“Tree loss due to fire is worst in far northern latitudes, data shows. Forests in Russia are most affected, as scientists warn of escape of huge quantities of buried carbon dioxide…
“Russia has lost about 53m hectares of tree cover to fire since 2001, an area about the size of France… the carbon released to the atmosphere by forest fires [is] creating a vicious circle of climate damage…
“…boreal forest has been warming rapidly and drying out, making it more prone to catch fire. Heatwaves have struck northern Canada and Siberia in recent years, and the Arctic has warmed much faster than the rest of the planet.”
“Freya the walrus killed, social media erupts… Freya was a young female walrus, of a species normally found in the Arctic…
“Norway’s fisheries directorate “euthanized” (some social media reports are now saying “shot”) the 1,300-pound walrus early on Sunday morning. The directorate said the decision came after the public ignored repeated warnings to keep their distance from Freya.”
“Concerns have been mounting over the presence of bacteria caused by pollution in England’s largest lake, with recent record temperatures adding to the problem.
“Toxic blue-green algae is multiplying on the surface of Lake Windermere as a result of this summer’s heatwaves, increasing fears over ecological stability in the area.”
“A [UK] farmer is giving away more than 140,000 onions after the summer heatwave has stopped them from being sold in supermarkets…
“This comes as Brits are being encouraged to ‘pull together’ and buy ‘wonky’ vegetables due to the ongoing drought damaging farmer’s produce and destroying harvests.”
“Paris is only under a yellow alert, but when the rain hit late on Tuesday afternoon it was extremely heavy, leading to flash flooding in some streets and Metro stations… At least 26mm of rain fell in a single hour… Meanwhile the weather station on the Eiffel Tower registered gusts of wind of 104km/h.”
“Swiss lakes and rivers drop to record lows due to continuing drought…
“Experts have warned that some fish populations are at risk as a result of high water temperatures in rivers and streams. The ice of alpine glaciers has been melting fast in the hot weather, releasing old plane wreckages or exposing an old Alpine pass covered by ice for the past 2,000 years in the west of the country.”
“Europe heatwave: Hungary reports its driest summer since 1901.
“Much of Europe has faced weeks of baking temperatures that have triggered large wildfires, drained water levels of the Rhine River in Germany and seen the source of Britain’s River Thames dry up further downstream than in previous years.”
“Drought, heat greatly damage agricultural crops in Croatia.
“Photo taken on Aug. 15, 2022 shows a sun-scorched sunflower field amid heat wave in Slavonia, Croatia. Agricultural crops in Croatia have suffered great damage due to the severe drought and high temperature.”
“Farmers in ‘water wars’ in southern Spain as droughts threaten livelihoods.
“The receding of the water at the Vinuela Reservoir has shocked and worried nearby residents… The reservoir is only at around 12% capacity after Spain had record high temperatures in July, amidst the driest spell in the country in more than 1,200 years.”
“Spain wildfires: up to 20 injured after passengers break out of train engulfed by flames.
“As many as 20 passengers have suffered burns, three of them seriously, after they jumped from a train when it was engulfed by a forest fire near Castellón in north-east Spain… A number of passengers, fearing that the train would be consumed by the fire, panicked and fled after breaking windows to escape.”
“Portuguese wildfire envelops Madrid skyscrapers in smoke 400 km away.
“Smoke from a huge wildfire in central Portugal enveloped skyscrapers known as the “Four Towers” in Madrid 400 km (250 miles) away on Tuesday, and residents of the Spanish capital complained of a strong burning smell.”
“Three firefighters died and two others were seriously injured in a forest fire in northern Morocco that was suspected to have been started deliberately, authorities said Tuesday.
“The firefighters were in a vehicle that plunged into a ravine while they were battling the blaze in M’diq-Fnideq province late Monday, the authorities told AFP.”
“The death toll from flooding triggered by torrential rains in Sudan has risen to 75 and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of homes, police said on Tuesday.
“”The number of people killed by the floods rose to 75, and left 12,551 houses completely destroyed, and another 20,751 partially damaged,” a National Council for Civil Defence statement said.”
“The reputed home of the biblical Garden of Eden, Iraq’s swamplands have been battered by three years of drought and low rainfall, as well as reduced water flows along rivers and tributaries originating in neighboring Turkey and Iran.”
“On Tuesday, citizens in Shahrekord, in the southwest of Iran, took to the streets, protesting continuous water shortages.
““Death to [president Ebrahim] Raisi” and “Death to the provincial governor [Gholam-Ali Heydari],” protesters chanted… After at least a ten-day lack of piping water and officials’ hollow promises, people found no way to meet their demands but to take to the streets.”
“Five die as vehicle swept away in flash flood near Quetta [Pakistan]… rising the death toll in the province to 201…
“Meanwhile, Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains killed 635 people and injured 1016 across the country since June… The Balochistan and Sindh provinces were hardest hit by the flooding after the heaviest rains on record lashed the provinces amid heightened concerns about climate change.”
“With widespread rains continuing in different parts of Himachal Pradesh [N India], two persons were killed while seven others were injured in landslide-related incidents…
“It has been raining continuously for past more than 12 hours in several parts of the state… The rains wreaked havoc in several parts, triggering flash floods and landslides in Kullu, Chamba, Sirmaur, Shimla and Lahaul-Spiti districts.”
“As stronger storms hit Bangladesh farmers, banks are climate collateral damage.
“Nearly a third of Bangladesh’s total land mass lies in its coastal zone, spanning 47,201 square kilometers (18,224 square miles), according to a study. This zone is home to about 35 million people, or 29% of the country’s population. These communities are heavily dependent on agriculture…”
“This monster heat wave in China is getting worse day by day; Today 81 records fell, the highest was 44.4C [111.9F] at Fengjie. New all time provincial record for Sichuan with 43.4C at Qu.
“Some stations beat and rebeat their all time highs more than a dozen times and this will just get worse.”
More on SE China’s low water levels: “The Yangtze River, pictured in Wuhan, Hubei province, is at its lowest level for this time of year since records began in 1865.
“Meanwhile, the nation’s two largest freshwater lakes – Poyang and Dongting, which connect to the Yangtze – have seen their lowest levels since records began in 1951.” [Extraordinary to think that Poyang was at its *highest* level on record in the floods of July 2020].
“A severe drought since June has affected some 4.2 million people in central China’s Hubei Province, the provincial emergency management department said on Tuesday.
“As of Tuesday, drought conditions triggered by sustained hot weather and low precipitation had impacted 78 counties in the province. In addition, a total of 151,300 people had difficulties accessing drinking water…”
“Heavy rainfalls in Western Australia left many records of highest 24 hours precipitations for August and in some cases year-round. See list of records beaten courtesy of Australian Weather News.”
“Australia could be lashed with more rain and possible floods for the next three months with La Niña conditions predicted to return for a rare third consecutive year.
“The Australian Bureau of Meteorology raised the El Niño-Southern Oscillation La Niña outlook from “watch” to “alert” on Tuesday afternoon… The prediction for renewed rainfall comes after three major flooding events in New South Wales within a year…”
“A long-lived atmospheric river is landing on New Zealand shores today… NIWA says this one is unusual for this time of the year…
“Current forecast models indicate that this would be classified as an ‘extreme’ to ‘exceptional’ atmospheric river – indeed, an analysis we undertook indicates that the amount of moisture in the atmosphere for this particular event is unprecedented for August in climatological data going back to 1959.”
“Auckland’s warmest minimum temperature for August recorded overnight.
“MetService recorded Tuesday’s overnight low of 15.1 degrees [59F]. The previous record sat at 14.3 degrees set in 1970 and 1998. A MetService forecaster told Newshub they were “very surprised by how warm it actually was”.”
“Extremely heavy rain is continuing to pound Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Tuesday, increasing the risk of disasters…
“Two towns in Hokkaido had record-high rainfall in the 12 hours since Monday night. Imakane had 190.5 millimeters [7.5 inches] and Okushiri had 162 millimeters, both surpassing the average for the whole month of August.”
“Brazil’s other deforestation; has the savannah farming boom gone too far?
“…the conversion of huge swaths of a region known as the Cerrado into pasture and arable land over the past few decades has helped transform Brazil into an agrarian powerhouse… But the extent of the agricultural encroachment on to this vast patchwork of grasslands, scrub, wetlands and wooded areas is alarming ecologists.”
“California power grid officials issue Flex Alert for Wednesday amid heat wave…
“The alert, which is a call for voluntary electricity conservation, will be in effect from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., officials with the California Independent System Operator said Tuesday evening… Customers are asked to conserve electricity, especially during the late afternoon and early evening when the grid is under the highest stress.”
“New water cuts coming for Southwest as Colorado River falls into Tier 2 shortage.
“An extraordinary drought in the West is drying up the Colorado River and draining the nation’s largest reservoirs — Lake Mead and Lake Powell. And amid the overuse of the river and the aridification of the region, the federal government is implementing new mandatory water cuts and asking states to devise a plan to save the river basin.”
“U.S. agricultural forecasters expect drought-struck farmers to walk away from more than 40% of the 12.5 million acres they sowed with cotton and harvest the smallest area since Reconstruction. Back then, in 1868, yields per acre were less than a fifth of what they are today…”
“Salt Lake City breaks record for most 100+ degree days ever.
“Any thoughts of the summer heat coming to an end were given a wake up call Tuesday when the temperature in Salt Lake City hit 100 degrees late in the afternoon, setting a new all-time record… The new record breaks the previous mark set in 1960, 1994 and 2021.”
“Residents of two West Virginia counties were recovering from significant flash flooding that prompted dozens of water rescues early on Monday and destroyed at least two bridges, officials said.
“Overnight, brown water rose swiftly in Kanawha and Fayette Counties, uprooting trees, engulfing cars and roads, washing out culverts and damaging at least 100 homes in Kanawha County…”
“Scorching heat waves roasting the world… What is really worrying is that previous records were broken by a fraction of 1 C. Now, the increase is by 3-5 C, as seen in Canada and the UK…
“The summer of 2022 is on track to become the hottest since China began compiling complete meteorological records in 1961. Even the Arctic town of Verkhoyansk in Siberia, Russia, registered 38 C in June 2020. No part of the world is free from extreme heat.”
“Major cities blighted by nitrogen dioxide pollution, research finds…
“Moscow is the world’s second worst city for nitrogen dioxide pollution, behind Shanghai in China, while St Petersburg takes fourth place. Other cities near Russia follow close behind… NO2 is not as closely linked to mortality as particulate pollution, but can cause a variety of respiratory problems…”
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via Patreon. And if you are already a subscriber or have donated – thank you! It is an enormous help as the cost of living crisis ratchets up here in the UK.
My apologies to those of you who thought I’d abandoned my station and bless those who reached out and/or were concerned about my wellbeing.
I did explain and count down to my departure on the previous week’s threads but I probably shouldn’t have assumed that everyone would read all the way down to the bottom. Regardless, I have returned from a sweltering week in England visiting my parents and so it is business as [un]usual:
“Incredible and unprecedented heat in the Balearic Islands of Spain. Hottest day ever in the archipelago with 44.5C [112.1F] in Formentera.
“Record heat destroyed at Ibiza with 41.0C in the Airport and 41.8C at Eivissa. Record heat also at Palma Port, Mallorca with 38.9C.”
“Hottest day on records in multiple mainland stations, the most important ones: Alicante 42.0C / 107.6F (Tmin 29.0C!); Almeria AP 42.0C; Murcia San Javier AP 41.9C; Javea 40.8C; Palma Port 39.1C; Cartagena 41.5C.”
“One killed and dozens injured as festival stage collapses in high winds in Spain…
“Organisers… said the unexpected and “violent strong winds” destroyed areas of the festival at about 4am and that “extraordinary” weather conditions had caused damage to various infrastructure on the festival site.”
“Major Wildfire in NE Spain Forces the Evacuation of 1,500 .
“The wildfire, which began Saturday, developed a 50-kilometer (31-mile) perimeter in less than 24 hours, the local forest chief said. It’s estimated burned surface could be up to 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres), state news agency EFE reported.”
“2022 sees record wildfire destruction in Europe: EU.
“Europe’s blistering summer may not be over yet, but 2022 is already breaking records, with nearly 660,000 hectares ravaged since January, according to the EU’s satellite monitoring service. And while countries on the Mediterranean have normally been the main seats of fires in Europe, this year, other countries are also suffering heavily.”
“The price of wine could soar by 10 per cent this year as searing temperatures and heatwaves continue to wreak havoc on Europe’s vineyards.
“David Gates, CEO of Direct Wines and parent company Laithwaites, says a bottle of red or white from favourites France, Italy and Spain will only get more expensive if the heat and drought continue much longer.”
“Europe’s rivers run dry as scientists warn drought could be worst in 500 years.
“In places, the Loire can now be crossed on foot; France’s longest river has never flowed so slowly. The Rhine is fast becoming impassable to barge traffic. In Italy, the Po is 2 metres lower than normal, crippling crops. Serbia is dredging the Danube.”
“Mystery surrounds mass fish die-off in European river amid fears of environmental catastrophe.
“The death of tonnes of fish in a river in Europe is shrouded in mystery, amid speculation from Poland’s prime minister that “huge amounts of chemical waste” were probably dumped intentionally into the water.”
“Mass crop failures expected in England as farmers demand hosepipe bans.
“Experts have warned of widespread crop failures across England, as charities and farmers criticised water companies for dithering over hosepipe bans despite drought being declared across much of the country. On Friday, the Environment Agency classified eight of the 14 areas of England as being in a drought.”
“Ireland has provisionally broken the record for the highest temperature for the month of August.
“A temperature of 31.7C was recorded at a weather station in Oak Park, Co Carlow on Friday, forecaster Met Eireann said.” [That record then fell again on Saturday with 32.1C at Durrow.]
“July 2022 featured hottest nights in US history. Unseasonably hot July days turned into uncomfortably warm nights over large areas of the Lower 48 states, as average overnight temperatures hit their highest level in recorded history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”
“Spaghetti Sauce Is Under Threat as Water Crisis Slams Tomatoes.
“California leads the world in production of processing tomatoes — the variety that gets canned and used in commercial kitchens to make some of the most popular foods. The problem is the worst drought in 1,200 years is forcing farmers to grapple with a water crisis that’s undermining the crop, threatening to further push up prices from salsa to spaghetti sauce.”
“Climate Change Could Increase Lighting in California — and Spark More Wildfires.
“… a cluster of 12 lightning-sparked fires is burning in the Six Rivers National Forest east of Eureka, forcing evacuations in parts of Trinity and Humboldt counties. It’s starting to look like a preview of the future: As climate change continues to alter the landscape, particularly in the West, scientists warn that lightning strikes capable of igniting wildfires are expected to multiply.”
“Three people died, including two children, and 11 more were rescued after heavy rains led to flash flooding in Nogales, Sonora on Saturday, authorities said.
“The victims included two girls, ages 6 and 8, who were traveling with their mother in a taxi…”
“Mexico’s president proposes ban on beer brewing as drought intensifies…
“Mexico’s leader demanded a halt to brewing in the country’s drought-stricken north, blasting the business model of making alcoholic drinks with water drawn from dwindling aquifers to slake thirsts on the other side of the US-Mexico border.”
“Nearly 600 penguins have been found dead on the beaches of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil following an extratropical cyclonewhose winds reached more than 100 km per hour, scientific authorities reported on Saturday.
“The Santos Basin Beach Monitoring Project (PMP) tasked with monitoring marine animals on the southeastern and southern coasts of Brazil said 596 dead penguins had been discovered.”
“Japan’s northern Tohoku region hit by more heavy rain.
“Northern Tohoku has already been lashed by record rainfall in recent days. There are concerns that any more rain could cause massive landslides. The Meteorological Agency is calling for continued caution against landslides, flooding of low-lying areas and overflowing of rivers as well as lightning strikes, gusty winds and hail.”
“Seoul vows to move families from ‘Parasite’-style basement homes after flooding deaths.
“Seoul has vowed to move some of the city’s poorest families out of underground and semi-subterranean homes after 13 people were killed in flooding caused by record rainfall this week, sparking public horror and calls for government accountability.”
“River flooding triggered by days of heavy rains has affected thousands of residents in northern areas of Laos.
“The floods have hit the four provinces of Xayaboury, Huaphan, Luang Prabang, and Vientiane, with at least 10 districts affected. In some areas, roads were flooded and water and electricity supplies cut off…”
“Torrential rains from Tropical Storm Mulan caused flash floods on Saturday, with towns at Thailand’s Chiang Rai-Tachilek border submerged after flood water levels breached an embankment dam in Myanmar.
“More than 2,000 households were inundated by flood waters in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai township and Myanmar’s Tachilek border town on Sunday.”
“7 killed, 8 injured in flash floods in SW China’s ‘new Instagram-worthy’ valley.
“Seven people were killed and eight others slightly injured in flash floods on Saturday in Longcaogou of Pengzhou, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, local authorities announced on Sunday, noting that some tourists who were camping in the dried-up river were trapped…”
“This 9 weeks heat wave in China is beyond any imagination: Today dozens more all time records were broken. Chongqing Province tied its hottest day ever with 44.5C [112.1F] at Beibei, but it won’t probably pass through [ie survive] tomorrow.See below a list of records broken today.”
“Shanghai has had six days with temperatures reaching or topping 40 degrees Celsius so far in 2022, setting a new record.
“Shanghai has experienced extremely high temperatures for several consecutive days. According to the Shanghai Central Meteorological Observatory, as of Thursday, the city has recorded 38 days with temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius so far this year.”
“China’s Yangtze river shrinks as heatwave, drought threaten crops.
“Regions that rely on the Yangtze, China’s longest river, are having to deploy pumps and cloud-seeding rockets as a long drought depletes water levels and threatens crops, and a heatwave is set to last another two weeks… with experts blaming climate change-induced variations in the western Pacific subtropical high…”
“Search and rescue efforts are ongoing for several missing people as China’s Shanxi province was hit by record rainfall, according to Chinese state media CCTV.”
“Global warming found to have eliminated nearly 6,000 Tibetan Plateau glaciers.
“The report cited scientists as having reported that 5,956 miniature alpine glaciers had disappeared in the region out of the 34,578 they had discovered 50 years ago, while 25,901 glaciers had shrunk dramatically.”
“An unprecedented monsoon spell which has caused widespread devastation across Pakistan is also adding to already escalating food inflation, aside from exacerbating fears of food insecurity in the country.
“With food inflation already going through the roof at 30 percent, the ongoing monsoon spells have destroyed huge amounts of ready-to-reap crops across the country, causing shortages of staples…”
“Torrential rains and flash floods have killed at least 21 people including women and children and injured scores in Afghanistan’s Logar, Wardak and Khost provinces, local media reported Saturday.”
“UAE weather: Dust storm sweeps through country even as heavy rains fall in five emirates.
“A dust storm swept through the UAE on Sunday, even as heavy rains fell in five emirates. While health authorities asked residents to mask up to stay safe from the dust, the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) issued code-red flood alerts in some areas.”
“Mass flooding exacerbates hardships of war in Yemen.
“Heavy rain and flash floods have added to the problems caused by Yemen’s civil war. Despite the current truce, the humanitarian situation remains dire, and the next catastrophe might be already looming off the coast.”
“Drought-beset South African city taps aquifer, shirks long-term solutions: Critics.
“A drought-stricken South African coastal metropolis, facing a likely large-scale shutdown of its municipal water supply this month or next, has resorted to setting up boreholes to provide groundwater to large public hospitals and schools. But this short-term emergency course of action comes with serious long-term risks…”
“Torrential rains in Sudan leave 52 dead in flooding.
“Flooding caused by torrential rains in Sudan have killed at least 52 people and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes, state media reported today… Mr Abdelreheem said 5,345 houses had been destroyed and 2,862 damaged across Sudan.”
“50 killed as heavy rains, floods lash northern Nigeria.
“At least 50 people have been killed in floods triggered by torrential rains in northern Nigeria, authorities said on Sunday. Parts of Jigawa state have been lashed by heavy rainfall almost continuously since late July. Thousands of homes have been damaged…”
“Spruce trees have arrived in the Arctic tundra a century ahead of schedule.As climate change decimates forests in places like Europe and the American west, boreal trees are moving into the Arctic.
“Young white spruce are now growing in the tundra, where climate scientists did not expect them to be for another hundred years or more.”
“Satellite imagery shows Antarctic ice shelf crumbling faster than thought.
“Antarctica’s coastal glaciers are shedding icebergs more rapidly than nature can replenish the crumbling ice, doubling previous estimates of losses from the world’s largest ice sheet over the past 25 years, a satellite analysis showed on Wednesday.”
“Global rice supplies at risk as harsh weather hits top exporters… Adverse weather across top rice suppliers in Asia… is threatening to reduce the output of the world’s most important food staple and stoke food inflation that is already near record highs.
“Patchy rains in India’s grain belt, a heatwave in China, floods in Bangladesh and quality downgrades in Vietnam could curb yields in four of the world’s top five rice producers, farmers, traders and analysts told Reuters.”
“Ever more erratic monsoons take their toll in India…
“Economists at international bank HSBC, led by its India chief economist Pranjul Bhandari, argued in July that as the country’s climate has become more volatile, seasonal changes in food prices have become harder to forecast. So have demand for energy and domestic oil prices.”
“Floods in Sindh [Pakistan] destroy cotton crops, leave farmers devastated.
“Following torrential rains, southern Pakistan has been hit by heavy floods damaging cotton crops which has turned the lives of farmers in Sindh upside down as the rains destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land and orchards.”
“China records significant upward trend in surface temperatures: blue paper.
“From 1951 to 2021, the country’s annual average surface temperature rose 0.26 degrees Celsius every decade, according to the Blue Book on Climate Change in China (2022), issued by the China Meteorological Administration.”
“Linear rainbands have dumped record levels of heavy rain in Aomori and Akita prefectures [Japan], causing mudslides and flooding in some parts of the areas.
“The JMA said a record 154 mm of rain [6.1 inches], or the equivalent of an average monthly rainfall for August, fell in Fukaura, Aomori Prefecture, over a three-hour period through shortly after 8 a.m.”
“Illapel: Chilean city caught in perfect storm of mega-drought and mining.
“Choapa is a province that has seen dramatic changes in recent years due to the country’s 13-year mega-drought. Its nearly 100,000 inhabitants face increasing encroachment from desertification, and the multifaceted water crisis has left its biggest city dependent on surrounding towns for its drinking water supply.”
“Half the country [US] is in drought, and no region has been spared.
“The West and California remains engulfed in a multi-year megadrought. But even in the Northeast, a severe “flash drought” — one that comes on rapidly — has intensified and expanded from Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts into New Hampshire and Maine.”
“Thunderstorms and mudslides hamper firefighters’ battle against deadly McKinney wildfire.
“Three inches of rain on the fire’s east flank caused mudslides and wreaked havoc for firefighters struggling to stop the steady advance of the blaze, which has killed four people. The fire remained at 56,668 acres and containment at 10% on Thursday evening…”
“UPS delivery truck drivers have begun sharing pictures showing the sweltering temperatures recorded inside their vans as communities across the US continue to experience record-breaking temperatures.
“In a viral tweet shared by Teamsters for a Democratic Union drivers posted pictures of thermometers inside trucks reaching 116F (47C), 117F and 121F – temperatures far above what is considered safe.”
“In July, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park saw the most rainfall for any month since the records were started by the National Weather Service in 1988.
“According to the park, the Mount LeConte weather station measured 18.16 inches of rainfall… It followed the driest June on record.”
“Four people have been critically injured after a lightning strike outside the White House, fire officials said on Thursday.[An ominous portent if ever there was one!]
“The District of Columbia fire and emergency medical services department said the four people were injured in Lafayette Park, located directly outside the White House complex.”
“Melt record set in rapidly warming Svalbard, Norway…
“Unlike glaciers that terminate in floating ice shelves, most glaciers in Svalbard don’t melt at the base, and instead do so from the top down. An early snowmelt this year helped to prime ice surfaces for melting…”
“Temperatures in southern England are set to rise as high as the mid-30 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) next week as another heat wave threatens parts of Britain.
“The heat …could boost demand for cooling and aggravate already dry conditions hurting crops and forcing limits on water use.”
“The UK could face crop shortages in coming months due to a lack of water, growers have warned, as they voiced concerns over national water security…
“I can’t see how potato yields are going to be anything but well below average,” said NFU deputy president, Tom Bradshaw. “Onion yields the same. Carrots and lettuce are in the same boat as the hot weather has had really severe impacts on them.”
“The head of England’s River Thames dried up Thursday for the first time everas record heat and droughts take their toll on major rivers and bodies of water around the world…
“Water levels in Italy’s Po River, meanwhile, hit a record low in the wake of the country’s worst drought in 70 years, accelerated by abnormally high temperatures…”
“Netherlands declares official water shortage as extreme heat imperils Europe’s crops.
“Parts of the country have already banned farmers from spraying their crops with surface water, in a blow for the world’s second-largest agricultural exporter after the United States. Some canal locks for shipping have also been suspended, with salt water from the sea creeping back into some rivers as their water levels are so low…”
“Historic day in Germany where 55 heat records were broken, some for any month.
“Highest temperature was 39.6C [103.3F] at Bad Kreuznach, only 0.7C from the national monthly record. The most important all time records: Mullheim 38.7C; Weinbiet 38.0C; Rottweil 36.0C (tied); Fehmarn 34.0C.”
“Series of explosions hamper attempts to tackle Berlin forest fire.
“Repeated explosions have prevented firefighters in Berlin from reaching a blaze in a forest to the south-west of the city that started at a police munitions site used to store second world war bombs.”
“European Heat Wave: Today [4th August] 36 records of highest temperatures were broken in France including 6 for any month.
“The most important all time records: Mornant 40.5C /104.9F (data since 1888); Badonviller (data since 1929) 39.1C; This summer several hundreds records fell in France.”
“‘Water will run out in 25 days’ – Corsica imposes strict new drought restrictions.
“Rivers have slowed to a trickle, vegetation is dying and wildfires have broken out in the northern part of Corsica, leading the Haut-Corse local authorities to introduce strict new rules.”
“Marine Heatwave Attracts Invasive Fish in the Mediterranean.
“The marine heatwave is leading to a proliferation of invasive fish species and jellyfish. As the sea warms and becomes saltier because of human-induced global heating, fish from tropical latitudes are finding a more welcoming habitat in an area that, at least nominally, is temperate rather than tropical.”
“Floods affect thousands in Gambia after heaviest rainfall in decades [on record for some locations, I think]…
“”Torrential rain started on Saturday morning and continued for more than 20 hours… “The highest rainfall measured over that period was 276 mm (10.87 inches) at Banjul International Airport, compared with a previous record of 175.4 mm in July 1998, it said.”
“Clinics hit hard by water shortages in Nelson Mandela Bay [South Africa].
“The Nelson Mandela Bay metro in the Eastern Cape is in the grip of a severe drought after seven consecutive poor rainy seasons. Some of the metro’s 48 clinics and three referral hospitals have had to close temporarily or shorten their operating hours.”
“Heavy downpours sparked flash floods that have killed at least 16 people, including two children, and damaged or ruined houses and farms across war-torn Yemen this week, Yemeni media reports and officials said.”
“Heavy downpours have forced the UAE to battle floods as it recorded its wettest weather in decades, while neighboring Saudi Arabia reported torrential rain and thunderstorms…
“The Intertropical Convergence Zone encircles Earth near the thermal equator though its specific position varies seasonally… “This summer this has shifted north,”said Habib…”
“Two Years After Freak Storm, Eilat’s Red Sea Coral Reef Still Struggling to Recover… An unusually powerful storm struck the area in March 2020 that destroyed some of the coral and buried many in sand and carried human debris into it…
“The coral reef off Israel’s southern coast has seen a worrying rise in water temperature and a 50 percent drop in sea urchin, which play a key role in its ecosystem…”
“A number of Iraqi offices suspended work in government offices on Thursday after the country’s weather authority issued a red warning for the current heatwave…
“Temperatures in some provinces are rising as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), particularly in the country’s south, according to the authority’s forecast.”
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread. That will be my final thread until Monday 15th August, as I’m off visiting my parents next week. My apologies for any inconvenience and a huge thank you to my donors and subscribers for helping to keep the ever inflating wolf from my door.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via Patreon. And if you are already a subscriber or have donated – thank you! It is an enormous help, as the cost of living crisis ratchets up here in the UK.
“July 2022 was the hottest month ever recorded in Tampa [Florida]…
“…the main contributor to the record heat was the warmer than usual overnight low temperatures. Tampa has recorded its hottest consecutive two months on record since record-keeping began in 1890.”
“Salt Lake City saw its hottest July on record — again… Utah’s capital set a record for the most 100-degree days in the month…
“Overall, the average temperature in Utah’s capital last month was 87.3 degrees — 6.2 degrees above normal, and 1.6 degrees higher than in July 2021, the previous record-holder.”
“Major heat wave to swell over Lower 48 after records fall in Northwest.
“Large parts of the Lower 48 are set to bake this week after a punishing, prolonged heat wave that set records in the Pacific Northwest edges east and south. Few regions will be spared as the heat expands into different areas each day…”
“Hundreds still unaccounted for after Kentucky floods leave at least 37 dead…
“Roads have been damaged and bridges are down. Communications have also been cut, making it impossible to contact people caught up in the flooding. The receding waters have allowed rescuers to travel down creeks by boat and recover bodies.”
“More than 10 inches of rain falls in Illinois, another exceptional deluge…
“The latest [extreme rainfall event featured an] overnight deluge in central and southeastern Illinois, with some areas registering 8 to 12 inches of rain in less than 12 hours. It’s the third 1-in-1,000-year rain event in the Lower 48 states in about a week.”
“Worsening Drought Drives California Water Prices to All-Time High…
“The price of water on the Nasdaq Veles California Water Index touched $1,144.14 an acre-foot on June 27 — up 56% since the start of the year. The index tracks the average price of water-rights transactions in five markets in the state. In some pockets of California, water is even more costly — hovering around $2,000 an acre-foot in the Westlands region…”
“As California’s McKinney Fire rages, evacuated residents grapple with losses and an uncertain future.
“It remains unclear how many homes were lost, but forest officials said “numerous” structures were destroyed around the Klamath River community. Four people have been found dead in the fire’s burn area…”
“A wicked hailstorm that struck central Alberta Monday afternoon caused damage to numerous vehicles, with up to grapefruit-sized hail being reported.
“Photos and videos posted on the QEII and areas between the communities of Red Deer and Innisfail showed damage to vehicles that were in path of the massive hailstones.”
“Wildfires have burned across at least 3.2 million hectares of forest in Russia’s Siberian and Far East regions since the start of the year…
“Nearly one-half of all the blazes were concentrated in the Far East Khabarovsk region, with 2.14% of the entire region affected. The second most-affected region is the west Siberian Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district, which has seen about 1% of its entire territory covered in fires.”
“Parts of England officially had the driest July since records began in 1836.
“South-east and central southern England saw an average of only 5.0mm of rain last month, while East Anglia had 5.4mm. For both areas it was the lowest amount of rainfall in July since Met Office records began almost 200 years ago, in 1836.”
“Millions of factory farm chickens [UK] died during the record-breaking heatwave as industry whistle-blowers claimed little was done to protect them from the lethal temperatures, The Independent has learnt.
“The birds – confined to industrial farm sheds – suffered in temperatures of up to 45C and died slowly of heat exhaustion, it was alleged.”
“Shelter rescues parched animals as France bakes in third heatwave…
“As France bakes in its third heatwave of the summer, the blistering temperatures are forcing young birds and hedgehogs to leave their nests before they can fend for themselves and drying up the streams, lakes and ponds where the insects that small creatures feed on typically breed.”
“Europe’s Vital Rhine River Is on Brink of Effectively Closing…
“The river at Kaub, Germany — a key waypoint for the shipment of commodities — is set to drop to 47 centimeters (18.5 inches) by the weekend. That would take it to within 7 centimeters of being all but impassable. Europe is already facing its worst energy-supply crunch in decades…”
“Italy’s salty Po Delta hurting agriculture, fisheries.
“Drought and unusually hot weather have raised the salinity in Italy’s largest delta, where the mighty Po River feeds into the Adriatic Sea south of Venice, and it’s killing rice fields along with the shellfish that are a key ingredient in one of Italy’s culinary specialties: spaghetti with clams.”
“Mounting concerns over rising Mallorca sea temperatures… Water temperature has reached a record 30ºC [86F]…
“Apart from this one-off increase in temperature, what worries experts most is an underlying trend in recent years that indicates that sea temperatures are getting higher and higher. In the case of the Mediterranean, in addition to temperature, an increase in salinity has been observed.”
“Floods in parts of eastern Uganda resulting from torrential rains have killed at least 24 people, the government and Uganda Red Cross said.
The flooding in parts of Bugisu, Mbale and Kapchorwa initially killed 10 people on Sunday, the state ministry in charge of relief, disaster preparedness and refugees said in a statement late on Sunday. But the death toll rose further on Monday.”
“Heavy rain hit several areas in the Sultanate of Oman on Monday, causing an unprecedented run-off of wadis. The floods submerged a number of districts, triggering landslides.
“The incessant rainfall paralysed traffic on several roads, according to local media.”
““This year’s unseasonal flooding is catastrophic for impacted communities in Afghanistan. The scale of destruction is unparalleled. Flash floods have swept away entire sections of roads and other critical infrastructure – bridges, wheat mills, hospitals and schools.””
“Monsoon rains, floods kill 140 more in Pakistan in a week.
“Rescue workers backed by the military have evacuated thousands of marooned people, including women and children, from the southwestern Baluchistan province, in the northwest and elsewhere since last week…”
“July was Hong Kong’s hottest month ever, breaking 11 weather records.
“The record-breaking month saw 21 “very hot days,” topping the previous record set in 2020 by one day. The Observatory regards “very hot days” as those when the daily maximum temperature reaches 33 degrees Celsius or above. There were 25 “hot nights”.”
“China is almost out of safe water on its surface and in groundwater…
“China’s water situation is bleak due to climate change, toxic chemicals, and overuse. Chinese compose twenty percent of the world population but have only seven percent of the earth’s water. Bloomberg noted that many regions (primarily the north) have water scarcity as intense as in the Middle East.”
“Temperatures rose across Japan on Tuesday, climbing to near record highs around 40C [104F] in a number of areas, with the weather agency warning of heat-related illnesses…
“The country’s record high of 41.1 C was registered in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, in 2018 and was equaled in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 2020.”
“Japan has been it by record rainfall from the south-western region and upwards over the last couple of weeks and that has affected output at the Motomachi, Tsutsumi and Yoshiwara facilities, all of which are in the Aichi prefecture. Flooding has knocked out supply routes and affected local parts suppliers.”
“Record winds smash Perth leaving 35,000 without power, and there’s more on the way.
“Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Jessica Lindgard said record wind speeds of 109 km/hr were recorded in Gingin overnight. “It was a pretty hairy evening with wind speeds of 137 km/hr at Cape Leeuwin…” she said.”
“A negative Indian Ocean dipole event has been declared, increasing the chances of above-average rainfall over much of Australia during the rest of winter and spring.
“It is believed to be the first time since reliable records began in 1960 that negative Indian Ocean dipole events have occurred two years in a row.”
“Farmers in New Caledonia are struggling to survive after heavy rain wrecks potato, pumpkin and corn crops.
“The New Caledonian Agriculture Federation (FNSEA) said 30 percent of the corn crops in the southern district of La Foa has been lost with some farmers losing everything after 40 millimetres of rain fell on one day recently.”
“Last month the wettest July on record in New Zealand – NIWA [wettest month ever in some locations].
“In a statement on Wednesday, the research institute said “record-breaking rain, temperatures and wind were all part of the weather story for July 2022 in Aotearoa New Zealand”, with rain being “perhaps the most memorable feature of the month”.”
“Troubling new research shows warm waters rushing towards the world’s biggest ice sheet in Antarctica…
“The research, published today in Nature Climate Change, shows changing water circulation in the Southern Ocean may be compromising the stability of the East Antarctic ice sheet. The ice sheet, about the size of the United States, is the largest in the world.”
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via Patreon. And if you are already a subscriber or have donated – thank you! It is a huge help, especially as the cost of living crisis is biting here in the UK.
“More than a week of floods and landslides across Iran have left dozens dead while search operations are under way to find many more missing.
“At least 69 people have died in flooding across the country since the beginning of the current Iranian month of Mordad on July 23, Nejad Jahani, a deputy with the country’s Crisis Management Organisation, said on Sunday.”
“Floods in Afghanistan kill at least 18, destroy people homes.
“Taliban’s Disaster Management Authority announced Saturday that recent floods in the country caused lots of damage to people’s homes and killed dozens of people in different parts of the country. The Taliban’s body said that as many as 18 people lost their lives in the floods and that dozens of homes were destroyed.2
“Over 50 Villages In Pakistan Submerged In Flash Floods.
“As many as 30 villages submerged in Sindh province in Pakistan after flash floods from Balochistan entered the province, taking the total number of drowned villages in the hilly region to 50, local media reported.”
“Very hot and humid conditions with temperatures up to 38.6C [101.5F]. Hottest day on records at Kushiro, Hokkaido with 33.5C(prev. 32.4C ,data since 1910). All time records tied at Shiroishi 35.9C and Kuroiso 35.3C.”
“Tokyo heatwave inspires creation of wearable fans to help dogs and cats stay cool.
“A Tokyo clothing manufacturer has joined forces with veterinarians to create a wearable fan to help pets beat the heat. Maternity clothing brand Sweet Mommy has created an 85-gram battery-operated fan for dogs and cats to wear.”
“Brazil moves to pave freeway through heart of Amazon rainforest…
“Researchers say the move will lead to the mass clearing of the rainforest, because most Amazon deforestation happens alongside roads where access is easier and the land is worth more. Clear cutters previously stayed away from the area – but this is starting to change.”
“Mexico declares drought in northern state of Nuevo Leon matter of ‘national security’…
“Mexico declared the water shortage in the northern state of Nuevo Leon a matter of “national security” on Friday as the region, home to Mexico’s industrial capital, has been crippled by a worsening drought in recent months.”
“August is set to turn up the heat on already historically hot summer, National Weather Service says [Texas]…
“In the months of May, June and July, temperatures in Houston averaged 95.1F, ranking first in average high temperature at this point of the year, NWS meteorologist Josh Lichter said. Houston’s hottest summer on record — the summer of 2011 — registered an average temperature of 94.4F.”
“Vicious California wildfire swells a staggering 62 times in size overnight, torching vehicles and homes…
“California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday as the fire escalated, which granted him more flexibility to make emergency response and recovery effort decisions and access federal aid.”
“Floating algae tripled at Lake Tahoe last year hitting an all-time high, according to researchers, in part due to wildfire smoke and in part because the microscopic critters that eat the algae have seen a decrease. The rate of algal growth, or “primary productivity,” has increased sixfold over the past 50 years.”
“Seattle and Portland, Oregon, set records Sunday for most consecutive days of high temperatures and authorities in Oregon investigated more possible heat-related deaths.
“In Seattle, the temperature rose to 91 Fahrenheit (32.8 Celsius) by early afternoon, the record sixth straight day the mercury rose above 90 F…”
“Hailstorms, derechos becoming more frequent as climate changes in Nebraska.
“When Nebraskans think of weather-generating headlines, they likely think of tornadoes that have caused significant damage to cities such as Grand Island, Omaha and Hallam. But lately, it’s been just as likely that hailstorms or derechos… are responsible for big, expensive weather events.”
“Memories and lives swept away as aftermath of Kentucky floods revealed…
“Andy Beshear, a Democratic governor for a state where politics is deeply divided, is here to offer support and pledge help. It’s only six months since he was doing the same for communities in the west of the Kentucky hit by record breaking unseasonal tornadoes.”
“The statewide drought in Massachusetts is getting worse, according to new data out that shows more of southern New England is now experiencing “severe” drought conditions.
“In fact, the severe drought area has expanded to almost half the state at this point, which is almost double that of just last week.”
“Scotland’s snow patches are in danger of disappearing completely this year, giving further evidence the climate is changing.
“The warning has been given by “snow hunter” Iain Cameron, who has been observing the patches for more than three decades and whose work has now been recognised with a special exhibit at the National Museum of Scotland.”
“Record heatwave pushes Britain’s farmers to the brink…
“Record temperatures may have abated for now, but forecasters are warning similar levels of heat could return later in the summer, threatening drought. The trend of global warming is pushing Britain’s farmers closer to the brink: conditions for growing are far from ideal.”
“Bills must rise to pay for [UK] water security and avoid emergency supply handouts, infrastructure chief warns.
“As energy costs soar, be prepared to pay more for water too or else face shortages and queues for emergency supplies in the future, an infrastructure chief has warned. The country will face “collecting [water] in bottles or large canisters from emergency supplies” without a crackdown on use and leaks now…””
“A worrying new record has been recorded for the driest July in recent memory. Barely 5 millimetres of rain was recorded in Brussels this month, compared to the last July’s average of 76.9mm, according to Belgian media RTL Info.”
“High-altitude Alpine ski resorts have abandoned their summer seasons after record temperatures turned glaciers to slush.
“Only one resort remains open after Zermatt, in Switzerland, closed its slopes. The closure of Europe’s biggest glaciers is a blow to professional skiers, who use the high-altitude slopes for summer training.”
“Wildfires in Bohemia Switzerland National park rage on.
“Hundreds of firefighters are continuing their efforts to tackle a wildfire that has been burning in the Czech Republic’s Bohemia Switzerland National Park for a week. So far around 1100 hectares have been destroyed.”
“New wildfires rage in France and Portugal as temperatures spike.
“Portugal and France on Sunday battled major forest fires as temperatures rose sharply this weekend. In Portugal, a blaze broke out in the Mafra area, north of Lisbon, while in France at least four firefighters were seriously injured and motorways were closed.”
“Settat and Berrechid [Morocco] Face Nightly Drinking Water Rationing Starting in August.
“Khouribga’s Regional Directorate of the National Office for Electricity, Water, and Drinking Water announced on Friday that it will have to limit how much drinking water residents of Settat and Berrechid will be able to access starting on August 1.”
“Nine people have lost their lives and more are feared dead in flooding in the eastern Ugandan city of Mbale after two rivers burst their banks, leaving a trail of destruction, officials said Sunday.
“Police and the military have been called in to help in the search and rescue operations in Mbale, where stranded residents could only watch helplessly as their belongings were washed away by the floodwaters.”
“World’s glaciers are melting faster than expected, with visible consequences.
“The melting of glaciers has accelerated since 2015 and no region has been spared. However, the phenomenon is particularly affecting glaciers in Alaska, the Alps and Iceland. In total, the melting is contributing to more than 20% in sea level rise and could have disastrous consequences for agriculture and water supplies…”
“Why the Arctic Is Warming 4 Times as Fast as the Rest of Earth.
“You may have heard that the Arctic is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet, in large part due to a gnarly feedback loop: As more sea ice melts, it exposes darker waters, which absorb more of the sun’s energy, further accelerating the melt. That’s wrong, as it turns out. Things are actually even worse…”
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via Patreon. And if you are already a subscriber or have donated – thank you! It is a huge help, especially as the cost of living crisis is biting here in the UK.
“Utqiagvik, Alaska [formerly Barrow], the northernmost city in the US, had its rainiest day on record.
“Heavy rainfall is uncommon as the North Slope is a relatively dry [Arctic] ecosystem, with only 5.39 inches of precipitation in an average year. On Tuesday, 1.42 inches of rain fell in Utqiagvik, Alaska F/K/A Barrow. An inch of rain or slightly more has only happened twice since records began in 1920. Rainfall helps the permafrost thaw and methane released into the atmosphere.“
“Record highs roast Northwest; heat wave looms for rest of Lower 48…
“Seattle and Portland have been setting daily records, and triple-digit temperatures are bleeding south into the highly populous Willamette Valley. Concern is growing for vulnerable populations too, since only 44 percent of homes in Seattle and 78 percent of residences in Portland have air conditioning.”
“Jet Stream Stokes Both Deadly Midwest Flooding and Northwest Heat.
“Deadly floods are slamming the US Heartland. More than 2,000 miles away, dangerous heat is scorching the Pacific Northwest. The same phenomenon is to blame for both. A massive bend in the jet stream — narrow bands of high winds encircling the Earth — is causing the havoc.”
“Flooding in St. Louis has left people trapped in their homes under 7 feet of water.
“While flash flooding in St. Louis, Missouri, had tapered out in the last two days, a new round of storms Thursday afternoon left emergency responders scrambling to rescue residents.The St. Louis Police Department tweeted Thursday one section of the city was submerged in 7 feet of water, leaving area residents trapped in their homes.”
“Floods leave eight dead in Kentucky as devastating rain lashes Appalachia; crush records…
“…heavy thunderstorms locked in on the region. Ten to twelve inches of rain fell in just a few hours over very steep terrain… A weather station recorded the all-time highest water level of 21 feet around 1 pm in Whitesburg, crushing the old record of 14.7 feet set in 1957. The actual river crest may have been higher…”
“Flash drought conditions intensified in the Northeast and across the southern Plains, causing agriculture concerns across the regions, according to the latest US Drought Monitor released Thursday morning.
“”Temperatures across the region were generally 2-8 degrees warmer than normal, with the warmest readings occurring in Oklahoma, Texas, northern Arkansas, and the western half of Tennessee,” the US Drought Monitor wrote Thursday.”
“Iconic Jacob’s Well swimming hole suffers historic low levels due to Texas drought…
“On Wednesday, July 27, Jacob’s Well Natural Area, in Wimberley, announced via social media that Jacob’s Well had zero cubic square-feet of flow discharge… “It has been over a year since we’ve had recharging rain fall,” said Hays County Parks Lead Parks Specialist Jay Taylor.”
“‘It’s plunder’: Mexico desperate for water while drinks companies use billions of litres…
“As people who cannot afford bottled water are drinking the brackish water from the trucks, anger is growing here that beverage companies with bottling plants here, including Coca Cola and Heineken, are extracting billions of litres of water from public reservoirs.”
“With a severe drought impacting wheat production, Argentina has been unable to increase exports at a time when the global supply situation is tightening, according to the Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture.”
“The rise in sea levels around the UK is accelerating and has reached a rate more than double that in the first years of the 1900s.
“A report from the UK’s Met Office found that the seas have risen by about 16.5 centimetres (6.5 ins) since 1990 alone, driven by annual increases of 3-5.2 millimetres a year.”
“Heatwave: England’s driest July since 1911 and the second on record…
“So far this month, the latest data reveals there has only been 15.8mm (0.6in) of rain averaged, just 24 per cent of the amount that would be expected in an average July. At this stage – up to July 26 – the country would have expected well over three-quarters of the month’s rain to have already fallen.”
“France on course for driest July on record: weather office.
“Farmers across the country are reporting difficulties in feeding livestock because of parched grasslands, while irrigation has been banned in large areas of northwest and southeast France due to water shortages.”
“Falls in Europe’s crop yields due to heatwaves could worsen price rises…
“Maize, sunflower and soya bean yields are forecast by the EU to drop by about 8% to 9% due to hot weather across the continent. Supplies of cooking oil and maize were already under pressure, as Ukraine is a major producer and its exports have been blocked by Russia.”
“The total number of wildfires in the European Union since the beginning of 2022 is almost four times the 15-year average for the same time period, according to Copernicus, the bloc’s Earth observation program…
“Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, France and Germany have all lost thousands of hectares of land to wildfires, amid Europe’s record-breaking heatwave.”
“Off-the-scale wildfire devastates Czech Republic’s Bohemian Switzerland National Park.
“Residents in Prague have this week smelt something unusual on the wind—the smell of a raging forest fire devastating a national park more than 100 kilometres away. The wildfire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, mainly in Hrensko district, is off-the-scale in Czech modern history.”
“‘I want to breed horses, not camels’: Hungarian farmers battle ‘historic’ drought…
“”Many people simply give up breeding animals. They will slowly lose their livelihood,” said Ferenc Szepe, 68, another local farmer, as he grimly examined the hand-written log of monthly rainfall that he has kept for years.”
“Morocco ravaged by flames: efforts to extinguish fires increase.
“The fires in Morocco are still raging and are becoming a massive concern for all Moroccans. Due to the number of outbreaks, the country’s firefighters have had to intensify their efforts to try to control the flames that are raging in the north of the Kingdom.”
“Climate change is killing more elephants than poaching, Kenyan officials say.
“As Kenya battles its worst drought in four decades, the crisis is killing 20 times more elephants than poaching, according to officials. They cite desiccated carcasses found in Tsavo National Park, where much wildlife has fled in recent years in search of water.”
“Africa’s Drought Reaches Far Beyond The Horn Of Africa, Says ForAfrika.
“In contrast to what is often reported, drought in Africa extends far beyond the Horn of Africa, and hundreds of thousands of people across Central and Southern Africa are at risk as a result of not enough food being produced in the region this year, says Killen Otieno, ForAfrika’s chief of operations.”
“Major emergency response after UAE hit by floods: Parts of Fujairah have already received more than double the UAE’s typical annual rainfall so far this week.
“The highest amount of rain was recorded at a National Centre of Meteorology rain gauge in Fujairah Port where 234.9mm [9.2 inches] of rain fell from 10:30pm on July 25 to 9:18am on Thursday.”
“A landslide triggered by heavy rains in northwestern Tehran killed six people on Thursday, with 14 still believed missing, Iran’s state-run media reported.
“State TV reported that the heavy rains in the early hours of the day caused flash floods and then landslides in a neighborhood at the foothills of the Alborz mountain range. In 2015, a flash flood in the same area killed at least 14 people.”
“Pakistan Uses Boats, Helicopters to Evacuate Flood Victims [Balochistan]…
“Akram Bugti, a rescue official, said hundreds of people were stranded just in Lasbella, a district in Baluchistan province, after floodwater inundated several villages… Cholera has caused 28 deaths and sickened thousands of people in Baluchistan in recent months.”
“Record Rainfall Catches Jodhpur [India] Unawares As It Battles Waterlogging [the article isn’t clear what record]…
“The Municipal Corporations of Jodhpur – South and North have received more than 500 distress calls in the last 24 hours. Mud pumps were installed at various places to get water out of people’s homes, and many workers of disaster relief teams are still working in the city to help people.”
“India lightning strikes kill nearly 70 people in two northern states.
“Lightning strikes have killed seven more people in India’s most populous state in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 49 for just this week and to almost 70 for two states, as the climate crisis makes occurrences of strikes more frequent.”
“It’s week 7th of this endless record heat wave in SE China. Yesterday the town of Rongjiang set its all time high with 40.2C [104.4F] beating the old record from 1974.
“Today new all time high at Jinhua with 41.3C [106.3F]. Humidity is oppressive and nights doesn’t offer any minimal relief. Temps in Xinjiang in NW China still exceeding 45C [113F].”
“State of emergency in Yakutia’s diamond-rich Mirny district [Siberia], west of the republic, where people had to flee the settlement of Arylakh (1,600 residents) because of a wildfire.
“South of Yakutia struggle with wildfires since April; north has been battling floods.”
“Heat waves thawing Arctic permafrost… [New study] reveals substantial changes to the topography of Siberia’s Taymyr peninsula, in northern Russia…
“”The strong increase in thaw slump activity due to the Siberian heatwave shows that carbon mobilization from permafrost soils can respond sharply and non-linearly to increasing temperatures,” asserts the paper’s lead author, Philipp Bernhard…”
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back over the weekend with an ‘Economic’ thread.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via Patreon. And if you are already a subscriber or have donated – thank you! It is a huge help, especially as the cost of living crisis is biting here in the UK.
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Weekday updates on both climate change and the global economy. Stay current with what’s happening around the world with a quick scan of top news.
“Tree loss due to fire is worst in far northern latitudes, data shows. Forests in Russia are most affected, as scientists warn of escape of huge quantities of buried carbon dioxide… 
“Historic day in Finland. The temperature just rose above 31C [87.8F] to set a new record for the second half of August.
“Freya the walrus killed, social media erupts… Freya was a young female walrus, of a species normally found in the Arctic…
“Concerns have been mounting over the presence of bacteria caused by pollution in England’s largest lake, with recent record temperatures adding to the problem.
“A [UK] farmer is giving away more than 140,000 onions after the summer heatwave has stopped them from being sold in supermarkets…
“Storms and flash flooding hit Paris.
“Swiss lakes and rivers drop to record lows due to continuing drought…
“Europe heatwave: Hungary reports its driest summer since 1901.
“Drought, heat greatly damage agricultural crops in Croatia.
“Farmers in ‘water wars’ in southern Spain as droughts threaten livelihoods.
“Spain wildfires: up to 20 injured after passengers break out of train engulfed by flames.
“Portuguese wildfire envelops Madrid skyscrapers in smoke 400 km away.
“Three firefighters died and two others were seriously injured in a forest fire in northern Morocco that was suspected to have been started deliberately, authorities said Tuesday.
“The death toll from flooding triggered by torrential rains in Sudan has risen to 75 and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of homes, police said on Tuesday.
“Iraq’s Garden of Eden Now ‘Like a Desert’.
“On Tuesday, citizens in Shahrekord, in the southwest of Iran, took to the streets, protesting continuous water shortages.
“Five die as vehicle swept away in flash flood near Quetta [Pakistan]… rising the death toll in the province to 201… 
“With widespread rains continuing in different parts of Himachal Pradesh [N India], two persons were killed while seven others were injured in landslide-related incidents…
“As stronger storms hit Bangladesh farmers, banks are climate collateral damage.
“This monster heat wave in China is getting worse day by day; Today 81 records fell, the highest was 44.4C [111.9F] at Fengjie. New all time provincial record for Sichuan with 43.4C at Qu.
More on SE China’s low water levels: “The Yangtze River, pictured in Wuhan, Hubei province, is at its lowest level for this time of year since records began in 1865.
“A severe drought since June has affected some 4.2 million people in central China’s Hubei Province, the provincial emergency management department said on Tuesday.
“Australia could be lashed with more rain and possible floods for the next three months with La Niña conditions predicted to return for a rare third consecutive year.
“A long-lived atmospheric river is landing on New Zealand shores today… NIWA says this one is unusual for this time of the year…
“Auckland’s warmest minimum temperature for August recorded overnight.
“Harsh heat wave in Japan: Today 16 August 101 stations rose above 35C after a very hot night with some overnight minimums above 30C.
“Extremely heavy rain is continuing to pound Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Tuesday, increasing the risk of disasters…
“Brazil’s other deforestation; has the savannah farming boom gone too far?
“California power grid officials issue Flex Alert for Wednesday amid heat wave…
“New water cuts coming for Southwest as Colorado River falls into Tier 2 shortage.
“Drought Devastates U.S. Cotton Harvest…
“Salt Lake City breaks record for most 100+ degree days ever.
“Residents of two West Virginia counties were recovering from significant flash flooding that prompted dozens of water rescues early on Monday and destroyed at least two bridges, officials said.
“Scorching heat waves roasting the world… What is really worrying is that previous records were broken by a fraction of 1 C. Now, the increase is by 3-5 C, as seen in Canada and the UK…
“Major cities blighted by nitrogen dioxide pollution, research finds…
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“Japan Heat Wave.
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