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France
Pension Protests Continue
French workers have continued to protest, with a mass demonstration in Paris currently underway, over changes to pension eligibility pushed through by French President, Emmanuel Macron. Macron’s centrist government enacted a law to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 through a constitutional measure that avoided putting the law to a vote last week. Strikes are being carried out by many workers, including teachers, transport workers, refinery workers, and most observably to the public, sanitation workers, whose refusal to remove garbage from certain areas has left mounds of rotting trash in Paris. France’s aging population has placed the government in a challenging position, as pensions are paid from a decreasing number of active workers to support an increasing number of pensioners.
This map depicts the planned route for today’s mass demonstration by French workers protesting changes to the pension age enacted by the government of Emmanuel Macron last week. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Barron’s
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United States
Tornados Strike LA County
The weeks-long stretch of stormy weather affecting California caused at least two tornados to break out in Los Angeles County this week. A weak tornado, only measuring EF0 on the Fujita scale, was confirmed in Carpinteria on Tuesday and caused minimal damage. That was followed by a stronger funnel cloud, an EF2, that struck Montebello late Wednesday morning. The Montebello tornado lasted 2-3 minutes, damaging several buildings. Tornados are unusual in southern California, though not completely unknown. They typically form and dissipate quickly and don’t cause much damage.
This map depicts the location where an unusual EF2 tornado struck near Montebello in California’s Los Angeles County late Wednesday morning. Click on the map to learn more.
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Panama
Spike in Darien Gap Migrants
The Darien jungle, covering the border between Panama and Colombia, is seeing a surge in migrants so far this year as it has gone from previously being a route for mainly adult migrants to hosting whole families fleeing from poverty, violence, and lack of work. By the end of 2023, more than 300,000 migrants are projected to cross the jungle, of whom over 60,000 could be minors, compared to the 40,438 who entered Panama in 2022. Last year, a record 248,000 migrants crossed the Darien Gap, most of them Venezuelans seeking to reach the United States; however, many were sent back to Panama and left stranded. Migrants traveling via the gap not only face the physical challenges of the jungle, but also exploitation and violence from gangs and paramilitary groups.
This map depicts the overland route to the United States, emphasizing the 60-mile route through the Darien Gap jungle on the border between Panama and Colombia. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What South American desert region is so barren some parts have never recorded rainfall?
A: Norte Grande, Chile
The great northern desert of “Norte Grande” is located in northern Chile and makes up one of four distinct geographic zones within the country. Norte Grande covers 25 percent of Chile’s mainland territory, and yet is home to just five percent of the population. The region is considered one of the world’s driest, most barren areas on the planet, and is home to the Atacama Desert. While some parts of Norte Grande have never received rainfall, the inhospitable region is rich in mineral deposits that fuel Chile’s economy. The largest and second-deepest open pit copper mine in the world, the Chuquicamata, is located here, along with the majority of mining in the country, including gold, silver, iron, and coal. Chile is the top copper producer in the world, with a 29 percent share of the total global copper production.
Source
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Q: An eruption 30,000 years ago from what still-active volcano in Bali is one of the largest known volcanic events on Earth?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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