A big thank you to October’s sponsor, Rusty Flanagan.
“Global water cycle off balance for ‘first time in human history,’ threatening half the planet’s food production…
“Decades of destructive land use and water mismanagement have collided with the human-caused climate crisis to put “unprecedented stress” on the global water cycle, said the report published Wednesday…”
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/16/climate/global-water-cycle-off-balance-food-production
“Global temperature analysis reveals deep ocean marine heat waves are underreported…
“”Our research reveals that MHWs are often hidden below the surface and occur separately to those on the surface,” Dr. Feng said. “The deep ocean is home to a range of marine life, including plankton and fish species.”
https://phys.org/news/2024-10-global-temperature-analysis-reveals-deep.html
“Hotter Water: oceans cannot keep pace with changes caused by climate crisis, warns new report.
“Warming ocean waters mean the ocean is 1–2% less oxygenated than in the 1970s… So-called “once in a century” extreme sea level events are predicted to be 20–30 times more frequent, exposing one billion people to their effects.”
“Breaking News!
“After 3 weeks being offline, NOAA sea-surface temperature data is back! And, the tl;dr is that the f&%kery is continuing.”
https://x.com/EliotJacobson/status/1846354446139453721
“What the f*ck!
“This is the most recent 12-month average Atlantic Ocean’s Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly:”
https://x.com/LeonSimons8/status/1846286329711415665
“North Atlantic Ocean – an update to the whole 40 million km² area! 🔥
“Remember that it takes >3000 times as much heat to warm ocean water than it does to warm the same volume of air by 1 °C. When are we going to go back to ‘normal’ again?”
https://x.com/LeonSimons8/status/1846488112878293225
“The UK could turn as cold as Scandinavia. Why aren’t we preparing?
““…the more we look into it, the more we think [AMOC] could collapse,” says Tim Lenton, a professor of earth system science at the University of Exeter. And the more carbon we put into the atmosphere, the more likely that becomes.””
“Schools have been forced shut and residents stuck inside their homes as heavy rain brought flash flooding to parts of Herefordshire…
“”We saw the river burst its bank around half nine and it was just a little trickle but within 15 minutes it was coming in strongly and it built from there.””
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c33vkeyx8j0o
“Landslides and floods, bad weather alert in Liguria [Italy]…
“The Bormida river flooded in the Savona area in the towns of Ferrania, Altare and Cairo Montenotte due to heavy rains. Train traffic is suspended between Loano and Pietra Ligure (Savona). Several roads in the province were closed due to flooding and fallen trees.”
“‘This drought is killing us’: Sicilian locals left without running water for months on end…
“A severe water crisis is gripping the region as the ongoing drought stretches into autumn. Prolonged dry conditions have drastically reduced water reserves, leaving the city and surrounding areas on the brink of running out of water.”
“In a report issued by the General Directorate of Meteorology in Morocco, it was revealed that 2023 was the hottest year in the kingdom’s history…
“A new national record of 50.4 degrees Celsius was also recorded in the city of Agadir on Friday, August 11, 2023, exceeding the 50 degrees Celsius barrier for the first time in Morocco’s history.”
https://fesnews.media/289846/2024/10/16/
“Climate change is wreaking havoc on farmers in northern Nigeria, contributing to growing food insecurity for millions this year, says the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization…
“Mema Fwa lost her entire yield this season. Rabiu Musa cannot pay back his $1,800 loan due to a failed harvest.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cy43zgyd15vo
“Aquatic rescue teams sent to Soweto to help motorists trapped along flooded road [South Africa]…
“The South African Weather Service issued a level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms, which included parts of Gauteng, into Tuesday night… The Joburg Roads Agency said its regional teams were prepared for flooding of roads and bridges as well as blocked roads due to falling trees.”
“Worst drought in century devastates Southern Africa, millions at risk…
“Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have all declared a state of national disaster in the past months as the drought has destroyed crops and livestock. Angola and Mozambique are also severely affected…”
“Zambia Approves New Coal Power Plant as Drought Saps Hydropower…
“Located about 330 kilometers (207 miles) south of Lusaka, the capital, the Mulungwa Power Generation Ltd. project will be a joint venture between Africa Power Coal and China’s Jiangsu Etern Company Ltd.”
“Record heat again in KENYA. 39.8C [103.6F] 3-hourly max today at Mandera (near the Somali border) broke the record of October hottest day in history.
“Record heat has been going on in Kenya every month of 2023 and 2024.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1846593195498713262
“Exceptional heat all over North Africa and Middle East:
“44.0 [111.2F] Makkah SAUDI ARABIA; Up to 42C in Algeria… Minimum temperatures still exceeds 30C in parts of Emirates, Oman and Iran.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1846257260437102743
“Several people were rescued in Oman after torrential rain caused by a tropical storm left many parts of the country inundated…
“Oman closed schools on Tuesday and issued a safety alert in response to storms sweeping across the country.”
“Schools, colleges and government offices were shut Wednesday in parts of southern India as heavy monsoon rains triggered severe flooding.
“The worst-hit cities included Chennai and Bengaluru, the country’s industrial and information technology hubs.”
“The frequency and intensity of dust and sandstorms in Tajikistan have multiplied, but economic assessments of their impact remain limited, and in some cases, entirely absent…
“Experts warn that if mitigation measures are not taken, the adverse effects of dust and sandstorms will become even more severe.”
“After Fleeing Floods, Afghans See Tents ‘Torn To Pieces’ By Windstorms…
“Severe winds in Afghanistan’s central Ghor Province have destroyed a tent settlement where hundreds of flood victims were temporarily sheltered… The Taliban government promised to build new housing, but no construction — or even basic aid — has materialized as winter weather looms.”
“‘No more water here’: How drought is leaving Mongolia’s farmers fighting for survival…
“Mongolia’s vast, enchanting landscapes are drying up. Hundreds of rivers, lakes and mountain springs have evaporated due to rising temperatures and a lack of rainfall.”
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-10-15/how-drought-is-threatening-mongolias-traditional-way-of-life
“Aging farmers face extreme temperatures as they struggle to maintain Japan’s rice crop…
“In the remote village of Kamimomi in Japan’s western Okayama prefecture, a small group of rice farmers began their most recent harvest in sweltering heat, two weeks sooner than usual.”
“SE ASIA ENDLESS RECORD HEAT. Nearly 600 consecutive days breaking records every single day in Indonesia and Thailand.
“Today Hottest October night in history set at: TMINS Indonesia: 26.8 [80.2F] Sumbawa Airport, 25.5 Rengat; Thailand: 25.5 Phrasang.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1846713137388540180
“A hailstorm described by locals as the worst in living memory has smashed a Victorian town [Australia], damaging cars and homes and forcing businesses to shut.
“Giant hail and torrential rain from a severe thunderstorm pummelled Casterton, a historic town in western Victoria, on Wednesday afternoon.”
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2024/10/17/casterton-supercell-storm
“PACIFIC ISLANDS RECORD HEAT – record heat is sweeping all tropics including the Pacific Ocean, especially of hottest night.
“Last one to fall October Highest Minimum: 28.3C [82.9F] Bonriki, KIRIBATI. Record of October hottest nights also in Vanuatu, Tonga, Micronesia and Marshall Islands.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1846645423576174701
“Ecuador’s power cuts to continue until December, says Energy Minister… Ecuador is facing its worst drought in six decades, which has led to a 1,080-megawatt energy deficit…
“The energy crisis worsened on September 30, after Colombia, also suffering from severe drought, announced the temporary suspension of electricity exports to Ecuador.”
“HISTORIC HEAT IN THE CARIBBEAN.
“ARUBA just had its hottest night in history (tied) with a minimum temperature of 29.2C [84.6F], which ties the same minimum set last month. 2023 Nino records are being destroyed in pieces in every single tropical country and it will just get worse.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1846204656864629190
“An extreme Category 4 marine heatwave has developed in the Tropical Atlantic.
“A maximum Alert Level 5 for coral bleaching has been issued for the eastern Caribbean and Lesser Antilles, indicating a risk of near-complete mortality for coral in the region.”
https://x.com/US_Stormwatch/status/1846306707946999970
“The San Juan metropolitan area [Puerto Rico] set a temperature record for consecutive days above 90°F on Tuesday — 37 days…
“The milestone reinforces the need for authorities, along with citizens, to continue monitoring and preparing for the impacts of the extreme weather that much of the island has been experiencing in recent weeks.”
https://www.sanjuandailystar.com/post/new-high-temperature-record-set-for-san-juan
“The final data has confirmed that Milton broke atmospheric moisture records across parts of the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Florida.
“Precipitable water values associated with the hurricane were more than 20% higher than previous records in some areas.”
https://x.com/BenNollWeather/status/1846352582354329835
“The Diamondbacks are facing a climate problem. They aren’t alone among US sports teams…
“The Arizona Diamondbacks have a climate problem. To be more precise, Phoenix has a climate problem and, as a result, the Diamondbacks have a field that needs renovations if the team is going to keep fans cool – and no one is sure whose responsibility it is to pay for it.”
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/oct/16/arizona-diamondbacks-climate-change-chase-field
“Mass bird deaths in botulism outbreak are linked to climate crisis [California]…
“An ongoing outbreak of botulism, a bacterial illness that causes muscle paralysis, has killed more than 94,000 birds at Tule Lake national wildlife refuge in northern California, the worst such outbreak at the lake ever recorded…”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/16/bird-deaths-botulism-climate-crisis
“Drought shrivels cotton, delays wheat planting in US Plains…
“Hot and dry conditions across the U.S. South and Great Plains have sapped soil moisture, disrupted cotton production and delayed the start of planting season for growers of winter wheat.”
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/drought-us-cotton-wheat-texas/729659/
“Wyoming rangers stop blowing up dead horses due to wildfire risk.
“The temporary pause in the seemingly bizarre and somewhat gruesome policy comes as a lengthy dry spell in the state’s backcountry combines with hotter-than-usual temperatures, increasing the possibility of wildfires.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/16/wyoming-blowing-up-dead-horses-wildfires
“Real-estate marketplace Zillow to show climate risk data on home listings…
“…the scores show a home’s climate risk based on how susceptible it is to flooding or wildfire or heat, air quality and wind damage. So the scores estimate a home’s current risk and its risk 15 and 30 years in the future because that’s how long typical mortgage loans are. “
“The global surface temperature anomaly continues to hover around 1.6°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial baseline.
“There won’t be a “new normal” for a very long time.”
https://x.com/EliotJacobson/status/1846191160278265997
“Could Space Technology be the Climate Change Solution?
“…With continued advancements, space technology offers hope for a sustainable, energy-secure future, playing a crucial role in achieving the near reaching net-zero targets of the Paris Agreement and protecting our planet.”
https://sustainabilitymag.com/articles/space-technology-extraterrestrial-combating-climate-change
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You can read the previous “Economic” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “Climate” thread.
I may have missed this here but this was in the Times yesterday. It may be so predictable as to not really count as news.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/england-stalled-and-going-backwards-on-cop16-nature-goals-8mzfnh0md
Less than a week before nearly 200 countries convene in Colombia for talks on stopping extinctions and habitat destruction, a coalition including the National Trust, RSPB and the Zoological Society of London found that England is not fully on track for any of its UN biodiversity goals. On tackling chemicals and how climate change is affecting nature, it is judged to have gone backwards.
Nations are meeting in Cali from October 21 for UN biodiversity negotiations to halt and reverse a “sixth mass extinction”, a 73 per cent average decline in wildlife populations since 1970.
Britain was seen as a key player in forging the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022. The deal drew up 23 targets for nations to meet by 2030. Among those is a goal of protecting 30 per cent of land and oceans, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
However, a ranking of progress in England — broken down into 26 categories to reflect differences such as land and seas — suggests there is much work to be done.
George, I posted an article the other day about a WWF “stocktake”, which found wildlife numbers to have declined by 73% in 50 years – but this article about England failing to meet its biodiversity aims is new, if not a surprise, to me.
Our waterway are full of sewage, our butterfly numbers at record lows, one in six of our species threatened with extinction etc. so my hopes weren’t high.
Massive flooding or severe drought – which do you prefer?
Can’t decide! Reminds me of Robert Frost’s poem, Fire and Ice.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44263/fire-and-ice
Rusty, we may not have to choose, as we’ll probably get lots of whiplashing between the two. Oh, the joys!
Scotland strangely warm today with temps as high as 18C [64.4F] in places…
Hello Pan… I have written just a ‘report of my own’ today for my readers. Up here in the mountains, over 700 litres fell in 36 hours. Too bad you can’t upload photos….
Code red… I was the last one allowed to cross the bridge.
The area where I live is called ‘Mezenc, Loire Sauvage’. That was coined by the tourism office in my sous prefecture of Monastier. The ‘wild Loire’, it always made me laugh a little, because usually, here, on the upper reaches, near the sources of the Loire, it doesn’t amount to much.
But you can be wrong about that and especially during a period of Cevenol that started just about yesterday morning with so much rain that the amateur‘ pluiviometers’ couldn’t cope. Anyway we are used to some things, but yesterday it kept raining and then things change.
The manhole covers in my village were just barely coming up but you could hear the water roaring in the streams flowing down the slopes. And they flow somewhere…. to the Loire !
When I was on my way back home this morning, after some shopping in Le Puy, I always drive over the Loire bridge at Coubon, a friendly village on the banks of the river,
As I drove up, it immediately became clear to me that something was not right at all. Police everywhere, sapeurs and at the bridge groups of people everywhere, looking worriedly at the now really ‘Loire sauvage’.
I was one of the last cars allowed to cross and then the bridge was closed first to traffic and not much later, by order of the prefect, also to pedestrians.
The riverbank, the playground and Coubon’s little park had literally been swallowed up by the river. And now aluminium walls were hastily erected by emergency services to hold back the ‘washing water’ and prevent the church and café from suffering the same fate. An emergency centre was even set up again with volunteers quickly called in, who had matching brightly coloured vests indicating that they belonged to the ‘emergency centre’.
Meanwhile, the Loire itself had turned into a roaring stream that as I stood watching uprooted dozens of trees and dragged them downstream with it like matchsticks.
The groups of people standing around the sapeurs were busily consulting with each other and especially with them ‘how things were going’. Bad… !!! that was obvious, but it could be worse. On top of the plateaus of the Ardeche it was even more of a chaos, with whole villages under water and roads swept away.
In Coubon itself, the water had never been this high, except in 1984, one of the villagers told me, pointing to the markings on the walls of the local café ‘de la Loire’.
Indeed the crue of 1984 ! Well that’s going to be exciting, because especially what’s coming down from the plateaus and mountains of the Ardeche at the top is going to determine whether the ‘magic’ limit of 1984 is crossed.
As I drove back up safely to my village at 1,000 metres, without the chance of ‘mud and landslides’, I drove past the ‘Pays de Mezenc Loire-Sauvage’ sign.
It’s true, I thought, the weather extremes are increasing and the river, I fear, will increasingly live up to its name. Until tomorrow morning, the situation seems to remain critical.
Well just hope the aluminium weirs hold.
Good grief, Zip! Scary shit. 😱 Glad you are safe. Seems like everyone is going to get a turn soon with these extremes.
Zip, my thread was published before I caught wind of these floods but I’d been wondering if you were affected. Glad you are in one piece.
Apparently, as much as 630 mm (24.8 inches) has fallen over the past 48 hours – similar to the sorts of totals we saw in western NC due to Helene, albeit over a slightly longer period. Some footage of floating cars on X to illustrate the mayhem:
“The town of Rive-de-Gier in France this afternoon… THIS IS NOT NORMAL!”
https://x.com/volcaholic1/status/1846902216046592288
As far as I can see, we are far from there! Meanwhile, it is raining unrealistically hard again. I know that valley of De Gier well. It is my main road to Lyon a fairly narrow valley that is very vulnerable. I remember a period when the fast road was closed for several winter months stupid road around the road was swept away. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if you see even more lousy scenes passing by tomorrow,
Yikes – even worse than I thought. Batten down those hatches, Zip!
“An infoclimat weather station in La Croix de Bozon recorded an astonishing 824 mm (34 inches) of rain over the last 48 hours.”
https://x.com/WxNB_/status/1846971957264142791
You would think that such occurrences would temper our love of extreme spots, extreme wrestling, extreme driving, extreme ownership (these are all actual terms used by mass media) extreme, well, ANYthing, but I find that not to be the case:
My fellow US citizens are so besotted with the concept of their own exceptionalism and the connection of the Extreme with that perception, it’s highly unlikely they’re about to dial back their embrace of it despite the fact that extreme weather, extreme QE, extreme fire danger, extreme weapons build-up to such Overkill capacity we can incinerate anything that gets in our way, having built up our military arsenal to such an extreme degree we can obliterate every living person on the planet hundreds of times over for no more reason than that it enables the Pentagon and their Neo-con Masters in their extreme desire to maintain extreme military control over every nation in the world, as per its well-published extreme goal of Full-Spectrum Domination over the entire Globe.
Is that too extreme?
https://robertlowrey.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-hoax-that-chokes-extremes-greatest.html
Thank you, Rob. I had actually never realised that there was a connection between the high suicide rates of Indian farmers and Monsanto etc, as mentioned in your article. I knew debt-problems were a big part of the equation but didn’t know that it was often to Monsanto they were indebted:
“His photos tell the stories of Baby Bai Viwodratnod, 52, Sampati Tara Songh, 58, Vimal Vishnu Chavan, 40, Anita Raju Pawn, 36 – widows who recount how their husbands borrowed money to pay for Monsanto’s GM cotton seeds as well as chemicals and other supplies.
“When the GM cotton seeds failed to produce enough crops and generate sufficient revenue, the extreme levels of stress and pressure of unsustainable debt led farmers to take their own lives.”
https://www.globaljustice.org.uk/blog/2016/09/story-behind-monsantos-malicious-monopolies-india/
Also, you have tangentially reminded me of this rather good Men at Work song. Haven’t listened to it in years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY7S6EgSlCI
Thanx for the link, does that mean my use of the word “extreme “ was a bit Overkill?
Btw, the EIA updater on my site has so-called US biofuel (wherein they go on pretending that it’s possible that something called fossil fuels aren’t a subset of biofuels, which are defined as being “derived from biological sources”, you know, like fossils) production, calling biodiesel renewable, so as to more easily ignore the fact that being renewable has nothing to do with it’s being sustainable (which, of course, it isn’t). All diesel is renewable until the oil runs out (which, btw, here in the US, it already has. The product of light/tight “oil” that fracturing produces is heavy on the light, which means it cannot be used to make diesel, which the US has to import). IE, biodiesel from soybean oil (1/2 of US soybean production is used to fuel machines) is no more renewable than biodiesel from petroleum.
Agriculture is more oil-intensive than manufacturing, yet again and again its products are hailed as being renewable (which they are … until the oil runs out) despite the fact that industrial agriculture is impossible without heavy usage of unsustainable carbon-spewing inputs. Whatta woild, whatta woild.
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=63465
Bang on Rob! The rough estimate for energy return on energy invested (EROEI) for western style industrial agriculture – seed to pantry – is 0.1 – that is we use 10 calories of fossil fuel to deliver each edible calorie in the pantry. It’s better for foods with less processing involved. A back of the envelope EROEI calculation I did for a loaf of bread in New Zealand was 0.75 – so still energy negative. These numbers are getting worse year by year as the EROEI to produce and deliver diesel gets worse and worse as we exploit harder and more difficult to reach oil.
Hello, my friends 🙂
I have been a bit lax on following climate issues of late… when I follow anything newsy, its been the hellish carbon emmitting wars busy depopulating. Misanthropists can raise their spirits, with lots of human animal parasites going, going the way of the dinosaur..But its getting boring now..
But weather/climate for me, the wind, the winds..the storms .. the winds.. the gales.. wet wind.. dry wind.. cloudy wind.. sunny wind.. trees crashing … unidentified objects crashing .. windows rattling… scared dogs .. and one little 10-yr-old scaredycat … net connection slowing, going..returning.. slowing going..
Power holding. For now.
Ive been locked-down for days.. winds still too strong for safe walking, let alone driving… back to home deliveries, I guess heavy trucks can still do it ?
“Severe Thunderstorm Warnings” every hour on the hour, all over the eastern seaboard ..
Bleh ..
Sounds gnarly, Rain. I hope it eases up soon and your pets get some peace.
“Broken Hill hit by ‘possible tornado’, as storms affect mining operations at Olympic Dam…
“Parts of SA were hit with 130 kilometre per hour wind gusts, and over 130,000 lightning strikes in 24 hours, with mining operations at Olympic Dam impacted. Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said mining operations could be impacted for up to a week.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-18/severe-storms-hit-south-australia-and-broken-hill/104487874
Shows you how climate change is affecting people on this blog, almost simultaneously, Zip, Rain, Cassandra and Panoptican’s UK with ongoing rain and floods. Nobody is unaffected by this unraveling catastrophe.
This might be of interest to some people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nml3HWvjqE
Thank you, Curt. Nitrous Oxide is a very underreported piece of the climate jigsaw puzzle.
“Nitrous oxide emissions grew 40 percent from 1980 to 2020… Concentrations of this potent greenhouse gas are higher than all major model projections.”
https://research.noaa.gov/2024/06/12/nitrous-oxide-emissions-grew-40-percent-from-1980-to-2020-accelerating-climate-change/
Nitrous Oxide – we were going to be taken to the European court for our pollution, before Brexit – happened to look up the damage it does:
Cognitive function – decline in attention, memory retention, and problem-solving abilities.
Mood Disorders – anxiety and depression, inflammation or oxidative stress induced by pollutants affecting brain function.
Stress Response – increased cortisol, affects cancer as well as mental health issues
I wrote to an MP – being as Labour were supposed to bring in a clean air bill, no answer so far.
I suppose it all just adds to the list …
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/656/65606.htm
Nitrous Oxide (NO2)
Nitrous oxide account for 6% of human caused greenhouse gas emissions. It stays in the atmosphere about 114 years on average and has a global warming impact of 298 times that of CO2 on a 100-year time scale.
https://www.caro.ie/knowledge-hub/general-information/science-of-climate-change/greenhouse-gases
Nitrous Oxide apparently no laughing matter, Mad Hatter.
I’ll get my coat…