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!).
“45 climate goals, 0 on track: The Earth’s failing report card.
“Halfway through what was once called the “decisive decade,” global climate action is faltering. Political will is fading, the finance gap keeps widening, and the chance of keeping average global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius is quickly diminishing.”
https://www.devex.com/news/45-climate-goals-0-on-track-the-earth-s-failing-report-card-111101
“Melting glaciers and thermal expansion are driving the ‘acceleration’ of sea level rise to record levels…
“New research has warned that climate change and human activities are driving the surge, which poses a serious threat of flooding for major cities around the world.”
“A look at the globally averaged sea surface temperature over the last three months relative to each other July-August-September period since 1854. This warming trend has far-reaching impacts.
“Data from NOAA ERSSTv5.”
[Zack Labe]
https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com/post/3m3t3a3piyc2x
“Ice-free conditions continue in the Barents Sea region of the Arctic Ocean.
“This is one area that has observed some of the largest losses of ice over the last few decades… compare the older years (dark/purple lines) to today!”
[Zack Labe]
https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com/post/3m3rry4dkt22h
“Mosquitoes have been found in Iceland for the first time after the country experienced record-breaking heat this spring.
“Insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason encountered the mosquitoes over several nights last week while using wine-soaked ropes to observe moths, local media reported.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyz3vv62pgo
“Penguin and Club bars now use chocolate flavour coatings as climate disruption sparks soaring cocoa prices to squeeze UK imports, forcing a global rethink…
“Popular biscuit brands Club and Penguin can no longer legally be labelled as chocolate in the UK, a shift that highlights how climate pressures reshape ingredient sourcing and product formulations.”
https://sustainabilitymag.com/news/cocoa-shortage-penguin-bars
“The driest spring and summer since 1976 [also hottest summer on record] is putting long-term pressure on water supplies in the East of England…
“”Our modelling suggests that for water resources to return to normal levels we will need a significant amount of consistent rainfall this winter – more than 100 per cent of the usual rainfall every month until next April.””
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/25558673.dry-weather-puts-pressure-east-england-water-supplies/
“Wildfires have consumed vast chunks of Ukraine. Is Russia deliberately fuelling the flames?
“…Expanding wildfires have become part of the “new normal” in a hotter world. But the scale of burning in Ukraine is extraordinary even on those terms, far surpassing anything witnessed across the rest of Europe. In 2024, nearly a million hectares of Ukraine burned: more than twice the area that burned across the entire EU over the same period.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/23/drones-ukraine-wildfires-russia-heat-mines-shelling
“EU to exempt small farmers from deforestation law…
“The changes to the rules come as the commission has started to revise significant parts of the green legislation it passed in European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s previous mandate.”
https://www.ft.com/content/5d1b31b5-b219-4cd7-a58c-0b198d826958
“”We lost everything,” the impressive images of the Sanary-sur-Mer market shaken by storms [France]…
“An apocalyptic scene this morning in Sanary-sur-Mer. The new port resembled a battlefield. Heavy rains fell this morning on the port of Sanary-sur-Mer, causing significant flooding. It was horrific, the wind was blowing in gusts, the water was rising rapidly, ” the association commented.”
“Cyprus is facing a worsening water crisis, with dam reserves down to just 11% of capacity, about 33 million cubic meters, compared to 27% last year, officials told Parliament’s Agriculture Committee on Tuesday.
“Committee Chairman Yiannakis Gavriel called the situation “dramatic,” warning that farmers “don’t have water to drink, let alone to sustain their crops.””
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1284629/cyprus-dam-levels-at-just-11-pct/
“Report warns Morocco’s farmers face mounting climate risks.
“The report said Morocco is witnessing rapid climatic shifts, with average annual temperatures rising by as much as two degrees Celsius since the early 20th century… many small farmers continue to face structural challenges, including high land costs, fragmented ownership and limited access to credit and markets, alongside the growing effects of climate change…”
https://thearabweekly.com/report-warns-moroccos-farmers-face-mounting-climate-risks
“Powerful hot berg winds blew towards South Africa’s coast today with temperatures locally >40C [104F].
“New October record set at Riversdale with 41.0C. Some records of high minimums might follow next night.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/198112241774672696
“EXCEPTIONAL HEAT IN TANZANIA:
I”nsane Minimums +23/+24C on the highlands above 800m/1200m. Hottest night in history for Tambora and Kigoma with minimums of 23.6C and 23.7C [74.7F]. Records keep falling in 100% of the Tropics.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1980952122943504486
“Silent mental health crisis among Kenyan farmers amid climate change…
“Earlier this year, researchers revealed that climate change is causing a mental health crisis among adolescents in Madagascar, where fears of food insecurity and futures stolen by droughts and storms have led to spikes in anxiety and depression in rural areas.”
“From fertile plains to barren fields, Iraq’s cradle of civilisation faces an existential environmental crisis…
“Iraq’s Agriculture Minister, Abbas Jabr Al-Maliki, recently warned that climate change causes the country to lose nearly 50% of its total arable land each year. This means that roughly half of the previously farmable land becomes unusable annually.”
https://www.newarab.com/features/desertification-threatens-iraqs-ancient-heartland-and-heritage
“Extreme heat stressing garment factories, putting workers at risk [India]…
“According to a new study led by the University of Sydney, factory-floor heat is becoming a serious threat to garment workers — a concern that carries strong relevance for India’s large apparel-manufacturing sector.”
“Heavy rain triggers red alert in eight Tamil Nadu districts.
“Authorities prepare relief measures as record rainfall threatens crops and infrastructure in vulnerable regions… A ‘red’ alert was issued for 8 districts and an orange alert for Chennai for Tuesday, even as widespread rains lashed various parts of the state, according to the Met department.”
“Ghost nets entangling turtles, marine life in Sri Lanka’s waters.
“…ghost fishing can trigger chain reactions, Rodrigo writes. Small fish caught in the drifting gear can attract larger predators such as turtles and dolphins, which then become entangled themselves. “That’s why we call them ‘floating cemeteries,’” Kapurusinghe said.”
“Record heat continues in BANGLADESH & MYANMAR:
“36.5 [97.7F] at Feni, October record again. In MYANMAR October hottest day at Kyeikkhame with 36.3C. Nearly Every single tropical country is breaking records. Unprecedented.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1981027201358115302
“Record Autumn Rains Swamp Harvest in China’s Grain-Belt Provinces.
“Persistent and record-setting rains since September have flooded major grain-producing regions in China, including Henan and Shandong provinces, derailing the autumn harvest and threatening the winter wheat sowing season. The onslaught of extreme weather follows a severe drought earlier this year, compounding the hardship for farmers…”
“Japan uses “diplomatic muscle” to push carbon capture as fossil fuel panacea…
“Last week, Tokyo hosted the Japan CCUS Summit, focused on “carbon capture, utilisation and storage”, a conference that was attended by major domestic and international oil and gas firms… In the lead-up to the COP30 climate summit in Brazil next month, there are concerns about what Tokyo’s enthusiasm for CCUS means for broader emissions reduction efforts.”
“Flash floods hit Khao Lak tourist hub in Phang Nga, forcing hundreds to flee [Thailand]…
“Floodwaters, carrying red mud, overflowed from nearby canals and surged through the heart of Khao Lak’s tourist zone for more than 800 metres, reaching one metre deep in some places. The strong current stalled several small cars and motorbikes…”
https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40057181
“Record hot nights continue unabated in SE Asia, minimums still >28C [82.4F] in the Spratly Islands (Vietnam) and Philippines (Cuyo and Roxas)!
“Calapan broke again its record of October hottest night with a minimum of 26.6C.”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1980903698101596519
“‘We are now fighting back’: Philippines typhoon survivors to sue Shell for climate harms…
“It is an unprecedented lawsuit in the UK and globally, as the first civil claim to directly link polluting companies to deaths and personal injuries that have already happened in the global south. Other climate lawsuits have so far focused on future harms and risks.”
“Indonesia’s most vulnerable push for nation’s first Climate Justice Bill.
“Fishers and farmers say they’ve been driven abroad by collapsing livelihoods caused by erratic weather, only to face exploitation and unsafe working conditions overseas… Civil society and affected groups are pushing for Indonesia to pass a Climate Justice Bill…”
“The outback town of Birdsville saw the mercury skyrocket to 46 [114.8F] degrees Celsius on Tuesday afternoon, making it Queensland’s hottest October day on record.
“”[It’s] a full degree warmer than the previous Queensland October record of 45.1 degrees,” Mr Hayes said. “That was set in 1995.””
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-22/extreme-heatwave-blankets-parts-of-queensland/105917292
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN AUSTRALIA – insane Minimum 30.1 [86.2F] Brewon is NEW SOUTH WALES HOTTEST OCTOBER NIGHT EVER.
“Dozens of records smashed by even 4/5C (see below). Yesterday unprecedented 44.9 in New South Wales. It’s one of the top most extreme events Australia has ever experienced.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1981000193937113591
“Record heat and gale-force winds fuel wildfires across Australia, New Zealand.
“Wild, hot winds swept across Australia and New Zealand on Wednesday, fuelling wildfires and sending spring temperatures soaring… A total of 36 fires are burning, with nine yet to be contained, authorities said. Almost 2,000 properties also lost power.”
“Weather live updates: Extreme winds leave 90,000 homes without power, roofs ripped off, trees and powerlines downed [NZ]…
“A local state of emergency was declared for Canterbury yesterday due to stronger winds and higher winds forecast. More than 100 flights were cancelled across the country.”
“Heatwaves worsen educational inequality in Brazil…
“Emerging evidence demonstrates that heat exposure impairs human cognition, reduces learning productivity and undermines human capital accumulation. Laboratory and field studies confirm that even moderate increases in temperature disrupt concentration, memory and executive functioning.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02469-w
“Storm Melissa causes flooding in La Guajira and threatens the Colombian Caribbean…
“La Guajira, Colombia: Tropical Storm Melissa caused severe flooding in more than ten neighborhoods in Maicao, leaving homes and businesses underwater.”
“Pemex pipeline spill contaminates Mexican river after torrential rains.
“Mexico’s state-run oil company said Tuesday that the torrential rains that left dozens dead and missing in east-central Mexico also damaged a pipeline, leading to a 5-mile (8-kilometer) spill along the Pantepec River.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/mexico-mexican-pemex-veracruz-gulf-of-mexico-b2849743.html
“New Mexico villages face flooded homes, poisoned wells years after wildfire.
“Three muddy torrents rage through Victoria Lovato’s northern New Mexico ranch when it rains hard, born of the state’s biggest ever wildfire that burned through mountains above her land over three years ago. It is this kind of deadly, post-wildfire flooding making homes unlivable and knocking out infrastructure…”
“It’s the driest start to fall and second hottest October in Austin’s recorded history.
“October is usually Austin’s second rainiest month of the year, with May being the rainiest. Even though the National Weather Service says we may get a little rain later this week, the Austin area seems stuck in this pattern.”
“Record October rainfall in Utah sets stage for strong spring runoff…
“Salt Lake City’s total precipitation for [usually very dry] October now stands at 4.95 inches [127mm], marking the wettest October on record in the 151 years of record-keeping at Salt Lake City International Airport.”
https://kjzz.com/news/local/record-october-rainfall-in-utah-sets-stage-for-strong-spring-runoff
“Climate disasters in first half of 2025 costliest ever on record, research shows [US].
“The first half of 2025 was the costliest on record for major disasters in the US, driven by huge wildfires in Los Angeles and storms that battered much of the rest of the country, according to a climate non-profit that has resurrected work axed by Donald Trump’s administration that tracked the biggest disasters.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/22/climate-disasters-2025-cost
“Star-studded Malibu is DYING with just four permits granted to rebuild fire-ravaged enclave and property prices tumbling by up to 60%.
“The blaze, the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history, erupted in January and destroyed more than 6,800 homes and buildings across southern California.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15216533/Malibu-dying-four-permits-rebuild-fire-property.html
“Flooding and droughts drove them from their homes. Now they’re seeking a safe haven in New York…
“…thousands of migrants who crossed the US-Mexico border in 2024 have come from localities repeatedly hit by hurricanes, floods and droughts, according to an analysis of federal data on south-west border apprehensions and international data on major natural disasters.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/22/climate-disasters-migration-new-york
“Maine rivers hit record lows and wells run dry as drought tightens grip on state…
“…groundwater is also depleted. Wells are running dry around the state, with the 439 reported so far easily outpacing numbers from recent years, including Maine’s last drought in 2022, when 95 wells went dry, according to data reported to the state.”
“Task force aims to move those displaced by ex-typhoon in Alaska from shelters to hotels, rentals…
“Officials have identified more than 1,000 available hotel rooms plus additional rental options in Alaska’s largest city for the hundreds of people displaced to Anchorage after the remnants of a typhoon ravaged their villages earlier this month.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/anchorage-alaska-bethel-b2849728.html
“The next deadly climate disaster could wipe out glacier-chasing cruise ships…
“Many scientists believe this phenomenon is being spurred in part by rapidly melting glaciers exposing the mountainside. Without thick sheets of ice to buttress it, the rock face becomes destabilized. Alaska has warmed 4.5 degrees since 1950, according to federal data, and is the fastest-warming US state.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/22/climate/glacier-cruises-tsunami-landslide-risk-vis
“World stuck on mapping methane emissions, not tackling them, UN warns…
“According to the UNEP, while its Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) has sent more than 3,500 alerts to 33 countries since launch by using satellites and artificial intelligence (AI) to spot large methane releases, almost 90% of those alerts have not been followed up with concrete action.”
https://www.edie.net/world-stuck-on-mapping-methane-emissions-not-tackling-them-un-warns/
“I’m dumbfounded every time I see this 800,000 year methane graph.
“We don’t know what the last time was that methane concentrations were this high, 1937 ppb!
“Maybe 55 million years ago during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)?”
[Leon Simons]
https://x.com/LeonSimons8/status/1980541778056081892
I rely on donations and tips from my readers to to keep the site running. Every little bit helps. Can you chip in even a dollar? Buy me a coffee or become a Patreon supporter. A huge thank you to those who do subscribe or donate.
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economic” thread.
I work at a parts store in a small village in New York which services all of the local stone quarries, mills, farms, and mechanics with parts.
We aren’t slowing down. Not one bit in the slightest.
We aren’t even trying.
We won’t achieve any climate pledge as a species.
We’ll be consistently close or above 2°C early next decade.
3°C around 2030.
That’s the hell world.
All of you know this already.
Thank you for documenting our demise.
Ah, c’mon Truth Wizard (your new name is too close to the idiot-in-chief’s name for his Pravda).
Look at this roundup”
https://afsc.org/gaza-genocide-companies
Humming right along for our trans-national corps.
But C&E hero Robert Hunziker says at the end of a Zoom sesh linked at Counterpunch a day ago to the venerable hopium windup question: there is hope. Hope in the people waking up. Really, Robert?
But then there is that first article in today’s C&E, “0-47,” so there’s today’s and tomorrow’s hope score – absurd.
Doom Wizard, you speak for us all.
Martin, no huge surprises in that long list of “Companies Profiting from the Gaza Genocide”.
0-45 climate goals on track; coal-use hitting record highs; banks, companies and governments rolling back climate and other green pledges… Waking up? We’re more asleep at the wheel than ever.
“The US has demanded that the European Union roll back its climate and human rights rules in order to allow greater imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as the Trump administration approved a controversial gas export hub along the Gulf of Mexico coast…
“”There is little debate that natural gas and LNG will remain a critical energy source and a key part of the EU’s energy mix for many decades,” the letter said.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/22/us-eu-climate-rules-lng-gas
Truth Wizard, you are welcome. I imagine you probably meant to say 3C around 2050, rather than 2030. Seems very possible to me.
In that time, it does make me wonder what country is gonna snap first.
Iran’s running out of water, Pakistan is falling apart internally and a likely candidate for where the first wet-bulb event will happen, Haiti is already on its way towards gang rule, Nigeria and Ethiopia are fraying along ethnic lines, and those pompous blowhards in the Alliance of Sahel States are losing a war against Al-Qaeda. Not to mention all the other pressure points throughout the world.
Too many possibilities for things to go wrong. We’re gonna have a couple new Somalias on our hands in due time.
Thanks, Kord – a nice, little summary. Some South American nations are also looking pretty wobbly – Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina, although the latter seems to exist in perma-crisis anyway… Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh in Asia… Really a lot of candidates for serious destabilisation.
But the global financial system will have long since buckled by then plunging us all into a depression or worse. Even notionally wealthy nations will be looking pretty “Somalian”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmEV6qjY9Nc&list=RDVmEV6qjY9Nc&start_radio=1
Definitely an energetic fusion track. I always liked music like that. Here’s another that’s a little more traditional in form. I like to just sit out and gaze into the horizon to this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgq69AeRSWk&t=86
It is rather gorgeous and exotic…
Thanks TW. We’re doubling down on what ruined the biosphere because it’s all we know how to do, but it will end, sooner rather than later, when the biosphere can no longer support our addiction to living beyond the limits.
Can’t wait myself for the Witch hunt or for that matter Wizard hunt round up to occur accusing the bad events on those “environmental terrorists mongers” preventing full throttle on our precious advanced consumer lifestyle.
Can picture some mob action in the town center for a good burning at the stake for these infidels that caused all this discomfort. Should make some good live scream, mean stream record watching, more and revenue for the sponsors…
I’m sure all manner of hideous scapegoating is in our future, unfortunately.
“World stuck on mapping methane emissions, not tackling them, UN warns…”
Ha! So we’re doing the climate action version of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUfS_2UGftg
Anyway, here’s a Bach cantata in line with the classical theme and somewhat perversely in line with the “the planet is burning” theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Rad6HefkY
Fill up with your divine flames our longing breasts.
Ace Venture LOL
The Bach is the perfect remedy. Thank you!
Jupiviv, I like your cinematic analogy but The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind were Jim Carrey’s finest hours for me. I prefer him a little, er, dialled down. 😂
I wrote this today because I can only see through one pair of eyes and hear through only one pair of ears.
Neither offers me hopium!
https://climatejustice.social/deck/@darkerknight/115423506503746104
Darker Knight, welcome to the website, and thank you for the link to your excellent if bleak article:
“No political party I have heard of offers deep change to the broken system.”
In a sense, from a thermodynamic perspective, the system is doing exactly what it is supposed to do [from Nate Hagens’ Superorganism essay]:
“The more people involved in a decision/process, the more our decisions resemble simple bacterial tropisms which unconsciously move towards energy acquisition. At the largest levels, the global economy is moving much like a starling murmuration following simple emergent rules. In the year 2019 C.E. the emergent result of 7.7+ billion hominids living their daily lives is an energy seeking Superorganism, out of control, yet still hungry.
“This superorganism is not human. It’s a thing-in-itself (Ding an sich) with its own survival instincts that override the individual humans that comprise it.”
It’s going to keep trying to increase its throughput of energy and convert ever more of the earth’s crust into goods and services until all the various constraints and limits I follow here bring it down. As for hopium, it is the preserve of people – often very bright experts in their fields – who do not have a sufficiently holistic grasp of our predicament.
Can’t get that to open…
From this day forward, Panopticon shall be known as “The Bookkeeper of Doom.”
…..
We need a bigger shower head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfJWqjoekow&list=RDGfJWqjoekow&start_radio=1
Thank you, TR – a stylish moniker indeed. I do like a bit a of laid back James Taylor…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpsOuzB3eAg&list=RDTpsOuzB3eAg&start_radio=1
Another wonderful throwback! Thanks, TR.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/corpus-christi-texas-energy-water-shortage-27c2c6d8
The shit is hitting the fan fast. This aint gonna last til 2030 folks!