Geography in the News: March 2025 Edition

Hundreds killed in Tibet earthquake

On 7 January 2025, a 7.1M earthquake struck the city of Shigatse, a holy city in a remote region of Tibet. The epicentre of the earthquake was about 50 miles (80km) north of Mount Everest, close to the border of China and Nepal.

The earthquake was felt by some 800,000 people in the region, causing buildings to collapse and roads to become blocked. Over 200 people may have been killed by the earthquake and about 400 people were injured. An estimated 1000 homes were damaged.

Search and rescue teams deployed to the area rescued about 400 people trapped in collapsed buildings. Freezing weather conditions hampered rescue attempts and further threatened the survivors.

The earthquake was caused by sudden movement along a fault line at the collision (destructive/convergent) plate boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates.

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Scottish scientists solve volcano famine mystery

Scientists at the University of St Andrews have solved a 200-year volcanic mystery that caused significant climate cooling in 1831.
The massive volcanic eruption spewed sulphurous gases into the atmosphere, which reflected sunlight and triggered a period of global cooling of approximately 1°C. The well-documented worldwide cooling caused widespread crop failures and famines. Whilst scientists knew that a major eruption was responsible for the climate cooling, the precise location of the volcano had been hotly debated . . . until now.

Using polar ice core data from the 1831 event, scientists from St Andrews have been able to provide a ‘perfect fingerprint match’ from minute shards of ash deposits trapped within the ice cores. These deposits enabled scientists to match the ash deposits to Zavaritskii volcano on the remote island of Simushir, part of the Kuril Islands between Russia and Japan. Scientists from Japan and Russia supplied samples of ash from volcanoes in the region, enabling the match to be made.

Scientists now know that the highly explosive eruption occurred in spring/summer of 1831. Despite its remote location, the sheer scale of the eruption caused catastrophic impacts worldwide. Lead scientist from St Andrews concluded; “As scientists and as a society, we need to consider how to coordinate an international response when the next large eruption, like the one in 1831, happens.”

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UK government plans major projects to boost growth

In January 2025, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, set out plans for a wide range of government infrastructure and development projects with the aim of boosting economic growth in the UK. These include the expansion of Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports, a new Thames Crossing between Essex and Kent, a new rail link between Oxford and Cambridge, nine new reservoirs and a new cancer research hospital in Cambridge.

Expansion at Heathrow has been under consideration for decades but the current government now seems determined to move forward with the proposed third runway to boost capacity at one of Europe’s most important airports. The scheme remains controversial as it could result in the demolition of hundreds of homes in nearby villages such as Harmondsworth and Longford. At Gatwick, there are plans to bring the airport’s emergency runway into operation for smaller aircraft, also boosting capacity. At Luton, proposed expansion of the current terminal and the construction of a second terminal could boost capacity from 18 million passengers per year to 32 million.

The proposed ‘East-West’ railway linking the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge is part of a plan to develop the ‘Europe’s Silicon Valley’ in the so-called Oxford-Cambridge corridor. With its internationally renowned universities, both Oxford and Cambridge have spawned thriving science and business parks and several high-tech companies have become established in the cities. Through investment in transport, infrastructure and housing, the ‘corridor’ is expected to generate £78 billion to the UK’s economy by 2035.

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Denmark introduces world’s first carbon tax on agriculture

Denmark is introducing the world’s first carbon tax on agricultural emissions, including livestock flatulence. The initiative – the Green Tripartite – aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve the environment and increase biodiversity. There are about 15,000 farms with livestock in Denmark, a country with a long history of intensive pig production

• From 2030, farmers will pay 300 kroner (£33) per tonne of methane (as per carbon dioxide equivalent) emitted from livestock farming operations, including cows, pigs and sheep. This will increase to 750 kroner (£83) in 2035.
• Calculations of emissions will be based on the number of animals, their feed and how they are managed.
• Farmers will receive rebates if they use feed additives that reduce methane or, in the case of pigs, if manure is used to pipe methane into the country’s gas grid
• Reductions in the use of nitrogen fertiliser will reduce emissions and benefit the country’s fjords and coasts by reducing pollution.

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