World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, focuses on the importance of freshwater. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. The theme of the World Water Day 2022: “Groundwater, making the invisible visible”. Groundwater is water found underground in aquifers, which are geological formations of rocks, sands and gravels that hold substantial quantities of water. Groundwater feeds springs, rivers, lakes and wetlands. Groundwater can be extracted to the surface by pumps and wells. Most arid areas of the world depend entirely on groundwater. Groundwater supplies a large proportion of the water we use for drinking, sanitation, food production and industrial processes. Our goal is to protect them from overexploitation – abstracting more water than is recharged - and the pollution that currently haunts them, since it can lead to the depletion of this resource and sometimes even preventing its use.   On March 22, World Water Day, the UN report on the state of the world's water resources will be presented, as well as recommendations for effective policy measures in this area. In Belarus, much attention is paid to the issues of conservation, restoration and sustainable use of ecological systems, climate impact mitigation and adaptation to a changing climate, including in terms of water resources management. As part of the State Program "Environmental Protection and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources" for 2021-2025 years, the Ministry of Natural Resources has developed a project to mitigate the impact on the republic's water resources in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals until 2030.  

Extreme weather, climate and water events are becoming more frequent and intense in many parts of the world as a result of climate change. More of us than ever before are exposed to a myriad of collateral hazards, which are evolving as a result of population growth, urbanization and environmental degradation.  Forecasts of what the weather will be like are no longer enough. Impact-based forecasts that inform the public about what the weather will do are vital to saving lives and livelihoods. However, every third people aren’t still sufficiently covered by early warning systems.  Closer coordination between National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, disaster management authorities and development agencies is fundamental to improve prevention, preparedness and response. COVID-19 has compounded the challenges facing society and weakened coping mechanisms. The pandemic has also shown that, in our interconnected world, we need to take a truly multifactorial and cross-border approach in order to make progress towards global climate change, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development goals. Being prepared and able to act can save many lives and protect the communities around the world, now and in the future. Thus, World Meteorological Day on March 23, 2022 is dedicated to the theme "Early Warning and Early Action" and highlights the vital importance of hydrometeorological and climate information for disaster risk reduction. WMO members include 187 States. Belarus has been a WMO member since 1948. On this day, March 23, our country also celebrates the Day of Workers of the Hydrometeorological Service of the Republic of Belarus . The holiday was established in 2012. This day reminds of the need for meteorological research, as well as the importance of preserving the atmosphere and hydrosphere of the planet.  

On December 31, 2021, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree declaring 2022 the Year of Historical Memory. The moment of signing was shown on television as part of the broadcast of the New Year's address of the head of state to the Belarusian people. The decree notes that the Year of Historical Memory is declared in order to form an objective attitude of society towards the historical past, to preserve and strengthen the unity of the Belarusian people.

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.