“Incredible footage and pictures captured the moment an apocalyptic dust storm swept through rural drought-stricken towns in three [Australian] states.
A cold front swept through areas of South Australia, picking up dust and creating an intense storm in drought-stricken areas in the state. The dust storm was so severe it swept through parts of New South Wales and Victoria, reducing visibility and turning the sky a stark shade of red.
“The Bureau of Meteorology said the dust extended into NSW and Victoria, covering an area of 275,000 square km. [larger than the UK].”
“The mercury is breaking 40C in many parts of NSW as a heatwave grips the state, and it’s so hot the government has told residents to limit their electricty use as the state’s supply nears full capacity.
“Sydney Airport hit 43.3C at 3pm this afternoon according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s readings…”
“The threat of mass fish kills is emerging across the Murray-Darling Basin as low river flows and the influx of soil and ash from bushfires reduce water quality.
“In recent days, fish deaths have been reported in the Macquarie River near Dubbo and the Macleay River east of the Dividing Range in NSW, while a “wall of mud and ash” is moving down the Upper Murray.”
“After dust storms, hail and flash floods battered Australian cities in recent days, wildlife officials are warning residents against another natural threat: the venomous Australian funnel-web spider…
“…recent wet weather, followed by hot days, has created “perfect conditions for funnel-web spiders to thrive.””
“New research from scientists with the Global Fire Emissions Database shows that the [Australian] bushfires likely contributed 900 million metric tonnes of carbon, Bloomberg reports.
“That means the fires have effectively doubled the nation’s annual greenhouse gas output.”
“Extremely dry conditions across all of Northland [NZ] are costing farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars and driving families to extreme measures to save precious water.
“The region has just experienced its hottest and driest year, breaking 16 records in 2019.”
“Native bird life has taken a major hit in the wake of the Rangitata floods [NZ], with the Department of Conservation “devastated” to report several nests destroyed and many missing.
“The significant flooding event in December 2019, which saw the Rangitata River flowing at up to 2300 cumecs, caused significant damage to roading, electricity and farming infrastructure.”
““It is likely that water levels on lakes Michigan and Huron will set new monthly mean record high levels over the next couple of months,” said John Allis, chief of the Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology Office, Detroit District.
““This sets the stage for coastal impacts and damages in 2020 similar to, or worse than, what was experienced last year.””
“On Hatteras Island [North Carolina], temperatures in January have already broken or tied high temperature readings six times.
“The temperatures were recorded at Billy Mitchell Airport in Frisco.”
“British brassica growers are considering switching to cereal crops, after two consecutive seasons of nightmare conditions have seen costs spiral.
“British Growers’ Association (BGA) chairman Jack Ward said there needed to be an “urgent review” on the sustainability of UK brassica production, as the losses mount for embattled growers, who have endured extreme rains this winter.”
http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj/article/180676/brassica-growers-at-rock-bottom-after-record-rainfall
“It might not feel like it, but it is actually winter in Germany! Unsurprisingly, all this mild weather has got a few people wondering where the winter has got to – and whether we can ever expect any snow… Unfortunately, things don’t look good for snow this year, according to DWD’s seasonal forecast.
“This shows that the temperature this year will probably be one degree higher than the average temperature for the years 1990 to 2017 for February to April.”
https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/german-expat-news/will-germany-see-snow-winter-season
“Officials have warned that St Mark’s basilica [Venice, Italy] may not be able to withstand a repeat of the damage caused during record flooding in November.
“A 1.2 metre (four foot) high glass barrier has been suggested as a way to protect the world-famous monument and its priceless mosaics from the acqua alta…”
“More than 1,500 people have been evacuated from their homes in south west France after Storm Gloria caused widespread flooding…
“Over the last 48 hours there was 120 mm of rainfall around Perpignan, 246mm in Amélie-les-bains, 280mm [11 inches] in Arles-sur-Tech, 272mm in Argelès and 197mm in Saint Paul de Fenouillet.”
“The death toll from Storm Gloria in Spain rose to nine on Thursday as freak weather continues to batter the east of the country.
“The Balearic Islands and eastern regions including Catalonia and Valencia have borne the brunt of the storm now entering its fifth day.”
https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/23/storm-gloria-death-toll-and-fears-of-floods-rise
“Another [South African] province has officially been declared a disaster area due to drought – just as another municipality battles crippling water shortages, with its dam water levels below 23% of capacity.
“Northern Cape premier Zamani Saul… officially declared the country’s largest province a disaster area due to drought.”
“Zimbabwe’s Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) is down to below 100,000 tons of the staple maize from the mandatory 500, 000 tons following a drought last year, a cabinet minister said Wednesday…
“Zimbabwe’s consumes about 1.8 million tons of grain annually…”
https://www.newsghana.com.gh/zimbabwes-national-grain-stocks-dwindle/
“…farmers to carpet weavers are under threat as changing weather patterns wreak havoc [on Afghanistan].
“Experts warn the situation will only get worse, with Afghanistan one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change…”
https://www.globalvillagespace.com/terrible-drought-in-afghanistan-pushing-people-to-desperation/
“A solitary sloth bear gave a tiger the fright of its life as it stood on its hind legs and chased it off a field. Footage shows the tiger wandering along the landscape, appearing to show the signs of a mega drought, in Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, India…
“Altercations have centred around the safari animals access to a watering hole.”
“For the past 15,000 years, a glacier on the northwestern Tibetan Plateau of China has hosted a party for some unusual guests: an ensemble of frozen viruses, many of them unknown to modern science.
“Scientists recently broke up this party after taking a look at two ice cores from this Tibetan glacier, revealing the existence of 28 never-before-seen virus groups.”
https://www.livescience.com/unknown-viruses-discovered-tibetan-glacier.html
“Recent research has shown that most glaciers in the Himalaya are shrinking, most likely because of long-term increases in temperature.
“The contribution of glacier meltwater to river flow cannot be sustained over long periods of glacier shrinkage, which means the sustainability of river flow in south-east Asia will soon be at risk.”
“”Climate and Earth system models often treat these winter permafrost CO2 emissions as insignificant or even non-existent,” said Roser Matamala, a scientist in Argonne’s Environmental Science division and a contributor to the study.
“”But this study, with its large volume of data extending over multiple seasons, shows that winter respiration is substantial and significant.””
https://phys.org/news/2020-01-global-temperatures-northern-permafrost-region.html
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