The first month of 2021 saw a host of environmental disasters, including floods in Malaysia and the Philippines, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, a massive forest fire in India, landslides in Papua New Guinea and an avalanche in Russia.

Here is a timeline compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Jan. 2:

- Massive forest fire engulfs the picturesque Dzuko Valley located in northeastern India.

Jan. 3:

- The death toll from the landslide in the village of Ask, Norway, on Dec. 30, rises to six.

- Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra, Indonesia, erupts, spewing ash columns up to 1,000 meters high.

Most are resilient to fire, however the scope of the blazes may leave some ecosystems susceptible to landscape-scale failure

More than 19 million acres in Australia burned in the bushfires of the 2019-2020 season, with seven individual fires exceeding 1 million acres. Researchers who have studied the impacts on the vegetation have determined that the entire ranges of 116 plant species burned along with 90 percent of the ranges of 173 species.

Most of the affected species are are resilient to fire. However, the massive scope of the megafires may leave some ecosystems, particularly the rainforests, susceptible to regeneration failure and landscape-scale decline.

Below are excerpts from a study by Robert C. Godfree, Nunzio Knerr, and Francisco Encinas-Viso, et al., published in Nature Communications February 15, 2021.

Earth was besieged by a record 50 billion-dollar weather disasters in 2020, the most such disasters ever recorded after adjusting for inflation, said insurance broker Aon (formerly called Aon Benfield) in its annual report issued January 25. The previous record was 46 billion-dollar weather disasters, set in 2010 and 2011. The annual average of billion-dollar weather disasters since records began in 1990 is 29.

The combined economic losses (insured and uninsured) from all 416 weather and earthquake disasters cataloged by Aon in 2020 was $268 billion (2020 USD). Most of the 2020 total, by far, came from weather-related disasters ($258 billion), 29% above the 2001-2020 inflation-adjusted average. Those numbers make 2020 the fifth costliest year on record for weather-related disasters.

The year was the most expensive ever for severe weather (including severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hail), with $63 billion in damage (previous record: $53 billion in 2011). More than 80% of the severe weather damage occurred in the U.S. in 2020, including the costliest severe weather outbreak in world history, according to Aon: an August 2020 event that featured a violent derecho in the U.S. midwest that caused $11 billion of the $12.6 billion in damage of the outbreak, the balance caused by tornadoes, hail, and other severe thunderstorms.

Insured damage from wildfires in 2020 was $12 billion - the third highest on record, behind only 2017 and 2018. The year 2020 marked the third time in the past four years that global insured losses from wildfires exceeded $10 billion - a threshold never crossed prior to 2017. Remarkably, wildfire has caused more than $70 billion in insured losses since 2000, 75% of that in the past five years alone.

An out-of-control wildfire burning north-east of the Australian west coast city of Perth has destroyed an estimated 30 homes and is threatening more, with many locals in the region told it is too late to leave. The 7,000-hectare blaze, which has a 47-mile perimeter, began on Monday and raged through the night near the town of Wooroloo, with the shires of Mundaring, Chittering, Northam, and the city of Swan impacted.

Swan mayor Kevin Bailey said more than 30 homes are believed to have been destroyed. "We are just waiting for confirmation of the numbers but we're looking somewhere in the vicinity of 30-plus homes lost," Mr Bailey said. He said one firefighter had been treated for smoke inhalation. There had been no other injuries. Read more: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world...

Wildfires raged in Chile's Valparaiso region on Friday, turning the sky red and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes.

Authorities said at least 10 properties were engulfed by the fires sweeping through the forest area near Quilpue city.

No deaths or injuries have been reported. Officials ordered the evacuation of some 25,000 residents and hundreds of firefighters were deployed to help battle the fires.

Emergency authorities said the fires have blazed through some 400 hectares of forest, with firefighters concentrating their efforts on four focal points.

A local government official said authorities believe the wildfires were started deliberately.

As 2020 winds to a close, firefighters are still struggling to contain three active California wildfires.

These three wildfires are part of the more than 57,000 that occurred this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, which tracks wildland fires.


As of December 23, these tens of thousands of wildfires have scorched more than 10.3 million acres, a record-high in at least a decade. Burned acres in the United States has not reached double-digit million figures in the last 10 years, according to the agency.

Last year, about 4.5 million acres were burned down because of about 49,000 wildfires.

Seasonal Deyr rains, which hit Somalia between October and December, acutely impact the lives of roughly 73,000 people

November saw a host of global environmental disasters, including floods in Mexico and typhoon gales in the Philippines, as well as forest fires in Algeria and storms in Central America and Somalia.

Here is a timeline compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Nov. 2:

- At least 17 people die and tens of thousands of others evacuated to safer areas due to the ongoing typhoon in the Philippines, according to state media.

Nov. 4:

- A miniature tsunami hits coastal areas in Turkey after being triggered by an earthquake in the Aegean Sea, according to the head of Bogazici University's Kandilli Earthquake Research Institute.

A new California wildfire forced residents to flee their homes early Thursday after the blaze exploded in high winds across more than 4,000 acres in Orange County, according to officials.

After an already record-breaking year of wildfires, California was again hit late Wednesday when a house fire quickly spread to tinder-dry brush, sparking the out-of-control Bond Fire, which grew to over 6 square miles in Orange County's Silverado Canyon.

It rapidly spread across the region in winds that topped 70 mph, and by Thursday was burning about 4,000 acres, the Orange County Fire Association (OCFA) said on Twitter alongside dramatic video clips.

"We have received reports that there may be multiple structures damaged from the fire," the fire department said, saying they were "in the process of verifying the number involved and the extent of damage."

Dramatic video showed the region once again overwhelmed with red skies as officials ordered mandatory evacuations.

Parts of Australia, including Sydney, sweltered through the hottest November night on record with temperatures likely to stay high on Sunday, prompting authorities to issue a total fire ban.

Sydney CBD surpassed 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) on Saturday while swathes of western New South Wales, South Australia and northern Victoria baked through even higher temperatures nearing 45 degrees.

Temperatures are expected to cross 40 degrees for a second straight day on Sunday while the Bureau of Meteorology has predicted a five or six-day heatwave for parts of northern New South Wales and southeast Queensland.

Several wildfires broke out in 10 provinces in Algeria, and several city officials are reporting that this has been the worst year for wildfires in almost two decades.

The wildfires near the coastal city of Tipaza, west of the Algerian capital, have reportedly killed two people who sought shelter in a chicken coop and forced the evacuation of nearby residents.