“Nearly 40 years of satellite data from Greenland shows that glaciers on the island have shrunk so much that even if global warming were to stop today, the ice sheet would continue shrinking…
“Greenland’s glaciers have passed a tipping point… where the snowfall that replenishes the ice sheet each year cannot keep up with the ice that is flowing into the ocean from glaciers.”
https://phys.org/news/2020-08-greenland-ice-sheet.html
“… this past July was anything but cold in Nunavut, being the warmest on record since the station opened on Ellesmere Island in 1947…
“…the daily average temperature at the station in July is 6.1 C. Last month the average temperature was 10 C.”
“Hammersmith Bridge [London] has been closed to pedestrians after cracks in the structure worsened following the recent heatwave.
“The 133-year-old bridge was closed indefinitely to motorists in April 2019 after “critical faults” in the cast iron casing were found.
[I can tell you from experience that this is a nightmare for commuters in W London that need to cross the Thames by car.]
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-53767214
“With a seven-day average temperature of 33.1 degrees, a new high mark was set for the hottest week on record in the Netherlands.
“The previous record was set in 1976, when one week in July had an average maximum of 32.0 degrees, according to data from meteorological agency KNMI…”
https://nltimes.nl/2020/08/13/record-shattered-hottest-week-dutch-history
“Farmers across a wide swath of Iowa are dealing with the heartbreaking aftermath of a rare wind storm that turned what was looking like a record corn crop into deep losses for many…
“Western Iowa has been declared an extreme drought zone and corn plants there were already weakened due to a lack of moisture.”
“Firefighters across three Western states are battling wildfires that have destroyed more than 90,000 acres.
“Evacuation orders have been issued in areas threatened by the Lake Fire and Ranch2 Fire in California’s Los Angeles County; the Mosier Creek Fire in central Oregon; and the Pine Gulch, Grizzly Creek and Cameron Peak fires in Colorado.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/13/us/wildfires-california-oregon-colorado/index.html
“Hours after the massive Lake fire exploded in the Angeles National Forest near the 5 Freeway on Wednesday, the blaze exhibited extreme and alarming behavior, at one point forming a tornado-like flaming vortex.
“Though such a phenomenon — commonly referred to as a fire tornado or fire whirl — is not unprecedented in California, it demonstrates the intensity with which the fire burned.”
“You know it’s hot when Death Valley, California, breaks high temperature records. A long-duration, dangerous heat event is setting up for parts of the West that will begin Friday and last into next week.
“More than 34 million people are under excessive heat watches and warnings across California and the Southwest.”
“Federal weather forecasters on Thursday predicted the development of drought-producing La Niña pattern that could to last through the winter.
“There is a 60% chance that La Niña will develop during the Northern Hemisphere fall, with a 55% chance the pattern will continue through the winter of 2020-21…”
“The Cambodian government has canceled this year’s water festival, which usually attracts crowds of hundreds of thousands, to help contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic amid a drought with water levels striking record lows.
“The government-friendly online news portal Fresh News said it had seen a letter ordering the cancellation.”
https://www.ucanews.com/news/cambodia-cancels-annual-water-festival-amid-drought/89147#
“Flooding caused by weeks of unusually heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 22 people in North Korea, with four others missing, and even approached the country’s main nuclear reactor, but leader Kim Jong Un says he is too worried about coronavirus to accept outside help…
“The disaster adds to an already troubling humanitarian situation in North Korea…”
“People are pulled from submerged cars, carried away on stretchers and collected on dinghies as severe flooding lashes China.”
Video:
https://news.sky.com/video/rescues-in-china-as-floods-hit-roads-and-homes-12048317
“At least five people have died and 38 went missing after torrential rain caused a landslide in Sindhupalchok district of Nepal on Friday early morning.
““We have found five bodies from the debris after the landslide swept houses this morning at around 6:30. Around 38 people are unaccounted for while eight have sustained serious injuries during the incident,” Pratap Lama, Ward chief of Lama Tole…”
“The impact of global warming in South Asia is evident by a steady sea level rise, changes in ambient temperature and rainfall patterns and an increase in cyclonic activity, experts say.
“More landslides and flooding are projected across the region, which is home to almost one-fourth of the world’s population.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/south-asia-counts-losses-devastating-085455301.html
“Jaipur, India was lashed by heavy rainfall on Friday morning, crippling Rajasthan’s capital city’s traffic, as photographs of waterlogged roads, and submerged vehicles in rainwater went viral on social media amid the downpour.
“The vehicular movement has come to a grinding halt in many parts of Jaipur, which is under up to three feet in water.”
“Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardekanian said the country is experiencing a year with the highest amount of annual precipitation during the past half a century…
“Record spring rainfall that has battered Iran in the past weeks caused serious flooding in many areas…”
https://iranian.com/2020/08/13/minister-iran-having-highest-rainfall-in-50-years/
“At least eight people died in flooding after heavy rains in the town of Kassala in eastern Sudan, local media reported Thursday.
“Ahmad Khalil, deputy administrative head of Kassala and Aroma towns, announced that 23 villages were affected by floods.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/at-least-8-people-die-in-floods-in-eastern-sudan/1941353
“One of the concerns about a warming planet is the feedback loop that will emerge.
“That is, as the planet warms, it will melt permafrost, which will release trapped carbon and lead to more warming and more melting. Now, a new study has shown that the feedback loop won’t only happen in the nether regions of the north and south, but in the tropics as well…”
“The Trump administration is revoking rules that require oil and gas drillers to detect and fix leaks of methane, a greenhouse gas that heats the planet far faster than carbon dioxide…
“The Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Andrew Wheeler, will announce the rollback from Pennsylvania, which has major oil and gas operations and is also a politically important swing state.”
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here.
