A belated Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers and a huge thank you to all subscribers and donors.
“Water shortages are now affecting more than 3 billion people around the world, as the amount of fresh water available for each person has plunged by a fifth over two decades, data has shown.
“About 1.5 billion people are suffering severe water scarcity or even drought, as a combination of climate breakdown, rising demand and poor management has made agriculture increasingly difficult…”
“Extreme heat is a threat to lives in Africa, but it’s not being monitored:
“Recent research has found that since the 1950s, extreme heat has become more frequent and severe, and lasted longer, in nearly all regions of the world. The biggest increases have been seen in the Middle East, South America and parts of Africa.”
“Daytime sightings of aardvarks are becoming more common in the drier parts of southern Africa.
“But seeing [these nocturnal creatures] in the daytime does not bode well because it indicates they might not be finding enough food.”
“About 200 people are seeking refuge in several disaster relief centres after parts of Polokwane [South Africa] were lashed by overnight rain and hail, which damaged hundreds of houses…
“Large hailstones smashed through roofs, car windows, and damaged infrastructure in and around Seshego.”
https://ewn.co.za/2020/11/27/around-200-people-displaced-following-heavy-rain-hail-in-polokwane
“Meteorological experts in the Horn of Africa region reported that deadly Cyclone Gati which made landfall Sunday in Somalia is finally dissipating.
“In the northern Somali towns of Hafun, Hurdiya and Bossaso, roads have become rivers, houses remain submerged and transport infrastructure has been crippled by the storm that caused immense physical and property damage. At least eight people were killed Sunday and hundreds of thousands were displaced.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/somalia-cyclone-gati-weakens-leaving-destruction/2056131
“At least five people have been killed due to Cyclone Nivar in Tamil Nadu [India], according to a News18 report.
“The severe cyclonic storm now has weakened into a cyclonic storm over coastal Tamil Nadu and it is set to further weaken into a deep depression, the India Meteorological Department said.”
“Mongolia at risk of becoming arid wasteland: New research published today in Science is painting an alarming picture of the current climate situation in inner East Asia.
“Contemporaneous heatwaves and droughts in the region are happening more often now than they did 20 years ago but …the current climate situation in the region has no precedent over the past 260 years.”
https://earther.gizmodo.com/feedback-loop-in-central-east-asia-threatens-disturbi-1845761575
“More than 1,000 houses in Sarolangun and Merangin districts of Indonesia’s Jambi Province were flooded due to heavy rains, according to local disaster agencies on Thursday.
“The Sarolangun District Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) said the floods submerged houses up to 2 meters high.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-11/26/c_139545316.htm
“NSW [Australia] braces for record heatwave weekend, damaging winds, fire danger:
“Most of NSW will experience a heatwave and damaging winds over the weekend, with the conditions also expected to lead to increased fire danger in parts of the state. Inland NSW will see temperatures reach the mid-40s on Saturday [113F’ish].”
“About 100 pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins have died in a mass stranding on the remote Chatham Islands, about 800km (497 miles) off New Zealand’s east coast, officials said.
“Most of them were stranded during the weekend but rescue efforts have been hampered by the island’s remote location.”
“It took just a few decades for Brazilian agriculture to transform its tropical savannah hinterlands – the Cerrado – into an agricultural powerhouse.
“Farmers and the growing agribusiness sector celebrated rising sales of soya and beef, and the roads and towns that grew up with them. But environmentalists and Cerrado communities say the advances came at the price of roaring deforestation, land grabbing, violence and the loss of traditional lands.”
“A storm left the inner city of São Paulo [Brazil] totally flooded. There were 40 minutes of rain and shocking images, showing vehicles and people dragged by the current. There is still no information about homeless people, but several people are being treated at the emergency room in the region.”
Video:
“How fitting that an unprecedented hurricane season would end with an unprecedented November: Two major hurricanes formed this month for the first time in recorded history. Hurricanes Eta and Iota both slammed into the same Central American coastline miles and days apart.
“But is this really the end? Hurricane season officially ends on Monday, but scientists fear storms could continue to form beyond the “official” end date of Nov. 30.“
“The National Weather Service says an EF-2 tornado was responsible for significant damage during storms Tuesday night in Arlington.
“Police say some buildings collapsed and at least three apartment complexes were destroyed.”
https://www.fox4news.com/news/significant-damage-reported-in-arlington-after-tuesday-storms
“A Southern California utility is warning it may intentionally cut power to thousands of customers this holiday week because of gusty and dry conditions conducive to wildfires…
“The warning comes in a year when wildfires have hit the state brutally hard. This year’s fires have killed more than 30 people so far and have featured five of the six largest wildfires in California’s recorded history.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/25/weather/california-power-shutoffs-fire-danger/index.html
“The two largest wildfires in Colorado history, which sparked within the past few months, are seeming to defy logic as they continue to burn while surrounded by snow. With recent precipitation, including snowfall that blanketed both fires, why aren’t they extinguished yet?
“Maribeth Pecotte… explained that fire is likely still smoldering inside, underneath or even underground some fuels.”
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/wildfire/how-are-colorados-wildfires-still-burning-in-the-snow
“Dr. Kari Nadeau, a professor of medicine at Stanford who specializes in pediatric allergies and asthma, said she worried that the damage to children [from wildfire smoke] might last a very long time…
“Her latest research suggests that exposure to wildfire smoke, which contains the same particulate pollution and more, is associated with genetic changes in children’s immune cells. “It could,” she said, “have irreversible consequences.”
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/26/climate/california-smoke-children-health.html
“Climate change is coming for New England’s cranberries:
“Hotter summers, wimpier winters, shifting springs: They all add up to make the conditions tough for the fruits and their dedicated growers.”
“Nearly 200 Israelis had to be rescued due to heavy rain and thunderstorms that ravaged Israel from the north to the south on Thursday, with experts warning that such severe rainstorms may become routine due to climate change.
“The rain and thunderstorms are expected to continue throughout the day and into the weekend.”
“Russian oil giant Rosneft on Wednesday announced the start of operations for its giant Vostok oil project in the Arctic, part of the country’s strategic energy plan which has been criticised by environmentalists.
“”It is with great pleasure that I inform you of the start of the practical implementation of the project,” Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin told President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Moscow.”
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-russian-oil-giant-vast-arctic.html
“Global heating appears to be making trees drop their leaves earlier, according to new research, confounding the idea that warmer temperatures delay the onset of autumn.
“The finding is important because trees draw huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and therefore play a key role in managing the climate.”
“More frequent and more intense wildfires are threatening thousands of species of plants and animals from Australia to South America to the Arctic Circle, according to new research.
“”Those species include 19% of birds, 16% of mammals, 17% of dragonflies and 19% of legumes that are classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable,” Luke Kelly, lead author of the study and professor at Australia’s University of Melbourne, said in a news release. “That’s a massive number of plants and animals facing threats associated with fire.””
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back over the weekend with an ‘Economic’ thread.
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