“Melting of the Antarctic ice sheet will cause sea level rises of about two and a half metres around the world, even if the goals of the Paris agreement are met, research has shown.
“The melting is likely to take place over a long period, beyond the end of this century, but is almost certain to be irreversible, because of the way in which the ice cap is likely to melt, the new model reveals.”
“The largest-ever study of tree rings from Norilsk in the Russian Arctic has shown that the direct and indirect effects of industrial pollution in the region and beyond are far worse than previously thought…
“…the damage done by decades of nickel and copper mining has not only devastated local environments, but also affected the global carbon cycle.”
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-tree-scale-arctic-pollution-worse.html
“Svalbard glaciers lost their protective buffer in the mid-1980s and have been melting ever since…
“Rising air temperature in the mid-1980s considerably increased the amount of water that was melting across the glaciers and rapidly filled the air pockets in the firn, progressively weakening its buffer capacity.”
“Trump administration advances plan to cut protections for largest national forest…
“The Trump administration has announced it will move forward with a plan to roll back regulations protecting millions of acres in America’s largest national forest from logging, sparking an outcry from environmental advocacy organizations, Alaskan tribal nations, and fishermen.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/24/tongass-national-forest-trump-administration-logging
“Battered, Flooded and Submerged: Many Superfund Sites are Dangerously Threatened by Climate Change:
“The Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned in a report last year that French Limited was among 945 Superfund sites across the United States vulnerable to hurricanes, flooding, sea level rise, increased precipitation or wildfires, all of which are intensifying as the planet warms.”
“Wildfire danger in West to escalate as intense heat dome builds this weekend:
“Thousands of firefighters struggling to contain dozens of blazes from California to Washington need a break in the weather… However, although temperatures have returned to near average after a blistering heat wave in mid-August and another record-shattering heat episode this month, the weather is poised to tip decidedly in the fires’ favor.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/23/western-wildfires-next-heat-wave/
“California’s Creek Fire is not only the largest single wildfire in the state known for huge and destructive blazes, it spawned two rare firenados [one an EF-2] a day after the fire started earlier this month…
“They wreaked havoc across the rugged area, the result of “unprecedented fire behavior,” government forecasters said Thursday.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/24/us/california-fire-tornado-creek-fire/index.html
“As wildfires, flooding, and hurricanes grow more frequent, climate migration begins:
“More than 1 million disaster-related displacements have occurred each year on average in the U.S. since 2016. Some people never return home.”
“Las Vegas continues to set records for lack of rainfall – the city had not received measurable rainfall since April 20th.”
“The Great Lakes are filled to their brims, with no signs of receding – experts see the fingerprints of climate change on the lakes’ record high water levels…
“Along all the Great Lakes, storm-driven waters are eroding public beaches, washing away sand dunes and bluffs, and damaging roads and other infrastructure.”
https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.4589
“A Texas city has released skin-crawling video of large ant piles floating in flood waters brought on by Tropical Storm Beta…
“‘This is one of the reasons why you should avoid walking through flood water. Floating ant piles like this one found at Countryside Park can form and be very dangerous,’ officials wrote in the caption of the video.”
“Why the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has spun out of control:
“Extra-warm ocean waters, boosted by climate change, and La Niña are key drivers in historic season… the Atlantic had already spit out 23 named storms — roughly double its long-term average for an entire season.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/09/23/atlantic-hurricanes-record-2020/
“Drought-inducing La Nina arrives as U.S. wheat, S. American corn planting begin:
“La Nina conditions have started up their projected multi-month residency in the Pacific Ocean, just as new crop cycles are kicking off in the Americas, including corn and soybean planting in South America and wheat planting in the United States.”
“More than 40% of fires in the Brazilian Amazon this year are burning in standing forests…
“Rainforest trees are especially vulnerable because fire is relatively new to the Amazon, and trees there have not developed fire resistance. A rainforest fire, burning through the forest for the first time, kills most small trees and seedlings and can kill 50% of large trees.”
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/when-the-amazon-burns-what-happens-to-its-biodiversity/
“The summer of 2020 has set a new record as the driest in France since record-keeping began…
“Météo-France released the figures as autumn arrived in the northern hemisphere Tuesday. “This is the third consecutive year that the summer period has reached drought levels never before measured,” the forecaster said.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/april-heatwave-set-france-driest-132314503.html
“Half a million hectares of charred forest and 121 dead. That was the result of Portugal’s 2017 summer disaster. At the time, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said such an event could happen again…
“[But] climate change is making Portugal drier and hotter, which could mean that the great disaster of 2017 could repeat itself at any time. And the numbers support this assumption.
“This year has seen the worst forest fires since then.”
https://www.dw.com/en/portugal-struggles-to-get-forest-fires-under-control/a-55039934
“A mysterious spate of attacks by orca whales on boats off Spain’s coast has prompted authorities to ban people setting sail from the country’s northwestern tip.
“The unprecedented attacks have crippled vessels and terrified crew members, and created a slew of theories as to what could have angered the whales.”
“Adrar’s problems exposed as Sahara Desert heats up:
“The inhabitants of Algeria’s second-largest province are feeling the heat in many ways, whether it be in their houses, their classrooms or when they dare to go outside.”
https://www.newframe.com/adrars-problems-exposed-as-sahara-desert-heats-up/
“Dozens killed, houses destroyed as floods ravage North-central Nigeria… torrential rains accompanied by strong winds have in recent weeks claimed many lives, destroyed hundreds of houses and washed away farmlands and domestic animals in the sub-region.
“The catastrophe compelled the governments in the zone to take steps to avert further flooding and provide succour to the affected people…”
“Unusually heavy rains in Senegal expose big gap in $1.4 billion flood plan:
“More than two weeks after heavy rains hit Senegal, thigh-high stagnant water still fills streets in Dakar’s suburbs, as angry residents ask what happened to a $1.4 billion government plan to protect citizens from rising flood risk.!
“September rain record has Mumbai gasping for breath:
“The India Meteorological Department official said the Santacruz observatory (in western suburbs) recorded 286.4 mm rain during the last 24 hours on Wednesday, IMD said it is the fourth-highest rainfall in the history of the Maharashtra capital.”
https://www.apnlive.com/september-rain-record-has-mumbai-gasping-for-breath/
“Central, West Kalimantan [Indonesia] declare state of emergency after two weeks of flooding:
“Massive flooding has inundated dozens of districts in Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan over the last 15 days, causing the two provincial administrations to declare a state of emergency.”
“More than 1,600 families affected by floods in Pursat province [Cambodia]:
“Torrential rain has caused flooding in Pursat province, affecting at least 1,635 families in Veal Veng, Phnom Kravanh and Kandieng districts.”
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50765959/more-than-1600-families-affected-by-floods-in-pursat-province/
“Most Powerful Marine Heatwaves Like The Blob Are A Consequence Of The Climate Crisis:
“In the fall and winter of 2015/2016, the North Pacific experienced an incredible marine heatwave. Nicknamed “the Blob,” this catastrophic event brought devastation, including the death of over 1 million birds and a huge loss to marine life. Researchers of a new study in Science now say the occurrence of these events is dramatically linked to the climate crisis.”
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here. I’ll be back over the weekend with an ‘Economic’ round-up.
