“Yikes – yet another record high! Global ocean heat content now updated through September 2022…
Data (anomalies) & methods from NOAANCEI:
https://ncei.noaa.gov/access/global-ocean-heat-content
https://twitter.com/ZLabe/status/1600588123875860480
“The latest long-term ENSO forecast was just released, and it now looks like almost 50% that El Niño will return by next late Summer or early Fall, 2023.
“Given the massive ocean heat content that could get released, 1.5°C in 2024 is within the realm of what’s possible.”
https://twitter.com/EliotJacobson/status/1600867630746726401
“The UK’s Massive Tree-Planting Campaign Isn’t Moving Fast Enough…
“The effort to reforest the UK is a race against time. Planting rates are ramping up far more slowly than will be needed to hit the government’s 2025 target, stymied by reluctant landowners, difficulties recruiting planting crews and planning regulations that often favor farms over forests.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-12-09/the-uk-s-tree-planting-campaign-is-falling-behind
“Deadly floods in Lisbon kills one person and causes chaos.
“Lisbon is on high alert after heavy rains caused flooding in buildings and tunnels, swept away cars, and killed at least one person. In the Lisbon metropolitan area, a 55-year-old woman was found dead in the flooded basement of the building where she lived.”
https://www.euronews.com/2022/12/08/deadly-floods-in-lisbon-kills-one-person-and-causes-chaos
“Streets that look like an “ocean” and furniture floating: heavy rains cause flooding in Huelva [Spain… hopefully this is filling their reservoirs a bit].
“Although the rains have been the protagonists of these days throughout Spain, in the province of Huelva they have caused numerous damages. In 24 hours it has fallen the same as usual throughout the month of December.”
“‘God’s plan’: Family flees amid catastrophic Nigeria floods…
“The environmental crisis has unfolded alongside a humanitarian one: a decade-long conflict with roots in an extremist-pushed insurgency against the government. Violent attacks are common, especially in the north where the Islamic State-backed extremists now collaborate with armed groups of former herdsmen fighting communities over access to water and land.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-family-nigeria-god-families-b2241214.html
“Flash flooding hits Gauteng province in South Africa.
“Heavy rains during Thursday and Friday morning have provoked flash floods in parts of Gauteng province in South Africa. In Lenasia, a suburb south of Soweto, residents quickly mobilised to respond to cries for help. The rise in water levels left some residents with no choice but to abandon their homes.”
https://www.africanews.com/2022/12/09/flash-flooding-hits-gauteng-province-in-south-africa/
“Horror of a Hotter World on Stark Display in Parched East Africa.
“Vast tracts of countryside transformed into barren wasteland, decimated crops and animal herds and children dying of starvation. The grim reality confronting drought-stricken east Africa is a frightening portent of what could come elsewhere as the effects of climate change become increasingly pronounced.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/horror-hotter-world-stark-display-040015075.html
“Thousands of Somalis cross over to Kenya fleeing drought, insecurity.
“As drought grips the Horn of Africa region, tens of thousands of Somalis are crossing over into Kenya in search of water and food for their families. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), over 80,000 Somalis have arrived in Kenya in the past two years, fleeing a complex mix of conflict and drought.”
“Dugongs — large herbivorous marine mammals commonly known as “sea cows” — are now threatened with extinction, according to an official list updated Friday…
“Their primary threats are unintentional capture in fishing gear in East Africa and poaching in New Caledonia… In East Africa, fossil fuel exploration and production, pollution and unauthorized development are also degrading their seagrass food source…”
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221209-sea-cows-threatened-with-extinction
“Deforestation threatening massive natural habitat in Iran’s Zagros Mountains…
“The report cited Mozaffar Afshar, an expert on forestation whom Tasnim called “Iran’s father of oak,” as saying that oak trees constitute 45 percent of the forests in Zagros and if those plantations are destroyed, “aquifers in Zagros will be destroyed and life will be impossible in Zagros.””
https://ifpnews.com/deforestation-threatening-natural-habitat-iran-zagros-mountauns/
“Iran’s Water Crisis Will Make It Harder for the Regime to Regain Control…
“The regime has disastrously mismanaged Iran’s water resources in the decades since the 1979 revolution.
“In a push for food self-sufficiency to shield the country from Western sanctions, authorities have championed a shift to unsustainable agricultural practices…”
https://time.com/6239669/iran-protests-water-crisis/
“Shrinking glaciers threaten Chinese and Indian energy transitions.
“The worsening condition of the Parlung No. 4 glacier is causing concern over water supply, flood risk and the viability of hydropower, a key part of both countries’ plans to become carbon neutral.”
https://www.eco-business.com/news/shrinking-glaciers-threaten-chinese-and-indian-energy-transitions/
“Sri Lanka shuts schools as cyclonic storm raises pollution, India braces for landfall.
“Schools were closed across Sri Lanka on Friday due to high air pollution levels as a cyclonic storm passed by its coast, raising strong winds and rain, with forecasts that it will make landfall on India’s southeastern coast around midnight.”
“Australia’s mountain mist frog declared extinct as red list reveals scale of biodiversity crisis.
“The mountain mist frog, a species once found across two-thirds of Australia’s wet tropics, has been declared extinct on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.”
“Heatwave alert for Australia’s north as temperatures tipped to hit 48 degrees this weekend [118.4F].
“Among the hottest is a remote area just inland of Eighty Mile Beach in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, which is forecast to reach up to 48C on Sunday, while Marble Bar is expected to reach 46C.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-10/northern-australia-heatwave-warning/101752116
“Just in: 9th December 2022 is a historic day in Australia:
“The station of Perisher Valley (1738m above sea level) dropped to -7.0C [19.4F],which ties the Australian lowest temperature ever recorded in December (=Charlotte Pass 20 Dec 1999) and in the whole summer (also Perisher Valley 17 Feb 1979).”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1601011242822410244
“South American Heat Wave: Today 9 December it was record heat in Paraguay:
“IPTA AWS Min. Temperature 31.6C [88.9F]; Cooperativa Fahrein Max. temp: 45.4C [113.7F]; Highest minimum and highest reliable maximum temperatures ever recorded in Paraguay in December.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1601296922303926272
“This exceptional heat wave in Argentina broke several records, including Oran 45.0C [113F] hottest day ever (previous 44.7C 1 Dec 1935).
“Monthly records: Las Lomitas 45.3C; Santiago del estero 45.3C; Tartagal; 44.2C; Tucuman 44.0C; Villa de Maria 43.9C. Some storms are on the way for a relief…”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1601377998187671552
“Arid wheat fields and dead cows: a snapshot of Argentina’s worst drought in decades.
“In the fields around the town of Navarro in Argentina’s Pampas farm belt, the dried-out bed of a huge lagoon and decaying bodies of dead cattle are stark signs of a historic drought that is hammering crops and farmers like Ignacio Bastanchuri.”
“Brazil risks losing control of the Amazon to organized crime, judge warns.
“”Brazilian authorities will have to be very committed to confronting environmental crimes such as illegal logging and mining, deforestation, land grabs and the murder of defenders of the forest,” Justice Luis Roberto Barroso said.”
“Mennonites deforest Peruvian Amazon, encroach on Indigenous lands.
“Mennonites, an ultra-conservative religious group, are illegally converting pristine forests in the Peruvian Amazon into agricultural land. They are not only threatening biodiversity but also encroaching on Indigenous territory. Satellite data show that Mennonite colonies are now the leading cause of large-scale deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon.”
“Deforestation in Venezuela surges as gold miners ransack the Amazon…
““No one is seeing this destruction because it’s happening so fast that it’s impossible to measure,” says Alejandro Álvarez Iragorry, the coordinator of Clima21, an NGO that promotes environmental human rights in Venezuela. “The environmental damage and the speed with which it’s happening is disastrous.””
“Orlando [Florida] just had its wettest fall ever on record…
“On top of record rainfall from back-to-back hurricanes, stalled out fronts in between contributed to the highest rainfall totals for a fall season ever on record in Orlando and Sanford.”
https://www.clickorlando.com/weather/2022/12/08/orlando-just-had-its-wettest-fall-ever-on-record/
“Orange growers struggling as recent storms devastate crops…
“Over the past 30 years citrus growers have faced challenges that have put many out of business. Hurricane damage, various citrus diseases, citrus canker most notably and even NAFTA… Despite it all, Mixon Farms in Bradenton has survived. But now, the farm’s store will be scaling back and it may be in jeopardy.”
“Heat in the southern U.S. is off the charts to start December.
“The South has roasted to start December, with record-breaking warmth from Houston to Tallahassee… Several locations have not only seen record-warm calendar days but also their warmest temperatures ever during December, including Macon, Ga., Mobile, Ala., and Savannah, Ga.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/12/09/south-record-warmth-heat-december/
“Household water wells are drying up in record numbers as California drought worsens.
“Across California, domestic wells are drying up in record numbers due to severe drought and the overpumping of underground aquifers. The crisis has hit rural farming areas particularly hard and left some families to fend for themselves or wait years for permanent solutions…”
“Severe water shortage at B.C. ski resort forces staff to ask visitors to bring their own [Canada]…
“Mount Washington Alpine Resort, located about a 30-minute drive from the Comox Valley, is set to open Friday, Dec. 9, and a lack of snow on the hill and water in the local reservoirs mean visitors will have limited terrain to play on and will have to bring their own drinking water.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mount-washington-water-shortage-1.6679165
“‘Uncharted’ dry spell threatens B.C. reservoir levels…
““Due to 100 days of drought, followed by immediate freezing at our main water sources, Chapman and Edwards Lakes, we have been in a period of relative unknown for the past few weeks,” wrote an EOC spokesperson in a bulletin Wednesday.”
https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-400856-3-.htm
“2022 is Juneau’s [Alaska] wettest year on record.
“”A mix of rain and snow this week has officially made 2022 the wettest year in Juneau’s history, breaking the record set in 1991. With three weeks left in the year, 2022 could surpass that record by several inches.”
https://www.ktoo.org/2022/12/07/juneau-rain-record/
“Photos: Expressions of ecological grief around the world.
“Glacier funerals, reef grief song contests, art projects, memorials – around the world, as the climate crisis intensifies, communities are gathering to mourn the loss of natural formations, species, a landmark or a way of life. Take a look at some of the ways in which people are channeling their ecological sorrow and climate anxiety.”
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
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Justin…the irony of it all is “we” are hooked on the concept of creating wealth, like extracting gold from the Amazon causing it’s destruction, to save ourselves and the actual is the opposite. Without a doubt, those holding the reins of decision making are certainly aware of the situation, powerless to alter the outcome …boxed in by the constraints of the BAU system.
Those pictures of alluvial gold mining in the Amazon that I flicked through this morning really stayed with me. They are like toxic, suppurating sores on the surface of the earth. 🙁
Panopticon..I had to laugh at “another record high”, it has become almost meaningless after just a few years, as with ‘unprecedented’. At least here in Australia, while facing another 3-4 weeks of flooding of the South Oz Riverlands basin as the multiple floods of 2022 finally make its way down the last few hundred kms to the sea. With more heavy rain to come.
The media wording has changed, it’s being called the “worst flooding in generations” 🙂
Interesting how language is grappling to describe our ever-worsening situation. I noted that Collins has picked “permacrisis” as its word of the year:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63458467