“Half the planet’s glaciers will have melted by 2100 even if humanity sticks to goals set out in the Paris climate agreement, according to research that finds the scale and impacts of glacial loss are greater than previously thought. At least half of that loss will happen in the next 30 years.
“Researchers found 49% of glaciers would disappear under the most optimistic scenario of 1.5C of warming.”
“In northernmost Alaska, a battle is on to limit the damages of permafrost thaw…
“The soil here has warmed over the past decade from minus-6 degrees Celsius to minus-3 , or from 21.6 degrees to 26.6 degrees Fahrenheit, said Iwahana, who works at UAF’s International Arctic Research Center. “That’s a lot,” he said.”
“Last month was the wettest December on record in Anchorage…
“Anchorage saw 41.2 inches of snow last month, capping off its wettest year on record, according to the National Weather Service. Juneau also recorded its wettest year on record in 2022.”
https://alaskapublic.org/2023/01/04/december-was-anchorages-wettest-and-second-snowiest-on-record/
“Spring sunny heat waves caused record snow melt in 2021, adding to severe water supply impacts across the Western US…
“They found that in April 2021, record-breaking snowmelt rates occurred at 24% of all mountain snowpack monitoring sites… further compounding the impacts of extended drought conditions. Rapid snowmelt increases the time when our natural snowpack reservoir is emptied and when this water is most needed later in the warm season.”
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/975782
“San Francisco has experienced the wettest 10-day period since 1871, says NWS…
“Downtown San Francisco received 10.33 inches of rain from Dec. 26 through Jan. 4, says NWS. The last time SF received that much rain was all the way back in 1871. NWS says the all-time 10-day record was 14.37 inches in January 1862.”
“California’s sudden jump from withering drought to violent floods is a warning for the whole world…
“Drought can make flood hazards worse by leaving brittle trees and landslide-prone wildfire scars. This drought-flood weather whiplash is becoming more common and severe as global temperatures rise.”
https://news.yahoo.com/californias-sudden-jump-withering-drought-230142845.html
“Burst of bewildering winter warmth sets numerous records in eastern U.S…
“It’s the second pulse of springlike warmth during the past week. The first delivered numerous records to the Northeast and Florida over the weekend… Washington has hit at least 60 degrees on each of the first four days of January, for the first time on record.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/01/04/record-warm-weather-eastern-united-states/
“A new intense heat wave in brewing in Argentina, specially in the Pampa and the Central-South.
“The weekend will witness temperatures locally approaching the all time records in some areas. Stay tuned.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1610826030809317379
“Argentina continues in emergency due to forest fires.
“The emergency was declared in January of last year for a period of one year, but the Executive Branch decided to extend it for 12 more months, according to Decree 2/2023 published this Thursday in the Official Gazette.”
“Has the Amazon Reached Its ‘Tipping Point’?
“…In a healthy rainforest, the concentration of carbon should decline as you approach the canopy from above… But her samples showed the opposite: At lower altitudes, the ratio of carbon increased. This suggested that emissions from the slashing and burning of trees — the preferred method for clearing fields in the Amazon — were actually exceeding the forest’s capacity to absorb carbon.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/magazine/amazon-tipping-point.html
“Rapid deforestation of the Amazon rainforest could influence the temperature and precipitation over the Tibetan plateau 15,000 kilometres away…
“The researchers found that since 1979, warm temperatures in the Amazon correlated with warm temperatures over the Tibetan plateau and the West Antarctic ice sheet; more precipitation in the Amazon was associated with less precipitation in those regions.”
“The UK recorded an annual average temperature of more than 10C [50F] for the first time last year, the Met Office said as it confirmed 2022 was the hottest year on record.
“And research by Met Office scientists has found that climate change driven by humans made the UK’s record-breaking annual temperature around 160 times more likely to occur.”
https://nation.cymru/news/annual-uk-temperatures-tops-10c-for-first-time-since-records-began/
“The Mer De Glace or Sea of Ice glacier is the largest valley of ice in France but, due to climate change, it is shrinking fast.
“Along the tourist route is a lonely sign that shows where the ice used to be back in 1985 – some 38 years later it is now 150 meters lower. It comes after the UK and many other parts of Europe faced record temperatures last year.”
“Record average temperatures in driest December in 17 year [Cyprus]
“The average daily maximum temperature recorded at Athalassa weather station throughout the month was calculated at 21.4C, the highest ever since its installation in 1983. The highest ever average daily temperature was also recorded at the Polis Chrysochous weather station, with an average of 22.7C [72.9F], the highest since it became operational in 1968.”
https://cyprus-mail.com/2023/01/05/record-average-temperatures-in-driest-december-since-1901/
“Cars submerged, roads flooded as heavy rains hit Gauteng [South Africa].
“Gauteng emergency services issued warnings on Thursday amid heavy rains that have resulted in flooding in parts of the province… The Ekurhuleni Municipality warned motorists and residents who lived in low-lying areas that they were at a higher risk of being affected by flooding.”
“Rewind 2022: KZN still recovering from April floods that left thousands homeless, destroying lives and livelihoods…
“Almost eight months later, parts of KZN are still on the road to recovery from the horrific floods that claimed over 400 lives, left over 40 000 people displaced and destroyed over 12 000 homes including other infrastructure such as roads, health centres, schools, in April 2022.”
“Pakistan floods: 9 million more risk being pushed into poverty, warns UNDP.
“Knut Ostby explained that crops had been lost from the last harvest and from the missed planting season. “Agricultural prices – food prices – are therefore increasing and could push, double the amount of people into food insecurity, increasing that number from seven to 14.6 million,” he continued.”
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1132207
“Last December was India’s warmest [in] 122 years [of record keeping].
“The average maximum, minimum and mean temperature for the country as a whole during December 2022 were 27.32 degrees C [81.2F], 15.65 degrees C and 21.49 degrees C respectively, against the normal of 26.53 degrees C, 14.44 degrees C and 20.49 degrees C.”
“At 1,958.6 mm [77+ inches], Bengaluru received record rainfall last year.
“According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the previous wettest year for the Karnataka capital was 2005, when the city received 1,608.5 mm rainfall.”
“3rd January was a very hot day in parts of Papua New Guinea. With fohn winds, the Airport of Lae rose to 39C [102.2F].
“This is the highest temperature in PNG since January 1976 (39.4C also at Lae) and ties the second highest ever.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1611037307389214720
“Floods force road trains supplying Kimberley to detour extra 7,400km via SA and NT.
“Triple road trains delivering essential supplies to Western Australia’s flood-stricken Kimberley communities face week-long 12,000km return trips from Perth as they are forced to detour halfway across the country due to washed-out roads and bridges.”
“River Murray floods breach levees and threaten drinking water, as crews confront brown snakes.
“An aerial operation is underway to protect a pump that supplies drinking water to almost 300 properties in South Australia, but some homes in the area have already been engulfed, after the main levee failed to hold back River Murray floodwaters.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-05/river-murray-floods-breach-levees-and-threaten-pump/101829854
“Bushfire threat ‘ever-present’ despite unprecedented rainfall…
“Charles Sturt Adjunct Lecturer in Wildfire Investigation Mr Richard Woods… is urging residents not to become complacent because of recent rainfall this bushfire season… Mr Woods said recent rainfall has resulted in prolific grassland growth in eastern Australia, adding extensive fuel loads for grassfires has occurred.”
https://news.csu.edu.au/latest-news/bushfire-threat-ever-present-despite-unprecedented-rainfall
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economic” thread.
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