1 . Two and a half months before the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins, forecasters have already predicted and warned that warm sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and the development of a La Niña in the Pacific may create a “perfect storm” of the conditions needed for major hurricanes.

Key to the formation of any tropical cyclone (气旋) is the combination of warm ocean temperatures and the absence of what is known as wind shear. Alex DaSilva, a forecaster, explains that wind shear occurs when wind changes direction and speed at different heights in the atmosphere. When there’s much wind shear, it essentially knocks over those clouds and prevents tropical systems from really becoming stronger. Besides, hurricanes also need surface water to be at a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius or higher. That warm water, and the warm air just above it, provides fuel for the storm. The record data for February are 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal.

Over periods ranging from three to seven years, the waters of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean alternately (交替地) warm and cool as a result of a repeatedly occurring climate pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During an El Niño, sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific increase, and those warmer temperatures affect the path of the Pacific jet stream, which in turn brings drier, warmer weather to the northern United States and Canada, and wetter conditions to the Gulf Coast and southeast. El Niño reduces the possibility of Atlantic hurricane formation because it lowers hurricane activity and increases wind shear. La Niña has just the opposite effect of El Niño. During the 2023 season, ENSO was in an El Niño phase. By the time the 2024 season starts, it is likely to have shifted fully into a La Niña.

“If a tropical storm system comes into this area, it could rapidly intensify, potentially close to land,” DaSilva cautions. “And that’s why people need to be on alert and have their hurricane plans ready. Because any system with these kinds of conditions can explode very quickly. That’s what we’re concerned about.”

I’m excited to tell you about the campus activities to celebrate the second National Ecology Day on August 15, 2024.

Best regards,

Li Hua

4 . In ancient Egypt, the rich soils along the Nile River supported roughly 3 million people. Now there are 30 times that number of people living in Egypt, with the Egyptian population soaring from 45 million in the 1980s to over 100 million now.

Just 4% of Egypt’s land is suitable for agriculture, and that number is reducing quickly due to the urban and suburban development. “It’s not an overstatement to say that this is a crisis,” said Nasem Badreldin, an expert at the University of Manitoba. “Satellite data shows that Egypt is losing about 2% of its farmland per decade due to urbanization, and the process is speeding. If this continues, Egypt will face serious food security problems.” According to one analysis, the amount of farmland near Alexandria dropped by 11% between 1987 and 2019, while urban areas increased by 11%. In recent years, the Egyptian government has promised to end unlicensed building on farmland, which remains a difficult task to fulfill.

Urbanization isn’t the only factor to reduce Egypt’s farmland. Sea level rise of 1.6 millimeters per year has contributed to the salinization (盐碱化) of farmland in Egypt. About 15% of Egypt’s richest farmland has already been damaged by sea level rise and saltwater intrusion (侵入). One response to the loss of farmland has included efforts to green parts of the desert. For instance, Farouk El-Baz, Boston University scientist, has planned to build highways, railways, water pipelines, and power lines to promote the establishment of new farmland in deserts west of the delta.

While that project hasn’t been finished, much of desert has turned into farmland in recent decades. The satellite photos show new farmland along the Cairo Highway. A mixture of center-pivot irrigation (灌溉) and drip irrigation makes farming in this area possible. “It is certainly possible to establish new farmland from the desert by tapping groundwater resources, though it’s a little expensive process,” said Badreldin.

6 . A young girl was rescued from the ruins of an apartment block in the southern Turkish city of Adiyaman on Monday, 178 hours after a terrible earthquake shook the area. The girl was six years old and rescuers were also close to reaching her older sister. It’s one of several amazing rescues that are still taking place following an earthquake that killed more than 37,000 in Turkey and Syria last Monday.

Rescuer Aksoy told reporters he was searching through the ruins of the building when he heard a child’s shout. He then asked for silence and later found where the girl was. The girl waved at him, told him her name and said that she was okay, Aksoy said.

One member of the rescuers said, “My colleague and I looked at each other like ‘Did you hear that, too?’ We listened again. There was a very weak voice saying something like ‘I’m here. ‘ Then we shut everything down, the machines, and started listening again. And there really was a voice coming from a small space next to a dishwasher.”

Health ministry officials said the girl was in good condition but would be kept under observation. A 13-year-old boy was also rescued on Monday after being trapped for 182 hours. Footage from a news agency shows the teenager being rescued from a collapsed building in the southern Turkish province of Hatay. He held his rescuer’s hand as he was put on a stretcher and taken to an ambulance.

UN aid deputy Martin Griffiths said during a visit to the disaster area in Syria on Monday that the rescue phase was “coming to an end”, with assistance next turning to shelter, food and clothing.