“Checkpoint May 5th: 70 SEVENTY countries/territories have broken heat records so far in just 5 days in May. More than any single WHOLE month before mid 2023.
“May is poised to become to most record breaking month in climatic history, together with February, March and April 2024.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787261157838819380
“April 2024 sea surface temperatures (SSTs) far exceeded the global record set just last year.
“In fact, this is the 13th consecutive global monthly record.”
https://twitter.com/Climatologist49/status/1786822030358437915
“Breaking News! Code UFB!!!
“That’s right, North Atlantic Sea surface temperatures are once again at a record high for the day as of yesterday.” [after a brief dip due to Saharan dust]
https://twitter.com/EliotJacobson/status/1787497723333386506
“HISTORIC IN BRAZIL – 2 May 40.6 [105.1F] Jacarepagua AP (west of Rio de Janeiro) Hottest day ever recorded in Brazil in May.
“Records are falling all over from Mexico to Paraguay throughout all Central and South America and the Caribbean.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787274715419013234
“Record flooding turns streets of Brazil’s Porto Alegre into rivers, trapping people in high-rises…
“From top to bottom, rescuers scour buildings in Porto Alegre for inhabitants stuck in flats or on rooftops as unprecedented flooding turned the streets of the Brazilian metropolis into rivers.”
“April 2024 in Peru was another record hot month. With an average temperature of 21.23C [70.2F], an anomaly of 1.43C vs 1991/2020,it was the hottest April on record, ahead of 1998.
“The Pacific cooling is late respect to the initial forecasts and the record heat continues all over the tropics.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787216893713010816
“ABSOLUTE MADNESS IN BOLIVIA: Records smashed in nearly every station.
“MIN 26.6 Robore [79.9F] HOTTEST NIGHT IN MAY IN BOLIVIA HISTORY; 38.7 San Jose; 37.2 San Matias; 35.8 San Joaquin; 35.6 Magdalena.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787597539392262630
“Venezuela is now officially glacier-free.
“The last remaining Humboldt Glacier is now static and reduced to an area of 2 hectares and was downgraded from glacier to ice field. The Next countries poised to remain without glaciers are Indonesia, Mexico & Slovenia.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787071447996698809
“EXCEPTIONAL HEAT IN THE CARIBBEANS – 35.2 [95.4F] Canefield DOMINICA HOTTEST MAY DAY ON RECORD.
“RECORD HOT NIGHTS TMINS – 28.3 Point Salines GRENADA HOTTEST MAY NIGHT; 28.2 Tobago Airport TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO HOTTEST MAY NIGHT.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787246112757141886
“AMERICAS EXTRAORDINARY HEAT WAVE – MEXICO 45.0 [113F] Xicatiacotla HOTTEST DAY EVER IN MORELOS STATE.
“38.6 Morelia 1915m asl all time high; 39.3 Cuernavaca monthly record… GUATEMALA monthly records; 34.4 Huehuetenango; 32.8 Guatemala City… ECUADOR 36.3 Guayaquil monthly record.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1786918210077360182
“14 killed in Haiti due to landslides.
“At least 14 people have been killed due to landslides in Haiti following torrential rains, local media outlet Haiti 24 reported… The death toll may rise, the report added.”
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-05-03/news-1tizw12QpwY/p.html
“Young boy dies in Texas floodwaters as authorities make more than 200 rescues across state…
“The death is the first reported fatality following storms that have prompted disaster declarations for over a third of the state’s counties… With days of rain, rivers farther south have swollen, leaving homes and businesses flooded and thousands of people displaced.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/05/weather/texas-rivers-flooding-rain-forecast/index.html
“Outbreak of violent tornados in US shows location trend…
“April was a particularly violent month for these storms in the US with a total of 315 tornados reported, the second-highest number on record for April… the recent outbreaks of tornados were also further north and east than expected for late April.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/outbreak-of-violent-tornados-in-us-shows-location-shift-7ccxhb7cl
“Tornados have touched down in Oklahoma as 1,100 flights were delayed in Denver and military bases evacuated in the latest round of storms to hit the Midwest.
“The town of Barnsdall, Oklahoma, was rocked by a tornado that collapsed power lines and scattered debris Monday night.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13389387/Weather-denver-Oklahoma-tornado-warning.html
“‘They need to back off’: Farm states push back on Biden’s bird flu response…
“The resistance of dairy farmers is emblematic of the trust gap between key agriculture players in both red and blue states and federal health officials — one that public health experts fear could hamper the nation’s ability to head off the virus’ threat to humans.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/06/bird-flu-dairy-farms-cdc-00156119
“For farmers, watching and waiting is a spring planting ritual. Climate change is adding to anxiety.
“… as climate change drives an increase in spring rains across the Midwest, the usual anxiety around the ritual of spring planting is expected to rise along with it. In Ohio, for example, farmers have lost about five days of field work in the month of April since 1995.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/farmers-watching-waiting-spring-planting-133348600.html
“‘Treat the land right’: B.C. farmers search for solutions as another year of drought looms…
“When severe drought took hold across much of Western Canada last year, many farmers saw their once-green pastures turn to barren brown deserts in a matter of weeks. As extreme heat set in, those brown fields could no longer be used for grazing livestock.”
https://thenarwhal.ca/farmers-bc-drought-2024-agriculture/
“Lake Tsunamis Pose Significant Threat Under Warming Climate.
“The names might not be familiar—Cowee Creek, Brabazon Range, Upper Pederson Lagoon—but they mark the sites of recent lake tsunamis, a phenomenon that is increasingly common in Alaska, British Columbia and other regions with mountain glaciers.”
https://yubanet.com/scitech/lake-tsunamis-pose-significant-threat-under-warming-climate/
“The “gateway to the underworld,” a huge crater in Siberia’s permafrost, is growing by 35 million cubic feet (1 million cubic meters) every year as the frozen ground melts, according to a new study.
“The crater, officially known as the Batagay (also spelled Batagaika) crater or megaslump, features a rounded cliff face that was first spotted on satellite images in 1991…”
“Siberia’s Irkutsk Declares Emergency as Fires Ravage Region.
“Authorities in Russia’s Irkutsk region declared a state of emergency on Monday after a fast-spreading fire fueled by strong winds and dry weather ripped through villages, destroying homes and injuring at least one person.”
“Heatwave warning : Morocco’s southern provinces brace for up to 44°C [111.2F]…
“The Directorate General of Meteorology (DGM) announced on Sunday, May 6, an orange vigilance heatwave forecast for several Moroccan provinces from Tuesday to Friday.”
https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/149369/heatwave-warning-morocco-s-southern-provinces.html
“RECORD HEAT ALL OVER AFRICA up to 48 [118.4F] in Senegal.
“MAY RECORDS: MALI – 47.5 Kayes; 45.7 San; 43.6 Bougouni; 42.3 Sikasso… BURKINA FASO – 44.4 Dedougou; 43.7 Boromo; 41.0 Bobo dioulasso… 39.4 Odienne is MAY RECORD FOR IVORY COAST.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787194819393044738
“Chad’s cotton farmers burned by climate change and false promises.
“”We like cotton but it’s too difficult … the climate isn’t stable and that’s a real drawback. It effects the tonnage,” Rimleldeoudje explained, shading his eyes from the scorching sun. The 24-year-old’s profits have tumbled to a third of what they were last harvest.”
“South Africa’s water shortage to get worse in 2025.
“AS if load shedding was not enough to bring businesses to its knees, South Africans are now confronted with water shortages, with the situation expected to get worse in 2025.”
“Nairobi Water Explains Shortage, Rationing Despite Full Capacity Dams…
“Nairobi Water Co. saying the reason why we have dry taps despite the abundance of water & overflowing dams is because the installed capacity is capped at 525.6 Million litres per day against the 900.0 Million litres daily demand.”
“Exceptional heat in KENYA.
“MINIMUM temperatures of 28.1C [82.6F] at Malindi, 28.0C Lamu and 26.7C at Mombasa on the coast. For Malindi and Mombasa those are the hottest night ever recorded in May.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1786860708207992837
“The number of people killed by flooding and other impacts of the heavy rains battering Kenya has risen to 228, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
“The torrential rains that have caused widespread flooding and landslides across the country in recent weeks are forecast to worsen in May.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/death-toll-kenya-floods-rises-228-2024-05-05/
“UAE floods: Up to 50,000 cars damaged by record rainfall, potential cost of $250 mln…
“The report from reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter said the estimated preliminary insured loss for vehicles damaged in the flood is likely to exceed $150 million, and could reach as high as $250 million for the UAE.”
“Heavy Rain in Şırnak! Streets Turned into Lakes in Cizre [Turkey]. The sudden downpour and hail in Cizre district paralyzed life.
“Due to the sudden heavy rain, many houses, workplaces and vehicles were submerged in flood waters.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UyrAKMCSrg
“Heavy rainfalls have led to significant flooding across 21 regions in Iran, affecting residential areas and agricultural lands.
“According to the Red Crescent’s emergency response organization, the floods have sparked a crisis that spans much of the country. The Meteorological Organization of Iran warned of a new wave of precipitation…”
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202405057679
“At least 14 people have lost their lives due to flash floods caused by heavy rains across Afghanistan in recent days, a Taliban government official said on Monday.
““In the last three days, 14 people have died and one person is missing due to heavy rains and flash floods,” National Disaster Management Ministry spokesperson Janan Sayeq told EFE.”
“Pakistan has experienced its “wettest April since 1961”, receiving more than twice as much rain as usual for the month, the country’s weather agency has said.
“April rainfall was recorded at 59.3mm (2.3 inches), “excessively above” the normal average of 22.5mm (0.9 inches), the metrology department said…”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/4/pakistan-records-wettest-april-in-more-than-60-years
“‘Threat To Glaciers’: Why Scientists Are Worried About Uttarakhand Wildfires…
“P S Negi, a former scientist from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology… warns that the increased concentration of black carbon in the atmosphere, particularly during summer due to forest fires, exacerbates glacier melting and disrupts the delicate balance of the entire ecosystem.”
“Lakshadweep [off Kerala] renowned for its pristine atolls, breathtaking reefs, and idyllic inhabited islands is currently grappling with an unprecedented crisis as widespread coral bleaching has been recorded due to marine heatwaves.
“ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute on Monday said that widespread bleaching event is being observed in the Lakshadweep Sea.”
“West Bengal: 6 people die due to thunderstorm amid heavy downpour after days of heatwave.
“Thunderstorms in southern part of West Bengal killed six people on Monday after the state witnessed significant rainfall across districts. The sudden change in weather was seen as a relief from prolonged heatwaves. However, harsh weather resulted in infrastructure damage…”
“Two people were killed after a flash flood caused by continuous heavy rain hit Cenxi city, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Monday afternoon, local authorities said.
“As of 9 pm, rescuers had found two missing people but they died after efforts to save them failed.”
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202405/06/WS6638d704a31082fc043c5841.html
“Heat wave ravages Thailand’s durian farms.
“Durian is one of the key export products that bring high profits in Thailand. However, a vicious heat wave raging in Southeast Asia has resulted in smaller yields and spiraling costs.”
https://en.vietnamplus.vn/heat-wave-ravages-thailands-durian-farms-post285506.vnp
“Another HISTORIC HOT DAY IN THAILAND – records all over including Bangkok again! *=all time:
“TMAX: 42.7 [109.2F] Tafka *; 41.7 Ratchaburi *; 41.0 Nong Phlub; 40.7 Sawi *; 39.7 Nakhon Sri Thammarat *; HIGH TMINS: 31.0 Samut Prakan *; 31.0 Bangkok; Klong Thoey; 30.9 Bangkok Pilot *; 30.5 Sattahip *.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787124859639681263
“Southeast Asia’s brutal heatwave: daily life and agriculture endangered by rising temperatures.
“After a sweltering April with record-breaking temperatures, Southeast Asia enters May with enduring heat and escalating concerns. Thailand’s farms are buckling under the high temperatures, while Malaysia braces for ecological impacts like rising dengue cases.”
“Exceptional heat in JAPAN.
“After the hottest April on record, May starts even more exceptional with temperatures up to 33.8C [92.8F] at Kaga Nakatsuhara (0.1 from May record). It has never been that hot in Japan in the first week of May anywhere.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787092870161109445
“Efforts to extinguish forest fire in Yamagata continue…
“Efforts to extinguish the flames of a forest fire near the city of Nanyo, Yamagata Prefecture, continued for a third day on Monday morning as the fire continued to spread closer to residential areas.”
“Western Australia’s Shark Bay seabeds are a ticking carbon time bomb, says scientist.
“Australia’s zero greenhouse gas ambitions could be set back if a vast reserve of carbon stored in a seabed off Western Australia is released into the atmosphere, according to a leading marine ecologist.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-05/carbon-seaweed-western-australia-gas-shark-bay/103790512
“‘Like wildfires underwater’: Worst summer on record for Great Barrier Reef as coral die-off sweeps planet…
“These waters that surround Lady Elliot Island, off the eastern coast of Australia, provide some of the most spectacular snorkeling in the world — but they are also on the front line of the climate crisis…”
“RECORD HEAT ALLOVER OCEANIA:
“MAY HOTTEST NIGHTS ON RECORD: High Mins *= national record – FRENCH POLYNESIA: 27.7 [81.9F] Atuona; SOLOMON ISLANDS:27.0 Honiara *; TONGA:26.6 Haapai *; VANUATU:25.8 Pekoa; FIJI:27.9 Viwa Island * 26.9 Udu Point; COOK ISLANDS: 25.9 Rarotonga.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787407117126660409
“Hottest May day in history in NIUE (Niue is a small autonomous territory in the Pacific Ocean belonging to New Zealand).
“31.1C [88F] in the International Airport broke the old record of 31.0C set at Alofi in 1979 and 1984.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1787418019171279013
“Can this technology help refreeze Arctic ice?
“A UK startup called Real Ice believe their technology might help restore rapidly melting Arctic sea ice, which has fallen by half since the 1980s. They are developing a system to create new layers of ice, in the hopes of protecting this vital ecosystem.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/06/climate/video/refreeze-arctic-sea-ice-technology-ldn-digvid
“Baby bumblebees are dying in nests and climate change is to blame. From the Arctic to the tropics, bumblebees maintain the same nest temperature preferences…
“A study, conducted by researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada, has indicated a troubling pattern. It suggests climate change is killing bumblebee babies in their nest.”
https://interestingengineering.com/culture/bumblebee-babies-dying-climate-change
“Worsening Weather Is Igniting a $25 [derivatives] Billion Market…
“Against a backdrop of rising climate volatility and social shifts, demand for weather derivatives is surging. Average trading volumes for listed products jumped more than 260% in 2023, according to the CME Group…”
“Poorer nations must be transparent over climate spending, says Cop29 leader.
““It’s very important to build this correct, good and honest trust between the parties,” he said in an interview in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. “It’s a very, very important step, the creation of a transparency mechanism between the countries.””
“Buddha taught us to be happy with less. How does this apply to the climate crisis?
“…With all our incredible knowledge and capability, we can create a future to be proud of. We can leave behind a world that is richer, more alive, more wonderful than we found it. In this way, we can embrace the hope that emerges from the way we live and the values we bring to our choices.”
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economic” thread.
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The article about the baby bees dying really is emblematic of the present death knell of this civilization. So long & thanks for all the fish!
Spot on.
The stories about animals get to me the most. But maybe Real Ice will be able to refreeze the Arctic and save us! j/k
“So long & thanks for all the fish!”
The Hitchhiker’s Guide books were such a beloved part of my childhood, and little nuggets of Douglas Adams’ satire and wisdom often pop into my head when I am digesting the day’s bleak news. The opening of ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ is just wonderful:
“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet, whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
“This planet has – or rather had – a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
“And so the problem remained; lots of the people were mean, and most of them were miserable, even the ones with digital watches. Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.”
Ditto…. my favourite that popped in to my head for decades is the explanation of an SEP Field.
How do you hide an alien spaceship in the middle of Lords cricket ground in the middle of a Test match?
With an SEP field.
One time I worked in a high-rise govt office – and a new boss showed up getting upset at these ‘Secret-Classified’ files just sitting on top of a bookcase on the corridor and got all upset. Nobody knew what they were doing there, but they had been sitting there for months probably.
Career-Limiting move – I piped up and said they had been subjected to an SEP field…
Blank glares, except for one or two, who *got it* 🙂
Somebody-Else’s-Problem field….
objects become invisible when its Somebody.Elses.Problem.
AKA Too Hard Basket…
Hah – nice. 😆
My economic threads sometimes make me think of the Golgafrinchams (ie, the true descendants of us modern humans), having just arrived on planet earth, declaring leaves as their currency then burning down the forests to obviate inflation.
Someone on reddit posted a news item about hundreds falling sick from food poisoning because the relentlessly higher temps are spoiling street food faster than ever expected. Didn’t see that one coming!
Regarding the Buddhist response to this shit-show, I once held out a vain hope that a hunger strike might make a difference. Folks like Roger Hallam like to wave around the “freedom riders” of MLK fame, but they don’t seem to get it. Non-violent protests going all the way back to Gandhi himself involve putting ones own life on the line.
That’s why blocking traffic is such a miserable joke. The protesters are asking everyone else except themselves to endure a HUGE inconvenience. Exactly the opposite of what they should be doing.
If you take the time to really grokk “non-violent non-participation” then the only sane response to this totally insane shit-show becomes crystal clear. There can be only one demand. The one thing that gets straight to the heart of ALL of our fuck-ups.
Everyone must stop burning.
There! It couldn’t be simpler. Now we can see just how easy it really is. Find a comfortable place to sit down, preferably in front of a state or national capital, and refuse to eat again until everyone stops burning.
Yes, you will starve to death.
Guess what? That’s probably gonna happen anyway.
I’ve never really held out much hope that activism, Buddhist or otherwise, would make much of a dent in the remorseless consumption of modern industrial civilisation. Which is not to say that activism is not worthwhile or cannot achieve remarkable things.
At the personal level, though, Buddhism, Advaita and similar systems do potentially offer at least partial inoculation against the tsunami of loss and suffering coming down the pipe for all of us. Must… achieve… enlightenment before collapse. 😂
J.McM, you are no doubt good peoples, 100%, but, to.quote another J. MC,
” You can’t be serious!”
Humanity is gonna burn. That’s what it has done ever since it was mistakenly handed both fire and, worse, the self-governance of its use. Big mistake, and now plainly heading to fatal.
Everything we inherited as a world was a form of fire burning without control or supervision, from our Wheaties to this here Internets.Cannot be stopped.
Rather than succumb now, we as species will simply try to avoid succumbing to this fire until it breaches our own inherited walls.
https://www.inscc.utah.edu/~tgarrett/the-economic-heat-engine.html
Burning is not the problem, civilization is not a problem, the O-word is the problem. Nothing matters when it’s too late.
Ben Franklin – “We must all hang together or we will all hang separately,”
We are definitely hanging ourselves. We picked a dumbass way to commit suicide. 😉
Tim Garrett’s amazing work proves precisely the opposite thesis to the one you are always banging on about.
If it was 8 billion paramecium we were talking about, the planet’s ecological bases for all life would not be in grave peril.
If 8 billion humans lived a hunter-gatherer life with no phones and no cars and no bombs – happy times, no mass extinctions, no famines.
8 billion humans in an intensely hierarchical civilization burning fossil fuels in every conceivable manner- now there’s a problem that neither you nor I can do a damn thing about.
Ben Franklin was an ass.