“Australia has experienced its driest spring on record and its second-hottest in terms of maximum temperatures, only 0.04C behind the record set in 2014.
“An average of only 27.4mm of rain fell across the nation for the season, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, while temperature records tumbled from coast to coast as the country endured severe and catastrophic bushfires.
“The driest spring on record follows the hottest ever summer, the third-warmest autumn, the sixth-warmest winter, the hottest March on record, the third-hottest July, and the hottest month ever recorded in Australia (January 2019).”
“Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said that heat waves will be probably coming through semi-regularly as New Zealand go through December.
“”We’ve seen record or near-record temperatures, dozens of them as we went through November. We could be dealing with more of that as we go through the rest of the summer season,” said Noll.”
“Blizzards are battering the U.S. from coast to coast, triggering devastating flight cancellations and delays on the biggest travel holiday of the year – as 50 million people across the country are placed under a winter weather alert.
“Two winter storms swirling over the country have already claimed three lives.”
“This sort of thing isn’t typically on the Thanksgiving menu but the Iowa State Patrol captured a picture of a rope tornado carving through the fields near Panora Saturday afternoon.
“While the nation’s eyes were focused largely on wintry weather putting holiday travel on the skids, the slim funnel spun out of the clouds from a thunderstorm system rumbling across central Iowa.”
““Allowing this to happen with a protected national salmon fjord doesn’t make sense at all,” said Silje Lundberg, head of Naturvernforbundet. The organisation is the Norwegian branch of Friends of the Earth.
“Lundberg said the planned dumping of tailings from the copper mine to the fjord is equivalent to 17 lorry loads every hour of production. In total, that sums up to two million tons of tailings every year.”
“Three emergency workers were killed in a helicopter crash near Marseille while on a rescue mission in southern France where floods have left two dead, officials have said.
“Their EC145 helicopter lost radio and radar contact while on a rescue and reconnaissance flight in the Var region on Sunday night.”
“Persistent rains in Kenya have destroyed crops and caused massive destruction to the country’s agricultural sector in recent weeks. The East African country has been hit by heavy downpour since October, with the resulting floods killing about 60 people.
“Kenya, like many other countries in Africa, has experienced an unpredictable weather pattern characterized by lengthy dry spells and destructive rains.”
“Devastating images of dead animals and cracked land show the impact a four-year drought is having on the Karoo region of South Africa.
“The area has been hit with the worst dry spell in more than a century, with millions of people having to choose between whether to flush their toilets or not, or to keep livestock alive or let them die.”
“At least 17 people from four families were buried alive in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu when heavy rains caused a large wall to collapse on their homes while they were sleeping, police said on Monday.
“The dead included two children in Nadur village in the southern state, which was pounded by torrential rain…”
“Thousands of people are being evacuated from their homes in the Philippines as a rare December typhoon edges closer to some of the country’s most densely populated areas, including the capital of Manila.
“Typhoon Kammuri, known locally as Tisoy, is expected to strengthen to the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane by Tuesday morning Philippine time…”
“Rising temperatures across Asia and the Americas have contributed to multiple severe outbreaks of dengue fever globally over the past six months, making 2019 the worst year on record for the disease.
“In 1970 only nine countries faced severe dengue outbreaks. But the disease, which is spread by mosquitoes that can only survive in warm temperatures, is now seen in more than 100 countries.”
“It’s long been suspected but scientists can now show conclusively that thinning in the ring of floating ice around Antarctica is driving mass loss from the interior of the continent. A new study finds the diminishing thickness of ice shelves is matched almost exactly by an acceleration in the glaciers feeding in behind them.
“A “creeping, silent crisis” is menacing the world’s food supply as water shortages could jeopardise up to 40% of all irrigated crops by 2040, a US think tank said on Monday.
“Erratic rainfall caused by climate change also threatens the water supply for a third of crops that rely on monsoon, said the World Resources Institute.”
“Flash flooding has hit the small but strategic East African nation of Djibouti, where the government and the United Nations say the equivalent of two years’ rain has fallen in a single day…
“A joint Djibouti-UN statement on Thursday said up to a 250,000 people have been affected in recent days. With heavy rains forecast through the end of the month that number could grow.”
“Rainfall from October to mid-November has been up to 300 percent above average in the greater Horn of Africa region, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network…
“Doctors are worried that diseases, especially waterborne ones, might spread.”
“Southern Africa is experiencing one of the worst droughts in years, with more than 40 million people expected to face food insecurity because of livestock and crop losses. Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe have declared it an emergency.
“Two thirds of the crops planted last season [in Botswana] failed, while Ngamiland, a rich beef producing region, has recorded nearly 40,000 cattle deaths.”
“Rural communities in eastern Zimbabwe hit by the full force of two natural disasters since the beginning of 2019 are struggling to survive.
“Cylone Idai combined with the worst drought in living memory have left the people of Manicaland province reliant on monthly food baskets from the United Nations and Zimbabwean government.”
“The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of a heatwave expected to hit at least four provinces of the drought-hit country this week.
“The warnings stretch from Port Elizabeth in the south through to Johannesburg, Pretoria and up to the border with Zimbabwe… The region’s temperatures are rising at twice the global average…”
“The rainfall pattern across the globe is changing due to rapid warming of the Indo-Pacific Ocean and the changes have brought a decline in rainfall pattern in north India too, a study said on Wednesday.”
“Sydney [Australia] is set to endure its hottest November in history as the average daytime temperatures soars close to 27 degrees. At 9am today the average daytime maximum temperature for November was 26.7 degrees.
“The current record, set in 1894, was a maximum daytime temperature of 26.5 degrees…”
“Farmers in Tasmania‘s Central Highlands are destocking and hand-feeding their sheep as they continue to battle dry conditions…
“This wool and prime lamb district relies heavily on fodder crops for production, but the lack of rain and expense of irrigation means many farmers are having to buy in grain for feed.”
“More than 200 people have been forced to flee their homes after they were inundated by freak waves in the Marshall Islands’ capital, Majuro…
“The Marshall Islands are one of the Pacific nations on the front line of climate change, causing increasingly intense weather phenomena and storm surges linked to rising seas.”
“Smoke from burning forests in the Amazon can intensify glacier melt, researchers say, fuelling concern about a water crisis in South America.
“The team found evidence that snow and ice was being “darkened”, accelerating the melt rate, threatening supplies. Melting tropical glaciers provide water for millions of people in the region.”
“As the Mojave Desert in California and Nevada becomes hotter and drier, birds need more water to stay cool.
“Species that can’t get enough water are rapidly declining in this iconic desert ecosystem, ecologists reported recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
““No matter how much I clean, this shit just keeps coming back, it’s ruined all our stuff,” said Medicine Horn, 50, while mopping. “This isn’t healthy, everything stinks, my eyes hurt, we’ve all been sick, it can’t be legal to leave us living like this.”
“It’s been like this for nine months in the White Swan community on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, where hundreds of Native Americans have been struggling to cope with unprecedented rainfall and disease outbreaks following a series of extreme weather events.”
“Thanks to human-caused global warming, tropical storms in theGulf of Mexico and the rest of the world’s oceans are likely to deliver significantly more rainfall by the end of the century…
“…which could result in repeats of Hurricane Harvey’s record flooding of Houston in 2017, according to a new study.”
“The point is that we already have had Cat 6 storms.
“Then, should the (heaven forbid) need arise for a Category 7, Category 6 storms could be capped at 199 mph, with Category 7 starting at 200 mph. Let’s hope that isn’t necessary, although in 2015 Hurricane Patricia off the west coast of Mexico hit an astounding 215 mph…”
“Natural riches come in two conflicting types in Russia’s Arctic north: valuable minerals and spectacular wildlife. But sadly for many threatened species, the decline in Arctic sea ice has created a new economic opportunity for Russia in their remote habitat.
“In a decree last year President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian firms to boost cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route to an annual 80m tonnes by 2024.”
“…with all the new record-breaking events, it is hard not to pause for a moment and wonder about the next record-breaking event and how many more we will see as climate change grows to be a bigger and bigger problem. What would it be? Where? When? Who would be most impacted?
“…Clearly, 2019, marks the beginnings of new normal… We must act with urgency.”
My apologies for the lack of an economics thread this morning and Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!
“We’re just a few days from the end of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. This year will go down as one of the most active seasons on record, and a few of the storms we saw this year broke records in their own right.
“Whether it was record rainfall from Hurricane Barry or a surprising scale-topper in the far eastern Atlantic, this was a hurricane season we won’t soon forget.”
“Two winter storms blasted the United States on Wednesday, stranding motorists and causing thousands of flight delays as Americans jammed highways and airports to visit family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday. Scores of vehicles got stuck on Interstate 5 after a ‘bomb cyclone’ – a supercharged winter storm caused by a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure – dumped up to four feet of snow in mountainous areas of the Pacific Northwest.”
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday called on the federal government to provide financial assistance to 18 counties [New York State] impacted by severe flash flooding last month…
“The storm caused an estimated $33 million in damages to public infrastructure…”
“Heavy rainfall which brought parts of the country [UK] to its knees earlier his month – and killed at least one person – was a “once-in-60-years” weather event, experts have said.
“The deluge, described by residents in the worst-hit parts of Yorkshire as “almost biblical”, resulted in a slew of Environment Agency flood warnings as homes were evacuated, forcing the Government to call a Cobra emergency meeting to deal with the crisis.”
“The first day of the heatwave has spread across the country, hanging over most provinces in what promises to be a dry and very hot four-day period…
“South Africa is currently in the early phases of the summer season and while hot temperatures are expected, abnormally high surface weather conditions are an anomaly closely associated with climate change.”
“Australia’s long spell of hot and dry weather that has increased the risk of bushfires is set to continue into summer, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning communities should prepare for more severe fire danger.
“The BoM’s summer outlook shows a higher than usual chance of above-average day and nighttime temperatures for most of the country…”
“Officials fear the drought plaguing Australia could be the worst ever experienced, as the parched land continues to suffer water shortages and bush fires.”
“Parts of Australia have been suffering from wildfires recently due to long-term drought. Although you might think of dry, sunny conditions when you think of the factors that help wildfires to ignite and expand, they can actually create their own weather…
“…clouds generated by wildfires are known as pyrocumulus or flammagenitus. Particularly vigorous updrafts can generate pyrocumulus clouds that produce lightning.”
“Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean are facing complex environmental change. Their native biota has adapted to the region’s extreme conditions over many millions of years.
“This unique biota is now challenged by environmental change and the direct impacts of human activity.”
“Rising sea levels will threaten three times more people in the next 30 years than previously thought, according to the latest scientific estimates.
“Among the hundreds of millions of people worldwide facing the threat are the 400 residents of Newtok, Alaska. Rising river and eroding land is pushing the entire community to relocate…”
“Seven scientists say an “emergency response” must keep warming limited to 1.5°C, based on a roundup of Earth’s tipping points…
“More than half the tipping points first identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) decades ago have been activated, according to the authors.
“”In our view, the evidence from tipping points alone suggests that we are in a state of planetary emergency: both the risk and urgency of the situation are acute,” they write.”
“The researchers that were on board the «Professor Levanidov» on the recent trans-arctic expedition have remarkable stories to tell.
“Among the discoveries made was halibut on more than 200 meter depths in the Laptev Sea and snow crab in the northeastern parts of the East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea.
“They also found Alaska pollock in the waters of the Chukchi Sea and large numbers of big and mature polar cod in the Kara Sea.
“The latter fish is more or less eradicated from the Barents Sea where other southern species have taken its place.
“It is the massive influx of Atlantic waters in 2019 that has spurred the spreading of the new species to the region, research institute VNIRO informs. All the species mentioned traditionally belong to other far away waters and have migrated to the remote area in the course of the last few years.”
“Researchers at the University of California’s Center for Climate Science say a “functionally ice-free” Arctic can be expected within the next 50 years. [We should be so lucky!]
“A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change predicts that if the Earth continues at its current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, Arctic sea ice would regress to levels not high enough to perform its function of reflecting heat back — levels that can be reached as early as September 2044.”
“A month of near-constant downpours has finally lifted the Ketchikan area [Alaska] out of drought after more than a year.
“But getting all that rain all at once presents an entirely new set of problems. As recently as early October, the Ketchikan area was in “extreme drought,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.”
“Two massive storms are pounding the US from Oregon to New York with some combination of snow, rain and high winds as millions of people take to the roads and skies ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Blizzard and high wind warnings are in effect across the West Coast states including Oregon, California, Nevada and Idaho as a “historic, unprecedented” storm began dumping rain over the region, the National Weather Service said.”
“Thousands of passengers have been stranded at the Denver International Airport as power outages on the West Coast, widespread road closures and huge pileups on icy roads, add to the mix of travel chaos for millions ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
“A storm packing heavy snow and high winds that wreaked havoc as it whipped through Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska is marching into the upper Midwest…”
“A new wildfire has been blazing near Santa Barbara ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
“The Cave Fire quickly burned through 4,262 acres since it started Monday afternoon—and it remains 0% contained as of midday Tuesday, according to the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) unit…”
“The Michigan harvest is likely to be so dismal this fall it has agricultural experts scurrying to the record books.
“The culprit? A former farmer friend turned foe — rain.
“In spring, it rained and didn’t stop. It happened again in fall. And then, for good measure, parts of the state received record snowfall Nov. 11 followed by a few days of freezing temperatures.”
“From prolonged droughts to unpredictable weather and hotter days: the effects of global warming are already becoming increasingly noticeable in Germany.
“Now a new report has shone a light on how bad the situation is.
“The average air temperature in Germany increased by 1.5C between 1881 and 2018, according to the German government’s Climate Monitoring Report.”
“Torrential downpours have battered many parts of Italy this month, with extreme flooding wreaking havoc across northern Italy.
“The province of Alessandria is said to be one of the worst-affected areas according to Italian media, with around 200 people evacuated and 600 said to be left stranded.”
“At least 39 people died in flooding on Tuesday in Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, following torrential rains overnight that caused landslides near the University of Kinshasa, authorities said.
“At one site on University Avenue, in a southern suburb, at least three houses and a road collapsed into a ravine.”
“Deforestation in Australia has meant that the koalas were already under threat before the bushfires… The Rescue Collective, a Brisbane-based wildlife charity, said on Nov. 24 that animal rescuers were only just now able to enter fire zones on the East Coast of Australia to witness what they described as “a wildlife apocalypse”.
““As the embers cool and the smoke begins to clear, the harsh reality sets in. This is far worse than we could ever have imagined,” they said…”
“A grim summer is likely for the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin and the people, flora and fauna that rely on it.
“Having worked for sustainable management of these rivers for decades, I fear the coming months will be among the worst in history for Australia’s most important river system.”
“Thousands of homes have been damaged and nearly 30,000 are without power after a ‘five-minute cyclone’ ripped through Sydney on Tuesday toppling trees and powerlines.
“About 29,000 residents are still facing power outages as of Wednesday afternoon and Ausgrid customers have been told to expect extended blackouts.”
“The star of Pixar’s blockbuster “Finding Nemo” may be about to vanish again – this time for good – as its peculiar mating habits put it at risk from climate change, scientists said on Tuesday. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year warned that under 1.5C of warming Earth would lose at least 70 percent of its coral reefs.
“Under 2C of warming coral, and the vital ecosystems it supports, would be virtually wiped out.”
“In the melting Arctic, communities are racing to maintain their way of life. In the rising Pacific, residents are sounding alarm bells. And in Rhode Island, Kate Schapira and her husband are not having a baby.
“Fears about climate change are prompting worldwide action, but one knock-on effect in the United States is mounting anxiety about everything from plastics to class-based environmental disparities.”
“Even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading for a 3.2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise over pre-industrial levels, leading to even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts, warns a report from the UN Environment Programme, released on Tuesday.”
“The body of a man has been found on a road which was left underwater two weeks ago during severe flooding which devastated much of the north of England…
“Police launched an investigation after the body was discovered on Saturday afternoon.”
“Nine people have died as violent storms swept through parts of France, Greece and Italy over the weekend, causing flash floods, landslides and the collapse of an overpass.
“Greek media described the storms as leaving a trail of “biblical destruction” in some areas of the country while the overpass collapse in northern Italy brought back a chilling reminder of Genoa’s Morandi bridge giving way during a thunderstorm in August 2018, killing 43 people.”
“Since 21 November, Djibouti has experienced heavy rains which triggered flash floods across the country.
“In Djibouti city alone, initial estimates indicate that over 30,000-40,000 families (150,000-250,000 people) have been somewhat affected by the floods, and 9 people (7 children) have reportedly been killed.”
“Heavy rains in Kenya unleashed a deluge that killed five people overnight in the Rift Valley, raising the death toll from weekend flooding to 65, officials said Monday.
“The five were returning home after attending a wedding in Tanzania when their car was washed away, said Daudi Loronyokwe, a police chief in Kajiado Central community.”
“Until this year elephant graveyards belonged to myth and legend. But now in Zimbabwe elephant carcasses litter the national parks… Those who work with the wildlife here are confident the drought is the result of changing weather patterns due to climate change.
“They want to dig bore holes and bring in pumps – but with Zimbabwe’s economy on the brink of collapse there is no Government money to help.”
“The environmental drivers behind protests in Iran often receive less attention than economic and political factors, but they are increasingly important and are very likely to play a growing role in the future.
“Iran is experiencing increasing environmental pressures. Drought — and related desertification and dust storms — is the worst problem.”
“Thunderstorms across Sydney overnight have failed to clear the smoke, with air quality across the city and its surrounds again above hazardous levels.
“Smoke haze is being forecast for large areas of the state’s coast and ranges, with air quality in Coffs Harbour and the Illawarra also rated as hazardous.”
“A “historic” storm is heading towards southwest Oregon and northwest California Tuesday and Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. The storm is currently forecast to rival the strength of a Category 1 hurricane and pack wind gusts up to 74 mph — stronger than hurricane force, CNN Meterologist Judson Jones said.
“The pressure could drop to a record low for November and all-time for the region, the NWS said.”
“Environment Canada says a low pressure system in Yukon and the Northwest Territories was responsible for very warm weather across Saskatchewan Saturday that saw records broken in 16 communities, from Uranium City in the north to Yorkton in the south.”
“As flooding and wildfires intensify across the country, New Jersey — which contains more toxic Superfund sites than any other state — is at the heart of a potential contamination crisis, according to a new report from the federal government.”
“This column could have been written in early September. That is how long it has been since there was a significant change in world weather. As they say…. “Is this the new normal?” There is nothing new about it. The same areas that were dry at the end of August and early September are still that way as of this writing in late October.
“The bigger question is when will it change? In the meantime, the only thing that can be said about “new normal” is to fasten your seatbelt because there is more wild weather coming. We just have to give the atmosphere a little nudge and the wheels of extreme will start anew.”
“Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a new record in 2018, rising faster than the average rise of the last decade and cementing increasingly damaging weather patterns, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday…
““There is no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline, in greenhouse gases’ concentration in the atmosphere – despite all the commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.”
“For Keith Morrison, the consequences of this fall’s extraordinarily warm weather across the North all came down to an urgent call for help.
“The fire chief for the Arctic community of Cambridge Bay in Nunavut was at home the evening of Oct. 6 when he got word that a couple had fallen through the ice near a river mouth…”
“For generations, people in Alaska‘s far-north whaling villages have relied on hand-built ice cellars dug deep into the permafrost to age their subsistence food to perfection and keep it cold throughout the year…
“Now, a growing number of these underground cellars are being rendered unreliable…”
“Complex weather patterns resulting from variations in ocean temperatures have become more intense in the industrial age, which stand to worsen storms, drought, and coral bleaching, says a recent study with physical evidence spanning millennia.
“Rising surface temperature in the tropical Pacific Ocean for prolonged periods leads to a climate process called the El Nino, which have become more extreme due to human-induced climate change…”
“Dozens of neighborhoods in Asunción are still affected by the lack of potable water service in the face of the intense heat wave.
“Consequently, the Company of Sanitary Services of Paraguay (ESSAP) informs that the assembly work of the electric pump of the VK3 plant that affects the service continues.”
“Well they say all record heatwaves must come to end eventually and so did ours [Katherine, Northern Territories, Australia], but only just. After 16 consecutive days of above 40 degree maximums, the temperature fell to 39.6 degrees on Friday.
Little matter that it shot up to 40.8 on Saturday and then 41 yesterday.
“It was the longest run of 40 plus days ever recorded at our Tindal weather station…”
“South Africans are being warned to prepare for heatwave conditions across most parts of the country, including the central interior and western parts.
“The South African Weather Service said temperatures were likely to peak from Wednesday with the mercury expected to hit 40°C [104f] in some areas.”
““According to our tools there is a strong signal that the severe storm that moved over the area produced a tornado”, South African Weather Service’s William Msimanga said.
“The tornado was the second tornado in less than 24 hours to hit the province, after another struck Utrecht on Friday night.”
“Dozens of people have died in flooding in the Democratic Republic of Congo when the Congo River and its tributaries burst their banks, a charity and media reports said on Saturday, as heavy rains also lashed east Africa.
“Twenty-five people were reported to have been killed in the northwestern province of Equator bordering Congo-Brazzaville, Congolese media reports said.”
“Kenya’s interior minister says 29 people have been killed in mudslides, among the 34 people overall who lost their lives Saturday amid flooding in the East Africa nation.
“Heavy rains unleashed overnight floods in western Kenya.”
“Such is the rate of global warming that scientists predict that the Lost Mountain glacier in northern Spain will disappear altogether within twenty years.
“For the scientists at the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology who are monitoring it, Monte Perdido’s glacier is shrinking scarily fast.”
“Venice has been hit by further high water levels after weeks of flooding brought the lagoon city virtually to its knees… With four tides above 140cm since November 11, this is the worst month for high tides in Venice since 1872 when official statistics were first produced.
“Further west on the other side of Italy, a portion of a motorway bridge linking Savona to Turin collapsed on Sunday.”
“At least four people have died in flooding in southern France over the weekend, adding to the death toll from flooding in the south west of the county earlier this year…
“The French government has produced a set of guidelines aimed at keeping people safe as flooding becomes a more frequent occurrence in France.”
“All of his [photographic] work brought the same unavoidable fact into focus. Vast walls of ice had diminished or disappeared. The glaciers [Switzerland] had retreated, leaving the landscape scarred with precarious hills of loose stone and scree.
““One glacier had dropped about 200 meters in depth and more than 3km in length in 150 years. You can really see it,” said Balibouse. “It’s mindblowing the amount of ice that has gone.””
“As far as I know, your work is unique in pulling together stories from all over the world. Very sobering but a better and more complete view. Terrific and necessary work. Thank you!” – Simon
“With the inundation of so much depressing news, Justin Panopticon presents it in a succinct format that one can quickly go thru and see the big picture of climate and economics/politics to stay current and if a particle topic is of interest one can delve into the details… I try never to miss any of his posts…I am a Patreon of his work.”
– Karina S.
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“Australia has experienced its driest spring on record and its second-hottest in terms of maximum temperatures, only 0.04C behind the record set in 2014.
“Sydney‘s skyline has been covered by a thick layer of ‘hazardous’ smoke as bushfires continue to burn south-west of the city. 
“Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said that heat waves will be probably coming through semi-regularly as New Zealand go through December.
“Blizzards are battering the U.S. from coast to coast, triggering devastating flight cancellations and delays on the biggest travel holiday of the year – as 50 million people across the country are placed under a winter weather alert. 
“This sort of thing isn’t typically on the Thanksgiving menu but the Iowa State Patrol captured a picture of a rope tornado carving through the fields near Panora Saturday afternoon. 
““Allowing this to happen with a protected national salmon fjord doesn’t make sense at all,” said Silje Lundberg, head of Naturvernforbundet. The organisation is the Norwegian branch of Friends of the Earth.
“The British coast is crumbling into the sea at an accelerating rate, with huge chunks of cliffs and beaches being swept away in storms each winter. 
“Three emergency workers were killed in a helicopter crash near Marseille while on a rescue mission in southern France where floods have left two dead, officials have said. 
“Persistent rains in Kenya have destroyed crops and caused massive destruction to the country’s agricultural sector in recent weeks. The East African country has been hit by heavy downpour since October, with the resulting floods killing about 60 people.
“Vioolsdrif, a village in the Northern Cape [South Africa], has broken a new record for the highest temperature in the country
“Devastating images of dead animals and cracked land show the impact a four-year drought is having on the Karoo region of South Africa. 
“Durban [South Africa]:
“At least 17 people from four families were buried alive in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu when heavy rains caused a large wall to collapse on their homes while they were sleeping, police said on Monday. 
“Thousands of people are being evacuated from their homes in the Philippines as a rare December typhoon edges closer to some of the country’s most densely populated areas, including the capital of Manila. 
“Rising temperatures across Asia and the Americas have contributed to multiple severe outbreaks of dengue fever globally over the past six months, making 2019 the worst year on record for the disease.
“It’s long been suspected but scientists can now show conclusively that thinning in the ring of floating ice around Antarctica is driving mass loss from the interior of the continent. A new study finds the diminishing thickness of ice shelves is matched almost exactly by an acceleration in the glaciers feeding in behind them.
“A “creeping, silent crisis” is menacing the world’s food supply as water shortages could jeopardise up to 40% of all irrigated crops by 2040, a US think tank said on Monday.
“Flash flooding has hit the small but strategic East African nation of Djibouti, where the government and the United Nations say the equivalent of two years’ rain has fallen in a single day…
“Rainfall from October to mid-November has been up to 300 percent above average in the greater Horn of Africa region, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network…
“Southern Africa is experiencing one of the worst droughts in years, with more than 40 million people expected to face food insecurity because of livestock and crop losses. Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe have declared it an emergency.
“Rural communities in eastern Zimbabwe hit by the full force of two natural disasters since the beginning of 2019 are struggling to survive. 
“The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of a heatwave expected to hit at least four provinces of the drought-hit country this week. 
“Sydney [Australia] is set to endure its hottest November in history as the average daytime temperatures soars close to 27 degrees. At 9am today the average daytime maximum temperature for November was 26.7 degrees. 
“Farmers in Tasmania‘s Central Highlands are destocking and hand-feeding their sheep as they continue to battle dry conditions… 
“More than 200 people have been forced to flee their homes after they were inundated by freak waves in the Marshall Islands’ capital, Majuro… 
“Smoke from burning forests in the Amazon can intensify glacier melt, researchers say, fuelling concern about a water crisis in South America. 
“As the Mojave Desert in California and Nevada becomes hotter and drier, birds need more water to stay cool. 
““No matter how much I clean, this shit just keeps coming back, it’s ruined all our stuff,” said Medicine Horn, 50, while mopping. “This isn’t healthy, everything stinks, my eyes hurt, we’ve all been sick, it can’t be legal to leave us living like this.”
“Thanks to human-caused global warming, tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico and the rest of the world’s oceans are likely to deliver significantly more rainfall by the end of the century… 
“The point is that we already have had Cat 6 storms. 
“Natural riches come in two conflicting types in Russia’s Arctic north: valuable minerals and spectacular wildlife. But sadly for many threatened species, the decline in Arctic sea ice has created a new economic opportunity for Russia in their remote habitat.
“…with all the new record-breaking events, it is hard not to pause for a moment and wonder about the next record-breaking event and how many more we will see as climate change grows to be a bigger and bigger problem. What would it be? Where? When? Who would be most impacted?
My apologies for the lack of an economics thread this morning and Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!
“Two winter storms blasted the United States on Wednesday, stranding motorists and causing thousands of flight delays as Americans jammed highways and airports to visit family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday. Scores of vehicles got stuck on Interstate 5 after a ‘bomb cyclone’ – a supercharged winter storm caused by a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure – dumped up to four feet of snow in mountainous areas of the Pacific Northwest.”
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday called on the federal government to provide financial assistance to 18 counties [New York State] impacted by severe flash flooding last month… 
“Heavy rainfall which brought parts of the country [UK] to its knees earlier his month – and killed at least one person – was a “once-in-60-years” weather event, experts have said.
“The first day of the heatwave has spread across the country, hanging over most provinces in what promises to be a dry and very hot four-day period… 
“Australia’s long spell of hot and dry weather that has increased the risk of bushfires is set to continue into summer, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning communities should prepare for more severe fire danger. 
“Parts of Australia have been suffering from wildfires recently due to long-term drought. Although you might think of dry, sunny conditions when you think of the factors that help wildfires to ignite and expand, they can actually create their own weather… 
“Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean are facing complex environmental change. Their native biota has adapted to the region’s extreme conditions over many millions of years. 
“Rising sea levels will threaten three times more people in the next 30 years than previously thought, according to the latest scientific estimates. 
“Seven scientists say an “emergency response” must keep warming limited to 1.5°C, based on a roundup of Earth’s tipping points…
“The researchers that were on board the «Professor Levanidov» on the recent trans-arctic expedition have remarkable stories to tell.
“The latter fish is more or less eradicated from the Barents Sea where other southern species have taken its place.
“Researchers at the University of California’s Center for Climate Science say a “functionally ice-free” Arctic can be expected within the next 50 years. [We should be so lucky!]
“A month of near-constant downpours has finally lifted the Ketchikan area [Alaska] out of drought after more than a year. 
“Two massive storms are pounding the US from Oregon to New York with some combination of snow, rain and high winds as millions of people take to the roads and skies ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. 
“Thousands of passengers have been stranded at the Denver International Airport as power outages on the West Coast, widespread road closures and huge pileups on icy roads, add to the mix of travel chaos for millions ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. 
“A new wildfire has been blazing near Santa Barbara ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. 
“The Michigan harvest is likely to be so dismal this fall it has agricultural experts scurrying to the record books.
“From prolonged droughts to unpredictable weather and hotter days: the effects of global warming are already becoming increasingly noticeable in Germany.
“Torrential downpours have battered many parts of Italy this month, with extreme flooding wreaking havoc across northern Italy. 
“At least 39 people died in flooding on Tuesday in Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, following torrential rains overnight that caused landslides near the University of Kinshasa, authorities said. 
“It may be winter season in the coast [of India], but the maximum temperature is going through the roof. 
“Deforestation in Australia has meant that the koalas were already under threat before the bushfires… The Rescue Collective, a Brisbane-based wildlife charity, said on Nov. 24 that animal rescuers were only just now able to enter fire zones on the East Coast of Australia to witness what they described as “a wildlife apocalypse”.
“A grim summer is likely for the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin and the people, flora and fauna that rely on it. 
“Thousands of homes have been damaged and nearly 30,000 are without power after a ‘five-minute cyclone’ ripped through Sydney on Tuesday toppling trees and powerlines. 
“The star of Pixar’s blockbuster “Finding Nemo” may be about to vanish again – this time for good – as its peculiar mating habits put it at risk from climate change, scientists said on Tuesday. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year warned that under 1.5C of warming Earth would lose at least 70 percent of its coral reefs. 
“Even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading for a 3.2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise over pre-industrial levels, leading to even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts, warns a report from the UN Environment Programme, released on Tuesday.”
“The body of a man has been found on a road which was left underwater two weeks ago during severe flooding which devastated much of the north of England… 
“Nine people have died as violent storms swept through parts of France, Greece and Italy over the weekend, causing flash floods, landslides and the collapse of an overpass.
“Since 21 November, Djibouti has experienced heavy rains which triggered flash floods across the country. 
“Heavy rains in Kenya unleashed a deluge that killed five people overnight in the Rift Valley, raising the death toll from weekend flooding to 65, officials said Monday.
“Until this year elephant graveyards belonged to myth and legend. But now in Zimbabwe elephant carcasses litter the national parks… Those who work with the wildlife here are confident the drought is the result of changing weather patterns due to climate change.
“The environmental drivers behind protests in Iran often receive less attention than economic and political factors, but they are increasingly important and are very likely to play a growing role in the future. 
“After years of drought, a struggling farmer named Fakir Mohammed stares at a field of corn ruined by pests and unseasonably late rains…”
“Thunderstorms across Sydney overnight have failed to clear the smoke, with air quality across the city and its surrounds again above hazardous levels. 
“A “historic” storm is heading towards southwest Oregon and northwest California Tuesday and Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. The storm is currently forecast to rival the strength of a Category 1 hurricane and pack wind gusts up to 74 mph — stronger than hurricane force, CNN Meterologist Judson Jones said.
“Environment Canada says a low pressure system in Yukon and the Northwest Territories was responsible for very warm weather across Saskatchewan Saturday that saw records broken in 16 communities, from Uranium City in the north to Yorkton in the south.”
“As flooding and wildfires intensify across the country, New Jersey — which contains more toxic Superfund sites than any other state — is at the heart of a potential contamination crisis, according to a new report from the federal government.”
“This column could have been written in early September. That is how long it has been since there was a significant change in world weather. As they say…. “Is this the new normal?” There is nothing new about it. The same areas that were dry at the end of August and early September are still that way as of this writing in late October. 
“Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a new record in 2018, rising faster than the average rise of the last decade and cementing increasingly damaging weather patterns, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday…
“For Keith Morrison, the consequences of this fall’s extraordinarily warm weather across the North all came down to an urgent call for help. 
“For generations, people in Alaska‘s far-north whaling villages have relied on hand-built ice cellars dug deep into the permafrost to age their subsistence food to perfection and keep it cold throughout the year… 
“Complex weather patterns resulting from variations in ocean temperatures have become more intense in the industrial age, which stand to worsen storms, drought, and coral bleaching, says a recent study with physical evidence spanning millennia. 
“Dozens of neighborhoods in Asunción are still affected by the lack of potable water service in the face of the intense heat wave. 
“More thunderstorms have rolled in across NSW, Australia bringing with them lightning strikes and the concerns they may have sparked more bushfires… 
“Well they say all record heatwaves must come to end eventually and so did ours [Katherine, Northern Territories, Australia], but only just. After 16 consecutive days of above 40 degree maximums, the temperature fell to 39.6 degrees on Friday.
“South Africans are being warned to prepare for heatwave conditions across most parts of the country, including the central interior and western parts. 
““According to our tools there is a strong signal that the severe storm that moved over the area produced a tornado”, South African Weather Service’s William Msimanga said.
“Dozens of people have died in flooding in the Democratic Republic of Congo when the Congo River and its tributaries burst their banks, a charity and media reports said on Saturday, as heavy rains also lashed east Africa. 
“Kenya’s interior minister says 29 people have been killed in mudslides, among the 34 people overall who lost their lives Saturday amid flooding in the East Africa nation. 
“Such is the rate of global warming that scientists predict that the Lost Mountain glacier in northern Spain will disappear altogether within twenty years. 
“Two people drowned when their moored sailing boat sank as torrential rain and thunderstorms lashed Greece, coastguard officials said on Monday. 
“Venice has been hit by further high water levels after weeks of flooding brought the lagoon city virtually to its knees… With four tides above 140cm since November 11, this is the worst month for high tides in Venice since 1872 when official statistics were first produced.
“At least four people have died in flooding in southern France over the weekend, adding to the death toll from flooding in the south west of the county earlier this year… 
“All of his [photographic] work brought the same unavoidable fact into focus. Vast walls of ice had diminished or disappeared. The glaciers [Switzerland] had retreated, leaving the landscape scarred with precarious hills of loose stone and scree.