Climate change and individual eventshave a large environmental effect as well. Negative environmental effects include impacts on the land such as droughts, wildfires in forest and peatlandareas, land degradation, sand and dust storms, and desertification. Air pollutionis linked to the use of fossil fuels. In freshwater systems,floods and water stress, andin marine systemsa variety of impacts includingsea level rise, ocean acidification, reduced levels of ocean oxygen, mangrove decay and coral bleaching. Many of theseimpactsare linked tobiodiversity loss.For example, besides theheavyhuman impactsof the wildfires in Australia in 2019 and early 2020, there were likely severeloss or displacement of many millions of animals during the disaster.

Heatwaves, drought and wildfireSevere drought affected many parts of interior South America in 2020, with the worst-affected areas being northern Argentina, Paraguay and western border areas of Brazil. It was the second-driest January-August period on record for the northeast region of Argentina, whilst rainfall for the period was also far below average in Paraguay. Estimated agricultural losses were near US$3 billion in Brazil with additional losses in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Peru also experienced drought conditions between January and March,mainly in the north of the country43. As the drought continued, a major heatwave stretched across the region in late September and early October, extending east and north to cover much of interior Brazil.

Long-term drought continued to persist in parts of southern Africa, particularly the Northern and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa, although heavy winter rains saw water storages reach full capacity in Cape Town, continuing the recovery from extreme drought,which peaked in 2018. Rainfall during the 2019-20 summer rainy season in interior southern Africa was locally heavy, but long-term drought persisted in some areas