“A Russian mining giant said on Sunday it had suspended workers at a metals plant who were responsible for pumping wastewater into nearby Arctic tundra…
“The incident occurred at the Talnakh enrichment plant near the Arctic city of Norilsk, the company said.
“It comes a month an unprecedented fuel leak at one of the company’s subsidiary plants near Norilsk saw President Vladimir Putin declare a state of emergency. More than 21,000 tonnes of diesel leaked from a fuel storage tank, with the fuel seeping into the soil and dying nearby waterways bright red.”
“Russia’s forest fire aerial protection service says forest fires in Siberia have grown nearly fivefold over the past week…
“According to figures reported Saturday by Avialesookhrana, Russia’s agency for aerial forest fire management, 1.15 million hectares (2.85 million acres) were burning in Siberia in areas that cannot be reached by firefighters.”
“Warmer temperatures and an earlier start to spring in the Arctic are leading to a spider baby boom.
“Earlier snowpack melt driven by warmer temperatures gives wolf spiders more time to produce more eggs, according to new research published this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.”
“The ice along the shores of Siberia has the appearance of Swiss cheese right now in satellite images, with big areas of open water that would normally still be covered.
“The sea ice extent in the Laptev Sea, north of Russia, is the lowest recorded for this time of year since satellite observations began.”
“The districts in western Ukraine hit by heavy floods are suffering the lack of drinking water, which may cause the spread of gastrointestinal infections…
“The problem is big… According to our estimations, the level of water and the scale of the disaster in Ivano-Frankivsk region is higher than in 2008 and higher than in 1998…”
“The unusual British weather in May and June has brought some surprising flowers into bloom at the Royal Horticultural Society Gardens… the RHS has seen plants more usually found in the desert regions of Mexico coaxed into flower by the hot conditions…”
“On Friday, Ivory Coast’s meteorological services warned more rain was expected through the weekend.
“The administrative head of the Abidjan area, Vincent Toh Bi Irie, said on Facebook that “in some places, the rainfall could reach 300 millimetres (12 inches) today, or six times the threshold for a critical alert”.”
“The United Nations said an abandoned oil tanker moored off the coast of Yemen loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil is at risk of rupture or exploding, causing massive environmental damage to Red Sea marine life, desalination factories and international shipping routes.”
“Heavy flooding triggered by monsoon rains has forced more than a million people to flee their homes in the northeast Indian state of Assam, authorities said on Monday, warning that the crisis was becoming more critical by the hour…
“”The flood situation remains extremely grave with several embankments breached,” Assam Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta told Reuters.”
“Incessant rain and onrush of water from upstream have triggered flash floods in the low-lying areas of Sylhet and Sunamganj under Sylhet division [Bangladesh]…
“…the flash flood has rendered hundreds of thousands of people waterlogged and without access to drinking water.”
“Firefighters of Yichang, Hubei province [China]rescued more than 1,000 residents from floods caused by heavy rainfall as of Saturday night, according to local authorities.
“The city was hit by a 50-year record rainfall, with a downpour of 17 centimetersaccording to local meteorological authorities.”
“The Fukuoka Prefecture city of Kurume [Japan] was lashed with 92.5 millimeters of rain over the one-hour period up until shortly after 8 a.m. on June 27 — a record high for the city.
“Extremely heavy rain was expected across the Kyushu region through June 28, and the Japan Meteorological Agency is calling for people to be on their guard against landslides and river flooding.”
“The mercury hit 38.9°C in Taipei Monday afternoon (June 29), the hottest the Taiwanese capital has ever recorded in the month of June, according to the Central Weather Bureau.
“After experiencing a record-breaking 38.4 degrees for the year 2020 last Tuesday (June 23), Taipei again broke its record for hottest June temperature on Monday, surpassing the previous 38.7°C recorded on June 1, 2016.”
“A family says they feel lucky to be alive after a tornado ripped through their home [Auckland, NZ], wrecking it and “snapping 50-foot pine trees like toothpicks“.
“Dan Tudman – who was out when the tornado struck – was phoned by his terrified daughter and arrived home to find “everything was destroyed, absolutely everything”.”
“Over the past 20 years, like clockwork, severe droughts have hit the Amazon every five years with regularity 2005, 2010, 2015. Of course, droughts have hit the Amazon rainforest throughout paleoclimate history, but this time it’s different.
“After Miami’s warmest June morning ever recorded on Thursday and warmest morning ever recorded on any day of any year on Friday, we are waking up to more record warm temperatures today.
“The smooth handfish (Sympterichthys unipennis), an unusual species that could “walk” on its pectoral and pelvic fins, is the first marine bony fish to go extinct in modern times, likely due to habitat loss and destructive fishing practices…
“Only four species of handfish have been spotted in the past 20 years, which has raised serious concerns for the future survival of these species.”
“At least 107 people died from lightning strikes in northern and eastern India, officials said, during the early stages of the annual monsoon season.
“Some 83 people were killed in the impoverished eastern state of Bihar after being struck by lightning, and another 24 died in northern Uttar Pradesh state on Thursday. Dozens more were injured, officials said.”
“Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are battling a fury of floods.
“Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal took stock of the prevailing flood situation in the state as he talked to the Deputy Commissioners of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Barpeta, Chirang, Baksa over video conference and asked them to reach out to the affected people on a war footing.”
“As waves of devastating floods sweep across southern China, buildings have collapsed, bridges have begun to show cracks, and roads have been left inoperative.
“Authorities have devoted all-out efforts to mobilize dramatic rescue efforts to fight the floods.”
“An average of almost 1,500 landslides rocked Japan every year during the past decade, marking an increase of almost 50 percent on the previous 10 years…
“…according to a government report endorsed by the Cabinet on Friday.”
“The heavy rains registered in the last 24 hours have left significant damages in six municipalities Veracruz, Mexico.
“Among the most affected municipalities are Xalapa, where the rains caused landslides in the Altamira, Plan de Ayala and Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhoods and flooding in another 50.”
“Although President Lopez Obrador has urged Mexicans to eschew expensive and processed foods and eat more beans, the country is facing a bean shortage due to drought and is being forced to import some 100,000 tonnes in order to meet the short-term demand.
“The problem has been ongoing, the Ministry of the Economy reports.”
“Baton Rouge shattered a rainfall record yesterday, and today any more rain could cause localized flash flooding…
“Showers and storms that do pop up could be capable of dropping a quarter to half an inch of rain on areas that already have seen several inches in the last 24 hours.”
“As Covid-19 coronavirus cases continue to surge in Florida, Texas, and other Southern States, what would be terrific thing to have right now? How about a “Godzilla” dust cloud?
“Yep, 2020 is bringing to the Southeastern U.S. a massive dust cloud.”
“At least five people were killed on Thursday amid heavy rains in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, local media reported.
“”The bad weather that hit Abidjan on Thursday caused the death of five people, one missing person, and a lot of material damage,” Abidjan.net quoted the National Office of Civil Protection (ONPC) as saying on Friday.”
“Ukraine on Thursday asked the European Union and NATO for help coping with the aftermath of massive floods in the country’s west.
“The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it hopes both the EU and NATO will step up to help protect critical infrastructure and to ease economic damage from the floods.”
“The 2019-20 winter in Europe was the warmest on record, with little snow. The spring was also drier and warmer than normal, with an historic heat wave in the middle of May.
“The forecast for summer 2020 is not looking much better. For the third year in a row, Europe is facing potential water woes.”
“Finland is roasting this week as temperatures peaked on Thursday at 32.7°C in Kronoby in Ostrobothnia – It’s officially the hottest June day for 85 years…
“Meteorologist Mika Rantanen says this year marks the third consecutive summer in Finland where the maximum temperature has been above +33°C, something that has not happened before since digital records began in 1960.”
“What happens in Siberia matters to the rest of the world; the temperatures, together with above-average heat elsewhere, ensured that May 2020 tied with 2016 as the warmest May on record.
“There is an additional, alarming, effect from the Siberian heatwave: the thawing of the permafrost releases large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, promising to accelerate global warming.”
“Until now, 2003 was considered as the driest and hottest year since the beginning of instrumental climate recording. This record can now be considered obsolete…”
“For the second straight year, an unusually large number of intense fires have ignited in the Arctic Circle, the polar region atop Earth.
“It’s now been anomalously warm in Siberia for nearly six months, and temperatures likely eclipsed triple digits in a Siberian town last weekend — setting a heat record for the Arctic Circle. This streak of warm and hot conditions has set the stage for blazes to torch the dried-out region.
“Last year, unprecedented fires burned in the Arctic Circle, and new data from Copernicus, the European Union’s earth observation agency, show the number and intensity of fires is similar in 2020…
“Of the 18 years researchers have used satellites to closely monitor Arctic fires, 2019 and 2020 have emitted more CO2 into the atmosphere than the previous 16 years combined, said Thomas Smith, an assistant professor in environmental geography at the London School of Economics.
“”The two years together is quite alarming,” said Smith. “I don’t use that word lightly.”
“Over just six weeks last year, Arctic Circle fires released more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than Sweden does in an entire year, according to the World Meteorological Organization.”
“Record-setting temperatures above the Arctic Circle have again drawn attention to climate change in the high north, where the prospect of more accessibility has stoked both national and commercial competition…
“Along with more interest from navies, a more accessible Arctic has attracted an increase in commercial activity.”
“Although Arctic communities have long known that warming temperatures will undermine buildings, roads, and other infrastructure, scientific research is still catching up on how to create localized hazard maps of permafrost thaw.
“Meanwhile, communities don’t have time to wait for research to catch up.”
“The latest weather forecasts from the FMI have shown that tomorrow could well be the hottest day recorded in June in Finland’s history, with temperatures in the Central and Southern parts of the country expected to exceed 33 degrees Celsius.
“The heatwave will continue into the weekend, before collapsing dramatically at the beginning of next week.”
“Recently released from coronavirus lockdown, Europeans thronged shady parks on Wednesday as temperatures soared on the second day of an early summer heat wave that experts fear will lead to new infections as people flout social distancing rules…
“Anyone who compares older pictures of the Alps with those taken today can see the impact climate change has had in the Alps…
“Between 2000 and 2014, all glaciers in the Alps lost over 22 cubic kilometres of ice, equivalent to approximately 17 percent of the entire volume of ice in Alpine glaciers at the beginning of the 21st century.”
“As of morning, June 25, in the territory of 16 administrative areas of Ivano-Frankivsk region [Ukraine], 250 settlements were flooded…
““Totally, 10,399 houses, nine rural health posts, 15,610 residential yards, 4,546 basements, 7,182 hectares of agricultural land are flooded; 149 km of roads are destroyed; besides, 589 km of are damaged; 90 bridges are destroyed and 169 bridges are damaged.””
“Giovanni is a farmer from Bolotana, a small town in central Sardinia. His and 200 other farms have been hit by a swarm of Moroccan locusts that have been devastating the Tirso valley since April…
“These insects have destroyed fields, pastures, grasslands, and invaded houses and gardens. Swarms of the same species had already caused damage in summer 2019…”
“Senegal is one of the African countries most affected by the advancing desert.
“Up to 34% of farmland is affected by drought, and in 2018 the country’s authorities announced a national plan for sustainable reforestation to preserve forest ecosystems.”
“The bitter dispute among Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan over the giant Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile seems like the classic case of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object…
“Egypt depends on the waters of the Blue Nile for about 82% of its water needs and fears that the big dam – which will eventually impound an immense 74 billion cubic metres of water – will choke off much of that supply.”
“Though Madagascar officially has just under 1,800 reported infections and 16 deaths from COVID-19, the pandemic’s socioeconomic effects will be catastrophic for the country, the U.N. has warned.
“One tangible impact has been the fire season, which has started early and is likely to be fiercer this year as rural residents deprived of tourism revenue, employment opportunities and access to food markets turn to the forest to survive.”
“Due to the flood in Assam, thousands of people have been forced to come on the road.
“Due to heavy rains for almost a week, the situation her remains serious and 38,000 people have been affected so far. According to the daily report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, the total number of dead people has increased to 12 with the death of one more person in flood in the state.”
“Motorists have captured the terrifying moment a tornado hovered through the Chinese countryside, appearing to approach their cars.
“The giant column of wind struck the suburbs of Xilinhot city in north-eastern China’s Inner Mongolia on Wednesday afternoon, according to China’s weather authority.”
“The deadly deluges in southern China this summer have affected more than 11 million people in the provincial-level regions of Guangxi, Guizhou, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Chongqing, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
“The floods have also destroyed some 9,300 homes and ravaged 861,000 hectares of farmland…”
“Earlier this week, Mount Wellington on Tasmania’s southeast coast had its wettest three days on record– with over 30cm of rain falling from Monday through Wednesday morning…
“Under a pitch-black night sky, a group of Vietnamese farmers planted rice this week in a paddy field on the outskirts of the capital Hanoi using head lamps to illuminate the water-logged ground in front of them.
“The farmers of the Tam Thanh commune [Vietnam] say they have been forced to work at night in the fields to avoid searing temperatures that they say have got worse over the years.”
“The National Park Service is warning visitors to the Grand Canyon that Wednesday’s extreme heat could pose an unusual danger: melted shoes.
“In a tweet Monday, the Grand Canyon NPS showed how excessive heat can cause the glue holding hiking boots to melt, making the shoe fall apart. This warning comes on top of additional concerns about extreme heat in the West.”
“Rainstorms in western Ukraine have killed three people and forced hundreds of others to evacuate their homes. The flooding has affected Ukraine’s western regions of Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zakarpattya, and Lviv…
“Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov have visited the disaster zone — an area where one emergency service report said about 5,000 houses in 187 villages remained flooded early on June 24.”
“Heavy rains and surging rivers have hit Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina…
“Rivers have… burst their banks and there are increasing concerns over the possibility of landslides. A landslide in neighbouring Bosnia cut a key road connecting Tuzla and the capital Sarajevo.”
“Heavy rainfall and flash floods drenched Turkey’s biggest city Istanbul on Tuesday, with a rare tornado forming in the city’s westernmost areas, killing a Syrian refugee.
“Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya confirmed later that the refugee fell victim to flooding.”
“For the last decade, Silus Musasizi has lived on a wetland on the shores of Lake Victoria. For most of that time, Uganda’s government has been trying to chase him away. Now, it is the water itself that has driven him from his small house on the edge of Entebbe, a Ugandan town that juts into Africa’s largest lake.
“Thousands have been displaced from their homes along the shoreline of Lake Victoria by the worst flooding since records began more than a century ago.”
“Internally displaced people (IDPs) in 14 camps in five Rakhine State townships [Myanmar] are facing difficulties with rising floodwaters, local civil society organizations said.
“Zaw Zaw Tun, secretary of the Rakhine Ethnics Congress (REC) said that days of heavy rain has caused flooding in Minbya, Myebon, Rathedaung, Buthidaung, and Mrauk-U townships in northern Rakhine State, damaging IDPs’ shelters.”
“Millions of people in southern China may have to be evacuated as weather forecasters say the region is set for more heavy rain and flooding that have already wreaked havoc in low-lying areas.
“More than 8.5 million people have been affected by the torrential downpours that soaked the region between the end of May and June 15, according to a report by China National Radio.”
“A New Zealand glacier is thought to have lost so much ice over three years it could provide the drinking water for all New Zealanders over the same period, one of the country’s research institutes said Wednesday.
“Scientists estimate the Brewster Glacier, in the country’s South Island, lost 13 million cubic meters of ice between 2016 and 2019…”
“A recent study highlights how demand for Brazilian soy by Europe and China is stoking deforestation, thereby increasing carbon emissions, especially in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna biome, followed by the Amazon rainforest…
“The study is the first to offer an estimate of carbon emissions across Brazil’s entire soy sector.”
“A dozen wildfires have torched nearly 400,000 burned acres in Arizona and have left parts of the state, particularly the southeastern portion, in ruins…
“Three current active wildfires in the state all rank in the top-10 for largest blazes in Arizona history.”
“Damaging storms moved through a large part of the country yesterday from New Mexico to New York… several inches of rain fell near Washington, D.C. in a short period of time producing localized flash flooding.
“In western Texas, winds gusted to 78 mph and in both Texas and New Mexico hail fell as large as tennis balls. In the Midwest, more than a half a foot of rain fell in parts of Iowa and produced flash flooding there.”
“Subtropical Depression Four strengthened into Tropical Storm Dolly well off of the northeastern United States coast on Tuesday.
“Not only did Dolly become a rare June D-named storm, only the third in recorded history, but it also will go down in the history books as the second-earliest fourth-named storm in the basin.”
“An abandoned asbestos mine in a remote corner of Yukon has yet to be remediated 42 years after closing, and could pose a flood risk to anyone downstream, according to the federal government.
““Clinton Creek is literally on the edge of the map,” said Lewis Rifkind, mining analyst for the Yukon Conservation Society.
“The mine is on the western border of Yukon, about 100 kilometres northwest of Dawson City. “It’s out of sight, out of mind.””
“Crews are working to clean up and assess about 15,000 gallons of heating oil that spilled in Shungnak [Alaska] over the weekend when a tank was overfilled during a routine fuel delivery in the Northwest Arctic village…
“…the Kobuk River and the local drinking water well could potentially be at risk, ADEC noted.”
“Moscow hydrogeologist Georgy Kavanosyan has just returned from Norilsk, where he took a long boat trip to measure contamination of River Pyasina flowing into the Arctic Ocean.
“Kavanosyan, 33, shows in the video that maximum permitted concentration of oil products in the river exceeds the norm by 2.5 times, and says that urgent steps are now needed to check the river delta where it flows into the Kara Sea.”
“…temperatures have been unusually warm in the region [of Siberia] since January 2020.
“Since the ERA5 data begins in 1979, the European team also looked to GISTEMP, a NASA temperature record with data through 1880. They could not find any other examples in either dataset of such an intense heat wave in this part of Siberia persisting for such an extended period.”
““For a long time, we’ve been saying we’re going to get more extremes like strong heat waves,” says Ruth Mottram, a climate scientist at the Danish Meteorological Institute.
““It’s a little like the projections are coming true, and sooner than we might have thought.””
“Microplastics have been discovered in the gut of an animal on a remote island in the Antarctic, raising concerns that plastic pollution could be prevalent in the region’s ecosystem.
“A new study by researchers in Italy and Ireland found traces of contamination inside the gut of the “Cryptopygus antarcticus,” a small invertebrate that lives in the soil of the Antarctic.”
“As southern China sees some of its worst flooding in 80 years, videos have surfaced showing extreme quantities of water inundating 10 provinces and cities, threatening the vaunted Three Gorges Dam.
“As China’s Yangtze River Basin enters its flood season, the upper reaches of the Three Gorges Dam are seeing the highest flood levels since 1940. Weather China has issued its highest warning for flooding and rain for the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to Guizhou.”
“Flood forecasters warned on Monday about flooding in India’s three major river basins — Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna — at the end of the week or early next week because of cross-border heavy rains…
“The rivers are already filled to the brim, unusual for this time of the year, because of continued heavy rains inside Bangladesh and in upstream across the border since May 20.”
“Natural disaster evacuation plans need an overhaul as Japan heads into its rainy season, experts have warned, saying crowded conditions could spark novel coronavirus clusters that grow into another wave of infections.
“The period of heavy precipitation — which typically triggers floods and landslides and often forces hundreds of people to take shelter together in gymnasiums — has already begun in some parts of Japan.”
“Emergency services have received dozens of calls for help as heavy rain fell over Tasmania’s south and midlands, and rising water closed several roads…
“More than 250 millimetres of rain fell on Mount Wellington from Sunday morning until 2:00pm today…”
“The latest long-range weather forecast predicting a very dry second half of 2020 has elevated Auckland’s water supply situation to a critical level.
“Watercare’s total dam storage is currently 45%, where normally it would be at about 78% for this time of year. From November 2019 to May 2020, Auckland received less than half the normal rainfall…”
“Temperatures in Kahului on Saturday reached 92 degrees, breaking the old record set on the same date in 1969, according to the National Weather Service.
“It’s the sixth time this month that Kahului has tied or broken a heat record, four of which were set during the record-breaking summer last year.”
“Dramatic images from Bolivia, with desperate residents of the country’s Santa Cruz region seeking dry land after floods swept through residential areas.”
“As crews continue to battle a human-caused wildfire that has become one of the largest in Arizona history, state agencies are concerned about the potential impact on wildlife and water resources…
“…the fire footprint includes designated critical habitat for two imperiled species, the Mexican spotted owl and the northern goshawk.”
“After the driest April on record and only four-tenths of rain in May, about 90% of Utah is in a drought.
“Soil temperatures are well above normal and the state’s snowpack melted earlier than usual. State fire officials are now saying they’ve already seen more than 300 wildfires…”
“The waters of Lake Champlain reached a new high for the month of June on Monday, measuring at 77 degrees from a temperature reading in Burlington taken seven feet below the surface water.
“”We’ve never had this many days in a row with 90 degree high in June,” said Conor Lahiff, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.”
“Though several forests are burning in Quebec, the fire north of Lac Saint-Jean is the province’s largest forest fire at the moment. It’s estimated to cover more than 72,000 hectares…
“”Right now, because of the intensity of the fire, there are certain actions we can’t do to stop its progression,” said Mélanie Morin, a spokesperson for Quebec’s forest fire prevention agency…”
“Subtropical Depression Four formed in the Atlantic off the northeast US coast on Monday afternoon.
“It could strengthen into Dolly, the fourth named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season… The depression is 310 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.”
“A nearly 4,000-mile-long plume of thick dust from the Sahara Desert has arrived in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, and is forecast to move into the Gulf of Mexico..
“The plume is part of a phenomena that develops every year off the coast of Africa, known as the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), but the current one is unusually intense and is setting records, scientists say.”
“The entry of a very warm air mass of African origin into Spain, the atmospheric stability and the strong insolation typical of the time, will promote today a progressive and marked rise in temperatures that will last until Thursday…
“…[leading to] highs of 40 degrees, or even more.”
“Serbia has introduced emergency measures in several municipalities after heavy rains in the past few days caused widespread damage as rivers overflowed, authorities said Tuesday.
“Surging rivers led to around 700 houses being flooded in western and central Serbia…”
“As if a global pandemic and months of quarantine weren’t enough to drown our spirits, Moscow was hit with heavy rains and hail over the weekend, leading to flash floods that flooded streets and passageways…
“Again, flood has swept away a 17-year- old girl, simply identified as Ayisat in at Alapafuja axis of the Surulere Low-Cost Housing Estate [Lagos, Nigeria] following downpour experienced through out Monday in some areas of the state.
“Consequently, LASEMA has commenced a search and rescue operation for a missing teenager.”
“It’s been a bad year for bees. According to the preliminary results of the University of Maryland’s annual survey, U.S. beekeepers lost 43.7% of their honey bees from April 2019 to April 2020…
“Summer 2019 was a scorcher—that July was the hottest month ever recorded globally and intense heat was recorded across the U.S.—which may have created less-than-ideal mating conditions for queen bees.”
Somehow completely forgot to post this gem from the weekend. Mind you, it is worthy of its own thread:
“Alarming heat scorched Siberia on Saturday as the small town of Verkhoyansk (67.5°N latitude) reached 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 32 degrees above the normal high temperature.
“If verified, this is likely the hottest temperature ever recorded in Siberia and also the hottest temperature ever recorded north of the Arctic Circle, which begins at 66.5°N.”
“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.
“A Russian mining giant said on Sunday it had suspended workers at a metals plant who were responsible for pumping wastewater into nearby Arctic tundra…
“Ravaging wildfires are burning further north in the Russian Arctic than had previously been recorded from space. 
“Russia’s forest fire aerial protection service says forest fires in Siberia have grown nearly fivefold over the past week… 
“Warmer temperatures and an earlier start to spring in the Arctic are leading to a spider baby boom. 
“The ice along the shores of Siberia has the appearance of Swiss cheese right now in satellite images, with big areas of open water that would normally still be covered. 
“The districts in western Ukraine hit by heavy floods are suffering the lack of drinking water, which may cause the spread of gastrointestinal infections… 
“On Friday, Ivory Coast’s meteorological services warned more rain was expected through the weekend.
“The United Nations said an abandoned oil tanker moored off the coast of Yemen loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil is at risk of rupture or exploding, causing massive environmental damage to Red Sea marine life, desalination factories and international shipping routes.”
“On Sunday morning, a massive landslide triggered by heavy rains hit the Passingdang village in North Sikkim [India]. 
“Heavy flooding triggered by monsoon rains has forced more than a million people to flee their homes in the northeast Indian state of Assam, authorities said on Monday, warning that the crisis was becoming more critical by the hour…
“Incessant rain and onrush of water from upstream have triggered flash floods in the low-lying areas of Sylhet and Sunamganj under Sylhet division [Bangladesh]… 
“Firefighters of Yichang, Hubei province [China] rescued more than 1,000 residents from floods caused by heavy rainfall as of Saturday night, according to local authorities. 
“Heavy rain across the north washed out roads in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai [Thailand]. 
“Floods have been reported in the interior regions of Limbang, Marudi and Baram districts in northern Sarawak [Malaysia] from Sunday (June 29). 
“The Fukuoka Prefecture city of Kurume [Japan] was lashed with 92.5 millimeters of rain over the one-hour period up until shortly after 8 a.m. on June 27 — a record high for the city. 
“The mercury hit 38.9°C in Taipei Monday afternoon (June 29), the hottest the Taiwanese capital has ever recorded in the month of June, according to the Central Weather Bureau.
“A family says they feel lucky to be alive after a tornado ripped through their home [Auckland, NZ], wrecking it and “snapping 50-foot pine trees like toothpicks“.
“Over the past 20 years, like clockwork, severe droughts have hit the Amazon every five years with regularity 2005, 2010, 2015. Of course, droughts have hit the Amazon rainforest throughout paleoclimate history, but this time it’s different. 
“After Miami’s warmest June morning ever recorded on Thursday and warmest morning ever recorded on any day of any year on Friday, we are waking up to more record warm temperatures today. 
“The smooth handfish (Sympterichthys unipennis), an unusual species that could “walk” on its pectoral and pelvic fins, is the first marine bony fish to go extinct in modern times, likely due to habitat loss and destructive fishing practices…
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“Of the 18 years researchers have used satellites to closely monitor Arctic fires, 2019 and 2020 have emitted more CO2 into the atmosphere than the previous 16 years combined, said Thomas Smith, an assistant professor in environmental geography at the London School of Economics.
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“Under a pitch-black night sky, a group of Vietnamese farmers planted rice this week in a paddy field on the outskirts of the capital Hanoi using head lamps to illuminate the water-logged ground in front of them.
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“For the last decade, Silus Musasizi has lived on a wetland on the shores of Lake Victoria. For most of that time, Uganda’s government has been trying to chase him away. Now, it is the water itself that has driven him from his small house on the edge of Entebbe, a Ugandan town that juts into Africa’s largest lake.
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“A dozen wildfires have torched nearly 400,000 burned acres in Arizona and have left parts of the state, particularly the southeastern portion, in ruins… 
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“Subtropical Depression Four strengthened into Tropical Storm Dolly well off of the northeastern United States coast on Tuesday. 
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“Moscow hydrogeologist Georgy Kavanosyan has just returned from Norilsk, where he took a long boat trip to measure contamination of River Pyasina flowing into the Arctic Ocean.
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Somehow completely forgot to post this gem from the weekend. Mind you, it is worthy of its own thread: