Special sponsor for May is [you?]. Contact me here if you fancy a month atop the Climate & Economy wall of fame.
“Earth’s Energy Imbalance has more than doubled!
“Based on basic physics, we should expect this to result in much faster global temperature increase, which we now start to see.
“The NASA CERES (climatology corrected) Earth’s Energy Imblance over the past 8 months was +2.0 W/m²!”
[Leon Simons]
https://x.com/LeonSimons8/status/2049895154903871798
“2026 will be the hottest year on record, leading scientist predicts…
“…James Hansen at Columbia University in New York, who famously told the US Congress in 1988 that humans were heating Earth, and his colleagues have now argued in a blog post that the record will be broken already in 2026. “Of course, 2027 will be still hotter,” they added.”
“We just observed the highest Equatorial Pacific oceanic heat content for *any* month since 1997 and the highest for April in the entire satellite era.
“If it wasn’t clear to you before that we were headed for a “Super” El Niño later this year, hopefully it is now.” [Eric Webb]
https://x.com/webberweather/status/2050342893202948182
“Breaking News! Code: y-axis alert!
“As of the latest Nino 3.4 anomaly forecast dated May 1, 2026, the y-axis has been extended to now include the possibility of a +4°C El Nino.
“The coming El Nino may turn out to be the strongest ever recorded. Stay tuned!” [Prof Eliot Jacobson]
https://x.com/EliotJacobson/status/2050194667799752899
“Arctic winter sea-ice extent fails to expand and sets a new record low in 2026.
“In 2026, the Arctic winter sea-ice extent (annual maximum extent ,note 1) reached the lowest value since satellite observations began in 1979 (Figure 1a), following the previous record low in March 2025.”
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1126533
“Eight Trapped After Permafrost Thaw Triggers Coal Mine Collapse in Russia’s Far East.
“At least eight miners are feared trapped after a coal mine collapsed in the remote Magadan region of Russia’s Far East, an accident officials are blaming on melting permafrost. The collapse occurred at a site operated by the Kolymskaya Coal Company.”
“Warmest April in 136 years. Nordøyan lighthouse (measurements since 1890) in Nærøysund in Trøndelag [Norway] has, with an average temperature of 6.7°C, broken the 89-year-old record for the highest average temperature in April.
“The 1937 record was matched in 2004.” [Torsten Hanssen]
https://x.com/VaerTorsten/status/2050144157096694039
“HISTORIC HEAT IN NORWAY – dozens of April records pulverized:
“26.5 [79.7F] Kongsberg, 26.4 Hynnekleiv, 25.2 Tveitsund, 25.1 Hakadal, 25.0 Honefoss, 24.9 Flisa, 24.7 Byglandsfjord, 24.4 Hamar, 24.4 Evenstad, 23.9 Nelaug, 23.8 Kongsvinger, 23.2 Aurskog, 23.2 Trysil, 23.1 Bjornholt, 23.1 Veggli.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2049925509081952722
“Wildfire shuts Peak District’s Snake Pass [England].
“The route, dubbed England’s most magnificent road, was shut in both directions on Friday while emergency services dealt with the “large-scale” fire. The blaze is reported to be affecting visibility on the roads in the surrounding area…”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/01/wildfire-shuts-peak-district-snake-pass-weather-glossop/
“‘Public health time bomb’: How France allowed cadmium to poison its crops and soil.
“French residents are three to four times more likely to register unsafe levels of cadmium in their bodies than their European counterparts, ingesting dangerous amounts of the carcinogenic metal through the food they eat.”
“Climate change, pollution, high demand put drinking water availability under pressure [Netherlands]…
“The first signs of pressured supply are already visible. Dozens of companies are on a waiting list to be connected to the drinking water network. It is also becoming increasingly common to stop the intake of river water due to contamination with PFAS substances, medicines, cosmetics, or agricultural chemicals.”
“Parts of Switzerland experience driest April on record.
“On average across Switzerland, precipitation totals were just 27% of the 1991-2020 reference value, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) wrote in a blog post. The “wet” days with more than one millimetre of precipitation could “practically be counted on one hand”.”
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/various/lack-of-rain-made-april-a-record-month-in-some-cases/91348521
“‘A tragedy’: Polish fruit growers count their losses as spring frosts decimate orchards…
“Marcin Gazda, who runs an orchard in the eastern Lublin region, said temperatures reached as low as -10°C during several nights this week, putting his apples at risk. “What we’ve experienced over the last three nights is a tragedy,” he told Polish state news agency PAP on Friday.”
“May starts with a freezing night in Eastern Europe with widespread frost even at low elevations with local near records or even records for May.
“Some examples today: UKRAINE -4.2 [39.6F] Ivano Frankivsk, ROMANIA -2.1 Arad, HUNGARY -3.0 Baja, SERBIA -2.1 Zrenjanin and -1.7 Kikinda.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2050151376315916703
“Snow cover on Greek mountains has more than halved in four decades, study finds.
“…the researchers found that snow cover has declined by 58% in the past forty years, and that the scale of decline has accelerated since the turn of the century. In addition, the snow season is both starting later and ending sooner.”
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-greek-mountains-halved-decades.html
“‘A sense of dread’: Europe’s first climate migrants live in constant fear of extreme weather…
“Storm Daniel, which struck central Greece in September 2023, devastated their hometown of Palamas, leaving behind a chaotic mix of mud, debris, dead cattle, and shattered lives. Eventually, Giatropoulos moved with his family to a village where their home is on higher ground. Returning is unthinkable.”
“Thousands evacuated as wildfires spread across forest in Italy’s Tuscany.
“Italian firefighters are currently battling a significant forest fire in Tuscany, which has raged for days, fanned by strong winds, leading to the evacuation of approximately 3,000 residents… Tuscany regional president Eugenio Giani stated that powerful overnight winds exacerbated the inferno…”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/tuscany-fires-wildfires-mount-faeta-b2968879.html
“Asian seaweed crisis declared ‘force majeure’ in Andalucía [Spain]…
“The species has shown an extraordinary capacity for colonisation since it was identified in 2016 in the area around the Strait of Gibraltar… The agreement will make it possible to apply the exemption from the state tax on the deposit of waste in landfills, with the aim of alleviating the economic pressure on coastal municipalities…”
https://www.surinenglish.com/andalucia/massive-arrival-asian-20260430130036-nt.html#goog_rewarded
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT – hundreds of records smashed in pieces allover Africa from Algeria to South Africa.
“Temperatures up to 45.7C [114.3F] in Burkina Falso; total insanity in TOGO: 43.6C Mango MAY NATIONAL RECORD DESTROYED.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2050289703669137476
“EU releases emergency aid as floods devastate Tanzanian communities…
“Intense and prolonged rainfall during the March – May rainy season triggered severe flooding and landslides in late March, , according to a statement from the EU Delegation to Tanzania cited on Thursday by the European External Action Service (EEAS).”
“Kenya floods leave roads impassable in Syokimau.
“Motorists and residents in Syokimau, Machakos County, just southeast of Nairobi, are facing major disruption after heavy rains triggered flooding in the area. The flooding has left roads nearly impassable, with many vehicles stranded…”
https://www.africanews.com/amp/2026/05/02/kenya-floods-leave-roads-impassable-in-syokimau/
“Syria on the Brink of Water Scarcity: Climate Change, Drought, and Threats to Food Security…
“This evolving situation raises a critical analytical question: Does the current crisis in Syria reflect merely a shortfall in average precipitation, or does it signal a deeper transformation in the relationship between climate systems, natural resources, and food security?”
“Dams at Capacity: Kurdistan Region Harvests Record Rainfall Into Strategic Reserves.
“The KRG asserts its water management policies have successfully captured over 11 billion cubic meters of precipitation, ensuring critical reserves for agricultural and municipal use.”
https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/911403
“HISTORIC HEAT IN THE EMIRATES:
“Crazy MINIMUM 33.9C [93F] at Fujairah today is HOTTEST APRIL NIGHT IN EMIRATES HISTORY; in OMAN nearly every station broke the record 3/5 times in a row with Mins up to 34.5C..” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2049847259089498460
“Climate change is an unfolding labour crisis, ministry warns.
“Pakistan’s workforce estimated at over 57 million is increasingly on the frontlines of climate vulnerability, from heat-stressed daily wage earners to flood-affected farmers… Pakistan remains among the countries most vulnerable to climate change.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1996823/climate-change-is-an-unfolding-labour-crisis-ministry-warns
“Most Karachi areas suffer as water crisis enters second week…
“Abdul Ghafoor, a resident of Malir, said that he had not seen tap water for the past one week. “I paid Rs6,000 for a water tanker yesterday,” he told Dawn on Thursday. A housewife in Saddar said that her kids had not bathed properly before school for the past one week.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1996538
“Heatwave Sparks Forest Fires Across 12 States, Madhya Pradesh Worst Hit.
“Amid a continuing heatwave, large fires have burnt huge tracts of forest cover in more than 12 Indian states—from Uttarakhand in the north, Gujarat in the west, to Andhra Pradesh in the south.”
“Storms kill 13 in Uttar Pradesh as Delhi sees rare May Day weather shift.
“A powerful mix of rain, thunderstorms, hail, and dust storms swept across Delhi-NCR and Uttar Pradesh… Uttar Pradesh reported 13 storm-related deaths and dozens injured as winds reached up to 100 km/h, while Delhi saw temperature drops of up to 17°C…”
“At least 10 killed in rain-related incidents across southern Indian city [Bengaluru] after intense downpour…
“After weeks of elevated temperatures and uncomfortable humidity, the weather in Bengaluru suddenly shifted on Wednesday, with intense rainfall, gusty winds and hailstorms sweeping parts of the city.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/bengaluru-hailstorm-hospital-wall-collapse-b2967898.html
“Early floods devastate Habiganj haors; Boro farmers staring at heavy losses [Bangladesh]…
“Deepak added that nearly 49 percent of the ripe crop remains unharvested, warning that continued rainfall and rising water levels could significantly increase the losses.”
“On April 29, Zhangzhou in Fujian Province and Chaozhou in Guangdong Province were hit by squall lines, with rainfall reaching 96 mm in one hour and 210 mm in three hours, causing severe flooding in several towns.”
[Jim Yang]
https://x.com/yangyubin1998/status/2049836482639302880
“RECORD HEAT IN JAPAN; April starts and ends with record heat in Japan:
“Today the tiny island of Chichijima rose to 28.6C [83.5F], its hottest April day in history. Fun fact: Chichijima is the only place on Earth where a curious mixing of Japanese and English is spoken by some people.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2049762634086388206
“Tsushima Current, High Pressure Fuel Extreme Summer Heat [Korea].
“The average maximum temperature in Seoul this April, which experienced abnormal high temperatures at early summer levels, ranked as the third highest on record. The early April heat is interpreted as a precursor to the upcoming “extreme summer.””
https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2026/05/02/L3G7SVOKMZD2ZDYFYTKFSEQJZA/
“SE ASIA EXTRAORDINARY HEAT:
Thousands of records are being smashed all over Oceania, Australia and SE Asia. MAY RECORDS: INDONESIA 36.0 Tanah Merah, MYANMAR 40.8 [105.4F] Dawei ALL TIME RECORD, 39.7 Victoria Point.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2050237052281573728
“Tasmania records its hottest May day in recorded history.
“”We’ve broken records from Strahan to Launceston, down through Hobart,” says Dean Narramore, senior meteorologist at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). Dean tells Joel Rheinberger on Tasmania Afternoons where the hottest parts of the state have been.”
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN OCEANIA – records of May hottest nights smashed in pieces all over Oceania. MINIMUMS up to 29C [84.2F]…
“AUSTRALIA is also breaking dozens of records all over the country from West to East (next tweet). In 24 hours May 2026 has broken more heat records than any full May.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2050347809593823678
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT WAVE IN SOUTH AMERICA:
“Eternal summer in BOLIVIA and PARAGUAY. 38.2 [100.8F] Puerto Suarez – record again! Next 7 days THOUSANDS of records will fall all over South America, Oceania, Australia and Southern Africa.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2050327129674375679
“EXTRAORDINARY EVENT – WORLD RECORD OF APRIL HIGHEST TEMPERATURE above 2000m smashed for the 3rd day in a row: 39.0C [102.2F] at Guanajuato MEXICO.
“World record broken by full 2C and close to the world record for ANY MONTH.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2049743081159753997
“More rain, less water: Why the water crisis in Mexico is getting harder to solve…
“New research into Mexico’s long-term climate patterns suggests the country is entering a more volatile water era: longer, more intense droughts punctuated by short bursts of heavy rainfall — events that often fail to replenish water systems.”
“Exclusive: Texas officials rejected Corpus Christi water project amid looming crisis.
“Months after Gov. Greg Abbott blasted local leaders for backing out of a plan to build a desalination plant on the Corpus Christi ship channel, the state declined to help finance another, larger desalination facility that could similarly ease the region’s growing water crisis.”
“Flood Watch Issued for Southeast Texas Following Record Rainfall…
“The heavy precipitation ended a 224-day dry streak in San Antonio, the city’s fifth-longest drought period in 70 years. Northern Bexar County locations such as Helotes and Universal City saw totals between 3 and 6 inches, leading to more than 20 high-water rescues by the San Antonio Fire Department.”
https://www.harianbasis.co/en/texas-flood-watch-record-rainfall
“This Summer, the American Water Crisis Becomes Real.
“…this season’s scarce water could cause a historic first in the next few years: States in the upper basin of the Colorado river could fail to deliver enough water to states in the lower basin, violating the 1922 agreement for the first time.”
https://www.wired.com/story/the-summer-the-american-water-crisis-turned-real/
“For the first time, California growers have to say how much groundwater they’re taking…
“The Tule and Tulare Lake groundwater subbasins were put on probation by the board in 2024 because they weren’t doing enough to control excessive pumping, which has caused levels to plummet.”
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-05-01/california-farms-tule-tulare-groundwater
“A record-low snowpack in Central Oregon is leaving farmers in Sisters scrambling for water, as dwindling snowmelt threatens irrigation supplies at the start of the growing season…
“”On a year where our snowpack is at 8% or normal, and is the record low in the last 100 years, we’re really concerned about our water allotment,” Rainshadow Organics owner Sarahlee Lawrence said.”
“Warming rivers are now a growing source of greenhouse gases.
“Rivers worldwide have grown warmer, poorer in oxygen, and more loaded with heat-trapping gases since 2002, according to new research. The study recasts river damage as a climate problem, because the same changes that strain fish also feed gases into the air.”
https://www.earth.com/news/warming-rivers-are-now-a-growing-source-of-greenhouse-gases/
“After 37 Years, the World’s Longest-Running Soil Warming Experiment Uncovers a Startling Climate Secret…
“What was once considered long-term, “stable” carbon in forest soils is proving far less permanent. As temperatures rise, even these stubborn carbon reserves can break down and release CO2 into the air.”
“Toxic chemicals and climate change work together to harm fertility across species.
“…fish, reptiles, birds, humans, and other mammals – are constantly simultaneously exposed to synthetic chemicals and the impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures. Both of these stressors can harm fertility, and many of the impacts found are similar across species, such as effects on sperm and eggs.”
https://www.ehn.org/chemicals-climate-change-fertility
“The Turkish COP31 president-designate said Thursday the clean energy transition will be a top issue at the climate summit but simply telling nations to phase out fossil fuels “is not realistic”…
“…when pressed on whether the words “fossil fuels” could appear in a COP31 final decision, Kurum said: “It’s not about putting some words in a text.””
“Ten compelling poems about climate change…
“We asked ten literary experts to recommend the climate poem that has spoken to them most powerfully. Their answers span over 200 years and a range of emotions from sorrow, to anger, fear and hope. This article is part of Climate Storytelling, a series exploring how arts and science can join forces to spark understanding, hope and action.”
https://theconversation.com/ten-compelling-poems-about-climate-change-chosen-by-our-experts-281698
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You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an Economic thread.
Fires, floods, famine and freaks persist as we move into week 10 of acceleration mode. Wow, never a dull moment from here on I guess…
I believe you are right.
You didn’t give us a quote so here’s one:
“Life is a disease: sexually transmitted and invariably fatal.”
– Neil Gaiman
Cassandra, one of my youngest’s favourite movies is Coraline. I had no idea that it was originally a novella by Neil Gaiman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman
“Toxic chemicals and climate change work together to harm fertility across species.”
The bigger problem is they affected a lot of other things for both adults and fetuses.
From the metabolic point of view, BPA-treated mice are characterized by obesity and by anomalies of glucose and lipid metabolism, such as increased fasting blood glucose and serum insulin and significant hepatic accumulation of triglycerides and cholesterol [143]. Triglycerides accumulation promotes the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Jupiviv, the study says BPA causes “hypotension and cardiovascular disease… obesity… affects glucose metabolism, onset and progression of several tumors, and immune function…”
Meanwhile, “BPA… has been found in baby dummies manufactured by three big European brands.”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/18/chemical-linked-impaired-sexual-development-found-dummies-tests
Climate and the Global Famine of 1876–78:
https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/31/23/jcli-d-18-0159.1.xml
From 1875 to 1878, concurrent multiyear droughts in Asia, Brazil, and Africa, referred to as the Great Drought, caused widespread crop failures, catalyzing the so-called Global Famine, which had fatalities exceeding 50 million people and long-lasting societal consequences.
…
Severe or record-setting droughts occurred on continents in both hemispheres and in multiple seasons, with the “Monsoon Asia” region being the hardest hit, experiencing the single most intense and the second most expansive drought in the last 800 years.
There has been research that showed the 1877 El Nino not to be much worse than the four subsequent “super” El Nino’s and much of the problems for the Great Drought came from a confluence of decadal ocean oscillations, so still an open question what the next two years bring.
50 million deaths out of about 1300 million is about 4%, with worst hit regions India, North China, Egypt, Morocco and Brazil.
“Food is the foundation of our society. We often take it for granted, but stocks are rarely available for longer than a year, and food production can be disrupted by catastrophic events, both locally and globally.”
https://esd.copernicus.org/articles/17/151/2026/esd-17-151-2026.html
Let’s hope we are not unlucky enough to have multiple bread-basket failures.
There are bubbles everywhere and scams and lies everywhere i turn. Things are getting so gross here with the amount of corruption. Customer service is basically non existent now with businesses using ai as cover as things go into dumpster fire daily. The right is selling lies about climate change by using geoengineering which is never questioned as maybe its making things worse or making no difference at all. Add in the cloud seeding nonsense by those on the left who will not even look at new data or those who access to the science literature and refuse to even go there. Makes me wonder if by not looking at the or literature they would be horrified by actual going there they might have to admit how badly fucked we are.
2026 On Track for Warmest Year
https://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2026/2026GlobalTemperature.2026.04.30.pdf
My wild ass guess is that 2027 will be even hotter. Buckle your chin strap
Wonder how many pregnant women there are at this moment?
Looking at that EEI chart I find it difficult to see that something major happened in 2018/2019 as ships started to convert away from using high sulphur bunker oil or to add scrubbers, but something significant seems to have happened in 2014. Don’t know what (China?). Nevertheless a five fold factor in the rate of warming since 2004 is like a step change in geological time and every sign that it is just continuing to grow (is there anything to say it won’t go up another factor of five by 2050 because it’s pretty evident that even the best models are still missing some really important phenomena).
Since there is no new articles on Suday I present the following link from Neutrality Studies for those looking for some intellectual stimulation on a Sunday. The kind of stimulation that goiing to church does not provide and going to a beer garden or pub usually does not provide. The podcast that they put out this morning is the first podcast that I watched more than one hour of for a really long time. Some readers here may already be familiar with Neutrality Studies. The subject is about group think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJBrhzjJETQ
I’m familiar with Pascal Lattoz’s interviews indeed. And this one? Holy. Shit.
The differences between totalitarianism and a classical dictatorship.
In short: The psychology of Trumpland.
I regret this comment: I looked up Mattias Desmet: Mass formation is not part of the DSM and his ideas have been used by vaccine denialists and those spreading Covid misinformation.
https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2022/news-anatomy-misinformation
” “mass formation psychosis” is a bogus theory that lacks evidence—or even recognition by scientists.”
Best I can do is Social Contagion exacerbated by mass communication.
…. social media algorithms give privilege to inflammatory content. Combine that with the fact that at any given time about 15% of the American population has a Personality Disorder and many of the rest are ignorant and very selfish.
Quote of the Day
“It’s so massive it’s pretty much invisible”
Barry Commoner
12 places Trump’s name or image is being added by the federal government
The Trump administration has made an aggressive push to add the president’s name to buildings, battleships, money and government websites.
Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace
The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts
Trump-class battleships
Trump coins
Trump dollar bills
Trump passports
Trump national park pass
Trump banners
TrumpIRA.gov
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/federal-government-adds-trump-name-image-buildings-programs-currency-rcna343097
Some have no bounds….least we forget the Strait of Trump
Thank you, all, for your comments but please no vaccine-related stuff – it’s a structurally toxic topic that I am ill-equipped to moderate.
Also, this is an apolitical “Limits to Growth” blog that only tangentially addresses politics and geopolitics, so let’s try not to go too far down the Trump-bashing rabbit hole.