“California’s historically bad fire season marked another sobering milestone Thursday when the August Complex burning on the North Coast became the largest wildfire in state history…
“California’s previous largest fire, the Mendocino Complex, burned 459,000 acres just two years ago and reached into another part of the same forest as the August Complex.”
“Authorities in Oregon now say more than 500,000 people statewide have been forced to evacuate because of wildfires.
“The latest figures from Thursday evening come from the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. That’s over 10% of the state’s 4.2 million population.”
“Last month was the hottest August on record since Colorado started tracking temperatures in 1895.
“Now a map released weekly by the U.S. Drought Monitor shows over half the state is experiencing extreme drought, exacerbated by intense heat.”
“After shattering records over the Labor Day weekend with temperatures in the 90s and 100s along the Southern Rocky Mountains, winter abruptly showed up Tuesday morning in Colorado…
“That type of temperature swing is not necessarily uncommon in Colorado in the winter months, but it’s unprecedented for September.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-weather-snow-winter-storm-temperatures-plummet/
“Massachusetts just experienced its hottest summer on record, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that looks at 126 years of historical data…
“Similarly, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Arizona also endured their warmest recorded summers…”
https://www.capeandislands.org/post/massachusetts-endured-hottest-summer-record-2020#stream/0
“Fifteen states are suing the Bureau of Land Management, its parent agency the Interior Department and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt for opening Alaska’s Coastal Plain up to oil and gas leasing in 2017 in what they say is a violation of environmental laws.
“”Defendants’ insufficient environmental review and Record of Decision that opens the entire Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing and development are unlawful,” the states’ attorneys general wrote in a filing Wednesday.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/states-sue-trump-alaska-arctic-oil-gas/index.html
“Vladimir Potanin’s sprawling Siberian mining operations make him the billionaire most exposed to the permafrost crisis…
“Potanin [finds himself in] a paradoxical position: He manages a sprawling mining complex that produces raw materials needed for the transition away from fossil fuels, and his operations disgorge dangerous pollution into the fragile Arctic.
“The chief asset of Russia’s richest citizen—a chunk of the world’s ice cap—is melting before his eyes.”
“A tropical plume is set to scorch much of the UK next week with temperatures forecast to rise dramatically…
“Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services said: “Early next week we are likely to see temperatures lift into the 30Cs across parts of Britain as heat arrives with a vengeance.”
“He added: “It is entirely possible that …this September [could be] the hottest for more than 100 years.”
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/hottest-september-heatwave-century-hit-18910496
“It’s been a bad year for Venice. In November, the highest tides in over 50 years left the famous Italian lagoon city drenched and devastated.
“Fast forward to February when the surrounding region, Veneto, suffered Italy’s – and Europe’s – first death from coronavirus at the start of the epidemic, which went on to kill over 35,000 people in the country.”
“After a short respite from temperatures well over 40°C, Cyprus is once more swelting under extreme weather conditions for this time of year.
“September ushered the hottest day ever recorded on the island with a scorching 46.2°C in Nicosia last Friday.”
https://www.financialmirror.com/2020/09/09/september-heatwave-grips-cyprus/
Record flooding hammers African Sahel: “On September 7, Senegal recorded 124 millimeters of rain over the course of a seven-hour downpour. This is the same amount that would usually be expected across the entire rainy season running from July to September.
“In Nigeria, particularly the northwestern Kebbi State, flooding has damaged more than 500,000 hectares of farm produce amounting to around 5 billion naira ($13 million), according to NKC African Economics.”
“Three months of pounding rain in Niger have left 65 people dead and affected nearly 330,000, while several areas of the capital Niamey remain underwater, the government said.
“The ministry of humanitarian action and disaster management told AFP on Tuesday that as of September 7, 51 people had died when their home collapsed in the floods, and 14 had drowned.”
https://theglobepost.com/2020/09/10/niger-floods/
“Authorities in Burkina Faso have declared a state of natural disaster after days of heavy rains caused floods that killed at least 13 people and injured 19.
“Abdoul Karim Sango, minister of culture, arts and tourism, said in a news conference on Wednesday the flooding destroyed “many houses” and affected “many people”, without giving further details.”
“Sudanese authorities and the United Nations are rolling out aid to tens of thousands who lost their homes in record Nile floods, but many of those camping out on roadsides and higher ground are despairing of when it will reach them.
“The floods have left at least 102 people dead in the country and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of homes…”
“Typhoons and floods raged through North Korea and affected at least 20,000 people in the country, according to a recent U.N. report published on Sept. 8.
“North Korea faced one of its worst monsoon seasons in years this summer, and was also hit by three major storms in just a two-week span [which has never been recorded before].”
“Wildfire has infiltrated a Brazilian state park known for its population of jaguars as firefighters, environmentalists and ranchers in the world’s largest tropical wetlands region struggle to smother record blazes…
“There is little outlook for any near-term help from rainfall, said the Mato Grosso firefighters’ spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Sheila Sebalhos.”
“Global wildlife populations have declined by more than two thirds in less than 50 years, a new report has warned.
“Conservation charity WWF said nature was in “freefall” due to human activity, mainly intensive agriculture and the destruction of habitat such as forests to produce food, as it published its latest Living Planet Report.”
https://theecologist.org/2020/sep/10/biodiversity-collapses-two-thirds-fifty-years
“A recent study from researchers at Stanford University shows that the growth rate of a type of plankton called phytoplankton in the Arctic Ocean has increased 57 percent between 1998 and 2018, with uncertain implications for animals higher up the food chain (which is most of them, including us).”
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/massive-surge-plankton-has-researchers-pondering-future-arctic
“The planet is showing signs it’s in peril.
“In recent weeks, the world has seen ferocious wildfires in the U.S. West, torrential rains in Africa, weirdly warm temperatures on the surface of tropical oceans, and record heat waves from California to the Siberian Arctic.”
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