“Antarctica and Greenland lost thousands of gigatons of ice in the last 16 years, according to results from a new NASA mission published Thursday.
“Scientists reported that the two land masses have lost 5,000 gigatons of ice in that time period, which is enough to fill Lake Michigan. A gigaton is equal to a billion metric tons.”
“Utquiagvik, Alaska — The United States’ northernmost city plummeted to a bone-chilling minus-20 degrees Wednesday morning, beating out the previous daily record set in 1973.
“Not only is that their first record low in more than a decade, but it’s also the latest in the season that Utqiagvik has ever observed a temperature so frigid.”
“Firefighters from the Alaska Division of Forestry were working Thursday to contain a fast-growing wildfire between Wasilla and Point MacKenzie…
“…that had spread across at least 100 acres in less than a day and threatened a cabin…
“…it spread quickly because of dry grass and a light wind from the west.”
“A 25-kilometre-long ice jam has caused major flooding and forced about 13,000 people from their homes in Fort McMurray’s downtown.
“On Wednesday, officials said the ice jam had receded and was estimated to be 20 kilometres long.”
https://www.bolnews.com/weather-news/2020/04/severe-flooding-causes-havoc-in-northern-alberta/
“Persistent waves of severe thunderstorms made this the most active April for severe weather since the historic outbreaks of 2011…
“Among the storm reports were four EF-4 tornadoes, one of which grew to an astounding 2.25 miles wide at its largest.”
“Partly cloudy tomorrow with a gusty and very hot afternoon. My forecast high for Lubbock is 99°. That’s NEAR 100°. Lubbock’s May 1 record high is 96° (in 2012)…
“Lubbock will close out this April with just 0.02″ of precipitation measured at the airport. It’s the second driest April in Lubbock’s record, which dates from 1911.”
https://www.kcbd.com/2020/04/30/record-heat-triple-digits-ahead/
“Environmentalists in Bolivia warned Thursday of a marked increase in forest fires this year that threaten a repeat of the environmental disaster that ravaged much of the Amazon in 2019.
“Bolivia registered 15,354 forest fires in the first four months of the year — a 35 percent increase on the same period last year…”
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1911096/bolivia-ngo-warns-of-increase-in-forest-fires
“…to biologists and virologists, the sudden appearance of the coronavirus wasn’t surprising. It is simply a natural consequence of humans disturbing ecosystems in equilibrium and wildlife trade…
“Pandemics such as COVID-19 might become increasingly frequent as humans continue unabated on their course to expand their range at the expense of wildlife.”
https://www.zmescience.com/science/amazon-next-pandemic-05254/
“A cold front has begun sweeping across southern Queensland, bringing record low temperatures to the outback in a snap that will remain until next week…
“In outback Queensland, Thargomindah yesterday broke the 1989 record for the coldest April day when the maximum temperature only reached 18.5C.”
“Government logging has resumed in fire-damaged forests in NSW despite warnings that devastated bushland and endangered wildlife are too fragile to withstand further disruption.
“Newly released documents from the NSW government’s logging agency – the Forestry Corporation – reveal that at least 85 per cent of harvestable native hardwood forests in the south coast region was burnt in the fires.”
“The wet and wintry change comes on the back of a very dry April for western and southern parts of WA, including Perth…
“Overall Western Australia experienced its second warmest April on record, with average overnight and daytime temperatures 2.39C higher. Several individual heat records also fell across the state.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-01/perth-weather-hot-april-to-give-way-to-cold-may/12206788
“On the night of 19 April, torrential rains caused the banks of the Ruzizi River [Burundi] to overflow, flooding nearly 7,000 homes and displacing thousands of families in the province of Bujumbura Rural, roughly 12 km outside the city…
“…the flooding displaced an estimated 39,342 people, although that number is still rising as flooded houses continue to collapse.”
https://reliefweb.int/report/burundi/floods-cause-destruction-burundi-amid-covid-19-pandemic
“More than 300 families in the Bana area of South Bougainville [Papua New Guinea] are in need of food aid after flooding.
“The Papua New Guinea MP for South Bougainville, Communications Minister Tim Masiu, said most of the families had their gardens near the banks of the three rivers in the area.”
“Ukrainian firefighters continue extinguishing forest fires in the Chornobyl exclusion zone. The fires are still raging in six forestry zones.”
“April 2020 is the driest in Romania’s history, given that, with an average quantity of 11.1 liters / sqm, it exceeded the record of 2007, by 14.2 liters / sqm, according to data made public by the Ministry of Environment.
“”April 2020 is the driest in history, with an average amount of 11.1 liters / sqm, exceeding the record set in 2007, by 14.2 liters / sqm,” the Ministry of Environment said.”
https://actmedia.eu/daily/april-2020-driest-month-in-history-of-meteorological-measurements/86285
“April 2020’s sunshine levels beat the previous record [Holland] – April 2007 – by five hours.
“On average, the sun shines for 178 hours in the month although April has become sunnier since 1991and now enjoys an average 195 hours of sunshine. The month was also the second driest on record, with just 10 millimetres of rain falling, compared with 42 millimetres in the average April.”
“The fire which had been raging through the Galloway Forest Park [Scotland] since lunchtime last Thursday (April 23) was finally contained on Sunday morning.
“Thousands of acres of grassland near Mossdale have been burnt, reportedly killing local wildlife but luckily missing nearby grazing livestock.”
https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/18416758.wildfire-wreaks-havoc-galloway-forest-park/
“A new ridge of land is becoming exposed in the Breiðamerkur glacier [Iceland] as ice thins due to global warming.
“Geologists from the Southeastern Iceland Nature Agency believe that the ridge will eventually divide the glacier into two streams, Vísir reports.”
“A recent study of the genetic history of narwhals reveals these medium-sized Arctic-dwelling whales face an uncertain future, thanks to climate change…
“…suitable narwhal habitat will shrink as sea temperatures continue to rise and sea ice continues to melt.”
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