earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Southern Hemisphere: Tropical cyclone 08s (Batsirai), located approximately 670 nm south of Diego Garcia, is tracking westward at 11 knots.
NewsBytes:
Colombia – At least 2 people have died, one was injured and dozens of homes and roads were damaged after heavy rain caused flooding and landslides in Tolima Department in central Colombia. Heavy rain from 24 January 2022 caused landslides and flooding in the municipalities of Palocabildo, Fresno, Falan, Armero Guayabal, Herveo and Casabianca in Tolima Department. Two young people died when a landslide destroyed a house in Palocabildo, where a further 25 homes were damaged and gas supply interrupted. One person was hospitalized after being rescued from a landslide in Falan. Several roads were blocked or damaged in affected areas, including the important road between Falan and Palocabildo, leaving communities isolated.
Australia – South Australia has made a major emergency declaration to deal with vast areas of flooding in the state’s north and west. Houses have been destroyed and major freight routes cut off following high rains and storms in recent days. Western Australian and Northern Territory supermarkets are facing shortages due to damaged road and rail networks.
Global warming will cause massive declines in tree growth
By combining tree-ring data with U.S. Forest Service inventory data on Arizona’s ponderosa pines, a recent study led by the University of Arizona has investigated the possible future effects of climate change on tree growth. The results suggest that global warming may cause a 56 to 91 percent decline in individual tree growth.
Forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thus offsetting greenhouse gas emissions and helping to mitigate climate change.
The causes of tree size decline are complex and varied, but the main one seems to be global warming. Since trees have to work against gravity to get water to their top, if temperatures rise, the water-transport system will be under increasing pressure and most likely become damaged. Warming will make trees more drought stressed, and reduce their growth.
Although drought seems to make taller trees more vulnerable due to high temperatures, the scientists found that small trees will also suffer due to lack of water. Since their roots are smaller, they will need to struggle more to extract moisture from the soil. Moreover, denser forests will likely fare worse during hotter and drier conditions, since there will be more competition between trees for increasingly rare resources such as water and nutrients.
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
