Geography

Mt Everest is growing taller! 

Visit this website to find out more!

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/08/944152693/everest-gets-a-growth-spurt-as-china-nepal-revise-official-elevation-upward

Where is Mt Everest located?

What is the height of Mt Everest now in metres?

How was the height measured?

What cause Mt Everest to grow taller?

Why does the earthquake in 2015 cause it to be shorter?

Learn how Maths play a part in Geography. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/indianexpress.com/article/explained/how-to-measure-a-mountain-7103688/lite/

Read the following article on food waste in Singapore and how cutting down on food waste and supporting local produce can help in mitigating climate change.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/calls-to-change-eating-habits-and-overhaul-in-food-supply-chain-to-cut-singapores-food

What contributes to food waste?

Health of forest can affect the health of human civilisation.

With deforestation, many of the animals are forced out of the forest into marginal habitats which are in closer and more frequent contact with people, 

More than two-thirds of zoonotic diseases are known to come from wild animals. 

Deforestation also contribute to climate change and increases the risk of disease emergence by pushing animals and the vectors (e.g. insects) that can transmit viruses into new regions that have not encountered those pathogens previously.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/covid-19-why-saving-our-forests-can-help-stop-next-pandemic-12688524

21 typhoons with greater intensities hit the Philippines this year.

Read more @

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/climatechange/philippines-typhoon-climate-change-haiyan-goni-vamco-13525650

How does higher temperatures lead to greater amount of rain brought by the typhoon?

As global temperatures increase, so does the ability of the atmosphere to hold water vapour. The air can hold about 7 per cent more water vapour for every single degree rise. It means heavier rains being deposited over a typhoon’s path.

The latest typhoon which hit the Philippines is Vamco.

Why are developing countries more vulnerable in facing natural disasters such as typhoons?

How does climate change contribute to more extreme weather?

Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 resulted in a loss of 6000 lives in the Philippines.

What can be done to mitigate climate change?

 Watch the video on efforts for food security in Singapore

What is food security?

Why is food security important?

Who is involved in ensuring food security in Singapore?

How can ensure food security in Singapore?

 

Earlier post on Food Security in Singapore

http://olevelgeog.blogspot.com/2020/02/food-security-in-singapore.html

From January to June, 66 per cent year-on-year drop in the January to June period to 6.69 million visitors. Spending by foreign tourists was 332 billion baht (US$10.54 billion), down 65 per cent from a year earlier. 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/covid-19-coronavirus-thai-tourist-arrivals-12972274

Where are the areas affected
Who are affected?
Why does the outbreak of disease affect tourism?
What are the impacts?

What is extreme weather?
How is extreme weather associated with climate change?
Who are affected by extreme weather?
Where are the areas affected by extreme weather?

Floods caused by the Monsoon affecting South and Southeast Asia in 2020

Torrential rain in China resulted in more than 19,380,000 affected and 121 people dead or missing as at 3 July 2020. Dikes and dams collapsed, aggravating the flood.




Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on 12 Oct 2019, bringing the worst storm in 60 decades with torrential rainfall and strong winds. More than 7 millions affected with warning of floods and landslides.
Heavy rain and flood in Japan July 2020

Will the diverging plates in Africa results in the rift valley flooded?

A good article which present the risks and benefits living near volcanoes

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3091566/shadow-indonesias-active-volcanoes-life-goes

Why do people continue to live in areas threatened by volcanic eruptions?
Where are most of the volcanoes located?
What are the risks associated with living near volcanoes?
How can the risks be mitigated?

The number of visitors to Singapore plummeted to a historic low of 748 in April, which is a near 100 per cent drop from the 1.6 million tourists that came in the same month last year 2019 since the ban on short-term visitors was put in place on 24 March 2020.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/visitor-arrivals-to-singapore-hit-historic-low-in-april?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=STFB&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1591281992

Border restriction to control the spread of COVID-19 has impacted on the tourist industry worldwide, this is especially so for business travellers and international conferencing with the rise of virtual online alternatives. 




Why does outbreak of disease affect tourism?
What are the other events which result in fluctuations in tourism?
Which event do you think has the most impact on tourism?

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/economic-cost-covid-19-singapore-business-closures-12791360

Tropical cyclone Amphan hit Bangladesh and eastern India on 20 May 2020. Strong winds up to 113km/hr and heavy rains pounded coastal villages and cities, bringing down power lines, uprooting trees and destroying homes. More than three million people are evacuated from low-lying areas and nine killed.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/super-cyclone-amphan-batters-bangladesh-and-india-12753974

Where are the areas affected by Tropical cyclone Amphan?
How is a tropical cyclone formed?
When did Amphan make landfall?
What are the impacts of the tropical cyclone?
Why does a tropical cyclone result in storm surge?
How can the impacts be mitigated?

The map below shows the active volcanoes on 15 May 2020.

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-activity/news/103699/Volcanic-activity-worldwide-15-May-2020-Fuego-volcano-Klyuchevskoy-Popocatepetl-Dukono-Katla-.html

Where are the active volcanoes located?
Why are volcanoes found in the areas shown?
What are risks brought by the eruption of volcanoes?
How can the risks be mitigated?

Dive into the heart of this volcano Masaya virtually.
https://www.ge.com/digitalvolcano/

Where are the areas most affected by climate change?
What are the impacts of climate change?
How can the impacts be mitigated?

Antarctica experienced its hottest day on record at 64.9 degrees Fahrenheit, causing snow melt. The heatwave melted 20% of an islands snow in 9 days! The melt water contribute to rise in sea level.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/24/world/antarctica-heat-wave-melt-february-trnd/index.html?utm_source=fbCNN&utm_content=2020-02-24T21%3A30%3A27&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link

People living on an island in the Philippines cope with rising sea level due to climate change.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/22/world/asia/philippines-climate-change-batasan-tubigon.htmlManilaJakarta

My earlier post on food security in Singapore.
http://olevelgeog.blogspot.com/2019/02/ensuring-food-security-in-sinhapore.html?m=1

Update 23 May 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-23/how-singapore-plans-to-survive-world-s-impending-food-crisis

What is food security?
Who is responsible in ensuring food security?
Why is it important to ensure food security?
How can we ensure food security?

SFA (Singapore food agency) ensure supply of food and food security. It was combined from AVA, NEA and HSA (health science authority) food testing labs.

One of the measures is to diversify our source for imports of food products.


https://thekopi.co/2020/02/11/national-stockpiles-explained/

https://www.sfa.gov.sg/images/default-source/section-content/food/foodsource.jpg
https://www.asiaone.com/health/where-does-singapore-source-its-food (good article discussing food safety too though it's not as current)

Another measures is through stockpiling. Importers of rice are required to maintain a prescribed quantity of rice before they are given a license. Currently, that prescribed quantity amounts to two months worth of imports stored in a private warehouse designated by the government.



https://www.enterprisesg.gov.sg/e-services/rice-stockpile-scheme/rice-stockpile-scheme

One other measure is to achieve 30% of our food produced locally by 2030 (3030).



My earlier post on Fish farm in Singapore:
http://olevelgeog.blogspot.com/2019/11/new-fish-farm-in-singapore.html?m=1

Geographical update of the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus which started in Wuhan, China.
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Another real time update map


When was the first case of 2019 novel coronavirus (detected in Singapore?
Where are the areas affected?
Who are affected by the virus?
How does the virus affect the health of the people?
What is the difference between a epidemic and a pandemic?
https://www.wonderwall.sg/health/outbreak-endemic-epidemic-pandemic-whats-the-difference/








https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/topics/wuhan-virus?cid=cna-sghome_wuhan_virus_outbreak_mobile_22012020_cna

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-hnk-intl-01-26-20/index.html

Advisories from various government sectors in Singapore
https://www.moh.gov.sg/2019-ncov-wuhan/advisories-for-various-sectors

More from ST interactive https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/2020/01/wuhan-virus-what-we-know/index.html?shell

The good from the outbreak.

Something good from the coronavirus outbreak.
1. Less pollution and reduction of carbon emission as some cities lockdown.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sciencealert.com/here-s-what-covid-19-is-doing-to-our-pollution-levels

https://www.smart-energy.com/industry-sectors/business-finance-regulation/carbon-emissions-impacted-by-covid-19/


https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00758-2

It is the worst outbreak of desert locusts in Kenya with hundreds of millions of the bugs swarm into the East African nation from Somalia and Ethiopia eating up corn, sorghum and cowpeas. The locust destroyed farmland and threatened an already vulnerable region with devastating hunger.

Locust invasion is the biggest in Ethiopia and Somalia in 25 years, and the biggest in Kenya in 70 years. Climate change has contributed to ‘exceptional’ breeding conditions for the locust.



Where are the areas affected by the locusts?
Who are affected by the invasion of the locusts?
Why does the locust threaten food security?
What other factors cause food shortage in Uganda and East Africa?

Droughts resulted in water crisis and affected crop production in Thailand and South Africa.

Watch the video below on the eruption of the Taal volcano in the Philippines


Read the article on the link below to find out how the people responded to the eruption.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/taal-volcano-photos-towns-covered-ash-philippines-12259304

Where are the areas affected?
When did this take place?
Who are affected?
How has climate change intensified the Australian forest fire?
What are the environmental, social and economic impacts?

The fires have not only released vast amounts of carbon dioxide and soot, but the unusual extent of the blazes means regrowth is likely to be slower than in previous years. That will reduce the amount of vegetation available to act as a carbon sink, meaning less carbon dioxide is removed from the air.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/24/australian-bushfires-will-cause-jump-in-co2-in-atmosphere-say-scientists

Watch the video on the flood which affected Jakarta Indonesia.


When did the flood occur?
Who are affected by the flood?
Where does the flooding occur?
Why does flooding occur?
What are the impacts of the flood?
How can flooding be mitigated?

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/indonesia-jakarta-flooding-death-toll-rises-12226556