“Australia has endured its hottest day ever recorded, as hundreds of violent bushfires continue to rage across the country.
“Bureau of Meteorology data shows temperatures hit a startling new high of 40.9C on average on Tuesday – 0.6C higher than the record set in 2013 – with experts warning Wednesday would likely be even hotter.”
“Australia has endured its driest spring on record, setting the scene for a devastating bushfire season in which fierce blazes have swept across the country…
“Rainfall was 62 per cent below average…”
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-just-suffered-through-its-driest-spring-on-record
“Climate change has reduced Australian farms’ average annual profitability by 22%, or around $18,600 per farm, in the past two decades, according to the agriculture department…
“…changes in climate have reduced the revenue of Australian cropping farms by a total of $1.1bn a year.”
““We can’t keep going on the way we’re going,” says Douglas, who is manager of policy and research at the Central Land Council.
““Central Australian Aboriginal people are very resilient. They have evolved to cope with the harsh and variable desert climate, but there are limits.”
“2019 is a record year for dengue fever in Latin America. The mosquito-borne disease has surged across the continent, from Mexico down to Chile and Argentina, with nearly 3 million cases reported. That’s more than 20% higher than the previous record in 2015…
“Leah Katzelnick, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley who works on dengue in Nicaragua, says climate definitely plays a role.”
“Oklahoma, lying in the heart of Tornado Alley, is famous for its frequent twisters. But 2019 took the twisting tempests to another level. The Sooner State’s tornado count climbed to 146, including the swarm of 105 during May.
“This number eclipses the previous record of 145 tornadoes set in 1999.”
“It’s been warm, wild and wet across South Africa in 2019, and it has certainly felt like a year of extremes. We’ve seen tornados in KZN, tremors in Gauteng, and one of the hottest days ever recorded in the country.
“These are the most significant – if not alarming – weather records smashed in the past 12 months:”
https://www.thesouthafrican.com/weathersa/hottest-day-in-south-africa-ever-weather-records/
“Despite the recent heavy rains in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal, an online survey conducted by the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (Kwanalu) revealed that the province was experiencing its “worst drought in 100 years”.
“Kwanalu members from 81 farmers’ associations and commodity affiliates were asked to take part in the survey to assess and understand the extent of the effects of the drought on the industry.”
https://www.iol.co.za/mercury/news/kwanalu-kzn-worst-drought-in-100-years-39353104
“10 people have been reported dead due to lightning in Malawi since the rainy season began in November, police and weather experts have described the situation as worrisome.”
https://menafn.com/1099436147/10-deaths-in-Malawi-due-to-lightning
“Reflecting on 2019, the one story that has stayed with me the longest, the one that I think about when I can’t sleep at night, is the arrival of Cyclone Idai on southern Africa’s east coast.
“The most powerful storm in Mozambique’s recorded history – before it was superseded by Cyclone Kenneth just a month later – devastated vast swathes of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.”
https://africanarguments.org/2019/12/18/the-story-that-became-too-obvious-to-ignore-in-2019/
“Heavy rains on Tuesday brought businesses and transport to a standstill in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam as the country’s meteorological agency issued the latest weather forecast alert…
“…more torrential rains were expected.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/17/c_138638250.htm
“As Somalia withered from drought early this year, and her goats dropped dead from thirst, Maka Abdi Ali begged for rain. When the skies finally opened, nature was unmerciful.
“Unrelenting downpours in October turned to flash floods, destroying her meagre home and few remaining possessions…”
https://www.france24.com/en/20191218-after-drought-floods-compound-somalia-s-year-of-climate-misery
“Noting that an estimated 250,000 people have been affected by recent floods triggered by heavy rains in Djibouti, UNOCHA also stressed that an estimated 150,000 people, including migrants and refugees, are of particular concern as they are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance.
“The Red Sea nation experienced heavy rains late last month, triggering flash floods and the eventual destruction of various infrastructures, homes and livelihoods across the country.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/18/c_138638614.htm
“The Republic of Congo on Tuesday appealed for help after 150,000 people in the north of the country were hit by rains that flooded homes, destroyed fields and swept away cattle.
“President Denis Sassou Nguesso… blamed “climatic disruption” for the disaster.”
https://ewn.co.za/2019/12/17/congo-appeals-for-help-after-150-000-hit-by-floods
“A bill authored by [Russia‘s] Ministry of Natural Resources was in October this year hammered through parliament.
“It grants oil and gas companies expanded rights to explore resources both in internal and territorial waters and is aimed at lowering the financial burden of the oilmen engaging in the region.”
“Our planet is restless, and its poles are wandering. Of course, the geographic north pole is in the same place it always was, but its magnetic counterpart – indicated by the N on any compass – is roaming towards Siberia at record-breaking speeds that scientists don’t fully comprehend…
“…the pace is remarkable…”
“Stores of methane and CO2 in the world’s seas are in a strange, icy state, and the waters are warming, creating a ticking carbon time bomb.”
Read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here.
