Many thanks to my October donor, Cassandra, who suggests this month listening daily to Adagio for Strings (one of the west’s most famous concert pieces) while you read the C & E posts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQsgE0L450 (If you use the Brave browser it can play in the background even when not on that page, plus no ads!).
“Swiss glaciers have shrunk by a quarter since 2015, study says.
“Switzerland’s glaciers, which are disproportionately impacted by climate change, have lost a quarter of their volume in the past decade alone, a study warned Wednesday, heightening concerns over accelerating melting.”
“After heavy rains, some streets in Dagestani cities became impassable [Russia].
“Heavy rain has been falling almost continuously in the republic’s capital and much of Dagestan for over 24 hours… Not only Dagestan, but also Odessa, Ibiza, and Sicily have been paralyzed by powerful flooding due to heavy rains.”
https://yoldash.ru/news/nekotorye-uliczy-mahachkaly-stali-neprohodimymi-iz-za-prolivnyh-dozhdej/
“Odessa Flood Disaster: 10 Dead, Extensive Damage, and Emergency Response [Ukraine]…
““The city’s system could not cope with the amount of rainfall that fell, and here we must understand why this happened. One thing is when we’re talking simply about rainfall, and we perceive it as infrastructure damage, but here, I want to emphasize, we’re talking about ten people who have already died.””
https://mezha.net/eng/bukvy/odessa-flood-disaster-10-dead-extensive-damage-and-emergency-response/
“Torrential rain and flash flooding is causing chaos in parts of Sicily, in Italy…
“One woman was swept away by the water after getting out of her car when it became stuck due to the horrific weather, according to local media reports. Firefighters are continuing to search for the woman, but are yet to locate her.”
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/woman-missing-storm-brit-holiday-35998496
“Spain: Ibiza and Formentera hit by widespread flooding as red alert issued amid ‘extraordinary danger’.
“As of 8.30pm local time on Tuesday (7.30pm UK time), Ibiza’s capital Ibiza Town had seen 254mm [10 inches] of rain over the past 24 hours, with Ibiza airport recording 174mm. There was 109mm of rainfall recorded on Formentera in the same period.”
“Heavy rains: Touba under water again. [Senegal].
“New torrential rains, estimated at 95.1 mm in 24 hours, plunged the city of Touba into chaos again between Monday and Tuesday evening. Several neighborhoods, already weakened, found themselves submerged again.”
https://www.senenews.com/actualites/fortes-pluies-touba-de-nouveau-sous-les-eaux_561066.html
“SOUTHERN AFRICA couldn’t miss the party of this insanity of heat records all over the world… 40.2C [104.4F] today at Alexander Baai on the coast.
“And guess who else? Yeah, JUAN DE NOVA ISLAND, of course. 33.7C today smashed for the 5th time the September record of highest temperature.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1973054921269227738
“Sudan Warns of Severe River Nile Flooding…
“In recent days, parts of Sudan have been hit by floods caused by swelling levels in both the Blue Nile, which originates in the Ethiopian highlands, and the White Nile, which flows from Lake Victoria.”
https://newscentraltv.com/sudan-warns-of-severe-river-nile-flooding/
“A fierce sandstorm lashed Egypt, Israel and Lebanon on Wednesday, forcing the closure of the Suez Canal and grounding domestic flights in Israel, officials said.
“The skyline of Cairo was barely visible as dust blown in from the surrounding desert hung in the air and shrouded the Egyptian capital for a second day.”
https://www.daily-sun.com/post/23391
“Wildfires rage through forests in N. Kurdistan amid Absence of Firefighting Response.
“A large-scale wildfire has broken out in the “Jala Koza” area on the outskirts of Mount Cudi, near the city of Şırnak in Northern Kurdistan. The fire has burned large swathes of vegetation in a designated “special reserve” and continues to spread due to the lack of any firefighting intervention.”
“HISTORIC HEAT WAVE IN IRAN: 47.4c [117.3F] Shabankareh, 46.3 Dayyer, 46.2 Kangan.
“We are just 0.2C from the October highest temperature ever recorded in the whole Northern Hemisphere! (and 2nd in the world) with the extreme heat expected to continue for the whole week.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1973349756111143371
“Crowded camps, stagnant water and not enough doctors: first the floods, now disease stalks millions in Pakistan.
“…even as the water levels have receded, stagnant standing water and sewage contamination is proving a threat to those living in the camps where they have only basic cooking facilities and sanitation and limited access to clean drinking water.”
“Tribesmen in India’s northeast protest mega-dam plan to counter China.
“India says the proposed new structure could counteract China’s construction of a likely record-breaking dam upstream in Tibet by stockpiling water and guarding against the release of weaponised torrents. But for those at one of the possible sites for what would be India’s largest dam, the project feels like a death sentence.”
“Dhaka [Bangladesh] sees record rainfall in 6 hrs, met office alerts 3 divisions.
“In Dhaka, 132 millimetres of rainfall was recorded in six hours between 12:00 am and 6:00 am on Wednesday. This was the highest rainfall in the country during this period. Overall, Dhaka experienced 203 millimetres of rainfall in the last 24 hours.”
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/city/wrgbmrhbh1
“Western Guangxi [China] experienced heavy rainfall from September 29 to 30, causing severe flooding in the Zuojiang and Youjiang rivers, and many areas in Baise and Chongzuo were submerged.”
[Jim Yang]
https://x.com/yangyubin1998/status/1973359175892861361
“HISTORIC HEAT WAVE IN CHINA:
“This is the beginning of one of the most extreme events East Asia has ever seen. During 10+ days China, Japan, Taiwan, Koreas will pulverize thousands of records with full summer temperatures. Today 19 stations broke their October records.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1973422482666430512
“September was hottest on record in Okinawa, weather agency says [Japan].
“Okinawa Prefecture sweated through its hottest September on record, the weather agency said on Wednesday, after the entire country experienced its warmest recorded summer… Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change creates ever more erratic weather patterns.”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/01/japan/okinawa-hottest-on-record-september/
“Heavy rain along the Sendai coast and other areas, record-breaking short-term rainfall; Tagajo issued evacuation order; Shiogama received more rain than an average month’s worth of rain in October…
“The rainfall from midnight on the 1st to 4pm in Shiogama was recorded at 154.5mm [6.1 inches], exceeding the average amount for a month in October.”
https://kahoku.news/articles/20251001khn000014.html
“Typhoon Bualoi death toll rises to 36 in Vietnam.
“The typhoon severely damaged roads, schools and offices, and caused power grid failures that left tens of thousands of families without electricity, the report said. More than 210,000 houses were damaged or inundated, and more than 51,000 hectares of rice and other crops were destroyed, it said.”
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/typhoon-bualoi-death-toll-rises-045706996.html
“Tropical storm edges toward the Philippines and may grow to a typhoon on path toward China.
“Tropical Storm Matmo edged closer to the Philippines on Thursday and was expected to intensify into a typhoon that could threaten southern China this weekend, just about a week after the region was battered by Ragasa, one of the strongest storms to hit Asia in years.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/philippines-hong-kong-asia-vietnam-guangxi-b2837752.html
“Over the past year, Australia’s oceans have been hotter than ever before.
“Its impacts were felt all across the nation — even for those as far away from the coast as you can get. “It looks like the warm oceans probably contributed to some of the significant weather events that we saw [over the last year],” BOM senior climatologist Simon Grainger said.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-02/hottest-year-on-record-in-oceans-around-australia/105698530
“HISTORIC HEAT IN AUSTRALIA 43 [109.4F] DEGREES: it’s the 2nd hottest September day ever recorded anywhere in AUSTRALIA.
“Records broken: 42.9 Wyndham, 41.0 Ngukurr, 41.7 Victoria River Downs. It will get worse! PS:>150 countries are breaking records. Expect MANY tweets later!”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1973002357589123159
“Sydney’s 2nd-hottest September on record driven by rare stratospheric warming.
“Despite a brief cool spell early in the month which included Sydney’s wettest September day in 146 years, the harbour city has recorded its second-warmest September since records were first kept in 1858. Sydney’s average maximum was 23.5°C, which was around 3.3°C above the long-term average of 20.2°C.”
“Antarctic sea ice winter peak in 2025 is third smallest on record.
“Provisional data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) shows that Antarctic sea ice reached a winter maximum of 17.81m square kilometres (km2) on 17 September… According to one expert, the “lengthening trend of lower Antarctic sea ice poses real concerns regarding stability and melting of the ice sheet”.”
https://www.carbonbrief.org/antarctic-sea-ice-winter-peak-in-2025-is-third-smallest-on-record/
“Antarctic Sea ice emerges as key predictor of accelerated ocean warming.
“…ocean heat uptake and the resulting thermal sea level rise by the year 2100 are projected to be 3–14% higher than the average from CMIP6, a leading collection of climate models. Furthermore, the projected cloud feedback is 19–31% stronger, which enhances climate sensitivity, and global surface warming is estimated to be 3–7% greater than previously thought.”
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-antarctic-sea-ice-emerges-key.html
“RECORD HEAT ALL OVER THE TROPICS – from Polynesia to Madagascar, records everywhere!
“Min 26.6 [79.9F] Bora Bora is POLYNESIA HOTTEST SEPTEMBER NIGHT EVER. More Tmins records: 25.0 Papeete, 23.2 Ile Mare NEW CALEDONIA, 28.2 Mannar SRI LANKA, 25.0 Tanjungkarang INDONESIA, 24.2 Beira MOZAMBIQUE.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1972998575610310839
“UNBELIEVABLE 37.6C [99.7F] Caravelle; MARTINIQUE HOTTEST DAY IN HISTORY pulverized.
“Record heat all over the Caribbean with deadly conditions: 38C with 55% hr Martinique, 36C with 60% in Jamaica. October Record in St Lucia: 33.8 Hewanorra.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1973504870117515357
“Hurricane season brings financial fears in the Caribbean.
“…home insurance for many on Barbuda and other islands in the Caribbean’s hurricane belt is more prohibitively expensive than ever. Across the region premiums have gone through the roof in the past two years, surging by as much as 40% on some islands, according to industry figures.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2lxvjypxreo
“The crisis along the Colorado River is coming to a head as seven state negotiators fail to deliver an agreement on how to manage it over the next 20 years.
“But the river system can’t wait, and common-sense solutions that states can implement in the interim are being ignored, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations argues in a report released Wednesday.”
“US energy department cracks down on workers’ use of climate crisis language.
“The US Department of Energy has told employees in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to avoid using the words “climate change” in what seems to be the latest incident in a crackdown on discussing the climate crisis in the US government.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/30/energy-department-climate-change-crisis-language
“OCTOBER RECORDS OF warmest night fell in several stations between the Dakotas and Manitoba Min 68F/20.0c Fargo ND (7F ABOVE JULY AVERAGE).
“Canad MINiMUMS °C: 19.1 Kleefeld, 18.7 Gretna, 18.5 WINNIPEG etc. HUNDREDS records will fall next days, especially in Canada.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1973476538357334199
“More than 350 homes and cottages have been evacuated in the Lake George area of Kings County as a wildfire continues to burn out of control [Nova Scotia].
“The fire, which broke out Sunday, was estimated at 290 hectares Wednesday, according to a social media post from the Department of Natural Resources.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/lake-george-wildfire-wednesday-oct-1-1.7647899
“”Shocked, not surprised”: Northeast Atlantic mackerel at historic low.
“Corresponding with “years of excessive catches”, advice has been released this week from the International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES) describing the species as having “plummeted to a level from which it will struggle to recover.””
“Climate change puts pressure on reindeer populations, both wild & domestic herds.
“In 2024, as unpredictable rains, snow and heat beat down on Finland’s Arctic, reindeer struggled to secure food sources, say Indigenous Sámi herders who shuffle their packs from one grazing ground to another. According to researchers, this is an example of the much larger problem the species faces.”
“It was the warmest September on record in Tromsø [Norway].
“Some regions in Arctic Norway have experienced exceptionally warm weather last month compared to observational records stretching back a century… Another northern region, Finnmark, located farther north-east on the border with Russia, also surprised meteorologists.”
https://www.thebarentsobserver.com/news/it-was-the-warmest-september-on-record-in-tromso/438181
“The UK is “shockingly underprepared” for changing weather patterns caused by climate change, nature trusts have said.
“A report from The Wildlife Trusts found extreme heat had negatively impacted local natural habitats, causing wetlands and heathlands to dry out and wildfires to start at reserves in Sheffield and Rotherham.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89dqq57g5yo
“‘Listen to the cry of the Earth’: Pope Leo takes aim at climate change sceptics…
“Leo quoted Francis’s follow-up encyclical, published in 2023, in which the Argentinian pope challenged world leaders before a UN conference to commit to binding targets to slow climate change before it was too late.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/01/pope-leo-climate-change-sceptics-cry-of-the-earth
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You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economic” thread.
Israeli domestic flights?
Ever been in Eilat ? 🙂
I was in Eilat many years ago, Zip; in the early 90’s. I went for some winter sun but encountered some of the coldest weather they have ever had.
Eilat was OK but Jerusalem was under a foot of snow and bitterly cold. Our youth hostel was unheated and my heart sank when I reached into my stuff sack and pulled out… a child-sized sleeping bag adorned with Smurfs, instead of my camping one. My sister had accidentally mixed them up when she had a friend stay for a sleepover, and I foolishly hadn’t checked. It was a very long night.
Welp, we’re definitely in a 1.5°C world.
GOT THE LIFE
https://youtu.be/VAWjsVoDpm0?si=X8lWNpxeeY3B_CSr
Nice track, and apparently a then unknown Eminem has a cameo in the video.
“Leo quoted Francis’s follow-up encyclical, published in 2023, in which the Argentinian pope challenged world leaders before a UN conference to commit to binding targets to slow climate change before it was too late.”
Just like Greta, but HOLIER. And since we’re doing classical music this month (sorry Cass for not seeing that header sooner!) here’s something nice and fruity and divine all at once:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu40_9aknA4
PS – the soprano is beatifically cute.
Thanks, jupiviv! i am not generally a big opera fan, but there are some pieces that are beyond memorable. I have not heard this sacred motet before. Very lovely indeed, both the music and the soprano. Good balance to the Adagio for Strings!
The looks and the voice go very well together indeed. I searched her and the first result was this pretty good rendition of the Kyrie from the C-Minor Mass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGWYbkXCcGU
Pretty good, but nowhere close to the touchstone, Cotrubas/Leppard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGWYbkXCcGU
Sorry typo’d the 2nd link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XPfLB1zDYw
You’re making my day. I am warming up to vocal music. My dad was an opera lover and my mom performed in the New York City Chorale when she lived in the area.
I love this comment: “When the doctor says you have 7 minutes 14 seconds left to live.”
My father is a devout Catholic, Jupiviv. Originally, a climate change sceptic, he changed his tune after Francis’s original 2015 encyclical.
That’s a lovely bit of music. Your beatifically cute soprano is apparently a Swede called Miah Persson and one of the world’s principal Mozart interpreters.
In that case, pardon the joke. I meant that both play the same role in the “international community” in their respective domains. They are supposed to be personifications of something that transcends our corrupt social reality with its irresoluble contradictions, which I don’t believe in as you probably already know. But even I wouldn’t go so far as to extend the similarity in roles to their gravity or status as world-historical figures.
Thanks Pan for bearing witness and for helping us bear witness. We weren’t in control when we broke this planet, and we sure as hell aren’t in control to unbreak it, so bearing witness and maybe mitigating local effects is all that’s left.
You are welcome, Leaf, and I agree – we overestimate our agency both personally and collectively.
The US Environmental Protection Agency says Coal is Cool, Again
By Leonard Hyman & William Tilles – Sep 30, 2025, 1:30 PM CDT
Although coal accounts for about 15% of the nation’s overall power generating mix, the percentage of coal-fired generation in coal-producing states remains large: West Virginia (91%), Missouri (75%), Wyoming (74%), Kentucky (71%), Utah (62%), and Indiana (57%). And the nation’s coal fleet, however, is aging out. Power plants built in the 1970s and 1980s are approaching retirement (the average age of a retiring coal plant in 2024 was 54 years).
This past June, the US EPA revised its views on power plant emissions, particularly of coal-fired plants. In short, EPA is now in favor of emissions. OK, we’re kidding, but not by much. The agency proposed to rollback: 1) the Clean Air and Water Act, section 111, and 2) MATS, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for power plants, back levels established in 2012. (Both rules, the Biden administration strengthened in 2024, to the dismay of coal-fired power plant owners.)
The government is in effect telling power plant owners not to worry about particulate emissions and greenhouse gases
Don’t look up…as Barry Commoner once remarked, What’s the use of regulations when the fundamental flaw is the concept of unbridled growth?, or something similar….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d9jGn934Kc
From the movie “Hanna”, the hunting scene with the Reindeer…
Too bad we didn’t remain as hunters and gathers
Sign of the times, Vince, and we can expect plenty more:
“Climate Deniers Are Increasingly Hiding in Plain Sight… Donald Trump isn’t the only world leader backtracking on green policies… Mere weeks away from COP30, EU members are still fighting over their 2035 and 2040 emission-reductions targets. In just the last week, the bloc has once again delayed the implementation of new anti-deforestation rules for another year…”
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-10-02/brazil-cop30-climate-deniers-are-increasingly-hiding-in-plain-sight
“Kemi Badenoch pledges to scrap Climate Change Act in favour of ‘cheap’ energy… The Conservatives have pledged to replace the UK’s world-leading climate legislation with a strategy for “cheap and reliable” energy.”
https://www.itv.com/news/2025-10-02/kemi-badenoch-pledges-to-scrap-climate-change-act-in-favour-of-cheap-energy
R.I.P. Jane Goodall! You surely tried.
Her last interview.
“Humans are not exempt from extinction.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/collapse2050/p/jane-goodalls-last-interview?r=4shc1&utm_medium=ios
RIP, Jane Goodall indeed, Kali. Another quote:
“How is it possible that the most intellectual creature to ever walk planet Earth is destroying its only home?”
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/global-oil-gas-company-layoffs-2024-2025-2025-09-30/
Oil and gas layoffs not sure if i saw this one or not.
I’ve been reading about ‘Mad Man Theory’, with respect to nuclear deterrence. The idea being, that you add another layer to nuclear deterrence, if you present as a “mad man” who would lob nukes on the smallest provocation, Not enough to just have nukes as deterrence, but present an insane willingness to use them. Eg Kim Yong Un of the DPRK Apparently, there is a belief that even if Iran did have nukes, they are too pacifist to ever use them, even in retaliation.
Meanwhile, the US and it’s Israeli military base, are the real “mad men”, that countries are most scared of. Corner a nuclear power, where its existence is under serious threat and the ‘Mad Man’ will rather take the world with them.
“An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes.” – attributed to Sun Tzu
With Russia, the West seem to want to force Russia into making 1st strike with increasing provocations. As if who strikes first matters? There are American think-tanks who seem to honestly believe that the US would be still standing in the event of nukes getting lobbed.
Meanwhile, the US & it’s friends, want to carve up the globe to take control of all the remaining oil & gas hubs, refineries, & energy supply routes by land & sea.. so everyone has to be dependent on US for access to the remaining energy sources.
Blow-up Nordstream, Have Europe re-militarise.. which it can’t defeat Russia anyway, but just keep it going for some years, tie-down Russia so it can’t do anything else but continue fighting off the barbarians at their gates in a ‘forever war’.
Bail-out Argentina with loans that cannot ever be repaid, but ultimately repaid with a chunk of territory and base in Tierra Del Fuego which would also command Antarctica.
Embargo Venezuela , keep invading with death squads, and warships, until it gives up it’s state-owned oil industry.
And Israel is a country full of ‘Mad Men’ with nukes..
why I think so many West Asian countries refuse to do anything, nobody wants to push the ‘Mad Men’ over the edge.
Even Iran, was relatively restrained in the 12-day war.
Probably one of a dozen reasons, Russia abandoned Syria.. might result in a direct US-Russia confrontation, with unpredictable consequences.
So, it makes sense that America makes noises about cool coal, elevates climate denial to high art etc. It believes it will be the sole survivor with control of global FF energy . or at least it’s ruling classes will be.
Not sure if they’ve done any maths to provide evidence for the strategy, but seem to be pursuing it anyway.
China has announced it believes it has reached peak emissions, and expected to plateau & flatline until 2035 when it should then turn the corner into FF & emissions decline.
And the war-drums keep beating. US military buildup in Qatar this week. Will we see Xmas/New Year without a major “bang” on one, or other or all 3 “fronts” of WW3?
Anyway, just 2 short weeks and I’m off on the plane to China for a tourist holiday Shanghai-> Chongquing -> Xi’an -> Beijing with 2-4 days in each stop. Getting a list of presents to buy, silk scarves for the women in my life, jewellery, artwork, not sure what “chinesey” things to get the 2 boys.. (aged 11 and 13) , maybe I’ll just see something on impulse..
Rain, have a great time in China. I hope it lives up to expectations.
Metro Area Country 1975 2025
Sao Paulo Brazil 9,614,000 22,990,000
Rio de Janeiro Brazil 7,733,000 13,923,000
New York City USA 15,880,000 19,154,000
Los Angeles USA 8,926,000 12,678,000
Mexico City Mexico 10,734,000 22,752,000
Santiago Chile 3,138,000 6,999,000
Bogota Colombia 3,040,000 11,796,000
Steady Expansion in U.S. Cities
U.S. metro areas such as New York City and Los Angeles saw significant but more moderate growth. NYC grew from 15.9 million in 1975 to over 19 million in 2025. The East Coast, Great Lakes, and Southern California corridors have remained population magnets.
Cities like São Paulo, Mexico City, and Bogotá have more than doubled in population since 1975. São Paulo, for instance, expanded from under 10 million to nearly 23 million. This growth reflects broader urbanization trends in Latin America, where rural-to-urban migration has accelerated due to economic shifts, better job opportunities, and access to services in cities.
Yep, it sure looks opportunity knocks, maybe we can make some bricks
Confirmed—Brick created by young students to combat extreme heat in cities—lowers temperatures by 9°C in areas without shade
by Sandra V October 4, 2025
How the brick works
It’s made of 3D-printed porous terracotta and its system is simple but very effective. So, let’s see how it works:
The porous clay absorbs water.
As hot air flows through, the water evaporates and cools the surrounding space.
Small fans and water pumps powered by solar energy improve airflow and accelerate cooling.
Imagine a more than 30 degrees day, each module will consume about 50 liters of water. This water can come from the city’s infrastructure or from its own rainwater collection system, which can gather an average of 24 liters per day.
A small solar panel generates around 200 Wh per day, enough to power both the fan and the pump. This makes the brick fully autonomous, requiring no external electricity.
Seem just a little fine tuning and adapting will work out just fine…