Guinness World Records 2018

Warmest month on record

On 12 Sep 2016, NASA revealed that the warmest

months on record were Jul and Aug 2016.

The analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard

Institute for Space Studies in New York City,

USA, showed that Aug 2016 was 0.98°C (1.76°F)

hotter than the mean August temperature from

1951 to 1980. It was also 0.16°C (0.28°F) hotter

than the previous warmest August, in 2014.

Smallest recorded size of the Arctic ice cap

The extent of the ice floating on the surface

of the Arctic Ocean changes with the seasons,

shrinking to a minimum at the end of summer. Its

smallest size was registered on 17 Sep 2012, with

an area of 3.41 million km² (1.31 million sq mi).

Largest dead zone

Waters in some coastal areas have very low

concentrations of oxygen (hypoxia), making

life impossible for many species; such areas

are called “dead zones”. The largest is in the

Baltic Sea, with an average area of 49,000 km²

(18,919 sq mi) over the last 40 years. In 1971, the

area peaked at 70,000 km² (27,027 sq mi), more

than twice the area of Belgium.

Largest extent of the Antarctic sea ice

The Antarctic continent is surrounded by frozen

sea; the extent of this ice sheet peaks at the

end of the southern winter. On 20 Sep 2014, the

Antarctic sea ice peaked at 20.201 million km²

(7.8 million sq mi). The additional area of sea

ice created by this erratic growth is dwarfed

by the area of ice lost in the shrinking Arctic.

Highest level of carbon dioxide

in the atmosphere

In 2015, the average concentration of

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached a

level of 400 ppm for the first time. Such high

concentrations had been reached before, for

short periods, but never as an annual average.

Pollution & Environment

EARTH

HIGHEST

ANTARCTIC

CO 2 LEVELS

According to the

National Oceanic

and Atmospheric

Administration

(NOAA), the South

Pole Observatory’s

carbon dioxide

station measured

400 ppm (parts

per million) for the

first time on 12 May

2016. Carbon dioxide
      (CO 2 ) levels have
      taken time to reach
      the South Pole as
      most of the world’s
      population (and its
      pollution) are in the
      northern hemisphere.

Highest level of acidity in ocean waters

On 4 Jun 2004, in the Beaufort Sea north of

Alaska, USA, the water pH level was 6.9718 at a

depth of 2 m (6 ft 6 in). This concentration of

acids is about 10 times higher than average.

Measuring the pressure of a gas in water is

a way of quantifying how much of that gas is

dissolved. The higher the quantity dissolved, the

higher the pressure. The water samples taken on

4 Jun 2004 had a carbon dioxide pressure reading

of 3,796.8 micro atmosphere (384.71 Pa). Some

10 times greater than average, this is the highest

level of carbon dioxide in ocean waters.

Longest global coral bleaching event

Higher atmospheric concentrations of carbon

dioxide result in more of this acidic gas being

absorbed in oceanic waters. Ocean acidification

may be one cause of coral bleaching. Earth’s

coral reefs are currently undergoing a global

bleaching event first seen in mid-2014 in the

western Pacific Ocean. As of Jan 2017, this event

had lasted more than two-and-a-half years.

On 29 Nov 2016, scientists revealed that

two-thirds of a 700-km (435-mi) stretch

of the Great Barrier Reef – located off

Queensland, north-eastern Australia – had

been killed off, the greatest coral die-off

on the Great Barrier Reef. A rise in ocean

temperature was the cause of the damage.

Teams of divers led by Professor Andrew

Baird, of the Australian Research Council (ARC)

Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies,

inspected the reef in Oct and Nov 2016.

First global survey

of ocean plastic pollution

On 10 Dec 2014, an international team of

scientists, led by the Five Gyres Institute (USA),

published the results of a massive survey of

plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. The

team’s estimate – based on surveys of beach

debris around the world, sample-taking voyages

and computer models – was that there were

5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the oceans.

More recently, the United Nations

Environment Programme has studied the

composition of this plastic plague. In Aug 2016

the UNEP found that the most common ocean

pollutant – forming around 50% of all plastic

matter in the oceans – is discarded carrier bags.

In 2016, scientists announced that the hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica

was healing. If the current trend persists, it will have closed by 2050.

petrol stations

in the Nigerian city of

Onitsha (population:

1 million), the

worst city for

air pollution

India is home to

16 of the world’s 30

most polluted cities;

of these, the most

contaminated

is Delhi

Air pollution promotes

a higher risk of

stroke, heart disease,

lung cancer and

respiratory problems

After its 2016

expansion, the

Papahānaumokuākea

Marine National

Monument has

quadrupled in size,

making it almost equal

in area to the^

Gulf of Mexico.

LARGEST TROPICAL MARINE RESERVE

On 26 Aug 2016, US president Barack

Obama (left) announced the expansion of

the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National

Monument around the Hawaiian archipelago.

It is now 582,578 sq mi (1.5 million km^2 ) in size.

Until 28 Oct 2016, it was also the largest

marine reserve overall. But on that date,

24 countries and the European Union

agreed to declare 1.55 million km^2

(600,000 sq mi) of the Ross Sea

in Antarctica a protected marine

area. As a “no-take” zone,

nothing can be removed,

including marine life and

minerals, for 35 years.

80%

of the planet’s urban

population is exposed

to levels of air pollution

greater than the limit

established by the

World Health

Organization (WHO)

3 million

deaths each year

are attributable

to air pollution

100+

Q: How many times can

paper be recycled?

A: Six. Its fibres are not strong

enough to take any more.