“Torrential rain in Auckland left three people dead and another missing, police said on Saturday, after widespread flooding hit New Zealand’s largest city…
“The city has broken all its rainfall records – 249mm [nearly 10 inches] compared with a previous record of 161mm in 24 hours – making this its wettest day and month on record.”
“Southland’s record-breaking summer [New Zealand] set to continue, but when do we call it a drought?
….””There is no significant rain forecast and the long-term outlook is for more of the same… “Tiwai Point near Bluff has only recorded 1mm this year; that’s the driest start to a year recorded since records began in 1975.””
“Record dry spell threatening Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area…
“Tasmania’s west is predicted to continue to dry out due to climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change February 2022 report. Unusually dry weather is leaving the sensitive ecosystems of the Wilderness World Heritage Area sensitive to fire.”
“Swarms of slimy gray fish are clogging up irrigation water filters in Australia thanks to a flood-triggered boom in their population.
“”#BreakingNews another unprecedented boom in class 1 noxious pest [weatherloach] in #MurrayDarlingBasin,” the NSW Irrigators’ Council, a group representing Irrigation Farmers in New South Wales, tweeted.”
https://www.newsweek.com/invasive-fish-species-clogging-water-filter-australian-1777109
“3-meter-high flood submerges Indonesia’s North Sulawesi, 1 killed.
“One people died after floods 80 to 300 cm high destroyed dozens of homes in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi on Friday. “Heavy rains in several areas of Manado City have caused the Tondano River to overflow, and flooding cannot be avoided,” said Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.”
https://www.macaubusiness.com/3-meter-high-flood-submerges-indonesias-north-sulawesi-1-killed/
“‘We are getting sick of this’: Anguish among Johor villagers [Malaysia] amid recurring floods… After experiencing their second major flood in three years, some residents of Kampung Contoh have grown weary…
“…the frequency of floods has intensified over the last decade… “Over the last five years especially, it has happened almost every year. And it is getting bad.””
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-johor-flood-kampung-contoh-villagers-anguish-3233496
“People displaced by the growing climate disasters in Bangladesh’s coastal region are vulnerable to human trafficking, a report has said…
“Human trafficking has increased in Bangladesh after millions of people were displaced by devastating cyclones and typhoons, providing traffickers an opportunity to organise large recruitment campaigns, the report said.”
“Today is an extremely warm day for Yunnan, China. 21 stations in Yunnan broke the January record, and 3 stations in Sichuan broke the January record.
“Among them, Yuanmou 31.6C [88.9F] and Yanbian 29.5C broke the January record, and 24.1C in Kunming also broke the January record.”
https://twitter.com/yangyubin1998/status/1618606911779401728
“A dust storm hit the southeastern Mongolian province of Dornogovi on Friday, causing low visibility on roads…
“Around 90 percent of the province’s total territory had been somehow affected by desertification and land degradation… In 2021, Mongolia launched a national campaign initiated by President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh to plant a billion trees by 2030 to combat climate change and desertification.”
https://www.macaubusiness.com/dust-storm-hits-se-mongolian-province/
“Alarming rise in landslides now a pan-India peril…
“While there has certainly been a rise in outlier climate events, especially intense rainfall as seen in Maharashtra and Kerala in recent years, their effect on populations has been outsized mainly because of human folly in the form of deforestation, massive growth in traffic, unsustainable rise in permanent settlements, and a significant rise in buildings, both unauthorised and otherwise.”
“UAE pours cash into making it rain.
“The United Arab Emirates spent almost 1,000 hours trying to encourage rainfall last year, representing the latest push for one of the world’s driest countries to remain a leader in tackling global water security. There were 311 missions involving aircraft shooting chemical flares into clouds…”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uae-pours-cash-into-making-it-rain-jk0k5chd9
“Qatar is set to increase scientific research and experimentation in order to manage wastewater and salts discharged from desalination plants…
“.. the desalination process releases brine, a highly concentrated and saline effluent with a variety of chemical compositions – posing an environmental threat.”
https://dohanews.co/how-qatar-is-tackling-the-negative-environmental-impact-of-water-desalination/
“Unusual Winter on Mount Nemrut [Turkey]…
“When the authorities look at the records and archives, they say that such a situation has not been encountered in previous years. Mount Nemrut, whose roads have been opened, welcomes tourists for the first time in winter.”
https://expatguideturkey.com/unusual-winter-on-mount-nemrut/
“At least 16 people have been killed while 19 are missing after strong tropical storm Cheneso hit Madagascar, according to the government’s risk management agency…
[If you’re confused to see this story recurring, the cyclone re-strengthened over sea after its initial landfall, returned to Madagascar and then pretty much stalled out over the same location for four days.]
24 hour rain records set: 469.7mm (18.5 inches) Gros Piton Ste-Rose, and 441.2mm The Colossus.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/tropical-storm-cheneso-kills-16-in-madagascar/2799153
“Nelson Mandela Bay residents are seeking divine intervention as it deals with an extended drought in its eighth year.
“Combined dam levels have reached an all-time low of just below 15%. A series of church services have been held since Sunday to pray for rain. Mayor Retief Odendaal said that the situation was dire.”
“Tunisia milk market ‘collapsing’ as feed prices soar…
“The North African country’s farming union says the price of cattle feed has risen by up to 40 percent in the past year due to the impact of the war in Ukraine on imported fodder ingredients. The dairy sector’s woes have been exacerbated by years of drought, drying up reservoirs and making it harder for farmers to grow their own fodder.”
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230127-tunisia-milk-market-collapsing-as-feed-prices-soar
“Pilot whale stranded off Pembrokeshire coast [Wales] shows impact of climate change, say scientists.
““The identification of this short-finned pilot whale in UK waters adds to the growing evidence of a clear trend of cetacean life being affected by climate change, part of a wider impact across our seas and oceans.“”
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/pilot-whale-stranded-pembrokeshire-coast-26084981
“Avalanche forecasters say they are seeing likely impacts of climate change high in Scotland’s mountains.
“The Scottish Avalanche Information Service said conditions were changing more rapidly and that avalanches occurring in tighter spaces of time.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-64329811
“Parts of Scandinavia witnessed very high temperatures in the past 2 days for local fohn winds. Stunning 17.0C [62.6F] on Tuesday evening 11pm at Marstein in Norway.
“Yesterday in Finland, Vaasa Airport rose to 8.2C which is a new January heat record for the station.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1618549309699510273
“Ice coverage in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was measured at less than two per cent this week, putting it on course for breaking the low-ice record for the second time in three years.
“In the last 10 to 15 years, normal ice coverage for this time of year is about 15 per cent, but that is a recent change… [1995 was the watershed]
“The Colorado River is overused and shrinking. Inside the crisis transforming the Southwest.
“…the region has for years depended too heavily on the river, taking more than its flows can support. And in recent years, the river’s water-generating heart in the Rocky Mountains has begun to fail. The Colorado River can no longer withstand the unbridled thirst of the arid West.”
“Tornado Alley is creeping into new territory…
“Historically, tornadoes were most likely to strike within a column of the central U.S. that was nicknamed “Tornado Alley.” The area includes parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. In recent years, however, researchers noticed that fewer tornadoes were touching down in the Great Plains and that more were hitting the Southeast.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/torando-alley-creeping-new-territory-rcna67426
“Texas heat-related deaths reached a two-decade high in 2022 amid extreme temperatures.
“Heat-related deaths in Texas last year reached a new high for this century amid a sharp rise in migrant deaths and soaring temperatures enhanced by climate change, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of state data going back to 1999.”
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/26/texas-heat-deaths-migrants-climate-change/
“New day, new records in Cuba. Another very hot day with temperatures up to 34C/93F. Hottest January day on records were set at Velasco with 33.8C and al El Jibaro with 32.5C. 7 stations so far in Cuba had their warmest January day on records (some beat it twice).”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1618796949322498050
“Cuba poised for production of wheat modified by radiation mutagenesis that adapts to extreme heat and climate fluctuations.
“The history of Cuban science is full of the challenges faced by daring, diligent and, above all, persistent researchers. An example of this are the scientists who have tried to introduce and promote wheat in our country, a staple food on a global scale.”
“The current fierce heat wave in Northern Argentina, Paraguay and SE Brazil with temperatures again >42C [107.6F] will end this weekend…
“A new heat wave will affect Patagonia with temperatures up to 40C in Rio Negro Province and possibly also in Chubut.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1619058366957105152
“‘The country’s on fire’: wildfires hit every province in Argentina in 2022…
“According to government figures… 561,165 hectares of land were hit by wildfires in 2022. Communities in affected areas told the report’s authors they’ve seen a significant decline in the presence of animals like caimans, capybaras, monkeys, and reptiles, as fires kill wildlife and destroy species’ natural habitats.”
“Drought strains Uruguay’s economy…
“An agricultural emergency was declared in October and recently extended through April as the situation has not improved, according to a press release by the agriculture ministry. Since the original declaration, 1,300 producers had requested assistance from an emergency fund, with over half of the applications having been submitted this month.”
https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/drought-strains-uruguays-economy
“Human activity and drought ‘degrading more than a third of Amazon rainforest’.
“Human activity and drought may have degraded more than a third of the Amazon rainforest, double the previous estimate, according to a study that heightens concerns that the globally important ecosystem is slipping towards a point of no return.”
“Climate extremes in the Amazon rainforest are directly affecting those in the Tibetan Plateau, scientists said Thursday, warning that the Himalayan region crucial for the water security of millions was close to a potentially disastrous “tipping point”…
“…can one tipping point have a domino effect on another region? Recent research suggests this is already happening.”
https://phys.org/news/2023-01-climate-amazon-tibet-linked-scientists.html
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
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Absolutely jaw dropping thread today, Panopticon. Ultimately this trumps the economic and energy crises we face. Thank you for helping me witness it, devastating though it is.
You are very welcome, Freddy.
Good evening Panopticon
Cabinets full of books have been written about the Colarodoriver. I as a sincere hippie 🙂 then always have to think of ‘ the river flows it flows to the sea’…. Only the sea does not reach the Colradoriver.
Well, what to say. Nice series of articles in your link by the way…no expense spared…. the climate is changing that much is clear and we will have problems with it.
In the margin of the great climate change today in a long article in a Dutch newspaper about the ski resort Puyvalador in the Pyrenees. They don’t get the operation anymore due to declining snow days just like 186 other slopes.
Very unfortunate, it won’t mean anything to you, but it does to me. I taught my children to ski there in an area they called ‘ little Canada’. My children still have a farm there with 15 acres in an inaccessible and cold area. Well just put it in the ‘small climate suffering’ category of the wealthy with their second homes 🙂
Seawater desalination is another thing. I did some research on it with Israel as a ‘ shining’ example. Depending on the price of energy, the production cost of a cubic meter is about 1 euro (1 pound), which does not seem much, but it is totally unaffordable for the countries that need it. All false solutions based on cheap energy and especially suitable close to the coast ‘the sea does not flow to the hinterland’.
To connect the Coloradoriver to this and also the ‘inescapable future of renawables’ is to do a cursory research on the history and future of the Salton sea. Biden’s ‘IRA’ plans with their penchant for Musk and Lithium fit nicely into this picture.
And so everything falls together and so it should.
Have a quiet Sunday.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/04/the-salton-sea-could-produce-the-worlds-greenest-lithium.html
Thanks, Zip! Only moderately quiet, alas.
Needing desalination plants seems a pretty good indication that the land you are inhabiting has insufficient carrying capacity for the amount of people living there – but of course there are no easy answers to that conundrum, so it’ll be ever more counterproductive techno-fixes until the bitter end.