Huge thanks to my sponsor for July, who has asked me to promote the excellent Environmental Coffeehouse YouTube channel. For the uninitiated, the channel covers climate, conservation, pollution, biodiversity, sustainability, and the intersection of environment, society, and policy.
“The Strongest El Niño Ever…
“I’m generally pretty measured in how I discuss climate data… [However], with the July runs now in from 667 ensemble members across 14 different seasonal forecast models, it looks like this year’s El Niño is not only very likely to be the strongest event since reliable records began – it may end up the strongest by a truly mind-blowing margin.” [Zeke Hausfather]
https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-strongest-el-nino-ever
“Breaking News! Code: Godzilla!
“Today’s CFSv2 run has data through April, 2027. The model is showing a mean peak of 4.20°C above the 1991-2020 baseline happening in November. The models also include the July 1 datapoint of 1.90°C above the 1991-2020 baseline. Hot times ahead!”
[Prof Eliot Jacobson]
https://x.com/EliotJacobson/status/2076665520393461889
“Scientists Suggest “Sun-Dimming” Cloud Plan To Reduce Super El Nino Impact…
“Researchers at UC San Diego have proposed the plan in a study published in the journal Science Advances. The proposal involves solar geoengineering, which aims to reduce extreme weather impacts by changing how sunlight interacts with the atmosphere.”
“Upper ocean heat content (0 to 700 m depth) also [in addition to overall Global ocean heat content] set a new record high with the latest data update to start 2026.
“Graphic shows anomalies and is produced by NOAA.”
[Zack Labe]
https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com/post/3mqkxqx65a22a
“The Arctic saw its hottest June on record for the month! The region’s 10 warmest Junes have all been observed since 2012, with most of this warming trend coming from over northern land areas.
“Data from NOAA.”
[Zack Labe]
https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com/post/3mqf7sd77oc2u
“Global warming is forcing the Global Seed Vault to make an early upgrade [Svalbard].
“According to a report on Friday in The Guardian, a series of highly unusual wintertime heat waves during the 2016-17 winter resulted in enough thawing of the permafrost that water rushed into the vault’s entrance… the incident may demonstrated that rapid Arctic climate change… could upend key assumptions used to build the vault.”
https://mashable.com/article/global-seed-vault-melting-permafrost-global-warming
“Melting icebergs can weaken a massive, far-off ocean current system [AMOC]…
“The team’s simulations showed that freshwater from northeastern Pacific iceberg discharge events made its way across the globe to the North Atlantic deepwater formation regions, where dense surface waters sink to drive the AMOC engine.”
https://phys.org/news/2026-07-icebergs-weaken-massive-ocean-current.html
“Shifts in the jet stream are behind Europe’s long heatwaves…
“At Earth’s surface, air flows away from the high-pressure system to lower-pressure areas. As dry air descends from above to replace it, it is compressed and heats up, much like how pumping air into a bicycle tyre generates heat.”
“1976 record overtaken as drought and wildfire risk spreads [UK].
“Professor Andrew Charlton-Perez, University of Reading, said: “For half a century, 1976 was the benchmark every hot summer got measured against. Now 2026 has taken its place. We’ve recorded 15 days above 30°C [86F] so far this year, overtaking the 14 days set in 1976, and there’s still six weeks of summer left to go.”
“Unbelievable new images have shown Manchester smothered in smoke as the Dovestone moorland fire rages on for a third consecutive day. A major incident was declared on Monday (July 13) as fire crews continued to battle the ongoing blaze over Saddleworth.
“Fire crews along with police have remained at the scene since it first broke out on Saturday evening (July 11).”
“Heat Wave Dries Up German Rhine Chokepoint to Strain Fuel Supply.
“Water levels at a key waypoint on the Rhine River have fallen to the lowest for the time of year in decades as Europe struggles with intense heat waves, limiting fuel flows into southern Germany and Switzerland.”
“A powerful hailstorm strikes the city of Wittenberg in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, covering the streets with a thick layer of hailstones in a short time, amid difficulties in vehicle movement on some roads.”
[Arab Storms]
https://x.com/Arab_Storms/status/2076753759322223047
“HISTORIC HEAT IN WESTERN EUROPE:
“Records smashed everywhere: 36 Monthly records in FRANCE (see list by Meteociel); IRELAND: 30.0 [86F] Valentia ALL TIME RECORD; SWITZERLAND: 37.3 Locarno Monthly record, 37.2 Magadino All time record; SPAIN: Min 22.3 Bilbao AP- July warmest night.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2076389994822840512
“Firefighting planes scrambled from south of France to tackle huge wildfire near Paris…
“The mayor of Fontainebleau, Julien Gondard, said he was shocked and angered. “This exceptional area is consumed by flames, we’ve never seen anything like this,” he told the local TV station ICI Paris Île-de-France. “The forest is fragile and it’s in a critical condition.””
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/13/france-fires-wildfires-fointaineblue-forest-paris
“Hail in Sanxenxo causes chaos on the sandy beaches [N Spain].
“When the hail began to fall, which reached a considerable size for the summer season, the sand emptied in a matter of minutes. People fled the shore desperately seeking shelter under the awnings of beach bars, the arcades of the buildings on the promenade or inside their vehicles…”
“‘This landscape is completely charred’: Inside the village at epicentre of Spain’s wildfires…
“The BBC’s Nick Beake sees homes razed to the ground and “a sea of black” in the village of Bédar, in southern Spain’s Almería province… A sustained heatwave with temperatures of around 40C (104F) has caused wildfires across Southern Europe this summer, particularly in France, Portugal and Spain.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cddl1yrldelo
“Extreme heat threatens Parmesan heartland…
“Fifty years ago, farmers in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region used to open the windows in their barns at night during the summer to keep their cattle cool… [now] farmers have installed costly fans and water-mist systems to counter the heat, which has affected milk production and sent costs soaring.”
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2026/07/14/2003860726
“Bottlenose dolphins are relying on fishing trawlers in Adriatic Sea, study finds…
“Dolphins have been found to be feeding on discarded fish and unwanted catch from trawlers, as natural prey is hard to find due to overfishing. Up to 76 per cent of the trawlers inspected by scientists off Marche, Italy – where the study was conducted across 148 days – were followed by dolphins.”
“AFRICA HISTORIC HEAT WAVE:
“The most extreme heat wave in North Africa history worsens with 49C [120.2F] in Algeria and 48C in Tunisia near the coast. Records shattered in ALGERIA: 47.7 Bouchegouf all time high; 46.0 Bejaia July record. Next days we might see 50C, even close to the sea!” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2076377970361467334
“Algeria records highest-ever power demand amid scorching heat wave.
“Algeria hit a record electricity demand of 21,870 megawatts as a severe heat wave pushed temperatures above 45C in parts of the country, state utility Sonelgaz said.”
“Egypt’s water dispute with Ethiopia overshadowed by rising Horn of Africa tension, experts say.
“…experts contend that the Egypt-Ethiopia dispute has evolved away from the dam and its likely impact on Egypt’s water share and into a much more complex, broader phase of regional tensions with the potential to morph into open hostilities.”
“Khartoum faces drinking water crisis as Nile levels drop sharply.
“Local authorities are scrambling to address the crisis, which threatens hundreds of thousands of residents in the Sudanese capital. The announcement followed widespread social media activity, where activists shared photos and videos showing newly formed sand islands exposed by the receding waters of the Blue Nile.”
https://sudantribune.com/article/316195
“52.1C / 125.8F Delhoran IRAN [HOTTEST WORLD DAY OF 2026].
“A historic heat wave from Middle East to Japan NEXT DAYS WILL REWRITE CLIMATIC HISTORY – 53 Middle East, 50 China, 49 Central Asia. DOZENS OF THOUSANDS OF RECORDS IN EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY from Arabia to Japan. HISTORY IN THE MAKING.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2076711205729710262
“Telavi Battles ‘Serious’ Flood Damage [Georgia].
“Authorities have been assessing the damage and working to mitigate the “serious” impact in Telavi, the central city in Georgia’s eastern Kakheti region, after the local Telaviskhevi river overflowed following heavy rain during the early hours of July 12, flooding streets and residential areas.”
https://civil.ge/archives/744341
“A flock of sheep was swept away by powerful torrents of water in the town of Kochkor-Ata, as captured in videos shared on social media [Kyrgyzstan].
“The Ministry of Emergency Situations had previously warned that rising temperatures between July 14 and July 18 would likely cause water levels in the country’s rivers to rise, creating a high risk of localized flooding and mudflows.”
https://akipress.com/news:907193:Flock_of_sheep_swept_away_by_floodwaters_in_Kochkor-Ata/
“The terrifying floods and mudslides that struck Darg village in the Ayni district of Sughd Province in northern Tajikistan caused damage to 63 homes, in addition to damage to roads, property, and agricultural lands.”
[Arab Storms]
https://x.com/Arab_Storms/status/2076200075978781029
“Northeast reels under rain fury: Arunachal floods claim 7 lives, Mizoram evacuates hundreds, Guwahati grinds to halt [India].
“Incessant rains have triggered severe floods and landslides across Arunachal Pradesh, impacting many districts. Mizoram’s government has advised tourists to postpone visits due to safety concerns.
“The Himalayas are running out of their prized harvest [Nepal]
“For nearly two decades, 62-year-old Durga Bahadur Budha has trekked into the remote alpine meadows of Mugu every spring in search of yarsagumba (Cordyceps sinensis), the prized Himalayan fungus-caterpillar that sustains thousands of families across Nepal’s Karnali province. This year, the journey brought little reward.”
https://kathmandupost.com/national/2026/07/13/the-himalayas-are-running-out-of-their-prized-harvest
“51 dead, over 1 million marooned by floods in Bangladesh.
“Floods that have swept parts of Bangladesh for about a week have killed 51 people, said a senior official on Sunday. According to the latest daily disaster situation report released by the country’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, more than 1.02 million people were marooned by floods…”
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202607/1365874.shtml
“ENDLESS RECORD HEAT IN CHINA:
“26 more stations between yesterday and today broke their July Highest Minimum records, 16 of which are all time records. All time record max. at Guangning with 39.5C [103.1F]. Record heat will go on and on for the whole week. Absolutely insane.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2076311658310283758
“Typhoon Bavi: Millions evacuated in China as severe flooding traps villagers and sweeps cars away.
“Water levels were reported to have risen to more than two metres on roads in Kuacheng, Hebei [after an unprecedented 260mm / 10 inches of rain falling in 6 hours]. Several cars were seen crashing into each other as they were carried along roads by the strength of the current.”
“The tropical North Pacific appears primed to enter a period of hyperactivity for tropical systems, fueled by El Niño and a massive marine heat wave.
“In the Atlantic, there’s some slight chances for development in the eastern Gulf and near the East Coast into next week.” [Ben Noll]
https://x.com/BenNollWeather/status/2076667971263451365
“Exceptional heat continues in the KOREAS:
“With MINIMUMS still up to 29C [84.2F] and extreme moisture. In particular, the Minimum of 28.2c at Ullungdo, SOUTH KOREA is the highest ever recorded in July.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2076625678523367851
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN THAILAND:
“MINIMUM 30.0 [86F] Koh Sichang is HOTTEST JULY NIGHT IN THAI HISTORY – national record broken or tied 11 days in a row! Record also in INDONESIA: MIN 27.9 Menado.”
[Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2075890404541546633
“Dolphin deaths in South Australia spike after algal bloom decimates food sources.
“Last year, at least 70 carcasses of common and bottlenose dolphins were found across SA, with a further 20 reported in 2026, including the recent death of a popular Port River dolphin known as Zoom. Many of those found in Gulf St Vincent, a large marine zone west of Adelaide, which was heavily affected by the bloom, were severely emaciated.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/14/dolphin-deaths-south-australia-algal-bloom
“HISTORIC WINTER HEAT IN BRAZIL 39 DEGREES.
“Exceptional and widespread record heat yesterday. In Piaui State 38.8C [101.8F] at Sao Joao do Piaui – July Record. Record shattered also at Vitoria, Espirito Santo State with 35.6C.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2076645200739303476
“Extreme heat puts Brazil’s coffee harvest at risk.
“Extreme heat and erratic rainfall threaten production in the world’s largest coffee-growing country, with farmers warning that disrupted flowering and uneven ripening could reduce yields and damage bean quality despite expanded irrigation and new technology.”
https://www.ynetnews.com/environment/article/rjrtteqege
“Floods leave more than 20 thousand affected in Arauca and Casanare [Colombia].
“More than 20 thousand people have been affected by the serious floods recorded in the departments of Arauca and Casanare. For this reason, the governors of both departments formally decreed the public calamity, a measure that seeks to speed up the allocation of resources…”
https://www.lanacion.com.co/inundaciones-dejan-mas-20-mil-afectados-en-arauca-y-casanare/
“First came the dead fish, then invasive plants. A year later and Lake Suchitlán’s pollution remains a mystery [El Salvador].
“Lake Suchitlán is a Ramsar site… It is also a reservoir feeding the Cerrón Grande dam, which supplies roughly 28% of the country’s hydroelectric power. If Lake Suchitlán collapses, at stake is the nation’s food security, power generation and public health…”
“INSANE HEAT IN THE CARIBBEAN:
“35C/95F St Thomas – US VIRGIN ISLANDS HOTTEST JULY DAY tied again. St Thomas has been with relentless record heat since 2015,breaking records no-stop all year round.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2076073213281411098
“Seaweed takes over beaches from Caribbean to Miami.
“Birthday ruined. Tourists gagging. AC units corroding. From the Caribbean to Miami Beach, sargassum blooms are back, and more seaweed is on the way as the oceans just hit their hottest June on record.”
“Lake Powell reaching critically low elevation levels, nearing ‘dead power pool,’ experts say…
“As of Monday, water levels at Lake Powell measured at 3,524.3 feet above sea level, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation tracker. Minimum, or “dead,” power pool — in which the water is too low to spin the hydroelectric turbines and can no longer produce hydropower — starts at 3,490 feet of elevation.”
“Salt Lake City hits 109 degrees, setting new all-time high temperature record.
“Salt Lake City observed a temperature of 109 degrees Sunday afternoon, setting the new all-time high temperature record. This the hottest observed temperature in Salt Lake City since recording began in 1874.”
“Billings and other Montana towns smash heat records over weekend, humidity on the horizon.
“Billings hit 111 degrees. Sheridan, Wyoming, reached 109 degrees. Baker, near the North Dakota border, was at 108. Miles City was one of the hottest places in Montana on Sunday with a high of 115 degrees, breaking its earlier record-high set in 2012 by four degrees…”
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/jul/13/billings-and-other-montana-towns-smash-heat-record/
“Hello from the outside: heat domes impeding radio and other signals in US midwest.
“Higher temperatures can cause radio, TV and microwave signals to travel hundreds of miles farther, upsetting communications… Radio is an essential mode of communication during emergency situations, when internet and cell coverage regularly falters, but is also an everyday tool for thousands of forest firefighters, railroad workers and the maritime industry…”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/13/heat-dome-radio-signals-us-midwest
“Minnesota Wildfires Threaten Agriculture as Governor Walz Mobilizes National Guard.
“Farmers across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario and Manitoba are closely monitoring a growing wildfire situation in northern Minnesota after Governor Tim Walz declared a peacetime emergency and mobilized the Minnesota National Guard to assist firefighting efforts.”
“PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Mayor Parker and city leadership have issued a Declaration of Disaster Emergency after severe storms moved through the area Saturday.
“The fast-moving storm tore through parts of Philadelphia, ripping roofing from buildings, flooding streets, and downing hundreds of trees and power lines.”
https://6abc.com/post/wynnefield-neighbors-describe-chaos-fastmoving-storm-floods-streets/19487662/
“Several dolphins die off Cape Cod in state’s largest-ever bottlenose mass stranding…
“Bottlenose dolphins are typically an offshore species, IFAW said, but they have seen a growing trend of the animals closer to Cape Cod’s shores in recent years. They said this is now the largest known stranding of bottlenose dolphins off Massachusetts.”
“HISTORIC HEAT WAVE IN CANADA:
“In Ontario: 40.7C [105.3F] Armstrong; 39.5C Thunder Bay etc. Heat Indexes up to 50C [122F] in Manitoba. DOZENS OF RECORDS of Highest Minimums smashed with insane margins in Manitoba and Ontario with Mins locally >26C – unprecedented.” [Extreme Temps]
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2076778968057884737
“Data centres in a heatwave: heaping demand on stretched electric grid during climate crisis…
“His research shows that many of the most exposed data centres are in the US and in certain southern European clusters… Porter says that when companies look to locate new centres climate risks and power availability are now paramount.”
“World’s water supplies heading for irreversible decline, warns UN’s Guterres.
“The world is “living beyond our hydrological means”, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, warning that overconsumption, pollution and climate change are pushing water supplies towards an irreversible decline.”
“Move Over Oppenheimer. The genocidal consequences of climate scientists still minimising how bad things really are…
“You don’t need a PhD to conclude the +2.0°C average predicted for 2046-2065 by RCP8.5 will certainly be exceeded, and any claim current ‘mitigation policies’ could keep us within a +2.0°C maximum range by 2100, let alone under +1.5°C, is absurdly unrealistic.”
https://jacksondamian.substack.com/p/move-over-oppenheimer
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I’m sorry, I don’t normally like to comment on things that are just plain wrong (not my job to correct people online), but this is just such a crappy article on a topic so close to my heart (hydrology & drought modelling) I couldn’t just let it slip by:
>“Poland’s longest river falls to historically low water levels amid drought. (…) Recent data from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management showed that the river level at the Warsaw-Bulwary monitoring station had dropped to 19 centimeters, far below the normal level of around 230 centimeters. [em. mine]”
>https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202607/1365877.shtml
What a load of nonsense. While the hydrology in this particular region of Poland is in fact impacted by a decadal drought that doesn’t seem to be getting any better (although context here matters a lot, since there’s a sand mine just couple kilometers upstream, heavily contributing to the riverbed erosion in this particular segment of the Vistula thus introducing bias to the measurements as well as couple hundred kilometers of faulty and obsolete hydrotechnical infrastructure built during the 1960s, essentially draining whatever tributaries flow into her), I have no idea where they pulled that 19 centimeters out of. Maybe it’s just CN reporting (no offense), but I’d expect them to at least check the actual publicly available online data before writing whatever nonsense comes to their minds.
Thanks, Nobody, for setting us straight on that. I’ve removed the offending article, as your facts stack up better, and I do not want to compromise my own credibility.
Reuters was reporting something similar, so I thought I was on reasonably safe ground there:
https://www.reutersconnect.com/item/vistula-river-reaches-record-lows-due-to-drought/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjY6bmV3c21sX09XTlVSQ0FSUklFTlNWSVNUVUxBUjI2MDcxM05QS0NZ
An actuaries report last year – which is used by governments, insurance, ftse 100 companies, the go too for risk assessment basically – states the most likely of scenarios could be around 3c warming by 2050, which could equate to around 2 billion deaths worldwide.
Head to the poles! Buy land buy ammo
“Move Over Oppenheimer. The genocidal consequences of climate scientists still minimising how bad things really are…”
If I were a climate scientist, this would be my response: What would be the point of professional self-immolation via calling out the BS that we knowingly go along with? It’s not like we know the one cool trick to prevent our structurally unsustainable civilization from imploding. Besides, the question of “what to do” is not just a climate science question, it is equally and perhaps more so economic, political, cultural, existential and so on. It is unfair, callous and foolish to demand of scientists who have spent decades solving very specific problems in very specific contexts that they settle a matter that by its very nature can only be settled by the universal non-antagonistic cooperation of free human beings – something that does not yet exist and may never. We already issue statements calling for reigning in capitalism and implementing nebulously nice green welfare policies. So wtf else do you want us to do?
Do we have an answer to that question? I certainly don’t.
Climate change mitigation, to me, is like being in a burning house and turning down the temperature on the A/C because it’s too hot. The only viable solution is to get out of the house and put out the fire. We can dim the clouds, and convert to solar, and any number of other so-called “solutions”, but it won’t make any difference. The house is on fire and we can’t get out.
“The house is on fire and we can’t get out.”
🎯 😱 💥
CastleDoc, I guess moving up to Islay is the equivalent of cowering in the corner of an annexe and hoping I only get singed. 😂
I thought Damian’s article was very interesting on the topic of why, and to what degree, some scientists have been minimising our predicament but, as Jupiviv points out, humanity wasn’t going to suddenly change its ways had they gone full doomer, so the charge of genocide doesn’t really stick.
Exactly! You posted UN’s Guterres’ water warning right before that, and my reaction was, “Like anyone listens to him” (I have a post entitled, “The Science is clear”, 5 years ago mocking Guterres for thinking that since that was the case s/t would change).
All it took was for America’s Furor to declare climate change a hoax to begin the process of one Corponation after the other to drop their support for any mitigation measures they may have proposed.
Actual verbal support for their work (for who else could be perpetrating the said hoax other than climate scientists?) was not exactly forthcoming.
From a fuel crisis to a food crisis ?
” Europe’s heatwave is taking a serious toll on grain production.
COCERAL has cut its 2026 EU + UK grain crop forecast, citing extreme heat across key producing regions.
📉 Updated 2026 production forecasts:
🌾 Total grains: 286.6 MMT (-23.4 MMT YoY)
🌾 Soft Wheat
🔻 140.8 MMT
(previous: 143.7 MMT | 2025: 149.8 MMT)
🌽 Corn
🔻 52.7 MMT
(previous: 57.2 MMT | 2025: 57.4 MMT)
🇫🇷 France’s corn crop is expected to plunge to 9.4 MMT, down from 13.8 MMT last year.
🌻 Rapeseed
🔻 21.2 MMT
(previous: 21.5 MMT)
Larger harvested area helped limit losses despite the heat.
🌾 Barley
🔻 57.6 MMT
(previous: 58.8 MMT | 2025: 63.8 MMT)
🔥 Extreme heat hit grain filling across France, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, and Spain, significantly reducing yield potential.
📊 Market Impact:
Lower EU grain production could tighten export supplies, support wheat and corn prices, and increase Europe’s reliance on imports if adverse weather continues.
Weather is once again becoming the biggest driver of global grain markets.
https://x.com/gaurav_kochar/status/2076882531673424260/photo/1
Weather may be a main driver, and it will almost certainly get worse this year and all subsequent ones, but fuel costs and availability in Russia and Ukraine are going to be a significant factor this year and fertiliser problems are going to have some impact this year and next (these are also going to keep getting worse).
I have been keeping my eyes peeled for information about to what extent the diesel crisis is likely to affect the Russian harvest this summer and autumn, as obviously there are global ramifications, but so far articles have been too partisan for me to be confident in posting them.
We do know that shipping restrictions in the Azov Sea are starting to push up wheat prices, as Russia is forced to reroute grain shipments.
Pan , drb at OFW for your information .
” There is diesel, even though it is currently limited to 200 liters per purchase at the station. no queues at least here but many stations closed. In the past I have bought as many as 800 liters in one shot. The government has called everyone with a legal entity (including me) to find out how much diesel we need, and wants to sell direct to us. so export money reduced. what is really rationed is gasoline, and for that there are queues. ”
He is an Italian who moved to Russia and has a large farm there .
Thanks, Ravi. I recall the name from my own OFW days!
41 C reached yesterday in the shade in our yard. Hot dry winds fanning area wildfires with much smoke smothering Thunder Bay, Ontario. We evacuated to a nearby town to have AC and clear air for our health.
Wow! 105 F in Canada. Wildfires are so scary. I’m sorry to hear. Stay safe!
Cassandra, thanks for the reply. Yep, uncomfortable heat blasting again today at 442 meters or 1450 ft ASL and near 50 latitude. The heli-firebase is in this small town, so lots of helicopters [buzzing around like angry hornets] fighting the area flames.
Bob Shaw Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?
That sounds all miserable, Bob. Hope you can return home soon.
Infrastructure struggling over in Manitoba:
“Manitoba’s extreme heat has played havoc with highways and city roads, causing some to break, buckle and heave. A western part of the Perimeter Highway was closed to traffic between Saskatchewan Avenue and the Trans-Canada Highway on Sunday.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/highway-concrete-buckling-roads-heat-9.7268312
Oh yes, but don’t be alarmed. Effing idiots.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/4361265257351082
Here’s a summary of the factors that will lead to the global food crisis:
Before the war, Persian Gulf countries accounted for roughly 35% of global urea production, 40% of sulfur production, and 20% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) output. Urea is the primary feedstock for nitrogen fertilizers; sulfuric acid (derived from sulfur) is the primary feedstock for phosphate fertilizers; and LNG is itself a source of urea production. Bangladesh, for example, has urea plants that ran on LNG from Qatar — one of the most heavily bombed industries in the conflict — and they are now idle. The Gulf blockade has severed global fertilizer chains, with direct consequences for global food chains.
Major fertilizer exporters — Russia and China among them — have suspended exports to protect their own domestic food security. India urgently requested fertilizer supplies from China; China refused, citing its own needs.
Following the war, global fertilizer prices skyrocketed. More recently, they have begun to fall, but this is due to demand destruction: so many farmers are stopping planting that a surplus of fertilizer is starting to build up.
The United States has just declared a national emergency on fertilizers (see here and here);
China, the world’s largest producer and exporter of sulfuric acid (accounting for over 40% of global production), has halted exports — jeopardizing copper mining in Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo, nickel mining in Indonesia, and uranium mining in Kazakhstan. About half of all sulfuric acid consumed globally goes into phosphate fertilizer production.
Crops everywhere have narrow planting windows tied to the seasons. Plantings completed before the war began will not be affected, but those harvests are still months away, which will mask the crisis for some time — the world is currently eating food planted or even harvested months ago. Plantings scheduled after the war broke out may also have proceeded normally, provided the relevant fertilizers were already stockpiled. Otherwise, farmers who depended on fertilizer shipments passing through the Suez Canal received them roughly twenty days late, the additional time required for ships to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope. Even where those fertilizers were purchased at a premium, the delay alone meant application outside the optimal window, with lower yields as a result. The worst cases are those where rising input prices simply cause farmers to abandon planting altogether — as is already happening as far apart as the United States (soybeans, despite China having reopened its market to American soy — watch this video, from minutes 12′ to 15′) and Thailand (rice — read this report).
If the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked through around September or October, the global sulfur shortage will exhaust reserves in countries without domestic production, shutting down their phosphate fertilizer plants.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/13/the-global-food-crisis-2/
So according to abc news article the Colorado river at lake powell is a month and half away from dead pool where electricity cant be produced due to low river. I wonder how many read and understand how fucked they are in western us. Even the transfers from upper basin reservoirs will eventually not stop the collapse. In Colorado the reservoirs are drying up faster than they thought. Good luck with ai or power for anything in western civilization. Hold on tk your butt.
Their terminology usage is poor, leading to confusion. Dead pool is a couple of years away. What is likely to happen this year or early 2027 is minimum power pool.
Natural Resources
https://youtu.be/1WXJ2QlwrFA?si=ggxsNFFY30PrUWmP
We don’t need no steenkin water. If it burns let it burn.