Special thanks to this month’s donor, who wishes to remain anonymous. A fresh dog video to lift spirits: https://youtube.com/shorts/bigFCTStgfo?si=HY_6hROUkJg8Z9aC
“The Arctic as we knew it is disappearing right in front our eyes… crazy warm anomalies up to ~20°C [40F]!
“Do you see the cold anomalies that (according to climate denials) counterbalance the warm ones? No, because they hardly occur…” [Melaine Le Roy]
https://x.com/subfossilguy/status/1990195872244904325
“Another dataset confirms that last month was the warmest October on record in the Arctic. The previous record was 2024. This is already a month with a very large increasing temperature trend (i.e., Arctic amplification). Not good.
“Data from NASA.” [Zack Labef]
https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com/post/3m5olqpsbjs2b
“Monday ice update – Arctic sea ice extent is currently the *2nd* lowest on record (JAXA data).” [Zack Labe]
• about 740,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,390,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 2,030,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,490,000 km² below the 1980s mean
https://zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-ice-extentconcentration/
“Global Sea Ice Area Maximum never peaked lower than it did this year…
“Less sea ice leads to less sunlight reflection back to space, more (high latitude) heat uptake and even faster ice melt.”
[Leon Simons]
https://x.com/LeonSimons8/status/1990512333777743992
“A study revealed that permafrost thaw releases pollutants in the Canadian Arctic and there is concern.
“Experts warn that climate change is creating new underground routes for toxic substances that were previously immobilized in the frozen ground. Now, these pollutants can reach lakes and rivers, increasing risks to ecosystems and freshwater sources.”
“Plans to dispose of mining waste in Norway’s Arctic Ocean worries Sámi fishers, herders.
“The Norwegian Environmental Agency issued Nussir ASA, the project’s previous owner, its environmental license after it confirmed the company’s plan to securely place the tailings at the bottom of the sea. However, this has faced strong opposition from some Sámi Indigenous people…”
“Record Monmouthshire floods [Wales] spark renewed call for defences.
“Record river levels triggered severe flood warnings last weekend, as the River Monnow rose higher than during Storm Dennis in 2020 and Storm Bert in 2024. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) issued alerts warning of a “significant risk to life” and parts of Monmouth and nearby villages were left underwater.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg51jlzgd69o.amp
“West Sussex animal sanctuary fears closure due to heatwaves…
“Founder Hayley, 53, says the sanctuary is in an “unprecedented” position due to the cost of hay skyrocketing, meaning it faces closure. Hayley, who has been rescuing animals for around five years, said the sanctuary was forced to relocate by July after being given notice to leave.”
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/25627607.west-sussex-animal-sanctuary-fears-closure-due-heatwaves/
“French winegrowers protest as crisis deepens.
“Winegrowers marched through the streets of Béziers in southern France this weekend, demanding urgent government and EU support as the sector battles extreme weather conditions, soaring costs and falling sales.”
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2025/11/thousands-of-french-winegrowers-protest-as-crisis-deepens/
““Definitely a tornado” – yesterday’s extreme wind phenomenon in Albufeira officially recognised [Portugal].
“With more details emerging today of those injured when yesterday’s ‘extreme wind phenomenon’ ripped through the Hotel Eden Resort and nearby HolaCamp campsite, IPMA meteorologists have confirmed that the incident was “clearly a tornado.”
“Flooded streets, inundated basements and closed roads in Avilés after a heavy downpour [Spain].
“The heavy rains that have fallen on Asturias in recent hours have had a particularly severe impact on Avilés , where widespread flooding has occurred in streets, homes, and garages, along with traffic disruptions and numerous emergency response calls.”
“Heavy rain in the Gorizia area; helicopter video shows the Verna area completely flooded [Italy].
“Flooding has occurred in the hamlet of Versa, in the northwestern part of the municipality of Romans d’Isonzo , in the province of Gorizia , where several cars were submerged by the overflowing rivers.”
“4.5 m thickness loss!
“This is what Adamello Glacier – the largest Italian glacier – has lost during last summer at this ablation stake located around 2900 m asl! Data: C. Casarotto (Museo delle Scienze di Trento). [Melaine Le Roy]
https://x.com/subfossilguy/status/1989708774538354932
“MEDITERRANEAN EXCEPTIONAL WARMTH – it was like September day in the Balkans and North Africa.
“Minimums >17C in Croatia and 23C [73.4F] in Tunisia; Max. Temperatures: 35.1C El Khoms, LIBYA; 24C in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Albania.
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1990489547252380005
“Algeria launches probe into unprecedented wildfires.
“Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune has ordered an immediate investigation following a devastating and unusual series of wildfires that erupted across the country in recent days, according to local media reports. Algeria has recorded 55 simultaneous fires, an atypical phenomenon for November…”
https://apanews.net/algeria-launches-probe-into-unprecedented-wildfires/
“Severe Weather Triggers Flood Response and Power Failures in KwaZulu-Natal [South Africa]…
“Homes near flood-prone zones experienced water intrusion, damaging furniture, electronics, and essential belongings. Public infrastructure, including streetlights, traffic systems, and storm drains, sustained noticeable damage. Motorists faced hazards such as submerged vehicles…”
https://sierraexpressmedia.com/severe-weather-triggers-flood-response-and/
“Kenya faces a worsening hunger crisis…
“The number of Kenyans facing food shortages and malnutrition is projected to rise to 2.1 million by January 2026, driven by poor rainfall, rising food prices, and resource-based conflicts, Agra Foundation’s October 2025 Food Security Monitor report has said.”
https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2025-11-18-hunger-pangs-to-hit-21m-kenyans-by-january
“Experts warn climate change drives major declines in Türkiye’s crops…
“Çalmaşur emphasized that shifts in the rainfall regime and increasing heat are leading to reductions in crop yields both globally and within Türkiye. Recent studies predict the most substantial decreases in wheat, corn and sunflower production.”
“Iraq unveils winter farming plan as water shortages deepen.
“Al-Jubouri said recent rainfall brought uneven relief—heavy in the north and west, lighter elsewhere—and “remains insufficient for the first irrigation cycle of wheat,” adding only a limited boost to national reserves. Water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates remain low…”
https://shafaq.com/en/society/Iraq-unveils-winter-farming-plan-as-water-shortages-deepen
“Rainfall triggers flooding in western Iran after months of severe drought…
“Footage published from Abdanan, in Ilam province, showed torrents of water sweeping through residential districts and damaging roads and neighborhoods… Extended dry spells reduce the soil’s ability to absorb water, increasing the likelihood of flash floods when rain does occur.”
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202511177841
“Wind and dry vegetation fuel forest fires in Iran’s Hyrcanian woodlands.
“Wildfires that have been burning for over two weeks in northern Iran’s steep, densely wooded Hyrcanian forests flared again on Monday, prompting the deployment of helicopters and fresh ground crews.”
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202511174535
“Iran’s snow cover plummets 98.6% as water crisis deepens.
“New satellite data from Iran indicates a dramatic decline in snow cover across the country’s highlands, fueling concerns about intensifying water shortages already impacting Tehran and other cities… The sharp reduction in snowpack directly threatens inflows to dams and rivers, with implications for drinking water supplies in major cities…”
https://www.intellinews.com/iran-s-snow-cover-plummets-98-6-as-water-crisis-deepens-411789/
“Iran’s Water Crisis Is a Worrying Sign of Things to Come…
“Similar crises – from Cape Town’s Zero Day to rising water stress across U.S. cities – reveal how outdated infrastructure is collapsing under climate-driven pressures… agriculture and thermoelectric (mostly coal and natural gas) power generation are typically the largest users…”
“‘I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe’. This is climate breakdown. This is Neha’s story.
“Neha is 25 years old and works for a large multinational company at a warehouse in Manesar, Haryana state, so she can send money back home to her family. In 2024, her working conditions worsened after a deadly heatwave spread across northern India.”
“This Nepal village has survived for 1,000 years. Now recurring floods threaten its future.
“Til, the remotest of three villages in the Limi valley on the Tibetan border, was already wrestling with a dwindling population but a series of natural disasters has led many to consider where their future should be.”
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/nov/18/nepal-tibet-village-limi-valley-floods
“Landslides kill dozens as heavy rains lash Southeast Asia…
“Scientists warn that a warming climate is making the rainy season, which runs from October to March across parts of Southeast Asia, more hazardous as the length and severity of the season are affected.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/17/landslides-kill-dozens-as-heavy-rains-lash-southeast-asia
“Another exceptional warm night in South/Southeast Asia with Minimum Temperatures up to 28C in the Maldives and The Philippines (Cuyo).
“Cuyo hasn’ t dropped below 24.8C [76.6F] ever in the whole 2025: never happened anything like this anywhere in the world in current climatic history.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1990604543282028718
“GUYANA AGAIN – hottest November night in history at Lethem (near the border with Brazil) with a Minimum Temperature of 26.9C [80.4F].
“The area has been with continuous record heat for over 2 years.”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1990423428600328290
“Christmas harvest in jeopardy after flash floods ruin crops [Barbados].
“Major crop losses were feared by farmers in St Lucy after heavy rains and flash floods submerged farmlands from Sunday night into Monday, leaving crops ruined just weeks before the vital Christmas harvest.”
https://barbadostoday.bb/2025/11/17/christmas-harvest-in-jeopardy-after-flash-floods-ruin-crops/amp/
“‘This is survival’: Jamaica leads calls from vulnerable nations at Cop30.
““Hurricane Melissa changed the life of every Jamaican in less than 24 hours,” said Matthew Samuda, the country’s economic growth minister. The category 5 hurricane that hit three weeks ago caused almost $10bn (£7.6bn) in damage and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.”
“TEXAS HEAT WAVE – extraordinary heat continues with more records on Sunday: 94F [34.4FC] at Junction: Hottest November day in history.
“And …it will get hotter, especially in Southern Texas. Mid week will feel like summer.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1990245441141956972
“Rainfall Records set at Santa Barbara Airport and Beyond…
“”Precisely 8.42 inches since last Friday, so Santa Barbara Airport has had 8.42 inches for the month of November and that ranks it as the wettest November ever for the Santa Barbara Airport since records started there in 1941.””
“Wildfire scorches hundreds of acres of Mark Twain National Forest in southwest Missouri.
“U.S. Forest Service firefighters are trying to put out a wildfire burning on Mark Twain National Forest in southwest Missouri. Cody Norris, a Forest Service spokesman, told Missourinet the fire is growing in the Cassville and Roaring River State Park area.”
“Missouri’s dismal deer season opening blamed on near-record-high temperatures.
“Unseasonably warm temperatures wreaked havoc on the opening day of Missouri’s deer firearm season, conservationists said.”
“Marine Heatwave associated Betanodavirus outbreak in wild groupers of the Azores.
“Most affected fish displayed typical VNN clinical signs and lesions, and laboratory analyses confirmed the virus as the primary cause of mortality. The majority of the diseased individuals were large adults, underscoring the risk to stock sustainability and conservation of this vulnerable and iconic species.”
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1712250/abstract
“Wheat could require dramatically more water during future heat waves, scientists warn.
“Researchers from the University of Sheffield found that stomatal pores on wheat leaves open widely during heat waves to help keep the plant cool, meaning wheat crops could use considerably more water than expected during extreme future heat waves.”
“‘Damned if we do but completely stuffed if we don’t’: heatwaves will worsen longer net zero is delayed…
“The research, published in the journal Environmental Research Climate, found that for countries near the equator, delaying net zero until 2050 would result in heatwave events that break current historical records at least once yearly.”
“Methane pollution still rises, but UN reports hope for near future reductions.
“Global efforts to curb emissions of the potent but short-lived heat-trapping gas methane are doing about as poorly as the more prevalent carbon dioxide, but there’s hope for the next five years, U.N. officials said Monday.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/methane-brazil-oxford-university-b2867094.html
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You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economic” thread.
“New satellite data from Iran indicates a dramatic decline in snow cover across the country’s highlands, fueling concerns about intensifying water shortages already impacting Tehran and other cities… The sharp reduction in snowpack directly threatens inflows to dams and rivers, with implications for drinking water supplies in major cities…”
Extremely scary and disturbing.
Question for C&E: has impact of climate change on oil PRODUCTION been researched or talked about at length? Because it seems to me this is an inconvenient topic for both sides of the climate discourse:
A> Evil fossil fuel corps responsible for climate change because of they are greedy and therefore want everyone to keep using fossil fuels instead of green tech alternatives that are perfectly viable, with no limitations or problems of their own or (“realistically”) far less so than FFs.
B> Globalist pro-climate elites who want to maintain their power and wealth and therefore won’t let us consume as much abiotic oil as we want and live happily ever after.
…and where that leaves us is the inability to even THINK about climate/net energy intersection. The pro-climate side will buy Trump’s 50 year mortgages because 2075 will be electric flying Teslas and space solar farms. The anti-climate side will buy them because coal is the new cool. Either way, the future is so very very bright.
Jupiviv, Zip has touched on the impact of climate change on oil production quite often, as he does in his thoughts below, for which many thanks, Zip.
All of our energy production is vulnerable to climate change in one way or another. As per an Oil Drum article in the previous Economic thread, Trump is going all in on nuclear – but of course nuclear plants need a steady supply of cool water and, if coastal, static sea levels. We’ve repeatedly seen European plants forced to shut down due to high river temperatures and even jellyfish incursions recently.
Dunkelflaute is a nightmare for wind/solar… Hydropower obviously depends on a somewhat stable hydrological cycle. The drought in Iran and Iraq has shutdown several of their plants. Romania is struggling with low water levels. Even Norway’s electricity exports to NW Europe were hit by droughts this year. Humans being humans, they are just going to build more hydropower stations, of course:
“The Norwegian parliament has voted to open up protected rivers to hydropower plants, prompting fury from conservation groups who fear for the fate of fish and other wildlife… Une Bastholm, a Green member of parliament, described the proposal as “a historic attack on Norwegian nature” when it was unveiled last week.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/13/norway-to-open-protected-rivers-to-hydropower-plants
Kurt Cobb. Oilprice and the Blind Spot: Water in Oil and Gas Production
The debate on energy security always revolves around molecules, barrels, pipelines, production curves, and geopolitics. But beneath this entire fossil structure lies a foundation almost no one mentions: water. Not tap water, but the water required to extract oil and gas in the first place. A forgotten dimension now brutally exposed by the crisis in Iran.
Tehran is facing a drought so severe that the president publicly speaks of rationing and even evacuating millions of residents. Newspapers focus on showers, taps, and depleted reservoirs. But in Iran – as in the US, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria, Mexico, and China – most water is not used by households, but by agriculture and thermoelectric power generation. And in energy-producing countries a third major consumer looms large: the oil and gas industry itself.
The irony is that a country whose economy runs on fossil fuels – whether through gas-fired power plants or oil extraction – consumes water as if it were limitless. Enhanced Oil Recovery, fracking, cooling, refining, steam injection, LNG liquefaction: every step devours water. The deeper and heavier the reserves, the higher the water use per barrel. In many fields the water cut already exceeds 80%. Some wells produce more water than oil.
And then comes the moment when all these systems – built in the wet 20th century – jam in the dry 21st. That is the lesson of Cape Town’s Zero Day, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Athens, Santiago, and now Tehran. You can import energy, but you cannot import water for a city of ten million people.
The world watches oil prices, reserves, LNG demand, and OPEC+ meetings. But the real limiting factor of the fossil age is something far simpler and far less negotiable:
No water = no energy production.
No energy production = no society.
The blind spot becomes a growing shadow. Prefixes fade, superlatives evaporate. If Tehran truly has to evacuate people because the reservoirs run dry, we will witness for the first time what we’ve long sensed intuitively:
The energy transition does not begin and end with molecules,
but with water.
In case readers are wondering whether the flooding rain that fell in western Iran yesterday has helped the situation in Tehran, the answer is – unfortunately not. It didn’t reach the critical catchments, and the dams near Tehran – the Lar and the Amir Kabir – are still at record-low levels.
The forecast remains dry.
7 US States Fail To Agree On How To Share Colorado River Water
1 day agoSteve Hanley
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/16/7-us-states-fail-to-agree-on-how-to-share-colorado-river-water/amp/
…key points
“The issue could not be more clear. The Colorado River supplies water to some 40 million people. Major US cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles depend on it, but public drinking water is just a small portion of how the water is used. According to The Guardian, 80 percent goes to irrigate crops — crops that are essential to feeding 330 million Americans”
…..”reserves in the Colorado River are being overdrawn by a trillion gallons a year. Surely that should be a red flag for all concerned. The river has lost more than 10 trillion gallons of water in the last two decades, while the the two largest reservoirs along the route of the river — Lake Mead and Lake Power — are projected to reach historic lows in the next two years.”
……”The Elephant In The Room
The point that will be interesting to CleanTechnica readers is that none of those involved in the negotiation are talking about the cause of the reduced amount of water in the Colorado River — an overheating planet. Some may find that curious. It’s a little like trying to adapt seaports to higher ocean levels without addressing why the water is rising in the first place. Humans seem to have an inexhaustible ability for focus on minutia while studiously ignoring the elephant in the room.
Meanwhile, Phoenix continues to expand while the state of Arizona is trying to attract more industries and data centers to relocate there — even though there is already not enough water for those who live and work there now. And so, humans continue to lurch from one crisis to another without any attempt to address the underlying causal factors. The human propensity for self-deception seems to know no bounds.”
Enough sad
Thanks, Vince. As if America needs any more divisive issues. 😬
Dead pool is coming sooner or later to the Colorado river basin. Lower snowpacks and rising temps do not help and those in power trying to keep business as usual are living in a non reality. Also collapsing infrastructure due to a variety of reasons. No matter how much the techfudism is being pushed it will end in a whimper as the power and water goes out. No matter how much they try to crack down on dissent it cannot be stopped as people starve and go thirsty. More outages of the internet and our so called hi tech society. The imagination of trillions dollars of profits when there is no resources behind it is also an illusion of wealth that doesn’t exist. They don’t have the manpower military or otherwise for more war or domestic crackdowns as more cracks appear. Hold on to your ass. I keep reminding people the book ending of Jurassic Park. The creator was eaten by his creation. His creation destroyed him at the end. Also i saw the movie running man this weekend and i guess the book ending was also different than the movie. He lost everything so he had nothing to lose in a rigged game but he destroyed the creator of the games and the building in the end.
“His creation destroyed him at the end.”
Heather, Jeff Goldblum’s character, Dr. Malcolm has a good line in the movie version: “Gee, the lack of humility before nature that’s being displayed here, uh… staggers me.”
There’s no accounting for Waste.
As one cockeyed scheme after the other is proposed to counter capitalism’s derangement of the climate, going so far as to sue the entities that our governments subsidize to do so, the “radical” idea of holding businesses accountable for the externalities of their enterprises is never mentioned… ever. Even by insurance companies who are the entities paying for the resultant damage and without which, the whole system, already teetering Dramaminically, Jengas.
“…the “radical” idea of holding businesses accountable for the externalities of their enterprises.”
Wouldn’t it be nice, Rob… But then consumers wouldn’t be able to afford the goods or services these enterprises produced.
My only hope for Iran is climate change will lead to further protests. Especially types which hit the entire country at once. Maybe then the resistance parties have a chance to recapture Iran from the hands of the Islamic Republic. They couldn’t care less about climate change resilience. Religious fanatics seem to love the end of times. But, the country is in a terrible position climate change wise, even if the IRGC fall. Sigh.
Nat, I’m sorry it is your homeland currently in the crosshairs.