“September was the hottest on record globally, the EU’s climate service has revealed, putting the world on course for 2020 being the warmest ever year.
“The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Wednesday that every month this year had ranked within the top four warmest of the month in question, while September had broken records overall.”
“Last month was Russia’s hottest September in more than a century of climate records, with some parts of the country seeing temperature anomalies of over 10 degrees Fahrenheit above average, according to the state weather service.
“Marina Makarova, from the Russian Hydrometeorology Center, told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency that almost every part of the country had experienced temperatures that were several degrees above average in September.”
“Russia’s Norilsk Nickel estimates the environmental cost of a huge fuel spill in the Arctic in May is 21.4 billion roubles ($273 million), far less than an assessment by the country’s environment watchdog, which has begun court action.
“The spill released 21,000 tonnes of diesel into rivers and subsoil near the city of Norilsk in Siberia.”
“A leak of toxic rocket fuel is the likely cause of a pollution catastrophe at one of Russia’s top surfing beaches, says a leading ecologist.
“…it has emerged that a landfill site under active 7,182ft Kozelsky volcano was used to bury rocket fuels as well as arsenic and mercury after the collapse of the USSR.”
“China Turning Russia’s Taiga Into a Desert, Enriching Moscow but Outraging Siberians:
“Since Vladimir Putin became president, Russia’s forests have declined in size by 45 million hectares, some 6 percent of the country’s total. The shrinking forest cover has been the result of the spread of uncontrolled forest fires (80 percent) as well as increased harvesting (20 percent), much of that for export.”
“Monday saw record-breaking temperatures for October 5 in four towns across Estonia.
“The four cities to record new all-time highs… were Tallinn, Pärnu, Tartu and Narva. The highest air temperature overall, 21.2C, was registered in the northwestern town of Haapsalu in the afternoon.”
“The north-east of Scotland was hammered by “never-ending” downpours over the weekend…
“Mongour, Aberdeenshire, according to SEPA statistics, saw more than an average month’s rainfall in just 30 hours. And Craibstone recorded its wettest day ever, with 85.2mm of rain between 10am on Saturday and 10am on Sunday.”
“Belgian meteorologists have confirmed that the extreme weather seen on Monday evening North of Antwerp was a tornado, a relatively uncommon experience in Belgium.
“Several social media users on Monday evening reported seeing a tornado, with video evidence to prove it.”
“Some 2.2 million hectares of arable land, a quarter of Romania’s cultivated land, were ravaged by the extreme drought this year, agriculture minister Adrian Oros announced on Tuesday, October 6.
“Out of the total, one million hectares were cultivated with winter crops (wheat, barley), and another one million hectares had spring crops (sunflower, maize).”
“Corpses from cemeteries have been washing up on Mediterranean shores in France and Italy after flooding at the weekend. The bodies were apparently swept down the mountains by violent rains.
“A total of 12 deaths have been reported since Storm Alex started pounding France’s Alpes-Maritimes region and Italy’s north-western regions of Liguria and Piedmont on Friday.”
“The highest temperature ever for October [in Cyprus] was recorded at the Athalassa meteorological station on Tuesday, where the thermometer hit 38.5C, as the Met office said records were broken in July, August and September…
“On September 4, the highest temperature ever recorded in Cyprus, 46.2C, was measured in Athalassa, beating the previous record of 45.6C on August 1, 2010.”
“The number of people hit by seasonal flooding in East Africa has increased more than five fold in four years, according to UN figures. Nearly six million people have been affected this year with 1.5 million of them forced from their homes.
“Parts of the region are recording the heaviest rains in a century.”
“India’s famous monsoon has come to an end, and for the second consecutive year, the country observed an “excess” rainy season. The rainfall average across the nation reached 109% of normal. This falls one percentage point shy of 2019’s historic season of 110% above normal…
“This makes the first time back-to-back rainy seasons [India] had this large of a rainfall surplus since the 1950s… However, the country’s population of over 1.3 billion still faces a long-term crisis as it heads toward outgrowing its water supply.”
“…the annual flooding of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta from the upstream Mekong before reaching the sea no longer occurs.
“There was heavy rain a few weeks ago, and water had filled up canals and then reached the fields… But soon a scorching sun replaced the rains and water dropped, leaving the field dry and cracked once again.”
“A three-year-old girl died after she was swept away by floods triggered by heavy rains in Lao Cai Province [Vietnam] early Tuesday…
“The provincial meteorological station has confirmed the downpour to be the heaviest October rain in 63 years, measuring at 400 mm in nine hours. Rainfall of 180 mm in 24 hours is considered heavy.”
“Floods hit low lying areas of the city and several districts in the west coast of Sabah [Indonesia] following heavy overnight downpours.
“In the outlying areas of the city, dozens of cars parked in low lying spots were partially submerged while many offices and schools saw a low attendance.”
“A bushfire that destroyed most of a village in New Zealand’s South Island has sparked a fierce debate between high-country farmers and conservationists, as those affected struggle to understand the unusually fierce nature of the blaze…
“…about 50 of the village’s 70 homes were destroyed, as was 4,600 hectares of land, of which 1,900 are conservation estate.”
“After a week of high temperatures and low air humidity, the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) for Brazil has issued a warning of “great danger” due to a heat wave in much of the Midwest, part of the North and Southeast .
“According to Inmet, there is a risk of death from hyperthermia…”
“Rainforests are highly sensitive to changes in rainfall and moisture levels, and fires and prolonged droughts can result in areas losing trees and shifting to a savannah-like mix of woodland and grassland. In the Amazon, such changes were… thought to be many decades away.
“New research shows that this tipping point could be much closer than previously thought. As much as 40% of the existing Amazon rainforest is now at a point where it could exist as a savannah instead of as rainforest.”
“Hurricane Delta rapidly intensified on Tuesday, becoming a category 4 storm with 140mph winds, on course to hammer south-eastern Mexico and the US Gulf coast.
“Delta is the earliest 25th named storm to form in the Atlantic, beating the old record of 15 November 2005, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.”
“Two decades into a severe drought on the Navajo reservation, the open range around Maybelle Sloan’s sheep farm stretches out in a brown expanse of earth and sagebrush…
“The summer monsoon rains have failed again in Arizona…“
“California’s extraordinary year of wildfires has spawned another new milestone – the first “gigafire”, a blaze spanning 1m acres, in modern history.
“On Monday, the August complex fire in northern California expanded beyond 1m acres, elevating it from a mere “megafire” to a new classification, “gigafire”, never used before in a contemporary setting in the state.”
“New world record smashes previous record, 232 waterspouts over the Great Lakes:
“From September 28 – October 4th, 232 waterspouts/funnels were sighted over the Great Lakes, according to International Centre for Waterspout Research. This is the world record for the highest recorded number of waterspouts over the Great Lakes during a 7-day period… This smashes the previous record of 88 waterspouts, that took place from August 16-18, 2020.”
“…a landslide-generated tsunami is likely within 20 years and could happen at any time. If a landslide occurs, the resulting tsunami in Barry Arm [Alaska] could produce waves that are hundreds of feet high.
“Other, more distant bays—such as the more heavily populated Passage Canal (about 30 miles/50 kilometers away)—could see 30-foot (9-meter) waves.”
“Bleak views of melting Antarctic ice, from above and below – Two troubling recent studies clarify projections of sea-level rise:
“The observed changes to these glaciers are worrisome enough, but the authors are especially troubled by signs that the decline is speeding up. Lhermitte and his co-authors posit that the types of damage they documented are signs that “these ice shelves are already preconditioned for further disintegration.”
“Seven bodies have been found in a region straddling the French-Italian border near Nice after torrential rains swept houses and roads away, officials in both countries said… It brings to nine the total number of people found dead…
“Officials in the Piedmont region reported a record 630mm (24.8 inches) of rain in just 24 hours in Sambughetto, near Switzerland – more than half its annual average rainfall…
“In France …up to 500mm of rain fell in less than 10 hours, a volume not seen since records began, the French prime minister, Jean Castex, said on Saturday.”
“Global warming is driving an unprecedented rise in sea temperatures including in the Mediterranean, according to a major new report published by the peer-reviewed Journal of Operational Oceanography.
“Data from the European Union’s (EU) Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) will increase concerns about the threat to the world’s seas and oceans from climate change.”
“The tripartite negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia concerning the controversial Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile river are still shrouded in uncertainty, instilling fear of drought into about 50 percent of the population, and thousands of Egyptian farmers whose livelihoods rely on cultivating only 3 percent of Egypt’s territories.
“As the Nile River supplies about 93 percent of Egypt’s annual renewable water resources, the construction of the dam imposes great threats to the nation…”
“China’s Corn Imports Hit Record High and are Estimated to Touch 7 Million Metric Tonnes.
“The Chinese government increased its import estimates of corn for both 2019-20 and 2020-21. This might have been due to the tightening supply situation in the country.
“To elaborate, a typhoon hit the northeastern part of Chinese corn production. The said typhoon might reduce domestic production by 5-10 million tonnes…”
“Typhoons and floods destroyed thousands of homes in North Korea this summer, spurring Kim Jong Un to order the military and even Pyongyang’s elite party members to frantically rebuild dozens of villages nationwide.
“But many of the homes that Typhoons Maysak and Typhoon Haishen flooded in early September were actually newly-built only four years ago.. the country appears to be building new homes inside the same flood zones that were in a state of disaster last month.”
“Four people were reported missing, with one of them feared dead, as floods and landslides damaged houses and a bridge in Indonesia’s western province of West Java on Saturday (Oct 3) evening, according to disaster agency officials.
“Heavy downpours has caused a river to overflow, engulfing houses in the surrounding areas in the Cianjur district.”
“Sydney’s hottest area reached temperatures above 50 degrees across several locations on three separate days last summer… heat loggers placed at 120 locations around the local government area for heat research commissioned by Penrith City Council found that on that day the mercury rose to 52 degrees in the suburb of Berkshire Park, 51.5 in Agnes Banks, and 50.1 in Badgerys Creek.
“”There’s no more waiting, climate change is actually happening now,” Dr Sebastian Pfautsch, a senior lecturer in urban studies at the School of Social Sciences at WSU said.”
“Wildfires have destroyed up to 50 homes in New Zealand, authorities announced Monday, saying it was a miracle no one was hurt as “a wall of orange” razed most of a remote South Island village…
“New Zealand this year experienced its warmest winter on record, which the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said was consistent with a long-term trend of rising temperatures linked to climate change.”
“New footage has captured the incredible natural occurrence of a ‘fire tornado’ as firefighters continue to battle multiple blazes across Canterbury [New Zealand].
“A 1600-hectare fire still burning near the small Lake Ohau Village decimated the area earlier on Sunday after a major forest fire ripped through the Mackenzie Basin.”
“Brazilian tribes caught between burning wetlands and Covid-19:
“…this year’s fire season has broken records after an abnormally long drought and increasing levels of illegal deforestation… The number of blazes in the Pantanal has increased by 200 per cent since 2019, and an estimated one-fifth of the entire biome has been destroyed since the beginning of the year.”
“[Brazil’s] heatwave continues to break records and temperature approaches 50°C…
“It is in the Pantanal , where fires destroy large forest areas, that the heat will be greatest. In Corumbá, the day started with a minimum of 25°C, but the maximum can reach 48°C.”
“Cuba has issued a hurricane watch as a storm system brews south of Jamaica, with forecasters expecting it to gain strength as it moves northwest towards the Gulf of Mexico.
“Potential Tropical Cyclone (PTC) 26 was located 90 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday evening…”
“Wildfires in California have burned more than 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares) in 2020, over twice the previous record for any year and an area larger than Connecticut, the state’s fire agency reported on Sunday.
“The most-populous U.S. state has suffered five of its six largest wildfires in history this year as heat waves and dry-lightning sieges coincided with drier conditions that climate scientists blame on global warming.”
“Fall foliage faltering under ‘extreme drought’ conditions…
“Over 75% of the West is under drought conditions. Over 80% of Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire are experiencing severe drought… While the drought may trigger more vibrant colors, the timing may be premature.”
“Longer and hotter heatwaves driven by climate change are becoming an increasingly dangerous – and costly – menace, with sweltering cities often picking up the tab for everything from repairing melted roads to running more cooling centres.
“But a new way to cut the financial risks is emerging: heatwave insurance.”
[Derivatives could save the global economy from climate change. Who knew?]
“The black volcanic sand of Khalaktyrsky beach – one of the gems of the Kamchatka peninsula… is littered with hundreds of dead sea animals, from deep-sea Giant Pacific octopuses, to seals, sea urchins, stars, crabs and fish.
“The Pacific Ocean waves, once favoured by local surfers and loved by tourists, now have a strong toxic smell; water colour has a clear yellow tinge.”
“The year 2020 is the hottest in the Antarctic Peninsula in the past three decades, a study by the University of Santiago de Chile out Friday found… Those temperatures are “more than 2 degrees Celsius over typical values,” climatologist Raul Cordero said in a statement released by the Chilean Antarctic Institute…
“He called that fact “alarming,” since it could indicate that the rapid rate of ocean warming observed in the area at the end of the 20th century is resuming.”
“The heat wave that hits Brazil has broken historical temperature records in Mato Grosso do Sul [a midwestern state of Brazil, with thermometers measuring over 44ºC in some areas.
“So far, at least four municipalities have broken their highest records.” [No English source for this so the article is in Portuguese.]
“Forest fires burning in Argentina’s Cordoba province advanced on September 30, encroaching on Villa Carlos Paz, according to local reports. Footage taken in Villa Carlos Paz shows resident forming a bucket line in an attempt so extinguish flames…
“The governor of Cordoba Province, Juan Schiaretti, noted that the region was experiencing the driest conditions in the last 65 years.”
“California’s relentless fire season is leaving residents stressed, scared and wondering how much more they can take.
“Nearly four million acres have burned across California in 2020 alone and more than 8,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed, according to California fire officials.”
“Rent prices continued to plunge across the U.S. last month, with San Francisco leading the decline, according to data from Zumper, a real-estate start-up…
““The wildfires and hazardous air conditions added another incentive and may have “tipped the balance about their medium-term location choices…””
“The monsoon season came and went without any measurable rain in the Las Vegas Valley, tying a record set more than 75 years ago.
“With only a trace amount of rain between June and September, 2020 tied with the 1944 record for the driest monsoon season since the National Weather Service began recording in 1937.”
“Palm Springs is expected to break its record for most days with triple-digit temperatures during a calendar year on Thursday, and the bad news is the Coachella Valley is not yet done with the heat.
“Thursday will be the city’s 136th day with triple-digit temperatures in 2020, surpassing the previous record of 135 days set in 1958…”
“Colder air may be plunging into the United States this week, but so far in 2020, over 47,000 daily warm records have been tied or set, trouncing the number of cold records.
“Through Sept. 29, NOAA’s Daily Weather Records website showed 19,916 daily record highs… In all, daily warm records outnumbered cold by a ratio of more than 2 to 1.”
“Trees and woods which inspired the likes of Beatrix Potter and John Constable could be lost due to a surge in a disease affecting ash, the National Trust has warned…
“This year’s record numbers have been blamed on climate change and the UK having one of the warmest and driest springs on record. The increased temperatures are putting trees under stress and making them more susceptible to the disease, the trust said.”
“The summer of 2020 closes a decade marked by heat waves in Spain, increasingly numerous, longer and more intense. In the last ten years, 23 such episodes have been recorded, double the number in any of the previous decades.
“And not only their number has doubled, but also the duration…”
“At least nine people have died and fourteen more hospitalised after a number of forest fires swept through Ukraine’s eastern region of Luhansk, according to authorities.
“As many as 120 people have also been evacuated from villages in the area, the emergency services said in a statement on Thursday.”
“Greek meteorologists say a record heatwave will hit starting next week.
“According to meteorologist Giannis Kallianos, temperatures will reach abnormally high levels for the season in certain areas of the country starting from Sunday.”
“Hottest September seared into Israeli record books… above-average temperatures have persisted throughout most of September, especially during an extreme heatwave that hit the country on September 3…
“Temperatures in Jerusalem have exceeded 31°C (88°F) across a 24-day stretch for the first time since record-keeping began in the capital in 1867.”
“The death toll from floods in Nigeria has risen to 95, according to local media… Sixteen more people were killed in floods caused by heavy rains in 19 regions of Jigawa state…
“Thousands of people have become homeless and tens of thousands of hectares of cultivated land have been submerged.”
“Record floods in Sudan have affected nearly one third of cultivated land and about 3 million people from agricultural households, worsening already acute levels of food insecurity, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said on Wednesday.
“The floods have added to hardship in Sudan, already struggling with an economic crisis…”
“Floods to hammer parts of Afghanistan amid heavy rains… ‘The provinces of Kunar, Parwan, Badakhshan, Nangarhar, Noorsitan and Laghman will be witnessing flash floods, but Parwan is more in danger,’ said Mohammad Nasim Moradi, head of weather forecast program…
“Tens of people died, while hundreds more lost their houses when flash flooding swept through Parwan province last month.”
“Wild elephants in Sri Lanka have been found with plastic products and non-digestive polythene in their stomachs after eating rubbish at a dump encroaching on their habitat.
“Heartbreaking images of the elephants foraging for food on a refuse facility in Oluvil were captured by Jaffna-based photographer Tharmaplan Tilaxan.”
“The climate crisis is heating up nights faster than days in many parts of the world, according to the first worldwide assessment of how global heating is differently affecting days and nights.
“The findings have “profound consequences” for wildlife and their ability to adapt to the climate emergency…”
“August 2020 was about 2.14°C hotter than the average month recorded on Earth since 1880.
“As confirmed by NASA and NOAA, the months from February to April as well August 2020 were the second-warmest in history. Data from NASA shows the Earth gradually heating up since the late 19th century. Since the year 2000, this trend seems to have accelerated…”
“Satellite imagery has revealed that two of the fastest-changing glaciers in Antarctica are fracturing and weakening faster than ever—the first step towards the glaciers disintegrating and causing sea levels to rise dramatically…
“Both have distinctly changed in morphology in recent decades along with changing atmospheric and oceanic conditions, with the warming oceans causing ice shelves to melt, thin, and retreat.”
“5000-year-old penguin graveyard [in the Antarctic] revealed by retreating ice:
“Global warming has increased the annual temperature in the Ross Sea by 1.5 to 2C since the 1980s, and satellite imagery over the past decade has shown the cape gradually emerging from under the snow.”
“”Zombie fires” and burning of fire-resistant vegetation are new features driving Arctic fires — with strong consequences for the global climate — warn international fire scientists in a commentary published in Nature Geoscience.
“The 2020 Arctic wildfire season began two months early and was unprecedented in scope.”
“Wild Weather: From record rainfall to potentially record-breaking heat [Vancouver Island].
““What we’re talking about here are some extremes, not just daily, not just weekly, but also on a monthly scale as well as things that are going to keep happening as we see climate change affecting our precipitation patterns,” explains meteorologist Armel Castellan…”
“A supremely wavy, loopy jet stream pattern is responsible for the hot, dry weather that’s returned to the western half of North America, and for the shock of cold headed for the middle and eastern parts of the U.S…
“In his more than 30 years of weather forecasting, meteorologist Guy Walton has never seen such an extreme pattern set up at this time of year.“
“Tens of thousands of Californians fled their homes in the Napa and Sonoma wine regions in the face of wildfires, emergency officials said, as a new blaze in the north of the state killed three people.
“Under an orange sky and a sweltering heatwave, some of Napa Valley’s best-known vineyards were consumed by an out-of-control blaze that raced through more than 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares), according to state fire agency Cal Fire.”
“Several crops in the US are suffering from the effects of severe weather over the last month or so. One of the affected sectors is the Maine blueberry industry, currently reeling from drought and frost.
“Also dealing with the heatwave are avocado farmers. An early September heatwave appears likely to reduce the size of next year’s California avocado crop.”
“The Southwest monsoon season has been pretty much a bust. Record heat settled over northern Arizona this summer and lack of moisture contributed to an expanding drought in the region.”
“Rising sea levels have begun to decimate coastal forests, leaving white, dead stumps in their wake as salt water damages ecosystems that previously relied on freshwater ecosystems. Scientists call them “ghost forests.” And they’re growing at an alarming pace, say researchers at North Carolina State University.
“A study released this week of the state’s Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula found these ghost forests had spread across 15% of the land between 2001 and 2014, the years the study tracked.”
“Brazil vets work to heal jaguars burned in Pantanal wildfire:
“this year the world’s largest tropical wetlands are fully parched, and have experienced the greatest number of fires since records began being kept in 1998. Pantanal vegetation regenerates quickly once rains fall, but many animals have perished. Others were forced from their habitat or injured, leaving veterinarians scrambling to provide care.”
“Prices of coffee… may get a boost from La Nina as the weather phenomenon threatens Brazil’s next crop.
“After a bumper 2020 harvest, La Nina is escalating the risk of a decline in output next year as most coffee crops, already dry from months of below-average rain, endure scorching temperatures.”
“Butterfly numbers lowest on record as experts warn of ‘perilous’ state of UK wildlife:
“Earlier this month, a report by conservation group WWF said global wildlife populations had collapsed by 68% since 1970 – while the UN called for action to stop the destruction of the natural world.”
“As the world’s climate changes, plants and animals have adapted by expanding into new territory and even shifting their breeding seasons.
“Now, research suggests that over the past 75 years, flowers have also adapted to rising temperatures and declining ozone by altering ultraviolet (UV) pigments in their petals.”
“Despite September coming to an end, Cyprus has yet to see cooler weather, as the month has seen an extraordinary number of days with temperatures higher than the season’s average.
“This month has brought a couple of heatwaves as temperatures soared to their highest point ever, reaching 46.2°C on 4 September.”
“Turkey’s General Directorate of Meteorology has warned Istanbul residents about potential flash floods after heavy downpours and a sudden yet brief hail storm brought life temporarily to a halt in Turkey’s most populous city Tuesday.
“Much of the city was drenched after the heavy rains that started around 11 a.m. (8 a.m. GMT) local time, with some roads partially submerged.”
“Ghana’s 2019-20 cocoa harvest dropped to the lowest in five years after spells of drought and a severe outbreak of swollen-shoot disease damaged trees, according to people familiar with the matter.
“Preliminary data shows that the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer harvested 770,000 metric tons of the beans in the year through September, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly.”
“About 55,235 persons have been affected in the heavy downpour and resultant floods in addition to the spillage of the Bagre Dam in the North East Region [Ghana].
“An assessment team report sighted by DGN Online indicated that a total of 10,707 men, 12,257 women, and 32,271 children were affected.”
“No fewer than 17,000 communities have been affected by flood in the Niger State the Secretary to the State Government Ahmed Matane has said.
“In a statement in Minna, on Monday said the SSG made this known during an on-the-spot assessment of the flood situation in Mokwa Local Government Area of the state.”
“Some 700,000 people are in crisis after flood waters swept across the Sudan, submerging villages, land and livestock, according to a World Food Programme (WFP) alert.
““There is a very significant flood, which is covering vast areas of the country”, said Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Country Director in South Sudan. “More than 36 counties of the country are under water, submerging entire villages, homes, farmsteads, killing livestock and putting an end to livelihoods.””
“Pakistan has been reeling under flood water for three months. Satellite images show the extent of damage… While damage to infrastructure is maximum in Sindh province, the highest deaths have been reported from Sindh and Punjab…
“The next few days are crucial as yet another spate of rains is expected by NDMA.”
““As many as 5,775,643 persons have been affected in 30 districts of Assam [India] due to floods in the state,” the ASDMA said adding that 119 people have lost their lives due to the floods so far.
“A total of 627 relief camps have been set up for the flood victims in the State, in which 156,991 victims are taking shelter.”
“More than 300 million people in low-lying river deltas, mostly in poorer nations, are exposed to flooding from tropical storms made more deadly and destructive by global warming, researchers said Tuesday…
“Warmer oceans and more moisture in the atmosphere mean these powerful storms may become more frequent, including in regions rarely touched by their terrible power in the past.”
“Climate warming will alter marine community compositions as species are expected to shift poleward, significantly impacting the Arctic marine ecosystem.
“The biodiversity of marine communities in the Pacific Arctic under future climate change scenarios highlights profound changes relative to their present patterns. “
“New research has found that more glacial lakes in the Himalayas are forming, of which 47 are critically dangerous and could burst, flooding downstream areas in Nepal, China and India.
“Several studies have shown that glacier-covered areas in the Himalayas have decreased significantly in the past three decades as temperatures have risen by more than double the global average.”
“In Southwest Finland, all observation stations showed the warmest readings on Sunday afternoon compared to the time of measurement history [autumn].
““With the exception of Northern Ostrobothnia, Kainuu and Lapland, temperatures are rare, exceptional or the highest in all observation history,” says the meteorologist.”
“The exceptionally warm air flows to Finland from the Black Sea, and is moved by the large low-pressure area of Central Europe and the solid high pressure that prevails in Russia.”
“Parts of Austria and Switzerland were surprised by unseasonably early snowfall overnight, after a sharp drop in temperatures…
“The Swiss meteorological agency said Saturday that the town of Montana, in the southern canton (state) of Valais, experienced 25 centimeters (almost 10 inches) of snowfall — a new record for this time of year.”
More Orca attacks off Spain – “A Scottish yacht owner was enjoying a nice morning on the water with his wife and friend when three killer whales targeted their boat in an attack that lasted 45 minutes.”
“A tale of contrasting temperatures will dominate the weather pattern this week in the Lower 48 states. The Western US will see warmer-than-average temperatures all week with nearly 30 record highs possible. In the East, the arrival of autumnal air will mean a temperature tumble for many big cities.
“Researchers studied data covering the period between 1896 and 2017 and found that concurrent extreme heat waves and extreme droughts—called “dry-hot extremes”—are on the rise across the United States. It used to be relatively rare for these two high-impact events to overlap…
“The western half of the country saw a significant rise in dry-hot extremes during the 122-year period…”
“Hot and dry conditions fueled growth of the Cameron Peak fire — now the third-largest wildfire in Colorado’s recorded history — to 120,251 acres Saturday… choking Denver and the northern Front Range with smoke. [Last month’s Pine Gulch fire was the largest in Colorado’s history].
“The wildfire… now sits at about 188 square miles in size…”
“A wind-driven wildfire erupted on Sunday in the heart of northern California’s Napa Valley wine country to spread across nearly 2,000 acres (809 hectares), forcing the evacuation of a hospital and hundreds of homes, authorities said.
“Fire crews were out in force, scrambling to fend off flames threatening neighborhoods and vineyards…”
“Smoke from the West Coast wildfires has tainted grapes in some of the nation’s most celebrated wine regions with an ashy flavor that could spell disaster for the 2020 vintage.
“Wineries in California, Oregon and Washington have survived severe wildfires before, but the smoke from this year’s blazes has been especially bad…”
You may recall that there were 272 record high temperatures and ties logged in Hawaii in 2019.
“Another day, another heat record. On Saturday, September 26, 2020 at 12:39pm we hit a temperature of 92 degrees at the Kahului airport. This ties the record set in 1985…”
“Korea’s Retailers are suffering from a tomato supply shortage, after farmland was damaged by the record-long summer monsoon season and a number of typhoons that hit the country this summer, according to the food industry on Monday.
“Local burger chain Lotteria recently posted an announcement on its website and in stores informing customers that it may temporarily stop selling or change ingredients used for burgers that use tomatoes…”
“Floods triggered by heavy rains in the past few days have wreaked havoc in various parts of the country [Nepal].
“At least four people died, 17 houses were swept away and dozens of houses were waterlogged in separate incidents of monsoon-induced disasters in Rupandehi and Makwanpur districts on Friday night and Saturday.”
“Nonstop rain, over the last 12 hours, has caused unprecedented waterlogging in most areas of Rangpur district [Bangladesh]… 50,000 people of the district are finding themselves stranded…
“The Met office in Rangpur recorded 433mm of rainfall in the district in 12 hours till 10:00am today which broke all the records of the last 100 years of the district.”
“Over 300 Siberian migratory birds found dead in Vizianagaram District [Andhra Pradesh, India].
“Locals say use of pesticides in and around Chellamnaiduvalasa has been increasing for the past few years and as the migratory birds eat snail and other insects in the farm fields, it could be a reason behind the mysterious deaths.”
“Paraguay burns: fires do not give truce and the heat wave intensifies. Paraguay is facing one of the harshest drought seasons in recent years, a situation that becomes even more tragic with the spread of fire outbreaks in different parts of the country.
“Hundreds of firefighters battled to put out forest fires throughout the country this week, with the worst outbreaks recorded in Córdoba Province [Argentina].
“As of Friday morning, several outbreaks were raging in as many as nine provinces nationwide.”
“Volunteer fire fighters are battling so-called “zombie fires” in Siberia, a phenomenon which one environmentalist described as a “climate bomb”.
“A large peat fire in the Suzunsky pine forest, part of a wildlife reserve in the Novosibirsk region of Siberia, has been burning for months, Greenpeace told The Independent, and perhaps since last year.”
“Vladimir Potanin, the co-owner of Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel, said in an interview with state television aired on Saturday that thawing permafrost was one reason behind a major fuel spill in the Arctic earlier this year.
[Plenty more such incidents to come, one imagines].
“The spill occurred on May 29 after a fuel tank lost pressure and released 21,000 tonnes of diesel into rivers and subsoil near the city of Norilsk in Siberia.”
“Melting of the Antarctic ice sheet will cause sea level rises of about two and a half metres around the world, even if the goals of the Paris agreement are met, research has shown.
“The melting is likely to take place over a long period, beyond the end of this century, but is almost certain to be irreversible, because of the way in which the ice cap is likely to melt, the new model reveals.”
“The largest-ever study of tree rings from Norilsk in the Russian Arctic has shown that the direct and indirect effects of industrial pollution in the region and beyond are far worse than previously thought…
“…the damage done by decades of nickel and copper mining has not only devastated local environments, but also affected the global carbon cycle.”
“Svalbard glaciers lost their protective buffer in the mid-1980s and have been melting ever since…
“Rising air temperature in the mid-1980s considerably increased the amount of water that was melting across the glaciers and rapidly filled the air pockets in the firn, progressively weakening its buffer capacity.”
“Trump administration advances plan to cut protections for largest national forest…
“The Trump administration has announced it will move forward with a plan to roll back regulations protecting millions of acres in America’s largest national forest from logging, sparking an outcry from environmental advocacy organizations, Alaskan tribal nations, and fishermen.”
“Battered, Flooded and Submerged: Many Superfund Sites are Dangerously Threatened by Climate Change:
“The Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned in a report last year that French Limited was among 945 Superfund sites across the United States vulnerable to hurricanes, flooding, sea level rise, increased precipitation or wildfires, all of which are intensifying as the planet warms.”
“Wildfire danger in West to escalate as intense heat dome builds this weekend:
“Thousands of firefighters struggling to contain dozens of blazes from California to Washington need a break in the weather… However, although temperatures have returned to near average after a blistering heat wave in mid-August and another record-shattering heat episode this month, the weather is poised to tip decidedly in the fires’ favor.”
“California’s Creek Fire is not only the largest single wildfire in the state known for huge and destructive blazes, it spawned two rare firenados [one an EF-2] a day after the fire started earlier this month…
“They wreaked havoc across the rugged area, the result of “unprecedented fire behavior,” government forecasters said Thursday.”
“The Great Lakes are filled to their brims, with no signs of receding – experts see the fingerprints of climate change on the lakes’ record high water levels…
“Along all the Great Lakes, storm-driven waters are eroding public beaches, washing away sand dunes and bluffs, and damaging roads and other infrastructure.”
“A Texas city has released skin-crawling video of large ant piles floating in flood waters brought on by Tropical Storm Beta…
“‘This is one of the reasons why you should avoid walking through flood water. Floating ant piles like this one found at Countryside Park can form and be very dangerous,’ officials wrote in the caption of the video.”
“Why the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has spun out of control:
“Extra-warm ocean waters, boosted by climate change, and La Niña are key drivers in historic season… the Atlantic had already spit out 23 named storms — roughly double its long-term average for an entire season.”
“Drought-inducing La Nina arrives as U.S. wheat, S. American corn planting begin:
“La Nina conditions have started up their projected multi-month residency in the Pacific Ocean, just as new crop cycles are kicking off in the Americas, including corn and soybean planting in South America and wheat planting in the United States.”
“More than 40% of fires in the Brazilian Amazon this year are burning in standing forests…
“Rainforest trees are especially vulnerable because fire is relatively new to the Amazon, and trees there have not developed fire resistance. A rainforest fire, burning through the forest for the first time, kills most small trees and seedlings and can kill 50% of large trees.”
“The summer of 2020 has set a new record as the driest in France since record-keeping began…
“Météo-France released the figures as autumn arrived in the northern hemisphere Tuesday. “This is the third consecutive year that the summer period has reached drought levels never before measured,” the forecaster said.”
“Half a million hectares of charred forest and 121 dead. That was the result of Portugal’s 2017 summer disaster. At the time, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said such an event could happen again…
“[But] climate change is making Portugal drier and hotter, which could mean that the great disaster of 2017 could repeat itself at any time. And the numbers support this assumption.
“This year has seen the worst forest fires since then.”
“A mysterious spate of attacks by orca whales on boats off Spain’s coast has prompted authorities to ban people setting sail from the country’s northwestern tip.
“The unprecedented attacks have crippled vessels and terrified crew members, and created a slew of theories as to what could have angered the whales.”
“Adrar’s problems exposed as Sahara Desert heats up:
“The inhabitants of Algeria’s second-largest province are feeling the heat in many ways, whether it be in their houses, their classrooms or when they dare to go outside.”
“Dozens killed, houses destroyed as floods ravage North-central Nigeria… torrential rains accompanied by strong winds have in recent weeks claimed many lives, destroyed hundreds of houses and washed away farmlands and domestic animals in the sub-region.
“The catastrophe compelled the governments in the zone to take steps to avert further flooding and provide succour to the affected people…”
“Unusually heavy rains in Senegal expose big gap in $1.4 billion flood plan:
“More than two weeks after heavy rains hit Senegal, thigh-high stagnant water still fills streets in Dakar’s suburbs, as angry residents ask what happened to a $1.4 billion government plan to protect citizens from rising flood risk.!
“September rain record has Mumbai gasping for breath:
“The India Meteorological Department official said the Santacruz observatory (in western suburbs) recorded 286.4 mm rain during the last 24 hours on Wednesday, IMD said it is the fourth-highest rainfall in the history of the Maharashtra capital.”
“Central, West Kalimantan [Indonesia] declare state of emergency after two weeks of flooding:
“Massive flooding has inundated dozens of districts in Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan over the last 15 days, causing the two provincial administrations to declare a state of emergency.”
“Most Powerful Marine Heatwaves Like The Blob Are A Consequence Of The Climate Crisis:
“In the fall and winter of 2015/2016, the North Pacific experienced an incredible marine heatwave. Nicknamed “the Blob,” this catastrophic event brought devastation, including the death of over 1 million birds and a huge loss to marine life. Researchers of a new study in Science now say the occurrence of these events is dramatically linked to the climate crisis.”
“As far as I know, your work is unique in pulling together stories from all over the world. Very sobering but a better and more complete view. Terrific and necessary work. Thank you!” – Simon
“With the inundation of so much depressing news, Justin Panopticon presents it in a succinct format that one can quickly go thru and see the big picture of climate and economics/politics to stay current and if a particle topic is of interest one can delve into the details… I try never to miss any of his posts…I am a Patreon of his work.”
– Karina S.
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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.
“September was the hottest on record globally, the EU’s climate service has revealed, putting the world on course for 2020 being the warmest ever year.
“Last month was Russia’s hottest September in more than a century of climate records, with some parts of the country seeing temperature anomalies of over 10 degrees Fahrenheit above average, according to the state weather service.
“Russia’s Norilsk Nickel estimates the environmental cost of a huge fuel spill in the Arctic in May is 21.4 billion roubles ($273 million), far less than an assessment by the country’s environment watchdog, which has begun court action.
“A leak of toxic rocket fuel is the likely cause of a pollution catastrophe at one of Russia’s top surfing beaches, says a leading ecologist.
“China Turning Russia’s Taiga Into a Desert, Enriching Moscow but Outraging Siberians:
“Monday saw record-breaking temperatures for October 5 in four towns across Estonia. 
“The north-east of Scotland was hammered by “never-ending” downpours over the weekend…
“Belgian meteorologists have confirmed that the extreme weather seen on Monday evening North of Antwerp was a tornado, a relatively uncommon experience in Belgium.
“Some 2.2 million hectares of arable land, a quarter of Romania’s cultivated land, were ravaged by the extreme drought this year, agriculture minister Adrian Oros announced on Tuesday, October 6.
“Corpses from cemeteries have been washing up on Mediterranean shores in France and Italy after flooding at the weekend. The bodies were apparently swept down the mountains by violent rains.
“The highest temperature ever for October [in Cyprus] was recorded at the Athalassa meteorological station on Tuesday, where the thermometer hit 38.5C, as the Met office said records were broken in July, August and September…
“The number of people hit by seasonal flooding in East Africa has increased more than five fold in four years, according to UN figures. Nearly six million people have been affected this year with 1.5 million of them forced from their homes.
“India’s famous monsoon has come to an end, and for the second consecutive year, the country observed an “excess” rainy season. The rainfall average across the nation reached 109% of normal. This falls one percentage point shy of 2019’s historic season of 110% above normal…
“…the annual flooding of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta from the upstream Mekong before reaching the sea no longer occurs.
“A three-year-old girl died after she was swept away by floods triggered by heavy rains in Lao Cai Province [Vietnam] early Tuesday…
“Floods hit low lying areas of the city and several districts in the west coast of Sabah [Indonesia] following heavy overnight downpours.
“A bushfire that destroyed most of a village in New Zealand’s South Island has sparked a fierce debate between high-country farmers and conservationists, as those affected struggle to understand the unusually fierce nature of the blaze…
“After a week of high temperatures and low air humidity, the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) for Brazil has issued a warning of “great danger” due to a heat wave in much of the Midwest, part of the North and Southeast . 
“Rainforests are highly sensitive to changes in rainfall and moisture levels, and fires and prolonged droughts can result in areas losing trees and shifting to a savannah-like mix of woodland and grassland. In the Amazon, such changes were… thought to be many decades away.
“Hurricane Delta rapidly intensified on Tuesday, becoming a category 4 storm with 140mph winds, on course to hammer south-eastern Mexico and the US Gulf coast.
“Two decades into a severe drought on the Navajo reservation, the open range around Maybelle Sloan’s sheep farm stretches out in a brown expanse of earth and sagebrush…
“California’s extraordinary year of wildfires has spawned another new milestone – the first “gigafire”, a blaze spanning 1m acres, in modern history.
“New world record smashes previous record, 232 waterspouts over the Great Lakes:
“…a landslide-generated tsunami is likely within 20 years and could happen at any time. If a landslide occurs, the resulting tsunami in Barry Arm [Alaska] could produce waves that are hundreds of feet high.
“Bleak views of melting Antarctic ice, from above and below – Two troubling recent studies clarify projections of sea-level rise:
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“Colder air may be plunging into the United States this week, but
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“”Zombie fires” and burning of fire-resistant vegetation are new features driving Arctic fires — with strong consequences for the global climate — warn international fire scientists in a commentary published in Nature Geoscience.
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“A supremely wavy, loopy jet stream pattern is responsible for the hot, dry weather that’s returned to the western half of North America, and for the shock of cold headed for the middle and eastern parts of the U.S…
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“Prices of coffee… may get a boost from La Nina as the weather phenomenon threatens Brazil’s next crop.
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“As the world’s climate changes, plants and animals have adapted by expanding into new territory and even shifting their breeding seasons. 
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But record cold for parts of the UK
And unstable weather in between
“Parts of Austria and Switzerland were surprised by unseasonably early snowfall overnight, after a sharp drop in temperatures…
More Orca attacks off Spain
“A tale of contrasting temperatures will dominate the weather pattern this week in the Lower 48 states. 
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You may recall that there were 272 record high temperatures and ties logged in Hawaii in 2019
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“Nonstop rain, over the last 12 hours, has caused unprecedented waterlogging in most areas of Rangpur district [Bangladesh]… 50,000 people of the district are finding themselves stranded…
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“Unusually heavy rains in Senegal expose big gap in $1.4 billion flood plan:
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