“The death toll from the worst flooding to hit India’s Kerala state in a century has jumped to 357 with losses to infrastructure pegged at almost $3bn…
“The amount of rain that has fallen is unexpectedly high this year, according to Al Jazeera’s senior meteorologist Steff Gaulter.
“”Normally, by this point in the monsoon season, we expect to see about 1,649mm of rain. But this year it was 2,344mm. This is well over what we’d expect in the entire monsoon season, and we still have another month to go,” she said…
“According to India’s weather bureau, since the beginning of June, more than 321cm of rain has fallen on the hilly central district of Idukki, which is now virtually cut off from the rest of the state.
“The Kerala government has said it faces an “extremely grave” crisis and Vijayan warned of further torrential rainfall hitting the region over the weekend.
“The gates of dozens of dams and reservoirs across the state have been opened as water levels reach dangerous levels, inundating many other villages.”
“Typhoon Rumbia brought heavy rain to the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian, forcing the evacuation of 14,573 residents from disaster-prone regions… Precipitation in urban areas ranged from 50 to 70 mm in a 90-minute period.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-08/20/c_137404129_2.htm
“At least 10 people have died and two are missing in Vietnam after typhoon Bebinca made landfall… Many districts in Nghe An have received heavy rainfall of between 180 to 250 millimeters since Thursday night, leaving many mountainous villages submerged. Thousands of students in the province are unlikely to start their new school year on schedule this week.”
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/flooding-death-toll-rises-to-10-in-vietnam-3794982.html
“Japan and South Korea are bracing for two typhoons which are expected later this week. The two storms, the 20th and 21st named storms of the West Pacific typhoon season, are still strengthening as they head north… Soulik is forecast to have winds gusting up to 200 kilometres per hour. Torrential rain is likely to cause flooding and a storm surge threatens to trigger coastal flooding.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/twin-typhoons-threaten-japan-south-korea-180819090317262.html
“Hundreds of firefighters are battling terrifying bushfires in NSW which have ripped through thousands of hectares.”
“Communities reeling from Australia’s worst drought in more than 50 years will be given extra funding to help deal with the dry conditions in their own way. Sixty drought-affected councils across western Queensland and New South Wales will be handed $1m each by the federal government to spend on anything from trucking in drinking water to building new community facilities.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/19/drought-funding-to-get-18bn-government-boost
“Harrowing new footage released by California’s firefighting agency Cal Fire reveals the massive fire tornado that led to the death of a firefighter on July 26.”
https://mashable.com/2018/08/18/fire-tornado-california-video/?europe=true#zsS_zNWbiqqz
“Temperatures will be on the rise early this week across the northwestern U.S. as high pressure builds to the north… Seattle and Portland both could challenge record highs.”
“Flights at several airports in B.C.’s Interior and West Kootenay regions have been cancelled or delayed Sunday as wildfire smoke continues to choke the province.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-wildfires-1.4791099
“Firefighters in Sweden have faced their worst bushfire season ever on the back of the country’s hottest July since records began more than 260 years ago… “We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Stockholm’s chief fire officer Peter Arnevall… Sweden recorded 18 of its warmest 19 summers in the past 25 years… “We’ve been warned now what can happen … look at climate change and the temperatures in Sweden, and what’s happening with our climate.””
“Bedbugs are besieging Britain this summer after the record-breaking heat has created the perfect breeding conditions.”
“A sustained drought in Germany has revealed the ruins of a village abandoned when a large reservoir was created more than 100 years ago… Like many European countries, Germany has seen remarkably little rain in recent months… Eight German states have already reported drought-related damage amounting to $3.4 billion.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/19/drought-reveals-remains-of-german-atlantis-in-lake/
“Switzerland this weekend again experienced temperatures over 30C – the eight consecutive weekend this has been the case… the dry conditions have made life difficult for farmers and wildlife. The army has helped bring water to thirsty cows in the Alps while the Swiss Fishing Federation told The Local fish populations were seriously struggling.”
https://www.thelocal.ch/20180820/end
“British holidaymakers were filmed fleeing Benidorm’s beaches today as flash floods turned streets into fast-flowing rivers. Temperatures in the Spanish resort are currently lower than in the UK.”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/benidorm-tourists-flee-beach-after-13097212
“Torrential rain has lashed the west coast of Africa, leaving parts of Liberian capital Monrovia under water… Monrovia was not the only place to experience torrential rain. An airport in Grand Bassa, south of the capital, reported 360mm of rain in 24 hours – roughly the amount that is expected in the entire month of August.”
“Much of Sudan including the capital Khartoum was recently hit by unprecedented rain, which has left scores dead and thousands of others displaced, while destroying power grids, houses and inflicting serious damage on public utilities and infrastructure.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-08/19/c_137402664.htm
“Scientists have worried for years that rising temperatures will free carbon trapped in frozen soil in the Arctic, accelerating the pace of climate change — but now they believe abrupt thawing below lakes is even more dangerous… Here’s the problem: When permanently frozen dirt melts, the bacteria trapped inside it become active again, munch through whatever organic material is in reach, and produce carbon dioxide and methane, which are both powerful greenhouse gases.”
https://www.space.com/41533-abrupt-permafrost-melting-carbon-climate-impact.html
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Huh, thanks for the heads-up, David. Let me get technical support onto that…
David, I’ve subscribed myself via an old email address and it seems to be working alright. Maybe try again? Best wishes, Panopticon