“UK heatwave: Country may have hottest day on record with 41C [105.8F] forecast.”
I think it’s pretty unequivocal at this stage that the UK heat record will fall tomorrow (Tuesday) and it may well be topped today. Some forecasts are suggesting 42C [107.6F] in the East Midlands.
For reference, the previous record, set in 2019, is/was 38.7C [101.7F]. The highest temperature we reached in the epic heatwave of 1976, long regarded as the UK’s hottest summer, was 35.9C [96.6F].
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62201793
“European heatwave threatens Britain’s supply of key chemicals…
“Chemical suppliers are readying contingency plans to avoid using the vital Rhine river in Germany, where depths at a key choke point are nearing extreme levels. Shipments of key chemicals will be transported by road or rail…”
“France braces for record temperatures; France was bracing Monday for the peak of the heatwave gripping the country, with crushing temperatures expected from the Mediterranean as far up as Brittany in the northwest.
“Forecasters have put 15 departments across the country on the highest state of alert for extreme temperatures…”
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220718-france-braces-for-record-temperatures
“17th July Andorra had another record day with 38.7C [101.7F] again at Borda Vidal.
“Absolutely mind blowing temperature of 42.0C [107.6F] recorded in Spanish Pyrenees at Torla-Ordesa (Huesca Province, Aragon) at an altitude of 1078m above sea level.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1548704631718641670
“16th July was another record day in Spain:
“Pamplona 41.8C [107.2F] hottest day on records (Salamanca set an all-time record the day before; Madrid tied its all-time record and had its hottest night on record); Monthly records: Burgos 38.7C, 0.1C from all time record; Leon 37.9C, 0.3C from all time record; Foronda 39.4C [107.2F].”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1548608830044573697
“Italy’s Water Crisis Sees Archaeological Remains Emerge From Drought-Stricken Rivers…
“From the dry bed of the Oglio river in the northwestern region of Lombardy, foundation stilts dating back to the Bronze age have appeared… The drought has caused fossils from several millennia ago and a 100,000-year-old skull belonging to a large deer to re-emerge from Lake Como. The remains of rhinos, hyenas and lions have also come to light.”
“Europe’s big dry. An ‘unprecedented’ drought grips much of the Continent with worse to come…
“The drought has already crimped production of hydroelectric power and food, adding to market pressure from the war in Ukraine. Many city authorities have asked residents to cut back their use of drinking water. Things could get much worse… the forecasts are portentous.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-temperature-heat-wave-drought/
“Heatwave: More evacuations as Mediterranean wildfires spread.
“France has evacuated more than 16,000 people threatened by wildfires in the south-west, as fires also spread in Spain, Croatia and Greece. In southern Spain, more than 3,200 people fled fires in the Mijas hills, though later some were able to return.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62196045
“Europe is frying in devastating heat, yet is burning more coal…
“Southern France was slammed by a heatwave so intense in June that Celine Imart was forced to harvest rapeseed in the middle of the night… Farmers elsewhere reported crackling dry crops spontaneously catching fire after coming into contact with the heat from harvesters… the extreme weather is a grim reminder of the dangers of delaying climate action.”
“Firefighters struggle to contain wildfires in northern Morocco.
“Morocco has been in the grip of a heat wave for a week, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius… In four provinces – Larache, Ouezzane, Tetouan and Taza – the fires ripped through forestland that is difficult to access, said Fouad Assali, head of the National Centre for Forest Climate Risk Management.”
“Flash floods triggered by seasonal torrential rains in Sudan’s western Darfur region has killed at least 12 people, including children, the UN and an aid group say.
“Heavy rains started late Friday in the Kass locality in South Darfur province, according to the the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.”
https://www.blayneychronicle.com.au/story/7822981/sudan-flooding-kills-12-says-un/?cs=10336
“Glaciers on Türkiye’s mountains melting due to global warming, says expert…
““As someone who has climbed the mountain more than 20 times in the last 36 years, I can easily recognize it,” said Güngör, who has set on reconnaissance expeditions on glacial mountains. “The melting of ice in the valley can be seen even at 4,400 meters [14,435 ft].””
“Iraq asks Turkey to increase water flow along Tigris, Euphrates…
“Turkey depends on water from the Tigris to fill a reservoir behind its Ilısu Dam near the Iraqi border. Iraq has asked for a larger share of the river’s flow amid shortages, particularly in the southern province of Basra.”
“Residents of Erbil village selling their homes due to water crisis…
“At the door of almost every house in the village, you see a row of water bottles. Over a hundred new water wells have been drilled in Erbil province at a cost of more than 7 billion dinars [$4,805], most of which have been set up to replace the older, dried up wells… underground water levels have decreased by 500 meters over the past 20 years.”
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/17072022
“Several people arrested in Iran for protesting against the drying up of the great lake Urmia.
“Iranian police arrested several people Sunday for “security threats” during a protest over the drying of the large Urmia Lake, once considered the largest in the entire region, amid several months of sporadic demonstrations against the authorities’ water policy.”
“Another heat wave in Central Asia: After beating its record of highest temperature ever, the Tajik capital Dushanbe in the next days will threaten its record again for 7/8 days in a row.
“Former kazakh capital Almaty will also approach its all time high in few days. Stay tuned.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1548639620530900994
“Seven die as fresh spell of rain wreaks havoc with Karachi [Pakistan]…
“Seven people were killed in the metropolis on Sunday as the second spell of torrential rain under the current monsoon season wreaked havoc on the ill-maintained municipal and civic infrastructure inundating roads that led to crippling traffic jams on key arteries.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1700278/7-die-as-fresh-spell-of-rain-plays-havoc-with-karachi
“Extreme weather creates chaos across Pakistan, a country ill-prepared and underfunded to cope with climate change…
“After facing temperatures which repeatedly neared 50 degrees earlier this year, the southwestern province of Balochistan is now battling flooding that has left 63 people dead in less than a month. Across Pakistan almost 150 people have died in monsoon rainfall that is 87 per cent heavier than what the country usually experiences…”
“China floods leave at least 12 dead, with thousands evacuated…
“In the south-western province of Sichuan, at least six people have died and another 12 are missing after torrential rain triggered flash floods, state-owned news outlet CGTN reported on Sunday… Meanwhile, in Longnan city in the north-western province of Gansu, another six deaths were reported…”
“Japan’s Meteorological Agency reports that record hourly rainfall has fallen in two areas in western Japan on Saturday afternoon.
“The agency says radar data show an estimated 110 milliliters of rain [4.3 inches] fell in Kagamino Town, Okayama Prefecture in just one hour up to 4:50 p.m.”
“On 15th July the station of Hillston Airport in New South Wales, Australia dropped to -6.0C [21.2F], its lowest temperature on record.
“This is the first station worldwide with a long period of records to set an all time cold record in 2022. Instead, 143 set new all time highs.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1548298909814034432
“Six die in floods as wild weather keeps hitting Brazil…
“”The rainfall caused catastrophic floods and landslides that particularly affected vulnerable districts and people living in hillside settlements,” the Brazilian Red Cross said. Climate change has led to Brazil getting rainfall far beyond observed records, the Red Cross said…”
http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202207/18/WS62d4b944a310fd2b29e6cdff.html
“The drought that hits almost half of [Mexico] …will keep food prices high, said Juan Cortina, president of the National Agricultural Council (CNA).
“The difficulty of producing food with high temperatures and the lack of resources in infrastructure are added to factors such as the increase in oil prices and the problems in supply chains at a global level that have led to high inflation.”
“California’s idle crop land may double as water crisis deepens…
“The size of fields intended for almonds, rice, wine grapes and other crops left unworked could be around 800,000 acres, double the size of last year and the most in at least several decades, said Josue Medellin-Azuara, an associate professor at University of California Merced (UC Merced).”
“Salt Lake City has tied its all-time highest temperature on record.
“It’s also the hottest Utah’s capital city has reached in 2022 (so far) and the second time in nine days that the record high on a specific calendar day has been broken… Just before 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, the National Weather Service confirmed that it recorded a temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit.”
https://www.abc4.com/news/nps-slc-ties-record-breaking-temp-of-107f/
“At least six dead after dust storm triggers mass pileup on Interstate 90 in Montana…
“The wind easily picked up dust – a product of recent temperatures into the 90s Fahrenheit (30s Celsius) and triple digits over the past week – and reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile (0.4km).”
“Drought might be as great as the Kansas drought of 1956.
“For those of us who were hoping our current hard case drought would dry up and blow away, the reality is anything but. Instead, the new 3-month forecast promises more of the same and a lot of it… Like 1956, our current drought didn’t just start last fall.”
“The northernmost station of Canada, Alert (lat 82,5N) rose to an exceptional 20.0C [68F] yesterday. 1C from the record set in July 2019. The other cold pole Eureka (79,6N) also rose >20C.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1548578251475484672
“Even in the midst of winter, Antarctic sea ice sets new record lows. The loss of ice from West Antarctica should be a warning to the world…
“…as of June 20, the day before the start of southern winter, the Antarctic sea ice extent has been setting daily record lows for this time of the year… West Antarctica is experiencing more than just sea ice loss. Glaciers in that region of the continent have been particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming…”
“Our empty oceans: Scots team’s research finds Atlantic plankton all but wiped out in catastrophic loss of life.
“An Edinburgh-based research team fears plankton, the tiny organisms that sustain life in our seas, has all but been wiped out… Previously, it was thought the amount of plankton had halved since the 1940s, but the evidence gathered by the Scots suggest 90% has now vanished.”
Readers, my apologies. It turns out that this article is not all it’s cracked up to be. Here is a rebuttal tweeted by XR Cambridge (if you follow the link there is a whole thread about it):
“An article doing the rounds suggests most Atlantic phytoplankton, the base of the food web, is dead. Numerous scientists have stated the data is very weak and its conclusions wrong. BUT….everything is not fine with the plankton.”
An article doing the rounds suggests most Atlantic phytoplankton, the base of the food web, is dead. Numerous scientists have stated the data is very weak and its conclusions wrong. BUT….everything is not fine with the plankton 🧵
— XR Cambridge (@xr_cambridge) July 18, 2022
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread.
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Seems the article on plankton has been debunked, you may want to remove it. Keep up the awesome work, i come here everyday =).
Thank you! Re the plankton article, you are quite right. I do my best with quality control but occasionally a substandard article slips through. I thought rather than delete it, I’d post an amendment. Best wishes, JP