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Germany
Chemical Plant Explodes
An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in Germany killed at least one person yesterday morning, with 16 injured and four still missing. The explosion in Leverkusen, near Cologne, caused a fire that took over four hours to bring under control. At the time of the explosion, local residents were instructed to stay inside and turn off all air conditioning units fed by outside air. There are still mixed reports about whether the air is safe near the explosion site, but firefighters in Cologne have confirmed the air is safe in the city about 8 miles (about 13 km) away. More than 30 companies operate at the Chempark site in Leverkusen, including Covestro, Bayer, Lanxess, and Arlanxeo, according to its website.
This map depicts the location of a chemical plant explosion in Leverkusen, Germany. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: CBC News
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South China Sea
UK Warship in South China Sea
On Tuesday, the United Kingdom's aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth entered the disputed South China Sea en route to Singapore, where it is now docked, despite warnings from China. The HMS Queen Elizabeth is Britain’s largest military vessel, capable of holding up to 40 military aircraft. The Chinese military is said to have held drills in preparation for the move, in case of any escalation. The South China Sea is a disputed territory, with China claiming ownership of most of the sea in defiance of international rulings. The UK, United States, and Australia routinely conduct freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea to challenge China’s claims to ownership.
This map depicts territorial claims in the South China Sea. Click on the map to learn more.
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World
Earths Vital Signs Worsening
A coalition of nearly 14,000 scientists led by two researchers at Oregon State University have announced that Earth's key vital signs are severely worsening. The researchers track 31 indicators of the planets health including population, energy consumption, rising temperatures, sea ice loss, and others. They credit worsening climate disasters like flooding, wildfires, and heatwaves, to “unrelenting business as usual.” Other threatening vital signs include more than 4 billion ruminant livestock, increasing annual forest loss in the Amazon, ocean acidification, and April 2021 having the highest monthly global average carbon dioxide concentration ever recorded. The researchers are calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels, biodiversity protection, the creation of climate reserves for carbon storage, and a global price for carbon to encourage widespread decarbonization.
This map depicts the land-ocean temperature index anomaly in June 2021 relative to the 1951 to 1980 period. Click on the map to learn more.
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This World Water Conflict Chronology Map was created by Resource Watch, experts of data visualization. Each point on the map depicts where a conflict over water occurred between 3000 BC and 2019. Clicking on the points reveals further information.
In the late 1980s, The Pacific Institute started to record water related conflicts, violence, military maneuvers, or other shows of force. Resource Watch used their data to display the geographic locations of each event with this map. They categorized conflicts into three groups based on the nature of the water in the conflict: trigger, when water is the origin of the conflict; weapon, when water is used as the weapon of the conflict; and casualty, when water is the target of violence
This map epitomizes “Maps Do it Better.” This data set was created with the goal of better understanding the dynamics between water as a resource, conflict, and international security. Water, while often not treated as such, is a human right. Mapping out water-related conflicts helps visualize where these types of problems are, what caused them, what mitigation efforts can be taken, and other geospatial connections. This map demonstrates how maps are critical tools for better comprehension, innovation, and problem-solving for all types of global challenges. To learn more about Resource Watch, read our latest Company Spotlight.
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Q: Which reservoir, the second largest in the U.S. storing 24,322,000 acre-feet (3.0001.1010 m3) of water at its peak capacity, has fallen to its lowest level ever recorded this year?
A: Lake Powell
Spanning northern Arizona and Utah, Lake Powell is the second largest reservoir on the Colorado River. Droughts exacerbated by climate change have caused Lake Powell to fall in elevation about 3,550 ft (1080 m), hitting just 33% capacity.
Source
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Q: Covering around 169,000 square miles (438,000 km sq) and at around 40% salinity, where will you find the saltiest surface water in the world ocean?
Stay tuned for the answer to today's question in tomorrow's DailyGeo.
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