“A historic heat wave is bringing unprecedented temperatures to Western Europe, and is poised to expand northeastward to Scandinavia and into the Arctic by late this weekend.
“Once above the Arctic Circle, the weather system responsible for this heat wave could accelerate the loss of sea ice, which is already running at a record low for this time of year.”
“Huge wildfires are continuing to burn across the Arctic, and have now released more carbon dioxide in 2019 than in any year since satellite records began nearly two decades ago.
“Temperatures have been well above average in the region, and fires erupted in boreal peatlands across Siberia around 9 June. Normally the fires would last a few days, but this year some vegetation and peatland has been ablaze for a month and a half.”
“As we sailed north over a week last June, there was no sea ice in sight.
“And rather than signs of international maneuvering or preparations for oil drilling, I encountered a sort of stunned silence among the people who have long lived in the “high north” and are still coming to terms with the region’s rapid, climate-induced changes.”
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/paj93b/this-is-what-its-like-to-watch-the-arctic-die
“The UK is expecting its hottest day on record on Thursday, with temperatures of up to 39C (102.2F) forecast in southern and eastern England. The current record is 38.5C (101.3F) from August 2003.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49106092
“… the the German Meteorological Service announced its highest temperature in recorded history, of 104.9 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 C).
“The Germany weather agency noted that this brand new record might last for one day. That’s because there’s substantially more heat to come.”
“High in the French Alps on the famed Mont Blanc mountain range, it is not hard to find evidence of the toll of global warming.
“Visitors arriving from the last tramstop before the 4,809-metre summit are forced to take 20 steps more each year to reach the retreating “Mer de Glace”, or Sea of Ice glacier, France’s largest.”
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-glaciers-rockfalls-climate-alps.html
“Despite it being the hottest day of the year without a drop of rain in sight, the Triftbach stream took Zermatt by surprise on Wednesday when it transformed into a gushing torrent of grey water for a while. News website 20 Minuten was able to source footageexternal link from readers…
“A pocket of water in the glacial zone above the stream – invisible from the surface – could have emptied itself…”
“Two years ago it seemed rain would never return to Cape Town. Now it doesn’t seem like it will stop.
“For residents of Qandu-qandu the end of the drought is certainly not all good news. They thought they were safe from flooding but then the canal behind their shacks overflowed, flooding their homes. 71-year-old Thandiwe Ngcakuna left her two-roomed shack to find shelter at her neighbour at 2am in the morning.”
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-07-24-from-drought-to-floods-for-cape-town/
“According to the Fire Department, eight people died this Wednesday, July 24th, as a result of the heavy rainfall that has been affecting the Metropolitan Region of Recife [Brazil] since dawn.
“The storm also brought down walls and trees and caused several flooding points, hindering bus traffic. In some cities, classes from the municipal network have been canceled.”
“Hundreds have been evacuated after flash floods and landslides devastated areas of Düzce province in northwest Turkey, local press reported on Wednesday.
“The bodies of five of seven missing people have been recovered since record-breaking levels of rainfall caused floods on the Melen river on July 17 and 18, hitting 124 villages and later causing landslides.”
“In the absence of a functional sewerage system, water entered the homes and shops of citizens [Lahore, Pakistan], who spent the day pushing it out of their homes.
“On top of this, power outages were reported across multiple areas of the city, which added to the miseries of the people.”
https://dailytimes.com.pk/436571/heavy-rains-wreak-havoc-in-lahore/
“Lightning has killed at least 39 people during thunderstorms and heavy rains lashing eastern India where thousands of people are stranded on high ground, an official said Wednesday.
“Disaster Management official Amod Kumar Sharan said the deaths occurred on Tuesday, raising the overall death toll in Bihar state to 123…”
“The water level in the Mekong river in this northeastern border province is only about 1.50 metres high, possibly the lowest level in almost 100 years, according to local media reports.
“As the dry spell continues, the water in the Mekong river has dropped by about 10-20 centimetres per day. It is now only about 1.50m high, about 11 metres below the spill-over point on the river bank.”
“Indonesia’s rice crop is at risk of damage from an unusually long dry weather spell that’s gripped several producing regions, raising prospects of elevated imports for a second year…
“The drought has prompted President Joko Widodo to order steps to mitigate the impact and consider artificial rain as an option.”
“A wildfire in Idaho was ignited by a strike of lightning on Monday and quickly burned over 110,000 acres by Wednesday morning.
“The fire is burning on the Idaho National Laboratory site, located close to Idaho Falls. The blaze is being called the Sheep Fire for its proximity to a nearby dirt access road called Sheep Road.”
“Over the past two millennia, the world’s climate has gone through its fair share of ups and downs, but what is happening right now stands out in stark contrast.
“Two new papers have demonstrated that peak warming and cooling events before the Industrial era – such as the so-called Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period – were vastly smaller in scope than today’s global reach of human-induced warming.”
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