“The bitterly cold Arctic winter typically snuffs out the seasonal wildfires that erupt in this region. But every once in a while, a wildfire comes along that refuses to die.
“These blazes, known as “zombie fires” or “holdover fires,” can burrow into the rich organic material beneath the surface, such as the vast peatlands that ring the Arctic, and smolder under the snowpack throughout the frigid winter.
“With the Siberian Arctic seeing record warm conditions in recent weeks and months, scientists monitoring Arctic wildfire trends are becoming more convinced that some of the blazes erupting in the Arctic this spring are actually left over from last summer.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/05/28/zombie-fires-burning-arctic-siberia/
““Forest fires in this region of the Arctic used to happen about every hundred years and now we’re seeing them every summer,” said Bianca Rodríguez-Cardona…
“”This increase in fires leads to more input of inorganic solutes into local streams which can alter the chemistry and trigger issues like increased algae blooms and bacteria that can be harmful to humans who depend on these waterways for drinking water, fishing and their livelihood.””
https://phys.org/news/2020-05-wildfires-arctic-watersheds-years.html
“…of all the many tangible climate change impacts, none may be bigger than coastal erosion and permafrost slump. A lake formed between 13,000 and 8,000 years ago transformed into a mudflat in less than a day.”
https://www.reportdoor.com/permafrost-slump-report-door/
““It can rain in January, it can snow in May, there’s no logic to it any more,” Fjellstrom, 39, said, sitting with Viklund by their snowmobiles.
“Between 1991 and 2019, parts of northern and eastern Sweden saw a rise in average temperature of nearly two degrees C compared to the 1860-1900 period, Sweden’s meteorological institute said in a report.”
https://albertonrecord.co.za/afp/1088471/climate-change-forces-sami-reindeer-herders-to-adapt
“Spring flood in Rovaniemi is expected to exceed the damage limit or even reach the level of the 1993 flood, Finland’s Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) informs…
“It could be a one-in-fifty year flood. The meltwater comes after the snowiest winter in 60 years in Lapland.”
“Today could be Scotland’s hottest May day ever on record.
“Temperatures are set to reach a balmy 29C in Aviemore, beating the previous high of 28.1C in 2012.”
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/5645699/scotland-weather-forecast-temperature-hot/
“Belgium is on track to wrap up its warmest spring season in recorded history, with the country’s typically unstable weather this year giving way to nearly 700 hours of dry and sunny weather.
“The current month of May is also set to become the driest one in 200 years…”
“Dry weather conditions in parts of Ukraine will lead to a smaller winter wheat harvest in 2020-21, the state-run weather forecast center told Reuters on May 28… severe drought across the southern part of Ukraine is the main reason for the lowered forecast.
“Looking ahead to 2020-21, Ukraine Economy Minister Ihor Petrashko said on May 5 that the country is considering a cap on grain trade.”
https://www.world-grain.com/articles/13751-drought-lowers-ukraine-wheat-output-forecast
“Under the scorching sun, farmer Dennis Onyango was replanting his rice fields yet again in Ahero, a town in southwest Kenya, after his entire crop of seedlings had been wiped out by floods – for the third time this year.
““I have been a rice farmer for the past 15 years, but what I have witnessed in the past few weeks has been catastrophic. I have never seen this before,” he added.”
https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N2CV3P6
“Residents of Delhi are bracing themselves for a possible invasion of locusts, which have been ravaging areas in the north of the country.
“A change in wind direction could save the city, but Dr K L Gurjar, deputy director of the Locust Warning Organisation, has warned residents to be prepared to “make a lot of loud noise so that instead of settling, they keep flying and fly past the city. And don’t panic”.”
“With homes destroyed or uninhabitable, more than 200,000 people in India and at least 100,000 in Bangladesh remain crammed into cyclone shelters—often with little regard to coronavirus precautions.
“The most damage caused by Amphan was from the accompanying storm surge, which wrecked several hundred kilometres (miles) of embankments that are supposed to protect homes and farms in low-lying coastal areas.”
https://phys.org/news/2020-05-bangladesh-week-cyclone.html
“Thailand’s economic planning agency said on Thursday that about 14.4 million workers may face unemployment in the second and third quarters, largely due to impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing severe drought.
“Out of the 14.4 million workers, some 8.4 million are estimated to be at risk of job loss…”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-05/29/c_139096693.htm
“Despite incentives and measures taken to protect forests, deforestation, especially in the Central Highlands [of Vietnam], continues.
“Fokienia – an indigenous type of plant found at an altitude of 1,500m in Dak Lak province – is among the most endangered.”
https://en.vietnamplus.vn/deforestation-continues-to-rage-in-vietnam/174088.vnp
“Forests across the world are transforming as the Earth heats up and as more frequent and severe droughts, wildfires and disease outbreaks destroy trees.
“In a new report published in Science magazine, researchers warn that climate change is accelerating the death of trees, stunting their growth and making forests across the world younger and shorter.”
“Another bout of severe weather is hitting Australia’s west coast just days after it was smashed by a ‘once in a lifetime’ storm.
“Western Australia’s south-west will see the worst of the conditions as it’s battered by winds of up to 100km/h and heavy rainfall today.”
“California is bracing for the possibility of a devastating wildfire season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“One nightmare sequence of events could have California hospitals filled with patients from a resurgent coronavirus while a wildfire in the north forces the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents and blankets vast areas in smoke — potentially making people more susceptible to the respiratory symptoms of COVID-19.”
“Following days of record-breaking heat across California, the intense warmth from a long-lasting heat wave will shift its focus to a different part of the West to end the week…
“Death Valley recorded yet another impressive feat on Thursday. The mercury only dropped to 95 on Thursday, setting a record not only for the warmest low temperature for the day itself, but for the entire month of May as well.”
“Heavy rains with scattered thunderstorms pounded parts of the Kansas City area Thursday, May 28, 2020, leading to flash flood and flood warnings for the metro. Several cars in Westport were swept away by high water.”
https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article243068771.html
“Tropical Storm Bertha moved through South Carolina Wednesday, bringing up to 5 inches of rain to the states with record rainfall reported in Charleston of more than 2 inches.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/severe-weather-moves-east-flash-flooding-expected/story?id=70921755
“It’s not even June, but the tropics are already bubbling.
“There have already been two named storms — Arthur and Bertha — and the National Hurricane Center is now keeping tabs on a system of disorganized weather in the central Atlantic.”
“Antarctic ice sheets retreated at speeds of up to 50 meters (164 feet) a day at the end of the last Ice Age — about ten times quicker than the fastest retreating sheets of today — researchers have found…
“Researchers warn that, should climate change carry on weakening ice shelves in coming decades, we could soon see similar levels of ice retreat — more than were thought possible — with huge implications for global sea levels.”
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