Unusual to start with a national record for cold but these are also the fruits of a warming world with failing jet-streams:
“Record breaking cold weather hit Hungary on Saturday… the Bükk Plateau reached a temperature of negative 35.5 degrees Celsius [-31.9F].
“Hungary’s former record for the coldest temperature in the country was negative 35 degrees, recorded in Miskolc-Görömbölytapolca on February 16, 1940.”
https://hungarytoday.hu/hungary-weather-cold-record-coldest-day/
“Municipality workers in Russia set out to clear the streets after a record-breaking snowstorm descended on Moscow, straining efforts of local authorities to respond to the “snow apocalypse”.”
[Quite a contrast from the extraordinarily mild and snow-free winter Moscow experienced in 2020] Video:
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/moscow-workers-clean-snowy-roofs-161132270.html
“The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that Afghanistan could face drought and famine this year and that 17 million people could be at risk of facing hunger.
“Nick Bishop, an emergency response officer in Afghanistan, said this was due to reduced levels of snow and rain this winter across the country.“
https://pajhwok.com/2021/02/15/drought-famine-may-hit-afghanistan-this-year-iom/
“Fast Receding Glaciers: A Direct Result of Climatic Change:
“Asian nations are burning ever-greater loads of fossil fuels and biomass, sending soot into the sky, much of it eventually lands on snowy glacier surfaces, where it absorbs solar energy and hastens melting – a research finding.”
“Uttarakhand glacier burst: Water supply in parts of Delhi likely to be hit:
“Water supply in parts of south, east and northeast Delhi has been affected as the silt and debris after the Uttarakhand floods increased turbidity in the Ganga.”
“At least 10 people are dead after torrential rains triggered a landslide on Indonesia’s main island of Java, with rescuers digging desperately with their bare hands and farm tools to locate nine missing people, including four children.
“Dozens of soldiers, police and volunteers took part in the search in the village of Selopuro in East Java’s Nganjuk district…”
“Bolivia: at least 8 dead and 37,000 families affected by floods and river overflow:
“The Vice Minister of Civil Defense of Bolivia, Juan Carlos Calvimontes, reported that 36,851 families were affected and at least eight people died from the floods and the overflowing of rivers in 74 municipalities of the country.”
“A picture of the Amazon taken from the International Space Station appears to show rivers of gold running through the Amazon jungle.
“In fact, Nasa says they are unlicenced gold pits being dug as part of the Peru’s booming gold industry. Usually, the pits are hidden from view due to cloud cover – but in this case, the skies were clear and the pits are illuminated by reflected sunlight.”
https://metro.co.uk/2021/02/15/photos-from-space-show-rivers-of-gold-in-the-amazon-jungle-14082390/
“Ice storms, heavy snow and freezing rain knocked out power, closed roads and saw 1,000 cancelled flights in southern Texas.
“Bad winter weather is extremely rare as far south as the Gulf Coast. President Joe Biden has declared a federal emergency.“
“There was a 130-degree spread in temperatures across the US yesterday, from 90 degrees in Florida to 40 below zero in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
“And while hundreds of record lows are being set in the central US, Miami hit a record high heat index of 91 on Sunday.“
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/15/weather/historic-cold-outbreak-statistics/index.html
“An “extremely dangerous” tornado has ripped through multiple homes in Damascus, Georgia Monday.”
[Tornadoes struck in North Carolina and Florida, too].
https://www.foxnews.com/us/extremely-dangerous-tornado-rips-through-georgia
“The fluctuations [in UK weather now] can be incredible, 2020 was the wettest February on record, 2019 saw the warmest Feb day with London up to 21.2C by the 26th, the first time the UK has seen over 20C in the winter months.
“For this mild spell 17C is being mentioned by next weekend as another flow of warm air extends north.”
“Firefighters tackled 24 major wildfires in the Hebrides in three days…
“…The fire service assured they will continue to work with land managers to encourage following of the muirburn code.”
“A large wildfire which broke out near a reservoir in Cumbria, England on Saturday has been extinguished after burning for 27 hours.
“The blaze, which began near Cogra Moss, Lamplugh, has “devastated” a large area, firefighters said… winds of up to 70mph carried the blaze across about eight square miles (20sq/km).”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-56067735
“Why Narwhal are the most vulnerable to a warmer, louder Arctic:
“Nowhere are the effects of climate change being felt faster and more dramatically than in the Arctic where the narwhal live. What makes narwhal especially susceptible is how closely connected their lives are to the sea ice, both for food and refuge from predators. In fact, no other whale spends more time among the sea ice as the narwhal.”
https://wwf.ca/stories/why-narwhal-are-the-most-vulnerable-to-a-warmer-louder-arctic/
“One of the most unique creatures in ocean – the sawfish – could be on the brink of extinction according to a new study. The sawfish — instantly recognisable for its long narrow nose resembling a chain saw — was once found in the warm coastal waters of 90 different countries.
“Now, according to researchers at Canada’s Simon Frasier University, it is presumed extinct in 46 of those countries including China, Japan, and Brunei.”
https://mothership.sg/2021/02/sawfish-critically-endangered/
“…386 marine fish species are known to have ingested plastic debris, including 210 species that are commercially important.
“But findings of fish consuming plastic are on the rise. We speculate that this could be happening both because detection methods for microplastics are improving and because ocean plastic pollution continues to increase.”
https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/the-fish-we-eat-are-eating-plastic
“Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Lord Nicholas Stern published a paper on Monday excoriating the U.S. government—and many of their own peers in economics—for methods used to estimate the cost of climate change.
“The warning from two influential economists that policymakers are understating the looming damage from warming temperatures comes just days before President Joe Biden’s administration is expected to release an interim report on what’s known as the “social cost of carbon.””
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread.
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How’s life H? I hope your well. We’re going through a late summer heatwave in Tassie at the moment.
I read this article this morning and thought of you. I’d more or less stopped using Facebook but this is the nail in the coffin
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-18/facebook-to-restrict-sharing-or-viewing-news-in-australia/13166208
Stay well and keep up the good work
Perran, good to hear from you! And thank you for your email, too. I’m spending less time on FB recently, too, but that’s more a function of me being insanely busy with home-schooling, trying to keep my head above water with work and doing the threads. Can’t believe this spat between Australia and Facebook. Can things get anymore bizarre?! Well, yes, probably they can.
You stay well, too. Best, H / JP
Home schooling hey? Now that’s a coincidence because we’re seriously thinking of doing the same. All the best.
We’ve got no choice there, as we are under lockdown and the school are closed. H