Earthweek: a diary of the planet

2022 year in review.

A plastic world

Microplastics now pollute the wind, the planet’s deepest oceans and its most pristine mountain summits. Dutch researchers said they also detected trace amounts of it in the blood samples of 17 out of 22 volunteers.

Water cycle surge

The movement of water between clouds, land and the ocean has intensified at twice the rate earlier predicted due to climate change. A report in the journal Nature said rising global temperatures have made this process more extreme, with water moving away from already drier regions toward wetter ones. This is driving more severe droughts in some areas while intensifying heavy rainfall and the resulting flood disasters in others. Two to four times more fresh water has shifted since 1970 than climate models had predicted.

Higher tides

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that sea levels along the East Coast will be about 12 inches higher by 2050, double the amount that has occurred in the past century. The rise is predicted to cause further coastal flooding in New York, Boston and Miami.

Bird flu

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza killed untold millions of wild birds in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. It also forced the culling of hundreds of millions of poultry worldwide. The virus can spread quickly in droppings from passing wild birds and is easily spread on shoes and vehicles traveling to and between farms. In the wild, seabirds have been among the greatest victims of the virus.

History’s hottest

The summer drought and heat in China became the most severe ever recorded in the world. The nearly stationary heat dome lasted longer than any other and forced factories to shutter, threatening further supply chain disruptions. China’s autumn harvest may have been lost, which could worsen the already acute global food crisis. “There is nothing in world climatic history that is even minimally comparative to what (happened) in China,” said climatologist Maximiliano Herrera.

South Asia disasters

Deadly heat that baked India and Pakistan during May was followed in summer by unprecedented flooding that submerged one-third of Pakistan. Heavy monsoon rains coupled with a record glacial melt led to inundations that washed away entire villages, as well as roads, bridges and rail networks.

Tonga blast

The most powerful volcanic eruption since the Krakatoa cataclysm of 1883 ravaged Tonga on Jan. 15, with huge amounts of ash and large tsunami waves that also rushed across the Pacific, killing four in Peru. The undersea eruption blasted large amounts of water, vapor and debris high into the stratosphere and sent atmospheric shock waves around the world.