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World Soil Day is celebrated annually on December 5 to remind the world community of the importance of soil resources and the role they play in preserving ecosystems and ensuring the growth of human well-being. The history of this day originates in 2002, when the corresponding resolution was adopted by the International Union of Soil Sciences. Scientists then drew attention to the need to understand the importance of the planet's soil resources at the international level. Their task was to reassess the understanding, both by ordinary citizens and by the authorities of all countries of the world, of the role that soil resources play in the life of a person and state, as well as in the ecosystem of the planet. Only the awareness of the importance of preserving the planet's soil resources can radically change the policy of the ruling structures of any state in this area. The resolution of the International Union of Soil Sciences was supported by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). Together with Thailand, this organization took the UN initiative to establish a day dedicated to the problem of soil resources of the Earth. In December 2013, the UN General Assembly proclaimed December 5 as World Soil Day. A more detailed acquaintance with the reports of the FAO representatives made many people realize the real role of soil in the life of mankind. Soils are one of the fundamental structures of the ecosystem, providing living space for humans and the world of flora and fauna, maintaining biological diversity, the main component of the production of feed and food, one of the conditions for safety and sustainability in the face of unfavorable climatic factors, etc. The soil cannot be viewed simply as a stable foundation under a person's feet. Desert - also provides sustainability, but deprives a person of the opportunity to grow food. That is, the factor of land fertility plays one of the key roles in our life. From this point of view, ecologists and FAO representatives are concerned that about a third of the world's soil resources are degrading, and some are subject to desertification. Salinization and soil codification are major ecosystem-threatening soil degradation processes and are recognized as some of the most important global issues for agricultural production, food security and resilience in arid and semi-arid regions. The topic of December 5, 2021 is “Stop soil salinization, raise soil productivity”. Saline soils - soils with an excessive content of readily soluble mineral salts. Salts penetrate into the soil from underground deposits, together with precipitation and from underground waters. Especially prone to soil salinization in coastal areas near the seas and oceans. Mineral substances get into the soil and watering plants. Almost all water in the world contains impurities, so salinization of any soil is inevitable. Protection of soil fertility is an important issue for Belarus. More than 40% of the country's territory is occupied by agricultural land, a significant part of which is drained peatlands. The issue of soil pollution is also relevant, especially in the context of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In accordance with regulatory legal acts, observations of the chemical pollution of soils in the Republic of Belarus are carried out by the state institution "Republican Center for Hydrometeorology, Radioactive Contamination Control and Environmental Monitoring" subordinate to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus on the networks of observation points formed for points, background areas and roadside strips of highways. Systematic observations are carried out at more than 1100 observation points on the territory of 34 cities of the republic - regional centers, cities with a population of 50 or more thousand people, as well as settlements with a population of less than 50 thousand, in which large industrial enterprises are concentrated (Krichev, Beloozersk, Novolukoml, Volkovysk, Kalinkovichi, Luninets, Kostyukovichi, Rogachev, Berezovka, Krasnoselsky). The monitoring network for soil chemical pollution in the background areas includes 90 observation points (15 points in each administrative region) in areas characterized by a minimum anthropogenic load with natural soil cover and vegetation. Observations of the chemical contamination of the soils of the roadside strips of the republic's highways are carried out on 22 soil profiles (observation points) in the zones of influence of highways of republican significance with different traffic intensities. Some figures for soils from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Soils directly or indirectly provide 95% of human food. About 1/3 of our food becomes waste, and almost half of household waste can be recycled into compost that feeds the soil. By 2050, the world's population will exceed 9 billion people, and agricultural production worldwide will increase by about 60%. Soils are the habitat of about 1/4 of all biological species on our planet. There are more living organisms in one teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on planet Earth. 33% of soils worldwide are moderately to severely degraded due to erosion, salinization, compaction, acidification, chemical pollution and nutrient depletion. Every year the Earth loses 24 billion tons of fertile soil. Every hour in Europe, expanding cities take over 11 hectares of soil. Land-use changes and drainage of organic soils for cultivation are responsible for about 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Rational use of soil resources (increasing the content of soil organic matter, maintaining vegetation on the soil surface, wisely using nutrients, promoting the organization of crop rotations, combating erosion) can increase yields by an average of 58%. More information about the critical role of soils for the existence of the biosphere on our planet can be found on the website of the International Year of Soils. Protection of soil fertility is an important issue for Belarus. More than 40% of the country's territory is occupied by agricultural land, a significant part of which is drained peatlands. The issue of soil pollution is also relevant, especially in the context of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Scientists of Belarus are actively working in such promising areas as sustainable farming, organic farming, precision farming. Some figures for soils from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Soils directly or indirectly provide 95% of human food. About 1/3 of our food becomes waste, and almost half of household waste can be recycled into compost that feeds the soil. By 2050, the world's population will exceed 9 billion people, and agricultural production worldwide will increase by about 60%. Soils are the habitat of about 1/4 of all biological species on our planet. There are more living organisms in one teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on planet Earth. 33% of soils worldwide are moderately to severely degraded due to erosion, salinization, compaction, acidification, chemical pollution and nutrient depletion. Every year the Earth loses 24 billion tons of fertile soil. Every hour in Europe, expanding cities take over 11 hectares of soil. Land-use changes and drainage of organic soils for cultivation are responsible for about 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Rational use of soil resources (increasing the content of soil organic matter, maintaining vegetation on the soil surface, wisely using nutrients, promoting the organization of crop rotations, combating erosion) can increase yields by an average of 58%. More information about the critical role of soils for the existence of the biosphere on our planet can be found on the website of the International Year of Soils. Protection of soil fertility is an important issue for Belarus. More than 40% of the country's territory is occupied by agricultural land, a significant part of which is drained peatlands. The issue of soil pollution is also relevant, especially in the context of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Scientists of Belarus are actively working in such promising areas as sustainable farming, organic farming, precision farming.

The North Eurasian Climate Center (NEACC), created on the basis of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, held the 21st session of the North Eurasian Climate Forum NEACC-21 on November 23, 2021. The forum was attended by representatives of meteorological services and research centers of the CIS countries and other interested parties. During a comprehensive comprehensive discussion, topical issues are discussed: analysis of large-scale atmospheric circulation for the upcoming winter season 2021/2022, the activities of the regional climate center, the development of long-term meteorological forecasts based on climate models, monitoring of circulating conditions in the stratosphere and troposphere over the past summer season, the impact of expected impacts anomalies of meteorological parameters in the economic sphere and others. During the work of NEACC -21, a consensus forecast in probabilistic form for air temperature and precipitation for the winter season 2021/2022 in Northern Eurasia will be issued. Representatives of Belhydromet presented a report on the success of the seasonal forecast for the summer season of 2021 for the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

On October 20, 2021, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Andrei Khudyk met with the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization, Professor Petteri Taalas. The Republic of Belarus has been a member of the World Meteorological Organization since 1948 and carries out a significant part of its activities in the field of hydrometeorology and related fields in accordance with WMO documents. Andrei Khudyk noted that improving the work of the National Hydrometeorological Service of the Republic of Belarus and increasing the accuracy of weather forecasts is one of the priority tasks of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, for which a set of relevant measures was implemented in the period from 2018 to 2020. Separately, the Minister dwelled on the measures taken in Belarus aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change. The Minister expressed gratitude to the Secretary General and the WMO Secretariat for the assistance provided and fruitful joint activities in the field of hydrometeorology and related fields, including for providing financial support in 2018 for organizing a visit to the National Hydrometeorological Service of the Republic of Belarus for representatives of the Turkish State Meteorological Service to install and final configuration of the MetCapPlus software product with the ability to process EUMETSAT satellite data. Petteri Taalas highly appreciated the measures taken in Belarus to achieve the indicators of "environmental neutrality" and confirmed the readiness of WMO to provide technical assistance to the Hydrometeorological Service of Belarus. The parties also discussed the prospects for holding international events through the WMO in Belarus.

On October 12, the opening of the international specialized exhibition «Energy. Ecology. Energy saving. Electro» (EnergyExpo 2021) in the framework of the XXV Anniversary Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum took place. Exhibition «Energy. Ecology. Energy saving. Electro» (EnergyExpo)   has been held since 1995, attracting the attention of the leading Belarusian and world manufacturers of equipment, technologies and materials, and is one of the largest in this area in the CIS and Baltic countries. In 2019, more than 300 enterprises and organizations from 15 countries of the world presented their products. Among them are the largest enterprises of Belarus and foreign companies interested in promoting their products to the Belarusian market. Within the framework of the Environmental Forum, the Ministry of natural resources and environmental protection of the Republic of Belarus organized a scientific and practical conference «Development of a «green» economy in the Republic of Belarus, which took place on October 12. This event is a unique platform for discussion on improving environmental policy and developing a «green» economy. Specialists of Belhydromet also m ade reports at the conference: •  Kirill  Deynega  - chief engineer of Belhydromet on the topic «Using modern systems for collecting, processing, storing and analyzing hydrometeorological information»; •  Natalya  Sviridovich  - Head of the Environmental Monitoring Service of Belhydromet on the topic «On the prospects for the development of observation technologies and methodological base for monitoring atmospheric air»; •  Alla  Shaybak   - Head of the Department of Operational Data of Radiation Control and Monitoring of Emergencies of the Radiation Monitoring Service of Belhydromet on the topic «Use of automated systems for radiation monitoring of atmospheric air». Within the framework of the exposition of the organizations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Belhydromet presents a video reflecting information on the Atlas of Wind Potential, demonstrates a 3-D model of the Minsk meteorological station and the Doppler meteorological locator, which will allow visitors to visually familiarize themselves with the technical capabilities of Belhydromet in the production of hydrometeorological information. Information materials on environmental topics are presented to a wide range of visitors. Visitors can ask any question that interests them when viewing the exposition, which will be answered by Belhydromet specialists.

As part of the implementation of international obligations to fulfill the provisions of the Paris Agreement to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus adopted Resolution No. 553 dated September 29, 2021 "On the Establishment of a Nationally Determined Contribution of the Republic of Belarus to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2030" (document), according to which the country commits itself to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by 35 percent against the 1990 level, taking into account absorption in the sector "Land use, land use change and forestry" and without attracting additional funding (according to previous obligations, the reduction was 28 percent). The goal will be achieved within the framework of the implementation of the Program of socio-economic development of the Republic of Belarus for 2021 - 2025 and a number of state and sectoral programs for this period.

In the period from the 4th to 5th of October 2021, the 32nd session of the Interstate Council on Hydrometeorology of the Commonwealth of Independent States (ICH CIS) was held via videoconferencing. The meeting was traditionally attended by the heads of the national hydrometeorological services of the CIS, representatives of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as well as the CIS Executive Committee in the field of hydrometeorology and related areas. To participate in the 32nd session of the ICH CIS, the following representatives of the Republic of Belarus went out to contact from the building of the CIS Executive Committee, located in Minsk at 17 Kirov Street: Alexander Burov , Director of the Department for Security Cooperation and Countering New Challenges and Threats of the CIS Executive Committee; Georgy Samsonov , Head of the Department for Cooperation in the Field of Prevention and Elimination of Emergency Situations of the Department for Cooperation in the Field of Security and Countering New Challenges and Threats of the CIS Executive Committee;  Aliaksandr Konovalchyk , Head of the state institution “Republican Center for Hydrometeorology, Control of Radioactive Contamination and Environmental Monitoring” (Belhydromet); Anna Matsevilo , Chief of International Cooperation and Public Relations Service, Belhydromet. Deputy Secretary-General of the WMO Elena Manaenkova opened the session with a welcoming speech . Igor Shumakov , Head of the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, chaired the 32nd session of the ICH CIS. Within the framework of the session, reports on the activities of the national hydrometeorological services of the CIS were presented, as well as topical issues on their interaction and development during the intersessional period were considered, including: "On the activities of national hydrometeorological services, their interaction within the CIS and the WMO"; "On the implementation of the Agreement on the interstate hydrometeorological network of the CIS"; "On the progress of implementation of the Strategy for the Development of Hydrometeorological Activities of the CIS Member States and the Plan for its Implementation"; "On projects to modernize the observation networks of the NHMS with the involvement of IBRD funds"; "On the project of a unified information space of meteorological data of the EAEC countries (REANET)"; "On participation in the activities of the Earth Observation Group" and others. Representatives of the Republic of Belarus made reports: "On the activities of the hydrometeorological service of the Republic of Belarus, interaction within the CIS and the WMO"; "On the organization and conduct of hydrobiological observations on water bodies in the NMHS of the ICH CIS member states." In accordance with the documents of the session, acting director of the state non-commercial organization "Center for Hydrometeorology and Monitoring" of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia Levon Azizyan was appointed Chairman of the ICH CIS for the next period. The next 33rd session of the ICH CIS is scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2022 in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In the period from the 16th to 22nd of September, 2021, the European Mobility Week was held once again, and the city environmental campaign "Car-Free Day" took place on the 22nd of September. As part of the action, on September 21 and 22 the environmental monitoring service of Belhydromet of the Ministry of natural resources and environmental protection of the Republic of Belarus carried out a route survey of the state of atmospheric air at the points agreed with the Minsk City Committee of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, followed by testing of atmospheric air samples. On September 21, 2021, in the area of the recreation zone (Museum of Boulders), the intersection of Y. Kolas and Kulman streets and recreation areas (Gorky Park), the concentration of formaldehyde was - from 0.4 to 0.6 MPC, nitrogen dioxide - 0.2 MPC and carbon monoxide - from 0.06 to 0.2 MPC. On September 22, 2021, a decrease in the level of atmospheric air pollution was observed. So the concentration of nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde at two points was below the detection limit of the method, the concentration of carbon monoxide ranged from 0.06 to 0.07 MPC. Name of substance Unit Date (time) of selection Temperature and wind direction while sampling Sampling site designation MPC m/r Т.1 Т.2 Т.3 Formaldehyde μ g / m3 2021/09/21 t =5,5,÷5,6 °C, NNW 11 18 30 2021/09/22 t =6,8÷9,1 °C, N 13 Nitrogen dioxide μ g / m3 2021/09/21 t =5,5,÷5,6 °C, NNW 38 60 38 250 2021/09/22 t =6,8÷9,1 °C, N Carbon oxide μ g / m3 2021/09/21 t =5,5,÷5,6 °C, NNW 980 770 300 5000 2021/09/22 t =6,8÷9,1 °C, N 280 310 340   The designations used in the table: Т .1 - Minsk, recreation zone "Park of stones"; Т .2 - Minsk, intersection of J. Kolas and Kuhlman str.; Т .3 - Minsk, recreation area (Central Children's Park named after Gorky).       The concentration of carbon oxide, nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde in the taken samples of atmospheric air did not exceed the normalized values of the maximum one-time concentrations in the atmospheric air.  

Since 2003 World Water Monitoring Day has been celebrated annually on the 18th of September. This day was established at the initiative of the American Clean Water Foundation. The holiday has become an information and educational program aimed at raising public awareness of the problems of the planet's water resources and participating in protection from pollution. The program provides an opportunity for people to carry out basic monitoring of the condition of local water bodies and is supported by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the International Water Association (IWA). The traditional event of this Day is taking water samples in different reservoirs of our planet to assess its quality and safety for the life of people and living organisms. Those who wish are invited to conduct a series of simple tests to determine the quality of water in local rivers, lakes and other sources, and publish the results on the website of the World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD). The suitability of water for drinking is determined by sanitary and epidemiological rules and regulations. Experts check it for epidemic and radiation safety, chemical composition and organoleptic properties. And, if special equipment is needed to determine the chemical composition, we can evaluate the organoleptic properties ourselves, this is how our senses perceive water. The water should be odorless, tasteless, colorless and free of turbidity. The presence of aquatic organisms and surface films visible to the naked eye is not allowed in drinking water. In 2020 surface water monitoring on the territory of the Republic of Belarus was carried out at 297 observation points. Regular observations are carried out on 160 water bodies, of which 86 watercourses (176 observation points) and 74 water bodies (121 observation points). Observation points for the state of surface waters, indicators and frequency of monitoring the quality of surface waters are determined by order of the Ministry of natural resources and environmental protection of the Republic of Belarus dated July 19, 2019 No. 180-OD “On monitoring surface and ground waters”. Observations on hydrochemical indicators are carried out by the state agency "Republican center of analytical control in the field of environmental protection", on hydrobiological indicators - by the state institution “Republican center for hydrometeorology, control of radioactive contamination and environmental monitoring”.

Proposals to establish this holiday were made in February of this year at the VI All-Belarusian People's Assembly. It was on this day – September, 17 - in 1939 that the Polish campaign of the Red Army began, as a result of which the reunion of Western Belarus and the BSSR happened. The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko supported the initiative. The head of state signed a corresponding decree on the establishment of a new public holiday on June 7, 2021. “Day of National Unity is celebrated on the 17th of September. This day became an act of historical justice for the Belarusian people, divided against their will in 1921 under the terms of the Riga Peace Treaty, and forever fixed in the national historical tradition. The unity restored in 1939 allowed Belarus to withstand the years of the Great Patriotic War, to take an honorable place in the international community, to become one of the co-founders of the United Nations,” the presidential press service said in a commentary. It also emphasizes that today the Belarusian people are united in choosing a strategic course for the development of a strong, sovereign and prosperous country. The establishment of the Day of National Unity on September, 17 emphasizes the continuity of generations, the inviolability and self-sufficiency of the Belarusian nation and statehood. The President is convinced that the Day of National Unity was established on the 17th of September quite fairly, this date can be considered the day of the reunion of the Belarusian people. A large number of various social, political and patriotic events, as well as in the field of culture, museum activities and media, are planned in Belarus for the Day of National Unity at various levels. In the period of September 17-18, the management, the collective, together with the Trade Union Committee of Belhydromet, plans to take an active part in the events dedicated to this holiday and calls on caring citizens to take part in planting trees and shrubs in settlements and along highways, in the laying of parks, squares and alleys in places subject to landscaping and improvement!