Enormous thanks to my anonymous donor for May, who wishes to call attention to Rob Mielcarski’s thought-provoking un-denial site, also featured in my blogroll, which looks at overshoot and related issues.
“Breaking News! Code Yikes!
“The global temperature anomaly for April, 2025, came in at 1.51°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial baseline, making April, 2025 the second hottest on record behind only 2024… The year-to-date anomaly is currently at 1.61°C above pre-industrial.”
[Prof Eliot Jacobson]
https://bsky.app/profile/climatecasino.net/post/3lo6upiydhc24
“Global mean temperatures have been at or near record high levels again over the last week or so (for this time of year).” [Zack Labe]
https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com/post/3lo4bm3o5hc2k
“Winter warming and extreme rain events pose overlooked threat to Arctic life…
“Even short surges of wild winter weather — 24 hours of rainfall on snow-covered ground, for example — can decimate animal and plant populations and change an ecosystem for generations. One such rain-on-snow event in 2023 killed nearly 20,000 musk oxen in the Canadian Arctic.”
“Forests taking longer to recover from severe ‘megafires’ since 2010… potentially indicating forest decline…
“The research, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, finds a “significant increase” in the severity of forest fires from 2001-10 to 2010-21 – especially in western North America, parts of Siberia and south-eastern Australia.”
https://www.carbonbrief.org/forests-taking-longer-to-recover-from-severe-megafires-since-2010/
“Three firefighters deployed to battle the devastating wildfires in Russia’s Far East Zabaikalsky region were found dead on Friday, the region’s environment ministry announced.
“The news comes just days after the region’s fire safety chief Rinat Khismatulin resigned “at his own initiative.””
“Blizzards blanketed Moscow in snow on Friday in a historic first for the season, toppling trees onto cars and causing power outages for tens of thousands of residents in the wider region.
“The snowfall marks the first time that Moscow’s base weather station has recorded snow cover on May 2 in its 75 years of operations…”
“It’s been the sunniest April for the UK since records began in 1910, with 47% more sunshine hours than the long-term meteorological average, according to provisional Met Office figures.
“It was also the sunniest April on record for England, and the second sunniest for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.”
“The record has been broken for the UK’s warmest start to May with temperatures reaching 29.3C [84.7F] in London, the Met Office confirms.
“The highest temperature was in Kew Gardens today, beating the record set in Lossiemouth in Scotland in 1990.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cwy0mwvx04lt
“Glut of early fruit and veg hits UK as climate change closes ‘hungry gap’. Warm weather means strawberries, aubergines and tomatoes have come weeks earlier than expected…
“Nick Haigh, a grower at the Community Farm south of Bristol, said many of their Mediterranean vegetables had come weeks earlier than expected.”
“[April] breaking records: Belgium has already had its first official summer day…
“Temperatures reached 25°C on 12 April, marking the earliest summer day on record since this weather observation began in 1892, according to the April climate report from the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI).”
“SUMMER DAY – 30.4 [86.7F] in Germany, 35 stations >29C! Exceptional day for a May 2nd.
“Some areas in NW Europe which had near 30C these days, might see some ground frosts in few days. So be careful with your apricots, cherries, peaches, almonds etc.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1918337228956193031
“Lesvos Declares State of Emergency Amid Severe Water Shortage [Greece]…
“Civil Protection authorities have implemented water-saving initiatives, including installing devices in public facilities, marking non-potable water sources, and launching public awareness campaigns. Local officials emphasise the urgency of these measures…”
https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/05/02/lesvos-declares-state-of-emergency-amid-severe-water-shortage/
“Frequent heat and drought events in southwestern Europe are reducing ecosystems’ capacity to absorb CO₂, according to a recent study…
“According to data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics, this reduction meant that vegetation in the affected areas of southwestern Europe stopped absorbing more CO₂ than Spain emitted in the same year.”
https://phys.org/news/2025-05-droughts-ability-absorb.html
“EXCEPTIONAL HEAT IN SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE – it’s late autumn but it’s like summer like in SOUTH AFRICA:
“35.6 [96.1F] Skukuza, 34.5 Hoedspruit, 34.2 Thoyondou… MADAGASCAR: 37.5 Mahajunga. Also very hot also in MOZAMBIQUE: Tmin 25.0 Tete.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1918212583250645166
“‘Every year now feels like a one-in-100-year flood’ — Life below the Vaal Dam in a changing climate [South Africa]…
“The Vaal Dam and River are not just isolated water bodies but part of the complex Integrated Vaal River System, crucial for water security in South Africa, supporting millions of people and a significant portion of the national economy.”
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-03-life-below-the-vaal-dam-in-a-changing-climate/
“Flash floods displace 45,000 people across Somalia as humanitarian needs outpace aid funding…
“Despite growing needs, Somalia’s 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 10 percent funded as of April 30. OCHA is appealing to partners to urgently scale up emergency support—particularly shelter, sanitation, and relocation assistance…”
“UAE Has Hottest April on Record as Average Daily High Tops 42C [107.6F]…
“Climate change, combined with hot, dry winds blowing off the Saudi desert, resulted in unusually high temperatures, according to the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology…”
“A small recap as this unbelievable heat wave in SW Asia (which will continue and intensify in May) with the April national records broken:
“Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. One event which is rewriting completely world climatic history.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1917833795119558863
“Severe dust storm sweeps 9 Arab states, worsening Gaza’s plight…
“The storm, reported in Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, led to school closures, suspended exams, and safety warnings in several countries, Anadolu correspondents reported.”
“Disastrous back-to-back heatwaves and droughts surge across Eurasia.
“Regions from Ukraine to Mongolia are seeing a spike in paired heatwave-drought events as climate change alters weather patterns across the planet… “the present trend is just way outside of natural variability”, says Hans Linderholm at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.”
“Central Asia’s Looming Water Crisis: A Ticking Time Bomb…
“For decades, the five Central Asian republics have tiptoed around a growing water crisis. The two major rivers that sustain life in this arid region, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, are now so contested and depleted that what was once a technical issue has metastasized into a geopolitical threat.”
https://timesca.com/central-asias-looming-water-crisis-a-ticking-time-bomb/
“Water sharing dispute between Punjab [Indian state bordering Pakistan] and Haryana [to the south]: what happened, why…
“Amid escalating tensions with Haryana over water sharing, all parties in Punjab came together on Friday to reject the Bhakra Beas Management Boards’s (BBMB’s) decision to release an extra 4,500 cusecs of water to Haryana.”
“Uttarakhand’s extreme weather wreaks havoc on crops, livelihoods & futures [Northern India]…
“In Uttarakhand, extreme weather events like droughts, erratic rainfall and hailstorms have severely affected farming, leading to lower crop yields, increased pests and financial distress for farmers.”
“Four Killed, Over 120 Flights Delayed in Delhi-NCR Due to Heavy Rain and Dust Storm.
“Heavy rainfall caused waterlogging in multiple areas of the city, including Dwarka, Khanpur, Minto Road, Lajpat Nagar, and Moti Bagh. Authorities have advised residents to stay indoors…”
“Compound marine heatwaves and tropical cyclones delay the onset of the Bay of Bengal summer monsoon…
“As global warming intensifies, extreme events such as floods, heatwaves, and droughts increasingly compound across multiple spatiotemporal scales. When such extreme events occur concurrently or in succession, their combined effects can lead to far more severe consequences than individual events alone.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-025-01061-5
“ABSOLUTE INSANITY IN CHINA – dozens of records of May highest temperatures pulverized despite being the beginning of the month. Over 40C [104F] again in the Northwest.
“Over 100 countries and dozens of thousands of stations have seen heat records in these 2 days of May.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1918352572487762196
“Torrential rain battered Pattaya City in Chonburi province [Thailand] early Saturday morning, causing severe flooding in multiple areas across the city.
“The downpour, which lasted for over three hours, submerged streets and rendered many routes impassable for both small and large vehicles.”
https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40049525
“RECORD HEAT IN INDONESIA:
“Record heat is sweeping all Oceania and Indian Ocean and Indonesia is not an exception. Today Minimum temperature of 26.2C [79.2F] at Gorontalo, a record high minimum for May, after breaking those of all previous months of 2025 and 2024.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1918251621504426021
“Climate Change Threatens Indonesia’s Historic Clove Farms…
“Colonial powers once sought to wipe out cloves grown by locals on the eastern Indonesian island of Ternate to safeguard their monopoly over the prized crop. Today farmers say the gravest threat to their plants is climate change.”
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/climate-change-threatens-indonesias-historic-clove-farms-8311687
“Heavy rains cause damage in southern Cali, Colombia…
“According to Suárez, vital avenues such as Pasoancho and Carrera 80 were submerged, causing extensive traffic jams and immobilizing vehicles. The Meléndez sector experienced the greatest rainfall intensity, reaching 125 millimeters [five inches] per hour.”
https://www.telesurtv.net/lluvias-generan-afectaciones-en-cali-colombia/
“State of emergency declared in Gaspar Hernández due to flooding [Dominican Republic].
“Senator Carlos Gómez …called for a state of emergency to be declared for the entire Espaillat province, due to the collapse of housing and the high number of families who have lost everything. He emphasized the urgent need for the State to act swiftly and with solidarity.”
“Residents of the municipality of Ciénega de Flores, Nuevo León [Mexico], were given a major scare when baseball-sized hail fell , causing havoc in the community and damaging some people’s cars.
“Residents of the municipality shared some videos with ABC News , in which it is possible to see that the hail fell accompanied by heavy rain.”
https://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/granizo-destruye-autos-nuevo-leon-video/1713717
“Hawaii lawmakers raise state’s hotel tax to help islands cope with climate change.
“Hawaii lawmakers passed on Friday first-of-its-kind legislation that will increase the state’s lodging tax to raise money for environmental protection and strengthening defenses against climate change -fueled natural disasters.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hawaii-lawmakers-raise-states-hotel-tax-islands-cope-121416295
“Los Angeles homeowners begin to rebuild after devastating wildfires…
“In the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, construction workers recently began placing wooden beams to frame a house on a lot where only a charred fireplace remains standing.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/los-angeles-malibu-colorado-california-hawaii-b2743500.html
“More heavy rain and flooding possible as storms in the Plains begin to shift East…
“Walters, in southwest Oklahoma, has logged 10.14 inches since Sunday night, and another round of heavy rains is slated for Thursday night. The potential zone of severe weather spans from Cleveland to Amarillo, Texas.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025/05/01/rain-floods-storms-central-eastern-forecast/
“April 2025 was Asheville’s warmest April on record…
“The average temperature was 61.4 degrees Fahrenheit [16.3C]. For the first time on record, low temperatures averaged 50 degrees or warmer. There was no official freeze in April.”
“It’s summer in the DC area: Widespread Minimum temperatures >70F/21C again, at record levels for this time of the year and typical of mid summer.
“Max temperatures expected in the mid 80s today and tomorrow with nights around 70F.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1918379988816171169
“Collapsing bird numbers in North America prompt fears of ecological crisis – research…
“Analysis of nearly 500 bird species across North America has found that three-quarters are declining across their ranges, with two-thirds of the total shrinking significantly.”
“The world’s oceans are heating in two distinct bands circling the globe, with potentially far-reaching implications for weather patterns and marine ecosystems.
“New research reveals these warming zones are located near 40 degrees latitude in both hemispheres, creating a striking pattern that has emerged since 2005.”
https://scienceblog.com/ocean-heat-bands-reshape-global-climate-patterns/
“Can the financial sector cope with a changing climate?
“…even as households and the public sector shoulder more of the costs from climate change, some economists doubt the financial system can remain insulated. One risk channel is US regional banks, which are heavily exposed to residential real estate.”
https://www.ft.com/content/518af744-e66c-48d1-bcc3-4b041fa7c98b
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You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
Day four after the storm. No power still. There are two live electrical wires down in our street, one hanging loose and one tangled in a fallen tree. Both are still live and the fallen tree is still in the road. Duquesne Light, woefully unprepared for this, keeps pushing back estimated repair dates for everyone. Multiple schools around me with no power and downed live wires. I don’t really mind it that much, I’m doing a lot of reading and writing, but I get a lot of sympathy at work.
Thanks for your work Pantastic
oh panny boy
the pipes
THE PIPES
are caaaallllliiiinnnnggggg
You are welcome, John. 😂
Hope your power comes back on soon. We can muddle through power cuts quite effectively on Islay – which is good because we get a lot of them – with head-torches, gas for cooking, wood-burning stove etc. but my patience would be wearing very thin after four days, I must admit.
Australia follows Canada, Trump affect?
We dodged a bullet, but status quo remains.
Back to business as usual. Coal, gas anyone?
Looks like it Sean, that sure was an unexpectedly big landslide, 86 seats (with 18 still to finish counting 🙂
The lesser of evils, for another 3 years for Aussies.
Stability is at least better than the alternatives.
Rain, I saw your comment to Kali yesterday about how Australia uses paper ballots (and also preferential voting) and results are usually ready within a few hours or at most a few days. (Electronic voting available for absentee and early voting.) What is the big resistance to that in US? Oh, I guess neither party would be able to hack the machines, which has without doubt happened numerous times (can you say “Dominion”?). (Big picture, no matter – we are all going down.)
“Stability is at least better than the alternatives.”
Rain, that is very much my outlook. Anyone with the urge to really shake things up with bold new ideas, left or right, unnerves me. The Lynne Truss bond market debacle is still all too fresh in my mind.
For the first time, Nigel Farage as Prime Minister is no longer an outlandish possibility:
“In the first week of 2025, Nigel Farage told me his ultimate goal was to become prime minister. It stuck in my mind that he chose to add: “I’m not joking.”
“Nobody in the two traditional main parties finds his stunning success this week funny. “Farage is no longer someone we can just laugh off,” a former Conservative cabinet minister told me.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx20zgwve43o
Holy hell, that’s our reality…
Y, unfortunately it is. Welcome to the site, btw.
Seems like both the Canucks and us Aussies looked at the conservative candidates in our elections and said “Yeah… nah.” Lesser of two evils indeed. So glad “Temu Trump” Peter Dutton didn’t get in.
James, I didn’t think I knew the name but I Googled him and he’s the guy who obfuscated on climate change in the lead-up to the election saying that, as a non-scientist, he wasn’t qualified to say whether it was real or not.
Yeah Peter Dutton is a nutter when it comes to climate change. This is what was reported of him nary a year prior (just one example, mind you):
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/duttons-climate-policy-is-a-disaster/
Great news is, in addition to losing the election, Dutton also lost his electoral seat. Leading to this joke I found on Aussie social media:
“What’s the difference between a toilet and Peter Dutton?
They are both full of shit but at least one has a seat.” 😀
I just finished participating in my neighborhood’s annual trash pickup along the main road outside our neighborhood. Definitely renews my disgust with homo sapiens!
My youngest is part of his school’s eco-group that does trash pick-ups on the beaches. It’s amazing how much detritus washes up even here.
I was extremely busy yesterday & today, doing a lot of nothing & didn’t get to the Climate report until just now. At least I wasn’t alone accomplishing nothing, just like the 8 billion failing to face the problem that brought us to this station. Let’s all get back on the train, we wouldn’t want to miss the coming crash down the tracks.