Natural disasterType of adverse eventEconomic loss risk for six natural disasters: tropical cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, floods, landslides, and volcanoes.A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by a natural phenomenon or hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides - including submarine landslides, tropical cyclones, volcanic activity and wildfires.
PollutionAdverse environmental contamination
GroundwaterGroundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table.
Body of waterA body of water is a significant accumulation of water on the surface of the earth. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, wetlands, or more rarely, puddles. A body of water does not have to be still or contained; rivers, streams, canals, and other geographical features where accumulated water moves from one place to another are also considered bodies of water.
AgricultureCultivation of plants and animals to produce foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materialsModern agriculture: a center pivot irrigation system on a fieldAgriculture is the practice of cultivating the soil, planting, raising, and harvesting both food and non-food crops, as well as livestock production. Broader definitions also include forestry and aquaculture.
Biodiversity lossExtinction of species or loss of species in a given habitatSummary of major environmental-change categories that cause biodiversity loss. The data is expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue), as of 2021.
Environmental conflictEnvironmental conflicts, socio-environmental conflict or ecological distribution conflicts (EDCs) are social conflicts caused by environmental degradation or by unequal distribution of environmental resources. The Environmental Justice Atlas documented 3,100 environmental conflicts worldwide as of April 2020 and emphasised that many more conflicts remained undocumented.
Human impact on the environmentHuman impact on the environment (or anthropogenic environmental impact) refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans.
Natural environmentLand management has preserved the natural characteristics of Hopetoun Falls, Australia while allowing ample access for visitors.An image of the Sahara Desert from satellite. It is the world's largest hot desert and third-largest desert after the polar deserts.The natural environment or natural world encompasses all biotic and abiotic things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts of Earth.
Human migrationHuman migration is the movement of people from one place to another, with intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily, at a new location (geographic region). The movement often occurs over long distances and from one country to another (external migration), but internal migration (within a single country) is the dominant form of human migration globally.
Nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. Nuclear warfare is widely considered a global catastrophic risk.
HealthHealth has a variety of definitions which have been used for different purposes over time and is a multidimensional concept. It commonly refers to physical and emotional well-being. Good health is associated with normal functioning of the human body in day to day life, absent of disease, pain (including mental pain), or injury.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.