“It’s 70 degrees warmer than normal in eastern Antarctica. Scientists are flabbergasted. ‘This event is completely unprecedented and upended our expectations about the Antarctic climate system,’ one expert said…
““Antarctic climatology has been rewritten,” tweeted Stefano Di Battista, a researcher who has published studies on Antarctic temperatures. He added that such temperature anomalies would have been considered “impossible” and “unthinkable” before they actually occurred.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/03/18/antarctica-heat-wave-climate-change/
“Sea ice over Antarctica just shrank to its smallest on record…
“This year’s low concentration was probably partly the result of a long, strong low-pressure system that formed in late 2021 near the inner peninsula area, which created winds and warm air that helped to quickly erode ice in those areas.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/03/18/antarctica-sea-ice-record-low/
“Chilean drought: Santiago faces water rationing in second half of 2022.
“Chilean president Gabriel Boric has called on Metropolitan Santiago residents to make rational use of drinking water, since the situation is extremely serious, following several years of drought and or insufficient rainfall.”
“California slashes supplies to water agencies amid record drought.
“California water officials on Friday said they are slashing State Water Project allocations from 15% to 5% of normal for certain urban water consumers and farmers, as the state grapples with a third consecutive year of drought.”
“Drought in U.S. Is Expected to Persist, and Spread, Through the Spring…
“Lake Powell, one of two huge reservoirs on the Colorado River, fell this week to its lowest level since it was created more than 50 years ago with the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. It is getting closer to a threshold that would shut down hydropower production at the dam.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/climate/spring-drought-forecast-noaa.html
“Winds and dry conditions fuel multiple Texas wildfires as hundreds evacuate…
“Fueled by strong winds through dangerously dry brush and grass fields, the wildfires merged to form what fire officials call a “complex” that was burning near Eastland, about 120 miles (195 km) west of Dallas.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/18/texas-wildfires-eastland-complex-latest
“Wildfires have become four times larger, three times more frequent since 2000 in US, study warns…
“Research, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, found that large fires in the US have not only become more common but are also spreading into new areas, impacting land that previously did not burn, due to the ongoing climate crisis.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/wildfires-us-larger-more-frequent-b2037864.html
“6 Injured as Powerful Storms Tear Through the South…
““It looked like all the trailers just exploded,” Sheriff Jackson said of the scene. “The roofs were completely gone. The walls were gone. The mobile homes just mostly had the frames left, and half of those were turned upside down or bent in half.””
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/18/us/tornado-atmore-alabama.html
“Record Cold with 40 °F below normal Temperatures to impact Southeast U.S. on Sunday, some areas even colder than Alaska…
“Storm Quinlan will then explosively deepen into the next Nor’Easter storm, thanks to the Polar Vortex lobe clashing the Arctic air into the tropical airmass, leading this bomb cyclone to bottom out at 930 mbar low over the Labrador Sea on Monday.”
“77% of Portugal is experiencing a severe or extreme drought.
“The situation has the authorities worried. The Government has put in place several measures to mitigate the effects, such as a credit line for farmers and restrictions on energy production.”
https://www.elespectador.com/ambiente/el-77-de-portugal-esta-viviendo-una-sequia-severa-o-extrema/
“Driest winter on record in Mallorca coming to an end…
“This winter was the driest on all of the islands since records began… Also, the temperatures varied a great deal. Maximum temperatures were higher than usual while the minimum tempertaures were lower than normal dropping below freezing more than expected.”
“Climate Crisis: [Italy’s River] Po hit by severe drought after 100 days without rain.
“The Po River has been hit by a severe drought after 100 days without rain, the river basin authority said Thursday… The water crisis observatory said “it will already be problematic to start the irrigation season in Piedmont”.”
“A drowning world: Kenya’s quiet slide underwater…
“Throughout the 2010s, the lakes rose slowly, and tens of thousands of people were forced to move from their homes. Then, at the start of 2020, after a particularly vicious period of rain in Kenya’s highlands, the lakes’ expansion accelerated.”
“Mozambique: Cyclone Gombe death toll rises to 53.
“In the past few years, Southern Africa has suffered repeated devastating cyclones of the type that used to be relatively rare, and scientists believe climate change is fuelling their intensity via warming of the Indian Ocean.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/18/mozambique-cyclone-gombe-death-toll-rises-to-53
“Beira in Mozambique Hit By Flooding After Cyclone Gombe…
“More than 400 millimeters [15.7 inches] of rain fell on the city over the two days, Beira mayor Albano Carige said Friday. “We used to record that amount in a year,” he said. “But this time we only recorded it in two days,” he added.”
“Madagascar drought: A green island painted red.
“Four years of drought, along with deforestation caused by people burning or cutting to make charcoal or to open up land for farming, have transformed the once lush ecosystem into a dust bowl. “There’s nothing to harvest. That’s why we have nothing to eat and we’re starving,” said mother-of-seven Tarira.”
“16th March was an extreme day in Iran, with the NW affected by a cold spell and its SE under a record heat wave.
“The result was an incredible temperature difference of more than 60C on the same day between -21.2C at Ardebil AP and +39.2C at Rask. 17th March saw >60C difference again.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1504744668189401088
“Iran calls, China answers: China is also split between a harsh cold spell in the NE and record hot conditions in the South.
“Today 18 March the temperature plummeted to -32.9C [-27.2F] at Xinlin (Heilongjiang) and rose to +37.9C [100.2F] at Ganluo (Sichuan),more than 70C difference in the same day.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1504801238528970756
“March temperatures set new all-time highest record in Jammu & Kashmir [India].
“Hot weather conditions continued across J&K on Thursday with Katra, Bhaderwah, Batote recording new highest March temperatures. The second highest March temperature of last several years was also recorded in Pahalgam, Qazigund, Kupwara.”
“A massive forest fire broke out in Ajas wild life range of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Thursday, an official said. Quoting the official, news agency GNS reported that the fire erupted in the afternoon in block Rangnaar of Bandipora.”
https://www.greaterkashmir.com/kashmir/fire-breaks-out-in-bandiporas-ajas-forest-range
“An Ancient Himalayan Village Empties As Glaciers Vanish.
“In India’s ancient villages at the foot of the Hindu-Kush Himalayas, people are abandoning their ancestral homes as water scarcity, caused by disappearing glaciers, poses a question on their survival.”
https://www.fairplanet.org/story/an-ancient-himalayan-village-empties-as-glaciers-vanish/
“Perth [Australia] residents count the cost of record summer temperatures — and the price is too high for many…
“Perth experienced a record of 13 days with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius this summer, six of which were consecutive. The city also experienced a record number of days above 35C.”
“We saw drought and fire ravage koalas but thought they could climb free of floodwaters …until now…
“In these floods all the ground-dwelling mammals, marsupials, reptiles and insects wouldn’t have stood a chance against rapidly rising floodwaters. When landslides are added to the mix, all the tree-dwelling critters like koalas wouldn’t have stood a chance either.”
“Longer, more intense allergy seasons could result from climate change.
“Allergy seasons are likely to become longer and grow more intense as a result of increasing temperatures caused by humanmade climate change, according to new research from the University of Michigan.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220316115018.htm
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an ‘Economic’ thread.
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