The Frontiers ReportIt identifies and proposes solutions to three environmental problems that deserve attention from governments and the general public. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.
Noise, Blazes, and Mismatches Emerging Environmental ConcernsThe sixth report, “The sixth report”, focuses attention on emerging environmental issues that could cause havoc in the region or globally if they are not addressed quickly.
Disrupting natural life cycle
The UN Environment Assembly released the latest report days before it was scheduled to be published (UNEA) resumes, spotlights growing public health threats that are disrupting natural life cycles and having profound ecological consequences worldwide.
Ms. Andersen stated that urban noise pollution, wildfires and changes in phenology are all issues that highlight the urgency to address the triple global crisis of climate change and pollution.
Noise pollution: A raucous killer
According to the report, excessive, long-lasting and high-level sounds from roads, railways and leisure activities can harm human health and well being.
Traffic can cause chronic annoyance and sleep disturbances, which can lead to severe heart diseases and metabolic disorders in the very young. This affects mostly the elderly and marginalized communities that are near busy roads.
Noise pollution can also pose a threat to animals, as it alters communication and behaviour in various species, including amphibians, insects, and birds..
The report encourages urban planners prioritize noise reduction through investing in urban infrastructure to create positive soundscapes such a tree belt, green walls and more green space in cities that also offer numerous health benefits.
Positive examples include London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone, Berlin’s new cycle lanes on large roads, and Egypt’s national plan for noise reduction. These are all positive examples that can be used as the world recovers from COVID.
Plant and animal rhythms
Phenology is the timing and response of species within an ecosystem to changing environmental conditions.
In terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems, animals and plants use temperature, day length, and rainfall to determine when they should bear fruit, migrate, or transform.
Climate change, however, disrupts these natural rhythms. Plants and animals are being pushed to the side of their natural rhythms. This causes mismatches like when plants shift lifecycle stages faster than herbivores.
In the meantime, local climatic cues for birds that trigger migration may no longer accurately predict conditions at their destination or resting sites along their route.
Crops are also affected by phenological shifts in the seasonal variations.
The report highlights the critical importance of conservation goalsThis includes maintaining suitable habitats, ecological connectivity, strengthening the integrity and diversity of biological diversity, and coordination international efforts along migratory paths.
It emphasizes the importance to reduce CO2 emissions to limit the rate at which the world is warming.
Stem wildfires
The report showed that between 2002 to 2016, 423 million hectares of Earth’s land surface approximately the size of the European Union were burned. It also projected that dangerous wildfires would likely become more frequent and intense, as well as last longer, in areas previously unaffected.
Climate change can cause extreme wildfires. This can generate lightning that can ignite others fires.
The long-term effects of wildfires on human health are not limited to those who evacuated, those who lost their homes, or those who were evacuated.
However, Black carbon and other pollutants from wildfires can contaminate water supplies, accelerate glacier melt, trigger landlides, and transform rainforests into carbon sinks..
To address this, the report recommends greater investment in wildfire prevention, response management, and refinancing remote sensing capabilities like radar and satellites.
Unsplash/Mikhail Serdyukov
Climate change increases the danger of hot, dry weather which is likely to fuel wildfires.
