Many thanks to my special sponsor for September 2024 – ANON
“UN declares global ‘red alert’ as August sets new heat records…
“While the exact average global temperature for August 2024 is not yet known, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has established it will be above the record 16.82 degrees Celsius (62.28 degrees Fahrenheit) measured in August last year.”
“Congrats, you just lived through the hottest summer in history. We’re neck deep in a climate emergency. This is just one of the symptoms.
“Globally, 2024 is on pace to be the hottest year on record. The data suggests a temperature around 1.57 degrees Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times, and this summer was a scorcher.”
“Chinese Container Ship Becomes Largest to Travel Through Arctic…
“Hong Kong-flagged and owned container ship NewNew Star has become the largest non-ice class box ship to travel across the Arctic. The 3,534 TEU vessel departed from Nansha in southern China on August 22 with destination St. Petersburg.“
https://gcaptain.com/chinese-container-ship-becomes-largest-to-travel-through-arctic/
“September heat record for Murmansk.
“The hotter-than-normal summer in Russia’s northwest corner is continued into September with temperatures never seen before on record for the month… Record-breaking summer heat has made headlines across the Arctic in recent months…”
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/climate-crisis/2024/09/september-heat-record-murmansk
“EXTRAORDINARY HEAT WAVE IN EUROPE – 31.1c [88F] SWEDEN Hottest September day ever.
“Denmark, Finland and Slovakia had their hottest September night. Records were smashed everywhere.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1831404880193581090
“Historic September heatwave in Germany today with many new monthly records! Incl.
“35C [95F] Potsdam (since 1893); 34.9C Leipzig-Holzhausen (1863); 33.5C Angermünde (1908); 33.4C Waren (Müritz) (1889); 32.2C Greifswald (1898) “Old” record of 30.4C was set last year.”
https://x.com/MAnderson003/status/1831394584859177389
“The UK is building an alarm system for climate tipping points…
“One is the accelerating melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which could raise sea levels dramatically. The other is the weakening of the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre, a huge current rotating counterclockwise south of Greenland that may have played a role in triggering the Little Ice Age around the 14th century.”
“The UK’s worsening wet weather. More frequent and intense rain is keeping flood boss ‘awake at night’.
“”Rainy old England” is certainly getting wetter, said Politico, and “Britain isn’t ready”. Experts paint an unsettling picture of the future. The danger of “very intense rain cells”, Environment Agency boss Philip Duffy said last year, “genuinely keeps me awake at night”.”
https://theweek.com/science/the-uks-worsening-wet-weather
“Two stations [Ireland] had their wettest August on record. These were Malin Head, Co Donegal with 181.3mm (record length 69 years) and Knock airport, Co Mayo with 215.4mm (record length 28 years).
“The month’s highest temperature was reported at Casement Aerodrome, Co Dublin on Sunday 11th with a temperature of 24.3 degrees…”
“‘Scenes of horror’ as torrential rains flood Marseille with water-swept trash.
“Heavy rains swept across much of southern France between Sunday and Monday, inundating the city of Aix-en-Provence and leaving France’s second-largest city Marseille under a blanket of trash that had piled up on the streets following a rubbish-collector strike.”
“Majorca: British woman found dead and British man missing after being ‘swept away in flash flood’ while hiking.
“The hikers were on a trail that leads through a small canyon to the sea when a storm hit the area on the Balearic island, Spain’s Civil Guard said.”
“August 2024 in Spain had an average temperature of 25.0C [77F] which is +2.0C above normal and was the HOTTEST August on records.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1831251608673333339
“New heat records across Croatia, Dubrovnik breaks sea temperature record…
“This August was the warmest month ever recorded at 23 stations, and since 1961 it was the warmest at 16 stations (Bilogora, Bjelovar, Daruvar, Dubrovnik, Gospić, Gradište, Osijek, Parg, Puntijarka, Rijeka, Senj, Sisak, Slavonski Brod, Zadar, Zagreb – Maksimir, Zavižan).”
https://www.croatiaweek.com/new-heat-records-across-croatia-dubrovnik-breaks-sea-temperature-record/
“Drought dries up lake to reveal sunken Greek village.
“Residents of the village of Kallio were forced to evacuate their homes more than 40 years ago to make way for the Mornos dam in southern Greece, which supplies water to the capital, Athens.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz6xvwxjd1do
“Climate Change Loaded Dice for Brutal Drought in Sicily…
““This is an unprecedented drought emergency,” Renato Schifani, governor of Sicily, said in an interview last month. “It is an extraordinary event born of climate change.””
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/climate-change-sicily-drought
“Crisis in the Med: Record Heat and Mass Die-Offs Threaten Marine Life.
“This summer, rising sea temperatures reached record highs, leading to catastrophic fish die-offs in Italy and Greece. As climate change intensifies, these rising temperatures are exacerbating existing threats to marine life and leading to devastating consequences for the region’s delicate ecosystem.”
https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/latest-news/record-heat-med/
“It’s absolutely wild to me that the highest monthly OLR [cloud coverage] anomalies anywhere on the planet are over portions of the Sahara Desert…
“You know the Atlantic is truly broken when models are forming tropical cyclones over the Sahara desert rather than the ocean.” [Andrew Austin-Adler]
https://x.com/webberweather/status/1831170447452352668
“Ongoing rains and floods cause devastation in Mali.
“Nearly 69,000 people across 17 regions of Mali have been affected as ongoing rains and floods have caused devastation and damaged homes and infrastructure… On 23 August 2024, the transitional government of Mali declared a state of national disaster.”
“Niger ups flood death toll to 273 as torrential rains destroy historic mosque.
“Made from a mixture of earth and straw called banco, the mosque was Niger’s second-most visited after the UNESCO-listed Agadez mosque, according to Niger’s Ministry of Tourism.”
https://www.trtworld.com/africa/historic-mosque-in-niger-destroyed-by-torrential-rains-18203867
“Women at risk of domestic violence could triple in sub-Saharan Africa by 2060 due to climate crisis…
“The stress of displacement, loss of social support, increased alcohol abuse, food insecurity, financial and other pressures can make it easier for perpetrators to enact violence and leave victims isolated.”
“RECORD HEAT IN SOUTHERN AFRICA – new month, new records in South Africa.
“Strong berg winds and 40C [104F] in the Southwest: 39.9 Uitenhage record; 39.6 Addo; 38.6 Ngqura; 36.1 Port Alfred record. In French Southern Territories record at Juan de Nova Island with 32.2C.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1831015420062576677
“Climate change. Diary of a day in Syria’s extreme summer heat.
“In the Middle East, extreme heat is becoming the new normal. Here’s what it looks like for one journalist in Damascus… “Higher than average” is an expression I have come across a lot this summer, in which people across the world are experiencing some of the hottest days ever recorded.”
“Is Climate Change Sucking the Caspian Sea Dry?
“…the Caspian is fast drying up. With climate-induced soaring temperatures, the lake is rapidly evaporating, leaving behind sprawling patches of dry land… the northern Caspian is already only 5-6 meters deep. It has now passed below the level at which it can support the marine ecosystem.”
https://fpif.org/is-climate-change-sucking-the-caspian-sea-dry/
“Milam’s glory is melting away. Once a thriving trading post, the Himalayan village now stares at receding glaciers and shifting weather…
““See how far the tongue of ice reached out!,” Nikhurpa says, pointing to sepia-toned photographs. “It is not even a fraction of this anymore,” he adds.”
“Nagaland [state in far eastern India] mudslide kills 6, many missing…
“The mudslide that occurred at Pherima and Pagala Pahar also washed away a section of the NH Tuesday night, snapping road communications between the state’s commercial hub Dimapur and Kohima.”
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/nagaland-mudslide-kill-6-many-missing/ar-AA1q0zOz
“Floods hit Bangladesh garment industry supply chain…
“The disruption, on top of the unrest and protests that led to factory closures earlier in August, have caused garment production to fall by 50 per cent, said Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.”
https://www.easterneye.biz/bangladesh-garment-industry-floods-impact/
“With super typhoon winds, Yagi whirls towards Southern China…
“Southern Chinese provinces and cities braced for the arrival of super typhoon Yagi, shutting schools and postponing flights ahead of its expected landfall along Hainan’s subtropical coast in what could be the most powerful storm to hit China in years.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/southern-china-braces-super-typhoon-yagi-2024-09-05/
“HISTORIC HEAT WAVE IN CHINA.
“43.0c [109.4F] today at Fengdu in Chongqing Province and 30 more records of September highest temperatures plus many more of highest minimums. In 3 days over 500 records have been broken and next days will be far worse!”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1830969846403867034
“HISTORIC HEAT IN KOREAS: Both capitals Pyongyang and Seoul had their hottest fall night in history and other records.
“High Tmins records: 26.0 Seoul; 25.9 Incheon; 24.6 Pyongyang; 24.3 Anju 23.8 Sariwon; 23.6 Nanpo; 23.6 Kusong; 22.8 Ryongyon.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1831497578451763352
“RECORD HEAT IN INDONESIA.
“37.0 [98.6F] Jambi ALL TIME RECORD; 36.8 Palembang monthly record; 36.8 Putisabu monthly record. Thousands of records have been broken in Indonesia in the past 16 months with records falling every single day.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1830946891091116350
“‘This has been an extreme event’: Tasmanians take stock of damage after record flooding.
“Everything is saturated in Tasmania’s Derwent Valley. The sodden ground is scattered with debris. Large trees and branches have been moved upriver. It is eerily quiet.”
“Warmest Dunedin winter since records began [NZ]…
“Niwa climate scientist Gregor Macara said the city was one of 40 locations around the country which had record or near-record high mean temperatures during winter. Dunedin’s weather station at Musselburgh recorded a mean air temperature of 8.7°C [47.7F], which was 1.4°C above normal.”
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/warmest-dunedin-winter-records-began
“Antarctic sea-ice extent has not yet exceeded last year’s record low maximum extent. This is yet another climate casino wager that hangs in the balance.
“Last month averaged the 2nd lowest Antarctic sea ice extent on record for the month of August.”
https://x.com/EliotJacobson/status/1831301018161664474
“How Earth’s most intense heat wave ever impacted life in Antarctica…
“In March 2022, the most intense heat wave ever recorded on Earth hit Antarctica, just as organisms in the southern region braced themselves for the long, harsh winter ahead. The extreme weather raised temperatures in parts of Antarctica to more than 70°F above average, melting glaciers and snow even in the McMurdo Dry Valleys…”
“Massive wildfire devastates 20% of Brazilian forest…
“The National Forest, covering 5,600 hectares, provides 70% of the Brasilia’s freshwater supply, making it a vital conservation area… Firefighters also faced challenges in protecting nearby orchards from the encroaching flames, as strong winds carried sparks toward farms.”
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2493719/massive-wildfire-devastates-20-of-brazilian-forest
“Study finds Amazon fires nearly 30 times likelier due to climate change…
“The study shows that between March 2023 and February 2024, rising temperatures, reduced rainfall, drier air and less resilient forests set up the region for a fire risk far greater than the forest would naturally experience.”
“Floods in Zapopan: fallen trees and river overflow after rain [Mexico]…
“Afternoon rain causes chaos in Zapopan, as several streets in the municipality suffered from flooding, fallen trees, sinkholes and even the overflow of the Las Amarillas stream located in Colomos Park.”
https://www.milenio.com/politica/comunidad/lluvia-zapopan-2-septiembre-inundaciones-afectaciones
“This is pretty amazing: the ocean heat content averaged over the Gulf of Mexico is obliterating previous all-time record highs.
“It’s 126% of average for the date.”
https://x.com/BMcNoldy/status/1831330796621447345
“HISTORIC HEAT IN FLORIDA & CARIBBEANS – MINIMUM 88F Key West NAS: Hottest September night ever recorded in Florida.
“Min 28.7C Nassau, BAHAMAS: Hottest September night New Providence; Min 28.7C Carravelle MARTINIQUE. Station Hottest night ever.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1831430811801022723
“If you’re thinking it’s been rather wet around Tampa the last couple of days, then you would be correct.
“In fact, during 1 hour yesterday TPA recorded 3.80 inches of rain setting a New Hourly Rainfall Record, and today there was 2.63 inches in 1 hour coming in at #6.”
https://x.com/NWSTampaBay/status/1831490309852922253
“Macon [Georgia] sets record-low rainfall numbers in August, hurting gardens and lawns.
“According to the National Weather Service, August 2024 marked the lowest rainfall since record-keeping began in 1893. The lack of rain has hit locals hard. Terry Johnson, the owner of Johnson’s Garden Center and Florist, reports that sales of grass and shrubs have taken a sharp downturn.”
“Phoenix, Arizona, hits its 100th consecutive day of 100F weather…
“The hottest large city in the United States broke its previous record of 76 consecutive 100F days set in 1993. The relentless streak, which started on 27 May and hit its 100th day on Tuesday, is forecast to persist into next week.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/04/phoenix-arizona-100-degrees-heat
“‘Dangerously hot’ weather roasts US west as brutal summer continues…
“Desert cities such as Palm Springs were expected to see multiple days over 110F, while highs in Death Valley national park, which is experiencing its hottest summer on record, were expected to soar up to 118F (47.7C) on Friday.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/04/us-west-heatwave-summer
“State of emergency declared in Rancho Palos Verdes after landslide threats and widening power outages…
“The area, home to around 40,000 residents, has experienced an increase in land movement following severe storms in the past two years, and the ground is moving about a foot a week, officials say.”
“Dangerous Airborne Fungus Boosted by California Droughts…
“Valley fever is caused by spores from the soil-dwelling Coccidioides fungus. People contract Valley fever by inhaling infectious spores that become aerosolized when the soil is disturbed by wind or human activity.”
https://today.ucsd.edu/story/dangerous-airborne-fungus-boosted-by-california-droughts
“The Rail Ridge Fire in central Oregon has set over 61,000 acres ablaze and is 0% contained.
“The wildfire was discovered on September 2, according to USA TODAY’s data. It’s located in Dayville, around 240 miles southeast of Portland.”
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/09/04/rail-ridge-fire-oregon-wildfire/75067463007/
“Rising sea levels and tropical cyclones: How climate change is set to double port damage costs.
“First, the bad news. The impact of climate change is likely to cost billions of dollars in repairs to ports from climate change-related rising sea levels and harsher storms. The worst news: the bill is set to double.”
“How is record heat affecting global infrastructure?
“…“Much of our infrastructure systems were built based on a climate of the past, and we are now seeing communities across the globe facing record-breaking heat that is ultimately pushing infrastructure to or past its threshold,” Sabrina Bornstein, US climate resilience lead at Buro Happold said…”
“‘The climate crisis is forcing countries, bankers and investors to review the architecture of national debt’…
“The International Monetary Fund has calculated that one in 10 disasters in small countries results in destruction equivalent to at least 30% of annual GDP, compared with just one in 100 in larger countries.”
“Broken temperature records are alarming but it is not too late to limit global warming…
“Although a breach of the 1.5 C threshold will more than likely happen, we absolutely can get back below with more aggressive action reducing emissions.”
“The world is burning an alarming amount of plastic, scientists say…
“…a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature shows that a large proportion of the plastic waste created across the world is burned in the open air, threatening human health and demonstrating the world’s ongoing struggle to manage its plastic pollution.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/09/04/plastic-waste-burned-study/
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You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economic” thread.
Nothing like Netflix philosophy:
“It can be cruel—the gap between perception and reality”
Unbelievable stuff unfolding before our eyes.
It’s not too late? Stop it please you’re killing me.
I love geology, when you can see geological time, all rocks are liquid. Hang on humans, engaging warp speed.
“When you can see geological time, all rocks are liquid.”
I do love those deep space/time perspectives – such good sanity-restorers. I spotted this on X the other day:
“A photo of the Earth taken by Voyager 1 from about 6 billion km away. It may be just a tiny dot, but this is the Earth, and all of humanity is packed into it. As of 2024, this photo was taken from the farthest point from Earth.”
https://x.com/MAstronomers/status/1830396470245077115
‘We absolutely can …”
Of what comfort is that when we positively won’t?
That is very much the fly in the ointment, Rob. I lean towards the view that we can’t more than we won’t, but the end result is much the same.
Florida is betting on new building methods as extreme weather threatens its housing market Ash Bwardwaj, Kevin Chambliss and Vicki Lopez
Ash Bwardwaj, CEO, Onx Homes. Kevin Chambliss, D., Florida House of Representatives. Vicki Lopez, R., Florida House of Representatives.
September 4, 2024 at 2:04 PM EDT
https://fortune.com/2024/09/04/florida-building-methods-extreme-weather-threatens-housing-market-politics-environment/
With a historically active hurricane season underway, it’s increasingly apparent to us as industry leaders and elected officials that with natural disasters, including fires and earthquakes, on the rise, traditional homebuilding methods alone are no longer sufficient to ensure the safety and stability of our communities, as well as families’ financial futures as homeowners’ insurance costs rise and becomes more difficult to obtain. In fact, in 2023, American homeowners suffered $1.8 billion in property damage from winter storms, $4 billion in hurricane property damage, $5.6 billion in wildfire damage, more than $50 billion in damage from severe weather, and $9.2 billion in damage from floods.
Simultaneously, we race to build so we can meet the inventory shortfall generated by the housing crisis. The question is: How do we address the resilient building issue at the speed and volume necessary to help millions of Americans achieve a safe roof over their heads?
Fortunately, advancements in construction technology now enable us to build homes more quickly and at scale, which are significantly more resilient and environmentally friendly. However, to fully leverage these innovations and address the housing shortage effectively, the construction industry and government must work together. By collaborating on the creation and implementation of forward-thinking regulations that enable innovative solutions, we can safeguard home buyers’ interests while fostering industry growth, ultimately paving the way for a sustainable and secure future for us all.
Build back better…the slogan of the Politically Elite…
PS. Best to build with Bamboo, it grows well in Florida and is as strong as steel ..
Huts, I mean Housing, can be erected quickly after being blown away from severe Hurricanes…just a thought
PSS It’s being discovered the older buildings 30 years plus, are structural deficient due to salt air concrete deterioration and rusting rebar…many are seeing assess
“Innovative construction companies face significant challenges, including regulatory red tape and a lack of funding for innovative projects. Government support is crucial in overcoming these hurdles.” [My emphasis]
I suspect this is the article’s raison d’être.
Too bloody true! They just keep squeezing money out of the system, I really think they are mentally ill
For whom the bell tolls.
Us.
Someone on reddit pointed out that Bill Rees has a fantastic new article in the Tyee.
I pulled some juicy quotes, the man is my hero!
“Carbon emissions may continue to rise, the polar ice caps may continue to melt, crop yields may continue to decline, the world’s forests may continue to burn, coastal cities may continue to sink under rising seas and droughts may continue to wipe out fertile farmlands, but the messiahs of hope assure us that all will be right in the end. Only it won’t.”
— Chris Hedges
A novelist asks: “If your hope for the future depends on a wildly optimistic scenario, what will you do 10 years from now, when the scenario becomes unworkable even in theory?”
— Jonathan Franzen
— In a memorable session of the BBC’s HardTalk, Roger Hallam irritated multiple cultural nerves by claiming, on the basis of “hard science,” that six billion people will die as a result of climate change in coming decades.More specifically, our ruling elites’ inaction and lies on climate change will lead to climate turmoil, mass starvation and general societal collapse in this century.
— A random scientist dismisses Hallam outright. The idea that six billion people are doomed to die by 2100 “is simply not correct. No mainstream prediction indicates anywhere near this level of climate-change-induced human mortality, for any reason.”
— Similarly, another random scientist points out, “There is no analysis of likely climate damage that has been published in the quality peer-reviewed literature that would indicate that there is any substantial likelihood that climate change could cause the starvation of six billion people by the end of this century.”
— Another random scientist argues that, in these circumstances “a trend towards ‘erring on the side of least drama’ has emerged” and “when the issue is the survival of civilization is at stake, conventional means of analysis may become useless.”
— Exploring this argument, a couple of random policy wonks conclude, “Climate policymaking for years has been cognitively dissonant, ‘a flagrant violation of reality.’ So it is unsurprising that there is a lack of understanding amongst the public and elites of the full measure of the climate challenge.”
— As much as a decade ago a climate symposium organized to discuss the implications of a 4 C warmer world concluded, “Less than a billion people will survive.” Here a previously quoted random scientist is quoted as saying: “At 4 C Earth’s… carrying capacity estimates are below 1 billion people.” His words were echoed by professor Kevin Anderson (my hero) of the U.K.’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change: “Only about 10 per cent of the planet’s population would survive at 4 C.”
— Similarly, in May of this year, a random director of a random institute opined that in a 4 C warmer world: “It’s difficult to see how we could accommodate a billion people or even half of that…. There will be a rich minority of people who survive with modern lifestyles, no doubt, but it will be a turbulent, conflict-ridden world.” Meanwhile, greenhouse gas concentrations are still increasing.
“Keep in mind that a global temperature increase averaging 4 C means land temperatures would be 5.5 to 6 C warmer away from the coasts. Much of the tropics would be too hot for humans and many densely populated parts of the temperate zone would be desertified. A 4 C warmer world map suggests that as much as half the planet would become uninhabitable.”
— Bill Rees
“You can keep on hoping that catastrophe is preventable…. Or you can accept that disaster is coming, and begin to rethink what it means to have hope.”
— Jonathan Franzen
The random director of a random institute quoted above had a recent TED talk in which he came right out and said that soon, probably in the next few years, we are going to blow past 1.5degC above baseline like it’s not even there (if we haven’t already!). We will probably hit 2degC by 2050 at the latest. A mere 25 or so years from now.
So, forgive my shoddy math, but if the projection for 4degC is 7 billion dead, or more, then what is the projection for 2degC? Only 3 or 4 billion dead in the next 25 years? Oh, is that all? Or is it non-linear? It takes a while for the first billion to die, then suddenly everyone else flies off into the abyss all at once?
How nice. Maybe we can all hold hands and, I dunno, drink kool-aid or something.
Judging from the above link, we be getting there like yesterday
This is pretty amazing: the ocean heat content averaged over the Gulf of Mexico is obliterating previous all-time record highs. It’s 126% of average for the date.
Yes, obliterating….that’s where we be heading real soon, my friends
These are emphatic, hard- hitting quotes you’ve complied, Jerry, but you are far wiser than Bill Rees or Chris Hedges or Kevin Anderson.
Anderson and Rees are degrowthers despite their rational climate science, positing a fantastical notion that there exists a socio- political power that could restrain the fossil fuel corporate supersystem. Hedges is a Christian fairy-tale believer in redemptive bourgeois reform.
You, and the other stalwarts here, are not infected with this kind of reality-denying imperative. Why, I don’t know.
“Don’t ask the love you dare for a prediction
Wherein the lovers of tomorrow are involved
I guess time just makes fools of us all
Oh, I guess time just makes fools of us all
Oh, I guess time just makes fools of us all”
– from the song “time makes fools of us all” by Father John Misty
I am also hearing how the United states is a ganster state! Its getting so bad now the mask is off and we are reverting to the colonial empire of the 1600s. Yes this collapse will be so much fun. Elon musk will work for free in trump’s administration and mess things up more with his ai and his teslas.
I’ve just created a single dose pill that cures stupidity. Now I need to manufacture over 8 billion more.
Is it red?
I can supply them in any color. I will also supply a packet of Kool-aid with each order, in one’s preferred flavor, of course.
Crying tears of sadness & laughing at the insanity. 😉