“Harsh heat in Argentina and Uruguay on 29 December. The Buenos Aires Ezeiza AP rose to 40.1C [104.2F] its hottest December day ever and highest temperature overall since 1999.
“40.2C in Junin, 39.7C in Viedma,39.2C in Rosario,39.0C in San Antonio Oeste.Another hot night is ahead for Buenos Aires.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1476373806553964547
“Argentine Patagonia in for hottest and driest year since 1961.
“According to Argentina’s National Meteorological Service, the weather in Patagonia, particularly in the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro is about to set a new historic record amid high temperatures and low rainfall which have turned 2021 into the region’s hottest and driest year since 1961.”
https://en.mercopress.com/2021/12/28/argentine-patagonia-in-for-hottest-and-driest-year-since-1961
“Fire rages for weeks in Argentina’s Patagonia.
“Several sources of fire have been active for weeks in the Argentine provinces of Neuquen, Rio Negro and Chubut (south), where the flames have consumed thousands of hectares of native forest…” [Photos]
“Chile govt Declares Emergency as Forest Fires Rage In Central & Southern Parts Of Country…
“Chilean Agriculture Minister Maria Emilia Undurraga declared an agricultural emergency on Tuesday. Local authorities reported that several regions face an extreme crisis of water due to a lack of rainfall, resulting in the rapid spread of forest fires.”
“Uruguay declares agricultural emergency due to drought in its fields.
“Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou declared an agricultural emergency due to water deficit after meeting with the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Fernando Mattos, local media reported.”
“Severe Brazil flooding spreads in Bahia and beyond.
“A total of 116 cities in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia were in a state of emergency from flooding as of Tuesday due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/bahia-cities-brazil-minas-gerais-b1983498.html
“The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, reported on Tuesday that the authorities have rescued 79 citizens affected by the heavy rains caused in Santa Cruz…
“”We intensified rescue operations and assistance with food and medicine to those affected by the heavy rains,” Said President Arce.”
“With four days left to go in the month, Lake Tahoe [US] has already broken the record for December snowfall set 50 years ago.
“On Monday, December snow totals at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reached 193.7 inches, blowing a 1970 record of 179 inches out of the water.”
“Excessively wet year in eastern U.S. shows fingerprints of climate change…
“At times accompanied by disastrous flooding, the prolific rainfall of 2021 rivals, and in some instances surpasses, infamously wet years for the region. Human-caused climate change probably contributed to this year-long precipitation windfall.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/12/29/wettest-2021-east-us/
“Seattle sees coldest day in 73 years as cold weather hits west coast.
“The city on Sunday recorded a low of 20 degrees F (-6.7 C), which broke a record from 1948 by two degrees, the NWS was reported as saying. Snowfall in the city has meanwhile beaten records set in 1979, when there was 179 inches (4.6 meters) on the ground in Seattle.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/seattle-cold-west-coast-snow-b1983302.html
“Latest extreme cold warnings another hit for B.C. farmers facing brunt of climate change impacts…
“The warnings come at the end of a tumultuous year for the province, which saw deadly heat waves and the third-worst wildfire season on record in the summer. Most recently, devastating floods led to widespread damage to infrastructure and crops.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-farmers-extreme-cold-climate-1.6299523
“Alaska ‘Icemageddon’ warning follows heat record… The coldest US state of Alaska has recorded its hottest-ever December day, amid an unusual winter warm spell…
“The weather extremes have prompted warnings of an “Icemageddon” from authorities, as torrents of rain and snow have left ice as hard as cement coating the roads.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-59820999
“A clean-up operation is continuing in Wexford [Ireland] after heavy rain caused severe flooding in parts of the county on Christmas Day…
“Residents of Bridgetown in Co Wexford said the flooding on Christmas Day was the worst in living memory.”
https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2021/1227/1268869-wexford-flooding-clean-up/
“Preliminary max of 15C [59F] recorded at Heathrow, England. This is a daily record & warmest it has been this late in December, data from infoclimat 1973-2021. Previous latest 15C was on 28 December 1974.”
https://twitter.com/TheSnowDreamer/status/1476215797953568777
“Deadly floods left this German town in tatters. Now, it’s trying to climate-proof itself… In a matter of hours, 134 people were killed in Ahr Valley in July…
“Dernau, which is about 60 kilometres south of Cologne, was one of the communities worst affected by summer floods in 2021 in western Germany.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/germany-floods-climate-change-dernau-1.6295336
“Record December temperatures in Mallorca.
“The Aemet met agency has reported record high December temperatures at two of its weather stations. On Monday, the Capdepera weather station registered a maximum of 24C [75.2F]…”
“Heavy downpour caused floods yesterday (December 28) in Edirne and Kırklareli provinces in Turkey’s northwestern Thrace region.
“Several people affected by the floods have been relocated to safe places, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) announced.”
https://m.bianet.org/english/life/255460-floods-after-heavy-rainfall-in-thrace
“Heavy Air Pollution Shuts Down Schools In Several Iranian Cities.
“Dangerous levels of air pollution in Esfahan, Tabriz and more than a dozen other major Iranian cities have shut down schools and kindergartens. According to Iran’s air quality control center, the air pollution indicator in several other cities, such as Tehran and Mashhad, has crossed the danger line for sensitive groups.”
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202112293670
“‘On the brink’: drought and politics leave Afghans fighting famine…
“Hunger is stalking Afghanistan, caused by a devastating confluence of political and environmental crises. The UN estimates that only 2% of the population are getting enough to eat.”
“Run, rebuild, repeat as floods eat away at India’s indigenous land… available land is becoming scarce…
“A study published by India’s Department of Science and Technology in 2018 found Assam was the most vulnerable of the Indian Himalayan states to destructive climate change effects.”
“Malaysia’s floods a further sign of climate change…
“At this point in time, our priority should be the health, safety and well-being of all those affected by the floods. Nonetheless, the current situation also underlines the need for urgent action to rebalance our relationship with nature.”
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50996771/malaysias-floods-a-further-sign-of-climate-change/
“China Set to Give Safety Nod to More Domestic GMO Corn Varieties.
“The agriculture ministry is seeking public opinion on the safety approval of three GMO corn strains… Their use is still limited in certain countries due to concerns over the health and environmental impact…. The move comes as China scoops up global grain supplies…”
“Russia’s Arctic coastline is losing 7,000 hectares per year to climate change.
“A new study conducted at the Moscow State University confirms that the Arctic permafrost along the country’s northern coastline is thawing at terrifying speeds…
“Less sea ice for longer parts of the year causes more and bigger waves.”
https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2021/12/28/climate-warming-permafrost-russia/
“The Fading Ways of Indigenous Arctic Hunters…
““Hi, there is no ice, the new layer is very thin, no one has walked on it yet,” the man wrote.
““No catch for a long time, Raxi, I miss the old Greenland.””
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/the-fading-ways-of-indigenous-arctic-hunters
“What the collapse of Antarctica’s ‘doomsday’ glacier could mean for the world…
“…the worry is that Thwaites, sometimes called the “doomsday glacier” because of its key role in the region, might not be the only glacier to go. Were it to empty into the ocean, it could trigger a regional chain reaction and drag other nearby glaciers in with it, which would mean several metres of sea-level rise.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/antarctica-doomsday-glacier-melt-climate-b1983727.html
“In a record-breaking year of weather, signs of a changed world…
“2021 was, for many people, the year in which climate change jumped from the part of our brains reserved for future-think — for worries not yet realized — and landed squarely in the now… “I think the word ‘unprecedented’ got a real workout this year,” said Jennifer Francis…”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/12/28/science/record-breaking-year-weather-signs-changed-world/
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I may struggle to put out an ‘Economic’ thread tomorrow as domestic obligations may impinge but I will certainly be back on Saturday with a thread (of type uncertain), so that we can emerge together, blinking and startled, into 2022.
Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy New Year in the meantime!
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via Patreon. And if you are already a subscriber or have donated – thank you! It really means a lot.
Yappy Hew Near!!!
Really appreciate the amazing work you do for us.
Thank you
Bruce, you are welcome – thank you! JP