“North Pole above freezing… the highest temperature at the North Pole was 1.1°C or 34.1°F on November 12…
“These high temperatures over the Arctic Ocean are caused by transfer of huge amounts of heat from the Arctic Ocean to the atmosphere, indicating severe overheating of the Arctic Ocean as a result of the ongoing movement of ocean heat at the surface of the North Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean along the Gulf Stream.”
“Record November warmth in Svalbard – 9.4 °C, 49F measured at the weather station in Reindalspasset just after midnight [!] on November 12.
““It is the highest temperature officially recorded in Svalbard during November,” says Climate Scientist Ketil Isaksen with the Norwegian Meteorological Institute in a tweet.”
[You may recall that Svalbard has repeatedly broken records this year, including reaching 21.7 °C, 71F its all-time hottest temperature in July].
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/climate-crisis/2020/11/record-november-warmth-svalbard
“According to government data, 2020 was the warmest October in Central Russia in its 130-year history of meteorological observations… the average air temperature broke the previous record by 0.5°C. It was set over a century ago in 1896.
“Perhaps even more worrying, the average temperature in the Russian Eastern Arctic was – considering the norm – up by 10°C.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/506396-warmest-october-record-breaking/
“Prince Edward Island [Canada] breaks another temperature record Thursday…
“On Tuesday, records were broken across the Island. In Charlottetown, the thermometer climbed to 21.3 C, 70F a record for a Nov. 10, and also a remarkable 100th day where the temperature reached 20 C, 68F at Charlottetown Airport this year.
“It also tied a record for the warmest November temperature in Charlottetown, set Nov. 4, 1982.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-temperature-records-november-12-1.5798971
“An oil spill at the Nalcor Energy Churchill Falls [Canada] switchyard in late October released roughly 45,000 litres of oil, the company said in a media release on Thursday, as it continues to work on clean up.
“The spill was caused by a transformer failure and fire, the company maintains, but while Nalcor at the time said the transformers hold 53,000 litres of oil, they actually hold 111,400 litres…”
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/oil-spill-churchill-falls-october-224621620.html
“The last week has been one for the weather record books in Southern Maine.
“The high temperature reached 69F degrees in Portland on Wednesday, breaking the record of 65F degrees set in 2002. It also marked the fourth time in six days that Portland set a record high temperature.”
https://www.wmtw.com/article/maine-sets-more-records-for-warm-weather/34651984
On the other side of the jet stream trough: “The mercury continues to drop to record low temperatures as a week-long stretch of unseasonably cold weather continues across much of Nevada and the Sierra.
“The National Weather Service says South Lake Tahoe, California set a record low on Tuesday for the third time in a week.
“Tuesday’s low of 8 degrees (-13 Celsius) smashed the previous record of 13 (-10.5 C) dating to 1985.”
“California catches a break from worst-ever year for wildfires with cooler weather, but the threat remains:
“After being ravaged by wildfires, California has won a temporary reprieve… Cooler weather, however, is little comfort to firefighters who know the state is still in the prime of what many still call fire season.”
“Tropical Storm Eta made [its fourth!] landfall south of Cedar Key, Florida, at 4 a.m. Thursday morning with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, after dumping more than six inches of rain in the Sarasota area overnight.
“The storm’s floodwaters have been blamed for at least one death.”
“At least seven people have been killed and two are missing in flash flooding in North Carolina caused by Tropical Storm Eta.
“Parts of the Tar Heel state experienced torrential downpours and as much as 10 inches of rain inundated roadways on Thursday. The heavy rain in North Caroline came as Eta spiralled away from Florida…”
“North Atlantic hurricanes are retaining far more of their strength when they hit land because of global warming, say scientists.
“Previously, experts believed these storms died down quickly once they made landfall. But over the past 50 years, the time it takes for hurricanes to dissipate on the coast has almost doubled.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54902068
“The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said a tropical wave located over the central Caribbean Sea is gradually becoming better organized and will develop into a tropical depression soon.
“If the system develops, it will be the [unprecedented and] 30th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season. It will be called Iota.”
https://www.loopcayman.com/content/record-30th-atlantic-tropical-cyclone-develop-soon-0
“It’s the year of the unprecedented and the hurricane season has been no exception.
“A record-breaking hurricane season shut in an OPEC-nation amount of oil during a global pandemic that decimated demand and sent crude stockpiles soaring.”
“Central America’s battle with Hurricane Eta could leave some countries scarred for generations… the [Category 4] storm hovered for days over Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala…
“More than 3.6 million people across Central America have been affected to varying degrees, according to the Red Cross. “We are talking about a huge impact across the region,” said Santiago Luego, of the Red Cross.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/12/americas/hurricane-eta-guatemala-honduras-intl/index.html
“Argentina’s wheat harvest is seen at 16.7 million tonnes, slightly down from the previous 17 million tonne estimate due to a prolonged drought, the Rosario Grains Exchange (BCR) said…
“A drought since the middle of this year has caused major losses in wheat acreage in large parts of Argentina’s agricultural heartland.”
“Somalia: Floods affect 73,000 people… Climate change has been markedly felt in Somalia, Chad, and the Sahel region.
“Rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall caused by climate change have lowered crop yields. It is poor communities that often face greater exposure to climate hazards.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201111-somalia-floods-affect-73000-people/
“With dry conditions prevailing in Himachal Pradesh [India] for the last two months, the state has witnessed a spurt in forest fires.
“According to forest officials, nearly 500 forest fires have been reported in the state since August, most of which occurred in the districts of Kullu and Shimla.”
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/in-two-months-himachal-sees-500-forest-fires-7049695/
“An independent investigation based on satellite imagery has concluded that palm oil giant Korindo deliberately set fires to clear rainforest in its concession in Indonesia’s Papua province…
“The finding is the latest allegation of illegal burning by Korindo, which is accused of having cleared a Chicago-sized area of rainforest in Papua.”
“Thick mud and debris have coated many villages around the Philippine capital after a typhoon caused extensive flooding that sent people fleeing to their roofs and killed at least 39 people…
“…the military was rescuing people in places where waters remained high. Amphibious assault vehicles, usually used in counter-insurgency operations, were deployed for the rescue work.”
“Rising average temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide are increasing extreme weather events in Australia, a new report by the nation’s two government climate science agencies has found.
“We’ve entered a new era of sustained extreme events such as dangerous bushfires and heatwaves.”
“Perth [Australia] weather: Weekend showers may smash November rainfall record.
“Perth has [already] recorded its wettest November since the early 1990s as early morning showers ensured the monthly rainfall total was now three times above the average.”
“An icy polar vortex lingering above Antarctica could have serious repercussions on Australia’s weather over summer.
“The air above Antarctica is currently at record cold levels for this time of year according to meteorologists, and this is behind the fluctuating weather patterns parts of Australia have seen in recent weeks.”
“Even if human-caused greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced to zero, global temperatures may continue to rise for centuries afterward, according to a scientific study published Thursday.
“”The world is already past a point of no return for global warming,” the study authors report in the British journal Scientific Reports.
“The only way to stop the warming, they say, is that “enormous amounts of carbon dioxide have to be extracted from the atmosphere.””
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here and visit my Patreon page here. I’ll be back over the weekend with an ‘Economic’ thread.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a $2/month patron of my work via patreon.com.
“The only way to stop the warming, they say, is that “enormous amounts of carbon dioxide have to be extracted from the atmosphere.”
And there’s the rub.