“Earth’s record hot streak might be a sign of a new climate era…
“…the planet this year breached a feared warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Nearly 19,000 weather stations have notched record high temperatures since January 1. Each of the last ten months has been the hottest of its kind.
“The scale and intensity of this hot streak is extraordinary even considering the unprecedented amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, researchers say… “What happens in the next few months, said Gavin Schmidt, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, could indicate whether Earth’s climate has undergone a fundamental shift…””
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/04/19/record-temperatures-heat-climate/
“Breaking News! Code UFB!!!
“The planet has now averaged 1.60°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial baseline over the last 365 days.
“I’m sure this will make the news worldwide and help change everything starting today.”
https://twitter.com/EliotJacobson/status/1781284909333794919
“We might expect about two more months of new daily record Global Sea Surface Temperatures. And returning to some days of pre-2023 records around October.
“But who knows, we’re in uncharted territory.”
https://twitter.com/LeonSimons8/status/1781357000539918809
“Record-breaking sea temperatures in 2023 may have triggered an unprecedented global decline in the growth of phytoplankton and algae, which form the base of the marine food web.
“Last year, swathes of the world’s oceans were gripped by extreme marine heatwaves, caused by climate change and a transition to hotter El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean.”
“78% of Earth’s oceans are currently experiencing a marine heatwave (MHW). The event in the Mediterranean & Black Sea is extreme.
“MHWs near the UK & southwest of Spain may be of significance to the relentless rains in the UK, as air flows over these en route to the country.”
https://twitter.com/BenNollWeather/status/1781309523858178555
“There is a lot of surface heat building off the coast of Africa and all around Europe. It takes >3000 times as much heat to warm water by 1°C than it does for air.
“We should prepare for an eventful summer!”
https://twitter.com/LeonSimons8/status/1781334441056461295
“On 8 April, the sea surface temperature anomaly in some areas of the Mediterranean Basin has reached +5°C
“Dataviz based on the Open Data of our Copernicus Marine Service.”
https://twitter.com/CopernicusEU/status/1781257681933570372
“With lasting drought, Barcelona is swapping water cargo ships for floating desalination plants.
“Less than a month before the May 12 regional elections in Catalonia, with drought being the residents’ main concern, according to the March barometer of the Center for Study of Opinions, the Catalan government is changing strategy. Gone is the idea of shipping water from the Sagunto desalination plant near Valencia.”
“Record heat again in CAPE VERDE. After the April hottest day on record with 36.9C, now the April hottest night, beaten by a huge margin.
“The MIN: Temperature at Praia didn’t drop below 27.2C [81F], which is even close to the all year round hottest Min of Cape Verde.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1780989673600385434
“Another record in the remote Ascension Island in the tropical [South] Atlantic Ocean (UK Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha):
“Today’s minimum temperature of 27.2C [81F] is the highest ever recorded in April, after breaking the February and March same record.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1781418152053588246
“RECORD HEAT IN AFRICA… it’s never ending in Africa. 46.5 [115.7F] Mongo, CHAD Hottest day in climatic history.
“44.0 Navrongo GHANA 0.2C from Ghana hottest day in history; Kenieba MALI with 45.9C had its hottest day in history. Endless record heat also in BURKINA FASO.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1781048081552662943
“Deadly heat in West Africa warns of climate change-driven scorchers to come, says report.
“On a hospital bed in Niger, a 96-year-old woman lay motionless attached to a drip – one of thousands of possible victims of West Africa’s worst heatwave in living memory, which a report said on Thursday was linked to fossil fuel-driven climate change.”
“Water is at the heart of farmers’ struggle to survive in Benin…
“Residents can no longer rely on the rainy season, as the irregularity of precipitation has made it an unreliable water source. Instead, they have embraced agroecological horticulture as a contingency plan against climate change.”
“Climate change makes life harder: in South Africa it’s likely to bring heatwaves, water stress and gender-based violence…
“According to climate modelling studies and research on the impacts of extreme climate events, South Africa will soon be prone to more heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall. These disasters will have a cascading effect – they will make it impossible to end poverty, unemployment and food insecurity.”
“At least four dead after record-breaking rainfall in United Arab Emirates this week.
“The exact number of deaths caused by the storm in the UAE is not yet known as officials there have not released any information… In the UAE’s north, including in the emirate of Sharjah, local media reported people were still trapped in homes on Friday.”
“EXCEPTIONAL HEAT CAUCASUS/BLACK SEA – 30C/35C Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan.
“35C [95F] Samsun, Black Sea coast TURKEY; Record High MIN 24.4C Kusculu, 22.3 Iskenderun; APRIL HOTTEST NIGHT IN GEORGIA Tmin 23.0 Tmax 33.8 at Kutaisi; RUSSIA 33.1 Armavir Penza lat 53N 16.1/27.9.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1781014308664615262
“People Stand in Solidarity with Kazakhstan in Aftermath of Devastating Floods.
“Following extensive floods in several regions of Kazakhstan that affected more than 117,000 people, the state, volunteers, businesses, and international organizations continue to unite to address the aftermath of massive floods.”
“Glaciers on Russia’s Far East Kamchatka Peninsula have shrunk by over a third since the mid-20th century, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing Russian scientists’ measurements.
“Known as the “land of fire and ice” because of its active volcanoes and expansive glaciers, Kamchatka is now threatened by climate change, with glacier melt accelerating this century.”
“China has been hit by widespread hail for seven consecutive days.
“It will continue to be the case for the next five days, which is likely to set a historical record.”
https://twitter.com/yangyubin1998/status/1780932791511007265
“By the way, Lutian in the north of Guangzhou received 724.2mm of rainfall in the first 19 days of April, breaking the record for the most rainfall in April in Guangzhou.
“Another 600~700mm is forecast for the next week!”
https://twitter.com/yangyubin1998/status/1781297067891335498
“China’s drought-hit Yunnan braced for ‘worst case scenario’ as key grain, power, aluminium hub faces worst dry spell in 60 years.
“Rainfall in China’s southwest province of Yunnan fell by 42.3 per cent compared to normal levels this year. Yunnan is one of China’s leading hydropower producers, but it is facing ongoing challenges to its agriculture and energy systems due to the prolonged drought.”
“Exceptional heat in INDIA. Temperature reached 47.4C [117.3F] at Boundigarh – we are at historic levels for mid April for all India.
“MIN temperatures are also exceptional: 31.9/44.5 at Agarpara today. Record heat is sweeping all Asia in millions of square kilometers.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1780937034967724401
“Pune sees rise in fires incidents amid record high temperatures…
“In January and February 2024, there were 425 and 481 fires, respectively. However, March and April saw an alarming increase in numbers with 572 fire incidents in March and 440 in the first half of April alone.”
“Endless record heat in ASIA – Extreme heat in East India and Bangladesh (nights 30C days 40C/43C) to continue for any foreseeable future.
“SOUTHERN THAILAND:41.1C Chawang all time record. Next days record heat will spread allover Asia from Middle East to Japan.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1781299314519683291
“The Philippines mountain town of Baguio located at 1500m asl and famous for its rice terraces, is generally cool and it has never recorded a MIN. temperature of 19C.
“Nevertheless in the past nights it recorded 7 Tmins of 18C+ [64F] a record for April.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1781279518029680797
“Drone video shows Western Australia’s forests dying in heat and drought…
“Video shows trees and shrubs along Western Australia’s south-west coastline turning brown after Perth recorded it hottest and driest six months since records began.”
“A bushfire emergency is unfolding in WA’s north.
“People in Boodarie, about 15km south-west of Port Hedland, are being urged to evacuate as an unpredictable blaze takes hold. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services issued the warning just before 11am, telling those on or near Greenfields Street in Boodarie they are “in danger and need to act immediately to survive”.”
“Climate change is wiping out rare bacteria in Antarctic soil…
“The possible effects of this shift in the composition of microbial populations could have a knock-on effect on the Antarctic ecosystem.”
“Antarctic ice shelf jumps twice daily: Risk of catastrophic icequake, warn scientists…
“Recent findings suggest [the Ross shelf] is not as stable as it appears… jumps may cause fractures in the ice shelf, compromising its stability. If the ice shelf breaks apart, increasing sea levels may endanger coastal towns throughout the world.”
“More record heat in Oceania.
“WALLIS AND FUTUNA beat again its record of April hottest night with a Tmin 28.7C [83.6F] at Wallis; Record hot nights also in FIJI, TONGA and VANUATU.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1781486136965075092
“Endless record warmth in JAPAN where over 100 monthly records were broken already, more records yesterday include:
“30.5 [86.9F] Yonaguni; 28.6 Kikukawa; Highest TMINS: 12.2 Kutsugata; 11.3 Yamaguchi; 11.5 Koshimizu; 13.6 Matsumae; 13.9 Kumaishi.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1780865095414775898
“The scorching heat seems never ending in the Southern Hemisphere despite being well inside autumn:
“Next days temperatures will rise >40C [104F] in South Africa and a new heat wave will be centered in Brazil and Paraguay (yes, again!) with abnormal hot days and nights.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1781266019731841516
“Colombian President Gustavo Petro asked Bogota residents to leave the city over the weekend to ease pressure on the drought-hit water reservoirs that serve the city.
““It’s not so people don’t drink water, because then we would die,” Petro said Thursday. “But it’s so we drink it in a different place, where there is no hydrological stress.””
“RECORD HEAT TEXAS, MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA:
“TEXAS: some records of April warmest night including Tmin 75F at Junction; MEXICO:42.2 Tuxtla Gutierrez all time high; 39.0 Cuernavaca April record; COSTA RICA: 40.1 Santa Cruz all time high.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1781126099994300455
“Do the [American] people care about the climate crisis? These voters say yes – but the polls do not.
“The majority of Americans have experienced extreme weather events in the last five years — but the climate crisis still lags behind inflation, healthcare, immigration and jobs when it comes to voter priorities.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/climate-crisis-2024-election-us-b2530458.html
“Scotland ditches 2030 climate target as being ‘out of reach’…
“The CCC described the removal of Scotland’s 2030 target as “deeply disappointing”, saying interim targets and plans to deliver on them are what makes any net zero commitment credible.”
https://www.ft.com/content/6960a200-2ccd-4279-ad1f-5ad1e749310d
“An uncomfortable truth about climate targets – with people already struggling to pay bills… the Scottish government is not alone in wobbling on its climate commitments…
“In the short election cycles of Western democracies, governments are nervously looking at household incomes. Would voters shoulder the costs of a green transition and still re-elect the people in charge?”
“You’re Not Imagining It. Your Allergies Are Getting Worse…
““Pollen is a really clear example of how climate change is with us here and now, in our backyards and already affecting our health,” says William Anderegg, director of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy at the University of Utah.”
“USDA confirms cow-to-cow transmission a factor in bird flu spread…
“”Those of us that have worked with influenza for a long time were fairly quickly saying, ‘Yep it moves cow to cow,'” Jim Lowe, an associate dean at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, said on Friday. “You can’t explain the epidemiology any other way.””
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back on Monday with an “Economic” thread.
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https://simpleflying.com/bill-gates-private-jets-guide/
Bill Gates’ passion for private jets explains the $4.7 billion deal between Gates’ Cascade Investment, Blackstone, and private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners to develop the world’s largest private jet service company, Signature Aviation, which provides maintenance services to business jets.
Among the high-profile personalities who own a fleet of private jets is Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. Although Gates is an advocate of climate change and a climate activist himself, he once stated that private jets are his “guilty pleasure” – a pretty expensive one, given that his fleet of business jets has an estimated value of $200 million. On top of that, the climate activist paradoxically owns a private aviation management firm and has invested billions in the world’s largest private jet service provider.
If the father of Microsoft were a member of any airline’s frequent flyer program, he would definitely be the most valued. Why? In 2022, he reportedly took 392 flights on his private jets, an average of more than one daily. According to the latest publicly available information, Bill Gates owns four business jets: two Gulfstream G650ERs, estimated to cost $70 million each, and two Bombardier Challenger 350s, priced at $27 million each.
We are all stricken..
I can see why now most really don’t take the crisis as urgent…
Yes, worry more about other issues, even if it hits us directly as we see now.
Really hard to stop the ride on the Crazy Train…as Ozzy sung All Aboard
His “guilty pleasure.” Incredible info, VPK. The more I have learned about that man in recent years, the more I would have no problem at all strapping him to a medieval rack and personally retracting the chains. And I generally think of myself as a nonviolent person 😂
As Justin pointed out in his yesterdays observation…the level of corruption..
As Jiddu Krishnamurti observed..All thought corrupts..we have a tendency to justify our behaviors…like naming them as guilty pleasures…
For the life of me, it would be amusing at least to hear his rationalization.
Seems we are hearing this now from all corners by the string pushers, the show must go on…
PS..Air travel capital investments are set for expansion…no concern about peak oil or other resources, and greenwash of climate change…the die is cast…
Folks like to be taken around in metal tubes…
Yes. The Asheville airport is in full expansion and mode and has been for years. 🤦🏻♀️
Re Gates, I assume that he imagines himself such a force for good in the world that a few moral inconsistencies are neither here nor there. It is ego run rampant, of course – one rule for him and another for lesser mortals. Bring on that rack, Cassandra. 😂
Similarly hypocritical Prince Harry has just launched a venture called Travalyst, which is “working to accelerate change within the travel industry by bringing together leading brands in the space to collaborate and help shape a more sustainable future.”
As far as I can see, digging through the word salad, its real function is to enable people to continue globetrotting for leisure without having to feel guilty about it: “We believe that travel’s exponential growth can be a positive force. Tourism should empower local communities, allowing hosts to capitalise on, and protect, their natural and cultural resources.”
https://travalyst.org/
People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage. Intellectual myopia, often called stupidity, is no doubt a reason. But the privileged also feel that their privileges, however egregious they may seem to others, are a solemn, basic, God-given right.”
The ruling class is thus not at all interested in creating a more sustainable system. They have a different motive: staying on top, no matter what. Thus they will take every opportunity during this long emergency to concentrate power, to squeeze out political opponents while trying to maintain the flow of profits to an ever smaller round of donors. Again, a system entirely dependent on autocratic technologies cannot evolve into anything else than an Orwellian dystopia. As soon as energy inputs — maintaining the underlying technology base — fall below a bare minimum level, though, the system will collapse under its own weight.
https://thehonestsorcerer.substack.com/p/capitalism-cannot-turn-into-anything
Saw this link from Chad A Haag
As an avid hiker in southwest Western Australia I’ve seen firsthand the forests fall off a precipitous cliff into die offs. The animals are following. The bush is literally cracker dry.. Absolutely heart rendering.
‘Beginning in February 2024, large areas of vegetation started to turn brown and die off. With no real relief in sight, we unfortunately expect this mass plant death event to intensify and expand.
Just like a coral bleaching event, WA’s plants are responding to the cumulative stress of the unusually long, hot and dry summer. And just like bleaching, global heating is likely to cause more regular mass plant deaths. The last time this happened in 2010-11, almost 20% of trees and shrubs in affected areas died.’
https://theconversation.com/the-big-dry-forests-and-shrublands-are-dying-in-parched-western-australia-227053
I didn’t realize that you lived there, Aum. Must be traumatic to observe. Not as bad here in the mountains of North Carolina USA but still I have for years been observing the slow but steady decline of our forests. Thinning crowns everywhere. 😭
Which reminds me …don’t know why..
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Even as then-Gov. Mike Easley was calling the 2002 drought a major disaster, documents show the exclusive private golf club where he belonged pumped 6 million gallons of water meant for Jordan Lake to keep its greens alive.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Sunday that documents from Chatham County, state and federal governments show the Old Chatham Golf Club was allowed to pump the water from a creek leading to Jordan Lake for two weeks beginning July 18, 2002.
Just a year earlier, in 2001, club directors had voted to waive the governor’s monthly membership dues, saving Easley about $50,000 while he was in office. The newspaper said Easley didn’t reveal the break on financial disclosure forms.
Easley did not respond to The News & Observer’s requests for an interview. The Democrat, who finished his second term in January, is the subject of state and federal criminal investigations in several areas, including: his family’s use of vehicles; free flights; a job he helped create for his wife at N.C. State University; and a discount he took on a coastal land purchase.
I remember during the 2009 drought this story broke out..
He was telling folks not to flush their toilets and don’t let the water run while brushing teeth.
Two days later, Easley issued a controversial directive that local water systems and businesses reduce water use by 20 percent. On July 17, he called the drought a major disaster and sought federal aid. Old Chatham Golf Club’s water was not affected by Easley’s directive.
StarNews online…
PS Charlotte is probably the fastest growing city in the United States along with the region…I no longer live there myself…but remember well that severe drought.
That is bleak, Aum. Of course the UK has been having the reverse problem with its wettest 18 months on record. Such are the vagaries of our amped up hydrological cycle.
I checked the forecast for Perth and it’s looking like the dry weather is sticking around for a while. Hope it eases soon.
Just a nudge: 27C, in the Cape Verde blurb, = ~80 degrees F, not 90.
Thanks, Rob. That’s amended.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68844731
More sinking cities due to over pumping of groundwater
“Nearly half of China’s major cities are sinking [in large part due to overconsumption of the groundwater on which they sit]… This has already been seen in several major urban areas around the world including Houston, Mexico City and Delhi.”
I’d add Jakarta to that list, as it is the poster child of sinking cities:
“Indonesia’s capital Jakarta faces such challenges due to climate change that the plan is to build a new capital city more than 1,000 kilometres away… Climate change did not cause Jakarta to sink — that is due to unsustainable groundwater depletion that has resulted in subsidence — but the city is being swamped by rising sea levels, which have been caused by planet-warming greenhouse gases.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/9/hldwhyindonesia-is-abandoning-its-capital-jakarta-to-save-ithld
Floating desalination plants. Why does that reek of desperation?
I was reminded of a horror story I once heard as a child growing up in Seattle. Somene accidentally drove off of the ferry dock just as the boat was leaving. They were later found by divers, still seated in the car, and with a bucket over their head. Being cursed with a small amount of imagination I was horrified at the thought of what those last moments must have been like.
– You suddenly get thrown into an extreme and deadly situation
– Nothing in your day to day life has prepared you for it
– Your entire body freaks out at the shock and horror of it
– You panic at the realization of imminent death
– You desperatley grasp at anything within reach
– Anything that offers even a single breath of hope
– Such is the power of the fear of death
– You fail and die
Hmm… Why am I reminded of floating desalination plants?
Jerry, what a cosmic joke it is that we are cursed with a conceptual mind that can anticipate its own demise and, even as it is happening, fire off terrifying thoughts that make the whole experience worse.
Not to play down their suffering in any way but I think animals have an easier time with it. They never forget their connection to the universal intelligence, as humans do, so their transition from wave back into ocean does not appear as terrifyingly absolute as it does to us.
Even for humans, if you listen to people who have had near death experiences, it’s not unpleasant once acceptance has set in. The dying process has its own innate intelligence and the body knows what to do.
Btw, my apologies to those reading the above and rolling their eyes at such shameless woo. I’m afraid I am becoming something of a hippy in my middle-age – a coping mechanism, no doubt. 😂
Agreed, Pan. Although I’m not as sure about what animals go through.
I once had the misfortune to watch a video of an injured cattle being buried alive. The Indian villagers probably thought they were doing it a merciful favor when they used a bulldozer to push a seriously injured animal into a trench and then push dirt over it..
It was difficult to watch that terrified animal die. The last screams and kicks could still be heard even from under the earth.
My goodness, the terrible things us humans do to our fellow creatures and to each other. What is it all for?
“I’m not as sure about what animals go through.”
Jerry, my own notions are speculative and not coming from any place of personal transcendence.
I wouldn’t deny for a minute that animals experience terror and pain in full technicolour… I just cherish the hope that, underlying those horrors, there is some deep, reassuring, pre-verbal awareness that they are, ultimately, the dance of life in its entirety and not just the fleeting physical form undergoing death; the animating intelligence, rather than the shell it briefly inhabits.
Holy crap! That ocean heatwave article is the bombshell of the day. I highly recommend not only taking the time to dodge the paywall, but definitely also take the time to follow the reference to the actual report at “researchsquare”.
Scroll down to the graphs, it will shock and horrify you. There is also a link under “supplementary files” to a video that is equally shocking.
The correlation could not be any clearer. The hotter the oceans get there is clear and commensurate drop in “net primary production” (NPP). The video shows the time series data animated as graphs showing color coded anomalies. The last time we had such a serious situation was the last El Nino of 2016. This year and last is shaping up to be just as bad if not worse.
And that’s just one indicator. Find a link to “The 2023 state of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory” and there are graphs showing ALL of the global indicators are going steeply in the wrong direction, and have done for decades.
Ugh. Another summer-y day in Juneau, I think I’ll go for a walk in the woods.
Sorry, not the ocean heatwave twitter. I was actually talking about the phytoplankton article.
Just waiting for the global population to reach the point that it can no longer deny what it has done to it’s habitat, because it’s in everyone’s face. The horrors the species will be facing didn’t have to exist, but it was a choice. Another favorite quote: “Ignorance is no excuse.”, unless that is one’s goal.
Govts are starting to renege on their commitment. This species will risk total destruction before it’s gives up any part of it’s set of living arrangements. Agent Smith from the Matrix said he had trouble classifying this species. It’s easy, the species is willfully stupid. 😉
When one looks at all the distant pictures of the universe from James Web, maybe one can tell me just how important this species is & how all these brilliant monkey minds affect everything in the universe & “Beyond!”
The ego of this species is hilarious. 😉
Agreed. I think that’s why I was riffing on the spectacle of a death made worse by (unnecessary) shock, horror and panic. Why wouldn’t an entire civilization go through the same brutal and grotesque experience?
Especially one as pitifully unprepared for the reality of the situation as ours is.
“”Btw, my apologies to those reading the above and rolling their eyes at such shameless woo. I’m afraid I am becoming something of a hippy in my middle-age – a coping mechanism, no doubt.””
Pan — woo away, its part of your charm! 💖💕
Aum… I have a daughter in Perth, with 2 teens with stories of WA’s horrific summer. Recently, they did a trip to Sydney to see Taylor Swift and got a weekend of urban flash flooding. Hadnt seen rain in so long, it was one of the highlights of their trip 🙂
Whereas where I am, in the south-eastern mountains, I dont speak much because it might sound like I am bragging with the weather (wetter than it should be) mostly “old” normal for a long time now. True autumn even showed up on the day of the equinox, and the surrounding mountain bushland continues to recover.
It wont last of course, but I am selfishly grateful for each day, these days.
“…part of your charm!”
Thank you for the vote of confidence, Rain. 💖
I often think, with a little pang of guilt, of the late Gail Zawacki when I venture into the realms of woo. She was a good friend to me and my fairy doom-mother, who helps run this site. She was razor sharp, very down to earth, and had absolutely no time for such airy-fairy nonsense. 😂
I hope she was (very unusually for her) wrong about the woo and still exists on some higher plane. A YouTube interview for those who haven’t come across her:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBv36JRUkL0
“…forests dying in heat and drought…”
My take on what guy McPherson said about forest,which I could not find: When we see trees & forest dying, we are finished.
Let the trees die, cut them up for paper or firewood & build a shopping area with a lot of plastic for sale.
Hey! That’s not funny! That’s what this species does.
I think the name Clever Ape species should be renamed to Damn Fool species.