“In the brain, when neurons fire off electrical signals to their neighbors, this happens through an “all-or-none” response. The signal only happens once conditions in the cell breach a certain threshold.
“Now an MIT researcher has observed a similar phenomenon in a completely different system: Earth’s carbon cycle.
“Daniel Rothman, professor of geophysics and co-director of the Lorenz Center in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, has found that when the rate at which carbon dioxide enters the oceans pushes past a certain threshold — whether as the result of a sudden burst or a slow, steady influx — the Earth may respond with a runaway cascade of chemical feedbacks, leading to extreme ocean acidification that dramatically amplifies the effects of the original trigger.”
http://news.mit.edu/2019/carbon-threshold-mass-extinction-0708
“The huge Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is at risk of crossing a tipping point where it could cause an unstoppable 20-inch (0.5 metre) rise in global sea levels, warns new research…
“Study leader Dr Alex Robel, Assistant Professor in Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, said: ‘If you trigger this instability, you don’t need to continue to force the ice sheet by cranking up temperatures.”
“Russian officials are raising the alarm about mass bee deaths across the country. The Russian Agricultural Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that bees have been dying in large numbers in at least seven regions this year…
“Rossiya 1 in a TV report on Monday quoted one farmer outside Moscow who said he had lost 100,000 bees in the past week. The footage showed the ground by the hives covered by a layer of dead bees.”
“Following another year of extreme temperatures in Europe, a severe drought in Lithuania has resulted in the government there declaring a state of emergency, as drought conditions threaten to decrease this year’s harvests by up to 50%.
“The hottest June in recorded history was experienced in that country this year as temperatures soared, leading to severe droughts in many farming communities.”
https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/agri-news/world/extreme-temperatures-endanger-baltic-region-crops/
“Romans are feeling the strain as the city staggers through a garbage emergency exacerbated by a record-breaking summer for heat.”
https://www.ft.com/content/5d650548-a19f-11e9-a282-2df48f366f7d
“Bahrain Meteorological Directorate (BMD) reported that the month of June 2019 goes on record as the hottest June ever experienced in Bahrain since [records began in] 1902.
“The mean temperature of the month was 36.3°C which is 3.9°C above the long-term normal for June and this goes on record as the highest mean temperatures for the month of June since 1902. The old record was 35.7°C in June 2018…”
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/weather/june-was-hottest-month-since-1902
“In Somalia, where I am acting country director for the aid agency Islamic Relief, the population is currently experiencing a drought that could threaten the lives or livelihoods of more than two million people by the end of the summer, according to the UN…
“The climate has been wreaking havoc on Somalia’s seasons…”
“Increasing dam levels did not mean the drought was over, the City of Cape Town said on Monday. The city said via a press statement that it wanted to remind residents that water restrictions remained in place…
“Residents were encouraged to continue using water sparingly and to remain water wise.”
“Despite the India Meteorological Department declaring the start of the monsoon across New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Friday, July 5, rainfall is expected to fall well short of normal through the middle of July…
“Northwestern Rajasthan may have to wait even longer for the rainy season to commence after missing out on the latest round of monsoon rain.”
“This is the frightening moment sparks flew as debris thrown by a tornado storm hit power lines in Indonesia’s West Sumatra.
“Eyewitness video filmed by local citizen Fadli Yahya in the village of Gadut, Agam district, at 2:45pm on Monday (July 8) shows roof panels being stripped off of roadside buildings and into overhead power lines, causing explosions and sending onlookers running for shelter.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/debris-tornado-hits-power-lines-140000782.html
“A section of a man-made lake in Cempaka Park, East Jakarta, has completely dried up, unearthing withered grass and soil, as the city enters what could be a prolonged dry season.
“The section, whose water level once reached to an adult’s waist, is connected to a larger lake that is also slowly receding.”
“Central Chile is suffering the worst drought in 60 years. That includes the capital Santiago, home to nearly half the country’s population of 18 million.
“Experts predict climate change, over-exploitation by agriculture and other factors means the shortage of water will be permanent.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/chile-suffers-worst-drought-60-years-190708191849467.html
“Much of D.C., Arlington, Montgomery, Frederick, and Carroll counties received 2 to 4 inches of rain, with many areas picking up those amounts in only 1 or 2 hours.
“A National Weather Service Employee told the Associated Press that about 6.3 inches of rain fell near Frederick, Maryland. This heavy rainfall prompted street flooding, collapsed trees and water rescues.”
“Intense cycles of downpours are washing pollutants into the Chesapeake from municipal sewer overflows, subdivisions and farms where manure often isn’t effectively handled and nitrogen and phosphorous-rich fertilizers are used.
“Experts say climate change is accelerating the environmental decline, potentially leading to more damaging algae blooms and dead zones in the Chesapeake and coastal waters.”
https://nypost.com/2019/07/08/chesapeake-bay-dead-zone-has-200-million-tons-of-pollutants/
“Winnipeg [Canada] hasn’t been this lacking in precipitation through the first half of a year… since the stats began to be tracked in 1873.”
https://winnipeg.citynews.ca/video/2019/07/08/driest-half-year-on-record/
“Does someone want to let Mother Nature know that we are already a week into July and summer is supposed to be in full swing?
“Apparently, some places around Canada are confused what month it is because parts of Saskatchewan woke up to snow and hail this morning. And we have the pictures to prove it.”
“Climatologists are raising the alarm after Alaska reached record high temperatures in June and continue to see sweltering weather, while wildfires in the state continue to burn.”
“Thoman says that temperatures have been 8 degrees above normal this year [in the Bering and Chukchi Seas), and those numbers rose 3 degrees over last year’s record-breaking temperatures.
“Hooper Bay’s Olson says that he sees more open water where there used to be thick ice in the middle of winter.”
https://www.kyuk.org/post/bering-chukchi-seas-break-warm-temperatures-record-again
“A global heat wave is hitting Alaska, Europe, and Asia… And the heat’s expected to keep coming.”
https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/j5w3k8/its-so-damn-hot-around-the-world-right-now
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