“A water war is brewing between the U.S. and Mexico. Here’s why…
“In a deepening diplomatic conflict, Mexico is behind in obligations under an 80-year-old treaty that governs cross-border flows of the drought-stricken Colorado River… some Texas towns are nearing a breaking point, with two key reservoirs at historic lows.”
“Water disputes sparking conflicts around the globe, Erdogan warns.
“”Due to adverse effects of climate change, water sources and basins are becoming areas of conflict,” says Turkish President Erdogan… “Many conflicts in Asia, America, northern Africa, and the Middle East stem from disputes over water sources,” Erdogan said on Friday…”
“World’s oceans have gone ‘crazy haywire,’ officials warn, with majority of coral reefs in peril.
“Conditions last year were so unusually warm in some waters that heat stress levels were literally off the charts of NOAA’s alert system.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/ocean-record-heat-coral-bleaching-rcna152637
“Florida, Caribbean coral reefs showing signs of another mass bleaching amid early heat stress…
“NOAA scientists say coral reefs in the Caribbean are already showing early signs of heat stress in April, indicating another mass bleaching event in the Caribbean and Florida could happen this summer. However, the heat is starting even earlier this year.”
https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/florida-caribbean-coral-reefs-mass-bleaching-heat-stress
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN THE CARIBBEAN: HOTTEST MAY NIGHT IN HISTORY for:
“FLORIDA: TMin 85F/29.4C Key West NAS; MEXICO: Tmin 30.2C Villahermosa 29.2C Chetumal; MARTINIQUE: Tmin 28.3C Carravelle 27.9C Lamentin AP; CUBA:Tmin 27.9C Cabo San Antonio and Punta del Este.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/179155739529175043
“HISTORIC AMERICAS – RECORDS ALL OVER:
“42.3 [108.1F] Chaa Creek HOTTEST DAY EVER BELIZE; 38.8 Santa Lucia HOTTEST MAY DAY EVER; IN CUBA: 38.3 Velasco,37.2 Havana and Varadero,36.4 Bahia Honda 32.6 SABA HOTTEST MAY DAY EVER; MEXICO ALL TIME HIGHS: 44.2 Merida; 44.0 Villahermosa; 34.5 Pachuca 2364m.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1791627883200356848
“Honduran city’s air pollution is almost 50 times higher than WHO guidelines.
“The air quality in San Pedro Sula, the second-largest city in Honduras, as been classified as the most polluted on the American continent due to forest fires and weather conditions aggravated by El Niño and the climate crisis.”
“Thunderstorms have killed seven people and left more than half a million homes and businesses without power in south-eastern Texas.
“Residents in the area could be without power for weeks after Thursday’s storm, which packed 110mph (177km/h) winds, said officials… The storm has moved on to neighbouring Louisiana with flood warnings in place for the Gulf Coast.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69025566
“A storm on a Thursday in May is going down in the record books as one of the costliest disasters, if not in Houston, then in recorded history based on preliminary estimates shared with ABC13.
“AccuWeather, an Eyewitness News partner, revealed a price tag of $5 billion to $7 billion for the damage caused…”
“Sizzling oceans tee up record-shattering summer for U.S…
“The continental U.S. could challenge its record for the hottest summer to date, according to the latest seasonal climate outlook released Thursday and other recent data. For millions along the Gulf Coast, the heat and humidity have already begun.”
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/16/record-hot-summer-2024-us-la-nina
“How ‘kitty cats’ are wrecking the home insurance industry…
“Supercharged thunderstorms and tornadoes are ravaging the Midwest, driving insurance costs to record highs… These so-called “severe-convective storms” are large and powerful thunderstorms that form and disappear within a few hours or days…”
https://grist.org/extreme-weather/home-insurance-midwest-climate-disasters/
“‘Worst hail storm we’ve ever seen’ [Winnipeg, Canada].
“Manitoba Public Insurance says already over 1,100 hail-related claims have been made to them, as some scramble to repair their vehicles and homes… CTV’s Jon Hendricks has more on the damage left behind from the recent hail storm in Winnipeg.”
https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/video/c2924874–worst-hail-storm-weve-ever-seen
“How heat waves are affecting Arctic phytoplankton…
“The basis of the marine food web in the Arctic, the phytoplankton, responds to heat waves much differently than to constantly elevated temperatures. This has been found by the first targeted experiments on the topic.”
https://phys.org/news/2024-05-affecting-arctic-phytoplankton.html
“Jellyfish may soon rule Arctic waters as climate pushes them north…
“…jellyfish and other gelatinous zooplankton could be some of the few organism groups to benefit from climate change. Numerous studies have confirmed that cnidarians, ctenophores, and pelagic tunicates thrive in rising water temperatures, nutrient contamination, and overfishing.”
https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-invasion-jellyfish-are-moving-north-in-a-warming-climate/
“Permafrost showdown… Rapid warming of Arctic permafrost has brought a significant threat to all life forms…
“Scientists are expressing renewed concerns about monster climate events lurking beneath the frozen ground of permafrost, which is 15% of the exposed land surface of the Northern Hemisphere. And monsters lurk above solid grounding in Antarctic glacial formations, starting to fracture as fissures widen like ogres of the deep.”
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/05/17/permafrost-showdown/
“Activists sue Russia over ‘weak’ climate policy…
“Russia’s constitutional court is considering a claim brought by 18 individuals and the NGO Ecodefense that insufficient action by the Russian state to cut national greenhouse gas emissions is violating their rights to life, health and a healthy environment.”
“Extreme contrasts in Europe & Mediterranean:
“Up to 28.3 [82.9F] in NORWAY with a monthly record broken: 22.7 Sula Fjord; Very cold in The West and the East and brutal heat in North Africa. In LIBYA coast 45.7 Sirte, 44.2 Misurata; MINIMUMS up to 33C in TUNISIA.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1791175010687631753
“I’ve seen how deadly floods are devastating Europe – we are not prepared for what’s next…
“It’s common to think about the climate crisis as something that will happen in the future, in the global south. But for several months I’ve been investigating the devastating impact of extreme flooding in Europe…”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/15/down-to-earth-the-floods
“Germany: Floods hit large parts of Saarland…
“The ministry spoke of a “widespread flooding situation” with a focus on the southeastern part of the state. In the cities, the situation was tense in the state capital of Saarbrücken, in Saarbrücken-Russhütte, in Eppelborn, Neunkirchen, Gersweiler, St. Wendel, Saarlouis and Merzig.”
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-floods-hit-large-parts-of-saarland/a-69119562
“Floods in Moselle [France]: the mayor of Bouzonville describes “historic floods”…
“… the rains did not let up on Friday. In certain areas, bad weather is intensifying… “We are facing historic floods in terms of intensity but also in the flood which unfortunately exceeds anything we have experienced before ,” recognizes Mayor Armel Chabane.”
“Storms and heavy rainfall have left many parts of northern Italy under water, with the cities of Padua and Vicenza particularly affected…
“The governor of the Veneto region described the weather overnight as being like a “water bomb”. Meanwhile the south of Italy is experiencing an unseasonal heat wave…”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9xz8w2p8l8o
“A tornado knocked onto its side a goods train near Mantua on Thursday evening, as extreme weather ripped northern Italy.
“All seven trucks on the convoy, each weighing 22 tonnes, were knocked over by the whirlwind at the terminal of a farm feed firm at Borgo Mantovano.”
“Crete: Greece’s climate crisis hotspot…
““Fires in the spring at altitudes over 1,000 meters, while there is a complete absence of snow, were unprecedented.” Speaking to Kathimerini, Vasilios Vathrakogiannis, a spokesperson for the Hellenic Fire Service, describes how firefighters were taken aback by the fire that erupted on April 13 in Omalos…”
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/environment/1238774/crete-greeces-climate-crisis-hotspot/
“ENDLESS SUMMER IN SOUTH AFRICA AND NAMIBIA. What Southern Africa is living is just incredible.
“35/40C [104F] every day even on coastal and highlands few weeks from winter. Today 39.2 Luderitz and 38.6 Walvis Bay NAMIBIA; 37.7 Vioolsdrif SOUTH AFRICA.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1791133206365774183
“How climate crisis fuels Al-Shabaab insurgency in Somalia…
“Al Shabaab, in particular, benefits from the pool of jobless and vulnerable young people, leveraging their frustrations and lack of livelihood opportunities to perpetuate its agenda of extremism and endless violence.”
“An earthquake in Ethiopia.. An expert warns of a flood that may drown Sudan…
“It was reported last Monday that an earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale occurred in Ethiopia near the site of the Gibe 3 Dam on the Omo River, with a depth of 10 kilometers… “If the dam collapses due to the frequent earthquakes that occur in the region, this could lead to a flood that drowns Sudan.””
“Severe drought exposure in utero associates to children’s epigenetic age acceleration in a global climate change hot spot [Northern Kenya]…
“We find a positive association between in utero drought exposure and EAA in two epigenetic clocks …and a negative association in the DNAm based telomere length (DNAmTL) clock. The combined impact of drought’s multiple deleterious stressors may reduce overall life expectancy through accelerated epigenetic aging.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-48426-7
“Kenya floods prompt calls for warning systems.
“Weeks of heavy rainfall and flooding across East Africa have triggered landslides, destroyed crops and infrastructure, and engulfed homes, leaving hundreds of thousands of people displaced across Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia and Tanzania.”
https://phys.org/news/2024-05-kenya-prompt.html
“At least 50 people are dead following a fresh bout of heavy rain and flooding in central Afghanistan, an official said on Saturday.
“Mawlawi Abdul Hai Zaem, the head of the information department for the central Ghor province, told Reuters that there was no information about how many people were injured in the rain spell that began on Friday, which had also cut off many key roads to the area.”
“Climate change impacts Pakistani mango production for third consecutive year
“This situation has led to concerns over meeting the export target of 100,000 tons set for the current season. Pakistan, which annually produces about 1.8 million tons of mangoes, is facing a potential shortfall in production…”
“Climate Change to Intensify India Heat Wave, Scientists Say…
“The northwestern region of the country, including the capital Delhi, is expected to record temperatures that could exceed the average for this time of year by more than 6 degrees Celsius, US-based Climate Central said in a report Friday.”
“Chandigarh [Punjab] records hottest day ever in May at 44.5 [112.1F] degrees Celsius, MET warns of heat wave…
“When asked, Scientist Shivender Singh from the MET department said, “Temperatures are going to rise over the next five days, and we suggest people be careful and take precautions. We have also issued an advisory.””
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/chandigarh-hottest-day-ever-heat-wave-9335658/
“Drought-hit people of Chikkamagaluru [Karnataka] exhume bodies to ‘please rain god’…
“People distressed over drought …in Chikkamagaluru district have resorted to a rather macabre superstitious practice of exhuming the bodies of those who had leukoderma (vitiligo) from graveyards and consigning them to flames, believing that it brings good rain.”
“Forest fires | Exploding bamboo in Karnataka…
““Dry bamboo is like a firecracker. It explodes and flaming splinters spread the fire, even crossing the fire lines.” The forest department clears as much as possible, but the areas can be too big…”
“Over 5,000 incidents of forest fires recorded across Nepal in past ten months…
“Sundar Sharma, an expert on wildfires, says there are usually around 2,500 fire incidents in Nepal every year. “Eighty percent of fire incidents occur in the four months from mid-Falgun to mid-Jetha.”
“Nepal worries about its most dangerous glacial lake.
“Despite earlier mitigation measures, the ‘critically dangerous’ Tsho Rolpa glacial lake has expanded further, with 6,000 households facing an imminent threat… Temperature rise in the Himalayan region has exceeded the global average.”
https://dialogue.earth/en/water/nepal-worries-about-tsho-rolpa-glacial-lake/
“Exceptional heat wave in MYANMAR: A dozen stations yesterday were >45c [113F]! Several records fell: *=all time:
“45.3 Tada U *; 45.2 Sagaing; 45.0 Aunglan *; 45.0 Shwebo; 45.0 Taungdwingyi *; 44.2 Kyaukse *; 43.0 Homalin; 39.7 Phyarpon *.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1791420809883312510
“Perth’s dry spell continues as May temperature record set to fall…
“Perth is on track to break its May record for the longest stretch of days equal to or above 28 degrees [82.4F], as the city experiences an unusual run of late-season warmth. The capital has so far recorded five consecutive days at or greater than 28C, matching the May record set in 1962.”
“Never ending heat record in Oceania.
“MICRONESIA again with record hot nights; this time at Chuuk: 83F (28.3C) min ties Micronesia record of hottest night in May. 100% of Ocean Pacific islands have broken heat records this month, despite the fading El Nino, it’s hotter than ever.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1791028859359416472
“The Tropics are crazy hot as all-time record heat continues.
“These temperatures should start going down …any day now.”
https://x.com/EliotJacobson/status/1791524613878624587
“Hats and gloves come out as coldest May since 1950 grips Chile’s capital region.
“Santiago is under a record freeze. After an eight-day “cold wave” pushed through the capital region this week, the average temperature for May dropped to 37 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) – the coldest since 1950…”
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/18/americas/chile-may-temperature-cold-intl-latam/index.html
“Cold snap in Argentina disrupts gas supplies.
“A severe cold snap in Argentina has forced gas suppliers to hit the breaks on fuel distribution to gas stations and industries around the country, companies said, limiting supply to those on contracts which allow them to be cut in such circumstances.”
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/cold-snap-argentina-disrupts-gas-supplies-2024-05-16/
“Uprooted by Brazil floods, foreign refugees ‘start all over again’…
“Tens of thousands of Haitians and Venezuelans who found refuge in southern Brazil after escaping hunger, violence and natural disasters are being forced once more to rebuild lives now wrecked by record flooding in Rio Grande do Sul state.”
“The governor of Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul said on Friday that the costs of rebuilding the state after devastating floods in recent weeks will be “much higher” than the 19 billion reais ($3.72 billion) initially estimated.
“Alegre, Governor Eduardo Leite estimated the state would lose some 14 billion reais in revenues due to the floods…”
“Economic damage from climate change six times worse than thought – report…
“The economic damage wrought by climate change is six times worse than previously thought, with global heating set to shrink wealth at a rate consistent with the level of financial losses of a continuing permanent war, research has found.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/17/economic-damage-climate-change-report
“Acceleration of global warming is now hard to deny… [James Hansen]
“Present extreme planetary energy imbalance will limit La Nina-driven temperature decline. Thus, El Nino/La Nina average global temperature likely is about 1.5°C, suggesting that, for all practical purposes, global temperature has already reached that milestone.”
https://mailchi.mp/caa/comments-on-global-warming-acceleration-sulfur-emissions-observations
“High levels of weedkiller found in more than half of sperm samples, study finds.
“More than 55% of sperm samples from a French infertility clinic contained high levels of glyphosate, the world’s most common weedkiller, raising further questions about the chemical’s impact on reproductive health and overall safety, a new study found.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/17/glyphosate-weedkiller-sperm
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” 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!
Thank you for such a globe-spinning tour once again.
We should all be heartened that the socio-economic devastation wrought by this year’s astounding temperature and CO2 rises represent a “great opportunity” for data scientists like Hansen (and his enemy/ buddy Mann) to “improve” their models.
Keep those labs humming, boys!
“Thank you for such a globe-spinning tour once again.”
Martin, you are welcome. I try to move around the planet in a way that makes sense, geographically. It niggles me when the articles won’t let me do that and I have to make an improbable leap from, say, Brazil to Scotland.
Nat cats and kitty cats. Love those. Good additions to our apocalyptic lexicon.
It is fascinating watching language evolve along with our predicament. I like the upmarket terms we now have for clusterf*ck: metacrisis, polycrisis and permacrisis, with the latter being Collins Dictionary’s word of the year in 2022:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63458467
It would help to have some new nasty words to tell this species what I think about it. 😉
Hello Pan,
It rains and it rains! Indeed I ‘must’ post almost daily about the floods and abundant rain and hailstorms hitting France in recent weeks ranging from now the Moselle to damage to the iconic wine region of Chablis and frost damage in the Bordeaux region. The bill for damage funds and the state are also getting correspondingly higher. Yesterday, tens of millions paid out again for the damage caused by the February floods in Pas de Calais….. and we are not rid of it yet. Even here still relatively southern it is cold and thunderstorms and torrential rain almost every day. Yesterday a worrying report on the wetlands such as the Camargue in the Mediterranean.
Today in my research, I came across a report on Niger just like that…. The French were thrown out this year, but apparently there was/is a lot going on in this extremely murky part of Africa where the battle over the last resources has been going on for years now. In the link, a nice interview and insight about Syrians paid by Turkey ‘working’ in a mercenary army in Niger to secure Turkish interests.
Deals with relatively fairly large operations. Still involves significant monthly costs.
The chaos in that central African region let’s say from Congo to Sudan to Libya is now so great that really nobody has any insight into it anymore…..
https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/un-millier-de-mercenaires-syriens-ont-ete-envoyes-au-niger-pour-proteger-les-interets-turcs-20240518
“Even here still relatively southern it is cold and thunderstorms and torrential rain almost every day.”
Zip, I recall last summer we were talking about the dire, structural water shortages in SW France. I hope the miserable weather is at least doing a good job of replenishing supplies.
That is very interesting re Turkey’s Syrian mercenaries in Niger. Except for their never-ending friction with Greece and sporadic military strikes on targets in Syria and Iraq, I haven’t really been aware of Turkey asserting its interests overseas. I agree the Sahel is a dizzying kaleidoscope of geopolitical intrigue; very hard to follow. I saw that Spanish troops are pulling out of Mali now…
“Spain leaves the Sahel after 11 years in the field. The European Union’s (EU) decision not to continue in the Sahel after 18 May clears the way for Russia and China to establish themselves in the region.”
https://www.atalayar.com/en/articulo/politics/spain-leaves-the-sahel-after-11-years-in-the-field/20240516122340200251.html
These oil lawsuits seem pointless even the kids suing the states over oil. The only agenda i see with these is to push the green agenda that’s going up in flames. I have not looked at the colleges demands with the environment but i guess they want to defund from oil companies and push green agenda too. Not sure how long internet will last maybe the sun will bring down musk and his satellites. One can dream.
Art Berman has a new one out.
HOME
ABOUT
SERVICES
BLOG
CONTACT
A Renewable Energy Transition Violates The Maximum Power Principle
May 18, 2024|Art Berman
Energy Aware
We all want solutions to the world’s many crises but do we understand the underlying problems?
Everything in nature, including human society, relies on energy for production, consumption, recycling, and sustainability. Therefore, to understand things, we must first examine how energy is turned into work and power.
Steel, concrete, plastic, and fertilizer are fundamental to modern civilization yet we have no idea how to make any of them at scale without fossil fuels. Those who think that the solution to our climate crisis is to end the use of fossil fuels do not understand this. Ending fossil fuels would cause society to collapse, and result in more short-term human death and suffering than is expected even in the worst-case scenarios for global heating.
Those who think that a solution is to substitute renewable energy for fossil fuels don’t understand this either. Even if true, we’re a long way from that. At present, wind and solar account for only two-and-half percent of global energy consumption, and all renewables—including hydroelectric and nuclear energy—account for only seven percent using the direct equivalent method.
The larger problem is that energy substitution is only a theory. It is naive and flawed because it only considers amounts of energy while ignoring rates of energy output.
Society runs on power, not energy
https://www.artberman.com/blog/a-renewable-energy-transition-violates-the-maximum-power-principle/
I am enjoying Art’s evolution from oil expert to all-rounder. He mentions solutions but doesn’t offer any…
It must be a tough balance to strike, trying to retain your credibility as a consultant when the evidence is pushing you to conclude that there isn’t a great deal we can do.
Heather, I agree that litigation is not going to do much to alter our collective trajectory. It could have some localised effects for good or ill.
It is hard to know how to feel about it… If the plaintiffs feel they are fighting for their very lives and humanity’s future then it is understandable that they would want to pursue all options, I guess.
https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/thunderstorm-damage-houston-texas
Texas is a mess emergency declaration in 7 counties
China has been battered by a string of severe convective storms recently, eg below. India’s had a few, too. I’d been wondering where else they might show up.
“The death of three people in China who were swept up and blown out of the windows of their homes by strong winds has shocked mainland social media.”
https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/environment/article/3257686/shock-freak-china-winds-kill-3-including-child-sucking-them-out-broken-high-rise-windows-they-slept
As seen on a t-shirt:
“It’s OK! I’m on 500mgs of FUKITOL”
Please hook me up with that on an IV, STAT. 😂
OMG love it!!! Panopticon, you should consider selling those to help keep the site going! 🤪
I’ve yet to understand why C&E has not gone viral in the doomer universe. Are their DoomersINO who can’t handle the truth?
TR, put that great brain of yours to work to figure out how to make it go viral! People posting links elsewhere in comments might be helpful.
TR, thank you for the vote of confidence. I’m afraid I am very niche indeed, even factoring in my loyal army of sex bots on Twitter/X. 😂
https://doomfordummies.blogspot.com/
https://youtu.be/h6KYAVn8ons
https://witsendnj.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-fine-frenzy-universal-dance-of.html
“‘Doomist’ climate scientists have a point in war of words with the ‘optimists’ – Dr Richard Dixon…
“…the other side would say that voices which say ‘it can all be OK, look at the progress and that technology will save us’ feed a complacency that is not justified. In a nice clear bit of communication, Kevin Anderson calls this a “litany of optimistic crap”.”
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/doomist-climate-scientists-have-a-point-in-war-of-words-with-the-optimists-dr-richard-dixon-4628542
Ian, my apologies. Your comment got caught in spam because it has multiple links.
Thank you for linking to the late Gail Zawacki’s sites. She was quite brilliant, and I still think of her often.
That Elton track is one of his finest and with Stevie Wonder on harmonica, too. ❤
Consequences of one’s ignorant denial are exciting.
Bond King” Bill Gross’ favorite investment right now is probably not what you think. Rather than seeking opportunity in the bond market, the legendary billionaire is investing in oil and gas pipelines.
Gross notes that the pipelines — which trade as master limited partnerships — possess many of the yield attributes of bonds. He likes them right now because they offer limited risk, good tax benefits, and also the liquidity afforded by the stock market.
In a podcast interview with At Barron’s, Gross outlined why that these partnerships are so attractive:
“First of all, their dividends by law are deferred until sold,” he said. “And second of all, mutual funds for the most part can’t buy a partnership. So you have this huge base of potential buyers that have been cut out of the market because of regulatory law.”
Pan, didn’t you like my post of yesterday?
Ian, it got caught in moderation because it had more than one link. I let it through yesterday, so hopefully it should be visible to you.
Weirdly, this^^^ comment also got caught in moderation, even though it had no links. I have no idea why. WordPress can be a bit fickle like that.