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.
“Warming in the Arctic is intensifying methane emissions, contributing to a vicious feedback loop that could accelerate climate change even more, according to a new study published in Nature…
“While previous studies have shown fossil fuel production accounts for 30% of global methane emissions, Lan and colleagues have noticed a steady increase in emissions from microbial sources since 2007.”
https://phys.org/news/2025-05-vicious-methane-emissions-wetlands-exacerbate.html
“Last month was statistically tied for the lowest April snow cover on record across the Northern Hemisphere.
“Springtime snow decline has consistently been an indicator of a warming cryosphere and results in changes to surface albedo properties.” [Zack Labe]
https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com/post/3lpclkreitc2p
“Ice melt opens up enormous cracks in Greenland’s ice sheet.
“Thomas Chudley is a glaciologist at Durham University in the U.K. In a new study, he and his colleagues found that between 2016 and 2021, Greenland’s ice sheet gained more than 900 million cubic meters of crevasses. That has dangerous implications.”
“New May Temperature Record Set in Iceland.
“Iceland recorded its highest ever May temperature today, with 26.3°C [79.3F] measured at Egilsstaðir Airport. The record-setting heat coincides with a forecast of warm, dry weather across the country and an early opening of Reykjavík’s Nauthólsvík beach.”
https://www.icelandreview.com/news/new-may-temperature-record-set-in-iceland/
“Heat buildup in the Atlantic could cause Europe’s hottest summer ever recorded in 2025.
“According to researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, current simulations suggest that such a heat accumulation has occurred again—and has been for several years now… climate change is happening faster than long believed.”
“The UK has already recorded more sunshine hours so far this spring, than it did for the whole of meteorological summer last year, according to provisional Met Office statistics.
“Data up until 15 May shows the UK has had 529.0 hours of sunshine so far this spring – beating the 491.6 hours the UK had in total last summer.”
https://x.com/metoffice/status/1923342966019575840
“A glacier and rock collapse near the Bietschhorn [Switzerland] has triggered a debris flow in the Lötschental valley. Experts warn of further spontaneous collapses and hiking trails have been closed…
“…one thing is certain: The area is unstable. Locals report that there have been repeated minor movements there in recent years – especially in the warmer months.”
“Top winemaker ‘may have to leave its Spanish vineyards due to climate crisis’.
““Irrigation is the future. We do not rely on the weather,” said Familia Torres’ 83-year-old president, Miguel Torres. “I don’t know how long we can stay here making good wines, maybe 20 or 30 years, I don’t know. Climate change is changing all the circumstances.””
“A freak hail and rain storm has struck southern Spain, leaving renowned tourist hotspots covered in ice and overrun with flood waters.
“Huge hailstones and heavy rain pelted parts of the Costa Blanca yesterday, forcing stunned holidaymakers to run for cover and turning roads into raging rivers.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14718719/xx.html
“Flood in Kadirli district of Osmaniye: Dozens of vehicles swept away by floodwaters [Turkey]…
“The heavy rain that suddenly started in the evening hours and gradually increased in the Kadirli district paralyzed life. While floods occurred due to the rain, the roads turned into lakes.”
“Deadly floods in Algeria: roads cut, livestock drowned, and infrastructure destroyed.
“For several days, heavy rainfall has been hitting several wilayas in central and southern Algeria… Images shared online show devastated roads, collapsed infrastructure, vehicles swept away by the waters, and even the death of livestock, highlighting the exceptional violence of the storms.”
“RECORD HEAT IN THE GULF OF GUINEA:
Years of endless record heat in the area with records broken every month of 2023, 2024 and 2025. Last 2 days we had: GABON 35.3 [95.5F] Franceville Monthly record; EQUATORIAL GUINEA Min 27.0 Malabo HOTTEST MAY NIGHT IN HISTORY.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1922956340097319203
“EXCEPTIONAL HEAT IN SOUTHERN AFRICA:
“UNBELIEVABLE 39.9 Alexander Baaai – 11C+ hotter than mid summer average! HISTORIC IN NAMBIA; 25.9 MINIMUM WALVIS BAY AP – HOTTEST MAY NIGHT IN NAMIBIAN HISTORY.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1923414178007564336
“State issues urgent evacuation order as Kiambere Dam overflows, flood fears rise in Lower Tana [Kenya].
“Heavy and prolonged rains over the Mt Kenya and Aberdare catchment areas have caused the dam to exceed its full supply level, creating a high risk for communities in low-lying areas.”
“Dust storm blankets Tehran after hitting Iraq.
“A severe dust storm, which had already choked several western Iranian provinces, swept eastward on May 15, reaching as far north as the capital city of Tehran in a dense cloud of dust around midday, Shargh daily reported.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/dust-storm-blankets-tehran-after-hitting-iraq/ar-AA1EQAF0
“HISTORIC HEAT IN CENTRAL ASIA:
“44.8 /112.6F CHINA [suspect this is May national record]; 36.6 SIBERIA Ugloskoye; KYRGYZSTAN 38.7 Talas 1200m also above June record! UZBEKISTAN 43.4 Tamdy; TOTAL MADNESS IN KAZAKHSTAN: 2 stations 44C 25 stations >40!
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1923446080772940196
“Afghan capital losing race against water shortages.
“Kabul faces a looming water crisis, driven by unruly and rapid urbanisation, mismanagement over years of conflict, and climate change, meaning people are sometimes forced to choose between food and water.”
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1312347-afghan-capital-losing-race-against-water-shortages
“‘On thin ice’: UN chief sounds alarm over rapid Himalayan glacier melt…
“Glaciers in the region have served for centuries as vital freshwater reservoirs. Their accelerated melt now threatens not only local communities but vast populations downstream who rely on Himalayan-fed rivers.”
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163376
“India to Draw More from Indus Waters, Plans Doubling of Ranbir Canal Capacity…
“After suspending India’s participation in the treaty, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered officials to expedite the planning and execution of projects on the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers, three bodies of water in the Indus system that are designated primarily for Pakistan’s use…”
“Farmers’ body urges Centre to utilise Indus River water to tackle irrigation woes in North India…
““It’s time to correct the errors of previous governments concerning the Indus Water Treaty, which favours Pakistan over Indian farmers,” stated Dharmendra Mallik, spokesperson for BKU (Non-political).”
“Heavy rains hit southern China, with 360mm [14+ inches] of rain falling in Beiliu, Guangxi in 12 hours, causing floods in many rivers.”
[Jim Yang]
https://x.com/yangyubin1998/status/1923619999471763659
“Heavy downpours drenched much of South Korea on Friday, with rainfall in some parts of the greater Seoul area reaching an extreme 70 millimeters (2.8 inches) per hour.
“Weather authorities issued heavy rain warnings in multiple locations, warning that more precipitation is expected…”
“For the first time since records began in 1951, southern Kyushu entered the rainy season before Japan’s southwestern islands.
“A strong Pacific high is pushing the rainy season front northward, even bringing a record May temp to Amagi.” [Sayaka Mori]
https://x.com/sayakasofiamori/status/1923461666739568907
“ENDLESS RECORD HEAT IN INDONESIA:
“Every single day for more than 2 years, Indonesia has been breaking record after record. Last one to fall: 35.8C [96.4F] Kaimana (West Papua) May Hottest temperature on record.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1923157182310179196
“Koalas face death, attacks and starvation as blue gums chopped down in Victoria.
“Thousands of koalas are being displaced each year as blue gum plantations are cut down in Victoria, worsening overcrowding in nearby forests and exacerbating the risk of injury and death during bushfires.”
“On a remote Australian island [Lord Howe], the birds are so full of plastic they crunch.
“The latest trip led to the discovery of a dead bird with 778 individual pieces of plastic packed into its stomach “like a brick,” Bond said. It beat last year’s grim record in which a bird was found to contain about 400 pieces.”
“Huge ice falls at glacier in Argentina stir awe and concern.
“For years, visitors have watched in awe as blocks of ice – some the size of a 20-story building – collapse from Argentina’s Perito Moreno glacier. But recently, the size of the ice chunks breaking off – a process called “calving” – has alarmed local guides and glaciologists.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/huge-ice-falls-glacier-argentina-211949232.html
“EXCEPTIONAL WARMTH IN SOUTH AMERICA:
“It’s like summer despite the calendar says it’s almost winter. TROPICAL NIGHTS (mins >20C) in some areas of Central Argentina. Maxes: 36C in Bolivia. Tomorrow it will be even warmer with minimum temperatures up to 23C [73.4F] in Argentina, typical of summer.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1923285439407882624
“Water in homes and evacuated families: videos of the floods affecting the Buenos Aires metropolitan area.
“Friday’s heavy rains brought flooding to several municipalities in Greater Buenos Aires. Quilmes, Avellaneda, Pilar, Moreno, Vicente López, and Lomas de Zamora are among the hardest hit.”
“Even passing 1.5C of global warming temporarily [we have] would trigger a “significant” risk of Amazon forest “dieback”, says a new study.
“Dieback would see large numbers of trees die, shifting the lush rainforest into a dry savannah. The research, published in Nature Climate Change, assesses the impact of “overshooting” the aspirational goal of the Paris Agreement on the Amazon and Siberian forests.”
“BRUTAL HEAT IN MEXICO:
“Up to 47.0C [116.6F] in the Northeast of the country. 46/47C in 3 States. The 46.8C of Ciudad Altamirano, in the West (Guerrero State) is just 0.2C from its all time high.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1923289207214109064
“Texas swelters as record-breaking heatwave sweeps across state.
“Record-high heat so early in the season means state has been hotter than Death Valley, the hottest place on Earth… The brutal heat is also testing Texas’s power grid… The rising demand is exacerbated by the growing number of industrial facilities and cryptocurrency operations in the state…”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/15/texas-record-heat
“Researchers find elevated levels of mercury in Colorado mountain wetlands.
“Climate change is melting glaciers and permafrost in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado, exposing rocks and freeing up minerals containing sulfate, a form of sulfur, to flow downstream into local watersheds.”
https://phys.org/news/2025-05-elevated-mercury-colorado-mountain-wetlands.html
“How a collapsing Great Salt Lake could take Utah’s economy — and maybe your employer — down with it…
“Prior research has already predicted this dire scenario, with some labeling it “an environmental nuclear bomb” as the saline lake’s water volumes have fallen to around half their historic levels in recent years, drawing worldwide attention and mixed reactions from policymakers.”
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/05/14/how-collapsing-great-salt-lake/
“A rare dust storm warning was issued for much of the Chicago area Friday night as fast-moving wall of dust blanketed the city and suburbs in a thick haze.
“The National Weather Service’s Chicago office confirmed it was only the second time in its history that it has issued a dust storm warning. The first time was on May 7, 2023, but that warning did not involve the Chicago metropolitan area.”
“At least seven people were killed when severe weather, including possible tornadoes, swept through St. Louis, Missouri, and another part of the state Friday, authorities said.
“Five were dead in St. Louis, and two others died in Scott County, in southeastern Missouri, officials said. Speaking at an evening news conference, St. Louis officials said over 5,000 homes may have been affected…”
https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/tornadoes/st-louis-tornado-storm-rcna207389
“Strong storms packing high winds and heavy rain flooded roads and knocked out power for thousands of people in Delaware County and other areas in Pennsylvania on Friday.
“Dispatchers across Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties said crews responded to multiple water rescues with cars stuck in water.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/west-chester-marple-pennsylvania-rain-weather-flooding/
“US East Coast faces rising seas as crucial Atlantic current slows.
“Zhang and her colleagues used tide gauge measurements along the New England coast to reconstruct the local sea level stretching back more than a century… Years with a high sea level aligned closely with years when the AMOC was weak, and these years also had more frequent coastal flooding.”
“Toxic waste is spilling onto beaches as rising seas erode landfills…
““There is not lots of toxic waste spilling out at the moment, but there will be in the future,” says Andrew Russell at Queen Mary University of London… In Britain alone, the team has now identified more than 1000 old landfill sites at risk of eroding…”
“Global hunger hits new high amid conflict, extreme weather: UN…
“The report, which provides its analysis through a collaborative effort with United Nations agencies, states that the rise in hunger levels of 5 percent over 2023 was the sixth in a row.”
“‘Climate change is going to cull us as a species’ [folk hero Peggy Seeger]…
“Climate change is going to cull us as a species. There won’t be any big bands and we won’t have any producers of guitar strings, so we’re going to have to rely on our own voices and make instruments out of whatever we can find.”
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/may/15/musician-peggy-seeger-questions
“Climeworks carbon capture fails to cover its own emissions…
“Climeworks in Iceland does not capture enough carbon units to offset its own operations, emissions amounting to 1,700 tons of CO2 in 2023. The emissions that occur due to Climeworks’ activities are therefore more than it captures.”
https://heimildin.is/grein/24581/climeworks-capture-fails-to-cover-its-own-emissions/
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You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an ”Economic” thread.
The Stomach as Monument
On an island at the edge of the world — Lord Howe —
lies a bird that never chose,
not the flight,
not the fall.
Its wings already gone, its eyes grown dull,
but the stomach remains.
And there, in that hollow organ,
rests the inventory of our eternity:
778 pieces of plastic.
Not eaten,
but given.
By waves, by wind, by us.
Lids, pellets, caps, scraps of fishing line.
Bright, glinting, weightless —
a banquet born of fossil origin.
Not to decay, not to digest,
but carefully collected
like children once gathered seashells
on the shore.
Thank you, Zip – a very elegant poem inspired by a truly harrowing article.
America’s Impact on the Global Thermostat by Robert Hunziker
Thank you, Edward. There wasn’t room for it in the thread but I spotted an article about outrage in Calgary over insurance hikes after their historic hailstorm last year:
“The storm was the costliest event in Canada’s history, with over 130,000 claims worth more than $3 billion in insured damaged, which is “putting significant pressure” on home insurance premiums.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/11184316/calgary-homeowners-soaring-home-insurance-costs-hailstorm/
Water wars are well underway.
Kali, they are.
It really does look like India is going to use this conflict over the terrorist attack in Kashmir as a pretext/opportunity for withholding water from Pakistan. This is a flashpoint that is only going to get flashier, so to speak.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/70-million-americans-alert-severe-weather-tornadoes/story?id=121880972
Tornadoes outbreak pretty bad
Heather, some of the footage I saw from St Louis was alarming, to say the least. The extreme heat up the centre of the US and into Canada v favourable, of course, for thunderstorm formation, with the attendant risk of tornadoes. Death toll rising:
“At least 21 people are reported to have died and dozens others injured after tornadoes tore through parts of two US states.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70nw7v5ykyo
I’ve been watching all the weather reports in the Main Slime Media, the weather bloggers & YouTube channels & have yet to hear one mention climate change or global warming. Well,they shouldn’t because it’s all fake. 😉
With all the weather weirding in the U.S., insurance companies are working their brains to increase insurance premiums or drop policies in high risk areas. No problems for policy holders, FEMA will be right there with right wing empathy, thoughts & prayers & no financial help, ask hurricane victims in NC., SC., GA. States can handle their disasters without tax dollars from other states? 😉
For me, it’s not so much about political parties but the willful ignorance of the voting public.
“Now that earth is beyond the 2C Rubicon….”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzTehwIJwB8