Storm Agnes: Bomb cyclone hits Ireland, UK with hurricane-force winds
Agnes, the first named storm of the winter season in the United Kingdom, is whipping Ireland, Scotland and England with hurricane-force winds.
The low-pressure system went through “explosive cyclogenesis” over the Atlantic before making landfall Wednesday, according to forecasters. U.S. meteorologists call this process “bombogenesis” – when a storm’s central pressure drops at least 24 millibars in 24 hours to become a so-called “bomb cyclone.”
Panopticon survived Storm Agnes! About his flight from Glasgow to the Hebrides he said: “Captain decided to go ahead with flight to Islay – scariest flight I’ve ever been on. Turbulence was wild and visibility was minimal. Absolutely terrifying.”
https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/bomb-cyclone-ireland-storm-agnes
Climate change: Six young people take 32 countries to court
“What I felt was fear,” says Claudia Duarte Agostinho as she remembers the extreme heatwave and fires that ripped through Portugal in 2017 and killed more than 100 people. “The wildfires made me really anxious about what sort of future I would have.”
Claudia, 24, her brother Martim, 20, and her sister Mariana, 11, are among six young Portuguese people who have filed a lawsuit against 32 governments, including all EU member states, the UK, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey.
They accuse the countries of insufficient action over climate change and failing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions enough to hit the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5C.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66923590
Record heat all over Asia
…from Indonesia (reaching early 38C) to Myanmar with 39.0C today at Shwebo (September record tied) to Nepal passing though the Koreas.
65% of countries/territories this month broke at least one monthly heat record.
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1707387137685864894
The US power grid quietly survived its most brutal summer yet
Despite record power demand, the grid largely avoided blackouts. Don’t take this for granted.
Weeks of relentless heat all day and even through the night sent millions of Americans indoors where they devoured electrons as they desperately tried to cool off.
“It really has been pushing the grid into uncharted territory with these record levels of demand,” said Mark Olson, manager for reliability assessments at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a power industry nonprofit that works to keep the grid running smoothly.
https://www.vox.com/climate/23893057/power-electricity-grid-heat-wave-record-blackout-outage-climate
Wildfires can make your California red taste like an ashtray. These scientists want to stop that
The U.S. West Coast produces over 90% of America’s wine, but the region is also prone to wildfires — a combustible combination that spelled disaster for the wine industry in 2020 and one that scientists are scrambling to neutralize.
Sample a good wine and you might get notes of oak or red fruit. But sip on wine made from grapes that were penetrated by smoke, and it could taste like someone dumped the contents of an ashtray into your glass.
Arizona’s monsoon will end as one of the hottest and driest on record. What happened?
Summer 2023 ended as the hottest on record in Phoenix, and now the 2023 monsoon season will end as the driest.
During a summer of unprecedented and prolonged heat in metro Phoenix, many people had eagerly waited for the monsoon season to begin and fend off the scorching temperatures. But aside from a few storms that offered temporary reprieves, monsoon precipitation was weeks delayed and below average.
The monsoon season officially ends on Saturday having produced fewer storms overall than previous years, especially in central and southeastern Arizona.
Treated wastewater against water shortages
Clean drinking water is growing scarcer all the time. To make up the shortfall, scientists are looking at whether the water we use to irrigate fields has to be of top-notch quality, or whether treated wastewater is also an option.
https://www.dw.com/en/treated-wastewater-against-water-shortages/video-66898684
Brazil sets up task force for unprecedented drought in Amazon
Brazil’s government is preparing a task force to provide emergency assistance to inhabitants in the Amazon region hit by a severe drought that has impacted the rivers that are their life support, Environment Minister Marina Silva said.
Low river levels and hotter waters have killed masses of fish seen floating on river surfaces, contaminating the drinking water, she said.
“We have a very worrying situation. This record drought has disrupted river transport routes threatening food and water shortages, and a large fish mortality is already beginning,” she told Reuters in an interview.
[Reuters]
Extraordinary heat wave in #Australia, dozens of records are being pulverized with big margins.
Today 42.8C at Mandora,it’s 0.3C from national September record
Minimums up to 28.5C at Bidyadanga.
See list of records of highest Tmaxes and highest Tmins set (by Australiaweathernews)
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1707343546389319924
How Climate Change is Making it Harder Than Ever to Own a Home
Keenan, whose research largely focuses on the intersection of climate change and the built environment, has catapulted to the forefront of discussions surrounding climate migration, climate refugees, and so-called climate havens. As the United States faces increasingly catastrophic fires, extreme heat, droughts, and hurricanes, among other climate disasters, concerned residents are turning to Keenan to tell them which parts of the country might offer relief.
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/climate-change-impact-on-real-estate
Water, ice, society, and ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
Global “ice emergency” is locking in sea level rise that will put huge areas of Dhaka, Karachi, Shanghai, Mumbai underwater by 2050
Scientists warn of potentially huge rise in hazards and the release of vast amounts of carbon and methane as permafrost thaws
Major species, including Asiatic bear, wild yak, snub-nosed monkey and snow-leopards, will see significant habitat loss, and some species of amphibians and insects will be locally extinct without immediate emissions reductions
“The science is unequivocal,” said Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of ICIMOD. “We have to act now to prevent the Earth from spiralling towards a state beyond which it can no longer sustain life. With two billion people relying on waters held in these mountains for their food and water security, all of us have a huge humanitarian weight on our shoulders at this moment.”
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/water-ice-society-and-ecosystems-hindu-kush-himalaya-outlook
Scientists Identify Previously Unknown Sources of Methane Emissions
Numerous methane sources discovered in Hamburg
Through the project, the team succeeded in identifying numerous previously undetected methane sources in Hamburg. Along with natural sources such as the Elbe River, the largest share of emissions is caused by human activity. Around half of these emissions come from leaking gas pipelines, incomplete combustion, and other industrial and fugitive emissions.
https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-identify-previously-unknown-sources-of-methane-emissions/
Brutal dust storm sweeps across Southern Asia
According to NASA, more than two decades of low water levels in the Hamun wetlands have led to a significant increase in dust storms. This has been especially the case during the 120-day winds, strong summer winds that occur from late May to late September.
“Water levels are influenced by rainfall and the flow of the Helmand river, which runs from the Hindu Kush mountains across Afghanistan before terminating at the wetlands. More frequent drought since 1999, along with increasing upstream demands on water resources for agriculture and other uses, have amplified the drying,” said NASA.
https://www.earth.com/image/brutal-dust-storm-sweeps-across-southern-asia/
The Roots of the Global Water Crisis
The atmosphere at this year’s UN Water Conference, which took place in New York in March, was markedly different. Instead of apathy, there was a palpable sense that the water crisis is a global problem. Today, every country in the world faces water-related challenges, underscoring our collective vulnerability as the planet’s most vital natural resource is increasingly threatened. The robust engagement of the scientific community and civil society was also instrumental in shedding light on the far-reaching consequences of this crisis.
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economy” thread.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via Patreon. And if you are already a subscriber or have donated – thank you! It is an enormous help as the cost-of-living crisis ratchets up here in the UK.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-orleans-drinking-water-threatened-saltwater-intrusion-looms-mississippi-river-drought/
Another disaster in New Orleans and we pray for Rain as Halloween approaches.
Thanks, Heather. Salty water – not appealing!
Storm agnes is causing a blockade here, bringing in hot air from Africa for days now. It is extremely sunny and dry every day. As we speak I am sitting on my balcony in the shade at 28.1 degrees (18.00 hours) and it will be even hotter this weekend. Those are unprecedented high temperatures for late September, early October….
In the “abstract,” I’m not complaining. I work outside all day on my articles and updates. And so at the end of the work day, it’s good to relax in what we’ll call the ‘indian summer’ with a glass of red wine ‘after work’ Special post about the ‘smoke flavor’ caught in the grapes in California….
Now that’s a good ultimate warning 🙂 don’t spoil my wine.
Meanwhile, the French government has decided to cut back heavily on the construction of new highway tracks…. all supposedly for ‘ecological reasons’ and to reduce CO2 emissions. There will also be an airport tax and extra charges on autoroute concessionaires. Should raise 600 million euros…. Big deal
Meanwhile, it is clear that only the interest on the national debt of around 3000 billion!!! Euros will have to be paid next year instead of 7.9 billion in 2024, but no less than 48 billion. When you think about that, you understand what quantitativey easing has led to.
We behave like children who have whined for years for more pocket money and got it from ‘creative’ bookkeeping parents……
Yes go and tell ‘us’ like sulking children that they don’t get anything anymore 🙂
Well, as long as they don’t spoil my wine…. you have to have a straw to cling to somewhere. That’s better than the panacea ‘ecological reasons’….. and eh sustainability.
Nobody is sustainable
Enjoy your wine, Zip! “Nobody is sustainable.” Exactly so. Yes, quantitative easing has consequences. Severe ones. As we are all in the process of finding out. Pick your poison: climate or economy!
Major species, including Asiatic bear, wild yak, snub-nosed monkey and snow-leopards, will see significant habitat loss, and some species of amphibians and insects will be locally extinct without immediate emissions reductions
While the Americans complain about their wine . . . they should read on a little further through this excellent publication!
Welcome to the site, William. I don’t think you’ve commented before.