1. A Clockwork Orange
Large-scale forests have been burning in Canada for weeks. The figures for this year alone: more than 2200 fires registered, around 3.8 million hectares of forest destroyed - this corresponds to about 15 times the Saarland. However, many people are only now becoming aware of them when they see the images of New York: The smoke moves south from Newfoundland along the US East Coast and shrouds entire regions in apocalyptic-looking haze – climate crisis live. The prolonged drought is likely to be a cause of most fires.
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The Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan
Photo: MIKE SEGAR / REUTERS
In Canada, rescue workers brought thousands of people to safety. However, more than a hundred million people in the USA are affected by air pollution – the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared an orange warning level for the affected areas. New York's skyline looks like Los Angeles in the movie »Blade runner«, the Statue of Liberty stands in yellow fog, flights have been canceled, sporting events canceled. Many people are putting on protective masks again. But why is it that we are only really interested in the fires when they reach a city that almost everyone knows? Why does it affect us much less when there is a fire where there is hardly any civilization?
This is a question that my colleague, the former Beijing correspondent and current New York correspondent Bernhard Zand, who is currently at home in Austria, is also asking himself. Perhaps because the effects are felt much more directly than in the distant prairie. Bernhard called up his old air quality app today: The so-called PM2.5 value measures the concentration of particularly dangerous air particles that penetrate into the finest lung capillaries; it is currently 189 in New York. This is about eight times the limit value that the World Health Organization (WHO) considers acceptable. Yesterday, the figure was 409.
When Bernhard lived in Beijing in the winter of 2013, the number there was once 845 and exceeded the WHO value by almost 35 times. "A value of 189 was also considered bad in Beijing at that time," says Bernhard, "but there were people who still went jogging under 200." Unlike in New York, the bad air in China was not the result of current forest fires, but came from the chimneys of factories and cement plants. In the meantime, particulate matter pollution in China's capital has decreased significantly.
On the other hand, it is hardly to be expected that the long-term burdens of climate change will decrease.
Read more here: New York City goes up in smoke
Read also: EU wants to support Canada with firefighters in the fight against forest fires
Watch the video here: Warning level orange
2. Water runs lubricated
The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam will have devastating consequences for nature. According to Ukrainian data, more than 600 square kilometers of land have already been flooded, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of "the largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe for decades" during his visit to the site. The Ukrainian organization Ecoaction fears a "mass extinction of aquatic organisms – fish, mussels, shellfish, microorganisms and aquatic vegetation", but also of rodents. This will also affect water quality.
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The town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam
Photo: Satellite image / dpa
The destroyed dam dammed 18 billion cubic meters of water, which now flows across the Dnieper to the Black Sea. The huge amount of water could temporarily desalinate the sea in some areas, explains Ecoaction. But not only the sea is affected, the region along the river is also permanently affected. My colleague Alina Schadwinkel spoke to experts about what it means when up to 450 tonnes of machine oil enter the Dnieper River, presumably from the hydroelectric power plant there, which was also damaged.
"Even though it is a significantly smaller amount of oil compared to historical oil spills such as the explosion of the DeepWater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the potential consequences should not be underestimated," says researcher Sarah Johann from the University of Frankfurt.
Wildlife is affected on an area of at least 5000,6 square kilometers, estimates the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group. "Some species may have suffered more damage on June 100 than in the last <> years." In the case of fish alone, it will take "at least seven to ten years" for stocks to recover. All living beings that inhabit the Kakhovka reservoir are already dead or will die in the next few days."
It's a catastrophe with an announcement, writes Alina . Since 2014, the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries has repeatedly pointed out that military actions also harm the environment and entail various risks for water, flora and fauna. People are also affected, my colleague Christina Hebel spoke to relatives whose relatives are sitting on rooftops in panic and waiting for help.
Unlike Ukrainian President Zelensky, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin does not want to see the misery allegedly caused by Russia on the ground and travel to the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson. "No, there are no such plans at the moment," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin preferred to talk on the phone with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa today in order to have him convey a planned peace initiative by African heads of state and government. Apparently, he welcomed the initiative. Only to possibly give the next military order to harm Ukraine.
Read the full story here: Cries for help from the Russian-occupied banks of the Dnieper - "No one comes and saves my parents"
And here you can find Alina's analysis: Environmental catastrophe after the collapse of the Kakhovka dam - A "cocktail of toxins" washes into the Dnieper delta
And here are more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:
Number of bunker sites in Germany apparently lower than expected: Due to the Russian war of aggression, the Federal Office of Civil Protection had the bunkers and shelters in the country recounted. Accordingly, there would only be room for a fraction of the population.
"No one comes and saves my parents": The situation in the flooded places around the Kakhovka Dam is catastrophic. In the territory occupied by Russia, too, people are sitting on rooftops in panic. Relatives are desperately looking for their loved ones.
Zelensky condemns sluggish flood aid, aid workers allegedly fired upon from the Russian side: According to the Ukrainian government, there is too little help from abroad after the dam burst. At the same time, helpers would be attacked by the enemy. What's more, THW is sending trucks to the flood area.
Here you will find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine: The news update
3. Four against one
In the coming year, state elections will take place in three federal states. And it's a bit like the forest fires and the environmental damage: Everyone knows what a disaster could be in store for you, but you will only really be interested in it when the unimaginable has occurred: The AfD could become the strongest force in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg. That this is not a utopian scenario can be seen from the fact that the far-right party has been or is in 1st place in polls in all three countries. There is not much time left for the established parties to push the AfD into the electorate's favor.
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Astrid Rothe-Beinlich
Photo: Jacob Schröter / IMAGO
Dealing with the rise of the right is different. In Saxony, Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) is trying to take the supposed concerns of his citizens seriously – and to orient himself strongly towards the politics of the AfD. The most recent example: He proposed an "upper limit" of 200,000 people per year who can apply for asylum. In doing so, he took up an idea that was already raised in 2016 by the then Minister of the Interior, Horst Seehofer, and which failed at the time. In view of current refugee figures, Kretschmer nevertheless believes that an annual upper limit for the influx of migrants is necessary. However, past experience shows that the AfD gained when the Union came close to it in terms of content.
In Thuringia, there is apparently another strategy to keep the AfD out. Thuringia's Green parliamentary group leader Astrid Rothe-Beinlich is open to government alliances with more than three partners. "I see this as the responsibility of democrats when it comes to making a country governable," Rothe-Beinlich said in the Thuringian state parliament in Erfurt. If there are difficult election results in the 2024 state election, without obvious majorities, "then you have to consider how you can still succeed in forging a democratic alliance against the far-right AfD – and it is quite clear here," she said. In doing so, she sees all those who see themselves as democrats as responsible.
The state association of the AfD in Thuringia is led by the parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke, who is considered particularly radical and who may be described as a fascist by court order. Just a few days ago, Höcke was indicted for using Nazi vocabulary. His state association is classified by the state office for the protection of the constitution as a certain right-wing extremist endeavor.
Read the full story here: Four-party alliance against far-rightThuringian Greens are open to anti-Höcke coalition
What else is important today
US actor Jay Johnston arrested for participating in the storming of the Capitol: He starred in comedy series and Hollywood films – but now actor Jay Johnston is facing serious legal trouble. He was visited by the police in Los Angeles. It's about January 6, 2021.
The need of the IT industry is greater than ever: The shortage of skilled workers has become a brake on the German economy. A key industry is particularly affected – with a long-term impact.
Spain is investigating seven airlines for unfair pricing policies: Low-cost airlines score with unbeatable ticket prices. The fact that the flight is often surprisingly expensive in the end is due to a trick that the Spanish government now wants to prevent.
China apparently plans to build spy station in Cuba: According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. intelligence agencies are alarmed: Beijing is said to be planning to build a listening station in Cuba. The destitute island state collects several billion US dollars.
My favorite story today:
Since Apple CEO Tim Cook has been in office, the stock market price of the technology group in Cupertino, California, has increased ninefold. And this despite the fact that under the aegis of Cook, hardly any significant new products from Apple came onto the market. My colleague Matthias Kremp, who already reported on Apple when colleagues who were more distant from technology were still complaining that the iPod would never prevail, now states that the introduction of the Vision Pro glasses computer could catapult Apple into a new sphere – and Cook would thus be almost on a par with the founding genius Steve Jobs.
A few days ago, I wanted you to vote on the title of Matthias' text. Due to a technical error, the stored e-mail address led nowhere. I apologize for that. However, we have roughly estimated that the line "His glasses happen" would have prevailed with around 74.3 percent. That's why it has become.
Read the full story here: Apple CEO Tim Cook's only vision – his glasses happen
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
»I have learned to listen to my body«: Teacher Isabell Renner was often stressed and felt like she had to prove herself all the time. But she has managed to escape the pressure thanks to simple routines in four basic areas.
What happens in the head of pregnant women and mothers: As soon as her baby is born, the woman is supposed to take care of her. But how does she know how to do that? Is there maternal instinct? Neuroscientists are beginning to understand how birth changes the brain forever .
The price differences for electricity and gas have never been so great: If you dare, you save: Electricity and gas providers are vying for customers with low-cost contracts. But is it all serious?
Let his spectacles happen: Tim Cook turned Apple into a money-making machine, but he was never able to break free from the shadow of Steve Jobs. Will he still secure his place in history with the new Vision Pro smart glasses?
What is less important today
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Arnold Schwarzenegger in a scene of the documentary »Arnold«.
Photo: Netflix / dpa
Body pictures: In a three-part Netflix documentary, Arnold Schwarzenegger (75) talks about his life. He also discusses his affair with his housekeeper and allegations of harassment. And he once again provides information about his childhood in Thal, Austria. "The older I got and the more I read about the world outside Austria, the more I felt like I wasn't in the right place."
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And tonight?
It's time for sports again. But sport doesn't have to mean doing sports. For millions of people, for example, watching the "sports show" is synonymous with sports. At least that's how it was at home: on Saturdays, from 18 p.m., it was always said, "now it's time to do sports" – and my father sank into his chair.
Enlarge imagePhoto: Eugenio Marongiu / IMAGO / Westend61
In a way, our sports show is our new newsletter »SPIEGEL läuft!«? In it, my colleagues Susanne Amann, Sven Christian, Jan Göbel, Ole Reißmann and Hilmar Schmundt write about why they run and what fascinates them so much about it. Tips, fun boosters and observations from the world of running - every two weeks, directly to your inbox. Interested? You don't have to start running right away, just read. Millions don't have to subscribe right away, a few hundred thousand are enough for us. Here you can find the topic page. And here you can subscribe.
Have a nice evening. Heartily
Yours, Janko Tietz, Head of Department Germany/Panorama