Ecological Problems

Ecological Problems

Increased emissions of greenhouse gases have caused temperatures to rise, which are causing catastrophic events all over the world – from Australia and the US experiencing some of the most devastating bushfire seasons ever recorded, locusts swarming across parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, decimating crops, scientists warning that the planet has crossed a series of tipping points that could have catastrophic consequences, microplastic being found in Antarctic ice for the first time, a heatwave in Antarctica that saw temperatures rise above 20 degrees for the first time, warnings of advancing permafrost melt in Arctic regions, the Greenland ice sheet melting at an unprecedented rate, news of the accelerating sixth mass extinction, increasing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, warnings of air pollution exacerbating the spread of COVID-19, China experiencing its worst floods in decades, methane levels rising to their highest on record, Canada’s last intact ice shelf collapsing, a national park in the US recording the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth, 13% of deaths in the EU being linked to various forms of pollution, a report saying that population sizes of wildlife have experienced an average decline of 68% since 1970 and record-breaking wildfires in California that have blocked out the sun – and these are just a fraction of the events.