“A big chunk of ice has broken away from the Arctic’s largest remaining ice shelf – 79N, or Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden – in north-east Greenland.
“The ejected section covers about 110 square km; satellite imagery shows it to have shattered into many small pieces.
“The loss is further evidence say scientists of the rapid climate changes taking place in Greenland.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54127279
“In what can be described as a miraculous discovery, Russian scientists have discovered a 39,000-year-old perfectly preserved cave bear and cub in Siberia.”
[Plenty more of these remains will be “miraculously” appearing as the permafrost melts].
“All fishing of Yukon River fall chum has been closed following what’s now been confirmed as the lowest run on record…
“What’s unusual… is that while this year’s Chinook salmon run also failed to meet spawning goals, the total number of fish that entered the river still fell within the range forecasted in the preseason. The fall chum, however, basically failed to show up at all.”
https://www.yukon-news.com/news/yukon-river-fall-chum-run-the-worst-on-record/
“A year ago in August, so much rain fell around Grand Island that a man kayaked through part of the Nebraska State Fair.
“Fast forward a year, and now Grand Island, along with more than half of Nebraska, is in drought. Aggressive range fires have returned after a hiatus from wet years… August 2020 was Nebraska’s driest August in 126 years of record-keeping.”
“Wildfires scorching the West Coast have devastated the small city of Detroit, Oregon — located about 120 miles southeast of Portland…
“Major fires spanning several states have burned 4.6 million acres, national fire officials say. That’s an area roughly equivalent to Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/13/us/us-west-fires-sunday/index.html
“A ‘firenado’ has been captured on camera in California as wildfires tear through large swathes of the west coast, killing at least 35 people. Footage showing a wildfire meeting a column of air to create a tornado-like effect was posted on TikTok on Thursday went viral over the weekend.
“Social media users nicknamed the state ‘Hellifornia‘…”
“California’s wildfire smoke plumes are unlike anything previously seen – Smoke plumes have reached 55,000 feet in height, with embedded thunderstorms, lightning and possible tornadoes…
“…this year hasn’t just been wild — it’s virtually unprecedented in scope and scale.” [unprecedented fires in the Arctic and Pantanal as well. Welcome to the Pyrocene.]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/12/california-wildfires-smoke-plumes/
“Tropical Storm Sally could be a Category 2 hurricane when it reaches the United States near New Orleans on Tuesday morning.
“Hurricane warnings have now been issued from Morgan City, Louisiana, east to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, including New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/13/weather/tropical-storm-sally-sunday/index.html
“Churning in the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Paulette is expected to become a hurricane on Saturday night as it approaches Bermuda…
“The storm is forecast to make landfall on the self-governing British territory either Sunday night or Monday morning, bringing with it what the NHC described as “a prolonged period of strong winds, storm surge and heavy rainfall.””
“Oil has washed up to Venezuela’s west coast after a leak in a pipeline that takes crude to the country’s main refinery, national oil company PDVSA said on Saturday.
“The spill has spread over more than 13 kilometres (eight miles) according to the environmental commission of the opposition-majority national parliament.”
https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2020/09/13/large-oil-spill-washes-up-to-venezuela-shores
“France set for record-high September temperatures as summer returns – Several parts of France will see temperatures climb above the 35C-mark on Monday with the country set for a period of “exceptionally hot” weather.
“A sign of things to come, say climate specialists.”
“Romanian farmers are bearing the brunt of a severe drought that has hit the south-eastern regions of the country.
“Theodor Ichim, who lost almost all his crops this year due to lack of rain and an irrigation system for his land, came up with an original way to bring attention to his plight and that of many other farmers.
“Using his tractor and a tillage machine, he ploughed the words “we want water” into one of his dry fields…”
“A gold mine has collapsed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 50 people, officials said.
“The incident in a makeshift mine occurred Friday in the town of Kamituga, South Kivu province, after torrential rain, local authorities said Saturday.”
“The floods in Sudan have killed 102 people, injured 46 more and affected over 550,000 people in 17 of the country’s 18 states, the United Nations… has reported…
“The UN organisation continued: “More than 500 square kilometres of land flooded in Khartoum, Al Gezira and White Nile States, and more than 100,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged.””
“Kerala is likely to receive 2,300 mm of rain for the third consecutive year, said… the Tamil Nadu Weatherman.
“However, Kerala could receive record rainfall in 150 year this September, the weather expert from Tamil Nadu said. If the rains continue, Kerala will receive over 2,000 mm of rain in two or three days.”
“Kolkata – Prices of vegetables soared, some to the extent of nearly 100% over the last nine days, across the retail markets on Sunday.
“Untimely downpours have also widened the demand-supply gap. Since August [the region] received record rainfall and it’s continuing in September, much of the standing crops were damaged.”
“11 dead and several missing after massive Nepal landslides.
“Landslides triggered by torrential monsoon rains swept through three villages in Nepal, destroying hundreds of houses.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/09/dead-missing-landslides-nepal-200913161520649.html
“In addition to battling its heaviest rainfall in recent years, Bangladesh is also struggling to contain the coronavirus outbreak…
“The people who are most vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic are the same people who are “living on the front lines of climate change,” said Afsari Begum, senior specialist for disaster risk reduction at the development charity, Practical Action.”
“Two days of torrential rain have led to flooding in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province on Sunday (Sept 13), causing damage to public facilities and forcing hundreds of residents from their homes.
“The floods prompted around 600 families from the Merbau district of North Labuhan Batu regency to seek shelter…”
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/floods-in-north-sumatra-drive-hundreds-from-their-homes
“Nearly 1,500 homes were flooded and one person was killed Sunday following heavy rains in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province.
“In a statement, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said the rains caused flooding in the province’s Melawi region.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/heavy-rains-in-indonesia-leave-1-dead/1972475
“Torrential rain has pummeled parts of Japan, with more downpours feared across the country. The Meteorological Agency says atmospheric conditions remain unstable nationwide due to a front over Japan and a low pressure system to the country’s south.
“The agency issued a record one-hour rainfall alert in some areas across the country from Friday night through Saturday morning.”
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200912_10/
“The stifling heat is becoming more dangerous with climate change. One reason is because global heating is not occurring evenly: Lower nighttime temperatures that typically provide critical relief from the hot days are disappearing.
“Summer night temperatures are warmer now, and they are warming at a faster rate than daytime temperatures…”
“The planet hasn’t warmed this fast in tens of millions of years – Scientists just completed one of the most comprehensive investigations of Earth’s climate history—and the findings aren’t favorable.
“They found that the planet could eventually warm to levels it hasn’t reached in at least 34 million years.”
“Will Extreme Weather Keep Getting Worse? Scientists Say Yes.
“One by one, climate and disaster records and milestones have been shattered in 2020. The stories of the extremes make daily headlines.”
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a socio-economic round-up.
