“As delegates from 197 member states convene in Madrid, Spain, this week for the twenty-fifth annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25) the world’s polar scientists are sounding the alarm in a new report over the rapidly changing Arctic and Antarctic regions.
“In the last decade alone, the Arctic warmed 0.75 degrees Celsius (1.35 degrees Fahrenheit). In contrast, it took 137 years for the entire Earth to warm nearly that same amount, 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.44 degrees Fahrenheit).
“Subsequently, the region has undergone a significant transformation as sea ice melts, permafrost thaws, and wildfires burn…”
“What may have been the world’s tallest waterfall briefly formed on Greenland‘s ice sheet last year, draining a meltwater lake of 5 million cubic meters of water — equivalent to 2,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools — in just five hours.
“Scientists from the University of Cambridge in the UK recorded the extraordinary phenomenon through the use of aerial drones.”
“France is one of the most exposed countries in the world to the risks of extreme weather, a new report has found, with nearly 20,000 deaths linked to heatwaves, floods and storms in the last 20 years…
“Last weekend saw six people die in flash floods in south eastern France.”
“Green Christmas, glowing cities, crumbling mountains. Due to its diversity of valleys, hills and high mountains, climate change manifests itself differently in the various regions of Switzerland.
“The Swiss government’s CH2018 Climate Scenarios for Switzerland illustrate how climate change could affect each region.” [interactive]
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/switzerland-future-climate-change/45411758
“Rescuers in Kenya have retrieved the body of a teenager who drowned as she tried to save a man who had got into trouble as he was crossing a swollen river…
“She is one of more than 130 people who have died as a result of the flooding caused by the heavy rains that have been falling since October.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-50658979
“Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, depends on farming, particularly herding, to provide a livelihood for 80 percent of its population.
“In addition to its vulnerability to climate change, the country is on the frontline of desertification — the equivalent of around 150,000 football pitches is lost each year.”
“Elephants in Zambia are being collared to try to combat the rising conflict between wildlife and humans in the country as both struggle to survive a particularly devasting drought.
“The lack of rain has led to animals encroaching on to human territory to seek out food and water.”
“The Eastern Cape received less than 30% of its usual average spring rainfall between September and November with drought-stricken Graaff-Reinet receiving only 12%…
“Garth Sampson from the Weather Office in Port Elizabeth said the rainfall between September and November was a new record low, and coupled with record-high average maximum temperatures this is contributing to the province’s woes.”
“The Arabian Sea has recorded five cyclones this year equalling a 117-year-old record, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows…
“The Arabian Sea witnesses a normal of one cyclone per year. The last time five tropical cyclones were witnessed in a year was in 1902.”
“The rate glaciers are melting in the Himalayas is being significantly accelerated by lakes already formed by glacial retreat, new research led by the University of St Andrews has found.”
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-himalayan-lakes-exacerbating-glacial.html
“No one can deny that Hong Kong has had a lashing this year, and it wasn’t just on the city’s protest-hit streets – 2019 has been one of the stormiest and wettest on record.
“Thunderstorms battered the city on 59 days between February and October, an unusually high number and almost 50 per cent above the annual average.”
“The heatwave has arrived in eastern Queensland, with the mercury expected to go as high as 12 degrees above average and create severe fire conditions…
“Severe fire dangers were expected for the Darling Downs, Granite Belt, south-east coast and Wide Bay-Burnett districts for Friday and Saturday.”
“Six emergency warnings have been issued for fires in New South Wales on Thursday, including the 230,000-hectare Gospers Mountain blaze on Sydney’s north-western outskirts, as firefighters battle through a “long and challenging day”.
“…The NSW environment department said this season’s bushfire emergency had caused “some of the highest air pollution ever seen in NSW”.”
“As the climate warms, birds are shrinking and their wingspans are growing, according to a new study.
“Researchers analysed 70,716 specimens from 52 North American migratory bird species collected over 40 years.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50661448
“Last month was the joint hottest November on record, according to a new report that uses multiple data sets to calculate global temperatures.
“The most recent monthly analysis from the EU’s climate change service shows global temperatures were 0.64°C warmer than the average for November between 1981 and 2010.
“Last month was the joint highest November on record – on par with the same month in 2015 and 2016 – and was also the sixth month in a row to approach or break a temperature record.”
Read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here.
Thought you might like this article by Steffen who was co-author of that recent tipping points research. Looks like economic collapse and environmental collapse are connected lol! who knew? https://theconversation.com/our-climate-is-like-reckless-banking-before-the-crash-its-time-to-talk-about-near-term-collapse-128374
Yayyy, what a lovely honour to have you on m blog, Gail! Hope life is treating you very kindly. That is a great article – the vulnerability of JIT supply chains is not discussed enough. Best wishes, H