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World
Efficacy of Sinopharm Vaccine
The Seychelles, a country with one of the highest global vaccination rates, is experiencing the world’s largest per capita surge in COVID-19 cases in recent days. About a third of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week had been fully vaccinated, prompting an investigation into the outbreak by the World Health Organization (WHO). The Seychelles have relied primarily on the Sinopharm vaccine produced in China to inoculate their population, prompting concerns about the Sinopharm vaccine’s efficacy. Scientists are warning the use of vaccines with weaker efficacy rates in developing nations could lead to a disparity between rich and poor countries in fighting the pandemic. China has donated and distributed Sinophram vaccines to 87 countries, according to this map by Bridge, a Beijing-based consulting firm.
This map depicts the locations of countries that have purchased or received vaccines via donation from China. Click on the map to learn more.
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United States
Growing Climate Change Impacts
A new report from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed a range of environmental and day-to-day impacts from climate change in the United States. Year-round permafrost in Alaska has decreased, the Great Lakes have less ice cover in the winter, and heat waves in U.S. cities are increasing – all indicators of intensifying climate change. The yearly report was released Wednesday after having not been released since 2016. The new report marks the first time that the EPA has directly attributed the effects of climate change as at least partially driven by human causes. The report was drawn from data compiled across academia, nonprofits, and other government agencies.
This map depicts the parts of the United States seeing an increase in growing degree days, an indicator of climate change. Click on the map to learn more.
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World
France-sized Forest Regrowth
A two-year study completed in 2020 has found that an area of forest land equal to the size of France has regrown since 2000. The study, led by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as part of the Trillion Trees project, combined satellite imagining data and ground survey work across the world to identify areas where original forests that had been cut back by human activity had grown back naturally, without active planting. Areas seeing particular successes included the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, boreal forests of Mongolia, and parts of central Africa and Canada. But the world is still experiencing a net loss of forest land year over year, and last year in particular saw a sharp spike in deforestation. Scientists hope the results of the study will show the potential that regrown forests have to sequester greenhouse gases, as much as 5.9 gigatons of carbon dioxide in the new growth identified in the study.
This map depicts the areas of the world that have seen significant forest regrowth in a new study by the WWF. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: With an area of of approximately 500 square miles (1,300 sq km), what is the largest mesa in the world?
A: Grand Mesa
Located in the Grand Mesa National Forest in western Colorado, the Grand Mesa is a flat and wide mountain that stretches for 40 miles (64 km). The Spanish word for “table,” mesas are considered to be flat-topped mountains or hills with steep sides, and are most often wider than they are tall. Mesas are defined by their caprock, a type of durable rock that remains after processes of erosion washes away softer rock from the top of a hill.
Source
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Q: With a peak of more than 18,500 feet (5,600 m), the tallest mountain in Europe is located in what mountain chain?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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