La Palma Volcanic eruption
What are the social and economic impacts of the eruption?
Where is La Palma located?
When did the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupt?
Coastal Protection Pulau Ubin
Why is there a need for coastal protection?
What are the hard and soft engineering measures used?
How do the measures help to protect the coastal areas?
800 trees and shrubs were planted to restore and enhance the Kranji coastal site
click on the image for higher resolution
Protecting the biodiversity of Mangrove in Pulau Ubin - watch the video here
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/coastal-protection-projects-build-resilience-singapores-coastlines-pulau-ubin-2201021
Pulau Ubin Virtual Tour
Look at how crabs are caught from the mangrove
Earthquake in Melbourne 22 Sep 2021
Why is the earthquake unusual?
Why is the earthquake damaging?
What cause aftershocks and why is it damaging?
What are the short term and long term responses to earthquakes?
Heatwave in Europe
Italy recorded a temperatures of 48.8 degree Celsius in Sicily on Wed 8 Aug 2021.
Why are temperatures higher in Europe between July and August?
What are the impacts of heatwave?
Where are the areas affected by the heatwave in August 2021?
What can be done to mitigate climate change?
How can we play a part in mitigating climate change?
Wild fires on the rise
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58130893.amp
Read the IPCC report on climate change which warns of increasing temperatures, extreme heatwaves, droughts and flooding.
IPCC report key points
- Global surface temperature was 1.09C higher in the decade between 2011-2020 than between 1850-1900.
- The past five years have been the hottest on record since 1850
- The recent rate of sea level rise has nearly tripled compared with 1901-1971
- Human influence is "very likely" (90%) the main driver of the global retreat of glaciers since the 1990s and the decrease in Arctic sea-ice
- It is "virtually certain" that hot extremes including heatwaves have become more frequent and more intense since the 1950s, while cold events have become less frequent and less severe
Almost every nation on Earth signed up to the goals of the Paris climate agreement in 2015. The pact aims to keep the rise in global temperatures well below 2 degree Celsius this century and to pursue efforts to keep it under 1.5 degree Celsius.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58130705
Green efforts in the community
Solar panels and hydroponics on the rooftop of our school in Punggol.
Why is Green efforts essential in our community?
How does this effort helped us to fulfil energy reset and a resilient future under Green Plan 2030?
https://www.greenplan.gov.sg/key-focus-areas/resilient-future/
Total electricity generated from the solar panel in the last eight months could power 1197 4 room flats! Reduction of 174 tons (157,850kg) of carbon emission!
Solar panels on top of HDB block in Sengkang.
The plants on the exterior of the buildings in this nursing home in Hougang would definitely reduce the heat absorbed. One way to reduce urban heat in the area as well as cooling the interior.
Water Crisis Mekong River
Watch the video on how dams activity and climate change threatened the livelihood of fishermen in Cambodia.
What is to be blamed for the decline in the water level in
Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, Tonle Sap in Cambodia?Station readings at the lake recorded a level of just 3.86m on 31 Aug, 2021 which is nearly 1m lower than in 2020 and about half the normal average at this time of the year.Upstream dams, constructed along the upper Mekong river in Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and China - where the river is known as Lancang - withholding water are a contributing factor to the lower levels of flow into the lake.
Data from the Mekong Dam Monitor, an online platform that tracks indicators in the Mekong basin, shows that more than 12 billion cubic metres of water have been held back by 45 upstream dams since early July.Climate change is also creating havoc with the timing and intensity of the monsoon season, further disrupting the natural behaviours of the lake system and decimating agriculture in Cambodia.What are the impacts of declining water level?
Environmental and Ecological impacts
Increase in storage, reduced rainfall volume and timing of the monsoon rains affecting the volume and timing of the reverse flows into the Tonle Sap.Increased fishing pressures, pollution, reduced sediment transport and barriers to fish migration, poses an existential threat to the Lower Mekong River ecosystems.
Social impacts Millions of people rely on the Tonle Sap lake for their livelihoods and survival. The situation has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.Fishing is no longer the viable income-earner it once was, with locals forced to move to urban areas for low-paying and notoriously difficult construction work.At the same time, migrant workers who normally do construction jobs in neighbouring Thailand have been forced to return to their local communities, only to find that the situation is desperate.Illegal fishing and the grabbing of land around flooded forest areas are compounding the problems.https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/tonle-sap-cambodia-mekong-low-water-level-dams-2161036
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