“Kellogg’s has been forced to increase the list price of their breakfast cereals as the drought drives up the wholesale price of grain…
“The price increase would primarily affect well-known cereals such as Corn Flakes, Coco pops, Nutri Grain, Froot Loops, All-Bran, Special K, Rice Bubbles and more…
“The current drought, particularly in regional New South Wales, is shaping up to be among the worst on record.
“Farmers in the west of the state are now bracing for “Day Zero”, the point in time at which rivers and dams run completely dry.”
“Australia is on track to produce its smallest winter grain crop for more a decade as tough times for farmers get even tougher, Rabobank says.
“The specialist rural lender predicts the winter crop will reach just 27.7 million tonnes as the harvest kicks into gear in some parts of the country.
“Rabobank noted the end to the growing season had been affected by record high Antarctic temperatures in August and September that caused a rare phenomenon known as “sudden stratospheric warming”.”
“Dwindling water supplies in towns such as Armidale and Tamworth threatens to sap population growth in regional NSW and add to Sydney’s congestion as the drought takes a deepening toll on the economy.
“Leading regional economist, Terry Rawnsley, has warned fears about water could discourage Sydney residents from moving to regional towns at the same time as the economic effects of the drought force workers to depart country areas in search of opportunities.”
“Flying foxes, including threatened species, have been dying or taken into care in large numbers due to a food shortage in their habitat in eastern Australia.
“Authorities in Queensland and New South Wales say there have been increased reports since September of sick and dead flying-foxes in an area stretching from northern NSW up to Gladstone in Queensland.”
“Australia’s Top End is experiencing a record breaking heatwave, with Darwin sweating through its second-highest temperature on record. The mercury hit 38.2 degrees in the capital at 12.30pm on Monday…
“The hottest ever day recorded in Darwin was 38.9C on October 18, 1982.”
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/wires/aap/article-7595641/Darwin-second-hottest-day-38-2C.html
“Typhoon Neoguri is feared to bring heavy rain to areas devastated by Typhoon Hagibis that lashed Japan earlier this month, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
“The JMA is urging residents of areas hit hard by Typhoon Hagibis to exercise caution against further floods and landslides.”
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20191021/p2a/00m/0na/020000c
“At least 15 people have been killed after a dam at a Siberian gold mine collapsed and water flooded two dormitories where workers were sleeping. Another 13 people are unaccounted for, according to Russia’s emergencies ministry, prompting a major search operation to find them.
“The collapse during heavy rain happened early on Saturday near the village of Shchetinkino.”
“A violent tornado with winds of up to 111mph tore through Dallas on Sunday night, leveling buildings, tossing trailers and cutting power to thousands of homes.
“Rescuers launched a desperate overnight search for casualties in the city while officials issued a Tornado Watch across most of North Texas as the weather phenomenon tore through the state.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7595145/Powerful-tornado-111mph-winds-tears-Dallas.html
“Heavy rain is causing bedlam in Scotland as shops were closed, concerts had to be cancelled and heavy flooding continues to cause a nightmare on the roads.
“Earlier this week the Met Office issued a sever weather warning for torrential rain in the eastern parts of Scotland.”
“Discussing the weather is a stereotypically British pastime, but the French have reason to do so today, following a weekend that saw tornadoes in the Hérault and record temperatures for the end of October in Corsica.
“Several tornadoes were reported along the A75 motorway between Pézenas and Clermont-l’Hérault on Sunday.”
https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Tornadoes-and-record-highs-France-s-weather-weekend
“A weather warning was issued for the department of Ardeche in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on Saturday, but was replaced by flood alert after the equivalent of a month’s rain fell in one day in some of the worst-hit areas.
“More torrential rain was expected, particularly in Cevennes renowned for its mountain forests, with forecasters predicting up to 250 mm [around 10 inches] of rainfall…”
http://en.rfi.fr/france/20191020-southern-france-heavy-rain-and-flooding-alert-weather
“In 2018 alone, 110,000 hectares (about 272,000 acres) of forest area in Germany were damaged and 33 million cubic meters of wood — equivalent in volume to 12 Great Pyramids of Giza — were declared dead, researchers at the country’s Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems said.
“A preliminary assessment for 2019 shows at least the same amount of damage.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/forests-german-myth-under-physical-attack-drought-heat-n1065661
“Eka farmers’ union [Cyprus] representative Yiannakis Gavriel said that the potato crop has been wiped out by the hail. Photos posted online showed hailstorms bigger than walnuts.
““Unfortunately once again the potato crop has been wiped out. We expect the department to record the damage so that compensation can be paid immediately, allowing the farmers to plant again in November,” he said.”
“Hailstones fell on the east coast [UAE] on Sunday as the country began another week of unsettled weather… The downpour came as the UAE’s weather centre warned a tropical cyclone is forming in the Arabian Sea…
“In April, hundreds of people spent the night on the Jebel Jais mountainside when flooding caused roads to be cut off.”
“Floods in southeast Niger have forced 23,000 people to flee their homes since early October, officials said Saturday, threatening a new humanitarian crisis in a region already wracked by Boko Haram Islamist violence.
“Heavy rains have caused the Komadougou Yobe river that flows through the semi-desert Diffa region into Lake Chad to burst its banks, inundating villages, flooding fields and damaging crops.”
https://www.france24.com/en/20191020-niger-floods-force-23-000-from-their-homes
“The world is burning. Record or near-record temperatures, combined with drought in many areas, are contributing to yet another record-setting summer for wildfires.
“California has been largely spared so far this year, but wildfires in the Amazon rainforest and in or near the Arctic Circle are ringing alarm bells, as is a sharp increase in wildfires in Southern Europe.”
https://truthout.org/articles/global-wildfires-are-raging-leaving-long-lasting-damage/
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