“The record for Australia’s all-time highest overnight temperature was smashed last night, just one of the marks to fall in what is becoming a heatwave for the history books.
“Dr Blair Trewin, senior climatologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said a minimum of 35.9 degrees Celsius was recorded at Noona, between Wilcannia and Cobar in western New South Wales, while 35.6C was measured at Borrona Downs.
“”Both of those broke the previous record which was 35.5C set in 1982 in Arkaroola, South Australia, and was equalled in 2003 at Wittenoom in WA.”
“He said the current heatwave was shaping up as one of the most significant on record in inland New South Wales.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-18/hottest-night-on-record-noona/10725886
“Queensland has broken its record for the most consecutive days above 40 degrees Celsius. Cloncurry and Camooweal, in the state’s north west, recorded 33 days between December 16 last year and January 17 this year… Prior to this, the record stood at 31 consecutive days, recorded in 2012 in Birdsville and 1973 in Boulia and Urandangi.
“The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast the record will continue to rise in the coming weeks.”
“A rare marine heatwave is under way in places around New Zealand, with fish and other marine life likely to spend the next couple of months swimming south to find cooler water.
“The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) has confirmed marine heatwave conditions in parts of the Tasman Sea and the seas east of the country, for the second consecutive summer.”
“If you feel like it’s been a mild winter so far, you’re not imagining things.
“This has been the warmest first half of January ever recorded in Seattle, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle… temperature records go back to marks taken at the Federal Building in downtown Seattle since the 1890s…”
“If you’re wondering exactly how warm it was in 2018, you may have to wait for the U.S. government to start functioning again… A NOAA spokesperson confirmed to Earther that “both the timing of the 2018 State of the Climate report and climate research are impacted as a result of the lapse in funding.””
https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-u-s-government-was-supposed-to-tell-us-how-hot-201-1831844134
“At least five people died this week in storms that battered different parts of California with heavy rain, wind and snow.
“The Midwest and Northeast, meanwhile, are preparing for two storms, including one expected to dump several inches of snow in certain areas and could lead to a “flash freeze.””
“The southeastern Minnesota towns of Harmony, Mabel and Caledonia all beat the state’s old annual precipitation record in 2018.
“Harmony finished at No. 1 with 60.21 inches of precipitation last year, according to unofficial results. The previous record came in 2016 when Waseca had 56.24 inches.
“In climate terms, breaking a precipitation record by nearly 4 inches is “a little absurd,” said Kenny Blumenfeld, senior climatologist with the state Department of Natural Resources.”
“Intense rainfall in Northeast Argentina has caused devastating floods, amplifying the economic burdens of the country’s record inflation. About 3,500 people have evacuated the region, and millions of hectares of crops have been sent underwater…
“Just last year, Argentina was plagued with severe drought, the worst that had hit the country in half a century.”
http://batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/devastating-floods-cost-2-billion-displace-thousands.phtml
“Bolivia’s government declared a state of emergency in the central lowlands after torrential rains sparked widespread flooding and landslides.”
https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/waterandwaste/bolivia-declares-flooding-emergency-in-lowlands
“At least four people have been killed in Lebanon, including a Syrian girl and her brother, after heavy rain and snow battered the country.
“Storm Miriam – also referred to by some Lebanese officials as Storm Tracy – is the second to hit the Eastern Mediterranean country this month after Norma, which struck on January 6.”
“The alleyways of the Syrian town of Darkush are normally thronged with pedestrians but since the swollen Orontes River burst its banks, Abu Ihab’s boat has provided the main way of getting around…
“…this year, days of torrential rain in the mountains has sent a deluge downstream, submerging the streets of his hometown under as much as a metre and a half (five feet) of water.”
“About 20 per cent out of Nigeria’s estimated population of 200 million people are at the risk of one form of flood or the other across the country, the National Emergency Management Agency announced on Thursday.
“With an estimated population of 200 million people, 20 per cent of this figure means that about 40 million citizens are being affected by one form of flood or the other, especially during the raining season.”
https://punchng.com/40-million-nigerians-at-risk-of-flooding-nema/
“Studies of the food Resilience and Nutrition Security Programme in Angola (FRESAN) conducted in 2018 indicate that over 1.1 million Angolans living in the southern provinces of Huíla, Namibe and Cunene are affected by drought as a result of the climate change phenomenon.”
https://allafrica.com/stories/201901170618.html
“The study… found that 60% of wild coffee species are under threat of extinction. This includes the wild species of Arabica, the most popular cultivated coffee species accounting for 60% of global production.
“The majority of the wild coffee species globally are found in Africa and Madagascar, where deforestation, human encroachment and disease is increasingly killing wild coffee plants.”
“For the past decade, the World Economic Forum has put out a yearly review of the greatest threats to our world—the economic and geopolitical risks that endanger our planet, our way of life, and even our species.
“This year, for the third year running, “extreme weather” induced by climate change has taken the top spot in the Global Risks Report, issued the week prior to the forum’s gab fest in Davos…”
https://qz.com/1527290/yet-again-climate-change-is-the-greatest-threat-facing-our-world/
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