“Historic Asia heat breaks hundreds of records, with extremes in Thailand and China. Numerous April heat records were set in China, while Thailand recorded its all-time hottest temperature…
“On Friday, Thailand surpassed 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius) for the first time ever, topping out at 114 degrees (45.4 Celsius) in the town of Tak… Several cities in Laos also set all-time heat records in recent days.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/04/17/historic-heat-wave-asia-thailand
“Culprits behind dense smog in northern Thailand, Laos: corn and wildfires.
“For the past two months, residents across northern Thailand and Laos as well as Shan state in Myanmar have been suffering from the worst smog in years. Thousands have gone to hospitals with respiratory problems.”
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/environment/smog-04172023135125.html
“Three killed as freak storm in Thailand capsizes fishing boats.
“A freak storm in southern Thailand capsized a dozen fishing boats and killed at least three people, but more than 100 others who were also at sea have been accounted for, officials said on Monday.”
“441 wildfires in Korea so far this year.
“The number of large and small forest fires in Korea has increased every year over the past decade. On April 11, A massive wildfire hit the northeastern coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, destroying about 70 homes and buildings, and burning woodland the size of 530 soccer fields.”
https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230417000783
“Monster heat wave in China,the harshest ever in April with 11 provinces >35C [95F], dozens of records smashed including 2 provinces: Zhejiang: 38.2C [100.8F] at Yunhe… Anhui: 37.6C at Lu’an.
“Hangzhou rose >35C in April for the first time.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1647934242385428480
“Today, 109 national weather stations [China] have broken the record for the highest temperature in April, and 9 stations have tied the April record, distributed in 12 provinces!”
https://twitter.com/yangyubin1998/status/1647933828546318343
“Temperature hits 43 degrees Celsius [109.4F] in Bangladesh [this ties the national heat record for April].
“After two weeks of a persistent mild to moderate heatwave in Bangladesh, Pabna’s Ishwardi has recorded a nationwide high of 43 degrees Celsius. Though the temperature has cooled slightly in Dhaka and other areas, it has continued to rise in the Rajshahi Division.”
https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/9fo6ipzp3o
“After market fires amid heatwave, Bangladesh garment factories alerted to risks of disasters.
“Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has alerted its members to the risks of fire disasters after several blazes in marketplaces in Dhaka as the capital bakes in a heatwave.”
https://bdnews24.com/business/wazfkiwhsh
“Maharashtra: Twelve die of heatstroke at Indian award event…
“The government-sponsored event took place in an open ground under a blazing sun and lasted for several hours… Navi Mumbai – a city close to financial hub Mumbai – where the event was held, recorded a maximum temperature of 38C (100F) on Sunday.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-65296164
“Records are falling all over these weeks: Today Mauritius joined the list – 35.3C [95.5F] at Agalega Island is the hottest day ever for any month in the island (previous 35.1C Jan 1994).
“And it’s the highest temperature ever recorded in Mauritius in April (previous 35.0C at Medine in 2019).”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1648039004313464832
“Landslide in Pakistan buries trucks, kills at least two people.
“A landslide during a thunder and lightning storm on the main road through northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pass buried more than 20 trucks on Tuesday, killing at least two people, with dozens more feared trapped, officials said.”
https://tvpworld.com/69248126/landslide-in-pakistan-buries-trucks-kills-at-least-two-people
“Iraq’s marvels vanishing under sand due to climate change.
“Ancient Iraqi treasures that have withstood the US invasion and later occupation followed by a terrorist war now confront a contemporary threat: being blasted and slowly buried by sandstorms linked to climate change.”
“‘From bad to worse’: drought puts Kenya’s hospitals under pressure…
“Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia are experiencing their worst drought in 40 years, with their sixth consecutive failed rainy season. The number of people in Kenya facing severe hunger is expected to rise to 5.4 million this year…”
“‘Catastrophic’ drought looms over Namibia.
“Political and community leaders across the country have expressed fear of a catastrophic drought due to insufficient rainfall this season. Omaheke governor Pio Nganate said his region did not receive good rainfall this year and needs remedial intervention from the government.”
https://namibian.com.na/catastrophic-drought-looms-over-namibi/
“Firefighting teams in Alicante province [Spain] are tackling a forest fire that broke out in the Montgo mountain region…
“A forest fire was declared at around 4pm this afternoon, Sunday, April 16, in the area of the Montgo mountain on the border between the municipalities of Denia and Javea, near Jesús Pobre in Alicante province.”
“France has raised the alarm about the growing risk of forest fires because of climate change after firefighters tackled the biggest blaze of the year so far.
“The fire, which erupted on Sunday, burned on more than 2,500 acres of woods and scrubland along the Mediterranean coast and spread across the border into north-eastern Spain.”
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/france-climate-change-wildfire-spain-drought-b1074639.html
“Fears for England’s frog and toad population after drought.
“Frog and toad populations in England have been devastated by climate breakdown, conservationists fear, after the drought dried up their breeding ponds last year. Usually at this time of year, ponds are full of jelly-like frog and toadspawn. But conservationists have found the habitats to be bare…”
“Hosepipe ban enforced in parts of Devon and Cornwall as drought declared…
“South West Water says it is still seeing the impact of last year’s exceptionally dry weather and reservoir levels are lower than normal for this time of year. A spokesperson for the water company said it was ‘acting now to protect water resources and the environment, to help rivers and reservoirs to recharge ahead of the summer months’.”
https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/hosepipe-ban-enforced-parts-devon-8360368
“Farmers under pressure across Ireland due to prolonged wet spell.
““I haven’t one potato sowed yet,” says Wexford farmer Seán Ryan. “We’d normally have them all planted by St Patrick’s Day.” Last month was the wettest March on record and with downpours continuing into April, ongoing difficult weather conditions are having a massive impact on farmers across the country.”
“This year so far has been D.C.’s warmest on record.
“Now more than a quarter the way through 2023, Washington is experiencing its warmest year on record to this point on the calendar. Temperatures above to well above normal have been relentless, giving way only to occasional and brief bouts of chillier air.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/04/17/record-warm-start-year-dc-maryland-virginia/
“Utah’s Great Salt Lake risked disappearing. Unprecedented weather is bringing it back.
“The lake was at a record low before historic snowfall fueled its rise – along with violent runoff that is difficult to control… Only months ago, scientists reported the megadrought water levels in Utah’s Great Salt Lake were at a record low and the body of water risked disappearing after years of drought.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/15/utah-great-salt-lake-drought-snowfall
“The worst-case scenario for drought on the Colorado River…
“The vanishing water, the rising temperatures, and the growing thirst threaten to undo what made the West such an appealing place to live in the first place. With triple-digit summer weather and little water to cool off, life in the Colorado River basin could become untenable for millions…”
“How California’s historic wet winter could make wildfire season even worse.
“…elevated moisture is now fueling an explosion of plant growth unlike anything the state’s seen in years. Whole landscapes are blossoming into so-called “superblooms,” as flowering bushes starved by years of drought make the most of the bounty. Soon, that growth will dry out, transforming buds and blossoms into kindling.”
“Mojave Max [the tortoise] breaks record for latest emergence in 23-year history.
“Temperatures in the Las Vegas Valley may be warming up, but Mojave Max is still missing in action… Katrina Smith, Max’s caregiver and senior zoologist at the Springs Preserve, attributed Max’s delayed debut to unseasonably cold temperatures.”
“‘Without the ice cap, we cannot live’: the Andes community devastated by climate crisis.
“The Quelccaya glacier, high in the mountains of Peru, is shrinking at an alarming rate and the people who live in its shadow are struggling to maintain their livelihoods… As the climate crisis takes hold and the ice cap melts, the lives of Quispe and her community in Phinaya are changing irrevocably.”
“How the record-breaking Tropical Cyclone Ilsa became so strong.
“Tropical cyclones require sea-surface temperatures to be above 26.5 degrees Celsius in order to form. This warm, moist air generates the massive amounts of energy that fuel a cyclone. There also needs to be a relatively low wind shear…”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-18/how-tropical-cyclone-ilsa-got-so-strong/102232040
“Nhulunbuy the ‘wettest location in the world’ yesterday receiving 304mm [12 inches] of rain in afternoon storm [NT, Australia]…
“The remote community of Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory is drying-out after receiving 304 millimetres of rain yesterday afternoon. It is the town’s second-wettest day on record, behind 437mm recorded in April 1999.”
“Record-breaking rain halts sugarcane planting as regions drenched with 61mm [2.4 inches] in 30 minutes [North Queensland].
“The Bureau of Meteorology recorded 61mm in the 30 minutes to 2:36am at the DAF station at Ayr, south of Townsville. At Ayr, 97mm fell within one hour to 3:17am, while the Townsville suburb of Cluden received the rain early with 74mm within one hour to 12:40am.”
“No date for coal phase out as G7 ministers wrap meeting in Japan.
“Environment and energy ministers from G7 countries wrapped two days of talks in northern Japan on Sunday without acting on Canada’s push to set a timeline for phasing out coal-fired power plants… Last year the global capacity to burn coal for power grew.”
“The atmosphere is now warming 4 times as fast as it was between 1960 and 2000!
“There is a rapid increase in the amount of heat that is absorbed by the atmosphere.
“-From 1961-2000 the trend was 0.53 ZJ (5.3*10^20 Joules) per decade.
-From 2006-2020 this was 2.29 ZJ per decade.
“That means that ~4 times as much heat is now accumulating in the atmosphere!”
https://twitter.com/LeonSimons8/status/1648212140627566594
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economic” thread.
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Hello Panopticon
The time has come! How the EU is going to save the climate….
“More European citizens and companies will pay for the greenhouse gases they emit. This was decided by the European Parliament in a vote today. This will legislate that the European Union will emit 55 per cent less greenhouse gases by 2030 than it did in 1990.
“This is a crucial vote for the climate and the European Green Deal,” said euro commissioner Timmermans. “We are now very close to finalising the Fit for 55 package, the package of measures that will put the EU on the road to a greener future.”….. 🙂
Now this is a typical ‘ case of adding complexity’ without any vision of an achievable goal!
I may wrongly consider myself ‘ reasonably educated’ :), but I’ve never understood the whole CO2 rights thing.
A weird opaque ‘ crypto-like’ proliferation of trading in ever more expensive allowances. This will now become a big mishmash of measures, taxing, reducing and eventually abolishing emission rights to 0 in 2040, taxing consumers at the pump and in their homes, industrialisation; in addition, CO2 border charges to avoid companies leaving.
Eu consumers will also be directly affected by this legislation, as we will pay for emissions released from road transport and home heating. This is why the emissions trading system is being extended to buildings and vehicles.
Petrol stations and the energy companies have to have CO2 allowances for their customers. They pass those costs on to their customers. Consumers notice this in their wallets. That in turn has to be absorbed for those who cannot afford it and so!!!! there will be a Social Climate Fund 🙂
The fund will allow EU countries, for instance, to financially help households make their homes more sustainable. It will specifically help people make the transition with, for example, vouchers for insulating houses or buying solar panels and heat pumps.”
Well that will all be quite a hassle because we don’t have the ‘ rare metals’ and solar panels and heat pumps coils and alternators we don’t build ourselves either…. everything comes from China of that whole ‘ greening’ and so the EU in its wisdom argues that ‘ we should start mining ourselves’!!!! Well that will be disappointing to talk about emission rights.
It’s all total CO2-obsessed madness that is going to lead to absolutely nothing only endless ‘ amendments’ that have to be translated back by all member states to their own disgruntled citizens who, like me, don’t understand all that nonsense anyway and that still cast in official jargon.
Adding complexity for the fall and collapse…. Time for a concert with pans and lids like last night across France after yet another empty speech by Macron….
https://nos.nl/collectie/13871/artikel/2471876-europees-parlement-steunt-aanscherping-klimaatwetten-vervuiler-gaat-betalen
Hey Zip its insane over here in the UsA too. The weather channel show pattern just had someone on from the state of ny trying to explain this whole transition from fossil fuels. I just had to start laughing between my crying. The hosts go on to say it’s complicated isn’t it. Forgot that our infrastructure is falling apart everywhere and like you pointed out no resources either. But bring on the AI, bitcoin insanity along with virtual reality insanity.
Here in the UK we are forging bravely ahead with banning the sale of all petrol and diesel cars by 2030 – five years ahead of the EU – even though our grid/infrastructure is nowhere near adequate to support a rapidly expanding fleet of EV’s and consumers are in the aggregate not rich enough to afford them.
The nation will start grinding to a halt, if it hasn’t already.
Yeah they are banning everything over here soon nothing will function. I am just waiting for the whole house of cards to come down.
When will the average person finally get the memo, and what will the societal results be?
You know, the memo (from Svante Arrhenius, 1896) that said, “Yeah, It would really be great if we all started looking at limiting the burning of FF.” (Im sure, if he was still with us, that he would regret being so measured. He might say now, “How Dare you?!?!?!” with the same effect as that other person had. In any event, crashing the world economy now seems very pointless.