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France
Curfews Imposed
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced Paris and other French cities will be subject to a night-time curfew beginning this weekend in efforts to curb a very sharp rise in cases of COVID-19 in the country in recent days and weeks. The Ile-de-France region along with the cities of Aix-en-Provence – Marseille, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Rouen, Saint-Etienne, and Toulouse will all be subject to the nightly curfew between 9:00pm and 6:00am and will last for at least four weeks. This map by AFP shows where the new measures are being implemented. The latest restrictions will affect around 20 million people out of France’s total population of 67 million. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, France has confirmed almost 780,000 positive cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began with just over 33,000 deaths.
This map depicts the nine large urban centers in France where nightly curfews will be implemented over the coming weeks. Click on the map to learn more.
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Japan
Releasing Contaminated Water
Media reports state Japan has decided to release over one million tons of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. Disposing of the contaminated water has been an ongoing issue for Japan as the country moves forward with its decades-long decommissioning project of the nuclear plant following the 2011 tsunami. On Friday, Industry minister Hiroshi Kajiuama announced while no official decision has been made on what will be done with the water, they will move forward with a plan of action quickly. Releasing the water into the sea could take up to two years as it would first need to pass through a filtration system, to remove all harmful radioactive particles. Environmental and fishing groups oppose the idea but many scientists say the risk it would pose is low.
This map depicts the location of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, where the contaminated water is currently being stored. Click on the map to expand.
Click here to learn more about our upcoming Fall Symposium Geography 2050: The Future of the World Ocean.
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Graphic Source: New York Times
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World
Early Human Extinction Caused by Climate Change
According to a new study, much of the human species went extinct as a result of climate change. We, Homo sapiens, are the last survivors of at least six different species of early humans. The research used climate modeling combined with fossil records to better analyze what might have caused previous extinctions and noticed a correlation between warming or cooling climates and early humans’ inability to adapt. The findings suggest that regardless of the innovations of the time – fire, stone tools, social networks – past Homo species could not endure intense climate change. Our early extinct ancestors migrated to warmers areas when the climate got colder, however, it was not enough to ensure survival. The evidence from the research suggests three human species lost a large portion of their climate niche right before going extinct.
This graphic depicts map projections of the climatic niches of the different species. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: The largest reported luminous marine phenomenon known as “milky seas” or “mareel” was located off the coast of which country?
A: Somalia
Reported by sailors for centuries, “milky seas” remained mostly unexplained by scientists or were dismissed as tales. Also called “mareel”, scientists now believe milky seas are caused by bioluminescent bacteria, trillions of them, that live throughout the water column from the surface to the seafloor. In 1995, a report from the steamship Lima provided scientists with the best evidence of the marine phenomenon. While sailing off the coast of Somalia the ship’s captain noted a whitish glow on the sea, giving the impression of turning to “a field of snow”. Using satellite imagery of the area from the report sighted day, scientists saw the first confirmed view of a bioluminescent milky sea which covered an area the size of the state of Connecticut, or 15,000 sq km (5791.5 sq mi).
Source
Click here to learn more about our upcoming Fall Symposium Geography 2050: The Future of the World Ocean.
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Q: Covering an area of roughly between 8100 sq. km (3127.4 sq mi) and 8300 sq. km (3204.6 sq mi), which ice cap holds the title of being Europe’s largest?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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