Each year, many hurricanes (or cyclones) occur on our planet, especially between June 1st and November 30th. Some of them make landfall on coastal regions, sometimes leaving behind both victims and damaged areas. Here are some activities to do in class, to understand this weather phenomenon and its consequences.
The observations are troubling and unmistakable: two thirds of the wild fauna has disappeared in less than 50 years. This shocking declaration of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is sounding the alarm, identifying the primary cause of this decline as human activity. It is approximately 4,000 vertebrate species, spread across 21,000 animals across the world that have disappeared following the destruction of their natural habitat, mainly for agriculture.
The monarch is a magnificent black and orange butterfly; actually, it is one of the biggest diurnal butterflies in Canada. You may have seen one before since they fly around houses collecting nectar from flowers. However, if you were born 20 years earlier, you would have seen many more. In 2003, the monarch was already considered an at-risk species, but with a population decline of 90%, it has been an endangered species sin 2016. The climate changes, the use of pesticides and the destruction of its natural habitat lead to its demise .
Last December, in the city of Wuhan, China, a virus usually linked to animals was transmitted to a human for the first time. The coronavirus COVID-19 comes from the same family of viruses that usually affects the respiratory tract. It is in the same family as the common cold, the flu, and other more serious respiratory illnesses. When humans are infected with COVID-19, they experience symptoms such as fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing similar to pneumonia.
In 2019 and 2020, the south of Australia faced wildfires that destroyed everything on their paths. Between September 2019 and January 11, 2020, 28 people have died in those fires and many more have gone missing. According to a study by the University of Sydney, 480 million animals have also perished in these fires.
