“Europe is heating faster than the global average as new data indicates that last year was the warmest on record.
“While globally the year was the second warmest, a series of heatwaves helped push the region to a new high mark.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52380157
“Forecasters are expecting the mercury to shoot up to 20C in Glasgow on Friday – around 10C higher than the Scottish average for this time of year…
“Across the UK, a sunny Thursday and Friday will see the temperature reach as high as 24C in London – hotter than Lanzarote and Corfu.”
https://www.scotsman.com/news/weather/scotland-set-be-hotter-rome-heatwave-continues-2544950
“The Dutch air force sent in helicopters to help firefighters battle wildfires in two eastern nature reserves in the Netherlands.
“Local media report efforts to contain the fires in the Deurnese Peel nature reserve in Noord-Brabant province and De Meinweg in Limburg province continued throughout the night Monday and into the morning Tuesday.”
https://www.voanews.com/europe/netherlands-brings-air-force-fight-wildfires
“Scattering models indicate that radionuclides released from the areas hit by forest fire in northern Ukraine could have reached Finnmark in northernmost Norway in recent days…
“Released off radiation was measured inside the forest fire hit areas already in early April.”
“Climatologists believe the current drought in Italy to be the worst such event in the last 60 years. In the northern regions, rainfall has dropped 61 percent since February.
“The latest data from the National Research Council shows a substantial reduction of water levels in rivers and lakes across the country, this is the warmest season on record since 1800…”
“The Kenya Meteorological Department (Met) has asked the public to brace for heavier rainfall over the next seven days…
“At least 12 people have died while at least 22 are missing in Chesogon, Elgeyo Marakwet, where heavy rains and flash floods have left more than 400 families displaced.”
https://allafrica.com/stories/202004220172.html
“At least 10 civilians died and dozens were injured when heavy flooding struck the port city of Aden in southern Yemen on Tuesday…
“Water rushed through the streets for more than two hours, sweeping along hundreds of cars and burying them along the main roads…”
“A recent poaching incident in Cambodia’s northern plains took the lives of three giant ibises, a critically endangered bird species.
“There’s been an upsurge in poaching, deforestation and other destructive activities in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.”
““Dead fish and dead shrimps,” Vien says, “and if we don’t have a solution soon, I think, dead farmers too.”
“The issue is water. Salty seawater has intruded into the freshwater Mekong Delta at unprecedented levels this year, to the point at which [Vietnamese] peoples’ crops and produce simply cannot survive.”
“New South Wales farmers are bracing for the drought to worsen, with the opportunity for autumn rain and significant pasture growth diminishing as winter closes in…
“While some parts of NSW have received drought-breaking rain, the state’s south-east is still classified under “intense drought”, according to NSW Department of Primary Industries.”
“Australia’s 2020 cotton crop is the lowest planted since the 1980s, with just 60,000 hectares planted across Australia, less than a quarter of last year’s plant of 292,380ha according to Cotton Australia’s January estimates.
“The drought took a hit on the Darling Downs cotton industry as growers started the season with not enough water to get through, taking a chance on in crop rain.”
“Weakened wind patterns likely spurred the wave of extreme ocean heat that swept the North Pacific last summer…
“The marine heat wave, named the “Blob 2.0” after 2013’s “Blob,” likely damaged marine ecosystems and hurt coastal fisheries…
“Waters off the U.S. West Coast were a record-breaking 4.5 degrees F (2.5 degrees C) above normal, the authors found.”
https://phys.org/news/2020-04-weak-pacific-drove-record-breaking-summertime.html
“Hundreds of tornadoes have been reported across the eastern half of the US since April 1. Now, another storm system could generate even more over the next two days, from the Southern Plains to the Deep South.
“This storm threat includes parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia. It also includes Mississippi…”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/22/weather/tornado-forecast-severe-outbreak/index.html
“A rare tornado warning, and severe thunderstorm warnings, was issued for parts of New York and Northern New Jersey on Tuesday.”
“Small pieces of plastic have been detected in sea ice in Antarctica for what scientists believe is the first time.
“Microplastics have previously been discovered in Antarctica’s surface waters, sediment and in snow, but the new discovery could mean the region’s krill – which feed on algae from sea ice – may be more exposed to the plastic.”
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