“A vast and intense heat wave is underway in Europe as an unusually strong area of high pressure, also known as a “heat dome,” tightens its grip across much of the continent. This event is similar in its causes, but in many ways more intense, than the heat wave that enveloped much of Europe in late June and early July.
“Since peak summer temperatures typically occur in mid-July, it’s difficult to set all-time records during this time. However, such records are falling, which demonstrates the historical magnitude of this extreme weather event.
“Already on Tuesday, some all-time high temperature records had fallen across France. In Bourdeaux, for example, the high reached at least 106.2 degrees Tuesday, breaking the all-time record for that location by nearly a full degree, according to Meteo France meteorologist Ettiene Kapikian. Bourdeaux also set an all-time highest minimum temperature Tuesday, Meteo France reported.
“In Paris, the city’s all-time heat record may fall today or Thursday, if temperatures exceed 104.7 degrees. That record has stood since 1947. Current forecasts show a high of 107.6 in Paris on Thursday…
“London’s hottest temperature record of 100.6 degrees is also in jeopardy Thursday… In Portugal and Spain, the hot, dry conditions are escalating the risk of wildfires… Temperatures in Sweden and Norway are forecast to soar by the weekend… the all-time heat records of Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands “will be clearly threatened.””
“Conditions hit their peak at midnight in Brighton as the Met Office recorded temperatures of 27.8C, obliterating a nighttime record which has stood for almost 30 years. The previous record was also recorded in Brighton on August 3 1990, when the highest minimum temperature reached 23.9C.”
“Paris is its driest in almost 150 years and temperatures across Europe are reaching extreme levels, scorching fields and shutting power plants.
“As temperatures climb across Europe, peaking on Thursday in Paris and London, the effects of extreme weather are becoming clearer. Electricite de France SA cut its nuclear output because river water is too warm to cool plants, power prices have jumped and farmers are frustrated by another bad spell for crops.”
“Cape Cod was hit by a rare tornado Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. There were reports of downed trees and power lines but no known injuries…
“Of the 1,253 tornadoes that the United States has on average each year, Massachusetts sees only one…”
“The Potomac River, which flows through the US capital Washington, hit a record high temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) over the weekend—as warm as bathwater—following a major heat wave…
“The United States sweltered in dangerously hot weather over the weekend.”
“Heading into the hottest and driest months of [California’s] wildfire season, the Department of the Interior is short hundreds of firefighters, a result of recruitment problems and the longest federal government shutdown in history.
“Based on interviews and internal agency memos obtained through a public records request, The Times found that the agency had at least 241 fewer seasonal firefighters available than expected.”
“An upper level flow is pulling monsoonal moisture up from Mexico, raising humidity levels in typically-dry Los Angeles, where daytime temperatures have approached triple digits in the San Fernando Valley. Even closer to the beach, it’s hot.
“The mercury soared to 96 degrees today in Long Beach, breaking the daily heat record of 94 degrees, set in 1974…”
“Poisoned bodies, dangerous blobs and dissolving snail shells: the threats facing the killer whale family J pod read like a horror film.
“The resident orcas of British Columbia’s South Coast have no natural enemies, but the toxins in their environment are creating unnatural threats that could wipe out the entire population of the Salish Sea’s top predator, scientists say.”
“Wildfires have consumed nearly 2 million acres in Alaska so far this summer. In the Southwest part of the state, fires have scorched almost 500,000 acres in the past month.
“Alaska climatologist Rick Thoman says that this year fits into a trend of longer and more devastating wildfire seasons.”
“Almost 44,000 people have signed a petition calling for authorities to declare an emergency in the Siberian Federal District due to wildfires in Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk regions, RIA Novosti reported.
“As of Wednesday morning, wildfires had covered almost 846,000 hectares [over 2 million acres] in the north of the Krasnoyarsk territory, with officials saying that there was no immediate threat to cities and villages.”
“At least 666 people have been killed by flash floods, lightning and torrential rain caused by the monsoon in South Asia, officials say, as further rain is expected in the region through the week.
“Millions have been affected in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, where landslides and other effects of the rain have forced thousands to flee their homes.”
“Low rainfall and high temperatures are destroying the crops of Lao farmers across the country against the backdrop of an ongoing drought in the Southeast Asian region. Analysts say the lowest seasonal rainfall in decades will not only have a severe impact on farmers’ livelihoods but will also affect food security.”
“Senior climate experts laying it all on the table, painting a dire state of affairs. Large parts of Australia are not just in a severe drought, this is the most severe on record and according to the BOM, it’s as bad as it gets…
“What makes the current drought a standout is the temperature. The last 12 months have seen record-high daily temperatures reached around the nation.”
“The bustling boat traffic on Europe’s Rhine river ground to a halt for the first time in living memory last year, as shrinking alpine glaciers and severe drought made the key transport artery impassable. Those historic conditions could be repeated in a few weeks.
“With little rainfall recently, water levels at Kaub — a critical chokepoint near Frankfurt — dropped to about 150 centimeters (59 inches), half the depth from just a month ago. Movements of the heaviest barges are already restricted, and all river cargo could again cease if the level falls below 50 centimeters.”
“This week could see the UK’s all-time record temperature broken, with highs of above 36C forecast. In central and eastern parts of England, heatwave thresholds are expected to be met as high temperatures last throughout the middle part of this week.”
“France and Spain will face “extreme danger” from fires due to another scorching heatwave across western Europe this week, according to EU experts monitoring forest fires…
“Meanwhile, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands could see record temperatures this week with highs of 39C predicted across the three countries.”
“Heavy rains in New York City wreaked havoc on rush-hour commutes Monday evening
“…and caused major flooding on roads, including some streets in Brooklyn where the water reached knee-high levels and partially submerged cars, city officials said.”
“The dangerous heat wave responsible for breaking more than 100 heat records across the U.S. since Thursday is finally in the process of diminishing. But perhaps the most stunning of all the records challenged in recent days were the humidity levels in the Upper Midwest…
“Late Friday parts of Central Wisconsin, near the Wisconsin River, may have experienced dew point numbers into the middle 80s to near 90, pushing the “feels like” temperatures over 130 degrees.”
“Record-high temperatures occurring twice as frequently as record lows directly reflects our climate crisis, as you would expect increasing the average temperature to increase the number of extreme highs, while extreme cold happens less frequently…
“Current projections place that ratio as high as 20-to-1 by 2050 and 50-to-1 by the end of the century.”
“Experiencing a summer heat wave with temperatures in the nineties is probably pretty normal for most people. But now imagine you live in Alaska. Not so normal anymore, is it?
“Alaska has just come to the end of a period of warmth that re-wrote the record books for multiple cities and communities across the state.
“And crazy enough, it was one of several jaw dropping climate events taking place across our largest state.”
“The worst drought in 60 years has been ongoing in Chile since 2007, according to Al Jazeera, but scientists are now saying it may be permanent.
“By the year 2030, Chile’s capital, Santiago, and other regions are estimated to see increased temperatures with some left without drinking water indefinitely.”
“There could hardly be a starker sign of just how topsy-turvy the winter weather is in parts of Australia. This morning, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning for bushfires in parts of New South Wales with July temperatures set to come close to the hottest ever.
““As bizarre as it sounds midwinter — parts of NSW are likely to see elevated bushfire risk today,” the BOM tweeted this morning.”
“Taipei’s Da’an Forest Park saw a record amount of rainfall within a half-hour on Monday afternoon as thunderstorms drenched the city.
“The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said that thunderstorms began to appear in Taipei around 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon (July 22). From 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. the rainfall in Da’an Forest Park reached 116 mm [4.56 inches], and from 3:10 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. the accumulation was even greater at 136 mm.”
“Tropical cyclones followed quickly by deadly heatwaves will be a growing threat as global temperatures continue to rise to a dangerous level for human beings, according to climate scientists in Ireland and the UK. The scientists say their research should act as a “stark warning”.”
“A field survey conducted by the state agriculture department revealed that July 16 downpour and resultant waterlogging has damaged 90,563 acres of crops — mainly paddy and cotton — across five districts of Punjab [India]. Bathinda is the worst affected district, bearing 31.5% of the total damage.”
“In Sanyuan district of Sanming city [China], as much as 150mm [nearly six inches] fell between 6pm and 9pm local time. The local meteorological department has issued a red alert for heavy rain even as the downpours caused widespread flooding in the city.
“At Xinshibei Road, the main street in Sanming city, about 300 metres of the road was underwater.”
“A southeast Siberian region recovering from weeks of deadly flooding has been hit by another plague: venomous vipers. Twenty-five people have died and seven people remain unaccounted for…
“Vipers were spotted almost immediately afterward and officials had warned residents to exercise caution outdoors…
“a man in the central Russian region of Chelyabinsk has reportedly died from a snakebite while waiting for doctors to deliver the anti-venom medicine.”
“Nearly 170,000 hectares of forestland is burning in the Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Yakutia, Yamal, and Buryatia regions, TASS reported, citing the Aerial Forest Protection Service. The hygienic standard in the air exceeds the norm by 1.2 to 2.3 times, The Siberian Times reported, citing state-run consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor.”
“Temperatures could exceed 38C in some parts of the Bundesrepublik this week during a record fourth summer heat wave. On Thursday temperatures around Germany will spike to up 38C – reigning in the fourth heat wave of the summer. …
“France will ask the European Commission to bring forward the payment of 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) of subsidies to help farmers cope with a hot spell that hurt crops and pasture, with more damage feared this week, the farm minister said on Monday. Hot weather in France this week is expected to prolong drought conditions that have impacted several sectors over the past months, including nuclear power generation and farming…”
“About 1,800 firefighters have been struggling to contain wildfires in central Portugal that have injured 20 people, including eight firefighters.
“The fires broke out on Saturday across three fronts in the district of Castelo Branco, about 125 miles (200km) north-east of Lisbon, Portugal’s civil protection agency said.”
“The World Food Program warns 1.9 million Mozambicans battered by two devastating cyclones earlier this year are at risk of severe food shortages without urgent international assistance.
“Hundreds of people were killed, tens of thousands made homeless and livelihoods lost when Cyclones Idai and Kenneth hit Mozambique with devastating force in March and April.”
“The death toll from severe flooding in parts of India, Nepal and Bangladesh rose to more than 300 on Monday, even as heavy rains are starting to ebb and water levels started to recede in some of the worst-affected areas…
“Heavy rains and overflowing rivers swamped vast swathes of eastern India more than week ago.”
“At least four hikers were killed when heavy rainstorm caused floods in China on Monday, local media reported.
“A group of 285 hikers from three tourist groups got trapped after the downfall started around 3pm on Sunday (0700) Sunday GMT) in China’s eastern Jiangxi province, Xinhua news reported.”
“Authorities issued an evacuation order to tens of thousands of residents in western Japan on Sunday (July 21) as torrential rain lashed the region.
“Forecasters warned of mudslides, flooding and swollen rivers on the island of Kyushu and the Chugoku region, as Typhoon Danas, which was moving over the Korean Peninsula, dropped record-breaking rain on some parts of western Japan.”
“Pictures show the scale of the smoke in major population centres from the raging wildfires with the cause seen mainly as out-of-control forest fires in Krasnoyarsk region, the second largest in Russia.
“In Krasnoyarsk city, residents have been told by health officials to go outside only if really necessary.”
“Fears over melting glaciers are also fuelling a tourism boom in Alaska, with visitors flocking to the region to see the spectacular formations in their current glory.
“Rising summer temperatures in recent years have contributed to the rapid decline of a number of storied glaciers, as well as making them harder for travellers to access.”
“Two years after wildfires killed the pigs on his family farms in British Columbia, Scott Kellington is still coming to terms with the destruction. This particular fire had come from the north, its towering flames whipped into a terrible ferocity by strong winds and sustained by the 40C heat.”
““Every time we think we catch a break, it’s just another issue we have to solve,” Adam Jones, a 28-year-old organic farmer from Illinois, told CNBC. “It seems like it never stops.”
““This year, there are farmers who are the first in their family for three generations to not grow crops on their fields,” he continued.”
“About 195.7 million people were under an excessive heat watch or warning or a heat advisory Friday, according to the National Weather Service with alerts stretching from New Mexico to Maine.
“Record-breaking highs were recorded in at least four cities, including El Paso, Texas…”
“The Gulf of Mexico just had its hottest June since the federal government began keeping records 110 years ago, according to a new report on global land and ocean temperatures from American scientists…
“The June sea surface temperature, measured by buoys, ships and satellites, was more than 2 degrees warmer than average.”
“Of the many recent temperature anomalies, perhaps the most remarkable was in the Canadian Arctic community of Alert, Nunavut, which reached 21ºC on July 14th…
“According Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford, temperature calculations indicate that, if current trends continue, this July will top the current record for highest monthly average, set back in 2017. “
“Parts of the far northern region saw temperatures more common to southern beach resorts.
“In North Siberia, along the coast of the Laptev Sea, heat brought average temperatures for the month up to 8 degrees Celsius above normal, information from Russia’s meteorological institute Roshydromet shows.”
“The Matterhorn, the snow-flecked Queen of the Alps used in advertising as a symbol of permanence, is cracking as the permafrost at its core starts to thaw and its ice covering retreats…
“The plight of the Matterhorn, the range’s most photographed peak, shows the effect of climate change on the Alps.”
“NOAA’s June global state of the climate report released Thursday found global land and ocean temperatures were 0.95 degrees Celsius above the 20th-century average.
“Four separate analyses, including from NOAA and NASA, found Earth’s warmest June on record was in 2019.
“Earth is on track for one of its warmest years dating to 1880 based on trends from the first six months of 2019.
“Among areas most above average in June were Europe, Siberia, Arctic Canada and Alaska.”
“This was despite a relatively mild June in parts of the U.S.”
“Much of the U.S. is bracing for a scorching heat wave with record-breaking temperatures expected in at least 14 different states. In some areas, the heat has already proven deadly.
“Maryland officials say two people suffered heat-related deaths this week.”
“More than 67 percent of Alaska is either under “abnormally dry” or “moderate drought” conditions as of July 16, 2019. The drought monitor report released on Thursday shows 72 percent of the state’s population is included in those areas…
“Anchorage experienced its driest June on record and so far this month has only seen .07 inches of rain.”
“Vast stretches of Earth’s northern latitudes are on fire right now. Hot weather has engulfed a huge portion of the Arctic, from Alaska to Greenland to Siberia. That’s helped create conditions ripe for wildfires, including some truly massive ones burning in remote parts of the region that are being seen by satellites.”
“…the dry weather registered in 2019 in Andalusia [Spain] has had a massive impact on many parts of the region and has had consequences on the fruit and vegetable production, reducing the harvest forecasts in most provinces… [Andalusia experienced] the driest May ever recorded, and those same dynamics continued in June. With such a beginning of the summer, we can expect the water supply situation to worsen in the coming months.”
“Seven people are missing and 69 people have been rescued from deluges that hit the northwestern province of Düzce [Turkey] on Wednesday night and Thursday. Düzce Gov.
“Zülkif Dağlı said seven people went missing in the village of Esmahanım, while 69 stranded residents of Akçakoca and Cumayeri were rescued.”
“Once a small cluster of houses stood along a gentle stream in Pakistani Kashmir.
“Now only jagged rocks and a few damaged homes remain after torrential rains wreaked havoc on the picturesque mountain village in the Laswa Valley…
“Twenty-three people are missing, presumed dead by officials. Seven others were injured, while 150 houses and businesses were destroyed and about 50 buildings damaged in the seven hamlets spread across Laswa.
“India’s monsoon rains were 20% below average in the week ending on Wednesday, the weather office said, as summer showers turned patchy over the central, western and southern parts of the country, raising concerns over the progress of crop plantings.
“Overall, India has received 16% below average rain since the monsoon season began on June 1.”
“A family in India found a wild tiger “relaxing on a bed” in their house following a deadly monsoon which flooded parts of South Asia this week, according to Indian conservationists.
“In an image released by India’s Wildlife Trust, the massive predator can be seen lounging on a bed in the unnamed family’s home in the village of Harmuti, in the northeastern state of Assam.”
“The first Rohingya refugees could be relocated to an island in the next few months under controversial plans drawn up by the Bangladesh government…
“The proposal has concerned human rights groups and NGOs who are particularly worried about Bhasan Char’s isolation – the island is prone to severe flooding and cyclones and is more than a three hour boat ride from the mainland.”
“Firefighters across the country [China] have rescued 14,165 people and evacuated 44,631 people stranded in floods by 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management Thursday.
“The country has dispatched a total of 28,190 firefighters and 5,822 units of fire fighting trucks and boats in 2,725 rescues…”
“Authorities have issued a typhoon warning for Jeju Island and southern parts of the country on Friday as typhoon Danas barrels toward the Korean Peninsula…
“Up to 700mm [nearly 28 inches] of torrential rain is expected on Jeju and 200-500mm in southern coastal areas and on Mount Jiri, the KMA said.”
“Warming temperatures and changes in ocean circulation and salinity are driving the breakup of ice sheets in Antarctica, but a new study suggests that intense storms may help push the system over the edge.”
“A staggering 2 billion people around the world don’t have enough nutritious food to eat, and climate shocks like drought, heat waves, and extreme rainfall have played a large role in their plight, according to a new United Nations (UN) report.
“At the same time, the world also has an increasing number of people who are becoming obese, showing that our food system is bifurcating at the seams into the have-too-muches and the have-nots.”
“The latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list shows that worldwide some 28,338 species are threatened with extinction due to a combination of habitat loss, unsustainable fishing and hunting.
“That is a 6 per cent increase from 2018, when 26,840 species were threatened.”
“The heat wave that swept Israel on Wednesday reached its peak at Sodom, near the Dead Sea, where the mercury hit 49.9 degrees Celsius (almost 122 degrees Fahrenheit). This is the highest temperature ever recorded since Israel was founded in 1948.”
“The month of June 2019 was the second hottest in Italy since 1800, when data on temperatures first started being recorded. The atmospheric and climate sciences institute of the national research center (CNR) noted, however, that the hottest June on record remains that of 2003.”
“Just three weeks after temperatures reached an all-time high of 45 degrees in France and records were broken for the month of June in countries including Germany and Austria, another week of 40 degree-plus heat is forecast for next week…
“France Meteo is provisionally forecasting temperatures of 40 degrees-plus by the middle of next week.”
“Extreme heat warnings are posted across the central U.S. Temperatures feel well over 100 degrees. Public health officials are warning people to heed their heat warnings.
“In Madison, Wisconsin, volunteers are going door to door checking on the elderly. St. Louis is in the excessive heat danger zone. Prolonged exposure to the heat and humidity could be deadly for the most vulnerable.”
“If it doesn’t get any cooler at Denver International Airport before midnight, July 17, 2019 will surpass a “record warm minimum temperature” set in 1997
“…when the temperature didn’t drop below 71 degrees all day, the National Weather Service in Boulder said.”
“Louisiana grabbed many of the headlines from former Hurricane Barry. But the super-soggy storm made history in Arkansas where it unloaded nearly 15 inches of rain, a new record for a tropical weather system in the Razorback state.
“Arkansas is now the fifth state to post a new tropical storm or hurricane rainfall record since 2017, joining Texas, Hawaii, North Carolina, and South Carolina. These exceptional rain storms keep happening and appear to be part of a trend toward more extreme events, connected to climate change.”
“Extreme drought in a rainforest might seem like an oxymoron, but it isn’t.
“Since early 2018, the southern portion of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, has experienced moderate to extreme drought.
“This has wide-ranging consequences on drinking water supplies, electricity costs, salmon habitat and forest health.”
“Hikers on Greenland’s popular Arctic Circle Trail are being advised to avoid a portion of the 100-mile (165-kilometre) route linking Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq after two Americans had to be evacuated when they become disoriented in smoke caused by a wildfire…
“Smoke from the fire, as well as its remote location, have prevented firefighters from reaching the blaze and as of Monday, the fire had spread out over 93,000 acres (375 square kilometres).”
“Two months into hurricane season, and so far only two named storms in the Atlantic Ocean. Barry, the most recent storm, raced across Louisiana bringing plenty of rain and flooding.
“But more storms could be on the horizon. “As the temperatures start to drop in the Pacific, then we see more hurricane development,” explains CBS 4 Chief Meteorologist Bryan Hale.”
“The ongoing drought through the Murray Darling Basin [NSW, Australia] is now the worst on record according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
“Speaking during a Bureau of Meteorology seminar on climate, BOM climatologist David Jones said the drought had now exceeded the Federation Drought, the WWII drought and the Millennium drought in terms of its severity…”
“A severe drought that hit North Korea in May has resulted in major damage to the output of this year’s harvest…
“The drought — a product of what North Korean media described as the lowest average nationwide precipitation since 1917 — has “cut by half the expected production of a critical harvest,” the IFRC said, and “has destroyed crops that would have been harvested between June and September.””
“At least 227 people have died since flash floods ravaged swathes of South Asia over the weekend, officials said Thursday. Flooding and landslides, triggered by torrential monsoon rains, have swept across India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, leaving devastation in each country.”
“Spraying trillions of tons of snow over west Antarctica could halt the ice sheet’s collapse and save coastal cities across the world from sea level rise, according to a new study.
“The colossal geoengineering project would need energy from at least 12,000 wind turbines to power giant seawater pumps and snow cannons, and would destroy a unique natural reserve.”
“…online video generates 60 percent of all online data flow, or 1 zettabyte of data (one thousand billion billion bytes), and it generates 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year—the same as Spain. Around a third of this comes from video-on-demand services such as Netflix, while another third is the result of online pornographic videos.
“That means porn clips are generating as much CO2 as Belgium and Nigeria.”
“Almost six million people are under threat from rising flood waters across South Asia, where hundreds of thousands of people have already been displaced as a result of heavy monsoon rains.
“The flooding comes as India was still reeling from a weeks-long water crisis amid heavy droughts and heatwaves across the country which killed at least 137 people.
“Experts said the country has five years to address severe water shortages, caused by steadily depleting groundwater supplies, or over 100 million people will left be without ready access to water.
“In Afghanistan, drought has devastated traditional farming areas, forcing millions of people to move or face starvation, while in Bangladesh, heavy monsoon flooding has marooned entire communities and cut-off vital roads. Especially at risk are the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees living in fragile, makeshift camps along the country’s border with Myanmar.
“This is the sharp edge of the climate crisis. What seems an urgent but still future problem for many developed countries is already killing people in parts of Asia, and a new refugee crisis, far worse than that which has hit Europe in recent years, is brewing.”
“The city of Bathinda [India] today got flooded after it received record 178 mm [7 inches] of rain, which poured continuously for six hours. Residents were at the receiving end with the town’s drainage system choked following the heavy spell of rain.
“Most of the roads in the town were flooded with rainwater, which entered many localities and damaged household items.”
“Even as incessant rainfall and rivers in spate have flooded large parts of north Bihar [India], spectre of drought is looming over some other parts of the state due to abysmally low rains.
“The state received 401 mm of rainfall against the normal of 342 mm from June 1 to July 15, and yet farmers of many districts are unable to transplant paddy in their fields due to low rainfall.”
“Drought-ravaged towns [in Australia] face having to rely on a massive convoy of water trucks at a cost of millions of dollars a month just to survive, as the drought crisis rages on with no end in sight.
“Ten areas in regional New South Wales and southern Queensland are at high risk of running out of drinking water — a dire moment dubbed “day zero” — within the coming year.”
“This wallaby and deer sharing food may look cute, but the reason for them doing it is heartbreaking. This video shot by Jenny Hillman in Stanthorpe, Queensland, shows the dire conditions this region is experiencing.”
“Thirteen people in central Nigeria died after a three-storey residential building collapsed after torrential rain, emergency workers said on Tuesday. Rescue crews sifted through the rubble overnight after the building in the city of Jos came down on Monday…
“The collapse came after three days of pounding rain.”
“A downpour that fell for two hours Monday in Cartagena [Colombia] generated all kinds of emergencies. Since the flooding of many neighborhoods, caused by the overflow of canals and where the water rose more than a meter, to damage the power grid that affected the heroic and neighboring municipalities.”
“…4.02 inches of rainfall was reported in 90 minutes near Ypsilanti, Michigan.
“There will continue to be a risk for flooding from any of the slow moving downpours that Barry will produce over the Midwest overnight on Tuesday, moving into New York and Pennsylvania after midnight. Locally damaging winds cannot be ruled out with any thunderstorm as well,” Strait said.”
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its latest weekly Crop Progress and the holding pattern continues for U.S. corn and soybean farmers as the condition of corn and soybean remains significantly below average.
“The weather is not making it any easier as farmers wonder about the status of their late-planted crops.”
“Miami’s low temperature Sunday morning did not dip below the mid-80s. The low was 84 degrees at Miami International Airport, tying the city’s all-time warmest low temperature.
“For reference, 84 degrees is the average high in New York City in mid-July.”
“An extended drought is forcing French officials to restrict water usage in nearly two-thirds of mainland France, with the hardest-hit regions limiting consumption to little more than drinking and sanitation.”
““Time to sound the alarm,” said Mr Mestre. “Only 10 days of extreme heat were enough to collapse, melt and form a lake at the base of the Dent du Géant and the Aiguilles Marbrées.”
“He added: “This is truly alarming … glaciers all over the world are melting at an exponential speed.””
“The statement read: ‘In Bastia [Corsica], extremely intense rain has been observed, reaching 30mm (1.2 inches) in six minutes, 80mm (3.1 inches) in 30 minutes and 120mm (4.7 inches) in an hour. Waterspouts have degenerated into tornadoes.’”
“An environmental vicious circle is taking hold in Russia and other parts of the Arctic as permafrost – the frozen ground beneath a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere and almost 20% of Earth’s landmass – thaws.
“Rising temperatures are causing the ice that binds soil, rocks and sand in the ground to disintegrate, setting in motion a process that releases greenhouse gases.”
“The fear is that flames burning on the rim of the depression will weaken the permafrost and cause a major enlargement of the Batagai or Batagaika ‘megaslump’, seen as a wonder of Siberia…
“Reports say the destruction of the tundra is ‘alarming’ in the Verkhoyansk district of Yakutia region, also known as the Sakha Republic.”
“Wildfire activity is moving north. Of the 26 new fires reported over the past two days in Alaska, ten were above the Arctic Circle… Fifteen new fires were reported across Alaska Monday.
“Twenty-three fires are actively burning in the Tanana Zone today, with a total of 30 fires reported this year.
“In addition to the fires in Alaska, on July 10 a satellite detected heat signatures in Greenland that were consistent with those seen at wildland fires.”
“”Due to rising temperatures, the glaciers of Greenland are receding. At the same time sea ice is melting. Every year, billions of liters of meltwater are released into the ocean.”
“The enormous volumes of fresh water released in the Arctic not only raise the sea level, they also have the potential to change the system of global ocean currents—and thus, our climate.”
““If this July turns out to be the warmest July (it has a good shot at it), it will be the warmest month we have measured on Earth!” tweeted Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University.
“Like June, July has featured some notable high-temperature extremes, including in Nunavut, Canada, the northernmost permanently inhabited location on Earth.”
“As far as I know, your work is unique in pulling together stories from all over the world. Very sobering but a better and more complete view. Terrific and necessary work. Thank you!” – Simon
“With the inundation of so much depressing news, Justin Panopticon presents it in a succinct format that one can quickly go thru and see the big picture of climate and economics/politics to stay current and if a particle topic is of interest one can delve into the details… I try never to miss any of his posts…I am a Patreon of his work.”
– Karina S.
Search
About This Site
Weekday updates on both climate change and the global economy. Stay current with what’s happening around the world with a quick scan of top news.
“A vast and intense heat wave is underway in Europe as an unusually strong area of high pressure, also known as a “heat dome,” tightens its grip across much of the continent. This event is similar in its causes, but in many ways more intense, than the heat wave that enveloped much of Europe in late June and early July.
“UK has hottest night on record: 
“Paris is its driest in almost 150 years and temperatures across Europe are reaching extreme levels, scorching fields and shutting power plants. 
“Cape Cod was hit by a rare tornado Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. There were reports of downed trees and power lines but no known injuries… 
“The Potomac River, which flows through the US capital Washington, hit a record high temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) over the weekend—as warm as bathwater—following a major heat wave… 
“Authorities near Phoenix said a woman drowned in a flash flood Monday trying to reach safety from a truck trapped… 
“Heading into the hottest and driest months of [California’s] wildfire season, the Department of the Interior is short hundreds of firefighters, a result of recruitment problems and the longest federal government shutdown in history. 
“An upper level flow is pulling monsoonal moisture up from Mexico, raising humidity levels in typically-dry Los Angeles, where daytime temperatures have approached triple digits in the San Fernando Valley. Even closer to the beach, it’s hot. 
“Poisoned bodies, dangerous blobs and dissolving snail shells: the threats facing the killer whale family J pod read like a horror film. 
“Wildfires have consumed nearly 2 million acres in Alaska so far this summer. In the Southwest part of the state, fires have scorched almost 500,000 acres in the past month. 
“Almost 44,000 people have signed a petition calling for authorities to declare an emergency in the Siberian Federal District due to wildfires in Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk regions, RIA Novosti reported. 
“At least 666 people have been killed by flash floods, lightning and torrential rain caused by the monsoon in South Asia, officials say, as further rain is expected in the region through the week. 
“Senior climate experts laying it all on the table, painting a dire state of affairs. Large parts of Australia are not just in a severe drought, this is the most severe on record and according to the BOM, it’s as bad as it gets… 
“The bustling boat traffic on Europe’s Rhine river ground to a halt for the first time in living memory last year, as shrinking alpine glaciers and severe drought made the key transport artery impassable. Those historic conditions could be repeated in a few weeks.
“France and Spain will face “extreme danger” from fires due to another scorching heatwave across western Europe this week, according to EU experts monitoring forest fires… 
“Villagers of Cheveira in central Portugal complained not enough was being done to battle flames as wildfires continued to rage on Monday (July 22)”.
“Heavy rains in New York City wreaked havoc on rush-hour commutes Monday evening
“Researchers analyzed a continuous record kept since 1898 of tropical cyclone landfalls and rainfall associated with Coastal North Carolina storms. 
“The dangerous heat wave responsible for breaking more than 100 heat records across the U.S. since Thursday is finally in the process of diminishing. But perhaps the most stunning of all the records challenged in recent days were the humidity levels in the Upper Midwest… 
“Record-high temperatures occurring twice as frequently as record lows directly reflects our climate crisis, as you would expect increasing the average temperature to increase the number of extreme highs, while extreme cold happens less frequently… 
“Experiencing a summer heat wave with temperatures in the nineties is probably pretty normal for most people. But now imagine you live in Alaska. Not so normal anymore, is it? 
“The worst drought in 60 years has been ongoing in Chile since 2007, according to Al Jazeera, but scientists are now saying it may be permanent. 
“There could hardly be a starker sign of just how topsy-turvy the winter weather is in parts of Australia. This morning, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning for bushfires in parts of New South Wales with July temperatures set to come close to the hottest ever.
“Taipei’s Da’an Forest Park saw a record amount of rainfall within a half-hour on Monday afternoon as thunderstorms drenched the city. 
“Tropical cyclones followed quickly by deadly heatwaves will be a growing threat as global temperatures continue to rise to a dangerous level for human beings, according to climate scientists in Ireland and the UK. 
“A field survey conducted by the state agriculture department revealed that July 16 downpour and resultant waterlogging has damaged 90,563 acres of crops — mainly paddy and cotton — across five districts of Punjab [India]. 
“In Sanyuan district of Sanming city [China], as much as 150mm [nearly six inches] fell between 6pm and 9pm local time. The local meteorological department has issued a red alert for heavy rain even as the downpours caused widespread flooding in the city. 
“A southeast Siberian region recovering from weeks of deadly flooding has been hit by another plague: venomous vipers. Twenty-five people have died and seven people remain unaccounted for… 
“Nearly 170,000 hectares of forestland is burning in the Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Yakutia, Yamal, and Buryatia regions, TASS reported, citing the Aerial Forest Protection Service. 
“A heatwave set to hit Britain this week could beat the all-time temperature record for July, forecasters say…
“Temperatures could exceed 38C in some parts of the Bundesrepublik this week during a record fourth summer heat wave. On Thursday temperatures around Germany will spike to up 38C – reigning in the fourth heat wave of the summer. … 
“France will ask the European Commission to bring forward the payment of 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) of subsidies to help farmers cope with a hot spell that hurt crops and pasture, with more damage feared this week, the farm minister said on Monday. 
“The World Food Program warns 1.9 million Mozambicans battered by two devastating cyclones earlier this year are at risk of severe food shortages without urgent international assistance. 
“Officials say dozens of people have died in a thunderstorm that struck the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh [India]. 
“The death toll from severe flooding in parts of India, Nepal and Bangladesh rose to more than 300 on Monday, even as heavy rains are starting to ebb and water levels started to recede in some of the worst-affected areas… 
“At least four hikers were killed when heavy rainstorm caused floods in China on Monday, local media reported. 
“Authorities issued an evacuation order to tens of thousands of residents in western Japan on Sunday (July 21) as torrential rain lashed the region. 
“Pictures show the scale of the smoke in major population centres from the raging wildfires with the cause seen mainly as out-of-control forest fires in Krasnoyarsk region, the second largest in Russia. 
“Fears over melting glaciers are also fuelling a tourism boom in Alaska, with visitors flocking to the region to see the spectacular formations in their current glory. 
““Every time we think we catch a break, it’s just another issue we have to solve,” Adam Jones, a 28-year-old organic farmer from Illinois, told CNBC. “It seems like it never stops.” 
“About 195.7 million people were under an excessive heat watch or warning or a heat advisory Friday, according to the National Weather Service with alerts stretching from New Mexico to Maine. 
“The Gulf of Mexico just had its hottest June since the federal government began keeping records 110 years ago, according to a new report on global land and ocean temperatures from American scientists… 
“Of the many recent temperature anomalies, perhaps the most remarkable was in the Canadian Arctic community of Alert, Nunavut, which reached 21ºC on July 14th… 
“Parts of the far northern region saw temperatures more common to southern beach resorts. 
“The Matterhorn, the snow-flecked Queen of the Alps used in advertising as a symbol of permanence, is cracking as the permafrost at its core starts to thaw and its ice covering retreats… 
Just in case you were in any doubt: 
“Much of the U.S. is bracing for a scorching heat wave with record-breaking temperatures expected in at least 14 different states. In some areas, the heat has already proven deadly. 
“More than 67 percent of Alaska is either under “abnormally dry” or “moderate drought” conditions as of July 16, 2019. The drought monitor report released on Thursday shows 72 percent of the state’s population is included in those areas… 
“Vast stretches of Earth’s northern latitudes are on fire right now. Hot weather has engulfed a huge portion of the Arctic, from Alaska to Greenland to Siberia. 
“…the dry weather registered in 2019 in Andalusia [Spain] has had a massive impact on many parts of the region and has had consequences on the fruit and vegetable production, reducing the harvest forecasts in most provinces… [Andalusia experienced] the driest May ever recorded, and those same dynamics continued in June. 
“Seven people are missing and 69 people have been rescued from deluges that hit the northwestern province of Düzce [Turkey] on Wednesday night and Thursday. Düzce Gov. 
“Once a small cluster of houses stood along a gentle stream in Pakistani Kashmir. 
“India’s monsoon rains were 20% below average in the week ending on Wednesday, the weather office said, as summer showers turned patchy over the central, western and southern parts of the country, raising concerns over the progress of crop plantings. 
“A family in India found a wild tiger “relaxing on a bed” in their house following a deadly monsoon which flooded parts of South Asia this week, according to Indian conservationists. 
“The first Rohingya refugees could be relocated to an island in the next few months under controversial plans drawn up by the Bangladesh government… 
“Firefighters across the country [China] have rescued 14,165 people and evacuated 44,631 people stranded in floods by 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management Thursday. 
“Authorities have issued a typhoon warning for Jeju Island and southern parts of the country on Friday as typhoon Danas barrels toward the Korean Peninsula… 
“A staggering 2 billion people around the world don’t have enough nutritious food to eat, and climate shocks like drought, heat waves, and extreme rainfall have played a large role in their plight, according to a new United Nations (UN) report. 
“The latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list shows that worldwide some 28,338 species are threatened with extinction due to a combination of habitat loss, unsustainable fishing and hunting. 
“The heat wave that swept Israel on Wednesday reached its peak at Sodom, near the Dead Sea, where the mercury hit 49.9 degrees Celsius (almost 122 degrees Fahrenheit). 
“The month of June 2019 was the second hottest in Italy since 1800, when data on temperatures first started being recorded. 
“Just three weeks after temperatures reached an all-time high of 45 degrees in France and records were broken for the month of June in countries including Germany and Austria, another week of 40 degree-plus heat is forecast for next week… 
“If it doesn’t get any cooler at Denver International Airport before midnight, July 17, 2019 will surpass a “record warm minimum temperature” set in 1997
“Louisiana grabbed many of the headlines from former Hurricane Barry. But the super-soggy storm made history in Arkansas where it unloaded nearly 15 inches of rain, a new record for a tropical weather system in the Razorback state.
“Extreme drought in a rainforest might seem like an oxymoron, but it isn’t. 
“Hikers on Greenland’s popular Arctic Circle Trail are being advised to avoid a portion of the 100-mile (165-kilometre) route linking Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq after two Americans had to be evacuated when they become disoriented in smoke caused by a wildfire… 
“Two months into hurricane season, and so far only two named storms in the Atlantic Ocean. Barry, the most recent storm, raced across Louisiana bringing plenty of rain and flooding. 
“The ongoing drought through the Murray Darling Basin [NSW, Australia] is now the worst on record according to the Bureau of Meteorology. 
“A severe drought that hit North Korea in May has resulted in major damage to the output of this year’s harvest… 
“At least 227 people have died since flash floods ravaged swathes of South Asia over the weekend, officials said Thursday. 
“Spraying trillions of tons of snow over west Antarctica could halt the ice sheet’s collapse and save coastal cities across the world from sea level rise, according to a new study. 
“…online video generates 60 percent of all online data flow, or 1 zettabyte of data (one thousand billion billion bytes), and it generates 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year—the same as Spain. Around a third of this comes from video-on-demand services such as Netflix, while another third is the result of online pornographic videos. 
“Almost six million people are under threat from rising flood waters across South Asia, where hundreds of thousands of people have already been displaced as a result of heavy monsoon rains.
“In Afghanistan, drought has devastated traditional farming areas, forcing millions of people to move or face starvation, while in Bangladesh, heavy monsoon flooding has marooned entire communities and cut-off vital roads. Especially at risk are the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees living in fragile, makeshift camps along the country’s border with Myanmar.
“Monsoon flooding and landslides continued to cause havoc in South Asia on Tuesday, with the death toll rising to 78 in Nepal
“The city of Bathinda [India] today got flooded after it received record 178 mm [7 inches] of rain, which poured continuously for six hours. Residents were at the receiving end with the town’s drainage system choked following the heavy spell of rain. 
“Even as incessant rainfall and rivers in spate have flooded large parts of north Bihar [India], spectre of drought is looming over some other parts of the state due to abysmally low rains. 
“Drought-ravaged towns [in Australia] face having to rely on a massive convoy of water trucks at a cost of millions of dollars a month just to survive, as the drought crisis rages on with no end in sight. 
“Thirteen people in central Nigeria died after a three-storey residential building collapsed after torrential rain, emergency workers said on Tuesday. Rescue crews sifted through the rubble overnight after the building in the city of Jos came down on Monday… 
“A downpour that fell for two hours Monday in Cartagena [Colombia] generated all kinds of emergencies. Since the flooding of many neighborhoods, caused by the overflow of canals and where the water rose more than a meter, to damage the power grid that affected the heroic and neighboring municipalities.”
“…4.02 inches of rainfall was reported in 90 minutes near Ypsilanti, Michigan. 
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its latest weekly Crop Progress and the holding pattern continues for U.S. corn and soybean farmers as the condition of corn and soybean remains significantly below average. 
“Miami’s low temperature Sunday morning did not dip below the mid-80s. The low was 84 degrees at Miami International Airport, tying the city’s all-time warmest low temperature. 
Tornadoes are surprisingly common in England but very rare in Scotland: 
““Time to sound the alarm,” said Mr Mestre. “Only 10 days of extreme heat were enough to collapse, melt and form a lake at the base of the Dent du Géant and the Aiguilles Marbrées.”
“The statement read: ‘In Bastia [Corsica], extremely intense rain has been observed, reaching 30mm (1.2 inches) in six minutes, 80mm (3.1 inches) in 30 minutes and 120mm (4.7 inches) in an hour. 
“An environmental vicious circle is taking hold in Russia and other parts of the Arctic as permafrost – the frozen ground beneath a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere and almost 20% of Earth’s landmass – thaws. 
“The fear is that flames burning on the rim of the depression will weaken the permafrost and cause a major enlargement of the Batagai or Batagaika ‘megaslump’, seen as a wonder of Siberia… 
“”Due to rising temperatures, the glaciers of Greenland are receding. At the same time sea ice is melting. Every year, billions of liters of meltwater are released into the ocean.” 
““If this July turns out to be the warmest July (it has a good shot at it), it will be the warmest month we have measured on Earth!” tweeted Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University.