“As we rolled into November, scientists discovered last month was the warmest October on record globally.
“The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which analyzes temperature data from around the planet, said October 2019 was the warmest in their data record, which goes back to 1979.”
“Super Typhoon Halong is raging in the open waters of the western tropical Pacific Ocean right now, with satellite imagery estimating its peak winds at close to 305kmh.
“It’s every bit a Category 5 storm and then some, its extreme strength coming just three days after it drifted lazily as a tropical depression.”
“…typhoons Hagibis and Faxai decimated Japanese farms, wiping out crops, ruining land and equipment and causing damage worth over US$2 billion.
“Unions fear that on top of this, ‘invisible damage’ may be the last straw for an ageing workforce already under pressure from cheaper foreign imports.”
“The complex El Nino weather pattern that can bring disastrous heavy rainfall and long droughts to countries around the Pacific — from Peru to Indonesia and Australia — will probably emerge again in 2020, researchers have predicted.
“An international team of scientists forecast an 80% chance next year of an El Nino…”
“While debate rages about how to fight climate change, the impacts that rising temperatures have already locked in are getting worse. Rising sea levels will threaten 40 million more people — three times that of previous estimates — over the next 30 years, new research says.
“A study led by Australian National University researchers, published in Nature Communications, found sea-level increases during the last major melt of about 130,000 years ago were faster than models have factored in, even though the “climate forcing” from greenhouse gases is much stronger today.”
“Australia is no stranger to drought, and indeed floods. But for the past few years it been experiencing extreme, more prolonged periods of dry and hot weather and parts of the country are suffering a critical shortage of water. We visited an area in Central New South Wales where it hasn’t rained in three years.”
“A new satellite-based map of a section of the Amazon Basin reveals that at least some of the massive fires burning there this past summer were concentrated in water-stressed areas of the rainforest.
“The stressed plants released measurably less water vapor into the air than unstressed plants; in other words, they were struggling to stay cool and conserve water, leaving them more vulnerable to the fires.”
“This Tuesday, November 5th, was a record in the “weather” category in Rio de Janeiro.
“According to information from the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), the thermometers marked 41.4ºC (106ºF), in Vila Militar, North Zone, and in Niterói, in the Metropolitan Region.”
“”Climate change has altered the entire cycle of life in the region [Mendoza, Argentina],” said Ivan Rosales, an agricultural engineer at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) in San Rafael, Mendoza.
“Waterflow on the mountain rivers will be 11 percent lower in 2019-20 than the previous year, and 54 percent lower than the province’s historical average, according to a flow forecast by the Mendoza regional government.”
“Shrinking water resources due to climate change are driving major declines in Mojave Desert bird populations, according to a new study from researchers at University of California, Berkeley.
“Spanning 48,000 square miles in Southern Nevada, southeastern California and northwest Arizona, the Mojave Desert has been receiving less and less rainfall…”
“Feeling damp, Montreal? Well, you’re not alone — and you’re certainly not imagining things, because apparently, we have just survived the wettest October in city history.
“As in, the rainiest October in Montreal ever. Or, at least since they started keeping track of these kinds of things, which was waaaay back in 1871.”
““The fish deaths [Vaal River, South Africa] are aggravated by the weather and the heat we’ve had. But the cause is the oxygen depletion in the water from the high levels of nutrients in the water because of the incredibly high E coli counts in the mouth of the Rietspruit. This is where all the fish deaths are taking place.
““It’s a disaster. Fish are lying all over the riverbanks and there are dead fish in the river. “
“Recent flooding has brought disaster to parts of Somalia, with heavy Deyr-season rains sending the Shabelle and Juba rivers over their banks and forcing some 273,000 people from their homes in the southern part of the nation.
“That’s raised fears of malaria and other disease outbreaks in the affected regions.”
“Three-quarters of national commitments under the Paris climate accord to curb greenhouse gases will not even slow the accelerating pace of global warming, according to a report from five senior scientists.
“The sobering assessment came a day after President Donald Trump formally notified the United Nations of the US withdrawal from the 2015 Paris climate pact…”
“The Russian Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya experienced the warmest October on record, with average temperatures on the islands 8 degrees Celsius higher than normal, according to Russia’s meteorological service Roshydromet.
“Temperature maps from meteorologists show a belt of warm air stretching across large parts of the Arctic… If the trend continues in November and December, 2019 could be the warmest year on record in the northern hemisphere.”
“October 2019 saw the extent of Arctic sea ice — the surface of the ocean that is covered by ice — reach at its lowest on record.
“According to climate scientist Zack Labe, Arctic sea ice extent was more than 2.6 million square kilometres lower than the average between 1981 and 2010 and the lowest on record for a month of October.”
“Tuktoyaktuk, an Inuvialuit community of about 950 people, is one of the first communities in Canada facing relocation due to the impact of global warming.
“Despite several attempts to protect the shore from erosion over the past few decades, the ocean keeps advancing inland due to a shorter ice season, rising sea levels, and permafrost thaw.”
“The air temperature in Belarus in October 2019 averaged 9.5 degrees Celsius, which was 2.8 degrees above the norm, BelTA learned from the National Center for Hydrometeorology, Radioactive Pollution Control, and Environmental Monitoring (Belhydromet) of the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry.”
All of that displaced Arctic air has to go somewhere, right?
“Casper saw the coldest average monthly temperatures in October in the last 80 years, with records dating back to 1939… The average temperature in Casper was 36.8 degrees in October, which is 8.4 degrees colder than average.”
“”Today the United States began the process to withdraw from the Paris Agreement,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
“”Per the terms of the Agreement, the United States submitted formal notification of its withdrawal to the United Nations. The withdrawal will take effect one year from delivery of the notification.””
“Australia has set a new weather record, registering its 36th month in a row of above average temperatures.
“The country just had its second-hottest October in terms of mean maximum temperatures, reaching a blistering 2.91 degrees above the long-term average.”
“Western Queensland communities, harvesters and peak body AgForce have been shocked by a decision to stop the 2020 kangaroo harvest while millions of the animals starve during drought.
“Michael Guerin, the CEO of peak rural lobby group Agforce… criticised the ‘blanket approach’ by the Queensland Government and said kangaroo culling provided jobs to regional towns struggling with drought, a downturn in local economies, and decreasing populations.”
“Australia is facing a domestic honey shortage, with years of natural disasters affecting beekeepers and their hives…
“Drought, cyclones and bushfires have each impacted upon the environment, reducing the pollen and nectar honeybees require to survive and produce honey.”
“India will break its previous record of having been hit by the most number of tropical cyclones in a year, private weather forecasting agency Skymet said in its latest bulletin. Last year, the country broke its 33-year record, after having been hit by seven cyclones.
“Cyclone Bulbul, which is brewing in the Bay of Bengal, will hit the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha by November 9…”
“A potent combination of pollutants, agricultural practices, weather conditions, and geography has shrouded India’s capital in a toxic, throat-searing cloud of brown smog.
“The dangerous levels of pollution have prompted authorities in New Delhi to declare a public health emergency, diverting planes, forcing schools to shutter, halting construction, and instituting new traffic controls limiting the number of cars on the road.”
“If the difficult litany of this year’s climate change news has you wondering when there will be a plague of locusts next, well, there is – and there’s no joke when it comes to how millions of the voracious, crop-eating pests may affect Ethiopia…
“…the 2019 locust situation threatens a humanitarian crisis where crops have been destroyed.”
“Nigerian authorities issued a red alert on Monday to five southern states, saying there may be possible flooding in that region soon…
“Tens of thousands of people were affected by the worst flooding in seven years in northeast Nigeria’s Adamawa state. In central Nigeria, at least 18 people died due to floods in the region.”
“A 71-year-old woman was found dead on Monday after being engulfed by a landslide in the French city of Nice, as the south of the country counted the cost from a brutal storm.
“Storm Amélie brought freak winds, downpours and monster waves to southern France over the weekend.”
“”The water flow at the Victoria Falls has fallen to a record low as southern Africa suffers its worst drought in decades.
“Barely 100 cubic metres a second is being recorded — one-sixtieth of the figure reached in 1977, according to Zimbabwean officials — threatening the survival of wildlife in the region. Mana Pools National Park, 280 miles northeast of the waterfall, is known as one of Africa’s finest wildlife sanctuaries but in recent months it has turned into a wasteland.
““The temperature is hitting 51C. There’s not a blade of grass left. I can’t count the number of animals that are dead or dying. They’re skin and bones,” Craig Chittenden, a park guide for 40 years, said.
“Videos posted on social media by activists show elephants and buffaloes fighting over puddles of water. Unable to find food or water, dozens of animals have collapsed and died in the heat.
“Wildlife workers are desperately shipping food in to feed the buffaloes, elephants and zebras in the park. Last month the charity Vets for Animal Welfare Zimbabwe sent 9,000 bales of hay to Mana Pools, but activists say that is not enough — and their efforts to tackle the crisis are hampered by a growing scarcity of diesel for their vehicles because of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.
“Humanitarians are worried that the dying elephants may herald something far worse. Many fear that a huge famine is imminent. Last week the UN said that a record 45 million people across southern Africa will face “severe food shortages” over the next six months because of the extreme droughts. About 11 million people in the region are already facing “crisis” levels of hunger.”
“The African Farmers Association of South Africa (Afasa) has urged government to intervene in support of farmers in drought-stricken provinces…
“Calling on the government to declare drought as a national disaster, Afasa warned that drought was so severe and spreading beyond the seven provinces, affecting all farmers, horticulture, livestock and agriculture.”
“[Tunisia’s] irregular rainfall patterns are accentuated by climate change, with periods of droughts and record high temperatures oscillating between torrential rain and floods, according to the agriculture ministry.
“The latest government figures also reveal that poor infrastructure means in some regions about half of water is lost before it even reaches the tap.”
“At least 29 people have died, 14,000 displaced and more than 100,000 people affected since heavy rainfall started early October in Kenya, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The floods have damaged infrastructure, including roads and bridges, and hampered access to food, education and health care.”
“Dozens of bags containing waste polluted with radioactive substances are still missing in Fukushima Prefecture, three weeks after they were swept away from storage areas in floods triggered by Typhoon Hagibis.
“Of the 90 bags originally lost, 36 remain missing.”
“The Japanese manufacturing sector risks being crippled by the torrential rains and flooding that accompany the increasingly strong typhoons that hit to country each year.
“580 of 2,181 industrial parks are in high-risk flood zones… That means nearly 27% of these areas — key to Japan’s manufacturing output and global supply chains — could be underwater in the event of torrential rains similar to those that hit the country in October.”
“A severe drought has broken in dramatic fashion in some parts of New South Wales, Australia, but the long-term forecasts remain grim. For the first time in 483 days, the far-west NSW town of Bourke has water flowing over their weir after 94mm of rain this weekend…
“Key agricultural areas in northern New South Wales had seen less than 1mm of rain in September. In July, August and September combined.”
“In the past three weeks, the Bahamian government has detained and requested to deport more than 340 Haitians…
“An official, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, alleges Bahamian officials are continuing to deport large numbers of Haitians without properly following protocol and transporting them to a region that “is not fit right now to send them to.”
“Port-au-Prince continues to be “locked down” due to protests…”
“A catastrophic storm during high tide which will leave thousands of homes, businesses and landmark buildings in Dublin under water is inevitable over the coming decades, one of the country’s foremost climate change experts has warned.
“Prof Peter Thorne said Ireland had been lucky to “dodge a bullet” until now…”
“A wave of torrential rains and strong winds hit various parts of Italy on Sunday and Monday, with conditions expected to worsen Monday evening across Tuscany, Liguria, and the Alps.
“Strong winds in Friuli Venezia Giulia caused hundreds of trees to fall, which also brought blackouts, and heavy rains led to landslides.”
“A multinational effort to create giant marine sanctuaries around Antarctica to counter climate change and protect fragile ocean ecosystems has failed for an eighth straight year, officials said Saturday.
“Opposition from China and Russia torpedoed the proposal at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.”
“The plastic waste flooding our oceans will continue to increase until companies reduce the single-use plastic they are flooding into the market.
“We need strong policies that hold companies accountable for the crisis they’ve created by requiring that they reduce their production of this everlasting pollutant.”
“[Wine] production was down this year across the major wine regions of France, Italy and Spain, with France and Italy experiencing a slump of 15% and Spain a more dramatic 24% drop.
““This can be explained mainly by random weather conditions, notably a very cold and rainy spring followed by an extremely hot and dry summer,” the OIV said.”
“A powerful climate phenomenon in the Indian Ocean stronger than any seen in years is unleashing destructive rains and flooding across East Africa—and scientists say worse could be coming.
“Violent downpours in October have displaced tens of thousands in Somalia, submerged whole towns in South Sudan and killed dozens in flash floods and landslides in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania.
“Rising waters have wiped out livestock and destroyed harvests in swathes of the region still reeling from severe drought. Close to a million people in South Sudan alone are affected, with growing fears of disease outbreaks and starvation.”
“A record 45 million people across southern Africa face severe food shortages in the next six months, with around a quarter of them currently enduring drought-induced “crisis” food insecurity, three United Nations agencies warned on Thursday. The 16-member Southern African Development Community is in the grips of a severe drought, as climate change wreaks havoc in impoverished countries struggling to cope with extreme natural disasters.”
“Malawi’s constitutional court has suspended its requirement that lawyers and judges wear traditional white wigs and black robes in the courtroom as an early season heatwave sweeps the southern African nation.
“Temperatures in some parts of the country have hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) this week…”
“The flow at the Africa’s biggest waterfall is at its lowest since 1995, highlighting the threat posed by a drought to tourism and electricity generation in Zimbabwe and Zambia…
“The falls on the Zambezi river straddle the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia and the flow of the watercourse fills the Kariba Dam, the site of the two countries’ largest power plants.”
“This week, the Arabian Sea witnessed a peculiar occurrence with the formation of Cyclone Maha even as Kyarr prevailed over the region.
“On Thursday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed that this was the first recorded case of two cyclones occurring simultaneously in the Arabian Sea.”
“The once-mighty Mekong river has been reduced to a thin, grubby neck of water in stretches of northern Thailand – record lows blamed on drought and a recently completed dam far upstream…
“Along parts of Thailand’s northeastern border at Loei, the kilometre-wide river has shrivelled to a few dozen metres, with boulders and bedrock encasing muddy pools of water.”
“A severe drought is plaguing east China’s Anhui Province, leaving crops damaged and drinking water supplies disrupted in some of the hardest-hit regions, local authorities said on Friday…
“A total of 45 cities and counties have been ravaged, with regions in three cities along the Yangtze River suffering from the worst drought in up to 50 years, said the provincial emergency management department.”
“Almost the whole Australian mainland is likely to have a warmer and drier than normal final two months of the year, boosting the odds that 2019 will be the country’s hottest on record. Nationally, maximum temperatures last month were almost 3 degrees above the 1961-90 average…
“For the first 10 months of the year, average daytime temperatures are running at 1.88 degrees warmer than the 1961-90 yardstick, placing 2019 well on track to smash Australia’s record anomaly of 1.59 degrees set in 2013.”
“Kangaroos are digging for water in the South Australian outback as the drought continues. While on holiday in the Flinders Ranges this September, Janice Osman Iseppi witnessed the impressive adaption technique.
“”We’d just gone walking along looking at trees in a creek bed and we’ve noticed that they’d dug a little dugout and there was water there,” she said.”
“Southern hemisphere spring showers once spawned meadows of dandelions in this vineyard-speckled Pacific coast town [in Chile]. Now there is just dust and hardpan…
“…a punishing, decade-long drought is making life difficult for honey bees, according to government officials, beekeepers and industry experts interviewed by Reuters.”
“A fast-moving fire forced thousands of people from their homes in Ventura County on Thursday night. The new fire, the Maria Fire, started just southeast of Santa Paula, California, about 6:30 p.m. local time Thursday night, CBS Los Angeles reported.
“The fire had already burned more than 11 square miles and was spreading rapidly, according to Cal Fire.”
“It’s another day of bone-chilling cold for millions, with temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below average for a massive swath of the United States. Record lows and brutal wind chills will make trick-or-treating seem like a polar expedition.”
“Just three years after the warmest Halloween on record, Denver experienced the coldest temperature ever recorded on October 31 early Thursday morning. Shortly after 3:30 a.m., the official thermometer for the city located at Denver International Airport fell to 7 degrees.”
“…in the deep of fall, Alaska’s profound change continues. Record warm ocean temperatures mean that sea ice in the state’s northern waters is at historic lows for early November. The ice refuses to regrow.
“”For old-timers like me, till the day I die, my jaw will drop at the sight of this stuff,” Thoman said.”
“Last October, when Juuta Sarpinak of Igloolik set off on a seal hunt, he took his snowmobile. For the same trip exactly a year later, he’d need a boat. Across Nunavut and the rest of the Arctic, the same scenario is playing out.
““It’s the latest I’ve ever seen it freeze up in my lifetime,” said Willie Aglukkaq, who’s lived in Gjoa Haven for nearly 40 years.”
“The decline of insects in German forests and grassland is “frightening” particularly in the vicinity of intensively farmed land, scientists have warned.
“An international research team led by scientists from the Technical University of Munich collected more than one million insects between 2008 and 2017 at 300 sites across the German states of Brandenburg, Thuringia and Baden-Wurttemberg.
“The results, published in the Nature journal on Wednesday, show that of many of the nearly 2,700 insect species have declined by over a third in ten years.”
“Climate change is becoming a problem for cemeteries everywhere, disintegrating headstones in California wildfires and swamping caskets in Alaska’s melting permafrost. Stronger storms and rising sea levels are bringing water into new places—uncovering graves through erosion, if they’re not swept away entirely.”
“With sea ice extent in 2019 tracking at below 2016 levels for more than a third of the year so far, it’s possible we could see a new lowest yearly average extent in the record books for the Arctic once the year is over.
“Also, at the other end of the Earth, with 2016-2019 Antarctic sea ice extents tracking at or near their lowest levels on record, this could add up to a global annual average extent for 2019 that beats out 2017 for the lowest so far, as well.”
“Researchers from McGill University project that as the permafrost continues to degrade, the climate in various regions of the Arctic could potentially change abruptly, in the relatively near future.
“Their research, which was published today in Nature Climate Change, also suggests that as the permafrost degrades, the severity of wildfires will double from one year to the next…”
“Hurricane-force winds are expected to continue in Southern California on Thursday, fanning the flames of fires throughout the region.
“Gusts of the Santa Ana winds reached up to 80 mph Wednesday, prompting the first-ever extreme red flag warning from the National Weather Service. The winds aren’t expected to calm until the weekend…”
“Halloween makeup may not stay put tonight as Central Florida is expected to see record-setting heat on Thursday. Some good news though: a cooldown is coming!
“”Hottest Halloween ever in Orlando was 90° in 1922,” said Fox 35 meteorologist Jayme King. “Today we will tie or break the record…at least it’s not snowing!””
“The Cuban capital is one of the provinces with the least rainfall recorded so far this year, which means it will begin the dry months (November-April)
““…with significant deficits, set to increase over time, judging by the traditional performance of the rain regimen and the forecasts,”
“…affirms the local newspaper Tribuna de La Habana.”
“In another area of the world affected by drought, this time Tamaulipas, Mexico, Italian lime production has been hurt by the lack of rain during the first half of 2019…
“The drought has also affected the ability of being able to supply the sizes that customers in the United States have asked for, with the limes failing to size up.”
“The heat wave that kills Paraguay with temperatures between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius claimed the first two fatalities who died from heart disease, authorized sources said today. “According to police commissioner Sabino López, a 58-year-old was identified as Justo Andrés Rojas, who died after finishing an exercise routine at the gym at noon after suffering an acute heart failure.”
“A glacier in Patagonia that has lost half its length in 30 years may be the fastest-thinning glacier on the planet.
“The glacier, known as Hielo Patagónico Sur 12 (HPS-12), is perched in the Andes mountains in Chile. At its fastest, the thinning occurred at a rate of 144 feet (44 m) per year…”
“Smoke from fires burning in northern New South Wales has triggered health warnings for Sydney and other parts of the state, with conditions expected to persist into the weekend.
“It comes as parts of Victoria were forecast to reach their hottest October day on record…”
“Generations of Australia’s prime breeding cows are heading to slaughterhouses as a lack of water and feed sees more producers opt to “cash in and get out”.
“Across Australia in 2019 over 8 million cattle will go to abattoirs — 7 per cent up from 2018…”
“Coastal Karnataka [India] has received 520 mm of rainfall in October this year as against the normal of 186 mm for the month—making it the rainiest October on record since 1901.
“The subdivision has never witnessed such high volumes of October rain before… the previous highest October rainfall, recorded in the year 1955, was 361 mm.”
“An abandoned tanker laden with 2,800 million tonne naphtha floating off the Goan Coast could spill its toxic content with a strong cyclone set to buffet the Arabian Sea Coastline.
“Indian Coast Guard issued a fresh alert on Wednesday of a new cyclone in the Arabian Sea.
“The Coast Guard said, “While the Cyclonic Storm Kyarr moves away from the Indian coasts and continue to weaken, another well marked low pressure area has developed over Commorin and adjoining Indian Ocean area.””
“Tidal waves generated under the influence of Tropical Cyclone Kyarr, wreaked havoc in a coastal settlement near Gwadar [Pakistan], on Wednesday. The Arabian Sea waves surged and submerged several houses and mud huts in coastal settlement of Gunnus. The high waves surged to cause collapse of walls of the huts leaving the people to fight the natural calamity.”
“At least 29 people have been killed and more than 100,000 others affected since October as raging floods cause havoc in many parts of Kenya, an UN agency said on Thursday.
“The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the heavy rains which started in early October have also displaced thousands of people and threaten to unleash a wave of communicable diseases like cholera, typhoid and malaria.”
“Mowi Scotland said warm sea temperatures have aided in providing ‘ideal growing conditions for harmful algal blooms and has exacerbated health challenges common to salmon’.
“‘Unfortunately, some farm locations have suffered higher than normal mortality rates over the past few weeks,’ said Gideon Pringle, Mowi Scotland’s production director.”
“Today’s subtropical storm formed in a very similar manner to Hurricane Pablo, which was another unusual storm that formed near the Azores Islands last week. Rebekah developed beneath a broad upper-level low swirling around the northern Atlantic Ocean.”
“The worst flooding in two decades in the Central African Republic has left at least 28,000 people homeless, the country’s Red Cross said Tuesday, with the government calling the disaster a “huge natural catastrophe”.
“Torrential rains have pounded the country for several days, causing the Oubangui River and its tributaries to overflow.”
“Over in Ghana, unexpected rains in October continue to adversely affect parts of the country.
“Large areas of the north were submerged weeks back whiles a motorway connecting the capital Accra to the industrial hub of Tema got cut off due to floods.”
“Numerous people are feared dead after flooding caused a boat to capsize and thousands to flee their homes in Somalia…
“An estimated 182,000 people have been forced to leave their homes across the country early seasonal rains triggered torrential downpours to sweep across the country, particularly in southern areas.”
“…parts of Zambia are expected to reach a heat wave threshold of over 40°C up to October 31, SADC has revealed.
“And Dr Kaseya Chiyen’i, who is Livingstone Central Hospital head of clinical care, has advised Zambians to wear loose bright cloths and drink water long before one feels thirsty.”
“The Eastern Cape has been declared a drought disaster area. The announcement on Tuesday by the premier, Oscar Mabuyane, will galvanise much-needed relief funding from the national government.
“It follows repeated calls from hard-pressed farmers and the DA for the declaration to be made.”
“Nature has thrown up an oddball challenge to Karnataka [India] this year. More than 130 of the 178 taluks in the state are either reeling under drought or affected by the worst flooding in more than a century during the southwest monsoon.
“The state government had recently declared 49 taluks as drought-hit, whereas 103 were designated as flood-affected in August.
“Near the peaks of Mount Everest – towering some 5.6 miles above sea level – the ancient Khumbu Glacier is melting. Never before in the last 70 years has the massive ice rock melted more quickly than it is now.
“It is losing thickness at an unprecedented rate – about 131 feet in the last 10 to 15 years, to be exact. And the Nepali communities surrounding the Khumbu are feeling the consequences.”
“Large numbers of underweight and undernourished native animals suffering from the drought are being rescued across the Central West [Australia].
“Animal rescue group WIRES said it has been overwhelmed by the number of kangaroos, koalas, possums, flying foxes, wallabies, bandicoots and birds at risk from the drought they are having to rescue across the state.”
“Parts of Australia are expected to swelter before the weekend with the potential for 80-year temperature records to be broken.
“A big high pressure system in the Tasman Sea and a trough across south Western Australia will see the mercury soar in the east of the country in the coming days.”
“Unofficial figures report that at least four people have died following the heavy rain that caused the current flooding and landslides in the country [El Salvador].
“According to media reports, three people died in separate incidents after they were swept away by floodwaters in the departments of Morazán, La Paz and La Unión; the fourth victim died as a result of wind damage in San Miguel.”
“The winds that tend to be the most intense are the cold Diablo and Santa Ana winds, Patzert said.
“That’s because cold air is heavy and it gains momentum as it plummets downslope from higher elevations toward lower pressure at sea level. Frigid, dry arctic air from Canada is being deposited by the jet stream in a large area of high pressure in the Great Basin.”
“A round of severe thunderstorms could sweep across parts of the eastern United States this Thursday, potentially hitting some communities in the southeast and Mid-Atlantic just in time for kids to go out trick-or-treating…
“This is the same storm system that’s responsible for bringing a solid dose of winter to the Rockies.” [jet streams just a tiny bit fucked].
“As far as I know, your work is unique in pulling together stories from all over the world. Very sobering but a better and more complete view. Terrific and necessary work. Thank you!” – Simon
“With the inundation of so much depressing news, Justin Panopticon presents it in a succinct format that one can quickly go thru and see the big picture of climate and economics/politics to stay current and if a particle topic is of interest one can delve into the details… I try never to miss any of his posts…I am a Patreon of his work.”
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Weekday updates on both climate change and the global economy. Stay current with what’s happening around the world with a quick scan of top news.
“As we rolled into November, scientists discovered last month was the warmest October on record globally.
“Super Typhoon Halong is raging in the open waters of the western tropical Pacific Ocean right now, with satellite imagery estimating its peak winds at close to 305kmh. 
“…typhoons Hagibis and Faxai decimated Japanese farms, wiping out crops, ruining land and equipment and causing damage worth over US$2 billion. 
“The complex El Nino weather pattern that can bring disastrous heavy rainfall and long droughts to countries around the Pacific — from Peru to Indonesia and Australia — will probably emerge again in 2020, researchers have predicted. 
“While debate rages about how to fight climate change, the impacts that rising temperatures have already locked in are getting worse. Rising sea levels will threaten 40 million more people — three times that of previous estimates — over the next 30 years, new research says. 
“A study led by Australian National University researchers, published in Nature Communications, found sea-level increases during the last major melt of about 130,000 years ago were faster than models have factored in, even though the “climate forcing” from greenhouse gases is much stronger today.”
“Australia is no stranger to drought, and indeed floods. But for the past few years it been experiencing extreme, more prolonged periods of dry and hot weather and parts of the country are suffering a critical shortage of water. We visited an area in Central New South Wales where it hasn’t rained in three years.”
“A new satellite-based map of a section of the Amazon Basin reveals that at least some of the massive fires burning there this past summer were concentrated in water-stressed areas of the rainforest. 
“This Tuesday, November 5th, was a record in the “weather” category in Rio de Janeiro. 
“”Climate change has altered the entire cycle of life in the region [Mendoza, Argentina],” said Ivan Rosales, an agricultural engineer at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) in San Rafael, Mendoza.
“Shrinking water resources due to climate change are driving major declines in Mojave Desert bird populations, according to a new study from researchers at University of California, Berkeley. 
“Feeling damp, Montreal? Well, you’re not alone — and you’re certainly not imagining things, because apparently, we have just survived the wettest October in city history. 
““The fish deaths [Vaal River, South Africa] are aggravated by the weather and the heat we’ve had. But the cause is the oxygen depletion in the water from the high levels of nutrients in the water because of the incredibly high E coli counts in the mouth of the Rietspruit. This is where all the fish deaths are taking place.
“Recent flooding has brought disaster to parts of Somalia, with heavy Deyr-season rains sending the Shabelle and Juba rivers over their banks and forcing some 273,000 people from their homes in the southern part of the nation. 
“A record-breaking 44,000 people have been infected with mosquito-borne dengue in Pakistan this year, a senior health official said Wednesday
“Three-quarters of national commitments under the Paris climate accord to curb greenhouse gases will not even slow the accelerating pace of global warming, according to a report from five senior scientists.
“The Russian Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya experienced the warmest October on record, with average temperatures on the islands 8 degrees Celsius higher than normal, according to Russia’s meteorological service Roshydromet.
“October 2019 saw the extent of Arctic sea ice — the surface of the ocean that is covered by ice — reach at its lowest on record.
“Tuktoyaktuk, an Inuvialuit community of about 950 people, is one of the first communities in Canada facing relocation due to the impact of global warming. 
“The air temperature in Belarus in October 2019 averaged 9.5 degrees Celsius, which was 2.8 degrees above the norm, BelTA learned from the National Center for Hydrometeorology, Radioactive Pollution Control, and Environmental Monitoring (Belhydromet) of the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry.”
All of that displaced Arctic air has to go somewhere, right? 
“Large swaths of the state [California] are now extremely dry and primed to burn until December… 
“”Today the United States began the process to withdraw from the Paris Agreement,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. 
“The drought due to …the heat wave that is experienced these days, revealed the lack of environmental education in the inhabitants. 
“Australia has set a new weather record, registering its 36th month in a row of above average temperatures. 
“Australia is facing a domestic honey shortage, with years of natural disasters affecting beekeepers and their hives… 
“India will break its previous record of having been hit by the most number of tropical cyclones in a year, private weather forecasting agency Skymet said in its latest bulletin. Last year, the country broke its 33-year record, after having been hit by seven cyclones. 
“A potent combination of pollutants, agricultural practices, weather conditions, and geography has shrouded India’s capital in a toxic, throat-searing cloud of brown smog.
“If the difficult litany of this year’s climate change news has you wondering when there will be a plague of locusts next, well, there is – and there’s no joke when it comes to how millions of the voracious, crop-eating pests may affect Ethiopia… 
“South Africa has imposed emergency measures and is declaring several regions disaster areas, in response to the worst drought in living memory.
“Nigerian authorities issued a red alert on Monday to five southern states, saying there may be possible flooding in that region soon… 
“A 71-year-old woman was found dead on Monday after being engulfed by a landslide in the French city of Nice, as the south of the country counted the cost from a brutal storm. 
“Rising CO2 levels and a warmer earth means plants will grow bigger and have longer to suck the land dry. That’s bad news for human water supplies.”
“”The water flow at the Victoria Falls has fallen to a record low as southern Africa suffers its worst drought in decades.
“Wildlife workers are desperately shipping food in to feed the buffaloes, elephants and zebras in the park. Last month the charity Vets for Animal Welfare Zimbabwe sent 9,000 bales of hay to Mana Pools, but activists say that is not enough — and their efforts to tackle the crisis are hampered by a growing scarcity of diesel for their vehicles because of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.
“The African Farmers Association of South Africa (Afasa) has urged government to intervene in support of farmers in drought-stricken provinces… 
“[Tunisia’s] irregular rainfall patterns are accentuated by climate change, with periods of droughts and record high temperatures oscillating between torrential rain and floods, according to the agriculture ministry. 
“At least 29 people have died, 14,000 displaced and more than 100,000 people affected since heavy rainfall started early October in Kenya, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 
“Forecasters are surprised to watch very severe cyclone Maha intensify into an extremely severe cyclone by early this (Monday) morning…
“Dozens of bags containing waste polluted with radioactive substances are still missing in Fukushima Prefecture, three weeks after they were swept away from storage areas in floods triggered by Typhoon Hagibis. 
“The Japanese manufacturing sector risks being crippled by the torrential rains and flooding that accompany the increasingly strong typhoons that hit to country each year.
“A severe drought has broken in dramatic fashion in some parts of New South Wales, Australia, but the long-term forecasts remain grim. For the first time in 483 days, the far-west NSW town of Bourke has water flowing over their weir after 94mm of rain this weekend… 
“During the week the arrival of the heat wave was forecast throughout the center of northern Argentina. 
“In the past three weeks, the Bahamian government has detained and requested to deport more than 340 Haitians…
“A catastrophic storm during high tide which will leave thousands of homes, businesses and landmark buildings in Dublin under water is inevitable over the coming decades, one of the country’s foremost climate change experts has warned. 
“Tens of thousands of homes have been left without power in France…
“A wave of torrential rains and strong winds hit various parts of Italy on Sunday and Monday, with conditions expected to worsen Monday evening across Tuscany, Liguria, and the Alps. 
“The plastic waste flooding our oceans will continue to increase until companies reduce the single-use plastic they are flooding into the market. 
“[Wine] production was down this year across the major wine regions of France, Italy and Spain, with France and Italy experiencing a slump of 15% and Spain a more dramatic 24% drop.
“A powerful climate phenomenon in the Indian Ocean stronger than any seen in years is unleashing destructive rains and flooding across East Africa—and scientists say worse could be coming.
“A record 45 million people across southern Africa face severe food shortages in the next six months, with around a quarter of them currently enduring drought-induced “crisis” food insecurity, three United Nations agencies warned on Thursday. The 16-member Southern African Development Community is in the grips of a severe drought, as climate change wreaks havoc in impoverished countries struggling to cope with extreme natural disasters.”
“Malawi’s constitutional court has suspended its requirement that lawyers and judges wear traditional white wigs and black robes in the courtroom as an early season heatwave sweeps the southern African nation. 
“The flow at the Africa’s biggest waterfall is at its lowest since 1995, highlighting the threat posed by a drought to tourism and electricity generation in Zimbabwe and Zambia… 
“This week, the Arabian Sea witnessed a peculiar occurrence with the formation of Cyclone Maha even as Kyarr prevailed over the region. 
“The once-mighty Mekong river has been reduced to a thin, grubby neck of water in stretches of northern Thailand – record lows blamed on drought and a recently completed dam far upstream… 
“A severe drought is plaguing east China’s Anhui Province, leaving crops damaged and drinking water supplies disrupted in some of the hardest-hit regions, local authorities said on Friday… 
“Almost the whole Australian mainland is likely to have a warmer and drier than normal final two months of the year, boosting the odds that 2019 will be the country’s hottest on record. Nationally, maximum temperatures last month were almost 3 degrees above the 1961-90 average… 
“Kangaroos are digging for water in the South Australian outback as the drought continues. While on holiday in the Flinders Ranges this September, Janice Osman Iseppi witnessed the impressive adaption technique.
“Southern hemisphere spring showers once spawned meadows of dandelions in this vineyard-speckled Pacific coast town [in Chile]. Now there is just dust and hardpan… 
“A fast-moving fire forced thousands of people from their homes in Ventura County on Thursday night. The new fire, the Maria Fire, started just southeast of Santa Paula, California, about 6:30 p.m. local time Thursday night, CBS Los Angeles reported. 
“Temps hit 91 in Orlando and Sanford on Thursday. 
“It’s another day of bone-chilling cold for millions, with temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below average for a massive swath of the United States. 
“…in the deep of fall, Alaska’s profound change continues. Record warm ocean temperatures mean that sea ice in the state’s northern waters is at historic lows for early November. The ice refuses to regrow.
“Last October, when Juuta Sarpinak of Igloolik set off on a seal hunt, he took his snowmobile. For the same trip exactly a year later, he’d need a boat. Across Nunavut and the rest of the Arctic, the same scenario is playing out.
“The decline of insects in German forests and grassland is “frightening” particularly in the vicinity of intensively farmed land, scientists have warned.
“Climate change is becoming a problem for cemeteries everywhere, disintegrating headstones in California wildfires and swamping caskets in Alaska’s melting permafrost. Stronger storms and rising sea levels are bringing water into new places—uncovering graves through erosion, if they’re not swept away entirely.”
“With sea ice extent in 2019 tracking at below 2016 levels for more than a third of the year so far, it’s possible we could see a new lowest yearly average extent in the record books for the Arctic once the year is over. 
“Researchers from McGill University project that as the permafrost continues to degrade, the climate in various regions of the Arctic could potentially change abruptly, in the relatively near future. 
“The coldest temperature ever recorded in Salt Lake City in October occurred yesterday at 14 degrees! 
“Hurricane-force winds are expected to continue in Southern California on Thursday, fanning the flames of fires throughout the region. 
“Halloween makeup may not stay put tonight as Central Florida is expected to see record-setting heat on Thursday. Some good news though: a cooldown is coming! 
“The Cuban capital is one of the provinces with the least rainfall recorded so far this year, which means it will begin the dry months (November-April) 
“In another area of the world affected by drought, this time Tamaulipas, Mexico, Italian lime production has been hurt by the lack of rain during the first half of 2019… 
“The heat wave that kills Paraguay with temperatures between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius claimed the first two fatalities who died from heart disease, authorized sources said today. 
“A glacier in Patagonia that has lost half its length in 30 years may be the fastest-thinning glacier on the planet. 
“Smoke from fires burning in northern New South Wales has triggered health warnings for Sydney and other parts of the state, with conditions expected to persist into the weekend. 
“Generations of Australia’s prime breeding cows are heading to slaughterhouses as a lack of water and feed sees more producers opt to “cash in and get out”. 
“Coastal Karnataka [India] has received 520 mm of rainfall in October this year as against the normal of 186 mm for the month—making it the rainiest October on record since 1901. 
“An abandoned tanker laden with 2,800 million tonne naphtha floating off the Goan Coast could spill its toxic content with a strong cyclone set to buffet the Arabian Sea Coastline.
“Tidal waves generated under the influence of Tropical Cyclone Kyarr, wreaked havoc in a coastal settlement near Gwadar [Pakistan], on Wednesday. The Arabian Sea waves surged and submerged several houses and mud huts in coastal settlement of Gunnus. The high waves surged to cause collapse of walls of the huts leaving the people to fight the natural calamity.”
“At least 29 people have been killed and more than 100,000 others affected since October as raging floods cause havoc in many parts of Kenya, an UN agency said on Thursday. 
“Mowi Scotland said warm sea temperatures have aided in providing ‘ideal growing conditions for harmful algal blooms and has exacerbated health challenges common to salmon’.
“Today’s subtropical storm formed in a very similar manner to Hurricane Pablo, which was another unusual storm that formed near the Azores Islands last week. Rebekah developed beneath a broad upper-level low swirling around the northern Atlantic Ocean.”
“Dozens of people have died following a landslide caused by torrential rainfall in the western Cameroon city of Bafoussam, according to state media.
“The worst flooding in two decades in the Central African Republic has left at least 28,000 people homeless, the country’s Red Cross said Tuesday, with the government calling the disaster a “huge natural catastrophe”. 
“Over in Ghana, unexpected rains in October continue to adversely affect parts of the country. 
“Numerous people are feared dead after flooding caused a boat to capsize and thousands to flee their homes in Somalia… 
“More than two million Zambians are facing “severe” food insecurity after drought and flooding reduced harvests, the Red Cross said Tuesday. 
“…parts of Zambia are expected to reach a heat wave threshold of over 40°C up to October 31, SADC has revealed. 
“The Eastern Cape has been declared a drought disaster area. The announcement on Tuesday by the premier, Oscar Mabuyane, will galvanise much-needed relief funding from the national government. 
“Nature has thrown up an oddball challenge to Karnataka [India] this year. More than 130 of the 178 taluks in the state are either reeling under drought or affected by the worst flooding in more than a century during the southwest monsoon. 
“Near the peaks of Mount Everest – towering some 5.6 miles above sea level – the ancient Khumbu Glacier is melting. Never before in the last 70 years has the massive ice rock melted more quickly than it is now. 
“Large numbers of underweight and undernourished native animals suffering from the drought are being rescued across the Central West [Australia]. 
“Parts of Australia are expected to swelter before the weekend with the potential for 80-year temperature records to be broken. 
“Unofficial figures report that at least four people have died following the heavy rain that caused the current flooding and landslides in the country [El Salvador]. 
“Roxane Stafford was talking really, really fast, as if she could outrun the raging Kincade fire with words alone. 
“The winds that tend to be the most intense are the cold Diablo and Santa Ana winds, Patzert said. 
““So there’s a lot of warm air being shoved up into Alaska, and they’re getting record warm temperatures up there right now. 
“A round of severe thunderstorms could sweep across parts of the eastern United States this Thursday, potentially hitting some communities in the southeast and Mid-Atlantic just in time for kids to go out trick-or-treating… 
“Greenland holds the second-largest reserves of fresh water on the planet, after Antarctica. 