“A new maximum temperature for December in the UK has been confirmed. Data suggested a temperature of 18.7C was reached at Achfary, in the Scottish Highlands, on 28 December.
“The Met Office has now verified it was the hottest day of the month on record in Britain.”
“Rare 28,000-year-old archaeological finds excavated from rapidly thawing ground in Siberia are to go on display for the first time at the British Museum…
“Jago Cooper, the head of the Americas collections at the museum, said the archeological site in north-east Siberia was a remarkable treasure trove, but it is also a tragedy because the objects are only now emerging due to the climate emergency.”
“All-time January records for precipitation are in jeopardy for parts of Ontario this weekend as a mess of a storm threatens significant rain, ice and snow.
“Parts of Ontario are set to get more rain from a single incoming system than their entire January average, starting Friday night.”
“A powerful storm system set to affect much of the country [USA} this weekend could be a triple threat, with the possibility of severe storms and tornadoes, ice and snow, and flooding.
“Millions of people in the eastern half of the United States — in the southeast, Midwest, Great Lakes Region and the Northeast — could feel the effects…”
““Five years of recurring droughts have destroyed maize and bean harvests, leaving poor subsistence farmers in the so-called Dry Corridor that runs through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua struggling to feed their families.”
“Farther south, central Chile is in the midst of what scientists have labeled a “Mega Drought,” an uninterrupted period of dry years since 2010.”
“The office of Defense civil of Bolivia declared alert orange in four of the nine departments of the country, the risk of an increase of floods and other disasters…
“…that have already left the least two dead and one missing since early year.”
“Rainfall in 2019 was the lowest ever on record, for Kaitaia, Puhipuhi, Ngunguru, Whangārei and Brynderwyn [New Zealand], and very low rainfall was widespread elsewhere, the Northland Regional Council says.
“The lack of rain comes on the heels of a string of dry years, the council’s regulatory services group manager Colin Dall says.”
“A series of weather maps have revealed how temperatures in Australia have skyrocketed over the last 110 years – after the country experienced its driest and hottest year on record.
“The graphic, produced by the Bureau of Meteorology, illustrates how far above or below average annual mean temperatures were each year from 1910 to 2019.”
“Australia urged nearly a quarter of a million people to evacuate their homes on Friday and prepared military backup as authorities said the next few hours could be “very, very challenging” even as rain poured down in some parts.
“Defense personnel stood ready to move to bushfire grounds if conditions became extreme…”
“Scenes out of Australia’s raging bushfires continue to be devastating. But as frightening as they are, it might be even more terrifying to realize that photos of red skies and the charred bodies of animals are only displaying a small fraction of the true loss of life in the region…
“Insects are essential for processing waste, for pollination, as nutrition for other species, and for myriad ecological functions. Global insect populations are already under sustained existential threat…“
“Shrubs and grasses are springing up around Mount Everest and across the Himalayas, one of the most rapidly heating regions of the planet.
“The impact on water supplies of the small but significant increase in vegetation between the treeline and snowline is not yet known but could increase flooding in the vast Hindu Kush Himalayan region…”
“Climate change is causing most glaciers worldwide to shrink, but due to a meteorological anomaly this is one of a few in the Karakoram mountain range in northern Pakistan that are surging.
“This means hundreds of tonnes of ice and debris are pushing down the valley at ten times the normal rate or more, threatening the safety of the people and homes below.”
“While many Israelis were doing their best to avoid having to go outside during the recent rains which have flooded large parts of the country. some enterprising citizens saw the record breaking precipitation as a once in a lifetime chance to surf the streets.
“Recent torrential downpours in northern Israel have broken a 50-year record of rainfall…“
“President Cyril Ramaphosa must take drastic steps to cope with a worsening drought that has gripped large parts of [South Africa]. It is estimated that over 37 percent of rural communities in South Africa are affected by the drought.
“A recent study by farmer association Agri SA shows that at the beginning of last year around 30,000 farm workers had already lost their jobs due to the drought.”
“Torrential rain in Angola has killed 41 people and caused widespread destruction, the government said on Thursday. Twelve out of 18 provinces were hit by a violent downpour which began in the early hours of Monday and lasted late into the afternoon…
“The rain comes on the heels of a severe regional drought caused by years of erratic rainfall and record-high temperatures.“
“The absence of sea ice in the Arctic is closely connected to the melting of permafrost, according to a new study. Permafrost contains massive amounts of carbon which are likely to be released as climate change heats up the world.
“When this carbon enters the atmosphere as CO2 and methane gas, it will itself contribute to warming the globe. But scientists have now found a historical link between sea ice in the Arctic and the presence or absence of permafrost.
“They say the expected disappearance of Arctic summer ice will speed up the loss of this permanently frozen ground.”
“Economically, Greenland has some of the largest deposits of so called rare earth metals, such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium…
“Climate change and specifically warmer temperatures mean that it might become easier to both mine those metals and navigate through the surrounding Arctic Ocean…”
“Unusually mild weather in Finland left the southern part of the Nordic nation with a surprising absence of snow Wednesday and an unusual delay in the start of “thermal winter,” meteorologists said…
“The Baltic Sea has frozen only in parts of the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden, the sea’s northernmost arm.”
“The Swedish town of Örebro recorded the highest January temperature it had seen since 1858 on Wednesday…
“Sweden has also had an unusually mild winter, which has led to a lack of snow in many parts of the country. Instead, rain and cloud cover have made the season feel darker than normal so far…”
“Last year was the hottest year in Hungary since 1901, the weather service said, with the national daily mean temperature averaging 12.9 °C, state news wire MTI reports…
“Of the 10 hottest years, eight have been recorded since 2000 in Hungary, where warming has been slightly above the global average…”
“Heavy rainfalls over the past few months have done more than unleash devastating floods [UK].
“A landslide caused by heavy rain left three caravan holiday homes teetering on the brink of a cliff at Trimingham, near Cromer on Monday… And over the past six months there have been six landslides on railway lines across Kent and East Sussex.”
“According to senior engineer at the WDD Marios Hadjicostis this is the first time that water reserves have been so high in January [Cyprus], forcing dam after dam to overflow.
“This is down to a combination of factors: the heavy rainfall this year, but also the existing high water levels at the start of the rainy season in October.”
“Harsh winter has arrived in full force across Turkey this week with no improvements to the bad weather expected until at least Friday in most regions.
“A mix of storms, strong winds, rain and snow took its toll on daily life from the western to the southern regions. In the Mediterranean province of Mersin, two people were killed in floods and landslides.”
“One person was found dead as heavy rainfall caused major floods throughout Israel on Wednesday, while the country braces for a second severe storm within a week…
“Heavy rain will continue to fall in Israel’s north and center throughout the day, accompanied by thunderstorms. Rain is also expected to fall in the northern Negev area, with authorities warning of the region being flooded.”
“Last year was Australia’s hottest, driest year ever, according to the annual climate statement of the national Bureau of Meteorology. The conditions have intensified the current wildfires, which are the worst on record.
“The average daytime maximum temperature across Australia in 2019 was 30.7°C , the highest since records began in 1910 and 2.1°C above the usual average.”
“Residents in the path of bushfires that have ravaged southeastern Australia since September were urged to evacuate again on Thursday as hot and windy conditions threatened to regenerate huge bushfires…
“The unprecedented fire crisis in southeast Australia that has claimed at least 26 lives since September…”
“The United States experienced another year of extreme weather in 2019, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual U.S. climate assessment.
“While cold extremes and unusually heavy rains hit the central U.S., heat swelled across the Southeast and it was the warmest year on record in Alaska.”
“Brutal winter weather is about to hit Montana with snow and record cold, rivaling last winter’s historic stretch. There still are a few days until the dangerous cold arrives here in Big Sky Country.
“Thursday will be a little taste of what’s to come as modified arctic air pushes into northern Montana where highs will be in the 0s and 10s. “
“Some major warmth will be building across the Eastern U.S. for the weekend and some areas could end up tying or breaking records.
“This is all due to a large trough building acr`oss the Western U.S. allowing for warm air to push North across the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and New England regions.”
“The last five years on Earth have been hotter than at any time since the industrial revolution kicked off almost two centuries ago.
“That’s the conclusion of Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which published data on Wednesday showing that global average temperatures since 2015 were some 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than when steam engines began powering industry.”
“2019 was the second hottest year on record and ended the hottest decade in history, the European Union’s climate monitoring service said Wednesday.
“Data released by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) showed that worldwide temperatures last year were second only to 2016, in which temperatures were boosted 0.12 degrees Celsius by an exceptionally strong El Nino natural weather event.
“The average temperature in 2019 was only a few hundredths of a degree below the 2016 level…
“The controversial Mose flood barrier system “will be able to function” in emergency situations within six months, Venice city mayor Luigi Brugnaro told local media on Tuesday.
“The record floods the city suffered in November revived residents’ anger over the fact that the long-delayed, scandal-hit project is still not up and running.”
“From the Norwegian fjords to Russian cities, record warm temperatures with less snow and rain have left the far north of Europe still waiting for the Arctic winter.
“Sunndalsora, a small town in western Norway, registered 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) last Thursday, a temperature never seen before in the Nordic country at this time of year.”
“The Norwegian Meteorological Institute puts the story in context.
““Tromsø has lost 17 winter days compared with the last 30 years,” the study presented at the seminar Climate Status 2020 tells. A video of the presentation is posted (in Norwegian).”
“Grilling and golfing aren’t normal holiday traditions for residents across the state [Illinois], but the spike in temperatures and lack of precipitation late last month made outdoor conditions unusually hospitable.
“Weather analysts called December 2019 one of the warmest and driest months that the state has seen…”
“In their assessment, they propose that the behavior of 2019 further demonstrates the tendency towards an increase in temperature in Cuba, since the decade that just ended was the warmest since records began.
“Thirty-three absolute maximum temperature records were reported, the most notable being the 39.1 degrees Celsius record of Veguitas, in the eastern province of Granma.”
“Kiwis have been shocked in recent weeks to discover their pristine glaciers turning pink, with apocalyptic orange skies covering New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland.
“So much so that police have been deluged with emergency calls asking what is going on…”
“Several Australian animals could be pushed to the brink of extinction by the current bushfire crisis, including critters you probably haven’t heard of before.
“Australia could lose multiple species as a direct result of the fires — and even after the flames die down, loss of habitat and food will be an ongoing issue.”
“Victoria police say there is no evidence any of the devastating bushfires in the state were caused by arson, contrary to the spread of global disinformation exaggerating arsonist arrests during the current crisis.
“A misleading figure suggesting 183 arsonists have been arrested “since the start of the bushfire season” spread across the globe on Wednesday…”
“More than 3000 people in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea could soon be starving after a freak hail storm destroyed their food gardens on Christmas day. Western Highlands provincial disaster manager Robin Yakumb said the unseasonal 45 minute storm battered an area close to the city of Mt Hagen.
“”We have frosts but this was very strange,” he said.”
“Japan’s haul of saury in 2019 reached a record low of 40,517 metric tons, 66% less than in the previous year, a national fisheries cooperative announced on Jan. 7… it’s thought that saury, which prefer cold water, avoided seas near Japan due to higher water temperatures in the region.”
“Some residents of Bangkok can literally taste the risk of a potentially damaging drought in Thailand…
“Tap water has turned saltier in parts of the city, a development blamed on the Chao Phraya river becoming too low to keep tidal seawater out. The saline intrusion is just one sign of dry conditions pointing to what the Thai Meteorological Department expects to be the worst drought in four decades.”
“Hong Kong’s political climate wasn’t the only thing boiling over last year: 2019 was the city’s hottest year ever, setting no fewer than 30 separate records for high temperature events, the Hong Kong Observatory announced today…
“Every month, with the exception of May, saw anomalously high temperatures.”
“Bangladesh is one of dozens of countries on the frontline of the climate emergency. Here global heating is no theoretical calamity of the future, but a very real, present danger.
“By 2050, it is predicted that one in seven people in the country will be displaced by climate breakdown.”
“Zimbabwe’s economy is likely to shrink by 13% in 2020, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has predicted, as the southern African country faces a third consecutive year of drought…
“The prediction will further compound Zimbabwe’s woes. The country is facing severe cash, fuel, medicine and power shortages.”
“The increased freshwater from melting Antarctic ice sheets plus increased wind has reduced the amount of oxygen in the Southern Ocean and made it more acidic and warmer, according to new research led by University of Arizona geoscientists…
““We underestimated how much influence that added freshwater and wind would have.””
“The rate of Thwaites’s disintegration has alarmed scientists for good reason. In a handful of decades it could retreat to the point that collapse becomes inevitable and irreversible.
“That would lock us into a future sea level rise of far more than half a metre or so.”
“Last winter was the warmest in Ireland since records began 119 years ago, Met Éireann has revealed.
“The months of December 2018 and January and February last year were 2.2 degrees above the seasonal average.
“The extraordinary mildness of last winter was evidenced by the presence of painted lady butterflies on New Year’s Day in Co Cork – they are supposed to be a species only ever seen in Ireland in summer time.
“In the same month, Irish Times readers sent us photographs of roses in bloom and cherry trees blossoming.”
“The 2020s is shaping up to be the decade of climate change impact, and Israel began it with a bang – of thunder…
“Forecasters had predicted the stormy weekend and, as usual, warned Israelis to avoid trekking through riverbeds. But Tel Avivians hadn’t expected anything of such dramatic magnitude.”
“Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector, hard hit by drought, is facing another significant risk as dam levels recede due to the high temperatures.
“The country, which is facing serious food shortages, has had a poor rainfall season and was hoping to turn to irrigated crop to mitigate the impact of the drought…”
“A severe drought is threatening South Africa’s wildlife industry, with game farmers keeping fewer animals and tourists visiting game lodges in smaller numbers.
“Parts of the country have been affected by consecutive years of abnormally hot weather and below average rainfall that have scorched grazing lands and dried up watering holes since 2015, the driest year on record.”
“The last decade was India’s hottest on record with the national weather office calling the impact of global warming “unmistakable” and extreme weather killing more than 1,500 people last year.
“India, home to 1.3 billion people, is at the forefront of climate change suffering devastating floods, dire water shortages and baking temperatures.”
“Shanghai’s daytime temperature broke an 80-year record, becoming the warmest day of xiaohan since the previous record of 21 degrees Celsius on Jan. 6, 1940…
““With global warming, warm winters are becoming increasingly common,” Wu Rui, chief service officer at the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, told Sixth Tone.
““Many places, such as in Hangzhou and the Yangtze River Delta, have experienced record-breaking warm temperatures this winter.””
“Residents and visitors to Jeju Island [Korea] witnessed the warmest January weather on Tuesday, with the daily low on the southern resort island rising to an all-time high of 18.5 C, a weather agency said.
“According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, some regions on the nation’s southern coast also reported their highest daily low temperatures for January amid an extended spell of unseasonably warm weather gripping the Korean Peninsula.”
“Parts of New Zealand experienced their warmest year on record in 2019, with some records going back more than a 150 years.
“University of Tasmania research associate and former NIWA climate scientist Jim Salinger, said warmer years were becoming more frequent as the Earth continued to experience the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Bushfire season has begun in New Zealand with hundreds of hectares of forest going up in flames at half a dozen separate blazes on the east coast of the North Island.
“Seven helicopters and two planes are working to combat the largest blaze, in the Waipatiki forest outside of Napier…”
“A record-breaking area of land has been burned in New South Wales this bushfire season, according to the latest figures released by the Rural Fire Service.
“A total of 4.9m hectares – an area larger than Denmark – has been destroyed in the state during the nationwide fire crisis.”
“Climate changecan increase the chances that areas prone to wildfires see both record high temperatures and drought simultaneously, creating the potential to ”supercharge” the wildfires in Australia after 2019’s record-high temperatures, climate experts say.”
“Humans have seldom if ever seen fires like these, but we do know that wildfires have driven mass extinctions and reshaped life on Earth at least once before – when the asteroid strike that led to the demise of the dinosaurs sparked deadly global firestorms.”
“Feral camels in South Australia will be killed to stop the animals drinking water in the drought-ravaged region.
“More than 10,000 camels will be culled by professional shooters in helicopters from Wednesday after an order from Aboriginal leaders in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands.”
“Fears that Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state could experience a corn crop failure after a prolonged period of dry weather have provided support to the country’s already high domestic prices, and prompting some market participants to anticipate a cut to production forecasts.”
“Aboard the Icebreaker Oden, a Swedish vessel on an Artic expedition, a multidisciplinary group of scientists, filmmakers and students, including three City College of New York undergraduates, made a dismaying discovery in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
“Microplastics, a lot of them,” said Krystian Kopka, junior in CCNY’s Grove School of Engineering.”
“The climate changes we humans have inflicted on the planet are now so deeply embedded, they are showing up in our daily weather.
“Researchers from Switzerland and Norway now claim to have detected the “fingerprint” of climate change in every single day of weather in the global record since 2012.”
“Parts of central Israel saw record rainfall, with massive downpours flooding streets and swelling rivers. According to Ynet, 71 millimeters (almost 3 inches) of rain fell in Tel Aviv over the course of a two-hour period…
“Safed’s 126 mm (5 inches) of precipitation was the most in one day since record keeping began in 1939.”
“A tornado was reported in the Mpumalanga town of Panbult [South Africa], between Ermelo and Piet Retief, on Friday evening… This follows reports of three separate tornados across South Africa in November.”
“Facing catastrophic hunger, Zimbabwe will import corn from Mexico, Ukraine and neighbouring South Africa to help feed as many as eight million of its citizens — over half the population
…after drought withered crops last year and threatens to do the same in 2020.”
“North India including Delhi recorded the coldest December day in last 119 years since the year 1901 when record-keeping began. Delhi also witnessed cold wave conditions as the minimum temperature settled at 2.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal.
“Three days ago, the national capital experienced its coldest day in December in 119 years with the day temperature recording 9.4 degrees Celsius.”
“Thailand’s Office of the National Water Resources is warning that water stored in the country’s large and medium size dams is now dropping to the minimum useable level, urging measures from local agencies to ease the impact on the public.
“This warning goes out with another three months of dry season hanging over Thailand’s head.”
“Psephurus gladius, a Chinese paddlefish living in the Yangtze River, was declared extinct, according to a paper from Chinese experts at the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute…
“It represents another animal declared extinct in the Yangtze River in recent years. The baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin, a type of freshwater dolphin, and reeves shad were both classified as functionally extinct.”
“The death toll from flooding in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta has risen to 66, authorities say, with two people still missing after the megalopolis was hit by some of the most powerful monsoon rains seen in years.
“Jakarta and its surrounding areas have been pounded by torrential downpours since New Year’s Eve, causing flooding and landslides that forced thousands to flee their homes.”
“Western Australia’s first tropical cyclone of the summer has developed off the northern coast with heavy rain and strong winds to batter the Kimberley region… It could also intensify into a category two storm.”
“The fires have swept through major dairy areas along the New South Wales south coast, where many producers have faced a three-year drought, and East Gippsland in Victoria.
“Bushfire-affected regions account for about a third of the country’s milk output, data from industry group Dairy Australia shows.“
“Sydney’s West was the hottest place on Earth today [Saturday] as temperatures soared to a sweltering 48.9C as the state is ravaged by devastating bushfires.
“Penrith hit the scorching temperature around 3pm on Saturday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.”
“The department responsible for coordinating Australia’s response to disasters and emergency management has closed its doors [in Canberra] due to poor air quality…
“The capital’s air quality was the worst of any major city in the world on Monday morning, as winds carried in smoke from bushfires in NSW.”
“Parts of the state [of South Australia] – including Adelaide – could weather some of its coldest January days, according to the Weather Bureau. Today areas like Adelaide, Clare, Woomera and Coober Pedy will break the record for the coldest high temperatures in January as a cloud band slowly moves over SA.”
“After record-breaking rains ruined upper Midwest wheat harvests, drought now threatens the nation’s grain growing farther south.
“Lack of rain during the fall left farmers in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas — where the majority of the nation’s winter wheat is grown — struggling to get their plants to grow.”
“…in the small town of Sunndalsøra on the Tinngvollfjord… the temperature reached 19C (66.2F) last week, smashing the previous Norwegian record for January.
“The Norwegian Meteorological Institute confirmed the record. Meteorologist Martin Granerød said the temperature was equivalent to a warm summer’s day in northern Norway.”
“Two different species of Arctic seals have been found on Irish beaches in recent days. Seal Rescue Ireland has shared pictures and videos of the two seals, which commonly wouldn’t be found in Ireland.
“The first hooded seal, also known as cystophora cristata, was discovered on a Beach in Cork on Thursday, which is ‘very rare’.”
“‘In terms of more local effects, there are a number of hazards relating to glaciers and thawing permafrost that we expect to increase.
“For instance, if glaciers retreat they leave steep mountain flanks uncovered so there is debris and rocks that are set to destabilise. So, we expect more rockfalls or debris flows from such areas.””
“Residents of Moscow are wondering where winter has gone as the highest December temperatures for 133 years deprive the Russian capital of its customary covering of snow.
“This is not our winter,” said pensioner Ludmila Biryukova. “It came from somewhere else.”
“it’s not just people who have been surprised. At Moscow State University’s Apothecary Garden, snowdrops and rhododendron are among flowers that have mistaken the soft soil for the early onset of spring.”
“Norway made an outspoken right-wing lawmaker who once called wind turbines “white monsters” its oil and energy minister on Wednesday, as the government debates updating rules for petroleum industry activity in its Arctic waters.”
“British peaches will hit market stalls for the first time next year because climate change has extended the growing season…
“…climate change has slowly increased the vital window of sunshine for ripening and the fruits, originally from the sun-drenched Mediterranean, need a long period of fine weather to grow.”
“Next year is likely to be another of the hottest on record, with global temperatures forecast to be more than 1.1C above the pre-industrial average, according to estimates from the UK Met Office.
“The forecast for 2020 is based on observations of trends over recent years…”
“Until recently, researchers thought that glacial surges were routine events, independent of the climate change effects that are melting glaciers around the world…
“But events in recent years… are challenging the view that ice streams are unrelated to these surges, and that the surges aren’t primarily climate-driven, the researchers wrote.”
“Once again, from coast to coast to coast, 2019 proved to be another record weather year for Canada. Here are the top 10 weather events for Canada in 2019… Another record-setting Ottawa River flood…
“Record heat continues in Arctic… In mid-July the Canadian Forces Station in Alert, Nunavut, recorded a searing temperature of 21 C — 14 C warmer than average.
“And on Aug. 10, there were several lightning strikes within 500 km of the North Pole, a true rarity indeed.”
“Namibia’s electricity generation has dropped to below 40% of its capacity as the worst drought in almost a century has hit the country’s own hydropower plant and others in the region reliant on water from dams and rivers.
“The drought, plus power blackouts at South Africa power company Eskom, on which Namibia relies for 70% of its energy requirements, has put the security of the country’s electricity supply at risk.”
““If the rains don’t come we will suffer,” she said simply. “There is nothing more we can do – we need help.”
“Drought and an economic meltdown have combined to push Zimbabwe to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe, aid workers warn, with levels of hunger rarely seen outside of war zones. By early next year, some eight million people – half the population – will be short of food.”
“Another season of erratic weather has crippled Pakistan’s already ailing cotton sector, resulting in lost revenue and jobs that could cost the economy more than $3 billion by the end of the fiscal year in June 2020, industry experts have warned.
“Heavy rains and high temperatures during the whole of the cotton-growing season from April to September severely damaged the crop.”
“An increase in the number of floods, landslides and tornadoes across Indonesia this year has forced the National Disaster Mitigation Agency to prepare a better disaster mitigation system as the rising trend is predicted to continue next year.
“The agency recorded over 2,700 hydrological disasters, including floods, landslides and tornadoes, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 16, 2019, an increase from about 2,500 incidents last year.”
“Australia recorded its hottest day on record on Wednesday, with an average maximum temperature of 41.9C (107.4F), beating the previous record by 1C that had been set only 24 hours earlier.
“Tuesday 16 December recorded an average of 40.9C across the continent, beating the previous record of 40.3C set on 7 January 2013. But it held the record for just 24 hours.”
“A day after Australia recorded its hottest day on record, thick smoke blanketed the harbour city, shrouded the Opera House and brought many outdoor activities to a halt.
“The state of emergency declaration gave firefighters broad powers to control government resources, force evacuations, close roads and shut down utilities across New South Wales…”
“Well before the current spate of bushfires started ravaging eastern Australia, they were already dying in droves.
“Lachlan Gall has seen “several thousand” kangaroo corpses splayed under trees or bogged in the mud of dried-out reservoirs on his 54,000 hectares (134,000 acres) in outback New South Wales.”
“As Australia endures another heatwave, chronic water shortages are endangering life-saving kidney treatment for hundreds of Aboriginal people in remote desert communities.
“The dialysis machines they depend on need cold water, and lots of it.”
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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 new maximum temperature for December in the UK has been confirmed. Data suggested a temperature of 18.7C was reached at Achfary, in the Scottish Highlands, on 28 December.
“Rare 28,000-year-old archaeological finds excavated from rapidly thawing ground in Siberia are to go on display for the first time at the British Museum… 
“All-time January records for precipitation are in jeopardy for parts of Ontario this weekend as a mess of a storm threatens significant rain, ice and snow. 
“It might feel like freezing midwinter now but, weirdly, spring is just around the corner [New York]. 
“If you think temperatures have been feeling warmer in the last 10 years, you wouldn’t be off base. 
“A powerful storm system set to affect much of the country [USA} this weekend could be a triple threat, with the possibility of severe storms and tornadoes, ice and snow, and flooding. 
““Five years of recurring droughts have destroyed maize and bean harvests, leaving poor subsistence farmers in the so-called Dry Corridor that runs through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua struggling to feed their families.”
“The office of Defense civil of Bolivia declared alert orange in four of the nine departments of the country, the risk of an increase of floods and other disasters…
“Rainfall in 2019 was the lowest ever on record, for Kaitaia, Puhipuhi, Ngunguru, Whangārei and Brynderwyn [New Zealand], and very low rainfall was widespread elsewhere, the Northland Regional Council says. 
“A series of weather maps have revealed how temperatures in Australia have skyrocketed over the last 110 years – after the country experienced its driest and hottest year on record. 
“Australia urged nearly a quarter of a million people to evacuate their homes on Friday and prepared military backup as authorities said the next few hours could be “very, very challenging” even as rain poured down in some parts. 
“Scenes out of Australia’s raging bushfires continue to be devastating. But as frightening as they are, it might be even more terrifying to realize that photos of red skies and the charred bodies of animals are only displaying a small fraction of the true loss of life in the region…
“Today the natural springs and aquifers of the area are dwindling—so residents must save what they can, when they can, and by whatever means they can. 
“Shrubs and grasses are springing up around Mount Everest and across the Himalayas, one of the most rapidly heating regions of the planet. 
“Climate change is causing most glaciers worldwide to shrink, but due to a meteorological anomaly this is one of a few in the Karakoram mountain range in northern Pakistan that are surging. 
“While many Israelis were doing their best to avoid having to go outside during the recent rains which have flooded large parts of the country. some enterprising citizens saw the record breaking precipitation as a once in a lifetime chance to surf the streets.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa must take drastic steps to cope with a worsening drought that has gripped large parts of [South Africa]. It is estimated that over 37 percent of rural communities in South Africa are affected by the drought. 
“Torrential rain in Angola has killed 41 people and caused widespread destruction, the government said on Thursday. Twelve out of 18 provinces were hit by a violent downpour which began in the early hours of Monday and lasted late into the afternoon… 
“The absence of sea ice in the Arctic is closely connected to the melting of permafrost, according to a new study. 
“Economically, Greenland has some of the largest deposits of so called rare earth metals, such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium… 
“Unusually mild weather in Finland left the southern part of the Nordic nation with a surprising absence of snow Wednesday and an unusual delay in the start of “thermal winter,” meteorologists said… 
“The Swedish town of Örebro recorded the highest January temperature it had seen since 1858 on Wednesday… 
“Last year was the hottest year in Hungary since 1901, the weather service said, with the national daily mean temperature averaging 12.9 °C, state news wire MTI reports… 
“Heavy rainfalls over the past few months have done more than unleash devastating floods [UK]. 
“According to senior engineer at the WDD Marios Hadjicostis this is the first time that water reserves have been so high in January [Cyprus], forcing dam after dam to overflow. 
“Harsh winter has arrived in full force across Turkey this week with no improvements to the bad weather expected until at least Friday in most regions. 
“One person was found dead as heavy rainfall caused major floods throughout Israel on Wednesday, while the country braces for a second severe storm within a week… 
“Last year was Australia’s hottest, driest year ever, according to the annual climate statement of the national Bureau of Meteorology. The conditions have intensified the current wildfires, which are the worst on record.
“Residents in the path of bushfires that have ravaged southeastern Australia since September were urged to evacuate again on Thursday as hot and windy conditions threatened to regenerate huge bushfires… 
“The United States experienced another year of extreme weather in 2019, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual U.S. climate assessment. 
“Brutal winter weather is about to hit Montana with snow and record cold, rivaling last winter’s historic stretch. There still are a few days until the dangerous cold arrives here in Big Sky Country. 
“Some major warmth will be building across the Eastern U.S. for the weekend and some areas could end up tying or breaking records. 
“The last five years on Earth have been hotter than at any time since the industrial revolution kicked off almost two centuries ago.
“2019 was the second hottest year on record and ended the hottest decade in history, the European Union’s climate monitoring service said Wednesday.
“The decade that ended last week was the hottest on record in Italy, an expert said on Tuesday… 
“The controversial Mose flood barrier system “will be able to function” in emergency situations within six months, Venice city mayor Luigi Brugnaro told local media on Tuesday. 
“From the Norwegian fjords to Russian cities, record warm temperatures with less snow and rain have left the far north of Europe still waiting for the Arctic winter. 
“The Norwegian Meteorological Institute puts the story in context.
“Grilling and golfing aren’t normal holiday traditions for residents across the state [Illinois], but the spike in temperatures and lack of precipitation late last month made outdoor conditions unusually hospitable. 
“In their assessment, they propose that the behavior of 2019 further demonstrates the tendency towards an increase in temperature in Cuba, since the decade that just ended was the warmest since records began. 
“Kiwis have been shocked in recent weeks to discover their pristine glaciers turning pink, with apocalyptic orange skies covering New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland. 
“Several Australian animals could be pushed to the brink of extinction by the current bushfire crisis, including critters you probably haven’t heard of before. 
“Victoria police say there is no evidence any of the devastating bushfires in the state were caused by arson, contrary to the spread of global disinformation exaggerating arsonist arrests during the current crisis.
“Cyclone could dump half a metre of rain on parts of Top End… 
“More than 3000 people in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea could soon be starving after a freak hail storm destroyed their food gardens on Christmas day. Western Highlands provincial disaster manager Robin Yakumb said the unseasonal 45 minute storm battered an area close to the city of Mt Hagen.
“Some residents of Bangkok can literally taste the risk of a potentially damaging drought in Thailand… 
“Hong Kong’s political climate wasn’t the only thing boiling over last year: 2019 was the city’s hottest year ever, setting no fewer than 30 separate records for high temperature events, the Hong Kong Observatory announced today… 
“Bangladesh is one of dozens of countries on the frontline of the climate emergency. Here global heating is no theoretical calamity of the future, but a very real, present danger. 
“Zimbabwe’s economy is likely to shrink by 13% in 2020, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has predicted, as the southern African country faces a third consecutive year of drought… 
“The increased freshwater from melting Antarctic ice sheets plus increased wind has reduced the amount of oxygen in the Southern Ocean and made it more acidic and warmer, according to new research led by University of Arizona geoscientists…
“The rate of Thwaites’s disintegration has alarmed scientists for good reason. In a handful of decades it could retreat to the point that collapse becomes inevitable and irreversible. 
“Last winter was the warmest in Ireland since records began 119 years ago, Met Éireann has revealed.
“Spain recorded its highest temperature ever in July 2017, when thermometers in Córdoba soared to 46.9ºC…
“Days of heavy rain and strong winds have caused flooding across parts of southeast Europe and the Levant. 
“The 2020s is shaping up to be the decade of climate change impact, and Israel began it with a bang – of thunder… 
“Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector, hard hit by drought, is facing another significant risk as dam levels recede due to the high temperatures. 
“A severe drought is threatening South Africa’s wildlife industry, with game farmers keeping fewer animals and tourists visiting game lodges in smaller numbers. 
“The last decade was India’s hottest on record with the national weather office calling the impact of global warming “unmistakable” and extreme weather killing more than 1,500 people last year. 
“Shanghai’s daytime temperature broke an 80-year record, becoming the warmest day of xiaohan since the previous record of 21 degrees Celsius on Jan. 6, 1940… 
“Residents and visitors to Jeju Island [Korea] witnessed the warmest January weather on Tuesday, with the daily low on the southern resort island rising to an all-time high of 18.5 C, a weather agency said.
“The average temperature in Japan in 2019 hit the highest level since records began in 1898, the Japan Meteorological Agency has said. 
“Parts of New Zealand experienced their warmest year on record in 2019, with some records going back more than a 150 years.
“Bushfire season has begun in New Zealand with hundreds of hectares of forest going up in flames at half a dozen separate blazes on the east coast of the North Island. 
“A record-breaking area of land has been burned in New South Wales this bushfire season, according to the latest figures released by the Rural Fire Service. 
“Climate change can increase the chances that areas prone to wildfires see both record high temperatures and drought simultaneously, creating the potential to ”supercharge” the wildfires in Australia after 2019’s record-high temperatures, climate experts say.”
“Feral camels in South Australia will be killed to stop the animals drinking water in the drought-ravaged region. 
“Aboard the Icebreaker Oden, a Swedish vessel on an Artic expedition, a multidisciplinary group of scientists, filmmakers and students, including three City College of New York undergraduates, made a dismaying discovery in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. 
“The climate changes we humans have inflicted on the planet are now so deeply embedded, they are showing up in our daily weather.
“Parts of central Israel saw record rainfall, with massive downpours flooding streets and swelling rivers. According to Ynet, 71 millimeters (almost 3 inches) of rain fell in Tel Aviv over the course of a two-hour period…
“…floodwater after winter storm in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip.”
“Facing catastrophic hunger, Zimbabwe will import corn from Mexico, Ukraine and neighbouring South Africa to help feed as many as eight million of its citizens — over half the population 
“North India including Delhi recorded the coldest December day in last 119 years since the year 1901 when record-keeping began. Delhi also witnessed cold wave conditions as the minimum temperature settled at 2.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal. 
“Thailand’s Office of the National Water Resources is warning that water stored in the country’s large and medium size dams is now dropping to the minimum useable level, urging measures from local agencies to ease the impact on the public. 
“Psephurus gladius, a Chinese paddlefish living in the Yangtze River, was declared extinct, according to a paper from Chinese experts at the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute… 
“The death toll from flooding in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta has risen to 66, authorities say, with two people still missing after the megalopolis was hit by some of the most powerful monsoon rains seen in years. 
“The fires have swept through major dairy areas along the New South Wales south coast, where many producers have faced a three-year drought, and East Gippsland in Victoria. 
“The department responsible for coordinating Australia’s response to disasters and emergency management has closed its doors [in Canberra] due to poor air quality… 
“After record-breaking rains ruined upper Midwest wheat harvests, drought now threatens the nation’s grain growing farther south. 
“Two different species of Arctic seals have been found on Irish beaches in recent days. Seal Rescue Ireland has shared pictures and videos of the two seals, which commonly wouldn’t be found in Ireland.
“‘In terms of more local effects, there are a number of hazards relating to glaciers and thawing permafrost that we expect to increase. 
“Residents of Moscow are wondering where winter has gone as the highest December temperatures for 133 years deprive the Russian capital of its customary covering of snow.
“Anyone in Switzerland‘s major cities holding out hope of a white Christmas is set to be disappointed. 
“British peaches will hit market stalls for the first time next year because climate change has extended the growing season… 
“Climate change is already affecting the amount of food that farmers can produce. 
“Next year is likely to be another of the hottest on record, with global temperatures forecast to be more than 1.1C above the pre-industrial average, according to estimates from the UK Met Office. 
“Until recently, researchers thought that glacial surges were routine events, independent of the climate change effects that are melting glaciers around the world… 
“Once again, from coast to coast to coast, 2019 proved to be another record weather year for Canada. Here are the top 10 weather events for Canada in 2019… Another record-setting Ottawa River flood… 
“Louisiana’s governor issued a statewide emergency declaration after tornadoes swept across the South [USA]. 
“Namibia’s electricity generation has dropped to below 40% of its capacity as the worst drought in almost a century has hit the country’s own hydropower plant and others in the region reliant on water from dams and rivers. 
““If the rains don’t come we will suffer,” she said simply. “There is nothing more we can do – we need help.”
“Another season of erratic weather has crippled Pakistan’s already ailing cotton sector, resulting in lost revenue and jobs that could cost the economy more than $3 billion by the end of the fiscal year in June 2020, industry experts have warned.
“An increase in the number of floods, landslides and tornadoes across Indonesia this year has forced the National Disaster Mitigation Agency to prepare a better disaster mitigation system as the rising trend is predicted to continue next year. 
“”Once in a lifetime” heavy snowfalls could become five times more likely in Japan if the climate continues to warm at its current pace…
“Australia recorded its hottest day on record on Wednesday, with an average maximum temperature of 41.9C (107.4F), beating the previous record by 1C that had been set only 24 hours earlier.
“A day after Australia recorded its hottest day on record, thick smoke blanketed the harbour city, shrouded the Opera House and brought many outdoor activities to a halt. 
“Well before the current spate of bushfires started ravaging eastern Australia, they were already dying in droves. 
“As Australia endures another heatwave, chronic water shortages are endangering life-saving kidney treatment for hundreds of Aboriginal people in remote desert communities.
“Earth has had more major mass extinctions than we realized. 