“Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo on Monday (Jan 18) travelled to South Kalimantan to witness what he described as possibly the worst flooding in 50 years in the area.
“At least 15 people have died and nearly 40,000 displaced as the country comes to grip with yet another natural disaster while grappling with surging Covid-19 cases.”
“Torrential monsoon rains have hampered the hunt for survivors of Friday’s powerful earthquake on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, as the death toll rose to at least 81, with thousands left homeless…
“Landslides sparked by torrential rains killed at least 32 on Java island, while dozens are dead or missing after severe flooding pounded another part of Sulawesi and Kalimantan, Indonesia’s section of Borneo.”
“Continuous rain since Sunday brought floods in at least three villages in Zamboanga [Philippines], submerging houses and forcing hundreds of people to flee.
“At least six houses in Labuan were swept away by floods after water in a spillway in Purok 3 rose at least one meter, said Ronald Maravilla, the village chair.”
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1385267/floods-displace-hundreds-in-3-zamboanga-villages
“South-east Queensland is bracing for the possibility of more storms today after the region was hit with a severe weather system overnight, causing major flash flooding to bayside areas…
“”Alexandra Hills has had 191 millimetres [7.5 inches] since 9:00am yesterday and 140mm [5.5 inches] of that fell in two hours…”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-19/storms-south-east-queensland-clean-up-flooding/13066962
“Heavy rains are expected to continue into the early autumn in Australia, although the 2020-21 La Niña weather pattern has likely peaked, the country’s weather bureau said on Tuesday…
“…models showed neutral conditions would return late in the southern hemisphere summer or early fall.”
“Relief efforts began in Guanay, Bolivia, after heavy rain triggered flash flooding in the region on Monday, January 18.
“This video, recorded as a Facebook Live, shows supplies being delivered to locals whose homes were inundated. Local media reported the nearby Mapiri and Tipuani rivers burst their banks after a deluge of rain, causing the widespread flooding.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/heavy-rain-triggers-floods-rivers-033558553.html
“An unusually strong and far-reaching high wind event is descending upon California today through Wednesday, bringing damaging winds… The winds follow several days of record-breaking heat that has amplified fire danger…
“The high winds alone, with gusts to 80 to 90 mph in the hills of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and up to 70 mph in some valley locations, are likely to cause significant disruptions in the form of power outages and downed trees.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/01/18/los-angeles-high-winds-wildfires/
“”Yes, it’s true that Namibia and Botswana are battling another wave of locust outbreaks.
“The locusts are in all stages from nymphs to adults. We’re keeping check on their control efforts so as to assess risks of invasion into Zimbabwe,” said Shingirai Nyamutukwa, head of the Plant Quarantine and Plant Protection Research Services Institute…”
https://allafrica.com/stories/202101180461.html
“Floods wash away cars in Gweru, Zimbabwe January 18 2021… Heavy rain causes deep flooding in Gweru, Zimbabwe.”
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhrtbfM0W9Q
“A major incident has been declared in South Yorkshire as Storm Christoph is set to bring widespread flooding, gales and snow to parts of the UK…
“The Environment Agency described the combination of torrential rain and melting snow as a “volatile situation”, as councils prepare for possible evacuations should a severe flood warning be issued.”
“…the Grey Partridge has declined by 94% across Europe since 1980.
“Dr Francis Buner, senior conservation scientist at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust… commented: “The dramatic decline of the grey partridge across its entire Western European range should act as a wake-up call to us all. Europe’s farmland biodiversity is under severe threat with unprecedented declines and even complete losses to wildlife in all corners of the EU and the UK.””
https://www.birdguides.com/news/grey-partridge-declines-by-94-across-europe-in-four-decades/
“Russia is preparing to make the earliest-ever shipment of liquefied natural gas to Asia, taking advantage of thinning ice in the Arctic Ocean and paving the way for a record-long navigation season this year.
“The super-chilled cargo from Novatek PJSC’s Yamal LNG facility in early May will beat last year’s record for the start of eastbound voyages…”
“Yakutsk in Russia is currently in the midst of an abnormally long period of harsh subzero cold that is considered unusual even for Siberia’s standards…
“Even colder air has settled into Delyankir, a small district located about 500 miles (800 km) to the northeast of Yakutsk. On Monday morning, Jan. 18, a low temperature of -73 F (-58.3 C) was reported.”
“The warm air which set records of highest temperatures in the Black Sea area moved east with temps as high as 28C [82.4F] in the Iranian Caspian coast…
22.6C [72.7F] at Tashkent, Uzbekistan; new Jan record, 25.0C [77F] in Turkmenistan…
My source for this is @extremetemps on Twitter – hat tip to them
“The Sahara desert has been hit by an icy blast with temperatures dipping below freezing.
“Snow also blanketed parts of Saudi Arabia which saw the mercury hit 28 degrees Fahrenheit… The Tabuk region, which is close to the border with Jordan — experienced unusual weather this month.”
https://nypost.com/2021/01/18/sahara-desert-hit-by-icy-blast-as-snow-blankets-parts-of-saudi-arabia/
“The climate emergency will dramatically shift the globe’s tropical rain belt, threatening the food security of billions of people, experts have said.
“Scientists found the rain belt – a narrow band of heavy precipitation near the equator – will move north in the eastern hemisphere, but southwards in the western hemisphere.”
“The world’s oceans absorbed 20 sextillion joules of heat due to climate change in 2020 and warmed to record levels, a study has found.
“That quantity – expressed numerically as 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 joules – is equivalent to the energy from 10 Hiroshima atomic bombs being released every second of the year.”
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2021/01/18/ocean-temperatures-atomic-bomb/
“Virtually all global warming since the industrial era is caused by manmade emissions… Earth’s natural processes contribute only “negligibly” to climate change…
“”Our results clearly show that climate warming is primarily caused by humans,” Nathan Gillet, from the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment and Climate Change, told AFP.”
You can read the previous ‘Economic’ thread here. I’ll be back over the weekend with a ‘Climate’ thread.
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