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Afghanistan and Pakistan
Deadly Floods and Landslides
Seasonal rains have caused heavy flooding and landslides this week in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with at least 44 people killed. Flash floods hit Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, as well as the Maidan Wardak, and Ghazni provinces. The majority of casualties occurred in Kabul and Maidan Wardak. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed, along with hundreds of square miles of agricultural land. The flooding comes amid Afghanistan suffering its third consecutive year of drought, along with severe economic hardship and consequences of decades of war and natural disasters. Since the monsoon rains began on June 25, 101 people have died in Pakistan, according to the national disaster management authority.
This map depicts the regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan affected by this past week’s flash floods and landslides. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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Ukraine
Danube Ports Attacked
Russian drones attacked Ukrainian ports on the Danube River, destroying grain storage infrastructure and inflicting damage to the Black Sea port city of Odesa. Over 60,000 tons of grain were destroyed in a week. The attacks occurred after Russia pulled out of the grain deal, which caused an 8% rise in global grain prices. The situation has escalated tensions in the Black Sea, with Romanian President Klaus Yohannis condemning the attacks close to his country and expressing concerns about national and global food security. The bombardment on Odesa has led to fears of food supply disruptions for millions of people dependent on Ukrainian grain.
This map depicts the Ukrainian ports on the Danube River that were attacked by Russia. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: BBC
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World
Deep Sea Mining Rules by 2025
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) reached an agreement on Friday giving the United Nations-affiliated regulator a two-year roadmap for the adoption of deep sea mining regulations. Since July 9th, after the expiration of the 2021 regulations, the ISA has been obligated to consider licenses for potentially environmentally-devastating mining operations if governments request them. This goes beyond status quo, which previously only saw the granting of exploration permits. The deep sea mining sector has seen increased levels of interest, at the protest of conservationists. Organizations like the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, Greenpeace, and World Wildlife Fund argue the current roadmap does not reflect the rapidly growing level of concern and opposition to deep sea mining, calling for a moratorium on the practice. Next week, the ISA Assembly will discuss a “precautionary pause” on mining which is currently supported by 20 of its 167 member states.
This map depicts areas of seabed mining exploration licenses presently issued by the International Seabed Authority. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Covering an area of about 250,000 sq miles (650,000 sq km), what Arabian desert is the largest area of continuous sand in the world?
A: Rub’ al-Khali
The Rub’ al-Khali is part of the Arabian Desert, meaning “Empty Quarter” in Arabic. Mostly stretching across Saudi Arabia, the Rub’ al-Khali also extends to parts of the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Oman. With a varied topography, the desert features sand dunes, salt flats, gravel and gypsum plains, and can reach elevations as high as 2,000 ft (610 m) above sea level. Fossil remains and chipped flint tools have revealed human activity in the region dating as far back as 3,000 years ago. The desert is also home to many oil and natural gas reserves lying beneath the sand, including the largest oil field in the world, the Al-Ghawar, stretching mostly north-south for 160 miles (260 km) and containing billions of barrels of oil.
Source
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Q: What is the country with the highest level of biodiversity in the world?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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