Special sponsor for August 2024 is Cassandra Mountain. Many thanks!
“The oceans are weirdly hot. Scientists are trying to figure out why.
“The oceans are extremely warm right now. Worldwide, average ocean temperatures were in record-breaking territory for 15 months straight since last April. That’s bad news on multiple fronts.”
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/14/nx-s1-5051849/hot-oceans-climate-science
“Sea surface temperatures east of Bermuda are so anomalously hot that climate change made them 800 times (or more) likely.
“Basically that means, SST’s like this were simply not possible in a pre-industrial climate.”
https://x.com/WeatherProf/status/1823800330393649363
“How climate change has pushed our oceans to the brink of catastrophe.
“For decades, the oceans have absorbed much of the excess heat caused by greenhouse gases. The latest observations suggest they are reaching their limits, so how worried should we be?”
“Cleaned Up Shipping Emissions Have Revealed Additional Global Warming…
“Efforts to cut air pollution on the high seas may have led to an unintended side effect — speeding up global warming. That’s according to a study published Monday in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters.”
“Earth’s oldest, tiniest creatures are poised to be climate change winners – and the repercussions could be huge.
“The world’s oceans are home to microscopic organisms invisible to the human eye. The tiny creatures, known as “prokaryotes”, comprise 30% of life in the world’s oceans. These organisms play an important role in keeping the oceans in balance… this balance is at risk.”
“The Svalbard archipelago’s ice caps suffered extreme episodes of melting in summer 2024, brought on by exceptionally high air temperatures…
“According to Xavier Fettweis, a climatologist at the University of Liège, Svalbard’s ice caps broke their all-time record for daily surface melt on July 23, 2024.”
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/153189/svalbard-melts
“Fruholmen fyr, the world’s northernmost lighthouse [north of Norway], at 71°05′37″N, reached 25.2C [77.4F] Wednesday.
“This is the highest temperature so late in summer and the 3rd highest august temperature. Observations began in 1954. 7 of the 10 highest august temperatures are observed last 3 years.”
https://x.com/VaerTorsten/status/1823762293940695089
“Cost of fighting flooding is soaking up English councils’ cash, ministers warned…
“Districts in the east of the country say they are having to cut day-to-day services such as bin collections to meet dramatic and unsustainable rises in payments levied to fund pumping stations used to protect communities from flooding.”
“Germany and Belgium experience severe thunderstorms and flooding.
“The extreme weather follows soaring temperatures in both countries, with Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate region reaching 36.5C. Severe thunderstorms have caused devastation in Germany and Belgium as both countries experienced heavy rainfall.”
“EUROPE HISTORIC HEAT WAVE-Records everywhere. * = all time
“BOSNIA: 42.7 [108.9F] Zenica*; ALBANIA; 41.4 Peshkopi*; SERBIA: 40.6 Sombor,40.5 Kragujevac, 40.2 Novi Sad; 40.1 Vranje, 39.7 Kikinda, 39.6 Dimitrovgrad; HUNGARY: 40.4 Baja; GERMANY: Tmin 23.9 Dresden *; ROMANIA: Tmin 24.5 Craiova *”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1823796776866037903
“Extreme heat warnings for five countries across southern Europe amid temperature peaks and Greek wildfires…
“Extreme heat in high summer is once again causing disruption for many travellers to southern Europe, following events last summer such as the mass evacuation of 20,000 holidaymakers from the Greek island of Rhodes due to wildfires.”
“Weather: Verona, Large hail hits Nogara [Italy], cars destroyed in the province.
“A strong hailstorm recently hit Nogara , a municipality located in the province of Verona (VR). This type of meteorological event can cause considerable damage, especially if accompanied by large hailstones.”
“The worst of the storm is yet to come – Thursday’s weather in Mallorca…
“Aemet explains that red alerts are very rarely issued, but that it has been necessary to issue one for the north/northeast of Mallorca on Thursday. There could be up to 50 litres per square metre in the space of one hour and even up to 180 litres over three hours.”
“Violent storms of water and hail cause flooding in Valencia, Catalonia, Navarra and La Rioja…
“Part of the roof of a supermarket located in Ontinyent (Valencia) has collapsed due to the heavy rains recorded on Tuesday afternoon… Very strong storms with hail have been recorded in inland and pre-coastal areas.”
https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2024/08/13/66bbbc62e9cf4af7228b4599.html
“Spanish lab sterilises mosquitoes as climate crisis fuels spread of dengue.
“A laboratory in Valencia is breeding and sterilising thousands of tiger mosquitoes to fight dengue fever and other diseases as global heating encourages invasive species to spread across Europe.”
“What is the sloth virus, as it spreads across Europe and claims lives in Brazil?
“Experts say the ‘mysterious threat’ seems to be spreading across the globe… The disease, which health experts have warned could be “unstoppable”, was called sloth fever after it was found in sloths based in South America.”
“Three people have died in Spain since Sunday due to heat stroke as extreme temperatures continue to grip much of the country, emergency services reported on Tuesday…
“In Madrid, a 76-year-old man was discovered dead at his home by health services on Tuesday.”
“Madrid is one of the hottest cities on Earth. So why are so many of our trees being chopped down?
“…The fight to preserve urban tree coverage is a story with increasingly high stakes being played out across the globe from Malta to Hyderabad as locals show extraordinary courage standing up against the interests of big business to demand liveable cities.”
“Morocco Turns to Risky Desalination Methods Amid Severe Drought.
“Morocco is facing a water crisis, with a 70% rainfall deficit recorded in January compared to the average of the last 30 years, the Ministry of Water and Equipment stated. Soaring summer temperatures reaching up to 50°C are drying up aquifers and threatening rivers.”
“Record Rainfall in Southeast Libya Sparks Fear of New Disaster…
“Libya’s rival governments have come together to provide aid for residents in the OPEC nation’s southeast region after record rainfall devastated the area, sparking fears of flooding similar to what killed and displaced thousands last year.”
“At least 68 people killed in flooding as rains worsen Sudan’s plight…
“Abdallah Hussein Adam, a traditional leader in the area, said: “Normally in Jebel Marra, we don’t have floods. It rains a lot but the water passes by. This year it’s different.””
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/14/sudan-flooding-rains-civil-war-conflict-famine
“Hundreds of mudslide victims buried in Sierra Leone, search for hundreds missing goes on…
“In a ceremony attended by President Ernest Bai Koroma, wooden coffins were lowered into hurriedly dug graves at a cemetery in Waterloo, as the country tried to begin recovering from one of Africa’s worst flood disasters in living memory.”
“Endless record heat in SOUTH AFRICA’S winter with temperatures again close to 40C.
“Today Punda Maria 460m asl rose to 36.6C [97.9F] a new record for August.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1823715473835614403
“Zambia holds key interest rate over drought’s impact on economy.
“Inflation has been rising since the middle of last year, reaching 15.4% year on year in July, fuelled by a slide in the kwacha currency and the worst drought in the southern African region in decades.”
“Exceptional heat in the Indian Ocean islands belonging to the French Southern Territories.
“Juan de Nova Island [off Mozambique] broke both the August highest minimum and highest maximum records for the whole territory with 25.0C/31.6C. It’s supposed to be the “cold season” there.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1823481134900232691
“WORLD’S WORST HEAT WAVE getting worse [Middle East]!
“Incredible heat at high elevations in IRAN *=all time: 49.7 [121.5F] Tabas 711m * and Tmin 34.7; 45.6 Nehbandan 1188m *; 44.2 Ferdous 1293m; 43.2 Zahedan 1370m… SAUDI ARABIA HOTTEST AUGUST NIGHT IN HISTORY: Tmin 36.8 Madinah 700m asl; Basrah Iraq tmin 36.5.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1823761925924336067
“Water Crisis Peaks in Isfahan with Seven-Hour Water Cuts…
“The energy imbalance in Iran has entered a new phase with the escalating crisis in the supply of drinking water in Isfahan, as the state-run Shargh newspaper reported that some neighborhoods in Isfahan are without water for up to seven hours.”
https://iranfocus.com/general/51816-water-crisis-peaks-in-isfahan-with-seven-hour-water-cuts/
“Rapidly warming climate worsened rain in India’s southern state of Kerala, leading to fatal landslides that killed hundreds of people last month…
“The Wayanad region in Kerala saw torrential downfalls last month, which triggered two landslides, a bridge collapse and flash floods so strong that they swept an entire village away.”
https://www.asiafinancial.com/climate-change-fuelled-rain-that-led-to-fatal-indian-landslides
“Severe flooding in Tangshan, Hebei Province, and other areas in Northern China has underscored the region’s vulnerability to extreme weather events…
“As of August 13, 2024, the situation has been evolving rapidly, with tens of thousands of people evacuated and extensive damage to infrastructure and agriculture.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW0b-jz2Ro8
“Koreas is living the worst heat in history. Weeks of relentless humid heat 24/7 with no end in sight.
“While in the South most have access to AC, in the North most people don’t. Dew points in Pyongyang have reached deadly threshold of 30C [86F]!: this is absolutely unprecedented.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1823345800367292503
“A national record is being broken. On Tuesday, 3 locations in Japan recorded temps exceeding 35°C [95F] for 26 consecutive days, making it the longest streak in Japan’s history.
“The previous record was 24 days. This record could continue to be extended for at least another week!”
https://x.com/sayakasofiamori/status/1823289357119439022
“Soldiers have been deployed in Thailand’s northern region to rescue residents trapped in villages due to flash floods and landslides…
“Authorities have been delivering food, medicine, and drinking water to those affected. One fatality has been reported, but students trapped in a school in Mae Kopee village were successfully evacuated.”
“Record-breaking rain has fallen in northern New South Wales [Australia] as emergency services prepare for further falls in an already soaked catchment.
“On Monday, Evans Head broke the daily record for August with 157mm… This event so far has brought more than 200mm in several stations…”
“‘The wells are salty’: how the invading ocean is contaminating Vanuatu’s water…
“As the climate crisis forces sea levels to rise and cyclone winds thrash along the bays, seawater is seeping into the groundwater sources of low-lying islands, contaminating the supply and threatening the health of communities.”
“Drought in the Amazon region is worse this year than in 2023, signaling a challenge for grain shipments, according to Hidrovias do Brasil SA, one of the country’s top barge operators.
““The picture this month shows a scenario more challenging than the one we saw last year,” Chief Executive Officer Fabio Abreu Schettino said…”
“Brazil has emerged as the latest contender for global liquefied natural gas supplies as dry weather threatens its vast hydropower production…
“An expected influx of LNG in coming months would further tighten the global market for the fuel just as demand grows from Asia to North Africa.”
“Storm Ernesto has strengthened into a hurricane as it dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and left nearly half of all clients in the US territory without power.
“The storm was located about 175 miles (280km) north-west of San Juan, Puerto Rico and was moving over open waters towards Bermuda…”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/14/ernesto-hurricane-puerto-rico
“It’s not just you. It’s been a hot summer. And yes it is getting less bearable [Florida].
“So far in 2024 Tampa has had 48 days w/ a heat index of 103+. The record (for the entire year) is 65, set, you guess it, last year. The annual avg is 16. It’s not coincidence, it’s climate change.”
https://x.com/WeatherProf/status/1823439417442238709
“Downpour swamps Bismarck streets, hospital with flash flooding [Dakota]…
“In north Bismarck, there were reports of as much as 3.5 inches, and in the Harmon Lake area north of Mandan close to 6 inches fell in a short time… The deluge overloaded the city’s stormwater system, sending rivers of water down streets…”
“Canada’s 2023 wildfires produced nearly a decade’s worth of blaze emissions…
“The fires, in Canada’s “wildest season ever”, were made at least three times more likely by the climate crisis, and produced about 2bn tonnes of CO2, about a quarter of the total global emissions from wildfires last year…”
“Canadian Arctic heatwave continues:
“MONTHLY RECORDS in Nunavut: 31.3°C [88.3F] Arviat; 30.6°C Chesterfield Inlet; 27.1°C Coral Harbour; ALSO: 32.5°C Bathurst Inlet; 30.5°C Robertson Lake; 30.2°C Kugluktuk (0.1°C from record); 30.0°C Rankin Inlet (0.5°C from record); 29.2°C Wager Bay.”
https://x.com/ThierryGooseBC/status/1823144060841865273
“Unprecedented number of heat records broken around world this year…
“A record 15 national heat records have been broken since the start of this year, an influential climate historian has told the Guardian… An additional 130 monthly national temperature records have also been broken… according to Maximiliano Herrera, who keeps an archive of extreme events.”
“Half a billion children live in areas with twice as many very hot days as in 1960s…
“Exposure to extreme heat can lead to heat stress, which poses threats to children’s health. Heat stress has been linked to child malnutrition and non-communicable diseases, and it makes children more vulnerable to infectious diseases…”
“How Extreme Heat and Humidity Are Testing the Human Body’s Limits…
“People are more likely to dehydrate in high temperatures, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Heat can worsen breathing problems, especially in places with elevated pollution levels. Heat stress makes it harder for people to work and increases the likelihood of injuries.”
“We haven’t had an update in a while — here is a graph of the running 365-average global mean surface temperature anomaly, data through August 11, 2024.
“Incredibly, almost 2 months after the peak was first hit, the 365-day running mean is still at a record 1.64°C!”
https://x.com/EliotJacobson/status/1823349208692482304
“August 2024 will be the 15th month in a row with temperatures above anything pre-2023!
“For 2024 not to break 2023’s record, the next 4 months all need to be 0.5°C cooler than last year. Gradual warming is a pipe-dream. We need to get real about rapid climate change!”
https://x.com/LeonSimons8/status/1823784235922285015
“Climate solutions… The one thing you should look for on clothing labels when you go shopping…
“When Meghan Kelly goes clothes shopping, she scans labels for a key number: 100%. She picks garments made of 100% cotton, 100% wool, and occasionally 100% polyester, avoiding fabrics that blend natural and synthetic materials together whenever possible.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2024/08/13/polyester-blended-fabrics-recycling/
“From Farm to Oven: Baking Up a Climate Solutions Recipe…
“From a healthy salad to a tasty steak and even the delicious dessert you just can’t wait to have at the end of a meal, the impact of climate change is there in every bite. Join us at the Crawford Theater on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. as we explore the intersection between food and climate…”
https://laist.com/events/from-farm-to-oven
“Cheers to green! Whisky goes hydrogen…
“The Scottish Government has allocated £3.1 million to support the development of a green hydrogen hub in Speyside, Moray, aimed at aiding the country’s energy transition. The funding will be matched by Storegga, resulting in a total investment of £6.2 million for the project.”
https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/08/15/cheers-to-green-whisky-goes-hydrogen/
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You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ”Economic” thread.
Poor Pan is having to spread out the joke articles because there are so many. The NPR lead off article is a rich vein of goofiness.
I actually thought the NPR article was pretty reasonable, Twocats.
It ends with a quote from Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M: “The next few months will tell us if we’ve really broken the climate.”
Indeed.
Spoiler alert: we did.
🎯
Yes. I guess what the next few months will really do is give us some clarity on how quickly the wheels are going to come off.
“0:01 I recently mentioned the likelihood of
0:03 human extinction by 2030 and sooner if
0:05 we lose ice floating on the Arctic Ocean
0:08 we have been remarkably fortunate in not
0:10 losing Arctic Ice contrary to the
0:12 predictions of renowned Scholars . . .
0:30 the
0:31 ipcc the ipcc’s October 8th 2018 report
0:36 global warming of 1.5 degrees concluded
0:39 that Earth is in the midst of the most
0:40 rapid change in planetary history citing
0:43 the peer-reviewed literature and
0:44 reaching this conclusion quote these
0:47 Global level rates of hum driven change
0:50 far exceed the rates of change driven by
0:53 geophysical or biosphere forces that
0:55 have altered the Earth system trajectory
0:57 in the past even abrupt GE physical
1:00 events do not approach current rates of
1:02 human driven change end quote the
1:05 situation has not improved since October
1:07 8 2018 when the ipcc concluded that the
1:11 ongoing rate of change underlined by
1:13 anthropogenic climate change is by far
1:16 the fastest in planetary
1:18 history the ipcc admitted to the
1:20 irreversibility of climate change due to
1:23 an overheated ocean in its September
1:25 24th 2019 report Special Report on the
1:29 ocean and cryosphere in a changing
1:31 climate
the
3:29 situation is far worse than suggested by
3:31 this
3:33 conclusion civilization is a heat engine
3:35 regardless how it is powered according
3:37 to five peer-reviewed papers by
3:39 Professor Tim Garrett in other words
3:42 so-called green energy based on
3:44 photovoltaic solar panels and wind
3:46 turbines offers no way out of the
3:48 ongoing climate
3:50 emergency . . .
the implosion of nuclear
7:02 facilities I have repeatedly mentioned
7:04 the likelihood of nuclear facilities
7:06 imploding thus leading to ionizing
7:08 radiation stripping away stratospheric
7:10 ozone this will superheat the planet . . .
the subsequent rate of
7:18 environmental change will drive to
7:19 Extinction all life on
7:22 Earth “?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uAV1XEr2og&t=13s
It reminded me of Bush gag during Correspondence dinner- looking for WMDs in the oval office. “Nope, Not under the resolute desk. Aw shucks”
” Scientists are trying to figure out why.”
Should I file this under absolute denial, failure to read peer reviewed studies, or paid climate scientists?
“The next few months will tell us if we’ve really broken the climate.” Another forest & trees conundrum?
When the realization of what is happening finally slaps everyone in the face, there are going to be a few unhappy residents of this rock.
I think I’ll beat them to death with sarcasm.
“Efforts to cut air pollution on the high seas may have led to an unintended side effect — speeding up global warming.” Maybe not polluting would have been a good idea.
“Cost of fighting flooding is soaking up English councils’ cash, ministers warned…” Well, one can’t have services if one doesn’t want to pay for them. OMG! TAXES?
“The worst of the storm is yet to come – ” One doesn’t have to be a psychic to see the possible future global storm at our doorstep.
I’m taking a break but “I’ll be back.” I going to start calling NTHE; The Terminator. 😉 This shit’s not funny why am I laughing? Because this species is the punchline for every joke in the Universe.
“Extreme heat in high summer is once again causing disruption for many travellers to southern Europe,” Poor babies,that gives me a sad.
“Spanish lab sterilises mosquitoes as climate crisis fuels spread of dengue.”
Wrong species!
“What is the sloth virus, as it spreads across Europe and claims lives in Brazil? The Clever Ape is a do nothing sloth virus.
Yes! So much material! More fun with quotes from random scientists:
“I think people are starting to get a little worried that we are warming at the high end of what [climate models predicted],” says a random scientist.
“We’ll see,” another random scientist agrees. “The next few months will tell us if we’ve really broken the climate.”
“Humans have not faced a climate like this over our long history; we are starting to hit temperatures that are unprecedented,” said a random scientist. “It’s not like we will all become extinct, but we are messing with a thermostat that is pushing [us] outside a window we have been in during all of human civilisation.”
“There is no one perfect temperature for the Earth, but there is for us humans,” as another random scientist has put it. “We are perfectly adapted to our current conditions.”
“A hundred years or so is less than a blink of an eye in Earth’s history,” said another random scientist. “There’s nothing in Earth’s history that shows a change happening this quickly, it’s just so, SO fast. Usually these changes take a long time, things can adapt. Right now the pace of change is one of the biggest concerns we have.”
It is “hard to find analogues” where the rate of change has been this fast, says yet another random scientist. “If the pace of temperature change coming out of an ice age is like a pedestrian walking on the street, then the pace of change for us getting to 3C warming by 2100 would be like a car passing by at least 160mph,” they said.
“The change [in global temperatures] isn’t a surprise,” said a previously quoted random scientist. “What is a surprise is that we’re continuing to do this without acting in an emergency to address the challenge. This is within our control. It’s a bit like if you are hitting yourself in the face with a hammer – you can choose to stop doing that.”
My take: Yeah, big surprise. The ecologically ignorant always miss the salient point. That is, if we stopped burning then billions of people would die, mostly from starvation. The cure is just as deadly as the disease, such is the predicament of overshoot.
How sad, the hammer and the face will continue to dance until death.
Thank you for that distillation, Jerry.
“This is within our control.”
If I am making a point by juxtaposing Leon Simon’s clarion call to get real about rapid climate change with those last three articles, then it is that we only have the power to tinker with the trivial details of our consumption. We simply do not have the agency to tackle the monolithic fact of it, and the emissions that are its by-product.
So, as you say, the hammer and the face will continue their tragic dance. That the global economy is now decelerating whilst climate change is accelerating is, I suppose, analogous to the blows getting harder and more frequent with the face weakening under the strain. Can’t go on forever.
Re those last three articles. The one “From farm to oven” one of the people on that has done his own podcast:
“About The Big Burn
As the world enters a new age of wildfires, science reporter Jacob Margolis dives deep into personal stories that illuminate the history of how we got here, why we keep screwing things up, and what we can do to survive and maybe even thrive while the world around us burns.”
What a GREAT idea! To thrive while the world around us burns.
The CRAZY these days is what burns! 🤯🤯🤯
Shout out to the Climate Guardian’s long shout out to fave C&E source Senor Extreme Temps, once subject to direct attack in this section.
Yes! A great service he provides. Despite being too scary for some.
Thank you for noticing that, Martin. I have no idea why poor Maximiliano has garnered this minority of implacable enemies. He does a great job, as far as I’m concerned.
Something new to pile on…
Mercury bomb’ threatens millions as Arctic temperatures rise, study warns
by Darrin S. Joy, University of Southern California
…The toxic metal poses an environmental and health threat to the 5 million people living in the Arctic zone, more than 3 million of whom live in areas where permafrost is expected to vanish altogether by 2050.
“There could be this giant mercury bomb in the Arctic waiting to explode,” says study co-author Josh West, professor of Earth sciences and environmental studies at USC Dornsife. Mercury moves from air to ground to water
The planet’s natural atmospheric circulation tends to move pollutants toward high latitudes, which results in merchury accumulation in the Arctic, explains West. “Because of the way it behaves chemically, a lot of mercury pollution ends up in the Arctic. Permafrost has accumulated so much mercury that it could dwarf the amount in the oceans, soils, atmosphere and biosphere combined,” he said.
Fascinating, we understand so much more now than ever before…
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-mercury-threatens-millions-arctic-temperatures.html