Huge thanks to this month’s anonymous sponsor, who wishes me to lead with this droll quote from Terry Pratchett’s Equal Rites: “(He) had a mind that ticked like a clock and, like a clock, it regularly went cuckoo.”
“Western Europe keeps setting new heat records as fastest-warming continent… Record June takes average warming for the region to 2.8C above 1991-2020 levels…
“Even as the global average temperature for June was slightly cooler than a year before as some parts of the southern hemisphere endured a colder winter, the overall global temperature rise was still tracking at 1.55C above pre-industrial levels for the 12 months to the end of June.”
https://www.ft.com/content/2ecef3b2-c50e-4be9-bd75-9cf113530c34
“London bracing for water restrictions as drought grips UK…
“England has endured its hottest spring on record and driest in over a century, followed by the hottest June, contributing to the severe water scarcity. Experts attribute the increasingly extreme weather, including hotter, drier summers and more frequent heatwaves, to human-caused climate change…”
https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/uk-drought-london-water-restrictions-b2785602.html
“Extreme weather could cause 5% drop in euro zone GDP, bank watchdogs find.
“Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding and wildfires could wipe as much off euro zone GDP in the next five years as the global financial crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior European Central Bank official said on Wednesday.”
“I can’t sell my house in SW France due to climate change – we cut the price by £190k…
“While we are struggling to get interest in our house, the property prices in Normandy and Brittany – where I am now – are going through the roof. The market here is really buoyant, which is ironic because historically property in the north was much cheaper. The locals refer to people moving from the south to cooler climates as “climate refugees”.”
https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/cant-sell-house-france-climate-change-cut-price-190k-3796133
“By 2034 the Pyrenees will be ice-free! If extreme summers like 2022 and 2023 recur this could happen even earlier!
“Spanish team shows that remaining ice thickness at the 3 largest Pyrenean glaciers will be gone in less than 10 years!” [Melaine Le Roy on X referencing study below]
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/393410037_No_hope_for_Pyrenean_glaciers
“Recurrent wildfires across the Mediterranean region are changing its landscape.
“Multiple countries in the Mediterranean region have been battling intense wildfires this summer, including France, Greece, Syria and Turkey. These aggressive, recurring fires suggests a new normal of altered lives, landscapes and economies in the Mediterranean basin.”
“Mediterranean Sea temperatures are now on their third straight week of breaking records.
“As of July 8, the most anomalous conditions were south of Ibiza, Spain, where seas were 6.4˚C (11.5˚F) warmer than average. Actual sea temperatures were near 30˚C (86˚F).” [Ben Noll]
https://x.com/BenNollWeather/status/1942962700730130529
“Freak hailstorm batters Croatia as wildfires rage in Balkan countries.
“A severe hail storm has ripped through trees and roofs in Croatia, as hundreds of fires rage across neighbouring Serbia, both nations grappling with intense heat across the Balkan region.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/croatia-fire-storm-split-weather-b2784685.html
“At Least 14 Injured After Powerful Storm Hits Sinaia [Romania].
“Ten people were injured by fallen trees near Peles Castle, and four others in the Sinaia Monastery area. The roof of the train station, an emblematic historical building, was torn off by strong winds and thrown into the parking lot. Rail traffic is stopped.”
https://www.romaniajournal.ro/society-people/at-least-14-injured-after-powerful-storm-hits-sinaia/
“Kharkiv Hits New Heat Record of 35.7°C Amid July Heatwave [Ukraine].
“On July 8th, a new temperature record was set in Kharkiv: the maximum temperature reached 35.7° [96.3F], surpassing the previous record that had stood for 57 years… Previously, the highest temperature recorded in 1968 was +34.9°.”
https://mezha.net/eng/bukvy/kharkiv-hits-new-heat-record-of-35-7degc-amid-july-heatwave/
“The Internet showed the consequences of heavy rain and hail in the Moscow region.
“A storm with large hail hit the Moscow region, damaging infrastructure, knocking down trees and smashing cars. Utility services worked all night… In Istra, hail the size of a quail or even a chicken egg damaged cars, roofs, destroyed crops, knocked down 80 trees and knocked down a communications tower.”
https://pogoda.mail.ru/news/66931497/?from=swap&swap=2
“Wildfires reopen earthquake wounds in Turkiye’s shattered Hatay province…
““It was like waking up, but you’re back in a nightmare,” said Hatice Nur Yilmaz, 23, her voice trembling on the phone as she described seeing flames from her container home in Antakya, Hatay’s largest city.”
“Wildfires rage for the seventh day in Latakia [Syria].
“For the seventh consecutive day, firefighters continue to struggle to bring under control, the devastating wildfires that have already consumed approximately 14,000 hectares of forests and farmland in Latakia. The blazes mark one of the region’s worst environmental disasters in recent years.”
“How Climate Change Is Damaging Agriculture and Food Security in Tajikistan.
“Over the past 30 years, cotton production in Tajikistan has dropped by a staggering 56%. Among the many contributing factors are a lack of investment, outdated agricultural technology, and, notably, climate change.”
“Accelerated glacial melt and monsoon rains trigger deadly floods in Pakistan.
“Glaciers across northern Pakistan have been melting at an accelerated pace as a result of record-breaking summer temperatures, leading to deadly flash flooding and landslides… In the country’s mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan, temperatures have risen as high as 48.5C (119.3F)…”
“SRI LANKA ENDLESS RECORD HEAT – scorching hot nights continue all over the island.
“Today Ratmalana (near Colombo) broke again its record of July hottest night with a minimum of 28.8C [83.8F]. Record heat in Sri Lanka has been going on for years.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1942881956082909412
“Climate change makes South Asia’s monsoon season more prone to floods, landslides and heavy rains…
““We are witnessing a clear climatic shift in monsoon patterns across South Asia,” said Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune and author of several United Nations climate reports.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/india-south-asia-bengaluru-pakistan-nepal-b2786100.html
“Record rainfall submerges Feni town [Bangladesh]…
“Water entered markets, damaging goods and causing financial losses to shopkeepers. Shopkeeper Saiful said: “Just two hours of rain, and my entire shop went underwater. No one comes to help, let alone offer support.””
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/385857/record-rainfall-submerges-feni-town
“Five missing, 7,000 evacuated after record rainfall triggers floods and landslides in Yunnan, China.
“Record rainfall of up to 255 mm (10 inches) hit Zhaotong, China’s Yunnan Province from July 8 to 9, 2025, triggering severe flooding and landslides in Weixin County and leaving five people missing. Over 7,000 residents have been evacuated.”
https://watchers.news/2025/07/09/five-missing-7-000-evacuated-record-rainfall-floods-yunnan-china/
“Chinese students sleep off heatwave in libraries and tents.
“As Chinese authorities issue warnings for extreme heat in the country’s eastern region, students are leaving their stuffy dormitories to camp in hallways and supermarkets. Some have ditched their campuses altogether.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czrykm5z2rxo
“DEADLY HEAT IN EAST ASIA:
“Absolutely terrible dew points up to 31C in NORTH KOREA: That’s beyond any human can bear. 36C and 75% hr Kusong. Extreme humid heat also in the air-conditioned SOUTH KOREA with many July heat records.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1942924250266075410
“South Korea reports over 1,000 heat-related patients amid record high temperatures.
“More than 1,000 cases of patients suffering heat-related illnesses have been reported to date this summer as a heat wave hit the country earlier than normal, data showed Wednesday, one day after the country saw record high temperatures in the capital, Seoul.”
“JAPAN RECORD HEAT – eternal record heat in Japan where nearly 1000 records have fallen every day since June 16th: absolute insanity.
“Last records of July Highest Minimums: 27.9 [82.2F] Nakatsu, 26.6 Mito, 25.9 Mooka, 25.4 Esashi, 25.1 Higashi, 24.8 Oosako, 24.6 Wakayanagi.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1943064726520631600
“The western Mediterranean marine heatwave is justifiably getting a lot of attention, but the North Pacific warmth is extreme as well – and over a much larger area.
“The incredible warmth from Japan eastward has driven the daily PDO index to a new record low value (1981-present).” [World Climate Service]
https://x.com/WorldClimateSvc/status/1942998807874281943
“Lizard Island coral death reaches 92 per cent after 2024 bleaching event, study finds [Australia].
“Almost all of the surveyed coral at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef died after last year’s bleaching event, a new study found, revealing one of the highest coral mortality rates ever recorded anywhere in the world.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/coral-death-great-barrier-reef-b2784496.html
“EXCEPTIONAL WINTER WARMTH IN NEW ZEALAND – extraordinary temperatures up to +21C [70F] at Auckland and even night minimums of +15/+16C (almost typical of summer) has swept New Zealand in the first days of July.
“Even the South Island has seen minimums >+10C. Dozens of July records fell.”
https://x.com/extremetemps/status/1942966526488776759
“Warming climate, volcanos raise risk of ice falls on Chile’s glaciers…
“”When temperatures are high, water infiltrates either through rain or through rapid melting of the snowpack. This water percolates into the base of the glacier and acts as a lubricant,” Ugalde said, adding this could cause ice to fall off more rapidly in a natural process called calving.”
“Portuguesa joins the states on alert for heavy rains that are causing massive flooding [Venezuela]…
“An assessment of the damage from this situation, which affects a large part of the country, is expected in the coming hours… The most affected areas are the Turimiquire, Acosta, Caripe, Piar, Cedeño, Punceres, Bolívar and Maturín mountain ranges.”
“Death toll rises to 120 in Texas, including Camp Mystic children, after flash floods.
“Hundreds gathered this evening in Kerrville for a vigil to honor the lives lost in the flood. Community members scattered across the stands of the football stadium at Tivy High School, some smiling and hugging, others wiping away tears.”
“Flash floods in US kill at least three in New Mexico mountain town…
“Municipal officials in the town of Ruidoso said that the flooding occurred on Tuesday afternoon, with monsoon rains causing the Rio Ruidoso river to swell to 20 feet (six metres), surpassing the previous record by five feet (1.5 metres).”
“Chicago flash flooding prompted weather warnings, water rescues and submerged vehicles Tuesday night as a slow and soaking rain storm pounded the city…
“The situation grew more and more serious as the night went on. Roads, interstates, and viaducts flooded, and water rescues had to be made at multiple locations on the West Side.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/flash-flood-warning-chicago-rain-pounds-area/
“It’s easily a once-in-1,000 year rainfall event for west Chicago (based on NOAA estimates).
“7 inches of rain in 3 hours, including up to 4 inches in ONE hour, is nearly unprecedented for the region.” [Craig Ceecee]
https://x.com/CC_StormWatch/status/1942794722424086906
“‘It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels…
“…the federal government has paused or terminated billions of dollars of grants, proposed slashing research funding by more than 40% for key research agencies in the next fiscal year, and tried—so far without success—to cut overhead payments to universities.”
“Amplified warming accelerates deoxygenation in the Arctic Ocean…
“Our findings highlight the dominant role of warming Atlantic inflow in shaping the Arctic Ocean oxygen dynamics, indicating that ongoing temperature increases will perpetuate deoxygenation trends and underscoring the need for widespread attention.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02376-0
“The state oil company of COP30 host Brazil plans to expand oil production more aggressively than nearly every other major producer this decade, according to new analysis from Global Witness.
“Petrobras is projected to produce almost a third (32 percent) more oil in 2030 than it did last year, topping a billion barrels in 2030 alone…”
“‘The Lumisphere’ travels to COP30 in Brazil to inspire hope amidst climate anxiety.
“The Lumisphere by Visions2030 is making its global debut at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, at the Museum of Tomorrow. The immersive experience isn’t just art, it’s a call to reframe our climate narrative.”
https://www.visions2030.studio/programs/the-lumisphere
I rely on donations and tips from my readers to to keep the site running. Every little bit helps. Can you chip in even a dollar? Buy me a coffee or become a Patreon supporter. A huge thank you to those who do subscribe or donate.
You can read the previous “Climate” thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an “Economic” thread.
The findings (below) concerning the reversal of SMOC down/upwelling can explain most things that have happened since 2020: accelerated warming, Antarctic sea ice collapse, slow down of main overturning currents, jump in CO2 concentration growth, consequentially bonkers hydrologic cycle etc. (maybe with a bit of aerosol, cloud cover and other stratification induced change added in). It seems likely that, as the reversal started in 2015, it is going to accelerate from here, even if we instantly stopped any more emissions, so the anomalies of the last few years will be minor compared with what’s coming in the next five or ten. In turn that means some important other climate tipping points will be passed – are third and forth order changes, i.e. acceleration of acceleration, called jerks and jounces? Maybe there could be another reversal if things got hot enough to melt sufficient Antarctic land ice for the freshwater to dilute the rising salt from depth or some such counter-logical thing, but the cure is probably worse than the ailment. Either way I don’t think very many organised societies are getting through the 30s.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500440122
Can’t get the link to work.
search:
Rising surface salinity and declining sea ice: A new Southern Ocean state revealed by satellites
or maybe paste address directly into search line:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500440122
The second link works. The first one in the original comment has some artifacts after the URL. “…2500440122%E2%80%A8“
Multiple breadbasket harvest failure secondary to geographical and ecological incontinuity seems increasingly probable.
Multiple breadbasket failures certainly look on the cards, Survivalist, with lots of painful food inflation in the interim, for however long the financial system can cope with that.
George, thank you for your thoughts.
Paul Beckwith put out a good video about this. Full disclosure, I fell asleep ten minutes into it last night, as I was knackered and his voice is a little soporific, but I can tell that it is worth listening to in full. It seems there are still more questions than answers.
“What are the implications of the apparent reversal of the SMOC (Southern Meridional Overturning Circulation) a decade ago in 2015?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iCLdRhRHSs
I caught Paul Beckwith discussing the PNAS report on his site.
Now I’m just waiting for a future study that will say the SMOC will slow down the AMOC & lead to an ice age in the northern hemisphere.
The Roaring 20’s and the Roasting 30’s.
And then perhaps the fatal 40’s.
Voi
luoja
Ahh, Finnish! I guessed wrong. Wondered if it was Romanian.
Hey! Watch the language. 😉
😂
“I can’t sell my house in SW France due to climate change – we cut the price by £190k…”
Really? 431,000 pounds ~ 585,000 USD. How many people have the money to buy a house that expensive? You can’t blame everything on climate change. All this type of publicity does is make people more skeptical in my opinion.
New price ~380,000 USD. I wouldn’t pay that much for the house shown even if I could afford it.
I just don’t think people with the kind of money it takes to purchase a house this expensive are thinking about climate change and the effects that are already unfolding around the world. I just think these kinds of stories cheapen the true impact of what is happening.
People are going to experience much more distressing conditions due to the real impacts of climate change compared to “not being able to sell my house”. Moving somewhere else isn’t going to help a whole lot in my opinion.
Edward, it is hard to know how much credence to give her. The boom in home sales in potentially less hazardous regions like Normandy and Brittany in the north is interesting, but the initial impetus for that came from the pandemic-era urban exodus.
Southern France has seen a lot of climate mayhem and it would certainly be factoring into my thinking but then obviously I am very attuned to the risks.
As for the value of her home, I wonder if it has a reasonable chunk of land attached, given that she keeps horses.
Lumisphere. I can’t even.
“Creativity and imagination have the ability to shift consciousness. A shared vision can reshape the world. The Lumisphere Experience was created for communities to envision the future together.”
This is the breakthrough we need. “The Lumisphere Experience was launched at the California Institute of the Arts in late 2023 with a goal of helping shift the climate conversation from doom to hope.”
COP30 (Conference of the Parties) is becoming just another marketing event.
We’re not going to make it, are we? So much for hope.
Well, let’s be honest, it’s not going to move the dial on our collective ecocidal rampage, but it sounds somewhat intriguing for a day out:
“Family-friendly activities, goat yoga, Indigenous storytelling, curated art experiences, live music performances and sound baths were just a few of the amenities at the multi-sensory festival.”
https://signalscv.com/2023/09/visions2030-earth-edition-inspires-hope-in-attendees/
Can you even believe this?
US lawmakers write to Canada to complain that its wildfire smoke is spoiling summer
“ Tom Emmer is a senior member of Congress, serving as Majority Whip in the House of Representatives.
He and his five fellow Republican lawmakers wrote in the letter, published Monday: “We would like to know how your government plans on mitigating wildfire and the smoke that makes its way south.”
They continued: “Our constituents have been limited in their ability to go outside and safely breathe due to the dangerous air quality the wildfire smoke has created.
“In our neck of the woods, summer months are the best time of the year to spend time outdoors recreating, enjoying time with family, and creating new memories, but this wildfire smoke makes it difficult to do all those things.” ”
Moronocracy USA would have been my title to the article.
No, I can’t believe it. 🤦🏻♀️🙄🤦🏻♀️🙄
As if the US is not responsible for plenty of transboundary pollution making its way into Canada! The wind blows where it blows. The US ships plenty of its hazardous waste up there, too:
“‘A trash can for the US’: anger in Mexico and Canada over toxic waste shipments… “How can we accept being the trash can for the United States?” said Martine Ouellet, a former natural resources minister for Quebec who now heads the political party Climat Québec.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/14/mexico-canada-us-toxic-waste-shipments
The Lummoxsphere, where the Conference Organizing Parties 🎉 gathers to shift the climate conservation from “tomb it may concern” to “Nope”.
Rob, nice. 😂 Belem has its work cut out if it is going to outdo Baku in unintentional hilarity, but we live in hope.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-did-we-get-a-dozen-1000-year-floods-in-3-days/1792443
Dozens of 1000 year floods in 3 days
Wow!
Thanks for that, Heather. I am concerned about extreme rainfall events in the Mediterranean this autumn, due to these ridiculous sea temps. I fear we will see another Derna or Valencia. Or worse.
Lahore, Pakistan, one of the losers in today’s climate lottery: “Record eight-hour rainfall devastates Lahore, causes widespread flooding. Incessant rain spell claims 13 lives in Lahore, Balochistan; several injured.”
https://english.aaj.tv/news/330423587/record-eight-hour-rainfall-devastates-lahore-causes-widespread-flooding
Such malarkey, I’ve learned, is basically “Climate change is a hoax “ wrapped in sciencey rhetoric.
If civilization is a heat engine, every expansion increases the heat produced. Anyone notice how I evaded the use of the growing civilization O-word? Sometimes my brilliance is subtle. I’ll be killing the massive crowds at my stand-up this weekend & my opening act will be AGW. Sometimes it’s tough to perform to a walking dead crowd.
Breaking! A second type of CO2 has been discovered, it’s a solution of CO2 & bullshit coming out of the mouths of monkey minds
On the NZ temp article, as little as 10-15 years ago when cycling to work (in Canterbury, South Island) I lost count of the number of frosty mornings. I now wear shorts year round on the bike. It is halfway through winter 2025 and I can count the number of frosts on one hand and those frosts were pathetic, being barely below zero. Last winter and 2023 were noticeably the same – massive decrease in frequency of hard frosts and heating season starting about 1 month later than prior years.
Weather patterns that used to bring regular sweeping southerly flows deep down from within circum-Antarctic latitudes (and snow storms) have been partially replaced by westerly/nor-west flows that bring warmth/moisture from the tropics and moisture from the Tasman sea.
Like George in the first comment, after watching Paul Beckwith’s commentary on the strong possibility of a sustained/permanent SMOC reversal the penny-has-dropped and I realise that this event could very well be strongly correlated with current winter weather weirding. Sounds like the situation in Australia isn’t much better.
Not to say that winter weather and snowpack revival hasn’t been changing for decades though. As an avid hiker, areas I visited 20-30 years ago which had permanent glaciers and summer snow cover are now bare rock… The once mighty Tasman glacier has lost a huge amount of mass and visitors are greeted with a huge terminal lake.
Comments on that paper from some climate academics in NZ:Associate Professor Natalie Robinson said that what happens in Antarctica has implications for the entire globe, but here in New Zealand we are impacted by changes to Antarctic sea ice more directly than most.
“Early indications are that a warmer Southern Ocean, exacerbated by retreat of the sea ice edge, contributes to increased storminess for New Zealand,” she said.
“When combined with the steadily warming waters of New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, we should expect to see more of the intense rainfall events we’ve experienced recently, since warmer air can hold more moisture.”
Thank you for the local intel, Craig. 😎
Thanks, Craig. Shocking.