“Dozens killed in Tropical Storm Ana as southern Africa braces for more wild weather… The death toll from a storm that struck three southern African countries has risen to 77 as emergency teams battled to repair damaged infrastructure and help tens of thousands of victims.
“Tropical Storm Ana made landfall in Madagascar on Monday before ploughing into Mozambique and Malawi through the week, bringing torrential rains.”
“Malawi Declares National Disaster After Cyclone Ana…
“Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera appealed Wednesday for urgent assistance for an estimated 50,000 families left homeless by the storm’s heavy floods. The situation is set to worsen with more rain expected Thursday.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/malawi-declares-national-disaster-after-cyclone-ana/6415169.html
“Zimbabwe: Weather Experts Monitor New Cyclone…
“As overland depression Ana weakened yesterday after heavy rains and winds that damaged roads and collapsed houses since Monday, weather experts are monitoring a Tropical Storm named Batsirai, which may reach Mauritius in February.”
https://allafrica.com/stories/202201280138.html
“South African farmers’ planted less land with corn this season after record rains caused waterlogged fields…
“That’s after many areas in six of South Africa’s nine provinces, including those in the corn belt, experienced the most rainfall on record in December since tracking by district began in 1921.”
“Table Mountain wildfire, floods and ‘severe weather’ cost South Africa billions in 2021.
“The Table Mountain wildfire, flooding and severe weather events led to $175 million or about R2.7 billion in economic losses to South Africa in 2021, a report by insurance group AON shows.”
“Planned change to Kenya’s forest act threatens vital habitats, say activists…
“Tabled by the National Assembly’s procedure committee, the amendment would weaken the role of Kenya Forest Service, mandated to protect all public forests, allowing politicians to decide who can change forest boundaries.”
“Somalia drought: 1.4 million people may be forced from their homes, preventative action needed now…
“Somalia’s escalating drought is creating a massive displacement crisis. 245,000 people have already fled their homes, with numbers projected to reach up to 1.4 million as the drought worsens.”
https://www.nrc.no/news/2022/january/somalia-drought/
“Four countries are facing “starvation and death” due to famine, with a mix of violence, climate shocks and the pandemic threatening many more across the globe, the United Nations has warned…
“Four are already deteriorating into famine-like conditions: Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen and Ethiopia – which is of the greatest concern.”
“Winter storms blanket parts of the Middle East in snow.
“People living in parts of Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan woke up to a rare sight Thursday morning as winter storms brought heavy snowfall, rain and freezing temperatures from the Middle East to the southern Balkans.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/27/snow-israel-jordan-lebanon/
“The cold spell in Eastern Europe produced incredible snowfalls in the Black Sea area with local accumulation over 150cm [60 inches] like in the Tuapse region in Russia.” Video:
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1486625027160252417
“China: Henan Floods Result in Costliest Insurance Event in 2021.
“A historic volume of rainfall during a 72-hour period created catastrophic flooding and subsequent damage throughout Zhengzhou and neighbouring communities. For one 24-hour period alone that ended during the morning of 21 July, a remarkable 612.9 mm [24.1 inches] of rain fell.”
“Malaysia floods caused nearly $1.5 bln in losses – govt report…
“Floods that had devastated much of Malaysia in recent weeks have caused an estimated 6.1 billion ringgit ($1.46 billion) in overall losses, a government report said on Friday. Dozens of people died while more than 120,000 were displaced…”
“Flash floods wreak havoc in Brunei.
“Continuous heavy showers from dawn on Wednesday (Jan 26) caused flash floods in several areas, leaving roads submerged under water. Several accidents were also reported as a result.”
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2022/01/27/flash-floods-wreak-havoc-in-brunei
“Several North Queensland residents awoke to flooded streets this morning, as more than a third of the Townsville region’s yearly rainfall dumped down in one day.
“The onslaught prompted severe weather warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology, as parts of the region copped 381mm [15 inches] of rain in 24 hours — 277mm [10.9 inches] of that in just three hours.”
“The South Australian government has declared a major emergency, with flooding and storm damage affecting parts of the state…
“”It is fair to say that we are now understanding the full magnitude of the issues associated with the extreme weather here in South Australia,” said Premier, Steven Marshall.”
“Workers in Peru race to reopen Machu Picchu after floods.
“Heavy downfalls on Friday caused the Alcamayo river that runs through the small tourist town of Machu Picchu Pueblo — at the foot of the mountain that boasts the world famous Inca citadel — to burst its banks. Almost 900 tourists were evacuated from the town after flooding destroyed many homes…”
“City underwater as floods hit Porto Alegre, Brazil on Jan 26 2022…
“Heavy rain cased flooding in the central and Southern areas of the city. The flooding followed two weeks of hot, dry weather which hardened the ground, worsening the floods… Boats were used to rescue those trapped by the flood water.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhpuBXsqryw
“The heatwave in Paraguay exceeds historical maximums – how long will it last?
“…The extreme decline of the Paraguay and Parana rivers looks like a scene from a movie… 14 cities broke their all-time heat records… 70% of the country is in extreme drought… everything points to another month of high temperatures and no rain until March.”
“California drought making life harder for bees and the Central Valley almond growers who depend on them…
““Lately, with colony collapse disorder, and drought, and climate change, and habitat loss, and newer and stronger pesticides, we’re losing 40% of our hives,” said Michael Eggman, a beekeeper in Stanislaus County.”
“U.S. crop insurance payouts rise sharply as climate change worsens droughts, floods.
“Insurance payments to U.S. farmers for crops lost to droughts and flooding have risen more than threefold over the past 25 years, according to an analysis of federal data by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released on Thursday.”
“Kansas hit with near-record blast of snow that weather models didn’t see coming.
“An unusual band of localized heavy snow unleashed over 2 feet of accumulation Tuesday on a narrow swath of Colorado and Kansas, nearly breaking the latter’s all-time snowfall record.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/01/26/snow-kansas-colorado-record/
“Brush fire sweeps across Gull Island in Point Pleasant Beach [Jersey Shore], drawing the Coast Guard… [an odd time of year for a fire here]
“Flames swept across Gull Island Wednesday afternoon as firefighters from the borough and Manasquan battled the brush fire with the Coast Guard, State Police and the state forest fire service assisting, an official said.”
“Floridians could experience record low temperatures as two cold fronts move south over the weekend as the Northeast faces a powerful nor’easter.
“The strongest cold front is forecast to move down the state Friday night, moving off Florida’s southeast coast early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.”
“On 27th January the Caribbean country of Dominica broke its record of the highest temperature ever recorded in January with 32.7C [90.9F] at the Canefield Airport (near the capital Roseau). It’s the 12th country to set a national record high so far in 2022.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1486783567921360898
“A Welsh mountaintop enjoyed 69F (21C) temperatures this week thanks to a freak weather phenomenon which saw lucky climbers applying SPF cream and sunbathing in the dead of winter…
“The balmy temperatures on one of Britain’s highest peaks were caused by a ‘temperature inversion’, which sees hot air trapped in a layer and the atmosphere get hotter the higher one travels.”
“Heatwaves, fires and snow: Greece’s extreme weather of last six months in pictures…
“During this time, the government created a new department to tackle the impact of the climate crisis, which is making many types of extreme weather events more likely to occur and more severe when they do.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/greece-heatwave-snow-climate-crisis-b2000943.html
“Only 38% of 2021’s Natural Disaster Losses of $343B Were Covered by Insurance: Aon [you may feel that Natural should carry an asterisk there!].
“Natural disasters cost global economies a total of $343 billion in 2021, compared with $297 billion in 2020, according to Aon’s “2021 Weather, Climate and Catastrophe Insight” report.”
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2022/01/26/650983.htm
“Methane in the atmosphere is at an all-time high. What it means for climate change.
“Methane recently reached 1,900 parts per billion (ppb) of Earth’s atmosphere according to measurements taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US.
“This compares with about 700 ppb before the industrial revolution.”
https://phys.org/news/2022-01-methane-atmosphere-all-time-high-climate.html
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back over the weekend with an ‘Economic’ thread.
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.
I am spreading the word of your excellent and much-appreciated efforts. A format suggestion – Underline, bold, or otherwise offset your request for support at the bottom of the page. After scrolling through these headlines it is hard to ‘focus’ on anything.
Hi Ravenken. Thank you very much for the kind words and endorsement. I agree it is all a bit of a data-overload! I’ll have a play with implementing your suggestion… Best wishes, Justin