“As forest fires turn California’s sky an apocalyptic red, vast swathes of Africa are being submerged by once in a lifetime floods.
“From Ethiopia and Sudan to Nigeria and Senegal, torrential rains have displaced well over a million people and are threatening already vulnerable food supplies.”
“Sudan: UN warns of catastrophic situation due to floods:
“…the situation will get worse in the coming days… people are in urgent need of shelter, drinking water, non-food items and sanitation services, in addition to the need to prepare for an efficient response to epidemics and contagious diseases which will result from the floods.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200916-sudan-un-warns-of-catastrophic-situation-due-to-floods/
“Life has come to a standstill in much of India’s Bihar State as a ferocious monsoon season coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic. Coronavirus cases continue to climb, even as the floods affect millions across the state…
“Access to services and essential items has been disrupted, with women and children affected most severely.”
https://www.unfpa.org/news/dual-calamity-floods-hit-indias-bihar-state-amid-pandemic
“Watch: Incredible scenes of a flooded Hyderabad after torrential rain.
“Many areas of the city were inundated on Wednesday.”
Videos:
https://scroll.in/video/973340/watch-incredible-scenes-of-a-flooded-hyderabad-after-torrential-rain
“The number of forest fire outbreaks in Brazil’s southeast state of Sao Paulo jumped 109 percent so far this year compared to last year, local media reported on Wednesday.
“…the year of 2020 has seen 4,214 fire outbreaks so far in Sao Paulo, the most populated and industrialized state in the South American country, compared to 2,015 in 2019.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-09/17/c_139373915.htm
“Bolivia’s Interim President Jeanine Anez has declared a national emergency after forest fires scorched more than half a million hectares in the region of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
“”Today, something very important is happening: we are presenting two decrees. One to reinforce the fight against fire, and another to repeal the decree that allowed controlled burning,” Anez said…”
“Californian fires are mirroring Australia’s Black Summer, experts say, driven by record drought and heat… Mr Pimlott retired last December after 30 years with Cal Fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
“He said what kept him up at night was what will happen when the hot winds of autumn — or fall — arrive.
“”The fatigue on firefighters is already significant. But historically our most destructive fires are in October,” he said.”
“The almost 90 large wildfires raging in the West have killed at least 36 people, destroyed hundreds of buildings and even entire towns. The fires have also burned more than 4.6 million acres in the West, creating massive plumes visible even on the International Space Station.
“The smoke, many say, has become unbearable.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/16/us/wildfire-smoke-air-quality-west-coast/index.html
“Desert plants, unlike California oaks and chaparral, are not fire-adapted, so their recovery may be impossible.
“Debra Hughson, the chief scientist at the Mojave National Preserve, described the fire as an extinction event. “The Joshua trees are very flammable. They’ll die, and they won’t come back.””
https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/california-fire-drought-climate/
“Glacier National Park, one of America’s original 10 national parks, could lose its glaciers completely within decades…
“Between 1966 and 2015, all of the 26 named glaciers in the park got smaller. Some lost as much as 80% of their area, but the average loss was 40%, Glacier National Park tweeted this week.”
“Hundreds of people near the Florida-Alabama border were being rescued from floodwaters brought on by Sally on Wednesday and authorities fear many more could be in danger in coming days.
““We had 30 inches of rain in Pensacola — 30-plus inches of rain — which is four months of rain in four hours,” Ginny Cranor, chief of the Pensacola Fire Department, told CNN…”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/16/weather/hurricane-sally-wednesday/index.html
“Hurricane Teddy became a major Category 3 storm Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, the National Hurricane Center said…
“…the risk of strong winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall on Bermuda is increasing.”
“This summer the warming Gulf of Maine recorded its hottest single day, reaching 69.85 degrees Fahrenheit…
“That was a full degree warmer than the previous record of of 68.99 degrees Fahrenheit on Aug. 23, 2012, the newspaper reported.”
“Heatwave shatters September records in western Europe…
“On Tuesday the northern French city of Lille had its hottest September day since records began in 1945, reaching 35.1°C, while Metz in the northeast reached 34.3°C — another record.”
https://www.euronews.com/2020/09/16/heatwave-shatters-september-records-in-western-europe
“The future of two of Belgium’s most beloved and iconic products, Belgian beer and frites, is under serious threat from climate change, it was warned on Thursday.
“A report for Belgium’s National Climate Commission warned increasing global temperatures and droughts would hit potato crops and could force beer production to be slashed by as much as 40 percent.”
“As the Atlantic hurricane season continues to shatter records for the number of storms, it appears parts of Europe will be seeing some tropical activity of their own this week…
“Named Ianos, the medicane is set to impact Western Greece on Friday and could end up being one of the strongest medicanes on record.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/17/weather/medicane-ianos-mediterranean-hurricane-greece/index.html
Apparently we can mine, smelt and manufacture our way to a healthier biosphere!
“Greenland Minerals confident Kvanefjeld project can help meet long-term demand for rare earths…
“Kvanefjeld is one of the world’s most important emerging rare earth projects and will position Greenland to become a globally significant supplier of materials that are key to an energy efficient and environmentally sustainable future.”
Good luck to Shell making a profit in the Arctic with sub $50 oil prices, which is where they are going to stay, barring any brief price-spikes.
“Shell plans to resume oil and gas exploration in Alaskan Arctic offshore waters for the first time since 2015, according to exploration plans filed with the state Sept. 17…
“The company seeks state approval to form an exploration unit covering 86,400 acres and 18 Alaska Beaufort Sea state offshore leases held by Shell.”
“Sea-ice is shrinking, permafrost melting and marine ecosystems undergoing dramatic change.
“Russian petroleum companies are planning big drilling and massive field development in the shallow waters of the Ob Bay.”
“Gas Companies Are Abandoning Their Wells, Leaving Them to Leak Methane Forever.
“Just one orphaned site in California could have emitted more than 30 tons of methane. There are millions more like it.”
“Perfumes and fragrances, which were once a luxury item only for the elites, have become commonplace.
“Incorporated into everyday products like deodorants, perfumes, shampoos, bleaches — the list goes on — fragrances are everywhere. They can even be found in remote places like mountaintop glaciers…”
https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/09/17/perfume-fragrances-mount-elbrus/
“In 2010, leaders from 196 countries gathered in Japan and agreed on a list of goals designed to save the Earth…
“We’ve reached the deadline — and the world has collectively failed to fully achieve a single goal, according to the United Nations’ Global Biodiversity Outlook report, published on Tuesday.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/16/world/un-biodiversity-report-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html
The worst wildfires in US history, Arctic sea ice trending towards a historic low, simultaneous hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and the hottest summer in the northern hemisphere since records began…
“We were speculating 40 years ago about things that might happen, and I don’t think that any of us expected that in our lifetimes, we would see these things unfolding,” said Chris Rapley, a 73-year-old professor of climate science at University College London. “It has become a real problem of today, rather than a predicted problem of tomorrow.”
““Our societies are really only adapted to a small range of possible weather,” said Prof Otto, at the University of Oxford. “What 2020 shows is that 1C of warming, exactly what we expected . . . already brings our societies toward the edge of what we are able to cope with.”“
https://www.ft.com/content/6a6bab93-21fc-4bd6-b309-86e394e3869b
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here. I’ll be back over the weekend with a socio-economic round-up.
Many thanks, Mike, for climate news, especially of disasters in India. I am giving a talk on sea level rise and CO2 removal tomorrow, with Kolkata floods as a theme. I’m on at 5 pm for HCI, Healthy Climate Initiative. If you’re interested I’ll see if I can send you a link
B est wishes Peter
Peter, I think you may have sent me this in error. I do know Mike F though. I have followed your work and am admirer. Good luck with your talk! JP