Geography

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

Typhoon Phanfone hit Philippines on 25 Dec 2019.



Map showing damage caused by Typhoon Phanfone in the Philippines. (Graphic: AFP/John Saeki)

Death toll was as high as 41 on 29 Dec 2019.

Why is the Philippines prone to typhoons?
What are the environmental, economic and social impacts brought by typhoons?
How can the damage be mitigated?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50913965

About 200,000 domestic and international tourists cancelled or postponed their trip to the Taj Mahal in India in the past two weeks, one of the world's most popular tourist attractions. There has been a 60 per cent decline in tourist arrival in India in December 2019 following a number of protests since the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Acts on 12 Dec.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/india-citizenship-protest-ourists-taj-mahal-agra-attractions-12218158

The protests in Hong Kong triggered by the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill by the Hong Kong government in March had also affected tourism, causing unemployment to many in the industry. Tourist arrivals fell by 43.7% compared to Oct last year.

https://amp.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3041035/i-am-despair-hard-times-hong-kongs-tourism-workers




What has caused the decline in the tourist arrival in India and Hong Kong?

What are the impacts on tourism?

Volcanic island eruption on White Island, New Zealand, 9 Dec 2019 has proven fatal, killing 19  with 2 still missing and several hospitalised with severe burns. 

The volcano attracts as many as 10,000 tourists every year.

What are the risks involved in visiting a volcano?

Why do you think many tourists visit the volcano despite the risks?

How can the damage be mitigated?


Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/new-zealand-volcano-eruption-disaster-adventure-tourism-12181694?cid=h3_referral_inarticlelinks_24082018_cna

Watch the video which shows the occurrence of earthquakes in Indonesia.

Where are most of the earthquakes found? Observe the boundary of the different tectonic plates at the start of the video.

What cause earthquake?

Why does the depth of focus differ from the plate boundaries? Especially along the subduction zone?

How does the magnitude and depth of earthquakes affect the extent of damage?