“The human fingerprint on the climate is now unmistakable and will become increasingly evident over the coming decades, the UK Met Office has confirmed after 30 years of pioneering study.
“Since the 1990s, global temperatures have warmed by half a degree, Arctic sea ice has shrunk by almost 2 million km2, sea-levels have risen by about 10cm and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 60 parts per million (17%), according to figures exclusively compiled for the Guardian to mark the 30th anniversary of the Met Office’s Hadley Centre for climate science and services.”
“Flash flooding hit much of Miami-Dade County Tuesday night as torrential storms soaked South Florida for a third straight day, with pools overflowing, cars underwater and at least two canals breached.
“And Wednesday was only looking slightly better, with the rain chance increasing as the day goes on.”
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article242993376.html
“Syracuse, N.Y. — The high temperature today topped out at 93 degrees, smashing the previous May 26 record of 90.
“That record had been set in 2011. Today also tied for the second-hottest May day in 117 years of record-keeping.”
https://www.syracuse.com/weather/2020/05/syracuse-smashes-high-temperature-record-today.html
“A stifling heatwave is expected to sweep the southwest this week, with temperatures predicted to reach 20 degrees above average.
“Meteorologists have warned ‘dozens of record highs’ could be broken across California, Nevada, and Arizona beginning on Tuesday and over the coming days.”
“When the dry season returns, the Amazon forest will burn again, as it does every year. But this time promises to be different…
“Deforestation is increasing at an alarming pace. It has grown by 94 percent since August 2019, compared with the previous year’s rate, which had been the highest in a decade.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/opinion/amazon-bolsonaro-deforestation.html
“As the UK continues to bake in above-average temperatures, this May could be the country’s driest since 1896, as just 31.5mm of rain has fallen this month.
“Parks, heaths and lawns in much of the country desperate for a drink of water may be left parched as much of the country basks in sunny, dry conditions expected to last until the end of the month.”
“Each Romanian farmer who incurred losses because of the drought will receive a lump sum, announced on Tuesday, May 26, the secretary of state in the ministry of agriculture (MADR), Emil Dumitru…
“Winter crops on some 1.6 million hectares have been reported by farmers as fully damaged.”
https://www.romania-insider.com/government-lump-sums-farmers-drought
“Four people have been found dead including two Emirati siblings, after the cars they were traveling in were swept away by flash floods in Wadi Al Helo in Sharjah on Tuesday evening.
“A girl aged four and her two-year-old brother were both found dead…
“Three cars were swept away in all and from the second car one man was rescued and two other men were later found dead bringing the total found dead to four. Occupants of the third car were all rescued.”
“On Tuesday, Indian authorities sent out drones and tractors to track desert locusts and spray them with insecticides, in one of the worst locust swarms seen by the country in nearly 30 years.
“With about 50,000 hectares of cropland destroyed by locusts, India is facing its worst food shortages since 1993.”
https://www.dw.com/en/india-faces-its-worst-locust-swarm-in-nearly-30-years/a-53579409
“The intense heatwave led to record high daytime temperatures in many places including the national capital Delhi. At 47.6°C, Delhi’s Palam recorded the decade’s maximum May day temperature on Tuesday…
“Churu in Rajasthan bagged the record of being the hottest place in not just India, but the entire world, on Tuesday. Recording the country’s first 50°C mark this year…”
“As many as 46 forest fires have been wreaking havoc in Uttarakhand.”
“After the hottest winter on record in Russia, spring has brought with it a heatwave to Siberia… High temperatures and low precipitation have dried out vegetation sooner than normal leading to wildfires in the boreal forests with some blazes starting in March and stretching into May.
“An early start typically means a longer fire season, according to academics at Swansea University.”
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/siberian-heatwave-points-to-a-longer-wildfire-season-1.1441429
“Some of the coldest permafrost on Earth might be more vulnerable to thawing than previously thought.
“In the PERMANOR project led by the University of Oslo in Norway, an international research team has investigated so-called thermokarst processes which can significantly accelerate thawing of permafrost.”
https://phys.org/news/2020-05-permafrost-arctic-faster-presumed.html
“Microplastics shed from vehicle tyres are a major source of ocean and river pollution, a UK government-backed study has concluded.
“Microplastic pollution has been found in marine environments all across the globe — from the deepest parts of the oceans to the Arctic ocean.”
“Scientists say more than 50 billion years of cumulative evolutionary history could be lost as humans push wildlife to the brink.
“”Weird and wonderful” animals unlike anything else on Earth are sliding silently toward extinction, they say.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52808103
“April 2020 was the warmest April on record globally (land/ocean surface), surpassing April 2016. April 2020 averaged 1.16 deg. C. above the 1951-1980 mean. The NASA database goes back to 1880.
“The top 5 warmest Aprils on record have all occurred over the past 5 years.”
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