“The effects of global warming in the Arctic are so severe that the region is shifting to a different climate, one characterized less by ice and snow and more by open water and rain, scientists said Monday.
“Already, they said, sea ice in the Arctic has declined so much that even an extremely cold year would not result in as much ice as was typical decades ago. Two other characteristics of the region’s climate, seasonal air temperatures and the number of days of rain instead of snow, are shifting in the same way, the researchers said.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/climate/arctic-changing-climate.html
“Federal scientists say killer whales are increasingly preying on bowhead whales in U.S. Arctic waters, raising questions about the future health of the endangered bowheads…
“A dramatic loss in Arctic Ocean ice appears to be aiding the attacks, reducing the frozen cover that can provide bowhead whales with protection from killer whales…”
“Satellite images show that two important glaciers in the Antarctic are sustaining rapid damage at their most vulnerable points, leading to the breaking up of vital ice shelves with major consequences for global sea level rise…
“A new study… found that the glaciers are weakening at their foundations and this damage over the past few decades is speeding up their retreat and the possible future collapse of their ice shelves.”
“Floods early this month across northwest Nigeria destroyed 90 percent of the two million tonnes that Kebbi state officials expected to harvest this autumn, the head of the state branch of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria told Reuters.
“The loss amounts to some 20 percent of the rice Nigeria grew last year, and the waters are still rising.”
“Around 217,000 Ethiopians have been displaced by the worst floods in several decades, an Ethiopian minister said on Monday.
“Kamil said the floods which in some areas have been the most damaging in more than a century have displaced 217,000 people and affected another 363,000 people.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-09/15/c_139368079.htm
“Ice loss on Africa’s highest peak prompts star climber Will Gadd to reconsider his sport…
“Gadd, the first person to climb a frozen Niagara Falls, had hoped to scale the remaining ice atop Africa’s highest peak [Mount Kilimanjaro] with climbing partner Sarah Hueniken in February. But when they got there, they discovered that the extremely challenging Messner route they wanted to attempt – scaled only once since the 1980s – had lost so much ice it was impossible to ice-climb.”
“Glaciers in Kashmir are receding at an alarming rate, a study conducted by experts at the University of Kashmir has found…
“…the glaciers have reduced in area from 101.73 sq km in 1980 to 72.41 sq km in 2018, a 28% shrinkage in their expanse.”
https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/second-edit/melting-glaciers-a-worrying-sign-887629.html
“Japan’s brush with Typhoon Haishen this month serves as a warning that there could be worse to come…
“Surface temperatures in the Western Pacific have been about 2 degrees Celsius higher than normal over summer… one patch of ocean south of Japan had an average monthly temperature of approximately 30 degrees Celsius in August — the highest ever recorded.”
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/1292/
“Marine heatwaves are generated by warmer weather, just as heatwaves are on land. Because of climate change, they’re becoming more frequent, more intense, and they’re lasting longer…
“Marine heatwaves can have a devastating effect on marine ecosystems, especially on creatures like corals which are havens of biodiversity.”
https://www.euronews.com/2020/09/14/marine-heatwaves-their-devastating-impact-on-wildlife
“The fire season is a lot worse than usual in Brazil’s Pantanal region, with the world’s largest wetland burning at a record pace.
“More than 10,000 fires have broken out across the Pantanal since the start of September – three times as many as last year.”
“Amazon rainforest: Farmers are losing everything to deforestation fires as experts warn it is reaching tipping point…
“The need for yet another concerted effort to save the rainforest and to change farming behaviour in the region is being led by the WWF, which is warning the forest is reaching the tipping point where it can’t be saved.”
“Four west coast cities in the US currently rank in the top 10 for worst air quality in the world, as wildfires rage up and down the western seaboard, cloaking the entire region in smoke.
“Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, hold the No 1 and No 2 spots, while San Francisco and Los Angeles sit at four and six.”
“”On Thursday, 9/17, if we don’t receive rain, Las Vegas will tie the record of 150 consecutive days without measurable rainfall. On Friday, 9/18, we will break that record.
“”The forecast is dry through the week…””
“If the official thermometer for Denver located at DIA reaches at least 90 degrees Tuesday afternoon, the city will set a record for the most days in the 90s one year.
“Currently 2020 is tied with 2012 with 73 days at or above 90 degrees this year.”
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/09/15/denver-heat-temperature-90-all-time-record/
“Hurricane Sally moved slowly closer to the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday, threatening historic floods as rain and storm-force winds started lashing the shore…
“More than 2 feet of rain was expected in some areas, with “extreme life-threatening flash flooding likely through Wednesday,” an NHC forecaster said.”
“There is only one name left on the pre-determined Atlantic hurricane season naming list before it “goes Greek”.
“…there have now been 20 named storms. With one more name left on this year’s list, Wilfred, the letters of the Greek alphabet will be used to name further storms. This would be only the second time this has occurred.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/54150645
“For only the second time in recorded history, five tropical cyclones are churning in the Atlantic Ocean at the same time.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/14/atlantic-bermuda-hurricane-tropical-storm-sally
“Hurricane Paulette knocked down trees and power lines across Bermuda as it made a rare landfall in the wealthy British territory and strengthened into a Category 2 storm while still over the island.
“Fewer than 10 hurricanes have made direct landfall on the tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic since the National Hurricane Center began tracking such disasters in the 1850s.”
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-hurricane-paulette-rare-landfall-bermuda.html
“‘Once in 200 years’ flooding caused €5m worth of damage to Cork’s roads [Ireland]…
“62mm of rain fell in Dunmanway on August 15, with 40mm of that occurring in just one hour. Up to 125mm (5ins) fell in Rosscarbery on August 13 and a further 100mm two days later.”
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-40048535.html
“As France enters autumn, exceptionally high temperatures are expected across the country…
“Last time Paris experienced such temperatures in September was 73 years ago, with 33.2°C on 15 September 1947. But Meteo France, the French national weather service predicts a record 34°C this week for the Paris region.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/france-braces-september-heatwave-paris-122120893.html
“At 2:20 p.m., temperatures climbed to 30.2 degrees at the national weather station in De Bilt, making Tuesday officially a tropical day.
“This is the latest in the year that temperatures in the Netherlands topped 30 degrees since temperature measurements started in 1901, Weeronline reported.”
https://nltimes.nl/2020/09/15/latest-ever-tropical-day-nl-302degc-de-bilt
“The Northern Hemisphere just sweltered through its hottest summer on record, according to data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The period from June through August was 2.11 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average in the Northern Hemisphere, while globally, this August ranked as the second-hottest since record keeping began in 1880.”
“Earth barreling toward ‘Hothouse’ state not seen in 50 million years, epic new climate record shows…
“According to the researchers, the current pace of anthropogenic global warming far exceeds the natural climate fluctuations seen at any other point in the Cenozoic era, and has the potential to hyper-drive our planet out of a long icehouse phase into a searing hothouse state.”
https://www.space.com/oldest-climate-record-ever-cenozoic-era.html
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.
