“The Arctic region has had its second-warmest year since 1900, continuing a pattern of extreme heat, ice melt and environmental transformation at the top of the world, scientists reported Tuesday…
““Taken as a whole, the story is unambiguous,” Alaska-based climate scientist Rick Thoman, one of the report’s editors, said in a statement. “The transformation of the Arctic to a warmer, less frozen and biologically changed region is well underway.””
“As climate experts sound the alarm over record temperatures in Russia’s Arctic, the Christmas season is unlikely to be much different than the preceding months.
“According to Roshydromet, the extraordinary Arctic heat of November was followed by temperature records in a number of places across the Russian north on the first day of December.”
“Amid record low Arctic sea-ice, Russia to lay down yet another nuclear icebreaker:
“The 60 MW strong icebreakers are powered by to water-cooled RITM-200 reactors. With such power, the shipyard says it is possible to break through 2,8 meters think ice. Such ice thickness, however, was not possible for the Arktika to test when she in October sailed to the North Pole. Simply because this time of the year there are no longer such thickness of the ice, neither at the top of the world or anywhere along the Northern Sea Route.”
“The Azov Sea [Ukraine] has burst its banks due to the powerful storm. As a result, a dozen recreation centers, hotels and recreation houses were flooded in Zaporizhia region…
“Almost all buildings on the first line were flooded. Two-meter waves created the lakes in the territories of the hotels and it is possible to move from one house to another only by fishing units.”
“Wildfires burned more than 7,750 square kilometers of Alberta’s forests [Canada] last year.
“New research indicates the conflagrations are part of a pattern showing increased average burned areas every year since 1970, and climate change is poised to accelerate this trend.”
https://eos.org/articles/feedback-loops-of-fire-activity-and-climate-change-in-canada
“Just a few days ago, Canada experienced its warmest meteorological winter night on record. Check out the tweet from Scott Duncan:
““We just witnessed the warmest winter night in Canadian history. Parts of Nova Scotia didn’t drop below 60 °F (15.5 °C) all night long.
“This is warmer than an average summer night!””
https://www.abccolumbia.com/2020/12/09/canada-warmest-winter-night-on-record/
“Troopers suspended search operations Monday for the two Haines residents missing and presumed dead after a major landslide [caused by a record-rainfall event] swept through a residential area last week.
“”The search for 23-year-old kindergarten teacher Jenae Larson and 30-year-old David Simmons, director of the Haines Economic Development Corp., was called off “due to continued rain and the likelihood of additional landslides in the area,” troopers said in an online report Monday.”
“Five US states are on pace to have their warmest year on record as the end of 2020 approaches.
“Florida, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Virginia had their hottest January through November in 125 years of records.”
https://weather.com/news/climate/news/2020-12-08-five-states-warmest-year-on-record-november
“Record-breaking wildfires and a relentless hurricane season — on top of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — have left more Americans in need of emergency housing than ever before.
“American families have spent more time in Red Cross emergency lodging in 2020 than any other on record, the humanitarian organization recently announced.”
“The Golden State hasn’t seen the last of wildfire season.
“The gusty Santa Ana winds were blowing throughout Southern California on Monday and into the night, spreading one fire in Ventura County and prompting power shutoffs and red flag warnings in other areas.”
“Deforestation in the Amazon destroyed an area bigger than Spain from 2000 to 2018, wiping out eight percent of the world’s largest rainforest, according to a study released on Tuesday.
“The Amazon plays a vital role in curbing climate change, but destruction of the rainforest has only accelerated in recent years…”
“Fires burned more than 30,000 acres of forest and brushland in both 2018 and 2019 – far more than any other year in more than a decade, according to the latest State of Hawaiʻi Data Book…
“Hawaiʻi has seen a spike in drought intensity since 2016, especially during the summers.”
https://www.hawaiibusiness.com/fires-consume-more-hawai%CA%BBi-forest-in-recent-years/
“The first tropical cyclone of the season is brewing across the South Pacific, and it can bring impacts to Fiji and Vanuatu through the weekend.
“”There is a developing low near American Samoa that can become a cyclone late this week” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls.”
https://news.yahoo.com/fiji-vanuatu-may-threatened-first-144533957.html
“Australia’s weather for 2020: Country records fifth warmest year on record while weak La Nina fails to increase water storage.
“Australia’s has endured its warmest spring on record, with 2020 likely to be among the top five hottest years in history. Statistics from the Bureau of Meteorology show Spring and November 2020 were the warmest on record around the country.”
“Heavy downpours battering North Sumatra since Thursday have caused floods and landslides in some parts of the region, claiming the lives of eight people.
“North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi said floods and landslides had been reported in some areas in at least six regencies and cities…”
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/12/07/eight-dead-in-floods-landslides-in-north-sumatra.html
“Flash floods spanning across five provinces in the south of Thailand have killed at least 24 people, the disaster mitigation department said Monday evening…
“There was over 900 millimeters [35.5 inches] of rain over the past seven days, compared to 2,000 millimeters on a yearly average.”
“Cascading floods and devastating landslides in central Vietnam have left more than 2.5 million children at risk of disease, poor nutrition and delayed development.
“Between October 6 and November 17, the region was hit by seven consecutive tropical storms and cyclones, affecting an estimated 7.7 million people…”
“Autumn floods have caused severe damages to many urban and rural areas in several southern provinces of Iran, killing at least seven people as of Monday.
“Heavy rainfalls over the past days have created flash floods and swollen rivers in seven provinces in southern Iran, claiming the lives of at least seven people in Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces.”
https://ifpnews.com/at-least-seven-killed-in-autumn-floods-in-southern-iran
“Like most people in Zimbabwe, 66-year old Angelina relies on the rain to grow the crops she needs to survive.
“A terrible drought was already causing Angelina and her family to go hungry, but the impact of Covid-19 has left her struggling to provide meals for her three young grandchildren.”
“Namibia: Drought-Hit Farmers’ Desperate Wait for Rain:
“The absence of rain in many parts of the country has farmers, especially those carrying out their activities in the communal areas worried.
“Memories of last year’s drought are still fresh in the minds of farmers.”
https://allafrica.com/stories/202012080716.html
“Flooding in different parts of Nigeria this year has killed 68 people and affected 129,000 others in terms of its devastating impact on lives, properties, and farmlands, according to the National Emergency Management Agency…
“…the disaster also affected 320 local government areas in 35 states including the Federal Capital Territory.”
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/267199158/68-killed-129000-affected-by-nigerian-floods-in-2020
“Venice has been hit by high tides of up to 1.5 metres (5ft) after its flood barrier system was not activated as a result of mistaken forecasts…
“By the time the water had entered the lagoon on Tuesday morning, completely flooding the narthex of St Mark’s Basilica, it was too late for the system to take effect.”
“Analysis of the Met Office’s UK Climate Projections reveals that climate change is expected to decrease markedly the number of so-called ice days, where the daily maximum temperature doesn’t exceed 0.0 °C…
“”In southern England, the maximum temperatures on the coldest winter days would be in the range of 2.0 °C or 4.0 °C.””
https://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/number-of-ice-days-in-the-uk-is-slipping-away-220732/
“Over 200 Years, Humans Have Hunted Some of Antarctica’s Animals Almost to Extinction:
“While mining is currently banned under the Antarctic Treaty and the days of sealing and whaling are over, Antarctica’s marine living resources are still being exploited to this day.”
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hunting-fishing-whaling-in-antarctica
“A good, natural fire can be a cleansing force.
“Yet, the recent and ongoing catastrophic fires around the world – including in Brazil, the US, Sweden, Russia and Australia – are not moments of a healthy fire cycle but conflagrations of a dying biosphere.”
“Record-smashing Antarctic heat waves, melting glaciers, wave after wave of drought and wildfire, and an unending string of megastorms: Since the 2015 Paris deal, the deadly effects of climate change have been ever more visible.
““The world has changed since Paris. It has changed for the worst,” said Saleemul Huq, from the International Center for Climate Change…”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/08/world/climate-catastrophes-mount/
“Twice in the past 10 days, impressive solar flares have heralded the building Solar Cycle 25, a stark contrast from earlier this year, when a “solar minimum” between cycles meant that 200 days didn’t feature a single sunspot…
“Solar Cycle 25 is expected to peak in July 2025.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/12/08/solar-storms-sunspots-aurora/
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread.
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