Editing 2002 (section)

== Environment and weather ==
{{Main|2002 in the environment|Weather of 2002}}
{{See also|List of earthquakes in 2002|Tropical cyclones in 2002}}
[[File:Rusa 2002-08-27 0350Z.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Typhoon Rusa]] on August 27]]
2002 was the second hottest year on record, exceeded only by [[1998]].<ref name=":11">{{Cite report |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/200213 |title=Annual 2002 Global Climate Report |date=2003 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=2023-03-30 |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330030957/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/200213 |url-status=live }}</ref> There was below average precipitation in 2002, with droughts in [[2000s Australian drought|Australia]], northern China, [[2002 Indian heat wave|India]], and [[2002 North American drought|western United States]].<ref name=":11" /> Heavy rains in late 2002 caused significant flooding in eastern Asia<ref name=":11" /> and [[2002 European floods|in central Europe]].<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=77}} The effects of the [[Asian brown cloud]] were documented in August by the [[United Nations Environment Programme]], warning of severe agricultural and meteorological effects in Afghanistan, northwestern India, and Pakistan.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=184}} February saw the collapse of the [[Larsen B]] ice shelf, a 12,000-year-old ice shelf in Antarctica with an area of 3,265&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (1,260 sq mi).<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=387}}

The third [[Global Environment Outlook]] report was published in May.<ref name=":16" />{{Rp|page=465}} The [[World Summit on Sustainable Development]] was held in [[Johannesburg]] beginning on August 26. A number of proposals were endorsed in the summit, though environmentalists criticized the United States for not supporting stronger measures.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=209}} The European Union ratified the [[Kyoto Protocol]], while China and Russia announced their intent to do so. Australia and the United States rejected the protocol.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=211}} The war in Afghanistan caused widespread environmental issues, with forests destroyed, wildlife poached by refugees,<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=213}} and the [[Kabul Zoo]] requiring international support.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=215}} The [[Kitulo National Park]] was established in Tanzania to preserve the endemic orchid species.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=239}}

Efforts to promote [[carbon sequestration]] were mixed in 2002. An experiment to study whether there were risks of pollution was shuttered following pressure from environmentalist groups such as [[Greenpeace]] and the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]], but [[Statoil]] reported success in a six-year-long experiment in the [[North Sea]] later in the year.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=212}}

The January eruption of [[Mount Nyiragongo]] brought destruction to [[Goma]], prompting an evacuation of 400,000 people, with 12,000 finding themselves homeless with damage across 14 villages.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=182}} A [[Prestige oil spill|major oil spill]] took place off the coast of [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], Spain, when the [[MV Prestige|MV ''Prestige'']] ruptured and sank in November.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|page=87}} The deadliest earthquake in 2002 was [[2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes|a 6.1-magnitude earthquake]] that struck northern Afghanistan on March 25, killing approximately 1,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timeline: World's deadliest earthquakes since 2000 |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/6/the-worlds-deadliest-earthquakes-since-2000 |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=October 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005031552/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/6/the-worlds-deadliest-earthquakes-since-2000 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[2002 Bou'in-Zahra earthquake|A 6.5 magnitude earthquake]] in Iran killed approximately 200 people the following June.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=182}} North America saw one of its most intense earthquakes when [[2002 Denali earthquake|a 7.9 magnitude earthquake]] struck Alaska on November 3, but the remote location prevented any fatalities.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=181}}

The [[2002 Atlantic hurricane season]] saw 12 [[Tropical cyclone naming|named storms]], a near-average number. Most of them were relatively minor, with only 4 four becoming hurricanes, of which two attained major hurricane status. The season's activity was limited to between July and October, a rare occurrence caused partly by El Niño conditions. The two major hurricanes, [[Hurricane Isidore]] and [[Hurricane Lili]], both made landfall in Cuba and the United States, and combined were responsible for most of the season's damages and deaths.<ref name=":18">{{Cite journal |last1=Pasch |first1=Richard J. |last2=Lawrence |first2=Miles B. |last3=Avila |first3=Lixion A. |last4=Beven |first4=John L. |last5=Franklin |first5=James L. |last6=Stewart |first6=Stacy R. |date=2004-07-01 |title=Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2002 |journal=Monthly Weather Review |language=EN |volume=132 |issue=7 |pages=1829–1859 |doi=10.1175/1520-0493(2004)132<1829:AHSO>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=2004MWRv..132.1829P |issn=1520-0493|doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[2002 Pacific typhoon season]] entailed a typical number of typhoons, but they were above average in intensity with 46% of typhoons reaching "intense strength". [[Typhoon Rusa]] was the deadliest typhoon in 2002, killing at least 113 people in South Korea.<ref name="TSR2001Summ">{{cite web |last1=Saunders |first1=Mark |last2=Lea |first2=Adam |date=2003-01-17 |title=Summary of 2002 NW Pacific Typhoon Season and Verification of Authors' Seasonal Forecasts |url=https://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/docs/TSRNWP2002Verification.pdf |website=Tropical Storm Risk |publisher=University College London |access-date=March 30, 2023 |archive-date=July 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703084025/http://tropicalstormrisk.com/docs/TSRNWP2002Verification.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>