Fighting continues in the heavily industrialized #Donbass region of #Ukraine around the town of Novogorodske, or better know as 'New York', hosting a massive phenol chemical plant that is posing a huge environmental risk. A short thread: 1/x The chemical plant is producing phenol, a flammable, highly corrosive chemical. The site itself hosted large quantities prior to the invasion, while toxic waste is stored in three nearby ponds. We flagged these risks in this 2017 @bellingcat piece 2/x

bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-eu…

The war is turning #Gaza into rotting garbage dumpsite as the destruction continues. We have launched a new report drawing on satellite imagery and #OSINT to visualize the scale the of solid waste and linked public health crisis. A small thread 1/x 🧵
paxforpeace.nl/news/war-torn-…


Prior to Oct 7, the #Gaza Strip was already facing enormous problems with solid waste management, despite initiatives by the @WorldBank to construct safe landfills. Illegal waste dumps and waste fires contributed to environmental stressors for nearby communities 2/x

The devastation brought upon #Gaza's urban and rural environment by Israel after the brutal Hamas attacks is making large parts uninhabitable, a new @PAXforpeace
report shows. The massive damage is also posing long-term public health risks. A thread: 1/x paxforpeace.nl/news/israels-b… The wide-scale destruction of urban areas is creating millions of tons of conflict-rubble, often mixed with toxic waste, and damaged hazardous facilities posing extra public and env health risks. We used @unosat
/@JamonVDH/@coreymaps data for damage, and #OSINT for facilities 2/x

The level of urban destruction by the use of #explosiveweapons in populated areas such as #Gaza is significant. Beyond the civilians casualties, this also leaves millions of tons of rubble, posing additional environmental health risks. New @Maxar img from Oct 21, Al Karameh 1/x

Here the damage at Beit Hanoun in northern #Gaza showing a complete neighborhood being almost completely demolished from bombardments 2/x

And toxic ghost from the past appears as DoD approvs #depleteduranium export to Ukraine: despite US overstating the case, the use of DU would only complicate conflict-pollution in #Ukraine and counters the global norm against its use 1/x
wsj.com/articles/u-s-s… What past wars showed was that DU was not decisive. In the Gulf Wars, most tanks were destroyed with Hellfires and Maverick missiles. Tungsten rounds still are able to destroy Russian tanks, and DU was no silver bullet. 2/x wise-uranium.org/pdf/dumyths.pdf

Open question with regard to the #Kakhovka flood impacts is to what kinds of pollutants were present on industrial locations that were swept away and create additional pollution risks. One example is the Kherson Oil Depot, southwest of the city 1/x Another area of concerns is the industrial area south, hosting various construction facilities that are storing different types of hazardous substances. Satellite imagery by @planet indicates there are pollutants in the water 2/x

The emergence of Morocco as a #drone power. With a range of airstrikes against suspected Polisario militants in occupied Western-Sahara, it is suspected that quite a few are carried out by armed #drones. A small thread with some new satellite imagery showing these drones🧵 1/X Morocco has been operating Israeli Harfang #drones from the Dakhla airbase in occupied Western Sahara, that are visible on Google Earth imagery in 2021 as shown by @obretix It is unclear if these drones have been armed 2/x

https://twitter.com/obretix/status/1380989224107794440?s=20&t=RaucSzv_5nhNJmf_OOZsDg

📢Russia's targeting of energy infrastructure in #Ukraine is displacing millions of people, while also worsening conflict-pollution. Today we launch a new Environment & Conflict Alert, with support of @UNEP and @Cen4infoRes. A small 🧵1/x

paxforpeace.nl/what-we-do/pub… Over the course of the last 10 months, we noted 213 reported incidents of strikes against thermal, hydro, nuclear and solar energy facilities in #Ukraine. We could verify 63 of those incidents with satellite images that observed damage to these facilities. 2/X

The cumulative effects of #ClimateEmergency in #Iraq are clearly visible through open-source earth observation tools. A short thread on how drought creates a mix of smoke from burning marshes and dust storms moving over the country 1/ As we shared earlier this week, the lack of water coming into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that lead to the south is resulting in the drying of Iraq's Marshes, home to the Marsh Arabs and with a unique ecosystem, threatening the lives and livelihoods of its population 2/x

More Russian military equipment is being set-up at the #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, a new drone video shows. Here's small thread with geo-locations and recent @planet high-resolution satellite imagery showing new military positions and strike impacts🧵1/x

https://twitter.com/markito0171/status/1555796413145120768

After entering the gate through the administrative building of the NPP, as seen on the first image , we see military truck here moving near the first of the 6 nuclear reactors. 2/x google.com/maps/place/Pro…

A new video posted by @rudaw reveals new information on a possible weapon and firing location that killed nine Iraqi tourists in a tourist resort, north of Zakho, Iraqi Kurdistan. A small #OSINT thread with some findings 🧵1/
rudaw.net/english/kurdis… First, one of the shots shows a wide-area view of this area where in the last years new Turkish/KRG military bases were set-up in the fight against the PKK, also featured in @SimonaFoltyn excellent piece for @NewsHour pbs.org/newshour/show/… h/t @obretix 2/ for geolocation

Enter the dragon: Chinese armed #drones now confirmed on @Airbus satellite imagery flying from #Ethiopia's Harar Meda airbase and new @planet satellite imagery showed increase activity with Iranian drones at Semera. Here's our @PAXforpeace analysis 1/x

paxforpeace.nl/news/blogs/eth… With reports of Chinese drones being involved in the #Tigray war, initial rumors of Wing Loongs II operated by the #UAE and flying from Eritrea could not confirmed to be involved in strikes in Ethiopia, as demonstrated in this @bellingcat article 2/x
bellingcat.com/news/rest-of-w…

A quick update on the oil spill at #Aden in the south of #Yemen. Today's satellite imagery by @planet shows the ongoing oil on the surface while the salvage operation of the sunken oil vessel is ongoing. #PT And here's radar image of the port of #Aden using @sentinel_hub Sentinel-1 SAR with an Oil Slick Custom script and Planet to show the spill. Note the image shows both water surface roughness and the spill itself, so it's not all oil in yellow..

Over the last two years we worked with local partners, used satellite imagery and open-source investigation to identify the specific problems that affects public health and the environment people depend on. Here's a small thread with what we found in NE #Syria 1/x The main focus was on the Hasakah and to a smaller extend the Raqqa governorate, due to presence of our partners and own access. More analysis on environmental issues in the SDF controlled Deir ez Zor is in the making 2/x

Lack of investments, expertise and equipment around oil production is resulting in the widespread use of unprotected open-air waste pits in NE #Syria. Here's on example the Jabisah facility in Hasakah. The bitumen could seep into local surface and groundwater sources More oil waste pits here south of the US air strip at Rmeilan in NE #Syria

A small oil tanker at the coast of #Yemen sank and leaked oil washed upon the shores of the Al Buriqah district, hosting its larger oil terminals. Frequents spills keep occurring on Yemen's coast, from bombed vessels to leaking pipelines, polluting its marine #environment

https://twitter.com/alobaly/status/1416810758789206021

#PT An oil spoil is already visible on this @sentinel_hub image from early July 2021 at the Aden oil terminal, near two smaller vessels cc @TankerTrackers #OOTT

Important new systematic review out on health effects #depleteduranium munitions in #Iraq by @ghiaub. Since its first use 1991, the use of DU spiked concerns among civilians and veterans, yet proper research has always been lacking. A short thread 1/x gh.bmj.com/content/6/2/e0… First of all, lack of transparency by the US in DU use in 1991 and 2003 in #Iraq hindered identifying contaminated areas, clean-up operations and health monitoring of exposed populations. In 2014, we got the first set through and Dutch FOIA 2/x theguardian.com/world/2014/jun…

In its new Protection of Civilians Handbook @NATO also expands on #environmental protection considerations. A welcome development following last years #UNSC debates and side-events on environmental, peace and security. A short thread: 1/x
shape.nato.int/news-archive/2… The introduction explains that PoC also includes protection of " the natural environment, as well as necessary public services linked to civilian critical infrastructure, such as potable water, sanitation, and electricity". 2/x natolibguides.info/Environment

Amazing #earthobservation art: The Empty Quarter in the desert of #Oman

The #Abqaiq oil processing facility has been targeted multiple times in the past, from Al Qaida in 2006 to foiled plot in May 2019 and now with #drones. Strikes against oil infrastructure can have massive economic and #environmental consequences. #PT at the #Abqaiq processing facility, 6.8 million barrels of crude oil are processed on a daily basis. Saudis claim the fire is now under control. The base is at least 1000km away from Houthi controlled area, so their likely #drone of choice is the UAV-X