“The pattern of El Niño has changed dramatically in recent years, according to the first seasonal record distinguishing different types of El Niño events over the last 400 years.
“A new category of El Niño has become far more prevalent in the last few decades than at any time in the past four centuries. Over the same period, traditional El Niño events have become more intense…
“By the end of the 20th century, though, our research shows a sudden change: a sharp increase of Central Pacific El Niño events becomes evident…
“This extraordinary change in El Niño behaviour has serious implications for societies and ecosystems around the world. For example, the most recent Eastern-Pacific El Niño event in 2015-2016 triggered disease outbreaks across the globe. With the impacts of climate change continuing to unfold, many of the hottest years on record also coincide with El Niño events…
“What’s more, the Pacific Ocean is currently lingering in an El Niño state. With these confounding events, many people around the world are wondering what extreme weather will be inflicted upon them in the months and years to come…”
“Thawing permafrost — an occurrence raising “alarm bells” in Canada’s Arctic — is threatening to sweep away the local cemetery in an N.W.T. community, located on the shores of the Arctic Ocean…
“A study published last week in the journal Nature shows permafrost is thawing much faster than believed in some areas of Canada’s Arctic.
“Researchers have found several metres of soil can destabilize in days versus a few centimetres thawing a year.”
“Earlier this month, wildfire experts warned Yukoners to be extra careful in the bush as the unusually early spring and record-setting temperatures have increased the risk of wildfires in the area.
“Fancie said recent snow has helped with dry conditions but is no guarantee against wildfires.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/wildland-firefighter-training-yukon-1.5124665
“It feels like summer… The temperature reached 83 degrees Monday for Portland…
““This is just a crazy (weather) pattern for the month of May,” said KATU Meteorologist Dave Salesky.
““It’s something we would typically see, maybe in July or August.” And it’s not going anywhere soon.”
https://katu.com/news/local/90s-in-may-record-breaking-heat-possible-later-this-week
“Snowpack in every part of Colorado’s high country is sporting layers of dust, according to a new statewide survey of the state’s winter accumulation. Dust is darker than snow. Just like a black T-shirt on a sunny day, it absorbs more sunlight, causing what’s underneath it to heat up more rapidly. “It’s like holding a magnifying glass up to the snowpack,” Derry said.”
https://www.kunc.org/post/there-s-dust-colorado-s-record-setting-winter-snowpack#stream/0
“Heavy flooding continued inundating towns and farmland along rivers in the Midwest on Monday. The swollen Mississippi River forced road closures and forced people from their homes as high water levels are making their way downstream…
“Local news cameras captured dramatic aerial images of the moment floodwaters breached a levee in St. Charles County.”
“You may be surprised to hear that it’s been a wetter start to 2019 than in 2018, Washington D.C.’s wettest year on record.”
“We are facing a global, ecological emergency. And human activity is to blame for that. That is what a report on the state of nature on the Earth, due to be released on Monday, is expected to say…
“Rising ocean temperatures are threatening the arctic cod, a fish considered to be a delicacy around the world.”
“Over 110 wildfires have occurred in Russian natural reserves and national parks since the start of 2019, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said on Monday.”
http://tass.com/emergencies/1057224
“Extraordinary weather conditions have brought great challenges in fire prevention to the people working in the Greater Khingan forests in North China this spring…
“Extraordinary weather, including higher temperatures and less rainfall, has brought great challenges to the people guarding the forests.
“At the same time, the firefighting work is facing problems such as aging personnel.”
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1148705.shtml
“At least 20 villages in Barhatta upazila of Netrokona district [Bangladesh] have been marooned as a big portion of a dam… washed away… sending flash floods through 20 villages. More than 5,000 people have been made homeless. The flood caused by incessant rain and the onrush of water coming down from the hills over the last few days has inundated the standing crop on 500 hectares in the upazila, said Netrokona Water Development Board sources.”
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/2019/05/07/dam-collapses-flooding-20-villages
“The Sundarbans, 4,000 square miles of marshy land in Bangladesh and India, hosts the world’s largest mangrove forest and a rich ecosystem supporting several hundred animal species, including the endangered Bengal tiger. But 70 percent of the land is just a few feet above sea level…
“Changes wrought by a warming planet will be “enough to decimate” the few hundred or so Bengal tigers remaining there.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/science/tigers-climate-change-sundarbans.html
“Drought has left nearly two-million Somalis in desperate need of food, a humanitarian agency warned Monday, as poor rainfall pushes communities to the brink across East Africa.
“The Norwegian Refugee Council said hundreds of thousands of children were already suffering malnutrition in Somalia and millions had abandoned their homes in search of food in the arid, conflict-torn nation.”
“The Namibian government has declared a national state of emergency with respect to a drought that has hit several areas in the southern African nation.
“A statement from the presidency attributed to the president Hage Geingob said:
““the State of Emergency exists on account of the natural disaster of drought in all regions of the Republic of Namibia.””
https://www.africanews.com/2019/05/06/namibia-declares-national-state-of-emergency-over-drought/
“The South African wine grape harvest 2019 has hit a record low, largely due to the preceding drought and fluctuating weather conditions during the season, Vinpro announced on Monday… Severe weather fluctuations during bud break and flowering, followed by cool windy conditions during set, contributed to less and uneven bunches and smaller berries.”
https://www.fin24.com/Companies/Agribusiness/sa-wine-harvest-hits-record-low-20190506
“They may be both the least responsible for and most vulnerable to climate change and its consequences: indigenous peoples are facing immediate risks as global warming hits home around the world.
“Being nearby to nature and local natural resources in their daily lives and traditions, indigenous populations are exposed to the effects of climate change.”
https://www.worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/indigenous-peoples-first-victims-of-climate-change
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