“It rained all day on Sunday in Port Blair in South Andaman Island, as the remnants of cyclone Pabuk spread over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
“Pabuk was already unusual in being the first cyclone to make landfall in Thailand in 30 years, but maybe more unusually, the first ever recorded in the Gulf of Thailand in January.
“January, February and March are climatologically dry months for most of Southeast Asia…
“It has been raining in Sittwe and Mandalay, both in Myanmar, since Monday afternoon. It started in the borderlands of Thailand, Laos and China early on Tuesday.
“It is so unusual that, for example, in the Chinese city of Mengla, on the border with both Myanmar and Laos, the 88mm of rain that has fallen so far make up more than the expected rainfall for the first six months of the year…
“Chiang Rai in northern Thailand should be reliably dry – this is the time for honeymooners to come to Thailand – and yet 38mm of rain fell on Tuesday.
“January’s average is 7.5mm. Chiang Mai, further south but still in northern Thailand lists a mere 4.2mm of rain in a usual January. On Tuesday, as the rare thunder rumbled, 35mm of rain poured down.
“Huay Xai, on the Lao side of the upper reaches of the Mekong, records one day with rain in an average January. Well that’s just happened with a surprising 63mm of thundery rain. Buon Neu, also in northern Laos has reported 92mm in 33 hours, and it’s still raining. The average for January is 15mm.
“Over these three days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the forecast total rainfall is somewhere between 100mm and 200mm. That amount would set new records in most places and is likely to cause landslides.”
“Last year was Hong Kong’s third warmest year, with the hottest May since records began, the Observatory said on Tuesday.
“The Observatory said the city’s warm weather in 2018 was part of a global phenomenon, with the year on course to be the world’s fourth warmest recorded year.”
“A treacherous cyclone is set to wreak havoc across Queensland over the next few days, as it nears closer to the coast. Experts have warned Cyclone Penny could cause over one month’s worth of rain, 200mm, in a matter of days – with the average monthly rainfall for the Tropical North at just 168mm per month.”
“A major dust storm swept over parts of New South Wales on Tuesday afternoon, with hundreds of homes losing power…
“…as the incredible red dust clouds engulfed Riverina towns. Temora, Ariah Park and Barellan were hit by the huge clouds that turned the skies a deep red.”
“”The last two years, we’ve had very warm ocean temperatures around New Zealand …
“…because we are an island: as the seas go, we go.” Warm north-easterly winds blew over land into Wellington on Wednesday, bringing with it the high temperature.”
“Zimbabwe’s farmers are urging authorities to undertake cloud seeding to ease an early-season drought that’s hurting crops and destroying cattle pastures…
“In neighboring South Africa, farmers’ lobby group Grain SA warned late last month that the window for planting corn and soybeans in South Africa had passed. With hardly anything planted in western growing areas because of drought, the likelihood of the need for imports had increased, it said.”
“…dam levels in the region [Cape, South Africa] have continued to drop. Part of the reason for this drop has been the heatwaves experienced across the country during the holiday season.
“According to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), dam levels in November 2018 decreased by an alarming 4.8%, a direct result of the heatwave affecting most parts of the country, causing increased water evaporation and water consumption.”
https://albertonrecord.co.za/197385/water-wednesday-cape-town-water-levels-keep-dropping/
“Firefighters rescue passengers from a bus partially submerged by floodwater, as heavy rains spread across Sao Paulo [Brazil].”
Video:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-01-09/flooding-in-sao-paulo-video
“An impressive thunderstorm hit the provinces of Chaco and Corrientes [Argentina]. In addition to provoking floods in the main cities of the coast, it caused numerous falls of trees that caused destruction.
“The images came to TN and the People. From the municipality of Resistencia informed TN that in the capital of Chaco accumulated 140 millimeters of water… in a short period of time.”
“A storm surge has inundated parts of northern Germany, including Hamburg’s world-renowned fish market.
“Europe has been battered by devastating winters storms this year, with meteorologists expecting more soon.”
https://www.dw.com/en/storm-surge-sweeps-across-northern-germany/g-47001530
“Deadly winter weather blasted Europe for yet another day Tuesday…
“…trapping hundreds of people in Alpine regions, whipping up high winds that caused flight delays and cancellations
“…raising the risks of more deadly avalanches in the mountains. At least 13 people have been killed…”
http://time.com/5496721/winter-storm-europe/
” A winter storm packing heavy rain and snow on Tuesday turned streets in Lebanon into rivers of water and mud and paralyzed parts of the country. Among those affected were tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, many of whom live in tent settlements.”
“As the storm system that hit Israel at the beginning of the week enters its final stage, the cold temperatures plummeted Wednesday to this winter’s record low. Nearly a meter of snow has accumulated on Mt. Hermon and the water levels in the Sea of Galilee [which is handy as its level was at a record low] have risen by at least 19.5 cm over the past 48 hours, according to meteorological services.”
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5443714,00.html
“Wildfires that scorched vast tracts of southern British Columbia and led to forced evacuations in the summer of 2017 were stoked by climate change and are likely to become more common as global temperatures edge up, federal scientists warn in a new study.
“Fires consumed a record 1.2 million hectares that year – an area seven to 11 times larger than would have been expected without human influences on the climate…”
“Grab a parasol and put on your short shorts, the heat wave is upon us!
“Okay, maybe not quite. But the heat in Iceland could reach temperatures over 20 degrees Celsius today and tomorrow according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office.”
https://now.guidetoiceland.is/2019/01/08/news/heat-wave-sweeping-through-iceland/
“Most people are familiar with the sudden appearance of bubbles in a bottle of soda after the lid is opened. The explanation for why that happens is that, with the lid on, the pressure inside the bottle keeps the carbon dioxide gas dissolved in the liquid soda. Open the lid, and the pressure falls. The fizziness is the carbon dioxide as it escapes from the now effervescent soda.
“Two papers published at the end of 2018 and a third, published this week, appear to draw a picture of the same phenomenon taking place on a much larger scale when it comes to methane trapped under ice sheets and large glaciers.”
Read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here.
