“Weather watchers are focused on the world’s most northerly community, which is in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave.
“”It’s really quite spectacular,” said David Phillips, Environment Canada’s chief climatologist. “This is unprecedented.”
“The weather agency confirmed that Canadian Forces Station Alert hit a record of 21 C on Sunday. On Monday…
“…it’s the latest anomaly in what’s been a long, hot summer across the Arctic…
“Records have been falling — not by fractions, but by large margins.
“It could be related to changes in the jet stream, [which] has slowed in recent years and has become more unstable, sometimes looping much farther north or south than normal.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/heat-wave-alert-nunavut-1.5212801
“During winter, temperatures in the frozen city of Yakutsk, Siberia, can plummet as low as –60C.
“But summer has landed and brought with it an unusually warm spell of weather, making the Russian city almost as hot as the Spanish resorts of Majorca and Benidorm.
“Built on permafrost – soil or rock that is frozen for more than two consecutive years – “the hidden gem” is located in a deep valley 60 miles south of Yakutsk surrounded by lush forestry.”
“Greenland’s ice sheet is sliding way more than previously thought, according to a new study… The researchers even found that Greenland’s main continental ice sheet slides more than parts of the incredibly fast-moving glaciers on the periphery, such as Jakobshavn in west Greenland.”
https://www.livescience.com/65930-greenland-ice-sheet-sliding.html
“As of July 14, 2019, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) recorded an Arctic sea ice extent of 7.905 million square kilometres.
“That is currently the lowest daily average since record-keeping began in 1979 – lower than the previous record of 7.96 million km² extent, seen in 2011, and lower than the 7.98 million square km² extent from 2012, the year we saw the lowest summer minimum extent in the record books.”
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/arctic-sea-ice-day-ice-at-lowest-extent-on-record
“A Swiss glacier is meting so swiftly that it has been covered with tarpaulin to try and slow down the rate. Parts of the Gurschengletscher glacier are blanketed with tarps near the peak of Mount Gemsstock, standing at 2,961 m high.
“The glacier in Andermatt, Switzerland, is just the latest to be given this treatment in a bid to stop it retreating.”
https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/16/swiss-glacier-covered-tarpaulin-try-stop-melting-10348687/
“Water restrictions are in place in 55 departments across France, and “crisis” levels have been reached in areas of 20 departments…
“The latest drought warnings come exactly one month after violent hailstorms battered the Drôme department. Some 50,000 insurance claims, totalling an estimated €250million have been filed, for damage caused by the storms.”
“The last wave of heat that we experienced in our community [Spain] has affected the birds a lot. Especially swifts.
“Within a week , up to 1,000 swifts arrived at the Brinzal Nocturnal Recovery Center in Madrid.
“The reason? The high temperatures made them fall from their nests.”
http://www.telemadrid.es/noticias/madrid/vencejos-caen-calle-calor-0-2140285979–20190715044302.html
“Authorities evacuated dozens of citizens from flooded homes in western Greece on Sunday, a few days after seven people were killed by a violent storm in the north of the country.
“Such severe storms are unusual in Greece, where summers are usually hot and dry.”
https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/15/floods-hit-western-greece-days-after-deadly-storm-killed-7
“At least 24 people are feared dead after flash flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on July 15, according to local officials.
“”At least 24 people were swept away and have gone missing,” said Saeedur Rehman Qureshi from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) for Azad Jammu and Kashmir.”
“More than 100 people have been killed and millions more affected by devastating floods and landslides across India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
“In the Indian state of Assam, among the worst hit areas, agencies were working on a war footing to deal with the situation, the chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said.”
“China has seen a record high of rivers reporting floods since this year’s high-water season began, the Ministry of Water Resources said Sunday.
“A total of 377 rivers across the country have reported floods exceeding alarm levels, over 80 percent more than the annual number of such rivers registered since 1998 when severe floods hit China…”
https://reliefweb.int/report/china/record-high-377-rivers-china-report-floods
“One year after heavy rains brought about the worst flooding in Japan’s Heisei Era, memorial services were held across western Japan last week remembering the 275 victims who lost their lives.
“But this year’s unprecedented downpours are bringing severe flood warnings that could exceed last year’s torrential rains in west Japan.”
“Japan’s Meteorological Agency said on Monday that central Tokyo has only seen less than three hours of sunshine over an 18-day stretch, setting a new record since 1988. The lack of sunshine affects crop production and drives up vegetable prices. According to government statistics, wholesale price of cucumber is about 50 percent higher than in previous years.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/15/c_138228973.htm
“Tropical Storm Barry made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane and submerged parts of Louisiana in over a foot of water.”
Video:
“The type of severe air turbulence that sent dozens of Air Canada passengers to hospital Thursday could become a lot more common in the future due to climate change.
“Finding suitable flight paths to avoid turbulence is also becoming increasingly challenging for airlines as warming temperatures create larger storms and as the jet stream shifts northward…”
“NASA is the second institution to confirm that it was Earth’s hottest June, as the Copernicus Climate Change Service had already determined that June 2019 was the warmest such month on record for Europe and globally.”
Read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here.
