Just a quick climate thread, as the flow of news has slowed noticeably for the Easter break, and I must run amok hiding small, chocolate eggs… Back Tuesday at the latest.
“Hotter and hotter in Middle East/Central Asia: After its earliest 45C [113F], United Arab Emirates had the earliest 46C [114.8F] ever in the Arabian Peninsula with 46.3C [115.3F] on 14th April at Owtaid.
“Terrible nightime temperatures up to 38C in Fujairah area. Almost 45C in Oman, over 38C in Turkmenistan.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1514955449728077830
“Iraq’s ancient buildings are being destroyed by climate change.
“Some of the world’s most ancient buildings are being destroyed by climate change, as rising concentrations of salt in Iraq eat away at mud brick and more frequent sandstorms erode ancient wonders.”
“Like India, Pakistan and Central Asia are reeling from unprecedented heatwaves.
“For days at a time in early April, people and animals across large swathes of India and Pakistan lay gasping in whatever shade they could find as the temperature exceeded 43C [109.4F] and a dry wind from the desert seared the plains of Indus and Ganga river basins.”
“A cyclonic storm accompanied by hailstorms ravaged most parts of Meghalaya [NE India] on Thursday leaving a trail of destruction in its path and claiming one life in North Garo Hills.
“As many as 2,000 houses spreading across more than villages in East Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi, South Garo Hills and North Garo Hills districts.”
https://theshillongtimes.com/2022/04/15/cyclonic-storms-wreak-havoc/
“Raising cash for water: why Somalis are bypassing aid agencies in drought crisis…
“Humanitarian aid organisations have spent billions over the years in this east African nation yet few Somalis have felt any real impact. “They spend all their money on overhead and salaries and we are left with pennies,” said Hodan Ali, director of the durable solutions unit for the Benadir regional authority…”
“More rain expected across South Africa’s east coast as flooding death toll rises to 395.
“More rain and damaging winds are expected across South Africa’s east coast, following days of severe storms and flooding in which nearly 400 people have died, the KwaZulu-Natal regional government warned on Friday.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/15/africa/rain-south-africa-flooding-death-toll-intl/index.html
“Strange, Colourful Creatures Wash Up On Australian Shores Following Record Rainfall.
“Experts have been left baffled by dozens of odd and colourful sea creatures left washed up on multiple Australian beaches. The stranded seadragons have been found at various beaches in New South Wales, in Cronulla, Malabar and the Central Coast.”
https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/strange-colourful-creatures-wash-up-on-australian-shores-20220414
“B.C. communities [Canada] struck by wildfires and floods brace for spring thaw.
“Major wildfires, droughts and mudslides last year dramatically altered the landscape, raising questions about the [Nicola] river’s ability to handle the spring thaw, or freshet.”
“The 2022 Winter in Northern California was the Driest on Record…
“From January to March, California saw an average of 1.75 inches of precipitation, a shocking number when looking at the annual precipitation averages. Not only was it the driest January to March stretch in the state’s history, it was nearly half of the second driest period in history.”
https://www.activenorcal.com/the-2022-winter-in-northern-california-was-the-driest-on-record/
“As drought hammers Mono Lake, thirsty Los Angeles must look elsewhere for water.
“With a third year of drought shrinking the creeks that cascade down the eastern Sierra Nevada, the level of Mono Lake has fallen so low it has triggered a 72% reduction in the amount of water Los Angeles can divert from area streams this year.”
https://news.yahoo.com/drought-hammers-mono-lake-thirsty-120004340.html
“New Mexico village seeks prayers as deadly wildfire rages…
“More than 200 homes already have burned, and an elderly couple was found dead this week outside their charred residence… Authorities reiterated that it was still too early to start letting people in to see the damage.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/dead-200-homes-charred-mexico-wildfire-84097799
“Montana and North Dakota are set to be hit with even more snow on Easter Weekend after ‘one-in-a-century blizzard’ that dumped 47 inches…
“Historic storms have pummeled Central and Southern U.S. with blizzards, record-breaking hail and tornadoes, causing widespread damage – and some states are set to face even more snowfall.”
“The impossible battle to flood-proof New York City…
“…finding the space to add green infrastructure is an enduring challenge — and not just for New York. Climate change promises to bring more frequent and intense rain events across the globe, as well as higher storm surges as sea levels creep ever upward.”
“Nuclear power stations UK: the new and existing sites at threat of flooding from 2030 amid rising sea levels.
“All of the current and proposed locations of nuclear power stations in the UK will be at “significant risk” of being flooded from 2030 due to extreme weather events becoming more frequent, a Greenpeace chief scientist told NationalWorld.”
“[River] Po drought [Italy] continues as rains fail to fall.
“The Po is still suffering from a severe drought as keenly sought-for rains fail to materialize, the observatory on water crises in the PO district said in a report Thursday. There has been a “92% deficit” in rainfall in the river area this last month, it said.”
“How Mountain Guides Offer Us a Stark Warning on Climate Change.
“Droughts in the Andes, significant rainfall in Nepal and swarms of mosquitoes in the Alpine routes of Washington, all of which have long been notoriously snowy regions, are beginning to show strange and unpredictable weather patterns, and there’s only one plausible culprit: climate change.”
https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/mountain-guides-climate-change/741501
“Climate toll on Arctic bases: Sunken runways, damaged roads.
“U.S. military bases in the Arctic and sub-Arctic are failing to prepare their installations for long-term climate change as required, even though soaring temperatures and melting ice already are cracking base runways and roads and worsening flood risks up north, the Pentagon’s watchdog office said Friday.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/arctic-ap-pentagon-washington-joe-biden-b2059017.html
“Powerful ‘rivers in the sky’ could cause Antarctic Peninsula’s biggest ice shelf to collapse.
“A new study published Thursday shows that these “rivers in the sky” — which dump rain and snow when they make landfall — are also causing extreme temperatures, surface melt, sea-ice disintegration and large ocean swells which are destabilizing ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula…”
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back on Tuesday with (probably) an ‘Economic’ thread.
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