Biting light
Diary of the planet
The expansion of light pollution across the world’s landscapes could be disrupting the winter dormancy period for mosquitoes and extending the insects’ “biting season.” Researchers from Ohio State University say exposure to artificial light may delay the insects’ dormancy period, causing them to bite humans and animals later into the fall. “This could be bad for mammals in the short term because mosquitoes are potentially biting us later in the season,” said lead researcher Matthew Wolkoff. But he adds it could also keep the insects from preparing for winter dormancy, reducing their survival rate.
Earthquakes
Two quakes near China’s border with Myanmar injured 10 people and caused sizable damage.
Earth movements were also felt in central South Korea, Okinawa, northern Papua New Guinea, the west-central Philippines, India’s Jammu and Kashmir territory and in a swarm along the CaliforniaMexico border.
Hotter heat
Warnings of another Northern Hemisphere summer of record heat grew louder, with the World Meteorological Organization saying the world should prepare for a developing El Niño and its contribution to even hotter months ahead. The U.N. weather agency now says there is a 60 percent chance that El Niño will develop by the end of July and an 80 percent chance it will arrive by the end of September. The occasional warming of the tropical Pacific typically increases heat worldwide, meaning 2023 could easily become the hottest on record should it develop. Globally, ocean temperatures already hit a record high for the month of April. It’s feared that warmer oceans could trigger more severe storms, melt ice caps faster and cause other harmful environmental effects.
Fungal fears
Scientists are sounding the alarm over the growing threat fungal attacks pose to some of the world’s key crops and the possibility they could lead to a “global health catastrophe.” A team from Britain’s University of Exeter warns that diseasecausing strains of fungus appear to have acquired resistance to antifungals. This means it could become increasingly difficult to combat such diseases as rice blast fungus, wheat stem rust and corn smut. They add that global heating could increase the heat tolerance of the fungi, possibly leading to human and animal infections.
Tropical bloom
Recent research into Tropical Cyclone Oma’s 10-day nearly stationary spin over the Coral Sea in February 2019 finds that it churned up nutrients from the deep to feed a record algal bloom in a region normally devoid of marine life.
Twilight starvation
The warming of the world’s oceans could significantly reduce marine life in the deepest parts of the seas that are reached by sunlight, known as the “twilight zone.” In the last warm periods of Earth’s history, fewer organisms lived in depths between 200 meters and 1,000 meters because bacteria broke down food near the surface more quickly, keeping it from sinking to the twilight zone. “The rich variety of twilight zone life evolved in the last few million years, when ocean waters had cooled enough to act rather like a fridge, preserving the food for longer, and improving conditions allowing life to thrive,” said Katherine Crichton, from the University of Exeter.
Wolf summit
A German “wolf summit” convened in the state of Bavaria to allow farmers, conservationists and politicians to discuss the future of the animal amid worries that the canine’s population is becoming too large. Wolves are strictly protected in the European Union, but farmers want permission to shoot them following a series of recent deadly attacks on livestock. After being nearly extinct at the end of the 19th century, German wolf numbers have grown to at least 160 packs of eight to 12 animals each, thanks to the EU protections since 1990. After the summit, Bavaria’s MinisterPresident Markus Söder said wolves can now be “removed” if they attack even once.