The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that the phenomenon of ocean-atmosphere interaction known as La Niña or AENOS will continue until the end of the current winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. If the prediction comes true, it would be the third known event since 1950 to date that the above event, characterized by large-scale cooling of the ocean waters of the central and eastern parts of the equatorial Pacific, would last for three consecutive winter seasons. . As reported by the agency itself in its preliminary report on the state of the world’s climate in 2022, the probability that La Niña will last between this December and February 2023 is 75% and 60% that it will last until next March. The widespread impact of the phenomenon prolonged severe drought conditions in various regions of the world, such as the so-called Horn of Africa, where more than 20 million people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia live from severe food insecurity. . Even in some parts of Somalia there is a risk of famine in a very short time. Drier than usual conditions were also recorded in Patagonia, South America and southwestern North America, while other areas of world geography experienced frequent above-average rainfall and notable flooding…
Research by the Center for Atmospheric Contamination and Chemistry (Cecont) of the Institute of Meteorology shows that the Cuban cities most affected by air pollution are Mariel, Nuevitas, Moa, Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos and Matanzas. According to the results of the national inventory of emissions from the main sources of solid pollutants, conducted with high scientific rigor and updated regularly, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide lead the list of the gases most commonly emitted into the atmosphere in Cuba, in that order, followed by carbon monoxide, all related to the burning of fossil fuels. Next, due to their magnitude, are emissions of particulate matter PM 10 and PM 2.5 and the various volatile organic compounds of methane. The main causes of air quality deterioration in our country include territorial planning errors, the use of outdated technologies, especially in industry and transport, together with the lack of efficient treatment systems. Exposure to a rarefied atmosphere can be particularly harmful to people with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as children and the elderly…
An international team of scientists from Tel Aviv University, Israel, the Natural History Museum, London, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, and other institutions have found evidence of the oldest controlled use of fire discovered to date. The evidence was gleaned from analysis by advanced technologies of the cooked remains of a giant fish found at the Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov archaeological site in Israel. This use of fire for cooking dates back some 780,000 years, as reported in an article published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. The oldest previously discovered instance of this action has been put at around 600,000 years.