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Electric vehicles are dependent on a variety of minerals. This article from The Wall Street Journal includes maps that show where cobalt and manganese, as well as lithium and nickel, are mined and refined: www.wsj.com/articles/electric-vehicles-scarce-parts-supply-chain-11668206037
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This topological map from Visual Capitalist shows the number and percentage of each country's population deemed to be at high risk from once-in-a-century flooding, like the floods that inundated more than one-third of Pakistan earlier this fall, killing more than 1,700 people, destroying buildings and crops, and creating lasting crises in food security, education, and waterborne disease. www.visualcapitalist.com/countries-highest-flood-risk/
Chad's capital of N'Djamena sits at the confluence of the two major rivers that feed Lake Chad, to the north of the capital. A rainy season that came early and has produced unusually heavy rains, after years of drought, resulted in massive flooding in N'Djamena over the weekend, with many streets in the capital navigable only by boat. www.nationsonline.org/maps/Chad-political-map.jpg
Uganda is experiencing an outbreak of Ebola in the districts shown in brown on this map (from Forbes), all of which are northwest of the capital of Kampala, on the shores of Lake Victoria. Unlike previous Ebola outbreaks, the current outbreak in Uganda is caused by a strain for which there is no vaccine, no effective antiviral treatment, and no rapid test. imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/634062ae9ae26158286461d8/960x0.jpg
Africa, which produces about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, is expected to be hard hit by climate change. This map, from Statista, shows country-by-country assessments of Africa's anticipated resilience to climate change, based on a combination of forecasts vis-a-vis climate impact, local livelihoods, and governmental capacity to respond. www.statista.com/chart/28136/index-scores-for-climate-resilience-of-african-countries/
The Chinese government has become one of the world's biggest lenders, especially to countries in the developing world and those associated with its Belt and Road Initiative. This map, from Statista based on World Bank data, shows which countries are most indebted to China: www.statista.com/chart/19642/external-loan-debt-to-china-by-country/
Liquifying natural gas is a more expensive, energy-intense alternative to pipelines in the delivery of natural gas. Several European countries are trying to bring more liquified natural gas (LNG) capacity online as quickly as possible to replace Russian, pipeline-delivered gas. This geo-graphic from Statista looks at which countries are currently the biggest suppliers of LNG: www.statista.com/chart/27839/biggest-liquefied-natural-gas-exporters
Because inexpensive armed drones, including Turkey's TB2 drones, proved decisive in the 2020 conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, other countries have been looking to add them to their arsenals. This map, from ProPublica, shows which countries have used TB2s, purchased TB2s, or are trying to purchase TB2s: assets-c3.propublica.org/images/articles/Screen-Shot-2022-07-15-at-5.48.51-PM.png
A viral hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola -- Marburg virus -- has recently been confirmed in Ghana for the first time, in the southern Ashanti region highlighted on this map. Unlike Ebola, Marburg has no vaccine. The Ashanti region is home to Ghana's second largest city, Kumasi. ghananursing2014.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/ashanti-region.jpg
According to a new report from the United Nations, global population is projected to hit 8 billion on November 15 of this year, India is expected to surpass China as the world's most populous country in 2023, and more than half of global population growth between now and 2050 will be concentrated in just 8 countries (alphabetically): the DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Tanzania. For all the details, you can download the report here: www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf
In 2021, the European Union exported 33 million tonnes of waste to non-EU countries, a 77% increase in exported waste since 2004. Where did it go? This geo-graphic from Statista shows the top eight destinations for EU waste in 2021: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/24716.jpeg (China which, as recently as 2009 received more than 10 million tonnes of EU waste, now takes virtually none.)
World Refugee Day was earlier this week. Although Ukrainian refugees -- now numbering 5.2 million -- have dominated the news this year, this map from Statista is a reminder that Ukrainians are just a fraction of the world's refugees: www.statista.com/chart/18436/total-number-of-refugees-by-origin-country
This article from Geographical (UK) profiles the world's 10 fastest-growing cities -- chances are you've heard of relatively few of them -- and looks at new additions to the list of the world's megacities (population 10M+): geographical.co.uk/culture/the-fastest-growing-cities?
Although Russia has been the focus of the world's liberal democracies for the last several months, countering China remains the long-term project. In the wake of a recent security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands, The Economist (UK) looked at other countries in Asia, Africa, and Oceania in which China either already has a military base or likely has an interest in establishing a military base: www.economist.com/img/b/640/356/90/sites/default/files/images/print-edition/20220507_CNM979.png (Map from www.economist.com/china/2022/05/05/china-wants-to-increase-its-military-presence-abroad.)
The war in Ukraine is bottling up wheat exports and, especially in the southern and eastern parts of the country, damaging winter wheat fields planted last fall and interfering with spring planting. This geo-graphic from Statista highlights the countries most dependent on Ukrainian and Russian wheat: www.statista.com/chart/27181/least-developed-countries-dependent-on-wheat-from-russia-ukraine
Data collected by the Pacific Group and analyzed by Statista finds that water-related conflicts have escalated sharply in the last decade, particularly in Asia and Africa, as this geo-graphic shows: www.statista.com/chart/27272/water-conflicts/ (The full data set is worth exploring to understand the growing range of ways in which water is being weaponized or spurring violence: www.worldwater.org/conflict/list/)
In the last two years, extremist violence in West Africa has increased significantly in frequency and spread out from its original geographic flashpoints in northeastern Nigeria and central Mali. This map shows the location of 2021 attacks by extremist groups operating in West Africa. The U.S. military and others have observed that "[t]he Islamist militants who have rampaged through the heart of West Africa in recent years are now spreading toward the Gulf of Guinea coast, including some of the continent’s most stable and prosperous countries, ... [with] militant cells infiltrating as far as Ghana and Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producers." [Quote and map from www.wsj.com/articles/sahel-based-militants-edging-south-toward-west-africas-most-stable-and-prosperous-states-11646221800.]
As of late last month, an estimated 4 million people had left Ukraine, 9% of the population. This geo-graphic from Statista, based on data from the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, puts Ukraine in the context of previous refugee crises since 1960: www.statista.com/chart/27151/largest-refugee-crises-since-1960-by-peak-number-of-refugees
The demand for cacti, which tend to be slow growing, and succulents used in xeriscaping has created a huge uptick in plant poaching. This article from Geographical (UK) looks at what is being described as an "epidemic" of poaching of rare succulents in South Africa, a country that, previously, has been better known for animal poaching: geographical.co.uk/nature/wildlife/item/4287-south-africa-s-new-plant-poaching-epidemic
This pair of maps, prepared by Statista based on World Bank data, shows the impact of smartphones on internet access in Africa: www.statista.com/chart/26781/internet-penetration-africa-progress/
As the world looks for oil and gas options to replace Russia's, Africa's petroleum-producing capacity comes to the fore. This map from Statista shows the continent's major oil-producing countries: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/26878.jpeg (Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, and Libya are also significant producers of natural gas.)
The Winter Olympics have not been the only major sporting event this month: soccer's Africa Cup of Nations recently came to a close, with Senegal winning its first Africa Cup trophy, beating Egypt on penalty kicks. This map shows Senegal and the countries that have won the Africa Cup at least twice. cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/26680.jpeg
The Islamic State has achieved the most notoriety in the Middle East, but some of its fastest-growing and most lethal affiliates are in Africa. The Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamist insurgency affiliated with IS, began in Uganda but now operates primarily in the area of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo shown on this map. According to a recent United Nations report, the ADF killed more than 1,200 people in the eastern DRC in 2021, an increase of at least 50% over 2020. www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DRC-ITURI-NORTH-KIVU-1000x562-1.jpg (Map from Al-Jazeera)
Roughly 70% of Zimbabwe's population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. Persistent droughts have already forced tens of thousands from their homes to rainier areas within the country, creating new domestic competition for water resources. By 2050, the World Bank expects climate change will produce 86 million internal migrants in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. This article from MIT Technology Review looks at Zimbabwe as a case study in climate migration: www.technologyreview.com/2021/12/17/1041315/climate-migration-africa-zimbabwe/
Egypt's Wadi Al-Assiut protectorate (just west of the Nile, roughly half way between Cairo and Luxor) is home to many rare plants and animals, including the last hives of an Egyptian bee whose honey and venom have been used therapeutically since pharaonic times. www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/11/neglected-egyptian-nature-reserve-home-last-pharaonic-honey-bees
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