“2020 has gotten off to a record warm or wet start for a number of cities in the Southeast US due to a stubborn weather pattern leaving some either sweltering in summerlike heat or repeatedly drenched…
“The culprit for this record start to 2020 has been a persistent dome of high pressure aloft centered over the eastern Gulf of Mexico.”
https://weather.com/safety/heat/news/2020-04-22-south-cities-record-warm-wet-year-to-date-2020
You may recall that Cuba broke its national heat record last week (for the second year running).
“Cuba is currently suffering an intense drought and its water reservoirs are below 50 percent of storage capacity. Until April 21, there were 4,230 million cubic meters of the precious liquid, reported on Thursday Granma daily.”
https://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=54914&SEO=cubas-water-reservoirs-suffer-intense-drought
“At least seven people have been killed and dozens injured due to severe weather in southern Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana.
“On Wednesday and early Thursday, severe thunderstorms, flooding and tornadoes were reported in the region.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52398977
“Southern California’s first heat wave of the year is poised to bring scorching temperatures that could break records in Los Angeles County by the weekend…
““These are very warm conditions for this time of year,” said Rich Thompson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.”
“Satellite data show regions of the Amazon with severe negative changes in soil moisture and groundwater, meaning this year will likely be drier than 2019…
“…a drier year may increase the spread of wildfires and trigger an earlier spike in deforestation rates, experts say.”
“After years of drought and the summer’s devastating bushfires, large tracts of eastern Australia have received a deluge…
“For Caroline Henry, who battled flames for 10 days in January to only just save her oyster farm at Wonboyn Lake in southern NSW, heavy rain later flushed ash and sediment through the catchment, damaging her stock.”
“Forests and steppes in Kazakhstan are in flames…
“…spreading to more than 900 hectares of land in Almaty region, Pavlodar region and East Kazakhstan region… Rescuers warned that the peak of fires might be yet to come.”
“People have been asked to stay away from part of Derbyshire [England] as firefighters continue to tackle a large moorland fire.
“The fire is burning between Crowden and Glossop in an area measuring about four square miles.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-52400387
“Firefighters are at the scene of a large wildfire in Dumfries and Galloway [Scotland].
“Nine crews are currently tackling the blaze near Mossdale, which was called in at 1:15pm on Thursday afternoon.”
“Lake Victoria [Kenya] has burst its shoreline and the impact of the ever-rising water levels is bringing more trouble for beach hotel owners.
“Many commercial facilities on the shoreline have been flooded and or submerged.”
https://www.nation.co.ke/video/news/4146788-5532656-20rkk1/index.html
“At least two people have been killed and 50 houses have been swept away by flash floods in Tanzania’s northern safari capital of Arusha, an official said on Thursday.
“”Two people were killed by flash floods early Thursday and scores of others were made homeless after the floods washed away at least 50 houses,” said Jerry Muro, Arumeru district commissioner in Arusha region.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-04/24/c_139002839.htm
“One of the more ominous indicators of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa has been the dramatic recent shifts in rainfall patterns.
“With rain-fed agriculture crucial for the livelihoods of millions in the region, a better understanding of this is critical to help the most vulnerable to mitigate climate impacts.”
““From pre-production, to growing of food, rearing of animals, and clearing of land, all along to the post-harvest processing, transport, distribution, you bringing your food home, you storing it, and you throwing it away… All that together makes a major contribution to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions,” says Tara Garnett, Founder of the Food Climate Research Network.
“Agriculture is the leading factor in land use around the globe and the leading contributor to deforestation.”
https://africa.com/feeding-the-world-is-killing-the-planet/
Read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here.
