EARTHWEEK
CO2milestone
Atmospheric carbon dioxide remained above 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time at a point during the year when it is usually at its minimum.
Levels of the greenhouse gas have been on a relentless rise since the dawn of the industrial revolution, as human activities have released more and more emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
While summertime vegetation in the Northern Hemisphere absorbs some CO2 each year, causing a slight dip in levels, this is the first time that the daily and weekly averages did not drop below 400 ppm at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory.
A study led by a former senior NASA climate scientist reveals that the planet is now at its hottest point in 115,000 years, mainly due to the greenhouse effect of elevated CO2 levels.
Eruption in Mexico
An eruption of western Mexico’s Colima volcano prompted hundreds of people to evacuate their homes as a large plume of ash and gas soared high above the mountain’s summit crater.
A large exclusion zone was established to prevent people from venturing near the mountain, also known as the Volcano of Fire (Fuego).
Earthquakes
A sharp temblor struck near the northern PakistanIndia border, injuring several residents and damaging homes. A resulting landslide killed one person.
Earth movements also were felt around Wellington, New Zealand, and in northwestern Oklahoma.
Tropical cyclones
More than 800 people were killed when Hurricane Matthew stormed across Hispaniola as a Category-4 storm. It went on to lash far eastern Cuba, the Bahamas and parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
• Tropical Storm Nicole formed south of Bermuda.
• Typhoon Chaba reached a record Category-5 force near Okinawa before killing seven in South Korea.
Plastic junk food
Plastic pollution has become so pervasive in the world’s oceans that a new study finds even creatures living in some of the greatest ocean depths are feeding on microplastic debris.
Researchers from the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford say they found the pollution had been ingested by hermit crabs, squat lobsters and sea cucumbers, living from 1,000 to 6,000 feet in depth.
“This result astonished me and is a real reminder that plastic pollution has truly reached the furthest ends of the Earth,” geochemist Laura Robinson said.
Seahorse ban
Thailand, the world’s biggest exporter of seahorses, announced it is suspending the lucrative trade because of concerns over the animal’s wild population.
Seahorses are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, and are prized by home aquarium owners. Thailand says its goal is to make seahorse exports “sustainable.”
Cyclone weed
Zimbabwe farmers say they are fighting a losing battle against an invasive weed that many believe was blown into the country by Cyclone Eline in 2000.
Plant experts think that the feathery, light green shrub is probably Vernonanthura phosphorica, a species native to Brazil that may have been brought into neighboring Mozambique during the 1990s to attract bees.
Thousands of acres in Zimbabwe are now blanketed by the plant.
“It grows so fast, and its seeds are very light and spread far and wide. It will soon take over everything,” farmer Stella Mwareya told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.