“Historic wind storm slam central U.S., with tornadic storms in Iowa… Winds have gusted to 70 to 100-plus mph. Minnesota and northern Iowa could see their first December tornadoes on record as derecho barrels eastward…
““The Central U.S. has never seen a December storm like this,” tweeted Bill Karins, a meteorologist for MSNBC. “Multi-hazard, life-threatening weather today.”
“…All of this is occurring amid record-setting warmth in the central states, for the third time this month, helping to fuel the intensity of the extreme weather. Both Iowa [78F] and Wisconsin [72F] saw their warmest December weather on record Wednesday afternoon.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/12/15/wind-storm-tornado-minnesota-iowa/
“107 MPH Gust Recorded On Colorado Eastern Plains [Lamar], Almost Category 3 Hurricane Force Wind.
“High winds are slamming Colorado on Wednesday. The National Weather Service office in Pueblo recorded a 107 mph wind gust in Lamar shortly before 9 a.m.”
“Very strong winds spread fires in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Very strong winds in Kansas and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma caused wildfires to spread very rapidly Wednesday.”
https://wildfiretoday.com/2021/12/15/very-strong-winds-spread-fires-in-texas-oklahoma-and-kansas/
“Oklahoma City sees warmest, driest December on record. On Wednesday, those conditions intensified the fire dangers. Some Oklahomans wonder if this trend will continue through the winter.”
https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-city-warmest-driest-december-recorded/38530407
“Quad-State Tornado May Be Longest-Lasting Ever.
“The monster tornado that destroyed the town of Mayfield, Kentucky., during last weekend’s deadly outbreak in the Midwest and Southeast may have traversed four states without ever lifting off the ground.”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quad-state-tornado-may-be-longest-lasting-ever/
“Desperate victims of Mayfield tornado burn the wreckage of their own home to stay warm as temperatures drop below freezing…
“The victims of last week’s Mayfield tornadoes, which killed at least 74 across Kentucky, have been left without heat, water or electricity as they burn what’s left of their homes to stay warm in frigid temperatures.”
“Prairie drought drives Canada’s canola, wheat production down more than 35%…
“On the Prairies, 99 per cent of agricultural land is still either “abnormally dry” or in a drought situation, according to the November report from the Canadian Drought Monitor. It’s a sign that climate change is having an immediate impact on Canada’s agriculture system…”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/crop-yield-stats-canada-1.6284026
“Unprecedented transportation disruptions caused by floods in British Columbia have sent lumber prices soaring…
“Softwood lumber prices have doubled since mid-November after road and rail links across B.C., which accounts for 16% of North American supply, were washed out by record-breaking rainfall.”
“Rivers of mud flow from wildfire burn scar through California homes after powerful storm…
“Properties in the Silverado Canyon area of Orange County, south of Los Angeles, were inundated with dirt and debris. Mandatory evacuations were ordered along with nearby Williams and Modjeska canyons.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/rivers-mud-flow-wildfire-burn-181701044.html
“Storm wreaks havoc on Tijuana, kills 3, floods migrant camp.
“The Civil Defense Department within the city of Tijuana is reporting three people were killed in a powerful storm that hit the region on Tuesday… The intense rain also flooded a migrant campsite just south of the San Ysidro Port of Entry…”
“Colombia’s Indigenous nomads displaced by violence… Deforestation to make way for illegal drug crops and agriculture have threatened their way of life…
“Violence and illnesses inflicted first by settlers and later by armed groups forced the Nukak from their homes and into voluntary isolation decades ago…
“…turning them into displaced people living in poverty…”
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211216-colombia-s-indigenous-nomads-displaced-by-violence
“Barrage of droughts weakens Amazon’s capacity to bounce back, study finds.
“Severe droughts over the past two decades have affected the resilience of the Amazon Rainforest, a new study shows, with stretches of affected forest taking between one and three years to recover their usual growth rate.”
“Argentina exchange says dry summer poses ‘big challenge’ for soybeans, corn.
“Argentina is the world’s leading exporter of processed soybeans and the second-largest exporter of corn. Farmers are currently sowing soy and corn for the 2021/22 season. “We are facing a climatic scenario … that poses strong challenges to production,” the Buenos Aires exchange said…””
“Spanish regions are declared a catastrophic zone due to the floods.
“The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced this Tuesday that for next Friday the towns affected by the floods generated by the rising of the Ebro river, considered the largest in the European country, will be declared a catastrophic area.”
https://notife.com/836088-regiones-espanolas-son-declaradas-zona-catastrofica-por-las-inundaciones/
“300% more rain than usual [in the Spanish Balearics]…
“AEMET, the meteorology agency in Spain has reported that more than 300% the usual rainfall, fell over the Balearics in November. The weather station recoding the most was at the airport in Mahon at 259 litres per square metre, the highest since records began.”
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2021/12/15/300-more-rain-than-usual/
Another wild hailstorm in South Africa: “Citizens of Amatole District residents have very little to cheer about this Christmas, as a devastating wind and hailstorm swept through most of the Amatole region this past Monday.
“The storm left a trail of destruction and devastation from Fort Beaufort right up to Dimbaza and Qonce.”
“Torrential rains accompanied by hailstorms pounded the Midlands capital, Gweru [Zimbabwe] on Tuesday and left a trail of destruction, including destruction of houses.
“Roofs were also blown off at Mtapa Police Station, while several other infrastructure in the city was destroyed.”
https://www.newsday.co.zw/2021/12/torrential-rains-leave-trail-of-destruction-in-gweru/
“Drought in Lake Chad Region Heightens Conflicts Between Herders And Farmers.
“A drop in the levels of rainfall around Lake Chad in Cameroon has caused waterways to dry up and worsened the conflict between farmers and herders over scarce resources. Anne Nzouankeu reports from Kousseri, on the border with Chad…” [Video]
https://www.voanews.com/a/6354558.html
Satellite images from NASA of disappearing Lake Tuz in Turkey.
“Lake Tuz was once the second-largest lake in Turkey. Flamingos flocked there to feed and nest. People visited to witness the lake’s seasonal color changes and to steep in the mineral rich water, mud, and salt. Now, the lake rarely spans an area much larger than a puddle…”
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/149211/disappearing-lake-tuz
“A looming humanitarian catastrophe: Millions at risk as drought hits northeast Syria and Iraq.
“The Euphrates has seen historically low levels since the beginning of this year, culminating in a drought hitting Syria’s main agricultural region. The crisis has put more than 12 million people across Syria and Iraq at risk of losing access to water, food, and electricity…”
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/features/millions-risk-drought-hits-northeast-syria-and-iraq
“Iran short of rain by 33%.
“The report by the national center for drought and crisis management considers this year to be one of the driest in the past 50 years. Reduction of precipitation, especially snowfall in the country has caused the level of snow cover not to be in a favorable condition compared to last year.”
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/468070/Iran-short-of-rain-by-33
“National monthly record of highest temperature tied today 14th December in the Republic of Comoros with 35.6C [96.1F], same value recorded in 1960 and 2016 and just 0.4C from the all time record set in November 2017 and 2019.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1470843327390130182
“Mass evacuations as super Typhoon Rai slams into Philippines.
“Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in the Philippines as “one of the world’s strongest storms” of the year made landfall in mid-eastern parts of the island nation.”
“Climate change is intensifying extremes, even in the oceans.
“…there has been little research into [this phenomenon, however]… a wake-up call came in 2011 in the form of a persistent marine heatwave off the west coast of Australia that destroyed the species-rich kelp forests there.”
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-climate-extremes-oceans.html
“Marine heatwave closes Abrolhos Island scallop fishery [Western Australia].
“One of Australia’s most celebrated scallop fisheries, the Abrolhos Islands, will not open next season due to the impact of a marine heatwave that hit the WA coast earlier this year.”
“Australia forecast to have summer of extreme heatwaves and floods…
“The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast an extreme heatwave across northern Western Australia and the Top End in the next week, with severe conditions in Queensland and parts of New South Wales and South Australia.”
“Australia’s mouse plague legacy leaves levies damaged following heavy floods.
“Holes left by mice for tunnels and nests are causing levy banks to leak and sometimes fail following severe weather. In some instances, foxes have been following mice into the tunnels, creating larger holes and amplifying the problem.”
“Alarming population declination of the rare Antarctic South Georgia shag…
“The Signy population has declined by more than a third of its previous size and the Bird Island population has more than halved. South Georgia shags are colonially-nesting seabirds and construct large, pedestal-shaped nests on cliffs.”
“Global Warming Could Sink Mongolia’s “Permafrost Highway”…
“Many of these [infrastructure] problems are the consequence of changing weather conditions caused by climate change… In Khuvsgul province and other parts of the country, the rising global temperature is increasing the size and intensity of floods and melting the permafrost atop which the roads are built.”
https://worldcrunch.com/green/global-warming-permafrost/they-only-want-to-make-money
“Melting permafrost in Russia’s Arctic regions could release ancient and potentially deadly viruses and bacteria, the government has warned.
“Nikolay Korchunov, a senior Russian diplomat who chairs the Arctic Council… has now established a ‘biosafety’ project to study the risks and possible effects posed by the reemergence of diseases which may have been frozen since at least the last ice age.”
“Ships traveling the thawing Arctic are leaving garbage in their wake, scientists warn.
“Following another year of stark climate impacts in the Arctic, scientists warned Tuesday of a new scourge hitting the region: marine trash… Scientists began noticing the trash bobbing in the icy water or piling up on Alaska Bering Strait-area beaches last year.”
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/un-agency-confirms-2020-arctic-heat-record-2021-12-14/
“US study: Record highs, rain and beaver damage in the Arctic…
“The 16th straight health check for the northern polar region spotlighted the first ever rainfall at Greenland summit station, record warm temperatures between October and December 2020, and the new problem of expansion of beavers in the Arctic.”
“November 2021: Earth’s 4th-warmest November on record.
“November 2021 was Earth’s fourth-warmest November since global record-keeping began in 1880, 0.91 degree Celsius (1.64°F) above the 20th-century average…” [Not bad for a La Nina year].
https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/12/november-2021-earths-4th-warmest-november-on-record/
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread.
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