So, more fun at the dentist tomorrow and then back to Business as Unusual on Thursday with an economic thread…
“UK and western Europe in middle of a wind drought – and a ‘global stilling’ is coming. The UK is gambling on wind in the future of renewables – but as we’re seeing, having the turbines doesn’t make them turn.
“Britain is in the middle of a wind drought – and the timing couldn’t have been worse. For several days now, the UK and western Europe have been calm, with barely a breeze…
“Even if the world reaches net zero soon after 2050, limiting the rise in temperature, winds will weaken significantly in the northern hemisphere.
“”It’s called global stilling. And it’s caused by the rapid warming of the Arctic, which is narrowing the temperature difference with the tropics, a gap that drives wind.”
“Big contrasts in Europe between full wintry conditions and very mild weather:
“Funchal Sta. Catarina, Madeira (Portugal) 26.9C [80.4F] new monthly record; Calarasi, Romania 21.3C new monthly record; 25.3C in Greece; 19.9C in Russia; and 16.1C in Moldova.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1602011778002591746
“Torrential rains batter Antalya [Turkey]…
“In the southern province of Antalya’s Kumluca and Finike, “the heaviest torrential rain of the last 50 years” has caused flooding in the two districts, while houses and workplaces have been flooded due to overflowing streams… many cars were dragged towards the sea…”
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/torrential-rains-to-batter-28-provinces-in-countrys-west-179266
“Heavy rain causes flash flooding in parts of Bosnia, Croatia.
“Overflowing rivers in parts of Bosnia and Croatia have flooded dozens of houses and roads, prompting authorities to warn residents in affected areas to prepare to evacuate their homes if heavy rainfall does not subside. Police in Bosnia confirmed workers found a body on Sunday…”
https://apnews.com/article/floods-croatia-5578debfc9145f98a5728cb021fbfbbd
“Heavy rain, floods batter Lisbon [again; bad flooding last Wednesday, too], residents urged to stay home…
“Heavy rain battered the Portuguese capital on Tuesday, flooding tunnels, sweeping away cars and forcing authorities to suspend bus and tram services and close some main roads. The Lisbon mayor’s office put the city on a “red” weather warning…”
“After a cool November, the past few days were very hot in Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular in Senegal where many stations rose above 40C [104F] for several days in a row. Matam and Diourbel shot as high as 41.5C, not far from the December records.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1602226752918474752
“South Africa: Floods Leave Hundreds Destitute in Johannesburg…
“The situation in Alexandra township’s Sewetla is… bleak. Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse and other members of the mayoral committee visited the community over the weekend. Tembe described the situation in that area as that of a community in distress.”
https://allafrica.com/stories/202212130151.html
“Alert as six million Kenyans to be hard hit by drought by January.
“The number of Kenyans affected by drought is expected to hit six million by 2023 according to the latest projection by the National Drought Management Authority. This, according to the authority, is due to the failed fifth rain season…”
“79% households in Afghanistan suffer water shortage, shows survey…
“Drought and a scarcity of water have become a new difficulty for ordinary people to contend with in these challenging economic times. Hunger, poverty, unemployment, security, and a lack of access to adequate healthcare and education have already had a negative influence on people’s lives.”
“A trash heap 62 meters high shows the scale of India’s climate challenge.
“At the Bhalswa landfill in northwest Delhi, a steady flow of jeeps zigzag up the trash heap to dump more garbage on a pile now over 62 meters (203 feet) high. Fires caused by heat and methane gas sporadically break out – the Delhi Fire Service Department has responded to 14 fires so far this year…”
“Beijing and large swaths of northern China woke to choking sand and dust on Monday, as a winter sandstorm sent air pollution levels off the charts.
“A thick cloud of dust blanketed the Chinese capital, where the air quality index of PM10 – particles of pollution that are less than 10 micrometers in diameter and can enter through the nose and travel to the lungs – hit 999, meaning it exceeded the top of the scale, far beyond the point deemed hazardous to health.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/12/china/china-beijing-winter-sandstorm-intl-hnk/index.html
“An important record has been born! Today, the annual precipitation at Ximao Mountain in Yilan, Taiwan, rose to 11,517mm [453.4 inches or 37.8 feet], surpassing the Taiwan precipitation record of 11516mm at Shilin Oil Field in 1974!
“The next step is to hit the East Asian rainfall record(11718 mm)!”
https://twitter.com/yangyubin1998/status/1602300878479769601
“7 senior citizens, 1 child die in Tanay flash flood [Philippines] on the way to get cash assistance.
“Seven senior citizens died in a flash flood in Tanay, Rizal, on Saturday, December 10, while they were on their way to claim their assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), at the local Land Bank branch. One child also died in the accident.”
https://www.rappler.com/nation/luzon/death-toll-flash-flood-on-the-way-get-cash-assistance/
“Australia never misses the “party” of some extreme weather event; today it was by heat in Western Australia.
“Mandora rose to a scorching 48.5C [119.3F] which is: 1 – its highest temperature on record (prev. 48.4C in 1981); 2- the highest temperature of this summer in the Southern Hemisphere so far.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1601912623523663872
“A South Australian caravan park has disappeared in floodwaters as the River Murray continues to rise.
“Waters rose and began pouring over the road near the Blanchetown Caravan Park overnight. Park owner Cassie Powell said she thought she had more time but was then forced to leave.”
Santiago, Chile may be headed for longest heatwave on record: “On March 8, 2015, the thermometer in Santiago exceeded 32 ° C [89.6], thus initiating an extensive heat wave, which lasted for 14 days and since then, is the longest since there is record in the capital.
“However, this historic mark could be broken this week, if the high temperatures do not loosen.”
“Chile battles to combat forest fires amid threat to residents.
“Chile is battling to control the spread of several wildfires that have already destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of woodlands and are putting local communities at risk.”
“Hailstorm kills 7 in Bolivian village graduation celebration.
“Seven people attending a school graduation ceremony were killed when a roof fell during an intense hailstorm in Santiago de Pacharia, a small rural community in the high plains of Bolivia, local officials said Monday.”
“Bad flooding in Guyana: Several villages underwater.
“Continuous rainfall has led to flood waters rising to unbelievable heights in several villages in Guyana. In what is being described as another year of unprecedented rainfall and flooding, several communities in Guyana have been put on alert.”
https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/bad-flooding-guyana-several-villages-underwater
“Droughts are associated with increase in suicides in the U.S.
“Abadi and her colleagues examined data on suicide rates from the National Center for Health Statistics… They found a positive association between drought and suicide. The association was higher for firearm suicide compared to non-firearm suicides.”
https://yubanet.com/enviro/droughts-are-associated-with-increase-in-suicides-in-the-u-s/
“Vegetable prices in the US are increasing [up 38%] due to farming states like Arizona being plagued by drought and the nation’s ongoing inflation…
“A new report from Bloomberg states the increase in cost is due to states that grow fresh produce seeing water cuts because of drought and storms destroying crops.”
“Water Experts: Wyoming Can’t Avoid Potential ‘Doomsday’ Colorado River Crisis…
““Wyoming is a part of the Colorado River Compact, and the compact imposes flow obligations on Wyoming,” he said. “What those flow obligations really mean to me is, Wyoming is connected to Mexico. Wyoming is connected to the other upper (Colorado River) basin states and the lower basin states.””
“‘Firmageddon’: Researchers find 1.1 million acres of dead trees in Oregon…
“Oregon’s dead firs are a visceral example of how drought is reshaping landscapes in Western states that have been experiencing extreme heat conditions.”
“‘Anomaly’ winter storm closes Anchorage and Mat-Su schools, slows traffic…
“Anchorage got hit Sunday with another record-breaking snowfall, just days after a prior storm dropped more than 2 feet of snow in parts of town… “We had an atmospheric river come from the central Pacific, so literally the moisture was coming from Hawaii… It was an anomaly, it was really strong – it was a deep fetch of tropical moisture, and that’s what fed this system.””
https://alaskapublic.org/2022/12/12/anchorage-mat-su-schools-closed-by-anomaly-winter-storm/
“Just in: The Yakutian cold pole of Oymyakon just dropped below -60C / -76F (-60.3C provisional) for the first time this winter and this is the first in the Northern Hemisphere.
“Incredibly, Summit Camp at 3200m in Greenland hasn’t even touched -50C yet.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1602069564396916744
“Climate Change Induced Cold Waves Increase The Mortality Risk Of People With Heart Failure By 37%.
“A new global analysis published in the journal Circulation, found that being exposed to heatwaves or extremely cold weather accounted for additional cardiovascular disease deaths which occurred in 567 cities in 27 countries from 1979 to 2019.”
“Climate Change Could Force 1.2 Billion to Move by 2050. Is the World Even Ready?
“n a world beset by rising temperatures, devastating storms, and flash floods, climate migration and disaster displacement are quickly becoming the signal 21st century crisis. The vast majority of those worst affected are in the world’s poorest and fastest warming countries.”
“The Pope has offered a harrowing vision of the future, saying he has seen signs of an even darker time for humanity…
“At a Mass at the Vatican, the Pope, 85, said on Sunday that he has a dire vision for the world with ‘omens of even greater destruction and desolation’.”
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Thursday with an “Economic” thread.
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