“Weather watchers are focused on the world’s most northerly community, which is in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave.
“”It’s really quite spectacular,” said David Phillips, Environment Canada’s chief climatologist. “This is unprecedented.”
“The weather agency confirmed that Canadian Forces Station Alert hit a record of 21 C on Sunday. On Monday…
“…it’s the latest anomaly in what’s been a long, hot summer across the Arctic…
“Records have been falling — not by fractions, but by large margins.
“It could be related to changes in the jet stream, [which] has slowed in recent years and has become more unstable, sometimes looping much farther north or south than normal.”
“During winter, temperatures in the frozen city of Yakutsk, Siberia, can plummet as low as –60C.
“But summer has landed and brought with it an unusually warm spell of weather, making the Russian city almost as hot as the Spanish resorts of Majorca and Benidorm.
“Built on permafrost – soil or rock that is frozen for more than two consecutive years – “the hidden gem” is located in a deep valley 60 miles south of Yakutsk surrounded by lush forestry.”
“Greenland’s ice sheet is sliding way more than previously thought, according to a new study… The researchers even found that Greenland’s main continental ice sheet slides more than parts of the incredibly fast-moving glaciers on the periphery, such as Jakobshavn in west Greenland.”
“As of July 14, 2019, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) recorded an Arctic sea ice extent of 7.905 million square kilometres.
“That is currently the lowest daily average since record-keeping began in 1979 – lower than the previous record of 7.96 million km² extent, seen in 2011, and lower than the 7.98 million square km² extent from 2012, the year we saw the lowest summer minimum extent in the record books.”
“A Swiss glacier is meting so swiftly that it has been covered with tarpaulin to try and slow down the rate. Parts of the Gurschengletscher glacier are blanketed with tarps near the peak of Mount Gemsstock, standing at 2,961 m high.
“The glacier in Andermatt, Switzerland, is just the latest to be given this treatment in a bid to stop it retreating.”
“Water restrictions are in place in 55 departments across France, and “crisis” levels have been reached in areas of 20 departments…
“The latest drought warnings come exactly one month after violent hailstorms battered the Drôme department. Some 50,000 insurance claims, totalling an estimated €250million have been filed, for damage caused by the storms.”
“Authorities evacuated dozens of citizens from flooded homes in western Greece on Sunday, a few days after seven people were killed by a violent storm in the north of the country.
“Such severe storms are unusual in Greece, where summers are usually hot and dry.”
“At least 24 people are feared dead after flash flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on July 15, according to local officials.
“”At least 24 people were swept away and have gone missing,” said Saeedur Rehman Qureshi from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) for Azad Jammu and Kashmir.”
“More than 100 people have been killed and millions more affected by devastating floods and landslides across India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
“In the Indian state of Assam, among the worst hit areas, agencies were working on a war footing to deal with the situation, the chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said.”
“China has seen a record high of rivers reporting floods since this year’s high-water season began, the Ministry of Water Resources said Sunday.
“A total of 377 rivers across the country have reported floods exceeding alarm levels, over 80 percent more than the annual number of such rivers registered since 1998 when severe floods hit China…”
“One year after heavy rains brought about the worst flooding in Japan’s Heisei Era, memorial services were held across western Japan last week remembering the 275 victims who lost their lives.
“But this year’s unprecedented downpours are bringing severe flood warnings that could exceed last year’s torrential rains in west Japan.”
“Japan’s Meteorological Agency said on Monday that central Tokyo has only seen less than three hours of sunshine over an 18-day stretch, setting a new record since 1988. The lack of sunshine affects crop production and drives up vegetable prices. According to government statistics, wholesale price of cucumber is about 50 percent higher than in previous years.”
“The type of severe air turbulence that sent dozens of Air Canada passengers to hospital Thursday could become a lot more common in the future due to climate change.
“Finding suitable flight paths to avoid turbulence is also becoming increasingly challenging for airlines as warming temperatures create larger storms and as the jet stream shifts northward…”
“NASA is the second institution to confirm that it was Earth’s hottest June, as the Copernicus Climate Change Service had already determined that June 2019 was the warmest such month on record for Europe and globally.”
Just a short one today; my apologies but work is pressing.
“Dozens of people have died in Nepal and a million have been affected in north-east India following heavy rains that triggered landslides and flooding across parts of south Asia.
“More than 50 people have been confirmed dead and 30 more remain missing in Nepal, where rescue efforts have been hampered by continued bad weather, which has blocked key highways and destroyed phone lines.”
“Heavy monsoon rains in India’s northeast Assam state displaced more than a million people from their homes and flash floods killed at least 10 in the past 72 hours, state authorities said on Saturday, warning the situation could worsen in coming days.”
“Lightning, rain-triggered flooding and landslides have killed at least 16 people in Bangladesh as parts of the South Asian country were deluged by heavy monsoon rain, officials said on Saturday.
“Thirteen were killed in lightning strikes while the rest died in flooding and landslides…”
“Across New South Wales and Queensland’s southern downs, country towns are approaching their own ‘day zero’, as water supplies dry up in the drought…
“Ten towns, including major centres, are considered to be at high risk of running out within six months, if it doesn’t rain and if water infrastructure isn’t improved.”
“The heaviest average rainfall to lash a swathe of southern and eastern China in more than half a century brought torrential rain and floods that destroyed houses, damaged crops and forced the evacuation of nearly 80,000 people, state media said.
“Even more rain is expected, state broadcaster CCTV said today, after average rainfall in the affected areas this week was recorded as 51 per cent higher than in the corresponding periods of previous years, and the largest since 1961.
“Aerial footage and images released by Xinhua News show rows of half-submerged buildings and flooded streets in some of the worst-hit areas including southeastern Jiangxi province and neighbouring Hunan.”
“Even before the intense flooding of the past week, their children were already sick and malnourished. “My children are suffering from fever, but we don’t have any medicine,” Kawser says. “We are living in real hardship here.”
“Hafiz and his family are among one million ethnic minority Rohingya Muslims living in the overcrowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar…”
“A train of 50 wagons filled with water from Jolarpet arrives at Chennai [India] on July 12, 2019. Chennai has been grappling with an acute water crisis over the past four months. The southern metropolis is facing a daily water deficit of at least 200 million litres, and the four reservoirs supplying to the city have run dry. “
“Catherine Head and colleagues at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) studied reefs in the remote Chagos Archipelago of the British Indian Ocean Territory before and after two ocean heatwaves with unusually high sea temperatures, which came 12 months apart.
“Surveying of the seafloor between 2015 and 2017 found that the high sea temperatures led to the loss of 70 per cent of the hard corals.”
“A THIRD blast of hot Saharan air is expected to hit [Spain’s] Costa Blanca this weekend, with temperatures today already reaching 40.7 degrees in Xativa.
“Interior municipalities – such as Orihuela and Alcoy – are expected to experience the brunt of the heat.”
“Parts of Scotland and northern England could face flooding as up to a month’s worth of rain may fall in the space of two hours. The Met Office has issued a thunderstorm warning for much of Scotland, bar the west coast, and large swathes of northern England and the Midlands, including East Anglia.”
[Maui had a very intense, prolonged heatwave in June]
“Thousands of people on Maui have been ordered to evacuate two towns in the path of a spreading wildfire, Hawaiian officials and media said. The 1,200 hectare (3,000 acre) brush fire in the island’s central valley was uncontrolled on Thursday night, Maui’s mayor, Mike Victorino, told a news conference. Firefighters were monitoring it overnight but it was too dangerous to battle it in the dark, he added.”
“A mudslide provoked by heavy rains caused the deaths of four children and three adults in the community of Santo Tomás Chautla, Puebla [Mexico], yesterday.
“The torrential downpour that struck the area late Wednesday afternoon weakened the side of a hillside, causing a piece of it to break away directly over a dwelling located on the hill.”
“Louisiana has withstood devastating hurricanes before, but authorities are urging residents not to underestimate the danger and destruction Tropical Storm Barry threatens as it gets closer to the coast Friday.
“”Look, there are three ways that Louisiana floods: storm surge, high rivers, and rain. We’re going to have all three,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said.”
“Vehicles were trapped in floodwaters across much of the Baltimore region Thursday night after storms produced torrential downpours and flash flooding. …
“Widespread flooding made roads impassable in parts of eastern Baltimore County, the National Weather Service said.”
“Some Great Lakes water levels hit record highs in June and are only expected to keep climbing, prompting concern from Michigan officials for waterfront communities already flooded.
“Lake Superior, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario set record high monthly mean water levels in June, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported this week.”
“Sue Mauger has tracked non-glacier stream temperatures in Cook Inlet [Alaska] for years. And she says she hasn’t seen readings like these. “We saw the highest recorded temperature we’ve ever measured… 81.7 degrees on the Deshka River.”
““So really, so far beyond what is comfortable for salmon and also at least five degrees warmer than any [recorded temperature] previously,” she said.”
“Lining the fjords of Greenland are remnants of Viking-era Norse outposts that flourished for less than 500 years before they were mysteriously abandoned.
“And now this lost culture is experiencing a second disappearance, triggered by climate change.”
“High temperatures and relentless sun throughout the spring have caused Arctic sea ice volume to plummet, nearly setting a record low for the month of June. Sea ice extent has also plummeted, setting a new record low as of July 10.”
“A record start to summer ice melt in Greenland this year has drawn attention to the northern ice sheet… But what about at the other icy end of the planet? …Like Greenland, the Antarctic ice sheet is losing ice and contributing to unabated global sea level rise.
“But there are worrying signs Antarctica is changing faster than expected and in places previously thought to be protected from rapid change.”
“…climate change is not our only existential crisis. Biodiversity loss deserves just as much of our attention. We are, in fact, living during the sixth mass extinction in the history of the Earth.
“According to a recent report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, an estimated 1 million species are currently at risk.”
“Tornadoes and violent hailstorms killed six tourists including two children in northern Greece late Wednesday, police said.
“Estimates of the injured ranged from at least 30 to more than 100 after the sudden and violent storm hit Halkidiki, near the city of Thessaloniki, on Wednesday night.
“Trees were uprooted, vans flipped over and motorcycles scattered through the streets by gale-force winds, as rain and hail pelted the streets…
“…medics described the storm as ‘unprecedented’ for this time of year.”
“Hail the size of oranges has injured 18 people in an Italian Adriatic city, while a blaze in Sicily forced beach-goers to flee. Italian news agency ANSA quoted hospital officials in Pescara as saying that the hailstorm caused cuts and bruises, especially on the head…
“In other bad weather in Italy, a tornado swept through the area of Milano Marittima, knocking down some 200 century-old pine trees in the popular Adriatic Sea resort.”
“As extreme weather lashes the world and average temperatures rise, the world’s food security is in acute danger — and not by the year 2100. Just this week, the United Nations warned that climate crisis disasters are happening at the rate of one a week.
“The signs of danger already abound, including in Israel, where drought has been constraining crops for years. Yet the national emergency food reserves suffice only for weeks, to three months at the most. “
“Delhi is experiencing the maximum monsoon rainfall deficit in the country. With persistent high temperatures, the national capital has received a mere 13.8 mm of rainfall so far since June 1—88% below normal for this time of the year…
“…extended summer resulted in Delhi’s hottest June day ever as Palam station recorded a whopping 48°C on June 10.”
“At least three persons have lost their lives and over two lakh were affected in the second wave of floods that has gripped 11 districts of Assam since the last few days.
“Incessant rainfall across the state in the past 24 hours has led to rapid flooding, landslides and mudslides in several places.”
“Heavy rains and related flooding have affected 1.63 million people in southern and eastern China, according to China’s Ministry of Emergency Management.
“About 77,000 people have been evacuated, and at least four deaths have been reported. The worst-affected areas are reportedly in the central province of Hunan and Jiangxi province in the east.”
“”Most parts of [North Korea’s] western coast, and the central inland, are experiencing high temperatures,” KCNA said. “Serious drought conditions are ongoing.”
“State media said the area most seriously hit includes South Hwanghae Province, known as the rice basket of the country.
“North Korea’s meteorological administration said rainfall in May was 37 to 46.3 percent of the average. Weather conditions are increasing concerns of a food shortage in the country, according to Yonhap news agency.”
“Hot, dry weather will persist across Australia’s east coast until at least October, the country’s weather bureau said on Thursday, signalling no relief for drought-hit farmers in one of the world’s largest agricultural producers…
“The forecast would extend drought conditions that have devastated agricultural production across Australia’s east coast into a third year.”
“Hard coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef is near record lows in its northern stretch and in decline in the south, surveys by government scientists have found.
“A report card by the government’s Australian Institute of Marine Science says hard coral cover in the northern region above Cooktown is at 14% – a slight increase on last year but close to the lowest since monitoring began in 1985.”
“A new study in the journal Nature Geosciences reports that by the drought’s peak, a combination of factors—including lack of rain, extreme heat and overcrowding stressed out the forest—lead to mass die-offs.
“In total, almost 150 million trees have died in California since the drought began.”
“Louisiana on Wednesday declared a state of emergency as a storm in the Gulf of Mexico was fast developing into a category 1 hurricane and spinning towards the Louisiana coast.
“Experts are warning that the resulting storm surge could push the already swollen Mississippi River precariously close to the tops of levees that protect New Orleans – in what will be their greatest test since the catastrophic failure during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.”
“Recent surveys by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute have shown that algae growth on Cayman’s coral reefs is already at near critical levels. Wang said there is little likelihood the problem will go away.
““Right now,” she said, “we’re proposing [the increased sargassum] will have a big impact.””
“The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said Dingwall in Easter Ross was among the places worst affected by the rain.
“Vincent Fitzsimons told BBC radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “Over a month’s worth of rain fell between teatime and nightfall, flooding the high street, while places nearby saw next to nothing.””
“The largest [Siberian] forest fires are reported in the Krasnoyarsk (68,000 hectares), Irkutsk (35,600 hectares), Zabaikalsky (10,800 hectares) and Amur (9,800 hectares) regions. Wildfires are also registered in six other regions. A total of 3,400 people and over 500 units of equipment are involved in extinguishing forest fires.”
“Historic, record-breaking heat isn’t the only environmental malaise that’s gripped Alaska this summer. So has wildfire smoke.
“An incredible satellite image taken on July 8 shows smoke spreading far and wide across Alaska as a spate of hot, dry weather causes the state’s wildfire season to kick into high gear.”
“Strange but true — the surface waters in the Beaufort Sea are outpacing Lake Superior when it comes to temperature this summer.
“In a flip-flop scenario, a monitoring buoy near Prudhoe Bay, north of Alaska, is recording temperatures better suited to Lake Superior, while the lake shivers in temperatures more suited to the Arctic Circle.”
“The year-long period ending in June was the wettest 12-month span in U.S. records that go back to 1895. This breaks a remarkable record that was set just a month earlier.
“For the 48 contiguous U.S. states, precipitation averaged 37.86 inches from July 2018 to June 2019. The previous record for any 12-month period was 37.68 inches, recorded from June 2018 to May 2019. No other year-long spans on record have averaged more than 37 inches for the entire nation.”
““Our greatest concern is for torrential rain that would result in significant flooding…” Kottlowski said. “A second concern we have is for storm surge flooding.”
“AccuWeather sees the greatest threat for flooding rainfall to be in southern Louisiana, where an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 24 inches is expected.”
“At least 300 people have been evacuated in Kearney, Nebraska due to severe flooding, according to the city’s emergency management coordinator Darrin Lewis… Wood River is expected to crest at a historic 17.7 feet Wednesday morning, which could cause more flooding and require additional water rescues…
“The city, which has a population of more than 30,000, received close to 9 inches of rain Monday night.”
“145,321 acres: That’s the size of the largest wildfire burning this year, according to a map from Alaska Wildland Fire Information, the state’s interagency effort to track fires. All told, there are 782,681 acres on fire in the United States, and more than 550,000 of them are in Alaska.”
“Russia’s Emergencies Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that 24 people died in the Irkutsk Region floods.
“”According to the data as of 17:00 Moscow time, nine persons are missing and 24 people died [in the floods],” the ministry’s regional branch told TASS… A total of 10,800 houses in 107 communities that are home to over 34,000 people, including more than 8,000 children, were flooded from late June when floods started in the Irkutsk Region in East Siberia.”
“Parts of Japan are bracing for more flooding after downpours triggered deadly mudslides and flooding last week. Kanoya recorded 472.5 mm (18.60 inches) in a single day and more than 600 mm (25 inches) over a three-day period during last week’s flooding event.
“A slow-moving storm system is set to unleash widespread heavy rainfall across southern and central Japan from Wednesday into Friday, renewing the risk for flooding and mudslides for millions of people.”
“Aerial photo taken on July 10, 2019 shows the medical workers rescuing people in Liuzhou City, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
“Due to sustained torrential rain in recent days, the water level of Liujiang River hit a record high of 0.76 meters above its warning level on Wednesday.”
“Floods killed three people and left three missing as torrential downpours pelted central China’s Hunan Province, local authorities said Tuesday. The casualties were reported in the hard-hit Youxian County, which has experienced heavy rain since last Saturday.
“As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, over a dozen places in the county had recorded precipitation of more than 300 mm [12 inches].”
“With global warming, the Himalayas, along with several other glaciated regions across the planet, are expected to experience a drastic reduction in ice mass and rapidly retreat.
“A new study tracing Himalayan glacier melt from 1975 to 2016 found that the melt rate has actually doubled since the turn of the century, suggesting a heightened risk of flooding for vulnerable regions.”
“Treating patients will “depend on God’s mercy” if water supplies in India’s fourth-largest metropolis aren’t replenished shortly, said Ravisankar, the chairman of Sudar hospitals, a chain of four clinics with 150 beds.
“Piped water at his hospitals has already dried up, and even the more expensive water trucks he now relies on may be unavailable soon in the state of Tamil Nadu.”
“Even the normally sensible and restrained meteorologists at Aemet [Spain] described the phenomenon as being similar to “opening the door of a hot oven”, as at around 17.00 temperatures suddenly rose by 13 degrees from 28C to an all-time record for the location of 41.6C.
“Torrential rain and hail brought severe flooding to parts of northeastern Spain on Monday evening, killing at least one person.
“The extreme weather left government officials puzzled after four times more rain than forecast fell suddenly in the Navarra region, causing the river Cidacos to burst its banks.”
“The condition of French cereal crops declined sharply last week, farming agency FranceAgriMer said on Friday, suggesting a negative impact from a record-breaking heatwave in the European Union’s biggest grain producer.
“Grain markets have been assessing the effects of scorching temperatures in western Europe, which included a record high of 45.9 degrees Celsius (114.6°F) in France.”
“Turn on the tap – and nothing comes out? Around Germany most people know this only from burst pipes or repair work. But in the second dry summer in a row – and following record-breaking temperatures in June – regions like Lusatia in the eastern German state Brandenburg face a problem: If it continues to rain so little, water supplies could become scarce.
“In the brain, when neurons fire off electrical signals to their neighbors, this happens through an “all-or-none” response. The signal only happens once conditions in the cell breach a certain threshold.
“Now an MIT researcher has observed a similar phenomenon in a completely different system: Earth’s carbon cycle.
“Daniel Rothman, professor of geophysics and co-director of the Lorenz Center in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, has found that when the rate at which carbon dioxide enters the oceans pushes past a certain threshold — whether as the result of a sudden burst or a slow, steady influx — the Earth may respond with a runaway cascade of chemical feedbacks, leading to extreme ocean acidification that dramatically amplifies the effects of the original trigger.”
“The huge Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is at risk of crossing a tipping point where it could cause an unstoppable 20-inch (0.5 metre) rise in global sea levels, warns new research…
“Study leader Dr Alex Robel, Assistant Professor in Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, said: ‘If you trigger this instability, you don’t need to continue to force the ice sheet by cranking up temperatures.”
“Russian officials are raising the alarm about mass bee deaths across the country. The Russian Agricultural Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that bees have been dying in large numbers in at least seven regions this year…
“Rossiya 1 in a TV report on Monday quoted one farmer outside Moscow who said he had lost 100,000 bees in the past week. The footage showed the ground by the hives covered by a layer of dead bees.”
“Following another year of extreme temperatures in Europe, a severe drought in Lithuania has resulted in the government there declaring a state of emergency, as drought conditions threaten to decrease this year’s harvests by up to 50%.
“The hottest June in recorded history was experienced in that country this year as temperatures soared, leading to severe droughts in many farming communities.”
“Bahrain Meteorological Directorate (BMD) reported that the month of June 2019 goes on record as the hottest June ever experienced in Bahrain since [records began in] 1902.
“The mean temperature of the month was 36.3°C which is 3.9°C above the long-term normal for June and this goes on record as the highest mean temperatures for the month of June since 1902. The old record was 35.7°C in June 2018…”
“In Somalia, where I am acting country director for the aid agency Islamic Relief, the population is currently experiencing a drought that could threaten the lives or livelihoods of more than two million people by the end of the summer, according to the UN…
“The climate has been wreaking havoc on Somalia’s seasons…”
“Increasing dam levels did not mean the drought was over, the City of Cape Town said on Monday. The city said via a press statement that it wanted to remind residents that water restrictions remained in place…
“Residents were encouraged to continue using water sparingly and to remain water wise.”
“Despite the India Meteorological Department declaring the start of the monsoon across New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Friday, July 5, rainfall is expected to fall well short of normal through the middle of July…
“Northwestern Rajasthan may have to wait even longer for the rainy season to commence after missing out on the latest round of monsoon rain.”
“This is the frightening moment sparks flew as debris thrown by a tornado storm hit power lines in Indonesia’s West Sumatra.
“Eyewitness video filmed by local citizen Fadli Yahya in the village of Gadut, Agam district, at 2:45pm on Monday (July 8) shows roof panels being stripped off of roadside buildings and into overhead power lines, causing explosions and sending onlookers running for shelter.”
“A section of a man-made lake in Cempaka Park, East Jakarta, has completely dried up, unearthing withered grass and soil, as the city enters what could be a prolonged dry season.
“The section, whose water level once reached to an adult’s waist, is connected to a larger lake that is also slowly receding.”
“Central Chile is suffering the worst drought in 60 years. That includes the capital Santiago, home to nearly half the country’s population of 18 million.
“Experts predict climate change, over-exploitation by agriculture and other factors means the shortage of water will be permanent.”
“Much of D.C., Arlington, Montgomery, Frederick, and Carroll counties received 2 to 4 inches of rain, with many areas picking up those amounts in only 1 or 2 hours.
“A National Weather Service Employee told the Associated Press that about 6.3 inches of rain fell near Frederick, Maryland. This heavy rainfall prompted street flooding, collapsed trees and water rescues.”
“Intense cycles of downpours are washing pollutants into the Chesapeake from municipal sewer overflows, subdivisions and farms where manure often isn’t effectively handled and nitrogen and phosphorous-rich fertilizers are used.
“Experts say climate change is accelerating the environmental decline, potentially leading to more damaging algae blooms and dead zones in the Chesapeake and coastal waters.”
“Does someone want to let Mother Nature know that we are already a week into July and summer is supposed to be in full swing?
“Apparently, some places around Canada are confused what month it is because parts of Saskatchewan woke up to snow and hail this morning. And we have the pictures to prove it.”
“Climatologists are raising the alarm after Alaska reached record high temperatures in June and continue to see sweltering weather, while wildfires in the state continue to burn.”
“Thoman says that temperatures have been 8 degrees above normal this year [in the Bering and Chukchi Seas), and those numbers rose 3 degrees over last year’s record-breaking temperatures.
“Hooper Bay’s Olson says that he sees more open water where there used to be thick ice in the middle of winter.”
“As far as I know, your work is unique in pulling together stories from all over the world. Very sobering but a better and more complete view. Terrific and necessary work. Thank you!” – Simon
“With the inundation of so much depressing news, Justin Panopticon presents it in a succinct format that one can quickly go thru and see the big picture of climate and economics/politics to stay current and if a particle topic is of interest one can delve into the details… I try never to miss any of his posts…I am a Patreon of his work.”
– Karina S.
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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.
“Weather watchers are focused on the world’s most northerly community, which is in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave.
“During winter, temperatures in the frozen city of Yakutsk, Siberia, can plummet as low as –60C. 
“As of July 14, 2019, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) recorded an Arctic sea ice extent of 7.905 million square kilometres. 
“A Swiss glacier is meting so swiftly that it has been covered with tarpaulin to try and slow down the rate. Parts of the Gurschengletscher glacier are blanketed with tarps near the peak of Mount Gemsstock, standing at 2,961 m high. 
“Water restrictions are in place in 55 departments across France, and “crisis” levels have been reached in areas of 20 departments… 
“The last wave of heat that we experienced in our community [Spain] has affected the birds a lot. Especially swifts. 
“Authorities evacuated dozens of citizens from flooded homes in western Greece on Sunday, a few days after seven people were killed by a violent storm in the north of the country. 
“At least 24 people are feared dead after flash flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on July 15, according to local officials. 
“More than 100 people have been killed and millions more affected by devastating floods and landslides across India, Nepal and Bangladesh. 
“China has seen a record high of rivers reporting floods since this year’s high-water season began, the Ministry of Water Resources said Sunday. 
“One year after heavy rains brought about the worst flooding in Japan’s Heisei Era, memorial services were held across western Japan last week remembering the 275 victims who lost their lives. 
“The type of severe air turbulence that sent dozens of Air Canada passengers to hospital Thursday could become a lot more common in the future due to climate change. 
“NASA is the second institution to confirm that it was Earth’s hottest June, as the Copernicus Climate Change Service had already determined that June 2019 was the warmest such month on record for Europe and globally.”
Just a short one today; my apologies but work is pressing. 
“Lightning, rain-triggered flooding and landslides have killed at least 16 people in Bangladesh as parts of the South Asian country were deluged by heavy monsoon rain, officials said on Saturday. 
“Across New South Wales and Queensland’s southern downs, country towns are approaching their own ‘day zero’, as water supplies dry up in the drought… 
“The heaviest average rainfall to lash a swathe of southern and eastern China in more than half a century brought torrential rain and floods that destroyed houses, damaged crops and forced the evacuation of nearly 80,000 people, state media said.
“Even before the intense flooding of the past week, their children were already sick and malnourished. “My children are suffering from fever, but we don’t have any medicine,” Kawser says. “We are living in real hardship here.” 
“A train of 50 wagons filled with water from Jolarpet arrives at Chennai [India] on July 12, 2019. Chennai has been grappling with an acute water crisis over the past four months. The southern metropolis is facing a daily water deficit of at least 200 million litres, and the four reservoirs supplying to the city have run dry. “
“Catherine Head and colleagues at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) studied reefs in the remote Chagos Archipelago of the British Indian Ocean Territory before and after two ocean heatwaves with unusually high sea temperatures, which came 12 months apart. 
“A THIRD blast of hot Saharan air is expected to hit [Spain’s] Costa Blanca this weekend, with temperatures today already reaching 40.7 degrees in Xativa. 
[Maui had a very intense, prolonged heatwave in June] 
“A mudslide provoked by heavy rains caused the deaths of four children and three adults in the community of Santo Tomás Chautla, Puebla [Mexico], yesterday. 
“Louisiana has withstood devastating hurricanes before, but authorities are urging residents not to underestimate the danger and destruction Tropical Storm Barry threatens as it gets closer to the coast Friday. 
“Vehicles were trapped in floodwaters across much of the Baltimore region Thursday night after storms produced torrential downpours and flash flooding. … 
“Some Great Lakes water levels hit record highs in June and are only expected to keep climbing, prompting concern from Michigan officials for waterfront communities already flooded. 
“Sue Mauger has tracked non-glacier stream temperatures in Cook Inlet [Alaska] for years. And she says she hasn’t seen readings like these. “We saw the highest recorded temperature we’ve ever measured… 81.7 degrees on the Deshka River.”
“Lining the fjords of Greenland are remnants of Viking-era Norse outposts that flourished for less than 500 years before they were mysteriously abandoned. 
“A record start to summer ice melt in Greenland this year has drawn attention to the northern ice sheet… But what about at the other icy end of the planet? …Like Greenland, the Antarctic ice sheet is losing ice and contributing to unabated global sea level rise. 
“…climate change is not our only existential crisis. Biodiversity loss deserves just as much of our attention. We are, in fact, living during the sixth mass extinction in the history of the Earth.
“Hail the size of oranges has injured 18 people in an Italian Adriatic city, while a blaze in Sicily forced beach-goers to flee. Italian news agency ANSA quoted hospital officials in Pescara as saying that the hailstorm caused cuts and bruises, especially on the head… 
“As extreme weather lashes the world and average temperatures rise, the world’s food security is in acute danger — and not by the year 2100. Just this week, the United Nations warned that climate crisis disasters are happening at the rate of one a week. 
“Delhi is experiencing the maximum monsoon rainfall deficit in the country. With persistent high temperatures, the national capital has received a mere 13.8 mm of rainfall so far since June 1—88% below normal for this time of the year… 
“At least three persons have lost their lives and over two lakh were affected in the second wave of floods that has gripped 11 districts of Assam since the last few days. 
“Heavy rains and related flooding have affected 1.63 million people in southern and eastern China, according to China’s Ministry of Emergency Management. 
“”Most parts of [North Korea’s] western coast, and the central inland, are experiencing high temperatures,” KCNA said. “Serious drought conditions are ongoing.”
“Hot, dry weather will persist across Australia’s east coast until at least October, the country’s weather bureau said on Thursday, signalling no relief for drought-hit farmers in one of the world’s largest agricultural producers… 
“Hard coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef is near record lows in its northern stretch and in decline in the south, surveys by government scientists have found. 
“A new study in the journal Nature Geosciences reports that by the drought’s peak, a combination of factors—including lack of rain, extreme heat and overcrowding stressed out the forest—lead to mass die-offs. 
“Louisiana on Wednesday declared a state of emergency as a storm in the Gulf of Mexico was fast developing into a category 1 hurricane and spinning towards the Louisiana coast. 
“Recent surveys by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute have shown that algae growth on Cayman’s coral reefs is already at near critical levels. Wang said there is little likelihood the problem will go away. 
“The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said Dingwall in Easter Ross was among the places worst affected by the rain. 
“The largest [Siberian] forest fires are reported in the Krasnoyarsk (68,000 hectares), Irkutsk (35,600 hectares), Zabaikalsky (10,800 hectares) and Amur (9,800 hectares) regions. 
“Historic, record-breaking heat isn’t the only environmental malaise that’s gripped Alaska this summer. So has wildfire smoke. 
“Strange but true — the surface waters in the Beaufort Sea are outpacing Lake Superior when it comes to temperature this summer. 
“The year-long period ending in June was the wettest 12-month span in U.S. records that go back to 1895. This breaks a remarkable record that was set just a month earlier.
““Our greatest concern is for torrential rain that would result in significant flooding…” Kottlowski said. “A second concern we have is for storm surge flooding.” 
“At least 300 people have been evacuated in Kearney, Nebraska due to severe flooding, according to the city’s emergency management coordinator Darrin Lewis… Wood River is expected to crest at a historic 17.7 feet Wednesday morning, which could cause more flooding and require additional water rescues… 
“Russia’s Emergencies Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that 24 people died in the Irkutsk Region floods. 
“Parts of Japan are bracing for more flooding after downpours triggered deadly mudslides and flooding last week. Kanoya recorded 472.5 mm (18.60 inches) in a single day and more than 600 mm (25 inches) over a three-day period during last week’s flooding event. 
“Aerial photo taken on July 10, 2019 shows the medical workers rescuing people in Liuzhou City, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 
“Flooding in India’s northeastern state of Assam has affected over 62,000 people, India’s official broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) said Tuesday… 
“With global warming, the Himalayas, along with several other glaciated regions across the planet, are expected to experience a drastic reduction in ice mass and rapidly retreat. 
“Treating patients will “depend on God’s mercy” if water supplies in India’s fourth-largest metropolis aren’t replenished shortly, said Ravisankar, the chairman of Sudar hospitals, a chain of four clinics with 150 beds. 
“Even the normally sensible and restrained meteorologists at Aemet [Spain] described the phenomenon as being similar to “opening the door of a hot oven”, as at around 17.00 temperatures suddenly rose by 13 degrees from 28C to an all-time record for the location of 41.6C. 
“Torrential rain and hail brought severe flooding to parts of northeastern Spain on Monday evening, killing at least one person. 
“The condition of French cereal crops declined sharply last week, farming agency FranceAgriMer said on Friday, suggesting a negative impact from a record-breaking heatwave in the European Union’s biggest grain producer. 
“Turn on the tap – and nothing comes out? Around Germany most people know this only from burst pipes or repair work. But in the second dry summer in a row – and following record-breaking temperatures in June – regions like Lusatia in the eastern German state Brandenburg face a problem: If it continues to rain so little, water supplies could become scarce. 
“In the brain, when neurons fire off electrical signals to their neighbors, this happens through an “all-or-none” response. The signal only happens once conditions in the cell breach a certain threshold.
“The huge Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is at risk of crossing a tipping point where it could cause an unstoppable 20-inch (0.5 metre) rise in global sea levels, warns new research… 
“Russian officials are raising the alarm about mass bee deaths across the country. The Russian Agricultural Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that bees have been dying in large numbers in at least seven regions this year… 
“Following another year of extreme temperatures in Europe, a severe drought in Lithuania has resulted in the government there declaring a state of emergency, as drought conditions threaten to decrease this year’s harvests by up to 50%. 
“Bahrain Meteorological Directorate (BMD) reported that the month of June 2019 goes on record as the hottest June ever experienced in Bahrain since [records began in] 1902. 
“In Somalia, where I am acting country director for the aid agency Islamic Relief, the population is currently experiencing a drought that could threaten the lives or livelihoods of more than two million people by the end of the summer, according to the UN… 
“Increasing dam levels did not mean the drought was over, the City of Cape Town said on Monday. The city said via a press statement that it wanted to remind residents that water restrictions remained in place… 
“Despite the India Meteorological Department declaring the start of the monsoon across New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Friday, July 5, rainfall is expected to fall well short of normal through the middle of July… 
“This is the frightening moment sparks flew as debris thrown by a tornado storm hit power lines in Indonesia’s West Sumatra. 
“A section of a man-made lake in Cempaka Park, East Jakarta, has completely dried up, unearthing withered grass and soil, as the city enters what could be a prolonged dry season. 
“Central Chile is suffering the worst drought in 60 years. That includes the capital Santiago, home to nearly half the country’s population of 18 million. 
“Much of D.C., Arlington, Montgomery, Frederick, and Carroll counties received 2 to 4 inches of rain, with many areas picking up those amounts in only 1 or 2 hours. 
“Intense cycles of downpours are washing pollutants into the Chesapeake from municipal sewer overflows, subdivisions and farms where manure often isn’t effectively handled and nitrogen and phosphorous-rich fertilizers are used. 
“Does someone want to let Mother Nature know that we are already a week into July and summer is supposed to be in full swing? 
“Climatologists are raising the alarm after Alaska reached record high temperatures in June and continue to see sweltering weather, while wildfires in the state continue to burn.”
“Thoman says that temperatures have been 8 degrees above normal this year [in the Bering and Chukchi Seas), and those numbers rose 3 degrees over last year’s record-breaking temperatures. 
“A global heat wave is hitting Alaska, Europe, and Asia… And the heat’s expected to keep coming.”