The longest period without rainfall was recorded in Arica. Arica, called “the city of eternal spring,” is a port city in Chile. The lowest amount of rainfall on Earth has been calculated here, as well as the longest period without rainfall: 14 years and 5 months. ¹⁾

On December 16, 2020, a British coroner ruled that air pollution directly contributed to the death of a nine-year-old girl with severe asthma, who lived with her parents on a busy road in London. Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah died in February 2013 after a severe asthma attack. In her last three years, she was taken to hospital with breathing difficulties almost 30 times. ²⁾

The Doomsday Clock, which symbolically informs mankind how much time is left until self-destruction, has stopped since 2018 at two minutes before midnight. One could assume that it is a good sign that the situation has stabilized, which indicates some progress. Unfortunately, scientists see it differently. The fact that the hands of the clock remained in the same position as the previous year should be understood as a “categorical warning.” In 2020, the hands of the Doomsday Clock moved forward another thirty seconds. ³⁾

The Brocken specter is an optical phenomenon that, with a bit of luck, can be observed in the mountains, especially the higher ones. To see it, you have to set yourself between the sun and the fog or cloud that is below you. You will see a shadow that seems to be enlarged. In some cases, it can be surrounded by a rim, which is called glory. Glory is rainbow-colored rings that surround the observed shadow. ⁴⁾

One of the countries where climate change is expected to cause an increase in the incidence of malaria in Tanzania. According to scientists, higher temperatures will make mosquitoes transmitting the disease able to migrate to higher areas, which was not possible before. The risk of health threats caused by climate change is particularly high in tropical highlands in Africa, Asia, Central America, and South America. ⁵⁾

By the time a large whale dies, it has removed 33 tons of carbon from the atmosphere and will store it at the bottom of the ocean for centuries. Each whale has been calculated to be worth $2 million to the world economy this way. ⁶⁾

Red snow, which is colored by the algae trapped inside it, is known as “watermelon snow” or “blood snow.” ⁷⁾

Most rain starts out as snow and melts on the way down. ⁸⁾