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2018 - YEAR OF ACHIEVEMENTS OR HOLOCAUSTS?

This edition of GreenOtels is looking at The

Good, The Bad and The Ugly of 2018 in the

space of sustainability actions and roles that the

governments and the businesses have played.

The United Nations and the Trump

administration produced separate but equally

devastating climate reports. But do we really

need to read these reports to understand the

problem. We saw hundreds of people die in

wildfires, hurricanes, floods and food shortages,

all caused in part by climate change. We saw

what happened to tourism in Cape Town and

Kerala. Can we afford to continue blindfolded?

Doing nothing is a costly option...

There are a number of actions that you can take

to align your organization with the Sustainability

Goals and plot a course towards unlocking the

value they represent.

Stay informed - Begin with asking the right

questions re the impact of any decision or action

on your business, your community and your

environment. Do the risk assessment yourself.

Understand and measure outcomes with clear

goals - Invest one time in audits, meters, checks

and balances and watch the savings that roll in

by plugging the leaks.

Train to triumph - Invest in eco-design training

for yourself, your teams, your staff on a regular

basis with road maps to check the changes that

take place specially on wastages and attitude

and you will be amazed to find a happier work

force and healthier bottom line.

Come together - Collaborate with peers and

other stakeholders to learn as well as to set a

collective vision and collaborate on initiatives to

realize price-value advantages.

Advocate - Openly advocate for the introduction

of key policy and finance enablers that will help

to achieve a tipping point.

I have over the last few months spent enough

time with various levels of hotel stakeholders to

know that the problem lies mainly in ignorance

about the actions that a hotelier needs to take

and the belief that going green entails heavy

investments and does not really make good

business sense.

Let 2019 not pass us by with the same

fallacies.

Write to me at minakshi@greenotels.com

While an influential new report - Inter-Governmental Panel on climate change confirmed we are running out of time to limit global warming, another one confirmed the success of greatest kick start to plastic ban across the world.

While World Health Organization covering 4,300 cities and settlements in 108 countries revealed that 91 percent of the world’s population lives in places with poor air quality, an online search engine allowed users to passively help in planting over 30 million trees around the world.

While cities and countries grew rapidly without adequate systems in place to manage the changing waste composition of citizens, many others encouraged the transition to sustainability by setting ambitious goals for sourcing all of their energy from renewable sources. Portugal alone generated enough renewable energy to power the country for an entire month and Australia enjoyed over $40 million in savings from maintenance costs to their electrical grid after they installed the world’s biggest lithium ion battery which generates zero carbon emissions.

While humans lost life in the greatest number of catastrophes ever witnessed in the living memory of us, a family in California decided to protect their secret home of over 1,450 ancient redwood trees, instead of selling the land.

With so many critical ups and downs, what a year 2018 has been. Overwhelming and underwhelming, somehow on both ends of the spectrum. Never in between!

GreenOtels dedicates this issue to the good, the bad and the ugly of 2018 in order for all of us to introspect. Let us take a glimpse into how the tourism and hospitality industry clubbed with environmental impacts has and will frame our way ahead in 2019!

THE GOOD OF 20182018 has seriously been a major turning point in every corner of the world. You might believe there is no hope for our big blue planet—but some of the groundbreaking achievements in 2018 show the future to be brighter for not only Green-Hoteliers but for the world entirely!

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WORLD�S FIRST THERMAL BATTERY PLANT BUILT IN ANDHRA PRADESH

in August, world’s first-ever battery plant was unveiled in Andhra Pradesh. Manufactured by Bharat Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Private Limited, the plant is aimed at increasing energy production by the means of renewable resources. This battery will use the energy created by temperature difference. This technology can be used effectively in remote areas, like hills or islands.

It can also be used to store energy for telecommunication, commercial establishments, electric grids and more, while maintaining a low carbon footprint.

PLASTIC BEGAN MAKING ITS WAY OUT IN 2018!

We have just began to realise the disaster we have created. The pollution caused by plastic has reached places we cannot even imagine. Even the water that flows from our taps at home has plastic residues, also present in the fish and seafood that you buy in the market. However 2018 showed significant service design changes in use of plastic globally.

On an individual level, a young Dutch activist launched the world’s largest ocean clean-up which will be tidying up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch over the course of the next decade.

In India, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan used World Environment Day to announce that India will by 2022, eliminate all single use plastics from our beautiful country. States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka supported the movement and banned plastic. Just weeks after Maharashtra imposed a ban on single-use plastic, the state government set to implement a buyback scheme for PET bottles and plastic milk pouches. This move was the first of its kind in India.

The Indian government also pledged to end the use of disposable, or single-use plastic around 100 monuments starting with Taj Mahal.

On a global scale- - Australia witnessed an 80% reduction in single-use plastic bag consumption over the course of just four short months. - European Union also collectively agreed to ban several single-use plastic products within the next few years.- Israel halved plastic bags found in the sea using a law that required supermarkets to charge customers for the use of plastic bags, leading to a drop of 80 percentage and bag waste found in the sea halved.

Green hoteliers across the globe eliminated plastic straws, bottles and other items offering consumers alternatives upon request. Here is a list of a few hotels that pledged to quit plastic usage…

• MGM Resorts International announced that single-use plastic straws will only be served upon request.

• Hyatt hotels globally eliminated single-use plastic straws and drink picks.

• Anantara Hotels will remove straws from its properties by the end of 2019.

• Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts announced a ban on plastic straws from all 110 of their properties.

• Taj Hotels will phase out straws from in room dining at all 98 of their hotels.

• AccorHotels is prohibiting plastic straws in its 83 North and Central American properties. • The St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London was among the 60 U.K. hotels that removed plastic straws.

• The Los Sueños Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort in Costa Rica eliminated the use of plastic straws.

• The Four Points removed plastic straws, stirrers and adopted alternate products.

• The Sheraton Maui Resort became Hawaii’s first resort to remove plastic straws from its restaurants, eliminating about 30,000 plastic straws per month.

2018 GREEN PRACTICES BY HOLIDAY INN MUMBAI

2018 for Holiday Inn mainly saw the installation of a heat pump by manufacturer Ms Kehms. Despite having faced several challenges like - shutting down of chilled water and hot water for pipe line connection for 6 hours, the hotel aims at saving diesel amounting to Rs 22,00,000 and electricity amounting to approximately Rs 20,00,000.

An investment of approximately Rs 35 lacs, the hotel expects to complete the installation and commissioning by 30th Jan 2019.

LEMON TREE HOTELS DECIDE TO SERVE HALF GLASS WATERRealising the importance of conserving water, in 2018, the hotel chain took a bold step of offering half a glass of water in their restaurants. This service design change helped and will continue to greatly conserve potable water.

IBIS-HYDERABAD UPLIFTS LOCAL COMMUNITY

On 22nd March 2018, there was a major fire that had engulfed almost 150 huts in 500 odd slum areas located 300 metres from the hotel. To help them recover, Ibis served lunch, dinner, water, juice and first aid for 2 days to the victims of the event. The hotel also contributed INR. 50000 to HOPE foundation for Kerala rehabilitation.

THE GOOD

THE GOOD

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2018 INITIATIVES BY THE FERN HOTELS & RESORTS

Active in adopting green practices, Meluha The Fern and Rodas - an ecotel hotel undertook several initiatives in 2018. Two of which were -

The guest rooms are incorporated with an intelligent key-tag system. Also, the Master Control panel in the guest room incorporates a unique and signature feature known as the ECO button. On pressing the Eco button the thermostat of the air-conditioning unit is stepped up by two degrees gradually; which results in energy saving with no discomfort to the guests. A certificate of appreciation is issued to the guest who has voluntarily participated in conserving energy.

- Meluha the Fern partnered with Munzer Bharat to ensure that used cooking oil is disposed sustainably. This is the groundwork for generating a new and sustainable feedstock for waste-based bio-diesel production –100% made in India.

2018 SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES BY THE LALIT - JAIPUR

On driving sustainability as their main agenda The LaLit Jaipur is implementing bold steps in all major areas like conservation of electricity, water, fuel. It has also been focusing on developing a 100% radiation free environment in the hotel. As part of 2018 initiatives -

• The hotel has stopped using HSD for Hot Water Generators and Steam Boilers and has replaced it with Biodiesel produced from seed oil. This enables the hotel to operate the systems on green fuel only. • Made the hotel laundry an ECO LAUNDRY.• Converted All area lightings into LED from CFL lamps in order to consume less power and avail higher life than other type of lamps.• Started using Vegetable oils to generate by Biodiesel - which is a green fuel. • Starting using Johnson Diversey Chemicals that requires less water for washing.• Adopted the practice of placing Environment Friendly Cards in Guest Rooms for increased support.

From L to R - Mr Mohan Shetty (Head customer relations,Munzer Bharat), Ms Eva-Maria Baumgartner (Senior Expert, Munzer Bharat), Ms Aldrina Fernandes - (Environment Officer-Meluha)

MGM RESORTS ANNOUNCED DEVELOPMENT OF 100 - MEGAWATT SOLAR ARRAY

MGM Resorts International and Chicago based Invenergy, North America’s largest independent renewable energy company partnered on a new solar photovoltaic array, which will generate 100 megawatts of clean, renewable energy. The MGM-Invenergy Solar Project will be located 25 miles north of Las Vegas and MGM Resorts will purchase all the energy generated by the project to help power its 13 properties on the Las Vegas Strip. The project was announced in May 2018 will be operational by the end of 2020.

HYATT PLEDGED TO HIRE 10000 DISADVANTAGED YOUNG PEOPLE

The company announced the launch of RiseHY, a new global programme designed to pair the hospitality industry’s career opportunities with young people who need them. As part of the initiative, Hyatt hotels around the world commit to hiring 10,000 Opportunity Youth – people ages 16 to 24 who are not in school or work – by 2025. As part of RiseHY, Hyatt hotels will build upon their long-standing engagements with local community-based organisations and further expand their global network to scale training programmes and accelerate Opportunity Youth hiring. Working with organisations like Grads of Life and the Youth Career Initiative (YCI), Hyatt hotels will provide on-the-job training and employment opportunities across the globe.

HILTON COMMITTED TO ADOPT FIVE BIG SUSTAINABILITY ACTIONS IN AFRICA

Continuing their drive to be the hotel sector’s leaders on social and environmental actions, Hilton announced their commitment to five key issues in Africa in the month of October. The announcement underpinned Hilton’s ongoing commitment to the International Tourism Partnership and 2017 launch of ITP’s Goals for 2030 on carbon, water, youth employment and human rights. With 53 properties in its development pipeline Hilton expects to double its portfolio of hotels on the continent during the next five years, including entering new markets such as Botswana, Ghana, Swaziland, Uganda, Malawi and Rwanda.

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“The time is passed when humankind thought it could selfishly draw on exhaustible energy. We know now the world is not a commodity.”

- Francois Hollande

“There's one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent threat to climate change.”

- Barack Obama

THE GOOD

THE GOOD

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THE BAD OF 2018Between achievements and mishaps, 2018 witnessed quite a few failures and moments of shame. India was the international host for World Environment Day but could not perform to the best of its capacities. Similarly, many other initiatives though adopted were seen hanging in between! Here are a few events from tourism, hospitality sector clubbed with environmental factors that made 2018 bad!

FOREIGN TOURISTS SKIPPING DELHI DUE TO AIR POLLUTION GOT DELHI HOTELIERS WORRIED!

As Delhi’s air quality continued to worsen in 2018, the international tourism footfall in the city was affected. The increase in pollution levels and the smog led to rescheduling, rerouting and cancellation of foreign tourists’ India visit as they are dropping the capital from their travel itinerary. An increasing number of tourists were opting for hill stations instead of Dilli darshan. Travel agencies, tour operators and hotel industry marked that Delhi’s foreign tourist inflow has gone down by 25-30% due to pollution.

Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), Yatra.com, said -“The deteriorating air quality in India, especially in Delhi, has affected the influx of travelers from all around the world, impacting both hotel and flight bookings. Many travelers have complained about the deteriorating air quality, which has led them to cut their trips short. Business travelers have also rescheduled their trips.”

A spokesperson for ClearTrip said, “Delhi is an important destination for both business and leisure travelers. The leisure travellers may start looking at other travel hubs if adequate measures to curb the increasing pollution are not implemented soon.”

UNITED NATIONS WARNED - WE HAVE ONLY 12 YEARS TO LIMIT CLIMATE CHANGE CATASTROPHE

The world’s leading climate scientists warned there are only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5C, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people. The authors of the landmark report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said - urgent and unprecedented changes are needed to reach the target which they said were affordable and feasible although it lies at the most ambitious end of the Paris agreement pledge to keep temperatures between 1.5C and 2C. Following devastating hurricanes in the US, record droughts in Cape Town and forest fires in the Arctic, the IPCC makes clear that climate change is already happening, upgraded its risk warning from previous reports, and warned that every fraction of additional warming would worsen the impact.

THE EFFECTS OF OVER-TOURISM STARTED SHOWING

The damage from over-tourism became so severe that even countries dependent on tourist dollars finally had to say: enough. After shutting down for four months June-September, Maya Bay-made popular by the Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer The Beach was closed indefinitely. The bay that generates 400 million baht from tourism had seen as many as 5,000 people and 200 boats a day, leading to severe environmental damage. For fear of encouraging “mass tourism”, the city of Amsterdam took down the ‘I Amsterdam’ letters, one of city’s most popular tourist attractions. Several other European cities like Venice, Barcelona, Milan, Rome started pushing back against over-tourism by imposing restrictions on movement and even conduct of tourists. In India, the Uttarakhand High Court put a ban on night stay in high meadows in the state. It also put curbs on the number of tourists visiting the state.

2018 - A BAD YEAR FOR KERALA TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY

Tourism has been and will in the foreseeable future remain the main revenue stream for Kerala. This means the state cannot afford to take lightly anything that is disruptive to the smooth operation of the multiple variables that make Kerala tourism and hospitality tick. In 2017, the state saw the best numbers since 2008 as 1.46 crore domestic tourists made their way to Kerala along with a corresponding rise in the arrival of foreign tourists. As a result, the state earned a record revenue of `33,383 crore in 2017.

The rush of tourists who spend time and money on Kerala’s beaches, backwaters and hill stations initially continued in 2018 with both foreign and domestic tourist arrivals registering a growth of 12.13 per cent and 18.57 per cent respectively in the first quarter. It was a mixed bag in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the growth fell. The keenness of both the domestic and foreign tourists tapered and the numbers were just 3.5 per cent and 13.5 per cent respectively over July-September.

The state had its share of bad luck with the devastating floods which took away more than 400 lives and destroyed property worth thousands of crores, followed by the Nipah outbreak. But the poor show during this Sabarimala season, which accounts for a significant share of domestic tourists and about `15,000 crore by way of their aggregate spending in the state, is sending shivers up the spine of the tourism industry.

With the world spoiling tourists with choices of many ‘budget’ tourist destinations, the tourism and hospitality industries in Kerala needs to buck up for 2019!

INDIA'S NOT-SO- GOOD WORLD RANKING IN INTER-NATIONAL SURVEYS - 2018

Environmental Performance Index: 177 / 180

Global Climate Risk Index 2018: 6th

Human Development Index: 130 / 188

Global Hunger Index: 103 / 119

Global Innovation Index: 57 / 130

Global Competitiveness Index: 58 / 140

Education Index: 92/145

“We have to wake up to the fierce urgency of now.”

- Jim Yong Kim

THE BAD

THE BAD

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THE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN INDIA ARE BOOMING LIKE NEVER BEFORE. THEN WHAT KEPT US WORRIED?

In less than 10 years, the World Travel & Tourism Council expects India to become the fourth-largest travel and tourism economy behind China, the U.S., and Germany. Two decades ago about 2.4 million international tourists came to India a year; in 2017 there were five times that, and in 2018, the real boost came from domestic travel.

Tourism in the subcontinent generated more than $230 billion in 2017, up from almost $209 billion in 2016.

However, the paradox is that unchecked growth can threaten stakeholders in the fragile places supported by the surge in

visitors. The country’s weak infrastructure and stretched bureaucracy could allow certain areas to lose what makes them special before they ever reach their potential. These worries were most pronounced in the high-altitude locations based in Himalaya, Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir where dramatic peaks and native snow leopards have created a tourism explosion. Throughout the Himalayas, the glaciers walling off the world’s tallest mountains from human encroachment are melting, opening more land for development. There are about 650 hotels and homestays in a district with 4,300 households - too many for the land to support.

The other catch is that tourism in places such as Ladakh hinges on a pristine environmental image but visitors produce thousands of pounds of trash each year. More than 30,000 plastic water bottles are dumped in open-air landfills in Ladakh each summer. Waste is a problem throughout the Himalayas and much of it is made by domestic travelers.

These situations leave us with a question about our actions way ahead. The tourism industry needs to dig deeper into the matter with the help of hospitality industry - which is largely influential for tourists.

MUMBAI CITY�S GARBAGE WAS HOME DELIVERED BY THE ARABIAN SEA

In an incident viewed as a scathing reminder of our inability to curb marine pollution, high tides during monsoon 2018 dumped several tonnes of waste back onto Mumbai’s shores.

A total of 215 tonnes of waste was collected by the municipal authorities across several beaches in the city.

INDIA IS ONE OF THE RISKIEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD TO BREATHE - STATED WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION

When it comes to comparing PM10 measurements of the world’s largest cities, India’s capital Delhi comes in with an annual average of 292, ahead of Cairo (284), Dhaka (147), Mumbai (104), and Beijing (92), the Washington Post noted.

Frequent unhealthy levels of pollution from sources ranging from vehicles to the burning of coal and wood for cooking, dust storms, or forest fires affected most of the country. India’s hills and mountains also acted as basins that trapped toxic air over vast swaths of the country, sometimes making the air toodangerous to breathe.

Here is a map depicting India’s air pollution condition in 2018. Source - Berkeley Earth

INDIA FACED ITS WORST WATER SHORTAGE IN HISTORYIn 2018, India faced its worst water shortage in history. Six hundred million people were dealing with high to extreme water shortage, according to a report by Niti Aayog - a policy think tank for the Indian government. Though 80% of the country's states have water conservation legislation, bad data management and nonexistent pricing of water have kept the country from making significant change, the report stated. Twenty-one major Indian cities are estimated to run out of groundwater by 2020 - Just two years away

THE BAD

THE BAD

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THE UGLY OF 2018 - INDIA2018 was a record-breaking year and when it comes to the environment, it provided ample proof that climate change now impacts survival on a daily basis.

The 21st Conference of Parties, Paris, has got the world talking and raising questions about climate changes. How can the world prevent global warming? How can each country do its bit to reverse its effect? Most importantly, how do we adapt to its already catastrophic ramifications? In India alone, we had to deal with devastating calamities - both natural and man-made.

We take a look at a few times India had to cope with climate change in 2018…

KERALA DEVASTATED!Kerala had not witnessed a natural disaster like the 2018 Kerala floods in over 94 years. So, what caused this deluge? Of course, the first reason is rain, lots and lots of rain. These showers coupled with poor management of water resources and dams and laxity on the part of the state government simply worsened it.

The Kerala disaster could be a preview of what could happen to the major states in India due to its combination of poorly managed dams, heavy rains and lack of urban planning. According to a report in The Times Of India, cities like Mumbai and Thane in Maharashtra, which is also home to a whopping 3,264 dams, are at a risk of Kerala like floods due to unchecked urbanisation and lack of flood control measures.

UTTARAKHAND WITNESSED 3000 FOREST FIRES!Uttarakhand received 3,000 forest fire alerts which is 10 times the number it recorded in 2017. As per the Uttarakhand forest department, 741 fire incidents were reported beginning February 15 till May 21 in which 1213.76-hectare forest area was destroyed posing revenue loss of over Rs 21 lakh.

The region has been facing heat waves since the mishap and temperatures have shot up to 40 degrees Celsius.

FLASH FLOODS WIPED TRIPURA!In May, the state of Tripura experienced flash floods as a result of overnight heavy rainfall. The Haora and Gomati rivers overflowed above the danger levels and 670 families from along the river banks had to be shifted to relief camps. Several areas of Gomati, Khowai, Sipahijala and West Tripura districts were submerged under water for over 2 days. Around 4 people died and over 13,000 were displaced.

MOST INTENSE DUST STORMS WITNESSED IN NORTH INDIAIn May, western and northern states including Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh were severely hit by dust storms claiming lives of approximately 124 people. Scientists linked climate change for such storms. Global warming or heat-trapping greenhouse gases, loads of moisture, the abnormally high temperature had been considered as the main drivers of such storms.

As per experts, dust storms are usually not this intense as experienced then. It is the high temperature which has aggravated the situation. For instance, temperatures touched an unusual high in Delhi - almost 7 degrees higher than usual. Further, the temperature in our western neighbour – Pakistan – reached a record-breaking high recently, as much as 122.3 degrees Fahrenheit. This western heat coupled with moist winds from the East has manifested the extreme weather in northern India.

SHIMLA HITS WATER CRISES!

In June, 2018 Shimla faced major water crisis and the situation only kept getting worse. Local residents didn't have water for 11 days straight. The outcome of which was keep-off-Shimla messages for tourists on social media that soon grabbed attention of the entire nation.

Meanwhile, the HC directed the Shimla Municipal Corporation to immediately disconnect water supply to hotels that had not cleared municipal dues. Shockingly, the count was 224 such hotels.

CYCLONE IN TAMIL NADU

In November, the cyclone Gaja hit Tamil Nadu leading to over 60000 evacuated and hundreds of casualties in a few days. Unseasonal and unpredictable rains have become another recurring phenomenon in India.

“Natural disasters are terrifying - that loss of control, this feeling that something is just going to randomly end your life for absolutely no reason is terrifying. But, what scares me is the human reaction to it and how people behave when the rules of civility and society are obliterated.”

- Eli Roth

THE UGLY

THE UGLY

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WILDEST WILDFIRES HIT CALIFORNIA!

California's most destructive wildfire on record razed the town of Paradise to the ground. One of the most intense hurricanes ever to make landfall in the United States submerged the Florida Panhandle in 10 feet of storm surge. Heat waves, drought, and algal blooms threatened lives across the globe. And to it all cap off, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a near-apocalyptic report finding that, without "drastic and immediate action," the world could warm more than 1.5 degrees - bringing even more extreme weather to hundreds of millions of people.

HURRICANE MICHAEL IN GULF COAST

Causing immediate flooding and severe damage along the shore, the winds and floods threatened Florida. Southern Alabama and Georgia residents warned about the potential damage from the storm that wreaked havoc in the Florida Panhandle, damaging hospitals and homes, cutting off transportation, and leaving over a million buildings without electricity.

HURRICANE FLORENCE IN US EAST COASTWithin 24 hours of landfall, the massive hurricane flooded homes and streets in North Carolina, prompting evacuations. The Category 1 hurricane slowed to 2-3 mph, which means the Carolinas suffered a 24-hour cycle of torrential rain and hurricane winds up to 90 mph. Up to 40 inches of rain flooded areas of the Carolinas. Over 620,000 people lost power in North and South Carolina. On September 17, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression but it still had winds up to 30 mph. Several rivers, including Cape Fear, Little, Neuse, and Rocky Rivers, hit major flood stage in only two days.

All these incidents served as a wake-up call to people and policymakers of the world because the realities of climate change coupled with bad ecological policies have started to cause havoc in every country, its economy and the citizens of the world!

CAPE TOWN WAS HIT BY WATER CRISES!

South African city faced one of the worst droughts in recent years. Visitors and tourists were asked to be as conscious of water usage as residents by taking 2-minute showers, flush the toilet as little as possible and only stay in hotels or accommodations that have water-saving measures in place. The Cape Town tourist board issued advice to visitors on how they can help conserve water while staying in the city asking them to keep their daily water usage to under 87 litres. The tourism board had also released a list of ways that visitors could save water that includes reusing towels, using a cup of water while teeth brushing instead of letting the taps run, reporting leaking taps or toilets, giving clothes to the hotel laundry in bulk, and using an app to track water usage.

INDONESIA CRIED TSUNAMI

It is believed that "undersea landslides" from the Anak Krakatau volcano caused a violent tsunami which struck at night and devastated local towns, killing more than 200 people almost immediately.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo claimed Indonesia did not currently have the technology to predict such eruptions and consequences. That is why the residents and visitors at the beaches were not prepared to escape. Authorities pledged to investigate installing tidal gates which would detect waves near land and give warning.

Around the world, we witnessed earthquakes that demolished whole cities, wildfires that burnt thousands of acres, and cyclones that caused mass flooding and property damage. In the wake of these disasters, people grieved the losses of loved ones and destroyed property while anticipating the long road back to personal and communal recovery. In 2018. the impact of natural disasters was truly merciless and immeasurable.

THE UGLY OF 2018 - GLOBALLY

MOUNT KILAUEA ERUPTION IN HAWAII

On May 25, 2018, a 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck Hawaii near the base of Mount Kilauea, which sent ash from the erupting volcano up to 10,000 feet in the air. Another earthquake, one with a 5.5 magnitude, shook the Kilauea summit on June 3, 2018. It was one of 500 quakes in the summit area of the active volcano in a 24-hour period. The 5.5-magnitude quake sent ash up in the air over 8,000 feet.

JAPAN FLOODING AND MUDSLIDES

During the first week of July 2018, heavy rains in southwestern Japan led to devastating floods and mudslides. The region reportedly experienced three times the amount of normal rain for all of July in a matter of days. The torrential downpours caused flooding and mudslides which destroyed buildings, caked the land with mud, and left thousands stranded and displaced. Some residents remained trapped in their cars, caught off-guard by the fast pace of the mudslides. Roughly 2 million people had to abandon their homes and retreat to safety.

THE UGLY

THE UGLY

Disclaimer :

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Editor: Minakshi Agarwal. Editorial Contribution: Pooja AkulaPublished by

IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL DATES - 2019

World Future Energy Summit - 14th To 17th January

World Wetlands Day - 2nd February

Business Clean Up Day - 26th February

World Wildlife Day - 3rd March

International Day Of Forests - 21st March

World Water Day - 22nd March

World Meteorological Day - 23rd March

Earth Hour - 30th March

World Heritage Day - 18th April

Earth Day - 22nd April

International Composting Awareness Week - 6th To 12th May

International Day For Biological Diversity - 22nd May

World Turtle Day - 23rd May

World Environment Day - 5th June

World Oceans Day - 8th June

Global Wind Day - 15th June

World Day To Combat Desertification And

Drought - 17th June

World Population Day - 11th July

World Humanitarian Day - 19th August

International Day For The Preservation Of The Ozone Layer - 16th September

World Car-free Day - 22nd September

World Maritime Day - 29th September

World Habitat Day - 2nd October

International Day For Disaster Reduction - 13th October

International Day For The Eradication Of Poverty - 17th October

United Nations Day - 24th October

World Day For Audiovisual Heritage - 27th October

World Tsunami Awareness Day - 5th November

International Volunteer Day - 5th December

World Soil Day - 5th December

Human Rights Day - 10th December

International Mountain Day - 11th December