Severe winter flooding seems to be an annual occurrence in the UK now: “Severe flooding across parts of the UK has caused chaos and concern for residents during the festive period…
“Storm Bella has swept across swathes of the UK, bringing heavy rainfall, floods and damage.” [Video]
https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6218452828001
“Gusts of more than 100mph have been recorded as Storm Bella continues to bring heavy rain and high winds to large parts of the UK.
“The Needles, on the Isle of Wight, saw gusts that reached 106mph (170kmh).”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55454045
“Madeira was hit by flooding and rockslides on Christmas Day after torrential rain and hail hit the Portuguese island.
“Dozens of people were evacuated from their homes and at least one house was destroyed, local media reported.”
https://www.euronews.com/2020/12/26/madeira-hit-by-floods-and-torrential-rain-on-christmas-day
“Mwacheta village in Chipinge [Zimbabwe], received heavy rains from the eve of Christmas up to Christmas Day with the result that houses were destroyed and food items including hens were swept away leaving the villagers in a quandary of huge proportions…
“…the flooded river gushed into people’s homes wreaking havoc on the social and economic lives of the people.”
https://www.herald.co.zw/just-in-floods-destroy-homes-in-chipinge-on-christmas-day/
“Climate change ravages Kashmir’s ‘red gold’ saffron crop: Dry conditions blamed on climate change have seen yields of the world’s most expensive spice halved in the past two decades, threatening the future of a cash crop that has brought wealth to the region for 2,500 years.”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/26/world/india-saffron-climate/
“Fury as Goa’s rare wildlife park faces invasion by rail and road:
“Mollem National Park and the adjoining Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary [India], covering a protected area of 240 sq km, is set to be splintered and partially deforested by three invasive projects; the doubling of a railway line, road expansion and an electric power transmission line.”
“A forest fire in the Pathivara Temple area of Taplejung district [Nepal] has gone out of control.
“The forest fire in a community forest is spreading toward the temple area. Pathivara Temple is one of the famous hindu shrines in the country [Nepal].”
“Floods hit five sub-districts in Cirebon Districts, West Java Province [Indonesia], on Sunday, following incessant heavy rain…
“The flooding was triggered by downpours that caused Ciberes River to spill over its bank and swamp residential areas, Cirebon BPBD Chief Executive Alex Suheriyawan said here on Sunday… The flood waters reached a height of up to one meter in several residential areas, he noted.”
https://en.antaranews.com/news/164480/floods-swamp-five-sub-districts-in-cirebon-west-java
“Recovering from Typhoon Goni in Catanduanes. Families hardest hit are trying to beat hunger and rebuild lives [Philippines].”
“In pictures:
https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Life/In-pictures-Recovering-from-Typhoon-Goni-in-Catanduanes
“Fire bans have been put in place along swathes of Australia one year on from the horror Black Summer blazes.
“Much of Victoria’s northwest has been placed under a total fire ban as the state braces for soaring temperatures beyond 41C [106F] and dry winds, as well as parts of South Australia and southern NSW.”
“‘It’s as if we’ve learned nothing’: alarm over Amazon road project.
“Brazilian activists have voiced alarm over their government’s plans to bulldoze a 94-mile highway through a biodiverse corner of the Amazon along the border with Peru that is home to at least three indigenous communities.”
“Due to floods, they declare public calamity in Zaragoza, Antioquia [Colombia]:
“The mayor of Zaragoza, Víctor Perlaza, reported that it was decided to decree public calamity in the Antioquia municipality after 212 families were affected by sudden floods…”
https://www.explica.co/due-to-floods-they-declare-public-calamity-in-zaragoza-antioquia/
“As 2020 winds to a close, firefighters are still struggling to contain three active California wildfires. These three wildfires are part of the more than 57,000 that occurred this year…
“As of December 23, these tens of thousands of wildfires have scorched more than 10.3 million acres, a record-high…”
https://www.insider.com/this-year-saw-about-57000-wildfires-about-10000000-acres-burned-2020-12
“All signs are pointing to a dry start to 2021 across much of the Colorado River watershed, which provides water to about 40 million people in the Western U.S.
“A lack of precipitation from April to October made this spring, summer and fall one of the region’s driest six-month periods on record.”
https://patch.com/arizona/across-az/colorado-river-basin-winter-forecast-signals-dry-times-ahead
“As southwest Louisiana recovers from the back-to-back hurricanes that hammered the region this year, signs of progress compete with lingering evidence of mass destruction.
“The fallen trees that carpeted neighborhoods have mostly been chopped up and hauled away, but the roofs they devoured are still covered in blue tarps. Piles of debris still line the roads.”
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2020/dec/25/months-after-hurricanes-hit-louisianians-still/
“Alabama could “go from being the king of diversity to the king of extinctions,” says journalist Ben Raines:
“Alabama is one of the most biodiverse states in the country, but few people know it. And even scientists are still discovering the rich diversity of life that exists there, particularly in the Mobile River basin.
“All this newly discovered biodiversity is also gravely at risk from centuries of exploitation…”
“Several Quebec rivers [Canada] are at risk of flooding and an evacuation has been ordered in parts of the city of Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval, north of Quebec City.
“Almost 200 people have been evacuated, said Audrey Beaulieu, the deputy city manager. Flooding has begun in some parts of the municipality of 8,000 people, Beaulieu said…”
“Warmest Christmas day on record for province’s largest cities [New Brunswick, Canada]:
“Fredericton broke it’s record by five degrees. Fredericton’s previous high was 12C [54F] in 2003. On Friday, temperatures reached a maximum of 17C [63F].”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brusnwick-weather-boxing-day-1.5855240
“Russia’s Hydrometeorological Center has forecast that Western and Central Siberia will see temperatures as low as -50 celsius [-58F] before the end of the year – around 20 degrees lower than the typical December cold…
“According to Roman Vilfand, the scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center, extreme cold is also a consequence of climate change, pointing out that “global warming is not only high temperatures, but also a large amplitude of variability.””
https://www.rt.com/russia/510740-central-siberia-record-cold-december/
“It May Be Too Late to Save The World’s Largest Lake From Climate Change:
“The largest inland body of water on Earth, the Caspian Sea, is on a particularly precipitous decline, according to a new study published in Communications Earth & Environment.”
https://www.sciencealert.com/climate-change-is-making-most-seas-rise-but-it-s-shrinking-this-one
“Dog owners have been warned that pet food supplements containing krill could threaten vital food supply to seals and penguins in the Antarctic.
“Krill sourced from fisheries in the Antarctic is an increasingly popular supplement for cats and dogs, as it provides a source of Omega-3…
“But experts say the trend effectively means native species including chinstrap and gentoo penguins, and fur seals are left to compete with our pets for their food.”
““While all extreme events have multiple causes we’re increasingly seeing the fingerprints of climate change in our weather, including events that would be almost impossible to imagine happening without human-caused climate change,” said Friederike Otto, associate director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.”
https://graphics.reuters.com/ENVIRONMENT-2020/WARMING/qzjpqdadnvx/
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread.
Public service announcement: If you’re struggling with the reality of these posts, confidential and free support is available at doomersupport.org.
https://www.juancole.com/2020/12/whodunnit-thousands-southwest.html
Thanks, Lou – and a very Happy New Year to you!