“Over the weekend, the island nation of Cuba set its hottest all-time temperature on record, according to the nation’s official meteorological agency.
“On Saturday, temperatures spiked to 102.7 degrees Fahrenheit (39.3 degrees Celsius) in the town of Veguitas, Cuba, setting a new all-time temperature record for the island nation…
“Cuba’s previous all-time temperature record was set just last June, when it got up to 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit (39.1 degrees Celsius).
“Several other all-time station records were broken on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week as well. The INSMET office in Camagüey (Cuba’s third-largest city) posted several other provincial and station records that were set last week.
“In several cases, the previous provincial or station records were obliterated, with more than a degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) separating the new and old records.”
“…the heat wave will continue in the Yucatan Peninsula [Mexico] and the states of the northeast, west, center, east, south and southeast of the country, so temperatures above 45 degrees [113f] are estimated. in Campeche, Tabasco and Yucatan areas.”
“The Joshua trees that are among the most distinctive features of Californian deserts face extinction because of drought, fires and human development, officials have warned…
“The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has recommended that the trees be listed as an endangered species.”
“Stunned residents across the South and East [US] continued to pick up the pieces Tuesday after tornadoes and storms cut a ferocious two-day trail of destruction, upending lives for thousands already grappling with a public health crisis…
“There were more than 60 reports of tornadoes that ripped across Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia…”
“NOAA’s flood outlook finds that areas home to 128 million people – or nearly 40 percent of the US population – are at some risk of seasonal flooding this spring.
“And with confirmed coronavirus cases in every state, that’s over a third of the population having to ponder how to face a flood and pandemic at once.”
“Although we are now in mid-April, it looks like Mother Nature hasn’t gotten the spring memo.
“An Ontario storm wreaked havoc on the province on Monday, bringing snow, strong winds and even flooding. Thousands were left without power throughout the day…”
“There has been an extraordinary about-turn this spring as the [UK] weather flipped from floods to drought.
“Hardly a drop of rain has fallen so far this month in much of the UK, with only 2mm of rainfall in England and Wales up to April 12. Persistent high pressure has cleared the skies, and it is likely to stay dry as high pressure remains in charge and keeps wet Atlantic depressions at bay.”
“Locusts have become more adept at beating measures meant to eliminate them, scientists have warned.
“A new breed of insects has developed adaptations such as hiding under leaves and change of behaviour such as dispersing, making it hard for aerial spraying to kill them as the country battles to contain the invasion…”
“The epicentere of Iran’s coronavirus crisis is now besieged by floods, with many vehicles swept away and many factories and stores filled with muddy water.
“The floods in Qom, central Iran, come just one day after floods hit Khorasan Razavi Province in northeast Iran.”
“[Thailand’s] Office of the National Water Resources says up to 6,255 villages in 24 provinces have already been declared as drought-affected areas, while national dams and reservoirs are only at an average of 49% capacity (only 26% of that water is usable.)
“It has been predicted that the drought could last until at least July.”
“China’s Mekong River dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in downstream countries last year despite China having higher-than-average water levels upstream, a US research company said in a study.
“China’s government disputed the findings, saying there was low rainfall during last year’s monsoon season on its portion of the 4,350-km (2,700-mile) river.”
“Weather officials in Japan say the country had an abnormally warm winter this year, with a record-high national average temperature and record-low snowfalls in some areas.
“The Japan Meteorological Agency convened an expert panel to analyze winter weather conditions between December and February.”
“Tens of thousands of people remain homeless in Vanuatu a week after Tropical Cyclone Harold pummelled the impoverished Pacific nation, smashing houses and destroying crops, aid workers said Tuesday.
“The cyclone careened through the South Pacific last week, peaking as a Category Five superstorm…”
“Mandatory water restrictions edge closer in Auckland [NZ], as reservoirs are on the brink of tipping below the half-full mark…
“The hopes of significant forecast rain, turning up, and then falling in the main catchment areas in the Waitakere and Hunua Ranges, had again been dashed.”
“Billions of locusts have laid waste to 500,000 acres of Ethiopian cropland and unleashed a food crisis. A United Nations report found that the devastation caused by the swarms have left millions of citizens in need of emergency food aid.
“The findings from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, which recently concluded a joint assessment with the Ethiopian government, come as the region is bracing for new swarms that could be even more destructive.
“This second wave of pests to spawn in Africa could to be 20 times larger than the first – which was already the worst in 70 years in some nations.”
“A 58- year old partially blind man affected by floods in Nyando subcounty in Kisumu [Kenya] has appealed to the government to relocate him to safer grounds.
“Francis Onam from Kakola Ombaka sub-location said his home is marooned by waters…
“His video went viral in the social media calling for help while wading through waters at his home.”
“Water in estuaries along 1,100km of Australia’s south-east coast warmed by more than 2C between 2007 and 2019, a new study finds.
“The rapid change could have negative effects on fisheries and aquaculture, as well as impact coastal vegetation such as mangroves, scientists behind the study said.”
“April 12 marked six months since Typhoon Hagibis made landfall in Japan in October 2019, wreaking huge damage in many parts of the country.
“The total number of those taking shelter in temporary housing after their houses were destroyed last autumn has reached around 10,350 people in at least 11 prefectures.”
“The distribution of urgent cyclone relief supplies brought into Vanuatu by the Australian government has been delayed due to coronavirus, potentially endangering lives.
“Last week Cyclone Harold hit the northern islands of the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, flattening buildings and killing three people – raising the international total to 30.”
“This Easter holiday, in a time of a coronavirus pandemic, water flows over dirt roads and an interstate snaking to the Canadian border; it laps around the properties of some North Dakotans; it seeps into the basements of others.”
“The forecast is a veritable index of meteorological plagues: above-normal rainfall; greater than normal spring runoff; thoroughly saturated soils; and an aging system of nearly a thousand levees where nobody knows how many were damaged last year and in previous floods or how many were repaired.”
“Severe weather swept across the southern US on Sunday and Monday, killing at least 30 people and damaging hundreds of homes from Louisiana into the Appalachian mountains.
“The storms piled fresh misery atop the coronavirus pandemic, leaving more than a million homes and businesses without power amid floods and mudslides.”
“As the novel coronavirus continues to have an impact on the lives of millions of Americans across the nation, residents of Puerto Rico are already feeling the toll of a crisis within a crisis.
“In the last three years, the U.S. territory has gone through a deadly hurricane, an unprecedented financial crisis, hundreds of earthquakes and government scandals.”
“Mexico’s National Meteorological Service predicts that in the coming days, temperatures could exceed 45C / 113F in parts of Yucatan, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Campeche. A high pressure system at medium levels of the atmosphere isn’t going anywhere soon, forecasters predict.
“Friday in Progreso [Yucatan, Mexico], where people traditionally go to beat the heat, temperatures soared to 41.8C / 107.2F, the highest since weather data was recorded here.”
“The intense heat wave produced during the month of April by the perpendicular incidence of solar rays on Venezuela has generated numerous forest fires throughout the entire national territory…
“In addition to the humanitarian crisis that Venezuela is going through, the pandemic of the Covid-19 coronavirus and the lack of fuel supply, this wave of fires now adds. A whole context that plunges the country into chaos.”
“Dozens of wildfires of various sizes have blazed through forests, scrublands and pastures around Mostar, Konjic, Jablanica, Prozor-Rama and other places in the Herzegovina region over the past several days.”
“Dramatic aerial pictures have captured the ferocity of the fires ripping through Chernobyl’s exclusion zone, which are now perilously close to the site of the nuclear explosion.
“Firefighters on their tenth day battling the blaze are desperately trying to extinguish it before it wreaks a path to the reactor’s protective sarcophagus.”
“Satellite observations measuring plant growth with the normalized difference vegetation index found cities surrounded by rings of abnormally verdant vegetation 2 to 3 times larger than the city itself.
“And places such as the Siberian taiga are now sprouting plants more appropriate to climates up to 600 kilometers south.”
“Global methane levels have hit an all-time high after what appears to be a near-record yearly atmospheric increase in the potent greenhouse gas.
“The concentration of methane in the Earth’s atmosphere reached nearly 1,875 parts per billion in 2019, up from the previous year’s 1,866 parts per billion…”
“March 2020 was Earth’s second-warmest March in 141 years of temperature records, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reported in its monthly summary of global climate.
“NOAA’s report released Monday found that global land and ocean temperatures in March were 2.09 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average.”
“…despite the potential short-term dip in emissions, there is a risk that the pandemic — which is likely to dominate debate for months or even years to come — will overshadow environmental concerns.
“Climate talks have already been delayed and new policy initiatives postponed. The convention centre that was set to host the UN climate talks in Glasgow in November has been converted into a hospital for coronavirus patients.
“Governments and world leaders have attention for only one crisis right now.”
“The world is undergoing its sixth major extinction crisis, and as many reports have shown, our warming planet puts many more species at risk of annihilation. A new study published today in Nature takes an even deeper look at the crisis and what ecosystem-wide changes could look like.
“They doesn’t look good. Biodiversity loss is like a game of Jenga – if the world crosses certain temperature thresholds and enough species in an ecosystem die out, the whole structure can collapse. The authors found that due to the climate crisis, ecosystems could abruptly cross those thresholds in a matter of years.”
“The current run of fine weather could become a record-breaking spell of warmth [in the UK] between now and the bank holiday, as the temperatures start to nudge towards the mid-20s.
“Today, tomorrow and Good Friday could see records of 24C dating back to the 19th century under threat if the patchy cloud clears for long enough, as very warm air arrives, delivering delightful afternoons.”
“Another road bridge has collapsed in Italy, highlighting maintenance failings which continue to blight the country’s infrastructure…
“It is the third incident involving a road bridge in Italy in recent years…
“A motorway bridge in Liguria also collapsed following a landslide in November last year. A 20m section of the A6 viaduct collapsed after it was hit by a landslide caused by torrential rain.”
“Following a rather mild start to April for much of northern New England, a winterlike storm system is set to rapidly strengthen over the area Thursday to Friday.
“This system has the potential to develop into a bomb cyclone as it travels over southern Quebec to coastal New Brunswick, Canada, into Friday.”
“Parts of South America, particularly the agricultural areas in Brazil and Argentina, are being clobbered by a drought that is threatening to shrink harvest yields.
“To make matters worse, the lack of rainfall has been matched by excessive heat…”
“Tropical Cyclone Harold surged back into a scale-topping Category Five storm on Thursday as it sideswiped Tonga after leaving a trail of destruction across the South Pacific.
“The island kingdom declared a state of emergency late Wednesday as the storm bore down, warning of destructive winds and massive sea surges.”
“While the recent good weather may have provided some relief to the feeling of ‘cabin fever’ for Aucklanders [NZ] staying home, it hasn’t been great for the local water supply.
“A severe drought continues to bite Auckland, particularly in the Hunua and Waitakere ranges which is home to the city’s water storage dams.”
“Melbourne has had its wettest start to the year in more than a century after 2019 was among the driest on record.
“So far this year the city has had 349 millimetres of rain, the most for the same period since 1911 and just 26 millimetres short of beating all of last year’s precipitation.”
“Water vendors are drowning in business as drought and water shortages splatter across Sattahip district, 30 kms from Pattaya [Thailand].
“Some areas of the district are reporting they have no tap water. Water trucks are running night and day bringing fresh water to residences and businesses.”
“Cyclone Harold has levelled buildings and caused dangerous flooding across Fiji’s largest island of Viti Levu, after pummelling Vanuatu as a category-five storm on Monday.
The tropical cyclone was downgraded to category four before reaching Fijian waters… The storm has already wreaked a path of destruction through the Pacific.
“Twenty-seven people are missing and feared dead after being swept off a ferry in rough seas caused by the cyclone in Solomon Islands. The storm hit Vanuatu on Monday and two days later, it is still unclear how badly the country was hit.”
“Beachgoers have been urged to stick to social distancing rules this Easter long weekend with Perth and parts of the South West set to experience potentially record-breaking heat…
“Saturday could see heat records tumble if the city climbs slightly above the 37C forecast. The hottest April day ever recorded in Perth was 37.6C on April 9, 1910.”
“After one of the driest January/February combinations on record, Southern California saw averages of 150 to 250 percent of normal rainfall in most areas through the month of March, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
“Precipitation levels “helped to put a noticeable dent in what was becoming a dry water year, NWS said.”
“While the world wrestles with the immediate impacts of the coronavirus crisis, the more gradual climate crisis continues to accelerate in the background.
“New research released by a team of scientists at Stanford University shows human-caused warming is playing a considerable inflammatory role in California fire seasons.”
“The City of Kamloops [Canada] is preparing for a situation in which it may need two emergency operations centres — one to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and another to respond to flooding…
“…the city is prepping for potentially historic level flooding, with an eye to 1972 levels, when the North Thompson River flooded parts of Westsyde and city parks became swamps.”
“The devastating recent floods in Kerman province, south-central Iran, have caused over 50 trillion rials (around $325 million) in damages, with the bridge at the entrance of the city of Kahnuj destroyed and the 2,000 heads of small and large livestock killed in the town of South Rudbar alone…
“The floods in March 2019 killed dozens, injured many more, and caused a great amount of damages across 19 provinces…”
“The Arctic is the fastest-warming region on Earth, and increasing temperatures are thawing permafrost, releasing more carbon into the atmosphere, and accelerating warming.
“These feedbacks concern scientists because roughly 850 gigatons of carbon—representing 25%–50% of all soil organic carbon on Earth—are believed to be stored in the permafrost at present.”
“Historically, scientists have believed that the Arctic Ocean will be an important carbon sink in the coming years—ice melt will increase the surface area that’s exposed to the air, facilitating carbon uptake from the atmosphere, and cold Arctic waters can store more carbon dioxide (CO2) than warmer waters.
“Viruses that jump from animals to people, like the one responsible for COVID-19, will likely become more common as people continue to transform natural habitats into agricultural land, according to a new Stanford study.”
“Coral bleaching is sweeping across the Great Barrier Reef for a third time in five years.
“Bleaching has struck all three regions of the world’s largest coral reef system for the first time. What has occurred in recent weeks is also more widespread than ever before, marine scientists say.”
“The Arctic Ocean increasingly resembles the Atlantic in its temperature and the species that live there.
“However, scientists from the CNRS and Université Laval, Quebec, showed that an unprecedented strengthening of Atlantic currents is playing a major role in this phenomenon called “Atlantification.””
“New Democrats say the COVID-19 pandemic is distracting the federal and provincial governments from helping a northern-Ontario First Nation whose residents have been forced to evacuate each spring due to flooding.
“The spring evacuation has become an annual event for the roughly 2,000 residents of Kashechewan…”
“Officials in Michigan are warning that attempts to curb the coronavirus pandemic could have serious consequences for relief and repairs during what is expected to be another tumultuous spring flooding season.
“High water levels are expected to cause severe flooding, shoreline erosion, and road and infrastructure damage even worse than was seen last year…”
“With historically low river flows and reservoirs running dry due to drought, people in central Chile have found themselves particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Years of resource exploitation and lax legislation have allowed most reservoirs in that part of the country to run dry.”
“Extreme rainfall has become increasingly common in metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil….
“”Intense rainstorms lasting a few hours with huge amounts of water, as much as 80 mm or 100 mm, are no longer sporadic events. They’re happening more and more frequently,” José Antonio Marengo, a senior researcher at CEMADEN and principal investigator for the study, told.”
“Tanzania Meteorological Agency shared forecast shows that there will be increased rainfall between March and May 2020 during the long rain season and this will worsen the already bad situation in the region and beyond.
“The situation may worsen from the effects of category 2 tropical cyclone named Herold that has been reported in northeast of Madagascar.”
“Northern parts of Zambia received the highest rainfall in recorded history of above 2,000 millimetres (mm) in the 2019/2020 rainy season.
“Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD) acting director Edson Nkonde says data shows that most places in the northern region had rainfall exceeding the 1,300mm average…”
“With communities [in Papua New Guinea] still grappling with the hardships of the two-month state of emergency (SOE) due to Covid-19, more than 60,000 Gulf people have lost their homes and gardens to flooding making living a nightmare.
“This happens as the province prepares to put in measures for its Covid-19 response plan.”
“Emergency teams in Ukraine on Monday continued battling a forest fire in the contaminated area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that has raised radiation fears…
“Two blazes erupted Saturday in the zone around Chernobyl that was sealed after the 1986 explosion at the plant.”
“The average level of methane in the atmosphere increased last year by the highest amount in five years, according to preliminary data released Sunday.”
“After Earth experienced its second-hottest year in 140 years of record-keeping in 2019, the first few months of this year have either broken historic monthly records, or come close.
“January 2020 was the warmest January on record. February 2020 was the second hottest such month on record.
“And on Monday, the European Union’s climate monitoring agency EU Copernicus reported that March 2020 was “on par” with the second and third warmest Marches on record. “
“A category five cyclone has made landfall on the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, causing damage across large parts of the country, as it tries to prepare for the coronavirus outbreak.
“Cyclone Harold made landfall on the north and west of the country on Monday, after spending Sunday sitting off the country’s west coast, gathering strength.
“he Vanuatu meteorology and geo-hazards department warned that hurricane force winds, reaching up to 235km/h [146mph] were expected across parts of the country on Monday, as well as heavy rainfalls, flash flooding and “very rough to phenomenal seas”.
“Images coming through from Vanuatu early on Monday morning showed properties flattened in the country’s second-largest city of Luganville.”
“Statistics released by the Japan Meteorological Agency show that the mean temperature deviation in Japan in 2019 was 0.92 degrees higher than normal (based on the average value for 1981-2010)
“…and represented the highest increase since data started being recorded in 1898.”
“The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is offering help to the families of three forest firefighters who died while trying to contain wildfires in Chiang Mai province [Thailand] and seriously taking legal action on anyone setting forestland ablaze.”
[Thailand experiencing its worst drought in decades].
“Ukraine has reported a spike in radiation levels in the restricted zone around Chernobyl, scene of the world’s worst nuclear accident, caused by a forest fire.
““There is bad news – radiation is above normal in the fire’s centre,” Yegor Firsov, head of Ukraine’s state ecological inspection service, said on Facebook on Sunday.”
“With historically low river flows and reservoirs running dry due to drought, people in central Chile have found themselves particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Years of resource exploitation and lax legislation have allowed most reservoirs in that part of the country to run dry.”
“First responders are preparing for raging wildfires that they expect will consume thousand of acres and drive some residents from their homes in upcoming months [in the US].
“But this year, preparations have stalled. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the country’s already strained emergency services…”
“Record heat and dry conditions are “likely” to blame after a massive brush fire destroyed more than 3,500 rental cars at a southwestern Florida airport Friday.
“Plumes of black smoke could be seen up to 32 kilometres away from the blaze…”
“Emergency managers train for handling multiple disasters simultaneously, but no one predicted a months-long, resource-sapping pandemic just ahead of hurricane season.”
“After numerous temperature records were smashed across the [US] South in late March, another building ridge of high pressure will usher in well above-average temperatures across the region once again this week.
“New Orleans experienced a seven-day streak of record-high temperatures from the 23rd to the 29th of March, with record-challenging temperatures continuing on the 30th and 31st.”
“Millions of Midwesterners could be potentially hurt by the intersection of two cataclysmic events: COVID-19 and climate change.
“In recent years, floods have become both more common and longer in duration due to factors related to climate change. But with the floods that are predicted to come this spring — bringing the need for manpower and disaster relief — there is growing concern that much of those resources will have been diverted to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Drought, fires and land clearing have pushed Australia’s iconic koala to the brink of extinction, animal welfare groups warned on Sunday, with last year’s bush fires killing thousands of the animals.
“The groups are urging Australia’s national government to classify the marsupial as “endangered” in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory…”
“Global warming has set off a cascade of disruptions to the web of life, changing animals’ breeding habits, food supply, and their very DNA.
“They are in distress not only from climate instability but also from the loss of habitat and pollution produced by unchecked human consumption. In the past century, species have been wiped out at a pace 100 times greater than the natural rate of extinction, and as many as 1 million species are at risk of going extinct in the coming decades…”
“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.
“Over the weekend, the island nation of Cuba set its hottest all-time temperature on record, according to the nation’s official meteorological agency.
“…the heat wave will continue in the Yucatan Peninsula [Mexico] and the states of the northeast, west, center, east, south and southeast of the country, so temperatures above 45 degrees [113f] are estimated. in Campeche, Tabasco and Yucatan areas.”
“Miami’s low temperature on Monday was 80 degrees. This was an all-time record-warm low for the month of April. 
“In the Everglades, it’s all about the water.
“The Joshua trees that are among the most distinctive features of Californian deserts face extinction because of drought, fires and human development, officials have warned… 
“Stunned residents across the South and East [US] continued to pick up the pieces Tuesday after tornadoes and storms cut a ferocious two-day trail of destruction, upending lives for thousands already grappling with a public health crisis… 
“NOAA’s flood outlook finds that areas home to 128 million people – or nearly 40 percent of the US population – are at some risk of seasonal flooding this spring. 
“Although we are now in mid-April, it looks like Mother Nature hasn’t gotten the spring memo. 
“There has been an extraordinary about-turn this spring as the [UK] weather flipped from floods to drought. 
“Locusts have become more adept at beating measures meant to eliminate them, scientists have warned. 
“Heavy rain has flooded the streets of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa…
“The epicentere of Iran’s coronavirus crisis is now besieged by floods, with many vehicles swept away and many factories and stores filled with muddy water. 
“[Thailand’s] Office of the National Water Resources says up to 6,255 villages in 24 provinces have already been declared as drought-affected areas, while national dams and reservoirs are only at an average of 49% capacity (only 26% of that water is usable.) 
“China’s Mekong River dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in downstream countries last year despite China having higher-than-average water levels upstream, a US research company said in a study.
“Weather officials in Japan say the country had an abnormally warm winter this year, with a record-high national average temperature and record-low snowfalls in some areas. 
“Tens of thousands of people remain homeless in Vanuatu a week after Tropical Cyclone Harold pummelled the impoverished Pacific nation, smashing houses and destroying crops, aid workers said Tuesday. 
“Mandatory water restrictions edge closer in Auckland [NZ], as reservoirs are on the brink of tipping below the half-full mark… 
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“With the coronavirus having taken center-stage around the world, it’s easy to forget the countless other crises impacting many people. 
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“Police have praised West Australian beachgoers for respecting physical distancing rules as Perth sweltered through its hottest April day on record. 
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“Mexico’s National Meteorological Service predicts that in the coming days, temperatures could exceed 45C / 113F in parts of Yucatan, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Campeche. A high pressure system at medium levels of the atmosphere isn’t going anywhere soon, forecasters predict.
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“Satellite observations measuring plant growth with the normalized difference vegetation index found cities surrounded by rings of abnormally verdant vegetation 2 to 3 times larger than the city itself. 
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“…despite the potential short-term dip in emissions, there is a risk that the pandemic — which is likely to dominate debate for months or even years to come — will overshadow environmental concerns. 
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