“Kellogg’s has been forced to increase the list price of their breakfast cereals as the drought drives up the wholesale price of grain…
“The price increase would primarily affect well-known cereals such as Corn Flakes, Coco pops, Nutri Grain, Froot Loops, All-Bran, Special K, Rice Bubbles and more…
“The current drought, particularly in regional New South Wales, is shaping up to be among the worst on record.
“Farmers in the west of the state are now bracing for “Day Zero”, the point in time at which rivers and dams run completely dry.”
“Australia is on track to produce its smallest winter grain crop for more a decade as tough times for farmers get even tougher, Rabobank says.
“The specialist rural lender predicts the winter crop will reach just 27.7 million tonnes as the harvest kicks into gear in some parts of the country.
“Rabobank noted the end to the growing season had been affected by record high Antarctic temperatures in August and September that caused a rare phenomenon known as “sudden stratospheric warming”.”
“Dwindling water supplies in towns such as Armidale and Tamworth threatens to sap population growth in regional NSW and add to Sydney’s congestion as the drought takes a deepening toll on the economy.
“Leading regional economist, Terry Rawnsley, has warned fears about water could discourage Sydney residents from moving to regional towns at the same time as the economic effects of the drought force workers to depart country areas in search of opportunities.”
“Flying foxes, including threatened species, have been dying or taken into care in large numbers due to a food shortage in their habitat in eastern Australia.
“Authorities in Queensland and New South Wales say there have been increased reports since September of sick and dead flying-foxes in an area stretching from northern NSW up to Gladstone in Queensland.”
“Australia’s Top End is experiencing a record breaking heatwave, with Darwin sweating through its second-highest temperature on record. The mercury hit 38.2 degrees in the capital at 12.30pm on Monday…
“The hottest ever day recorded in Darwin was 38.9C on October 18, 1982.”
“Typhoon Neoguri is feared to bring heavy rain to areas devastated by Typhoon Hagibis that lashed Japan earlier this month, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
“The JMA is urging residents of areas hit hard by Typhoon Hagibis to exercise caution against further floods and landslides.”
“At least 15 people have been killed after a dam at a Siberian gold mine collapsed and water flooded two dormitories where workers were sleeping. Another 13 people are unaccounted for, according to Russia’s emergencies ministry, prompting a major search operation to find them.
“The collapse during heavy rain happened early on Saturday near the village of Shchetinkino.”
“A violent tornado with winds of up to 111mph tore through Dallas on Sunday night, leveling buildings, tossing trailers and cutting power to thousands of homes.
“Rescuers launched a desperate overnight search for casualties in the city while officials issued a Tornado Watch across most of North Texas as the weather phenomenon tore through the state.”
“Heavy rain is causing bedlam in Scotland as shops were closed, concerts had to be cancelled and heavy flooding continues to cause a nightmare on the roads.
“Earlier this week the Met Office issued a sever weather warning for torrential rain in the eastern parts of Scotland.”
“Discussing the weather is a stereotypically British pastime, but the French have reason to do so today, following a weekend that saw tornadoes in the Hérault and record temperatures for the end of October in Corsica.
“Several tornadoes were reported along the A75 motorway between Pézenas and Clermont-l’Hérault on Sunday.”
“A weather warning was issued for the department of Ardeche in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on Saturday, but was replaced by flood alert after the equivalent of a month’s rain fell in one day in some of the worst-hit areas.
“More torrential rain was expected, particularly in Cevennes renowned for its mountain forests, with forecasters predicting up to 250 mm [around 10 inches] of rainfall…”
“In 2018 alone, 110,000 hectares (about 272,000 acres) of forest area in Germany were damaged and 33 million cubic meters of wood — equivalent in volume to 12 Great Pyramids of Giza — were declared dead, researchers at the country’s Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems said.
“A preliminary assessment for 2019 shows at least the same amount of damage.”
“Eka farmers’ union [Cyprus] representative Yiannakis Gavriel said that the potato crop has been wiped out by the hail. Photos posted online showed hailstorms bigger than walnuts.
““Unfortunately once again the potato crop has been wiped out. We expect the department to record the damage so that compensation can be paid immediately, allowing the farmers to plant again in November,” he said.”
“Hailstones fell on the east coast [UAE] on Sunday as the country began another week of unsettled weather… The downpour came as the UAE’s weather centre warned a tropical cyclone is forming in the Arabian Sea…
“In April, hundreds of people spent the night on the Jebel Jais mountainside when flooding caused roads to be cut off.”
“Floods in southeast Niger have forced 23,000 people to flee their homes since early October, officials said Saturday, threatening a new humanitarian crisis in a region already wracked by Boko Haram Islamist violence.
“Heavy rains have caused the Komadougou Yobe river that flows through the semi-desert Diffa region into Lake Chad to burst its banks, inundating villages, flooding fields and damaging crops.”
“The world is burning. Record or near-record temperatures, combined with drought in many areas, are contributing to yet another record-setting summer for wildfires.
“California has been largely spared so far this year, but wildfires in the Amazon rainforest and in or near the Arctic Circle are ringing alarm bells, as is a sharp increase in wildfires in Southern Europe.”
“Five years ago, a vast stretch of warm water emerged across the North Pacific Ocean, extending from Alaska to California to Hawaii.
“This marine heat wave, dubbed “The Blob,” was largely responsible for causing a mass coral bleaching event that ravaged nearly half of Hawaii’s coral reefs…
“Now, a new expanse of unusually warm water is building in roughly the same area and has quickly become the second-largest marine heat wave in the last 40 years of recorded data.
“The new version of “The Blob” is not only being blamed for driving record heat in Hawaii this summer, but it’s already sparked what scientists fear is the start of another mass coral bleaching event.”
“The combination of warm temperatures, gusty southwest winds, low humidity, and dry soil means the fire danger will climb even higher on Thursday.
“More than half the state is under a Red Flag Warning from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. including the Colorado Springs and Pubelo areas and most of the high country.”
“Another week of “fall” has passed. But as Halloween and the holidays approach, it doesn’t feel like Tampa Bay is close to joining pumpkin spice season. Just ask the meteorologists.
“The Tampa Bay region is about to set a new record for the longest stretch of time with temperatures at 70 degrees or greater.”
“A risk of severe weather, including tornadoes, is expected along parts of the Florida Gulf Coast late Friday and across northern and central Florida, southeast Georgia and the coastal Carolinas on Saturday as Potential Tropical Cyclone 16, or future Tropical or Subtropical Storm Nestor, moves into the Southeast.”
“An intensifying coastal storm bombed out overnight and brought flooding rain and damaging winds to the area[NE N America].
“Low pressure rapidly intensified as it moved up the coast into the northeast late Wednesday into Thursday. The storm’s central pressure plummeted 30 millibars in only 15 hours from late Wednesday morning to early Thursday morning.”
“Thawing of once permanently frozen ground covering more than half of Russia is putting buildings, pipelines and other infrastructure at risk of damage.
“With the Arctic warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, that’s a big problem. The economic loss is 50 billion to 150 billion rubles ($2.3 billion) a year, said Alexander Krutikov, deputy minister for the Far East and Arctic development.”
“Planpincieux, a glacier on Mont Blanc was on the verge of collapsing.
“There was concern that round 250,000 cubic meters of ice were about to slide into a nearby valley. Experts say it could be the beginning of the end of glaciers in the Italian Alps below 3,500 meters.”
“Lebanon struggled this week to fight its worst wildfires in decades after a heatwave and strong winds caused fires in the pine tree-dense western mountains to spread to towns south of Beirut.
“The fires are part of a brutal worldwide fire season that has also seen blazes in Brazil, the forests of the Congo Basin in Africa, and Siberia.”
“Qatar, the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas, may be able to cool its stadiums, but it cannot cool the entire country. Fears that the hundreds of thousands of soccer fans might wilt or even die while shuttling between stadiums and metros and hotels in the unforgiving summer heat prompted the decision to delay the World Cup by five months. It is now scheduled for November, during Qatar’s milder winter.
“The change in the World Cup date is a symptom of a larger problem – climate change.”
“Flash drought is a new phenomenon with increasing prominence due to global warming.
“Drought develops rapidly without sufficient early warning, and has stricken the world with severe impacts during recent years, such as the droughts over central USA in 2012 that caused billions of dollars of economic losses; southern China in 2013 that affected 2 million hectares of crops in Guizhou and Hunan provinces alone…”
“Harrowing images of a dried-up river scattered with dead mussels have uncovered the glaring reality of drought-stricken communities across the country [Australia]…
“The river is part of the Murray–Darling Basin but has run dry amid brutal drought conditions and a steady decline in water resources.”
“The warming began in the last week of August, when temperatures in the stratosphere high above the South Pole began rapidly heating in a phenomenon called “sudden stratospheric warming”.
“In the coming weeks the warming is forecast to intensify, and its effects will extend downward to Earth’s surface, affecting much of eastern Australia over the coming months.
“The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting the strongest Antarctic warming on record.”
“Violence and poverty have pushed tens of thousands of Central Americans to join the caravans heading for the US and Mexico. Hunger has been the main reason for Guatemalans to flee their homes.
“Over 3 million people are food insecure in Guatemala and almost 47% of under fives are chronically malnourished. It’s one of the highest rates in the world.”
“September 2019 was the planet’s warmest September since record keeping began in 1880, said NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) on October 16…
“Global ocean temperatures during September 2019 were tied for second warmest on record, according to NOAA, and global land temperatures were the warmest on record.”
“September was the warmest ever recorded in North America… September was also the 417th consecutive month [globally] with temperatures above the 20th century average.”
“Recent climate maps show a large amount of heat blanketing the entire polar region, with temperatures ranging from 1 C to 6 C above the norm predicted for the next month.
“So perhaps it’s not a surprise that several high temperature records recently tumbled at the Canadian Forces Station at Alert, on Nunavut’s Ellesmere Island, located some 2,000 kilometres north of Iqaluit…
“Environment Canada predicts that the warm temperatures in northern Canada are likely to continue through December…
“Sea ice is at its lowest recorded level for this time of year, judging from the satellite record, according to tracking by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.”
“For the 5.4 million people who live in Russia’s permafrost zone, the new climate has disrupted their homes and their livelihoods. Rivers are rising and running faster and entire neighbourhoods are falling into them. Arable land for farming has plummeted by more than half, to just 120,000 acres in 2017…
“Siberians who grew up learning to read nature’s subtlest signals are being driven to migrate by a climate they no longer understand.”
“The indigenous Sami people have lived across Norway, Finland, Russia and Sweden in the Arctic region for thousands of years. Their traditions and way of life are intimately connected to the Arctic north.
“But a warming planet is putting that under threat…”
“The water level of a Highlands loch likely dropped to its lowest in at least 750 years in May this year, according to archaeologists. Loch Vaa, near Aviemore, had been mysteriously losing water since September last year…
“The Scottish Environment Protection Agency suggested the loch had suffered due to a “relatively dry” winter.”
“Abdel-Rahman, who tends to the villa for its owners who come for weekends or holidays, had been dozing off when he noticed an orange glow coming through the window.
“”It was like judgment day. Terrible, absolutely terrible,” he says, watching a video of the fire [Lebanon] across the street from the house.”
“Indonesia is under a “blanket of smoke” amid wildfires that threaten humans, wildlife and the global climate, researchers say.
“The wildfires—some started by “slash-and-burn” methods for turning forests into farmland—happen yearly in Indonesia, but 2019’s fire season has been particularly damaging…”
“Subaru Corp.’s operations at its sole vehicle assembly plant in Japan have been halted since Wednesday afternoon because supply chains were disrupted by Typhoon Hagibis, the automaker has said.
“Subaru has been offering support, including staffers, to parts suppliers damaged by the typhoon.”
““Land clearance and degradation is one of the greatest crises facing Australia and the world,” says Bill Hare, the chief executive and senior scientist with Berlin-based Climate Analytics.
““It undermines the basis for food production, is causing species loss and ecological decline, destroys climate resilience, degrades water resources and reverses carbon storage on the land.””
“A new study out Monday seems to confirm an unpleasant reality: Potentially toxic algae blooms in the world’s freshwater lakes have become more intense over the last 30 years.
“And while climate change may not be the only reason why blooms have gotten worse, rising temperatures are likely making it harder for lakes to recover from them.”
“‘Blooming’ might be the last word to associate with the Arctic, yet pictures below show meadows bursting with life as brightly-coloured flowers blossom in lush green grass…
“The photographed area is 70th parallel north – with a distance to North Pole of only 1043 miles – where Russia has its northernmost residential settlements of Western Siberia.
“There, in bleak Arctic tundra summer-2019 expedition organised by Tomsk State University found oases of rich vegetation formed in places of actively thawing permafrost.”
“A study published October 15 in PLOS Biology documents an ecosystem-wide reproductive collapse around Zackenberg in 2018. Most plants and animals, including everything from arctic foxes to tiny Dryas flowers, failed to reproduce that year, because an extremely snowy winter left much of the ground covered with snow well into summer…
“Climate scientists predict that, as the globe warms, parts of the Arctic will see more precipitation and more extreme seasonal fluctuations.”
“Willis, Fenty, and a crew of other scientists and pilots are flying the edge of Greenland’s vast ice sheet to figure out how the ocean eats away at the ice, speeding or slowing its slide into the water, where it melts, raising sea levels worldwide”
“While coastal communities in New England are still recovering from costly beach erosion due to last week’s coastal storm, another one could be on the way this week — and it’s expected to intensify rapidly.
“Some models are even suggesting this possible nor’easter could strengthen so quickly it could become a “bomb cyclone.””
“The last instance of such a snowstorm this early was Oct. 9, 2005 in North Dakota. Prior to that event, it had been 130 years so, the cold plus snow is something that only happens once or twice a century,”
Critically, by the time the storm struck around 11th October, one-third of corn and one-fifth of soybeans had yet to reach full maturity, meaning that grain and pod fill were not fully completed.”
“The fall foliage may be dull, but parts of the James River [Virginia] are slightly brighter this October thanks to the “flash drought” that has gripped much of the Southeast for the past month.
“East of Hopewell, the largest blooms of algae detected in the James in several years are spreading as a lack of precipitation and higher-than-normal temperatures combine to produce ideal conditions for the organisms.”
“After a lengthy confirmation process, it’s now official. Colorado has a new hottest recorded temperature on record.
“The Colorado Climate Center — the governing body for official state meteorological records — confirmed that a 115-degree reading taken this summer is now officially the state’s hottest temperature ever recorded.”
“New figures from the Office of the Texas State Climatologist at Texas A&M University show that the Lone Star State just concluded its warmest end-of-summer on record.
“According to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information, September was the warmest ever on record, based on 125 years of data.”
“The bizarre weather that resulted in torrential rainfall across Ireland and flooding in Cork, Tipperary and Limerick also caused an apparent mini-tornado in Waterford.
“Residents of Stradbally in Co Waterford are adamant they suffered a mini-tornado as an powerful Atlantic weather front swept in.”
“Aided by strong winds and unseasonably high temperatures, the fires ate their way through dense forest near the towns of Meshref and Damour in Chouf and swept into the residential areas overnight on Monday, leading many families to flee their homes.
“Videos shared on social media showed hellish scenes of fires sweeping along roadways, releasing hails of embers onto onlookers.”
“The director general of meteorology, India Meteorological Department, M. Mohapatra, explains in an interview why the current monsoon season was unique…
“The month of September was the wettest ever… The current season saw the most delayed withdrawal of monsoon ever.”
“Hakone, in Kanagawa Prefecture, saw a staggering 922.5 mm [36 inches] of rain that day alone…
“Levees all along the Tama, which stretches over 138 kilometers between Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, were designed to withstand precipitation levels seen only once in every 200 years.
“But at the Ishihara observation station in the capital’s Chofu area, water levels had hit their highest-ever record of 6.24 meters by 11 p.m. on Saturday, far exceeding the 5.9 meters threshold the levees were built to withstand.”
“Cold temperatures on Wednesday and rain that is expected in the coming days are feared will take a further toll on areas of northeastern Japan and elsewhere that are still reeling from the impact of Typhoon Hagibis…
“The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of heavy rain from Friday through Saturday in northeastern and eastern Japan.”
“Australia will be split in two weather wise, with near record temperatures in the north but conditions so cold and angry in the south there’s a risk of thundersnow later this week.
“A pulse of polar will sweep across Victoria and Tasmania at the same time as elevated fore danger in northern Australia and a possible severe tropical storm that could rock through south east Queensland.”
“Drought stricken farmers [NSW, Australia] have been dealt another blow as it has been revealed soil laced with toxic chemicals and plastics has been dumped on their land by the government.
“Lead, fire retardants, and mercury were found in recycled soil given to farms in New South Wales – exposing farmers, their families, and crops to the toxic chemicals, according to The Daily Telegraph.”
“Switzerland’s glaciers have lost a tenth of their volume in the past five years alone — a melting rate unmatched during observations stretching back more than a century, a study showed Tuesday.
“Measurements on 20 Swiss glaciers have shown that melt rates this year have reached “record levels”, according to the annual study on the state of the glaciers, published by the Cryospheric Commission at the Swiss Academy of Sciences.
“The study, released amid growing global alarm over climate change, found that intense heatwaves over the summer in Switzerland had dashed hopes that an exceptionally snow-filled winter would limit the glacier melt this year.”
“The body of a middle-aged gas retailer, identified as Kingsley Ejike, has been discovered along the flood plain in Magodo, Lagos State.
“The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the torrential rain that started on Friday till the late hours of Saturday has submerged some houses and cut off some roads within the community on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.”
““The current drought in Angola has exposed the devastating impact of commercial cattle farming on communities in Gambos.
“”Traditional cattle farmers have lost their best grazing land and now watch helplessly as their children and families go to bed on empty stomachs,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Southern Africa.”
“The climate crisis is driving alarming levels of hunger in the world, undermining food security in the world’s most vulnerable regions, according to this year’s global hunger index…
“Rates are categorised as “alarming” in Chad, Madagascar, Yemen and Zambia. Nine countries have worse scores today than in 2010 – the Central African Republic, Madagascar, Venezuela, Yemen, Jordan, Malaysia, Mauritania, Lebanon and Oman.”
“Firefighters in Lebanon were struggling on Tuesday to contain massive wildfires raging in several areas across Mount Lebanon.
“Director-general of Civil Defense Raymond Khattar described the wildfires raging in Chouf, Aley and Metn as the worst fires to hit Lebanon in decades.”
“Last December Sydney was hit with the worst hailstorm in 20 years and experts warned more were on the way.
“‘We’re likely to see storms that bring large hailstones, tornadoes, heavy rain, localised flash flooding and damaging winds,’ NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Rob McNeill told the Sydney Morning Herald.”
“In Australia, the only thing as certain as drought is the subsequent calls by politicians to build new dams. Right on cue, the prime minister announced a $1bn commitment for new dams on Sunday.
“But if new dams can solve Australia’s water problems, why didn’t the government build more dams last time? Or the time before that? It may seem obvious, but building new dams doesn’t make it rain…”
“An evacuation center in Tokyo turned away two homeless people as a deadly typhoon approached on the weekend, prompting widespread criticism and a promise from the prime minister on Tuesday that it would not happen again.
“Staff at the evacuation center at a school in Taito Ward refused to let the two in on Saturday because they did not have addresses in the area…”
“Rescuers on Tuesday raced against the clock to save people still missing after a catastrophic typhoon killed at least 69 people and paralyzed numerous areas over the weekend.
“At least 10 were unaccounted for as of Tuesday afternoon, after Typhoon Hagibis brought record-breaking rainfall to huge swaths of the country…”
Hawaii’s record-breaking heatwave has been going on since May:
“The hot streak continued for Kahului as the town recorded four consecutive days of record-matching or recordbreaking temperatures. The four-day streak included Friday’s record of 94 degrees…”
“Power lines are suspected to have been involved in a major wildfire that led to evacuation orders for 100,000 people and was blamed for two deaths in Los Angeles County last week, authorities said Monday.
“The Saddleridge Fire ignited in a 50- by 70-foot area beneath a high voltage transmission tower on Thursday…”
“A new study that looked at glacier loss over all Peruvian mountain ranges reports a reduction of almost 30 percent in the area covered by glaciers between 2000 and 2016.
“Tropical glaciers exist around the equator at altitudes higher than 13,000 feet (4,000 meters), and Peru is home to 92% percent of all areas covered by glaciers in the tropics.”
“Tropical Depression Fifteen formed on Monday near the western coast of Africa in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean, a region where tropical cyclone formation is very rare this time of year.
“This tropical depression was over 200 miles southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands as of Tuesday morning, moving northwestward in the general direction of those islands.”
“The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Union, has announced record temperatures for September on a global level, making it the fourth month in a row to be close to or breaking a temperature record.
“The last four months have been exceptionally warm on a global level. June 2019 was the warmest June on record, July the warmest month ever recorded in this data set, and August 2019 settling for the second warmest August.”
“Hagibis was packing winds of 180 km per hour (112 mph) near its centre and gusts of up to 252 kmph (156 mph), broadcaster NHK reported the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) as saying on Saturday…
“The storm brought record-breaking rainfall to many areas, including the popular resort town of Hakone, which was hit with 939.5 mm (37 inches) of rain over 24 hours.”
“The death toll from Typhoon Hagibis rose to 47 on Monday as search-and-rescue teams continued to operate in flood- and landslide-hit areas of central and eastern Japan…
“At a disaster task force meeting, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government will do its utmost to support those affected by the typhoon and its after-effects…”
“Every day, Mumbai dumps 80 – 110 metric tons of plastic waste into drains and water channels…
“…creeks, rivers and the sea along Mumbai’s 437.71sqkm coastal stretch is under threat with plastic waste as a major source among municipal solid waste.”
“Heavy rains currently pounding parts of Mandera County has claimed one life and left a man fighting for his life at Elwak Sub County Hospital.
“Wargadud Township Chief, Adow Abdi Mohamed… expressed fears of a possible cholera outbreak in the area since most toilets have been washed away. “We are a risk of contracting waterborne diseases like cholera since floods have washed away toilets,” he said.”
“Save the Children warned of a major emergency in the Horn of Africa, as nearly 13 million people face critical levels of hunger following a succession of failed rains. Half of the affected people, an estimated 6.5 million, are children.
“The region is now experiencing the lowest cumulative rainfall totals since 1981… Despite efforts by aid agencies… the hunger situation in the Horn of Africa is rapidly deteriorating.”
“Sunday was the warmest October 13th ever recorded at Prague’s Klementinum, the oldest Czech monitoring station.
“The temperature reached 23.3 degrees Celsius, a tenth of a degree more than 1791. Seventeen monitoring stations in the Czech Republic exceeded 25 degrees Celsius.”
“With the Colorado Low which lashed the province since Thursday now out of the region, storm reports submitted to Environment Canada are truly giving scope to just how significant a storm it was.
““Leading up to its arrival, we were talking about how this could be a major event, but it’s nearly unbelievable some of the snowfall totals we’re hearing about considering the time of year it is,” says CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner Sunday morning.”
“Heavy rain and subsequent flooding in Baja California Sur (north-western Mexico) on 12 October, has resulted in one death and injured 4 in Los Cabos…
“As of 14 October, red alerts for extremely heavy rain have been issued for Baja California Sur and north-western states. Heavy rain and thunderstorms will continue to affect north-west Mexico over the next 24 hours.”
“The season has already been a record breaker and BOM state manager Bruce Gunn said there was little relief in sight…
“The BOM report said days spent in heatwave conditions across Queensland continued to rise, year-on-year. “We’re seeing around about 29 more days of very high fire danger or greater compared to what we saw in 1950,” Mr Gunn said.”
“The residents of one of Australia’s most drought impacted towns has been left with no choice but to drink their own treated sewage as existing sources run dry.
“The town of Tenterfield sits three hours drive from Brisbane in far north NSW and has been given a deadline of just 74 days before they will be completely without water – meaning the taps will stop working around Christmas.”
“The federal and New South Wales governments are investing $1bn in water infrastructure for rural and regional communities impacted by the devastating drought in NSW.
““Our response to the ongoing drought impacting rural and regional communities is comprehensive and committed,” the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said in a statement on Sunday.”
“Antarctic ice shelves are being destabilised by hidden, upside-down ‘rivers’ of warm water that course below the shelves and melt them from underneath, new research shows…
“”We’re seeing a new process, where warm water cuts into the shelf from below,” says one of the team, glaciologist Ted Scambos from the University of Colorado Boulder.”
“Global warming has been fueling droughts since the early 20th Century, when soils started drying out at the same time across parts of North and Central America, Eurasia, Australia and the Mediterranean, new research shows.
“The researchers say the surprising early-century findings provide the clearest signal yet that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions have been changing the hydroclimate…”
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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.
“Kellogg’s has been forced to increase the list price of their breakfast cereals as the drought drives up the wholesale price of grain…
“Australia is on track to produce its smallest winter grain crop for more a decade as tough times for farmers get even tougher, Rabobank says.
“Dwindling water supplies in towns such as Armidale and Tamworth threatens to sap population growth in regional NSW and add to Sydney’s congestion as the drought takes a deepening toll on the economy.
“Flying foxes, including threatened species, have been dying or taken into care in large numbers due to a food shortage in their habitat in eastern Australia. 
“Australia’s Top End is experiencing a record breaking heatwave, with Darwin sweating through its second-highest temperature on record. The mercury hit 38.2 degrees in the capital at 12.30pm on Monday… 
“Typhoon Neoguri is feared to bring heavy rain to areas devastated by Typhoon Hagibis that lashed Japan earlier this month, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. 
“At least 15 people have been killed after a dam at a Siberian gold mine collapsed and water flooded two dormitories where workers were sleeping. Another 13 people are unaccounted for, according to Russia’s emergencies ministry, prompting a major search operation to find them.
“A violent tornado with winds of up to 111mph tore through Dallas on Sunday night, leveling buildings, tossing trailers and cutting power to thousands of homes. 
“Heavy rain is causing bedlam in Scotland as shops were closed, concerts had to be cancelled and heavy flooding continues to cause a nightmare on the roads. 
“A weather warning was issued for the department of Ardeche in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on Saturday, but was replaced by flood alert after the equivalent of a month’s rain fell in one day in some of the worst-hit areas. 
“In 2018 alone, 110,000 hectares (about 272,000 acres) of forest area in Germany were damaged and 33 million cubic meters of wood — equivalent in volume to 12 Great Pyramids of Giza — were declared dead, researchers at the country’s Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems said. 
“Eka farmers’ union [Cyprus] representative Yiannakis Gavriel said that the potato crop has been wiped out by the hail. Photos posted online showed hailstorms bigger than walnuts.
“Hailstones fell on the east coast [UAE] on Sunday as the country began another week of unsettled weather… The downpour came as the UAE’s weather centre warned a tropical cyclone is forming in the Arabian Sea… 
“Floods in southeast Niger have forced 23,000 people to flee their homes since early October, officials said Saturday, threatening a new humanitarian crisis in a region already wracked by Boko Haram Islamist violence.
“The world is burning. Record or near-record temperatures, combined with drought in many areas, are contributing to yet another record-setting summer for wildfires. 
“Five years ago, a vast stretch of warm water emerged across the North Pacific Ocean, extending from Alaska to California to Hawaii.
“The combination of warm temperatures, gusty southwest winds, low humidity, and dry soil means the fire danger will climb even higher on Thursday. 
“St. George [Utah] is suffering from its longest dry spell in modern history: 122 days without any measurable precipitation. 
“Another week of “fall” has passed. But as Halloween and the holidays approach, it doesn’t feel like Tampa Bay is close to joining pumpkin spice season. Just ask the meteorologists. 
“A risk of severe weather, including tornadoes, is expected along parts of the Florida Gulf Coast late Friday and across northern and central Florida, southeast Georgia and the coastal Carolinas on Saturday as Potential Tropical Cyclone 16, or future Tropical or Subtropical Storm Nestor, moves into the Southeast.”
“An intensifying coastal storm bombed out overnight and brought flooding rain and damaging winds to the area[NE N America].
“Thawing of once permanently frozen ground covering more than half of Russia is putting buildings, pipelines and other infrastructure at risk of damage. 
“Planpincieux, a glacier on Mont Blanc was on the verge of collapsing. 
“Lebanon struggled this week to fight its worst wildfires in decades after a heatwave and strong winds caused fires in the pine tree-dense western mountains to spread to towns south of Beirut. 
“Unprecedented heavy flooding in South Sudan’s Maban County has affected nearly 200,000 people, including refugees and host population. 
“Qatar, the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas, may be able to cool its stadiums, but it cannot cool the entire country. Fears that the hundreds of thousands of soccer fans might wilt or even die while shuttling between stadiums and metros and hotels in the unforgiving summer heat prompted the decision to delay the World Cup by five months. It is now scheduled for November, during Qatar’s milder winter.
“Flash drought is a new phenomenon with increasing prominence due to global warming. 
“More than 23,000 hectares of the main island of Honshu have been confirmed to be flooded
“Harrowing images of a dried-up river scattered with dead mussels have uncovered the glaring reality of drought-stricken communities across the country [Australia]… 
“The warming began in the last week of August, when temperatures in the stratosphere high above the South Pole began rapidly heating in a phenomenon called “sudden stratospheric warming”.
“Violence and poverty have pushed tens of thousands of Central Americans to join the caravans heading for the US and Mexico. Hunger has been the main reason for Guatemalans to flee their homes. 
“September 2019 was the planet’s warmest September since record keeping began in 1880, said NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) on October 16…
“Recent climate maps show a large amount of heat blanketing the entire polar region, with temperatures ranging from 1 C to 6 C above the norm predicted for the next month.
“For the 5.4 million people who live in Russia’s permafrost zone, the new climate has disrupted their homes and their livelihoods. Rivers are rising and running faster and entire neighbourhoods are falling into them. Arable land for farming has plummeted by more than half, to just 120,000 acres in 2017… 
“The indigenous Sami people have lived across Norway, Finland, Russia and Sweden in the Arctic region for thousands of years. Their traditions and way of life are intimately connected to the Arctic north.
“The water level of a Highlands loch likely dropped to its lowest in at least 750 years in May this year, according to archaeologists. Loch Vaa, near Aviemore, had been mysteriously losing water since September last year… 
“A tornado has torn through the southern French town of Arles, ripping off roofs and throwing caravans onto their sides. 
“Indonesia is under a “blanket of smoke” amid wildfires that threaten humans, wildlife and the global climate, researchers say. 
“Subaru Corp.’s operations at its sole vehicle assembly plant in Japan have been halted since Wednesday afternoon because supply chains were disrupted by Typhoon Hagibis, the automaker has said. 
““Land clearance and degradation is one of the greatest crises facing Australia and the world,” says Bill Hare, the chief executive and senior scientist with Berlin-based Climate Analytics. 
“A new study out Monday seems to confirm an unpleasant reality: Potentially toxic algae blooms in the world’s freshwater lakes have become more intense over the last 30 years. 
“‘Blooming’ might be the last word to associate with the Arctic, yet pictures below show meadows bursting with life as brightly-coloured flowers blossom in lush green grass…
“A study published October 15 in PLOS Biology documents an ecosystem-wide reproductive collapse around Zackenberg in 2018. Most plants and animals, including everything from arctic foxes to tiny Dryas flowers, failed to reproduce that year, because an extremely snowy winter left much of the ground covered with snow well into summer… 
“While coastal communities in New England are still recovering from costly beach erosion due to last week’s coastal storm, another one could be on the way this week — and it’s expected to intensify rapidly. 
“The last instance of such a snowstorm this early was Oct. 9, 2005 in North Dakota. Prior to that event, it had been 130 years so, the cold plus snow is something that only happens once or twice a century,” 
“The fall foliage may be dull, but parts of the James River [Virginia] are slightly brighter this October thanks to the “flash drought” that has gripped much of the Southeast for the past month. 
“After a lengthy confirmation process, it’s now official. Colorado has a new hottest recorded temperature on record.
“New figures from the Office of the Texas State Climatologist at Texas A&M University show that the Lone Star State just concluded its warmest end-of-summer on record. 
“The number of children who have died from heatstroke this year after being left or getting trapped in hot cars is among the highest on record.
“The bizarre weather that resulted in torrential rainfall across Ireland and flooding in Cork, Tipperary and Limerick also caused an apparent mini-tornado in Waterford. 
“Aided by strong winds and unseasonably high temperatures, the fires ate their way through dense forest near the towns of Meshref and Damour in Chouf and swept into the residential areas overnight on Monday, leading many families to flee their homes. 
“The director general of meteorology, India Meteorological Department, M. Mohapatra, explains in an interview why the current monsoon season was unique… 
“Hakone, in Kanagawa Prefecture, saw a staggering 922.5 mm [36 inches] of rain that day alone…
“Cold temperatures on Wednesday and rain that is expected in the coming days are feared will take a further toll on areas of northeastern Japan and elsewhere that are still reeling from the impact of Typhoon Hagibis… 
“Australia will be split in two weather wise, with near record temperatures in the north but conditions so cold and angry in the south there’s a risk of thundersnow later this week.
“Drought stricken farmers [NSW, Australia] have been dealt another blow as it has been revealed soil laced with toxic chemicals and plastics has been dumped on their land by the government. 
“Switzerland’s glaciers have lost a tenth of their volume in the past five years alone — a melting rate unmatched during observations stretching back more than a century, a study showed Tuesday.
“The body of a middle-aged gas retailer, identified as Kingsley Ejike, has been discovered along the flood plain in Magodo, Lagos State. 
““The current drought in Angola has exposed the devastating impact of commercial cattle farming on communities in Gambos. 
“The climate crisis is driving alarming levels of hunger in the world, undermining food security in the world’s most vulnerable regions, according to this year’s global hunger index…
“Firefighters in Lebanon were struggling on Tuesday to contain massive wildfires raging in several areas across Mount Lebanon. 
“Last December Sydney was hit with the worst hailstorm in 20 years and experts warned more were on the way. 
“In Australia, the only thing as certain as drought is the subsequent calls by politicians to build new dams. Right on cue, the prime minister announced a $1bn commitment for new dams on Sunday. 
“An evacuation center in Tokyo turned away two homeless people as a deadly typhoon approached on the weekend, prompting widespread criticism and a promise from the prime minister on Tuesday that it would not happen again.
“Rescuers on Tuesday raced against the clock to save people still missing after a catastrophic typhoon killed at least 69 people and paralyzed numerous areas over the weekend. 
Hawaii’s record-breaking heatwave has been going on since May: 
“Power lines are suspected to have been involved in a major wildfire that led to evacuation orders for 100,000 people and was blamed for two deaths in Los Angeles County last week, authorities said Monday. 
“Hopi farmers have sustained themselves and their crops by diligently reading their arid Mesa surroundings. 
“A new study that looked at glacier loss over all Peruvian mountain ranges reports a reduction of almost 30 percent in the area covered by glaciers between 2000 and 2016. 
“Tropical Depression Fifteen formed on Monday near the western coast of Africa in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean, a region where tropical cyclone formation is very rare this time of year. 
“The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Union, has announced record temperatures for September on a global level, making it the fourth month in a row to be close to or breaking a temperature record.
“Hagibis was packing winds of 180 km per hour (112 mph) near its centre and gusts of up to 252 kmph (156 mph), broadcaster NHK reported the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) as saying on Saturday…
“The death toll from Typhoon Hagibis rose to 47 on Monday as search-and-rescue teams continued to operate in flood- and landslide-hit areas of central and eastern Japan… 
“Every day, Mumbai dumps 80 – 110 metric tons of plastic waste into drains and water channels… 
“Heavy rains currently pounding parts of Mandera County has claimed one life and left a man fighting for his life at Elwak Sub County Hospital. 
“Save the Children warned of a major emergency in the Horn of Africa, as nearly 13 million people face critical levels of hunger following a succession of failed rains. Half of the affected people, an estimated 6.5 million, are children. 
“Sunday was the warmest October 13th ever recorded at Prague’s Klementinum, the oldest Czech monitoring station. 
“France is battling to save champagne after rising temperatures threaten to ruin the grape varieties used to make the fizzy beverage… 
“With the Colorado Low which lashed the province since Thursday now out of the region, storm reports submitted to Environment Canada are truly giving scope to just how significant a storm it was.
“Wildfires have been raging across southern regions of the US state of California, forcing mass evacuations. 
“Heavy rain and subsequent flooding in Baja California Sur (north-western Mexico) on 12 October, has resulted in one death and injured 4 in Los Cabos… 
“Heavy rains were recorded in recent days in much of Uruguay… 
“The season has already been a record breaker and BOM state manager Bruce Gunn said there was little relief in sight… 
“The residents of one of Australia’s most drought impacted towns has been left with no choice but to drink their own treated sewage as existing sources run dry. 
“The federal and New South Wales governments are investing $1bn in water infrastructure for rural and regional communities impacted by the devastating drought in NSW. 
“Antarctic ice shelves are being destabilised by hidden, upside-down ‘rivers’ of warm water that course below the shelves and melt them from underneath, new research shows…
“Global warming has been fueling droughts since the early 20th Century, when soils started drying out at the same time across parts of North and Central America, Eurasia, Australia and the Mediterranean, new research shows.