Top Most Interesting Environmental Stories of NWN 2023

As the year 2023 draws to a close, we look into the most interesting stories that drove the environmental narrative.

Heat And Wildfires

The specter of wildfires casts a tremendous shadow in the annals of environmental issues as the world finds itself once again struggling with the blazing tempests that transform landscapes and lives in 2023.

Canada has struggled to address the wildfires, where more than 18.5 million hectares burned.

In August, a Northwest Territories settlement, as well as many other buildings from Nova Scotia to British Columbia's interior, were destroyed. Thousands of people were forced to flee across the country.

Wildfires convert Canada's enormous forests from a carbon sink to an emitter of carbon. This year's wildfires produced 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide, more than double the country's annual carbon footprint.

At least three firefighters were killed while fighting the country's wildfires.

In the US, at least 100 people were killed in the wildfire in Maui.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said a few days after the fires started that there was "very little left" of Lahaina, where more than 2,700 structures had been burned in what has now become the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.

Greece also suffered from deadly wildfires as Southern Europe battled challenging heat conditions, bringing intense heat to the country as well as Poland, Germany, and Spain.

The main drivers of wildfires are hot weather fueled by the oxygen in the air and dry leaves, grass, branches, and other organic materials.

2023 As The Hottest Year On Record

The global temperature in 2023 would be more than 1.4 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels.

Experts also claimed from June to August was the hottest season on record.

Hot temperatures resulted in heatwaves in major parts of the world.

According to meteorological reports, Asia is experiencing potentially deadly heatwaves. This is based on recent high temperatures in various nations, including Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Multiple fatalities have also been reported this year, especially in India's Uttar Pradesh state.

Read Also: 2023's Global Temperature Will Be More Than 1.4 Degrees Celsius Warmer Than Pre-Industrial Levels

Volcanic Activities

Various volcanic activities were also recorded this year.

After weeks of uncertainty, a volcano in southwest Iceland has finally erupted, spewing lava plumes into the night sky.

Approximately 4,000 people from Grindavik were evacuated earlier this month.

At least 23 mountaineers were killed when Mount Marapi in Indonesia suddenly erupted.

About 75 climbers began climbing to the top of the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) mountain in West Sumatra province's Agam district, but were stuck due to volcanic activity.

Fukushima Water

Japan received a green light from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to dump the radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean.

After being polluted by contact with fuel rods at the reactor, which was devastated in a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the water was distilled.

However, this move was greatly opposed by neighboring countries such as China and Hong Kong, which threatened to ban Japanese products.

But in August, Japan began pumping more than a million metric tons of treated radioactive water, a process that will take decades to complete.

Fight To Climate Change

Brazil marks a significant milestone as their Amazon decreased 66.11% in August to its lowest level for the month since 2018.

This is considered a success in the country's environmental policy at a time when destruction is often at its highest.

However, a study suggested that the Amazon rainforest could be the epicenter of the world's next pandemic.

Experts explained that the Amazon jungle possesses features that make it a possible source of pandemic-capable diseases, such as a diverse wildlife population that includes birds, bats, and rodents.

Marine species are threatened due to the impact of climate change.

According to a study led by Australian researchers, mass coral bleaching is expected to occur worldwide in the next few years as a result of record-breaking marine heat waves or ocean temperatures.

Related Article: Global Temperatures, Heatwaves to Rise As El Niño Expected in 2023