EARTH WATCH

Diary of the planet

Light pollution

Soaring energy costs and changing work patterns due to the pandemic have resulted in a drop in the amount of light polluting the night sky, at least in Britain. The Guardian reports that a survey by the rural charity CPRE found that amateur stargazers have for the past two years been enjoying better views of the heavens. It points to homes and local agencies switching off artificial lights due to high power bills, and businesses not turning on as many lights because employees are working from home. CPRE advocates for legal protection of the night sky, asking local agencies to place streetlights where they won’t cause needless pollution, harming wildlife.

Earthquakes

A long stretch of central Japan’s Pacific coast was jolted by a quake, centered well offshore.

• Earth movements were also felt in Fiji, central New Zealand, coastal Peru, southwestern Guatemala, southwestern

Iceland and the desert resorts of Southern California.

Rare and red

Panamanian researchers say they have discovered a dazzling red salamander in one of the country’s cloud forests that is new to science. The amphibian was dubbed the Chiriquí fire salamander (Bolitoglossa cathyledecae) after it was found in La Amistad International Park, which Panama shares with Costa Rica. Its Talamanca mountain range is one of the least-explored regions of Central America.

Writing in the journal Zootaxa, the researchers say it is different from other members of its genus because of its color, webbed feet and large number of upper teeth. The salamander lives in a very small highaltitude habitat in the park.

Deadly heat

South Asia’s blistering heat wave worsened, with temperatures soaring to above 51 degrees Celsius (123.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Pakistan. The heat is evaporating water supplies and causing misery among those who have to work outdoors. “It’s like fire burning all around,” Jacobabad, Pakistan, laborer Shafi Mohammed told AFP. Farmers in the Cholistan Desert report that some of their sheep have died from heatstroke and dehydration. But relief could be on the way, with cooling monsoon rains predicted to initially reach southern India earlier than normal on Friday.

Pollution kills

Approximately 1 in 10 premature deaths worldwide during 2019 were linked to pollution, according to a new report by the Lancet Commission. It says 9 million people died during the year due to breathing toxic outside air and from lead poisoning. Pollution is an “existential threat to human health and planetary health, and jeopardizes the sustainability of modern societies,” the report concludes. While pollution rarely kills immediately, it does trigger heart disease, cancer, respiratory problems, diarrhea and other serious illnesses, according to the report.

Nature’s victims

The coastlines, forests and wetlands of southern Ukraine have suffered untold destruction and contamination by Russia’s war on the country. The bombardments and missile attacks have inflicted damage to wildlife and the environment that will take decades to recover once the war ends, according to Yevhenia Zasiadko of the Ukrainian environmental organization Ecoaction. “We are seeing a frightening amount of landscape damage,” Zasiadko told Spain’s RTVE. Russia’s military has targeted many of Ukraine’s mines, refineries, fuel depots and chemical plants, polluting the surrounding areas.

Tropical cyclones

Cyclone Yakecan downed trees and power lines, and whipped up pounding seas as it lashed Uruguay and southern Brazil.

Tropical Storms are rare in South America and never formed before 2000. Catarina in 2004 has been the only hurricane ever recorded in the South Atlantic.

• Tropical storm Gina drenched parts of Vanuatu.