“Tropical Cyclone Pawan is making its way to the Horn of Africa and heading for the Somali coast, raising fears of fresh flooding.
“Several countries in East Africa, including Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and Djibouti, have reported deadly floods and landslides in recent weeks of heavy rains, with more in the forecast for the region.”
“The positive Indian Ocean Dipole has spread far-above-average water temperatures over much of the western Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
“These warmer waters are not only more favorable for hurricane development – they also support increased rainfall for parts of eastern Africa.”
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2019-12-05-indian-ocean-dipole-el-nino-tropical-cyclone
“The city of Beira in Mozambique’s north has been submerged after heavy rains battered the place, the office of the Mayor said in a social media post on Thursday, December 5.
“The message accompanied with photos of the floods said large parts of Beira had been adversely affected by the rains. It said the situation had hit “at a time when the population seeks to rise after Cyclone Idai.””
“The iconic Victoria Falls, known as “The Smoke That Thunders”, is struggling to live up to its moniker as Southern Africa lies in the grip of one of its worst droughts in decades…
“The Zambian President, Edgar Lungu, has linked the drying up of Victoria Falls with climate change, and has warned that one day they could disappear entirely.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/victoria-falls-drought/
““Countries within the region [Southern Africa] have experienced failed agricultural seasons back to back. They’ve not had adequate time to recover from one season before another shock sets in…
““They need help urgently. The scale of the drought devastation across southern Africa is staggering,” Oxfam regional director Nellie Nyang’wa told Our Burning Planet.
“Just when the drought-stricken Northern Cape city of Upington thought it was finally experiencing the welcome relief of heavy rains, it turned out the clouds were also bringing flooding to the desert town, illustrating the old adage of “it never rains but pours”…
“The drought-stricken region’s weather forecast, however, indicates the rains were, unfortunately, a fleeting event, with a 0% chance of rain forecast for Friday”
“Bangladesh is one of the world’s most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change. Millions of people in its southern coastal region face displacement due to rising sea levels and erratic weather conditions…
“Cyclone Fani and Bulbul hit Bangladesh earlier this year damaging crops worth millions of dollars.”
“The bridge connecting Cagayan towns to Isabela and other provinces in the Cagayan Valley region [Phillipines] is still closed to all types of vehicle since yesterday, except those trucks with high injection pump and air cleaner, due to massive flooding caused by the continuous heavy rains…
“The city council also approved a resolution declaring Tuguegarao City under a state of calamity due to the massive flooding.”
“Perth [Australia] is on track to record it hottest ever start to December after the city sweltered to a top of 37.8C at 1pm today…
“Despite a cool change on Saturday with a forecast top of 27C, Perth remains on course for an average 36C maximum over the first week of December – which would smash the 88-year-old record of 35C set in 1931.”
“About 100 bushfires are raging in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), with the most severe forming into a “mega blaze” north of Sydney.
“More than 2,000 firefighters are battling bushfires, which escalated in intensity late on Thursday.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-50680083
“Helicopters, horse floats and dozens of volunteers have joined a mammoth mission to evacuate a wildlife sanctuary of more than 300 animals under threat from the massive fires in New South Wales…
“Containers were brought in to take away the pigs, goats, peacocks, chickens, alpacas and other animals.”
“Streets in the South Island tourist towns of Wanaka and Queenstown [New Zealand] were slowly going under water on Friday, after Lake Wanaka and Lake Wakatipu burst their banks earlier in the week, flooding businesses and sewerage systems…
“Wanaka residents were told to be on “high alert” with heavy rain predicted all weekend.”
“Atmospheric river storms like the one pounding California this week are becoming more intense and cost Western states roughly $1 billion in damage annually, according to a report on the weather phenomenon.
“The storms, which carry moisture from the tropics to the mid-latitude regions, have caused some of California’s biggest deluges.”
“Relentless torrential rains in spring and summer, followed by early autumn cold and snow, have stalled harvests in parts of the Corn Belt.
“It’s another blow to farmers…
“…already struggling with the effects of planting delays and a trade war that have applied downward pressure on commodity prices they receive.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/midwest-farmers-hit-hard-weather-140641229.html
“In the Mid-Atlantic states, the rain in 2018 seemed to never end.
“Scores of cities and towns set rainfall records, as well as several states. We can now add Virginia to the list.
“In 2018, 94 inches of rain deluged Sperryville, Va., setting a state record.”
“This year’s first-to-forty title was awarded this week in Nunavut, when Shepherd Bay recorded a ‘brisk’ -41ºC temperature on December 4.
“With the wind chill, it felt more like -56… It also makes the top ten on the list of coldest temperatures ever recorded in Canada.”
“More than 50 polar bears have gathered on the edge of a village in Russia’s far north, environmentalists and residents said, as weak Arctic ice leaves them unable to roam.
“The Russian branch of the World Wildlife Fund said climate change was to blame, as unusually warm temperatures prevented coastal ice from forming.”
https://www.france24.com/en/20191206-weak-arctic-ice-sees-56-polar-bears-descend-on-russian-village
“There are over 20,000 species of bees on this earth and all have been officially added to the list of endangered species with the threat of extinction looming.
“According to True Activist, the loss of bees on this earth will be a disaster for mankind because they are irreplaceable insects.”
https://www.nationofchange.org/2019/12/05/the-bee-is-officially-on-the-verge-of-extinction/
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