EARTHWEEK
Pollen pollution
Vast sheets of pollen have blown across parts of the European landscape this spring, triggering allergy problems for those already suffering from the COVID-19 health crisis.
Images on social media and television have shown layers of yellow pollen reducing visibility in Spain, and Switzerland’s Lake Geneva ringed with yellow from the pollen that had fallen on the water and collected along the shoreline.
Strong winds blowing over vast tracts of olive orchards and other crops that stretch across southern Spain carried the pollen for long distances.
Earthquakes
Two people were killed and 38 others were injured when
Tehran was jolted by a sharp quake, centered just east of the Iranian capital, that sent residents fleeing their homes in panic.
• Earth movements were also felt in greater Rome, eastern Nepal, western India, North Korea, metropolitan Tokyo and interior Southern California
Amazon losses
Satellite observations by Brazil’s space agency, INPE, confirm that deforestation in the Amazon rainforest rose sharply as the coronavirus crisis deepened in the country during April.
The health emergency has prevented many officials in charge of preventing the practice from being in the field to thwart illegal logging and land clearing. INPE says that losses in Brazil’s portion of the Amazon soared by 64% during the month, with 465 square miles lost.
Despite supporting policies that have encouraged farmers, ranchers and loggers to clear Amazon land to help the economy, President Jair Bolsonaro has authorized the deployment of the armed forces to deter the practices.
The body electric
Israeli researchers say they have found a link between the extremely low frequencies of electrical activity in most living creatures and the electrical fields that prevail in the atmosphere.
Tel Aviv University scientists say their findings challenge beliefs about electrical activity in living organisms and could lead to new treatments for ailments such as Parkinson’s and epilepsy.
Lead researcher Colin Price says it is difficult to tell the difference between cellular electrical activity in some animals and the background electrical field produced by lightning.
Speedy voyagers
Birding enthusiasts used GPS to track a pair of common cuckoos as the faster one made an epic 4,500-mile journey from East Africa to China in just seven days.
Banyan reached China’s Yunnan province on May 8 while Onon paused briefly in northeastern India to rest.
Both, and others of their species, are in a race to reach their summer breeding grounds in eastern Mongolia, where they will compete with others for the best spots to raise their young.
Covid heat
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the unusually hot and dry conditions predicted to bake many European cities this summer will be especially dangerous because of the coronavirus lockdowns.
It warns both the general population of Europe and its health professionals to be prepared for the prospect of heat stroke and other heat-related ailments that may occur this summer.