“Edge of Arctic sea-ice never seen this far north:
“… The National Snow & Ice Data Center’s latest satellite studies show the ice edge currently lying near 85 degrees north, about halfway between the northern tip of Svalbard and the North Pole. Similar ice free waters are found at the same latitude north of Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya.
“…temperatures in northernmost Siberia were about 8°C above normal for the season. The summer of 2020 was the warmest since measurements started in Arctic Russia in 1881.
“The Norwegian Meteorological Institute confirms the dramatic developments in September in the European Arctic waters.
“The mean sea-ice extent in July this year was record-low, followed by a second-lowest extent for August. September has also got very close to the all-time record-low sea-ice conditions from 2012.”
“As Arctic summers warm, Earth’s northern landscapes are changing.
“Using satellite images to track global tundra ecosystems over decades, a new study found the region has become greener, as warmer air and soil temperatures lead to increased plant growth.”
“Meteorologists at Weeronline have confirmed what many people may already have suspected – 2020 has so far been the hottest year the Netherlands has experienced since records began in 1901!
“…So far this year, meteorologists in De Bilt have counted 104 warm days (temperatures of 20 degrees and above), which is 19 more than normal.”
“A low-pressure area forming over the North Atlantic sea will descend down throughout France this week, dramatically cooling temperatures as it goes…
“After record-breaking high temperatures for September were recorded in France earlier this month, Friday’s temperatures are expected to be 3-5°C below norms for the season.”
“Lightning strike injures 14 teens at soccer game in Switzerland:
“Over a dozen teenagers in Switzerland have been hospitalized after lightning struck a soccer field during a game. The bolt hit a lamp post before spreading over the field.”
“‘It was like the Apocalypse’: Greece battles with aftermath of Medicane:
“Cyclone-like Medicane Ianos swept across Greece this weekend turning streets to fast-flowing rivers, burying villages under mud and rubble, and sinking ships with waves of up to seven meters.”
“The authorities in Niger have postponed the reopening of schools across the country following heavy floods that have killed more than 70 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
“Most of the flood victims are sheltered in schools and the authorities say they need time to relocate them to other shelters.”
“Since July, Sudan has been hit with record-breaking torrential rains and flooding, which have caused at least 100 deaths and damaged more than 140,000 homes across the country.
“While flash floods are nothing new in Sudan, where the rainy season typically stretches from June to October, this year’s flooding is “one of the worst natural disasters” the country has seen…”
“A good number of patients admitted at Kisiizi Hospital in the western district of Rukungiri [Uganda] are stranded after the wards got submerged in flood waters yet again.
“The Tuesday morning rains left the Church of Uganda owned hospital infrastructure and compound all covered in water…”
“Scientists say climate change appears to be altering winds that drive South Asia’s monsoon, changing rainfall patterns…
“The winds that drive Pakistan’s annual monsoon, which arrives from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, appear to be altering as a result of climate change, which could push more rainfall to Karachi – and less to key agricultural regions…”
“China experiences 21 large-scale floods in 2020, setting historical record…
“A total of 833 rivers in China have gone above warning levels, 80 percent more than in the same period of that year, said China’s Ministry of Water Resources… Among them, 267 rivers were over the safety level and 77 reached historical record highs.”
“Floods and landslides have struck Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and its surrounding areas, leaving two people dead, one missing and 20 others injured, officials said yesterday.
“A river, hit by torrential rain since Monday, overflowed its banks and submerged surrounding areas in the capital – which has recently come under partial Covid-19 lockdown again…”
“Four forest fires broke out on Tuesday in the central Argentine province of Cordoba, where some 400 firefighters backed by planes and helicopters were working to put them out, the local government has said.
“The fires broke out in the cities of Villa Carlos Paz, Los Morteritos, Cuchi Corral and Unquillo.”
“Smoke from fires set in the Amazon region is one of the key causes of respiratory hospitalisations of indigenous people, states a recent study conducted by Brazil’s Instituto Socioambiental (ISA).
“This year, the fires, along with the spread of COVID-19, might mean further distress to the indigenous population who live in the region.”
“The Bobcat fire has become one of the largest in Los Angeles county history, scorching structures, homes and a nature center in a famed southern California wildlife sanctuary in foothill desert communities.
“The wind-driven wildfire in the mountains north-east of Los Angeles approached 165 sq miles (404 sq km) Monday and is 15% contained.”
“Oregonians are grieving the loss of some of their most treasured natural places after wildfires wiped out campgrounds, hot springs and wooded retreatsthat have been touchstones for generations in a state known for its unspoiled beauty.
“The flames that destroyed hundreds of homes and killed at least nine people also encroached on beloved state parks…”
“Wildfires among ponderosa pines and Douglas firs of the U.S. West have long been part of nature’s cycle of renewal, as much as the changing of the seasons.
“But as climate change makes the region more arid, wildfires have grown more frequent and ferocious. Scientists worry the hottest blazes could end up obliterating swathes of some forests forever.”
“Over the summer of 2020, numerous heat records were broken in Death Valley, as the park experienced what may be some the hottest days ever recorded on Earth…
““Death Valley National Park is known for its extreme temperatures, and this year certainly didn’t disappoint when it comes to heat!” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds.”
“Beta weakened to a tropical depression on Tuesday as it crawled along the Texas coast south of Houston, unleashing heavy rains, flooding streets, and forcing emergency workers to rescue dozens of people.
“Rain submerged roads in the nation’s fourth-most populous city, swamping cars, shutting school offices, courts and energy shipping ports.”
“Hurricane Teddy was more than a thousand miles from South Florida on Tuesday but the colossal storm still touched the Sunshine State, flooding streets at high tide and stealing away beaches.
“Teddy earned back a Category 2 title early Tuesday with 105-mph winds south of Halifax, Nova Scotia…”
“‘Zombie’ storm Paulette regains some strength, adding to weird 2020 weather:
“A week after Hurricane Paulette hit Bermuda and weakened as it spun north in the Atlantic Ocean, the system has come back to life as a “zombie” tropical storm…”
““The ocean regulates the pace of global warming,” Wenbo Wu, a geophysicist at Caltech, says. “More than 90% of the excess energy goes into the ocean.” An increase of 0.044°C in the ocean temperature over a decade, as this study reports, is troublesome.
““It’s a big problem,” Wu notes, because even the ocean — Earth’s vast thermal reservoir, covering 70% of the planet — is starting to feel the heat.”
“Humpback whales are steadily moving north, and warmer seas and melting ice may be the reason.
“The whales, which move between the Antarctic and the southern tips of three continents, will be the focus of a six-year, $5 million study into their migration routes…
““Their migratory behavior is changing, they are going further and further north,” said Alakendra Roychoudhury, an environmental geochemist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.”
“About 380 pilot whales dead after mass stranding on Tasmania’s West Coast, 50 saved… Earlier, it was confirmed another group of pilot whales had been spotted during an aerial survey, bringing to over 450 the number of animals in distress.
“The event is now the largest of its kind in Australia’s recorded history.”
It has long been thought that the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean formed the epicenter of the global krill population. This has raised alarm bells for conservation of their stocks, since this particular region has been one of the fastest warming ocean regions on the planet.
“This new research shows that… this region can support fewer krill than before due to habitat degradation.”
“Three people have died after Cyclone Ianos, a rare storm known as a medicane, battered Greece, flooding streets and homes, Greek authorities said on Sunday.
“Ianos uprooted trees and caused power cuts on the Ionian islands and the western Peloponnese.
It swept through central Greece on Saturday, hitting the cities of Karditsa and Farsala before it moved south to the island of Crete.”
“Two people were missing in southern France on Sunday after flash floods caused by storms that dumped a year’s worth of rainfall in parts of the Cevennes hills north of Montpellier…
“Emergency services have mobilized helicopters and 700 personnel to assist inhabitants hit by the flooding, which has also cut off road access, water and electricity supplies to some locations.”
“Turkey’s tourism hub Antalya on the Mediterranean coast is experiencing the hottest September of the last 70 years due to warm weather front from North Africa, causing rising temperatures across the region.
“The Mediterranean province was hit by sweltering conditions, with temperatures in some areas reaching almost 35 degrees Celsius in recent weeks.”
“Five persons died and seven got injured in recent floods in the Upper Region of Ghana, preliminary data from the Regional Directorate of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has shown…
“Over 2,500 hectares of farmlands in the Region were destroyed by the floods…”
“Thousands of people continue to live under the threat of incoming heavy rain and further flooding in parts of Sudan, months after floods ravaged nearly all of the country’s states.
“Since July, at least 115 people have been killed in the aftermath of days of torrential rains that brought record-breaking flash floods.”
“At least 10 people were killed on Monday and dozens were feared trapped when a portion of a three-storey residential building collapsed on the outskirts of the Indian city of Mumbai, officials said…
“Torrential rain is often blamed for building collapses in India, with the number of incidents, often involving old or illegally built buildings, rising during the June-September monsoon.”
“Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the floods, the tea industry of Assam is facing a huge loss. Till August, the production loss was about 25 per cent, compared to the situation the previous year.
“The coronavirus-induced lockdown and devastating floods have hit the 180-year-old tea industry hard…”
“Twenty-two provinces in Thailand have been severely affected by flash floods due to tropical storm Noul, said a senior government official on Sunday…
“The flash floods and excessive rainwater, caused by the tropical storm covering all regions of the country, have damaged infrastructures, farms, villages and other property in 22 provinces over the last few days…”
“Storm Noul has claimed at least six lives, left 112 others injured and led to a massive blackout in central Vietnam.
“The worst affected is Thua Thien-Hue Province, where at least four people died, according to the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.”
“New Zealand could be on track for another unusually hot summer, with a top climate scientist already calling the arrival of a “humdinger” La Niña system, along with likely balmy seas.
“Professor Jim Salinger said it was possible a “marine heatwave” for 2020-21 could even approach the scale of a freakish event three years ago, while fuelling high temperatures on land.”
“It’s not just the nearly 7,900 wildfires that have consumed more than 3.4 million acres and claimed 26 lives in California that have Arthur Gies looking online for apartments in New York.
“”It’s not necessarily this year of wildfires so much as the dam breaking on the realization that this is not just the new normal but just a prelude to what’s coming,” the 39-year-old Oakland resident says. “And just being sort of tired of this being normal.””
“Denver hit 90 degrees Saturday for the 74th time this year, setting a record for the most ays at 90 or above, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder.
“The previous record was set in 2012, when Denver experienced 73 days with temperatures in the 90s. This year, Denver also recorded its latest 100-degree day on the calendar ever, on Sept. 5.”
“If storm Beta makes landfall in Texas, which forecasters predict it will sometime on Monday, it would be the ninth named storm to make landfall in the continental US in 2020. Colorado State hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said that would tie a record set in 1916.
“Forecasters ran out of traditional storm names on Friday, forcing the use of the Greek alphabet for only the second time since the 1950s.”
“Maine blueberry industry reels from drought, frost, virus:
“A late spring frost, a devastating drought and labor troubles wrought by the coronavirus pandemic conspired to make 2020 a difficult year for the wild blueberry producers who harvest the fruit in the nation’s northeastern corner.”
“Municipal Mayor Oleg Shabalin got a very direct and personal encounter with climate changes in the Arctic when he this week visited a coastal area near his home town of Gyda.
“Across a 200 meter wide belt, the tundra had collapsed and vast masses of mud and melted permafrost slid into the nearby sea.
“As the town mayor was on site, melted ground continued to flow towards the shore.”
“Another enormous crater has been found on the Arctic tundra in Siberia. The latest depression, which is 650 feet wide, was found on the Gydan peninsula—a region to the east of the Yamal peninsula, where a 165 foot deep crater was recently discovered.
“The latest crater was found by Oleg Shabalin, head of the nearby Gyda village.”
“What’s causing this decline in minimum sea ice extent? The short answer is our changing climate.
“But the more specific answer is that Arctic sea ice is increasingly being thinned not just by warm air from above but by ever-warmer waters from below.”
“The Arctic is already shifting to an entirely new climate regime, marked by the escalating trends in ice melt, temperature rise and rainfall days – and scientists are worried.”
“…of all the devastating consequences of a warming planet — changing landscapes, pandemics, mass extinctions — the potential movement of hundreds of millions of climate refugees across the planet stands to be among the most important…”
“As forest fires turn California’s sky an apocalyptic red, vast swathes of Africa are being submerged by once in a lifetime floods.
“From Ethiopia and Sudan to Nigeria and Senegal, torrential rains have displaced well over a million people and are threatening already vulnerable food supplies.”
“Sudan: UN warns of catastrophic situation due to floods:
“…the situation will get worse in the coming days… people are in urgent need of shelter, drinking water, non-food items and sanitation services, in addition to the need to prepare for an efficient response to epidemics and contagious diseases which will result from the floods.”
“Life has come to a standstill in much of India’s Bihar State as a ferocious monsoon season coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic. Coronavirus cases continue to climb, even as the floods affect millions across the state…
“Access to services and essential items has been disrupted, with women and children affected most severely.”
“The number of forest fire outbreaks in Brazil’s southeast state of Sao Paulo jumped 109 percent so far this year compared to last year, local media reported on Wednesday.
“…the year of 2020 has seen 4,214 fire outbreaks so far in Sao Paulo, the most populated and industrialized state in the South American country, compared to 2,015 in 2019.”
“Bolivia’s Interim President Jeanine Anez has declared a national emergency after forest fires scorched more than half a million hectares in the region of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
“”Today, something very important is happening: we are presenting two decrees. One to reinforce the fight against fire, and another to repeal the decree that allowed controlled burning,” Anez said…”
“Californian fires are mirroring Australia’s Black Summer, experts say, driven by record drought and heat… Mr Pimlott retired last December after 30 years with Cal Fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
“He said what kept him up at night was what will happen when the hot winds of autumn — or fall — arrive.
“”The fatigue on firefighters is already significant. But historically our most destructive fires are in October,” he said.”
“The almost 90 large wildfires raging in the West have killed at least 36 people, destroyed hundreds of buildings and even entire towns. The fires have also burned more than 4.6 million acres in the West, creating massive plumes visible even on the International Space Station.
“Desert plants, unlike California oaks and chaparral, are not fire-adapted, so their recovery may be impossible.
“Debra Hughson, the chief scientist at the Mojave National Preserve, described the fire as an extinction event. “The Joshua trees are very flammable. They’ll die, and they won’t come back.””
“Glacier National Park, one of America’s original 10 national parks, could lose its glaciers completely within decades…
“Between 1966 and 2015, all of the 26 named glaciers in the park got smaller. Some lost as much as 80% of their area, but the average loss was 40%, Glacier National Park tweeted this week.”
“Hundreds of people near the Florida-Alabama border were being rescued from floodwaters brought on by Sally on Wednesday and authorities fear many more could be in danger in coming days.
““We had 30 inches of rain in Pensacola — 30-plus inches of rain — which is four months of rain in four hours,”Ginny Cranor, chief of the Pensacola Fire Department, told CNN…”
“Heatwave shatters September records in western Europe…
“On Tuesday the northern French city of Lille had its hottest September day since records began in 1945, reaching 35.1°C, while Metz in the northeast reached 34.3°C — another record.”
“The future of two of Belgium’s most beloved and iconic products, Belgian beer and frites, is under serious threat from climate change, it was warned on Thursday.
“A report for Belgium’s National Climate Commission warned increasing global temperatures and droughts would hit potato crops and could force beer production to be slashed by as much as 40 percent.”
“As the Atlantic hurricane season continues to shatter records for the number of storms, it appears parts of Europe will be seeing some tropical activity of their own this week…
“Named Ianos, the medicane is set to impact Western Greece on Friday and could end up being one of the strongest medicanes on record.”
Apparently we can mine, smelt and manufacture our way to a healthier biosphere!
“Greenland Minerals confident Kvanefjeld project can help meet long-term demand for rare earths…
“Kvanefjeld is one of the world’s most important emerging rare earth projects and will position Greenland to become a globally significant supplier of materials that are key to an energy efficient and environmentally sustainable future.”
Good luck to Shell making a profit in the Arctic with sub $50 oil prices, which is where they are going to stay, barring any brief price-spikes.
“Shell plans to resume oil and gas exploration in Alaskan Arctic offshore waters for the first time since 2015, according to exploration plans filed with the state Sept. 17…
“The company seeks state approval to form an exploration unit covering 86,400 acres and 18 Alaska Beaufort Sea state offshore leases held by Shell.”
“Perfumes and fragrances, which were once a luxury item only for the elites, have become commonplace.
“Incorporated into everyday products like deodorants, perfumes, shampoos, bleaches — the list goes on — fragrances are everywhere. They can even be found in remote places like mountaintop glaciers…”
“In 2010, leaders from 196 countries gathered in Japan and agreed on a list of goals designed to save the Earth…
“We’ve reached the deadline — and the world has collectively failed to fully achieve a single goal, according to the United Nations’ Global Biodiversity Outlook report, published on Tuesday.”
The worst wildfires in US history, Arctic sea ice trending towards a historic low, simultaneous hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and the hottest summer in the northern hemisphere since records began…
“We were speculating 40 years ago about things that might happen, and I don’t think that any of us expected that in our lifetimes, we would see these things unfolding,” said Chris Rapley, a 73-year-old professor of climate science at University College London. “It has become a real problem of today, rather than a predicted problem of tomorrow.”
““Our societies are really only adapted to a small range of possible weather,” said Prof Otto, at the University of Oxford. “What 2020 shows is that 1C of warming, exactly what we expected . . . already brings our societies toward the edge of what we are able to cope with.”“
“The effects of global warming in the Arctic are so severe that the region is shifting to a different climate, one characterized less by ice and snow and more by open water and rain, scientists said Monday.
“Already, they said, sea ice in the Arctic has declined so much that even an extremely cold year would not result in as much ice as was typical decades ago. Two other characteristics of the region’s climate, seasonal air temperatures and the number of days of rain instead of snow, are shifting in the same way, the researchers said.”
“Federal scientists say killer whales are increasingly preying on bowhead whales in U.S. Arctic waters, raising questions about the future health of the endangered bowheads…
“A dramatic loss in Arctic Ocean ice appears to be aiding the attacks, reducing the frozen cover that can provide bowhead whales with protection from killer whales…”
“Satellite images show that two important glaciers in the Antarctic are sustaining rapid damage at their most vulnerable points, leading to the breaking up of vital ice shelves with major consequences for global sea level rise…
“A new study… found that the glaciers are weakening at their foundations and this damage over the past few decades is speeding up their retreat and the possible future collapse of their ice shelves.”
“Floods early this month across northwest Nigeria destroyed 90 percent of the two million tonnes that Kebbi state officials expected to harvest this autumn, the head of the state branch of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria told Reuters.
“The loss amounts to some 20 percent of the rice Nigeria grew last year, and the waters are still rising.”
“Around 217,000 Ethiopians have been displaced by the worst floods in several decades, an Ethiopian minister said on Monday.
“Kamil said the floods which in some areas have been the most damaging in more than a century have displaced 217,000 people and affected another 363,000 people.”
“Ice loss on Africa’s highest peak prompts star climber Will Gadd to reconsider his sport…
“Gadd, the first person to climb a frozen Niagara Falls, had hoped to scale the remaining ice atop Africa’s highest peak [Mount Kilimanjaro] with climbing partner Sarah Hueniken in February. But when they got there, they discovered that the extremely challenging Messner route they wanted to attempt – scaled only once since the 1980s – had lost so much ice it was impossible to ice-climb.”
“Japan’s brush with Typhoon Haishen this month serves as a warning that there could be worse to come…
“Surface temperatures in the Western Pacific have been about 2 degrees Celsius higher than normal over summer… one patch of ocean south of Japan had an average monthly temperature of approximately 30 degrees Celsius in August — the highest ever recorded.”
“Marine heatwaves are generated by warmer weather, just as heatwaves are on land. Because of climate change, they’re becoming more frequent, more intense, and they’re lasting longer…
“Marine heatwaves can have a devastating effect on marine ecosystems, especially on creatures like corals which are havens of biodiversity.”
“Amazon rainforest: Farmers are losing everything to deforestation fires as experts warn it is reaching tipping point…
“The need for yet another concerted effort to save the rainforest and to change farming behaviour in the region is being led by the WWF, which is warning the forest is reaching the tipping point where it can’t be saved.”
“Four west coast cities in the US currently rank in the top 10 for worst air quality in the world, as wildfires rage up and down the western seaboard, cloaking the entire region in smoke.
“Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, hold the No 1 and No 2 spots, while San Francisco and Los Angeles sit at four and six.”
“”On Thursday, 9/17, if we don’t receive rain, Las Vegas will tie the record of 150 consecutive days without measurable rainfall. On Friday, 9/18, we will break that record.
“If the official thermometer for Denver located at DIA reaches at least 90 degrees Tuesday afternoon, the city will set a record for the most days in the 90s one year.
“Currently 2020 is tied with 2012 with 73 days at or above 90 degrees this year.”
“Hurricane Sally moved slowly closer to the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday, threatening historic floods as rain and storm-force winds started lashing the shore…
“More than 2 feet of rain was expected in some areas, with “extreme life-threatening flash flooding likely through Wednesday,” an NHC forecaster said.”
“There is only one name left on the pre-determined Atlantic hurricane season naming list before it “goes Greek”.
“…there have now been 20 named storms. With one more name left on this year’s list, Wilfred, the letters of the Greek alphabet will be used to name further storms. This would be only the second time this has occurred.”
“Hurricane Paulette knocked down trees and power lines across Bermuda as it made a rare landfall in the wealthy British territory and strengthened into a Category 2 storm while still over the island.
“Fewer than 10 hurricanes have made direct landfall on the tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic since the National Hurricane Center began tracking such disasters in the 1850s.”
“‘Once in 200 years’ flooding caused €5m worth of damage to Cork’s roads [Ireland]…
“62mm of rain fell in Dunmanway on August 15, with 40mm of that occurring in just one hour. Up to 125mm (5ins) fell in Rosscarbery on August 13 and a further 100mm two days later.”
“As France enters autumn, exceptionally high temperatures are expected across the country…
“Last time Paris experienced such temperatures in September was 73 years ago, with 33.2°C on 15 September 1947. But Meteo France, the French national weather service predicts a record 34°C this week for the Paris region.”
“At 2:20 p.m., temperatures climbed to 30.2 degrees at the national weather station in De Bilt, making Tuesday officially a tropical day.
“This is the latest in the year that temperatures in the Netherlands topped 30 degrees since temperature measurements started in 1901, Weeronline reported.”
“The Northern Hemisphere just sweltered through its hottest summer on record, according to data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The period from June through August was 2.11 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average in the Northern Hemisphere, while globally, this August ranked as the second-hottest since record keeping began in 1880.”
“Earth barreling toward ‘Hothouse’ state not seen in 50 million years, epic new climate record shows…
“According to the researchers, the current pace of anthropogenic global warming far exceeds the natural climate fluctuations seen at any other point in the Cenozoic era, and has the potential to hyper-drive our planet out of a long icehouse phase into a searing hothouse state.”
“In what can be described as a miraculous discovery, Russian scientists have discovered a 39,000-year-old perfectly preserved cave bear and cub in Siberia.”
[Plenty more of these remains will be “miraculously” appearing as the permafrost melts].
“All fishing of Yukon River fall chum has been closed following what’s now been confirmed as the lowest run on record…
“What’s unusual… is that while this year’s Chinook salmon run also failed to meet spawning goals, the total number of fish that entered the river still fell within the range forecasted in the preseason. The fall chum, however, basically failed to show up at all.”
“A year ago in August, so much rain fell around Grand Island that a man kayaked through part of the Nebraska State Fair.
“Fast forward a year, and now Grand Island, along with more than half of Nebraska, is in drought. Aggressive range fires have returned after a hiatus from wet years… August 2020 was Nebraska’s driest August in 126 years of record-keeping.”
“Wildfires scorching the West Coast have devastated the small city of Detroit, Oregon — located about 120 miles southeast of Portland…
“Major fires spanning several states have burned 4.6 million acres, national fire officials say. That’s an area roughly equivalent to Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.”
“A ‘firenado’ has been captured on camera in California as wildfires tear through large swathes of the west coast, killing at least 35 people. Footage showing a wildfire meeting a column of air to create a tornado-like effect was posted on TikTok on Thursday went viral over the weekend.
“Social media users nicknamed the state ‘Hellifornia‘…”
“California’s wildfire smoke plumes are unlike anything previously seen – Smoke plumes have reached 55,000 feet in height, with embedded thunderstorms, lightning and possible tornadoes…
“…this year hasn’t just been wild — it’s virtually unprecedented in scope and scale.” [unprecedented fires in the Arctic and Pantanal as well. Welcome to the Pyrocene.]
“Tropical Storm Sally could be a Category 2 hurricane when it reaches the United States near New Orleans on Tuesday morning.
“Hurricane warnings have now been issued from Morgan City, Louisiana, east to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, including New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas.”
“Churning in the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Paulette is expected to become a hurricane on Saturday night as it approaches Bermuda…
“The storm is forecast to make landfall on the self-governing British territory either Sunday night or Monday morning, bringing with it what the NHC described as “a prolonged period of strong winds, storm surge and heavy rainfall.””
“Oil has washed up to Venezuela’s west coast after a leak in a pipeline that takes crude to the country’s main refinery, national oil company PDVSA said on Saturday.
“The spill has spread over more than 13 kilometres (eight miles) according to the environmental commission of the opposition-majority national parliament.”
“France set for record-high September temperatures as summer returns – Several parts of France will see temperatures climb above the 35C-mark on Monday with the country set for a period of “exceptionally hot” weather.
“A sign of things to come, say climate specialists.”
“Romanian farmers are bearing the brunt of a severe drought that has hit the south-eastern regions of the country.
“Theodor Ichim, who lost almost all his crops this year due to lack of rain and an irrigation system for his land, came up with an original way to bring attention to his plight and that of many other farmers.
“Using his tractor and a tillage machine, he ploughed the words “we want water” into one of his dry fields…”
“A gold mine has collapsed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 50 people, officials said.
“The incident in a makeshift mine occurred Friday in the town of Kamituga, South Kivu province, after torrential rain, local authorities said Saturday.”
“The floods in Sudan have killed 102 people, injured 46 more and affected over 550,000 people in 17 of the country’s 18 states, the United Nations… has reported…
“The UN organisation continued: “More than 500 square kilometres of land flooded in Khartoum, Al Gezira and White Nile States, and more than 100,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged.””
“Kerala is likely to receive 2,300 mm of rain for the third consecutive year, said… the Tamil Nadu Weatherman.
“However, Kerala could receive record rainfall in 150 year this September, the weather expert from Tamil Nadu said. If the rains continue, Kerala will receive over 2,000 mm of rain in two or three days.”
“Kolkata – Prices of vegetables soared, some to the extent of nearly 100% over the last nine days, across the retail markets on Sunday.
“Untimely downpours have also widened the demand-supply gap. Since August [the region] received record rainfall and it’s continuing in September, much of the standing crops were damaged.”
“In addition to battling its heaviest rainfall in recent years, Bangladesh is also struggling to contain the coronavirus outbreak…
“The people who are most vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic are the same people who are “living on the front lines of climate change,” said Afsari Begum, senior specialist for disaster risk reduction at the development charity, Practical Action.”
“Two days of torrential rain have led to flooding in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province on Sunday (Sept 13), causing damage to public facilities and forcing hundreds of residents from their homes.
“The floods prompted around 600 families from the Merbau district of North Labuhan Batu regency to seek shelter…”
“Torrential rain has pummeled parts of Japan, with more downpours feared across the country. The Meteorological Agency says atmospheric conditions remain unstable nationwide due to a front over Japan and a low pressure system to the country’s south.
“The agency issued a record one-hour rainfall alert in some areas across the country from Friday night through Saturday morning.”
“The stifling heat is becoming more dangerous with climate change. One reason is because global heating is not occurring evenly: Lower nighttime temperatures that typically provide critical relief from the hot days are disappearing.
“Summer night temperatures are warmer now, and they are warming at a faster rate than daytime temperatures…”
“The planet hasn’t warmed this fast in tens of millions of years – Scientists just completed one of the most comprehensive investigations of Earth’s climate history—and the findings aren’t favorable.
“They found that the planet could eventually warm to levels it hasn’t reached in at least 34 million years.”
“California’s historically bad fire season marked another sobering milestone Thursday when the August Complex burning on the North Coast became the largest wildfire in state history…
“California’s previous largest fire, the Mendocino Complex, burned 459,000 acres just two years ago and reached into another part of the same forest as the August Complex.”
“After shattering records over the Labor Day weekend with temperatures in the 90s and 100s along the Southern Rocky Mountains, winter abruptly showed up Tuesday morning in Colorado…
“That type of temperature swing is not necessarily uncommon in Colorado in the winter months, but it’s unprecedented for September.”
“Massachusetts just experienced its hottest summer on record, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that looks at 126 years of historical data…
“Similarly, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Arizona also endured their warmest recorded summers…”
“Fifteen states are suing the Bureau of Land Management, its parent agency the Interior Department and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt for opening Alaska’s Coastal Plain up to oil and gas leasing in 2017 in what they say is a violation of environmental laws.
“”Defendants’ insufficient environmental review and Record of Decision that opens the entire Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing and development are unlawful,” the states’ attorneys general wrote in a filing Wednesday.”
“Vladimir Potanin’s sprawling Siberian mining operations make him the billionaire most exposed to the permafrost crisis…
“Potanin [finds himself in] a paradoxical position: He manages a sprawling mining complex that produces raw materials needed for the transition away from fossil fuels, and his operations disgorge dangerous pollution into the fragile Arctic.
“The chief asset of Russia’s richest citizen—a chunk of the world’s ice cap—is melting before his eyes.”
“A tropical plume is set to scorch much of the UK next week with temperatures forecast to rise dramatically…
“Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services said: “Early next week we are likely to see temperatures lift into the 30Cs across parts of Britain as heat arrives with a vengeance.”
“He added: “It is entirely possible that …this September [could be] the hottest for more than 100 years.”
“It’s been a bad year for Venice. In November, the highest tides in over 50 years left the famous Italian lagoon city drenched and devastated.
“Fast forward to February when the surrounding region, Veneto, suffered Italy’s – and Europe’s – first death from coronavirus at the start of the epidemic, which went on to kill over 35,000 people in the country.”
Record flooding hammers African Sahel: “On September 7, Senegal recorded 124 millimeters of rain over the course of a seven-hour downpour. This is the same amount that would usually be expected across the entire rainy season running from July to September.
“In Nigeria, particularly the northwestern Kebbi State, flooding has damaged more than 500,000 hectares of farm produce amounting to around 5 billion naira ($13 million), according to NKC African Economics.”
“Three months of pounding rain in Niger have left 65 people dead and affected nearly 330,000, while several areas of the capital Niamey remain underwater, the government said.
“The ministry of humanitarian action and disaster management told AFP on Tuesday that as of September 7, 51 people had died when their home collapsed in the floods, and 14 had drowned.”
“Authorities in Burkina Faso have declared a state of natural disaster after days of heavy rains caused floods that killed at least 13 people and injured 19.
“Abdoul Karim Sango, minister of culture, arts and tourism, said in a news conference on Wednesday the flooding destroyed “many houses” and affected “many people”, without giving further details.”
“Sudanese authorities and the United Nations are rolling out aid to tens of thousands who lost their homes in record Nile floods, but many of those camping out on roadsides and higher ground are despairing of when it will reach them.
“The floods have left at least 102 people dead in the country and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of homes…”
“Typhoons and floods raged through North Korea and affected at least 20,000 people in the country, according to a recent U.N. report published on Sept. 8.
“North Korea faced one of its worst monsoon seasons in years this summer, and was also hit by three major storms in just a two-week span [which has never been recorded before].”
“Wildfire has infiltrated a Brazilian state park known for its population of jaguars as firefighters, environmentalists and ranchers in the world’s largest tropical wetlands region struggle to smother record blazes…
“There is little outlook for any near-term help from rainfall, said the Mato Grosso firefighters’ spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Sheila Sebalhos.”
“Global wildlife populations have declined by more than two thirds in less than 50 years, a new report has warned.
“Conservation charity WWF said nature was in “freefall” due to human activity, mainly intensive agriculture and the destruction of habitat such as forests to produce food, as it published its latest Living Planet Report.”
“A recent study from researchers at Stanford University shows that the growth rate of a type of plankton called phytoplankton in the Arctic Ocean has increased 57 percent between 1998 and 2018, with uncertain implications for animals higher up the food chain (which is most of them, including us).”
“In recent weeks, the world has seen ferocious wildfires in the U.S. West, torrential rains in Africa, weirdly warm temperatures on the surface of tropical oceans, and record heat waves from California to the Siberian Arctic.”
“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.”
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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.
“… The National Snow & Ice Data Center’s latest satellite studies show the ice edge currently lying near 85 degrees north, about halfway between the northern tip of Svalbard and the North Pole. Similar ice free waters are found at the same latitude north of Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya.
“The Norwegian Meteorological Institute confirms the dramatic developments in September in the European Arctic waters. 
“As Arctic summers warm, Earth’s northern landscapes are changing. 
“A US WWII bomber has emerged from a melting glacier in Iceland 76 years after it crashed on it way to England. 
“Meteorologists at Weeronline have confirmed what many people may already have suspected – 2020 has so far been the hottest year the Netherlands has experienced since records began in 1901! 
“A low-pressure area forming over the North Atlantic sea will descend down throughout France this week, dramatically cooling temperatures as it goes…
“Lightning strike injures 14 teens at soccer game in Switzerland:
“‘It was like the Apocalypse’: Greece battles with aftermath of Medicane:
“Israeli Pine Trees are Dying of Thirst:
“The authorities in Niger have postponed the reopening of schools across the country following heavy floods that have killed more than 70 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
“Since July, Sudan has been hit with record-breaking torrential rains and flooding, which have caused at least 100 deaths and damaged more than 140,000 homes across the country.
“A good number of patients admitted at Kisiizi Hospital in the western district of Rukungiri [Uganda] are stranded after the wards got submerged in flood waters yet again.
“Scientists say climate change appears to be altering winds that drive South Asia’s monsoon, changing rainfall patterns…
“Disaster Response Team Deployed Amid Heavy Rains In Karnataka [India]:
“Extreme rainfall events are rising in the Himalayas – and so is the likelihood of flash floods:
“China experiences 21 large-scale floods in 2020, setting historical record…
“Floods and landslides have struck Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and its surrounding areas, leaving two people dead, one missing and 20 others injured, officials said yesterday.
“Stunning images show inland seas forming in the Australian outback due to torrential rains, as forecasters warn a very wet summer is on the way.
“Typhoon Dolphin, this year’s 12th typhoon, is on course to approach eastern and northeastern Japan, with heavy rain expected along the Pacific coast… 
“Four forest fires broke out on Tuesday in the central Argentine province of Cordoba, where some 400 firefighters backed by planes and helicopters were working to put them out, the local government has said.
“Smoke from fires set in the Amazon region is one of the key causes of respiratory hospitalisations of indigenous people, states a recent study conducted by Brazil’s Instituto Socioambiental (ISA).
“The Bobcat fire has become one of the largest in Los Angeles county history, scorching structures, homes and a nature center in a famed southern California wildlife sanctuary in foothill desert communities.
“Oregonians are grieving the loss of some of their most treasured natural places after wildfires wiped out campgrounds, hot springs and wooded retreats that have been touchstones for generations in a state known for its unspoiled beauty.
“Wildfires among ponderosa pines and Douglas firs of the U.S. West have long been part of nature’s cycle of renewal, as much as the changing of the seasons. 
“Over the summer of 2020, numerous heat records were broken in Death Valley, as the park experienced what may be some the hottest days ever recorded on Earth…
“More Abnormal Weather In Colorado: Fall Starts Like Everything Else In 2020.
“Beta weakened to a tropical depression on Tuesday as it crawled along the Texas coast south of Houston, unleashing heavy rains, flooding streets, and forcing emergency workers to rescue dozens of people.
“Hurricane Teddy was more than a thousand miles from South Florida on Tuesday but the colossal storm still touched the Sunshine State, flooding streets at high tide and stealing away beaches.
“‘Zombie’ storm Paulette regains some strength, adding to weird 2020 weather:
“Ocean acoustics confirm rising sea temperatures…
“Humpback whales are steadily moving north, and warmer seas and melting ice may be the reason.
“About 380 pilot whales dead after mass stranding on Tasmania’s West Coast, 50 saved… Earlier, it was confirmed another group of pilot whales had been spotted during an aerial survey, bringing to over 450 the number of animals in distress.
“Antarctic krill seek refuge from climate change:
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“The Arctic is already shifting to an entirely new climate regime, marked by the escalating trends in ice melt, temperature rise and rainfall days – and scientists are worried.”
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“The almost 90 large wildfires raging in the West have killed at least 36 people, destroyed hundreds of buildings and even entire towns. The fires have also burned more than 4.6 million acres in the West, creating massive plumes visible even on the International Space Station.
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“Perfumes and fragrances, which were once a luxury item only for the elites, have become commonplace. 
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“Japan’s brush with Typhoon Haishen this month serves as a warning that there could be worse to come…
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“”On Thursday, 9/17, if we don’t receive rain, Las Vegas will tie the record of 150 consecutive days without measurable rainfall. On Friday, 9/18, we will break that record
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“At 2:20 p.m., temperatures climbed to 30.2 degrees at the national weather station in De Bilt, making Tuesday officially a tropical day. 
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Record flooding hammers African Sahel
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