“Ice on Fire: first wildfires are registered around the world’s Pole of Cold in Yakutia [Siberia]… The first was registered as unusually early as 29th April by the settlement of Teryut, a short distance north from Oymyakon.
“Sentinel-2 satellite caught sight of frozen Indigirka River, snow-covered mountains, and ominous dark-orange dots scattered along the valleys…
“This kind of fire – most often in peat, or young coal, or a mixture of both – is often described as a ‘zombie fire’.“
“Scientists fear more lung cancer as radon is released from thawing permafrost.
“Massive amounts of uranium are stored in high concentrations underground throughout the Arctic zone… as permafrost thaws, the radioactive gas seeps out from underground and is released into the atmosphere.”
“Large wildfires have broken out on heathland in Dorset [UK]. More than 90 firefighters dealt with a blaze at Boveridge Heath, Verwood, which started just after 14:50 BST on Monday…
“A major fire devastated 220 hectares (550 acres) of Wareham Forest last May.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-56977310
“April was a month to remember [UK]. It was so cold that frosts were widespread, and they were so frequent that a record was set for the most in April for at least 60 years.
“There was an average of 22 days of ground frost instead of the normal 12 days, more typical of winter than spring, and it has set back the growing season by about two weeks, which is especially hard on vineyard and fruit-tree growers.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brilliant-april-leaves-a-crop-of-problems-3cztg52tb
“Melting ice reveals first world war relics in Italian Alps…
“The effects of climate change are visible all across the Italian Alps. Forni, one of Italy’s largest valley glaciers, has retreated 800 metres within the past 30 years and 1.2 miles (2km) over the past century.”
“Late warm spells in Southern Hemisphere. South Africa:
“On 3rd May Cape Town set a new record of highest temp. in May in the Airport with 33.6C [92.5F], Table Bay in the city center rose to 35.5C.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1389348148938776584
“Drought refugees numbering in excess of 10 000 have swarmed into northern areas of Namibia… from Huíla, Cunene, Namibe, and Cuando Cubango provinces in Angola.
“Namibian Ambassador to Angola, Patrick Nandago, said that the people from these provinces have sought refuge in Namibia as a result of the reigning drought.”
https://informante.web.na/?p=303812
“Farmers in Syria’s Kobane struggle with drought…
““There was no rainfall. The land has dried up. There was no rain. We do not have products to harvest. We were forced to let the sheep eat them,” Muslim Ali, a farmer from Kobane said on Sunday.”
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/04052021
“Deadly flash floods devastate Yemen’s historic Tarim city.
“Four people have died in flash floods as a result of heavy rains in Yemen’s Tarim. The city, located in the central province of Hadramawt, is best known for its mud-brick structures and more than 360 mosques — including Al-Mehdar, which has the tallest minaret in the country.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/deadly-flash-floods-devastate-yemens-161420135.html
“A New Crisis Awaits Iran: Desertification…
“The intensification of the drought in the country coincided with the consolidation of water transfer policies by the heads of the last four governments, which has led to the desertification of many parts of the country’s soil.”
https://irannewsupdate.com/news/general/a-new-crisis-awaits-iran-desertification/
“12 dead in flash floods in western Afghanistan. Flash floods caused by heavy rains have caused the death of 12 people, including four children, in the western Afghan province of Herat…
“…hundreds of domesticated animals of the villagers also perished in the floods while hundreds of acres of agricultural land and orchards of the poor farmers were also destroyed…”
https://www.laprensalatina.com/12-dead-in-flash-floods-in-western-afghanistan/
“Heavy rainfall causes flooding, that makes waterfalls out of streets in Yanhe Tuoja Autonomous County, Guizhou, China. May 3rd 2021.”
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn15mfQ1JBo&t=37s
“Chinese banks accused of funding deforestation around world.
“Chinese banks are the second largest financers of commodities implicated in tropical rainforest deforestation, according to research that casts doubt on Beijing’s ambitions to be a global leader in the fight against climate change.”
https://www.ft.com/content/887e640b-8d0a-4c0b-86e4-62176d27d29d
“Urgent responses to climate change in the Mekong river are required…
“The situation is exacerbated by the effects of climate change including drought, flood, and sea level rise. Starting with drought, both 2019 and 2020, water level in the Mekong River experienced severe drought at records low.”
“Taiwan Drought Highlights Water Stress as Growing Environmental Risk.
Taiwan’s extended drought indicates how water stress and changing precipitation patterns could emerge as financial risks across value chains, and the stark choice governments may have to make in rationing water between households and industry… Fitch expects climate change to make these challenges more common and difficult globally over time.”
“After a near-record wet March in the south-east, we’ve just had a near-record dry April [NSW, Australia].
“New South Wales has just experienced one of its driest Aprils on record, after wading through its second-wettest March since records began in 1900, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-05/after-a-near-record-wet-march-in-the-southeast/100115070
“Millions of bees killed from ongoing effects of New South Wales floods…
“Initially, floodwaters were responsible for destroying several beehives on the property, but prolonged rainfall in the region had far more devastating effects.”
“Summer may have ended, but April was still much warmer and much drier than normal throughout New Zealand.
“Thirty-four locations had near-record or record high maximum temperatures in April, NIWA meteorologist Chris Brandolino told Morning Report.”
https://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/267898-april-temperatures-near-record-highs-through-nz.html
“New month, old habit.
“Once again, Northern Marianas beat its monthly record of the highest temperature with 93F-33.9C on 2 May tying the record set in May 2011,few days after beating the April record and after the February and March records.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1389135137007304705
“Forest fires drive expansion of savannas in the heart of the Amazon.
“Researchers analyzed the effects of wildfires on plant cover and soil quality in the last 40 years. The findings of the study show that the forest is highly vulnerable even in well-conserved areas far from the ‘deforestation arc’.”
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/fda-ffd050421.php
“Flood in Manaus [Brazil] destroys center for Venezuelan immigrants and leaves five injured.
“With above average rains this year, the city is preparing for the biggest flood ever recorded.”
“Corn Tops $7 a Bushel for First Time Since 2013 on Supply Worry…
“Dryness is hampering Brazil’s key second-crop corn, and rain in the coming week will fail to reach some key growing areas, according to Somar. That could further hurt yields…”
“Widespread Drought in Mexico… Mexico is approaching one of its worst widespread droughts on record…
“Agriculture analysts project some crop production to suffer, such as white corn in Sinaloa (Mexico’s largest corn producer).”
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148270/widespread-drought-in-mexico
“Climate change: Chilling signs as severe drought sees California reservoirs drop to alarming levels…
“A stolen car has just been recovered from a reservoir in Marin County in California, 25 years after it was dumped there. They only spotted it because the water level has dropped so low…”
“US south braced for more severe weather after tornadoes and hailstorms… The American south is still reeling…
“Following reports of tornadoes, hail and severe storms, more than 90,000 people in states such as Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina were without power as of late Tuesday morning.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/04/us-south-severe-weather-tornadoes-hailstorms
“Hail is so strong it breaks through roof of Walmart store. Storms that pummelled Texas and Oklahoma could cost $3.5bn in damages.
“Shoppers were forced to find cover when a powerful storm saw hail break through the roof of an Oklahoma Walmart store.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hail-walmart-storm-roof-oklahoma-b1842053.html
“North Dakota experiences extreme increase in wildfires, acres burned.
“North Dakota is weathering wildfires burning acreage at an alarming rate, and because fires have ignited throughout the state since January and drought conditions continue to worsen, North Dakota’s “fire season” could very well be prolonged into a “fire year.””
“New US weather data shows ‘obvious’ effects of climate change.
“NOAA report on ‘new normals’ in climate over the past decade shows a hotter US, thanks to climate change.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/4/us-weather-report-shows-obvious-impact-of-climate-change
“Receding glaciers causing rivers to suddenly disappear.
“As glaciers around the world recede rapidly owing to global warming, some communities are facing a new problem: the sudden disappearance of their rivers.”
“Why Extreme Heat Might Cancel Your Flight …and climate change may only make the problem worse.
“…as high temperatures thin the atmosphere, oxygen molecules spread farther apart from one another. With fewer air molecules pushing back beneath the wings of the plane, the air fails to generate enough force for takeoff.”
https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/why-extreme-heat-might-cancel-your-flight
“Pesticides Threaten the ‘Foundations of the Web of Life,’ New Soil Study Warns.
“A study published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science bolsters alarm about the role that agricultural pesticides play in what scientists have dubbed the “bugpocalypse”…”
https://www.ecowatch.com/pesticides-hazard-soil-health-2652876678.html
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economic” thread.
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