Climate change / extreme weather thread

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Climate change: 'Forever plant' seagrass faces uncertain future

The green, underwater meadows of Posidonia seagrass that surround the Balearic Islands are one of the world's most powerful, natural defences against climate change.

A hectare of this ancient, delicate plant can soak up 15 times more carbon dioxide every year than a similar sized piece of the Amazon rainforest.

But this global treasure is now under extreme pressure from tourists, from development and ironically from climate change.

Posidonia oceanica is found all over the Mediterranean but the area between Mallorca and Formentera is of special interest, having been designated a world heritage site by Unesco over 20 years ago.

Here you'll find around 55,000 hectares of the plant, which helps prevent coastal erosion, acts as a nursery for fish, but also plays a globally significant role in soaking up CO2.

"These seagrass meadows are the champion of carbon sequestration for the biosphere," said Prof Carlos Duarte, of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.

He's recently published the first global scientific assessment of the environmental value of Unesco's marine world heritage sites.

"Posidonia acts as a very intensive sediment trap and captures carbon into these sediments. It is also very resistant to microbial degradation, so the carbon is not degraded when it's deposited on the sea floor. And much of that stays unaltered during decades to millennia."

Depending on the water temperature, the species reproduces either sexually through flowering or asexually by cloning itself. This ability to clone itself means it can live an extremely long time.

"It's a remarkable plant not only in the capacity to sequester carbon, but also because it's one of the longest-lived organisms on the planet," said Prof Duarte.

"In the marine protected areas of Ibiza we documented one clone where we estimated that the seed that produced that clone was released into the seafloor and sprouted 200,000 years ago."

"A clone could be eternal, kind of," says Dr Núria Marbà, from the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Mallorca.

"If there are no damages that disturb it, it could last for forever - well maybe not forever but for an incredibly long time."

But despite its ability to live almost infinitely, Posidonia is finding the modern world increasingly treacherous.

This vivid green carpet that extends under the seas in the Balearics faces an ongoing threat from boats dropping their anchors which crush, tear and destroy the meadows.

One study showed that between 2008 and 2012, Posidonia meadows in Formentera were reduced by 44% because of the impact of anchoring.

The plant also grows extremely slowly.

The damage caused by one yacht's anchor in a single day several years ago would take almost 1,000 years to restore.

Another threat comes from too many nutrients in the waters, caused by effluent released from water treatment sites across the islands.

But perhaps the biggest and most difficult challenge for Posidonia is climate change.

"Posidonia has an upper thermal limit of about 28C," says Dr Marbà.

"I think it's about half of the summers since 2000 that we have exceeded this temperature in the water in the Balearic Islands.

"It doesn't cause massive mortality. But it's excessive for the slow growth of the plant."

So what can be done to help protect this amazingly powerful seagrass?

Government action to protect Posidonia in the Balearics has been ramped up in recent years and public awareness of the importance of the species is rising.

But some researchers believe that putting a financial value on the carbon that's locked up by Posidonia could release the funds to save it.

"As countries try and reach the goals of the Paris agreement, the forecast is that carbon credits are going to see a tenfold increase in value," said Prof Carlos Duarte.

"Therefore, there's likely to be an increase in investment in habitats like Posidonia that can lock up carbon and generate these credits."

This would be welcome news in Ibiza and Formentera. If the carbon that's already been sequestered by the seagrass increases in value, then it will pay to protect and even attempt to restore the Posidonia meadows.

But time and rising temperatures are the key challenge, as Dr Núria Marbà explains.

"The whole thing of planting seagrasses is that you have to do a massive effort at the beginning to start the process. And then you just wait for the plant itself to grow.

"If we are in a hurry, at human timescales, it's impossible.

"But if we don't mind, and we can wait for a few centuries, it will be okay."

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56378397.

 

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Climate change: Jet fuel from waste 'dramatically lowers' emissions

A new approach to making jet fuel from food waste has the potential to massively reduce carbon emissions from flying, scientists say.

Currently, most of the food scraps that are used for energy around the world are converted into methane gas.

But researchers in the US have found a way of turning this waste into a type of paraffin that works in jet engines.

The authors of the new study say the fuel cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 165% compared to fossil energy.

This figure comes from the reduction in carbon emitted from airplanes plus the emissions that are avoided when food waste is diverted from landfill.

The aviation industry worldwide is facing some difficult decisions about how to combine increased demand for flying with the need to rapidly cut emissions from the sector.

In the US, airlines currently use around 21 billion gallons of jet fuel every year, with demand expected to double by the middle of the century. At the same time, they have committed to cutting CO2 by 50%.

With the development of battery-powered airplanes for long haul flights a distant prospect at this point, much attention has focussed on replacing existing jet fuel with a sustainable alternative.

Current methods of making green jet fuel are based on a similar approach to making biodiesel for cars and heavy goods vehicles.

It normally requires the use of virgin vegetable oils as well as waste fats, oil and grease to make the synthetic fuel.

At present, it is more economical to convert these oils and wastes into diesel as opposed to jet fuel - which requires an extra step in the process, driving up costs.

Now, researchers say that they have developed an alternative method able to turn food waste, animal manure and waste water into a competitive jet hydrocarbon.

Much of this material, termed wet-waste, is at present is turned into methane gas. However, the authors found a way of interrupting this process so it produced volatile fatty acids (VFA) instead of CH4.

The researchers were then able to use a form of catalytic conversion to upgrade the VFA to two different forms of sustainable paraffin.

When the two forms were combined they were able to blend 70% of the mixture with regular jet fuel, while still meeting the extremely strict quality criteria that Federal authorities impose on aircraft fuels.

"There's exciting jet fuels that rely on burning trash and dry waste but this actually works for those wastes that have high water content, which we normally dispose of in landfill," said Derek Vardon, a senior research engineer at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the lead author on the study.

"Being able to show that you can take these volatile fatty acids, and that there's a really elegant, simple way to turn it into jet fuel - that's where I see the broader applicability of this one, and folks can continue to develop and refine it."

The new fuel has a potentially significant impact on emissions as it not only limits the CO2 that comes from fossil sources used by the airlines, but it also gets rid of the methane that would bubble up from landfill if the waste food was just dumped.

Another major advantage is that this new fuel produces around 34% less soot than current standards. This is important because soot plays a key role in the formation of contrails from airplanes which adds a powerful warming effect to CO2 coming from the engines.

"That's where we see the most potential for this technology is that you're preventing methane emissions, and dramatically lowering the carbon footprint of jet fuel. And you just can't do that with fossil fuels without getting into things like offsets," said Derek Vardon.

The research team say they are planning to scale up the production of the new fuel and aim to have test flights with Southwest Airlines in 2023.

Many environmental groups are sceptical about attempts to develop sustainable aviation fuels, believing that it amounts to green-washing. They argue that people should just fly less.

"Sustainable aviation fuel is not a silver bullet," Derek Vardon says.

"So we do want to definitely emphasise that reduction is the most important and most significant change you can make. But there's also pragmatism and need for aviation solutions now, so that's where we want to strike a balance as we need a basket of measures, to really start getting our carbon footprint down in a variety of sectors, including aviation."

The study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56408603.

 

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Protect our ocean 'to solve challenges of century'

Protecting the ocean has a triple whammy effect, safeguarding climate, food and biodiversity, according to new research.

A global map compiled by international scientists pinpoints priority places for action to maximise benefits for people and nature.

Currently, only 7% of the ocean is protected.

A pledge to protect at least 30% by 2030 is gathering momentum ahead of this year's key UN biodiversity summit.

The study, published in the scientific journal Nature, sets a framework for prioritising areas of the ocean for protection.

The ocean covers 70% of the Earth, yet its importance for solving the challenges of our time has been overlooked, said study researcher Prof Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"The benefits are clear," he said. "If we want to solve the three most pressing challenges of our century - biodiversity loss, climate change and food shortages - we must protect our ocean."

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56430542.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-windpower/biden-targets-big-offshore-wind-energy-expansion-to-fight-climate-change-idUSKBN2BL2B9?il=0

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that it has set a goal to vastly expand the nation’s offshore wind energy capacity in the coming decade by opening new areas to development, speeding environmental permitting, and boosting public financing for projects.

The plan is part of Biden’s broader effort to rapidly transition the U.S. economy to net zero greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, a politically controversial agenda that Republicans say could bring economic ruin but which Democrats say can create jobs while protecting the environment.

“President Biden believes we have an enormous opportunity in front of us to not only address the threats of climate change, but use it as a chance to create millions of good-paying, union jobs,” National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said in announcing the plan. “Nowhere is the scale of that opportunity clearer than for offshore wind.”

The plan sets a target to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, which the administration said would be enough to power 10 million homes and cut 78 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, while creating jobs in construction, development, and steel-making.

One of the first steps will be to open a new offshore wind energy development zone in the New York Bight, an area off the densely populated coast between Long Island, New York and New Jersey, with a lease auction there later this year.

The administration said it will also aim to prioritize environmental permitting and provide billions of dollars in public financing for offshore wind projects.

The United States currently has just two small offshore wind farms, the 30 megawatt Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island and a two-turbine pilot project off the coast of Virginia. There are more than 20 GW of proposed projects in various stages of development.

Europe, by contrast, has more than 20 GW of capacity and plans to expand that more than ten-fold by 2050.

 

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Climate change: China absent from key UK meeting

A critical meeting on climate change, organised by the UK, appears to be the latest victim of an ongoing row with China.

Ministers from around 35 countries are due to participate in today's summit on climate and development.

But while the US, EU, India and others are taking part, China is notable by its absence.

The UK says that China was invited to the event but is not participating.

Relations between the UK and China have deteriorated in recent weeks after angry exchanges about human rights.

Just a few days ago China imposed sanctions on nine UK citizens - including five MPs- for spreading what it called "lies and disinformation" about the country.

The move came in retaliation for measures taken by the UK government and others over human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority group.

Today's climate and development summit is being described by the UK as a "key moment" in the run up to COP26 in Glasgow later this year.

A list of invitees was published two weeks ago including China. But when the final list of participants was circulated, they were absent.

A UK COP26 spokesman said China had been invited, adding: "We look forward to working with them on climate change issues in this critical year ahead of COP26."

When pressed on the reasons for the non-participation, no further comment was forthcoming.

With major emitters such as the US, EU and India taking part, it would be expected that China would play a leading role in this type of event.

Not only is it the world's biggest carbon emitter but it also likes to portray itself as a key ally for developing countries.

"To have the ministerial taking place without China is far from ideal," said Richard Black, from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.

"China is a major lender, trading partner and diplomatic presence across much of the developing world, and will of course be a hugely important power broker for COP26."

"As John Kerry recently said, the logical approach of western nations is to carve out a constructive place to engage with China on climate change amid the very real differences on other issues. However, it's not yet clear if Chinese leaders will be prepared to go along with this - and the UK, as COP26 hosts, has a very tricky diplomatic path to steer."

Finance for vulnerable nations
Hosted by COP26 President Alok Sharma and UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, today's meeting is seen as an important platform for the countries that are most vulnerable to rising temperatures.

The gathering will hear from ministers and representatives of international institutions and much of the focus will be on climate finance and debt relief.

The question is critical for vulnerable nations.

Ministers from several threatened island states and poor countries will take part in the meeting, and they will likely make the point that while they contribute little to the causes of climate change they are already feeling the effects.

A report published recently by African finance ministers indicated that some countries are now spending up to 10% of their GDP adapting to the impacts of rising temperatures.

The event is also facing criticism from environmental groups who are angry about the UK's decision late last year to cut overseas development assistance from 0.7% of GDP to 0.5%.

"Cuts to the overseas aid budget risk not only undermining the UK's reputation for progressive development action, but also the chances of the UK presidency delivering a successful outcome to COP26," said Andrew Norton from the International Institute for Environment and Development.

"The aid cuts undermine the UK's ability to ask other countries to step up, as well as reducing the resources available for climate action in poorer countries."

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56584575.

 

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Climate change: Net zero targets are 'pie in the sky'

Sharp divisions between the major global emitters have emerged at a series of meetings designed to make progress on climate change.

India lambasted the richer world's carbon cutting plans, calling long term net zero targets, "pie in the sky."

Their energy minister said poor nations want to continue using fossil fuels and the rich countries "can't stop it".

China meanwhile declined to attend a different climate event organised by the UK.

Trying to lead 197 countries forward on the critical global issue of climate change is not a job for the faint hearted, as the UK is currently finding out.

As president of COP26, this year's crucial climate meeting due to take place in Glasgow in November, Britain is charged with ensuring a successful summit of world leaders and their negotiators.

To that end, the UK team have embarked on a series of meetings to find the building blocks of agreement, so that the world keeps the temperature targets agreed in Paris in 2015 within reach.

To have a decent chance of keeping the increase in global temperature under 1.5C - which is now considered as the gateway to dangerous warming - carbon emissions need to reach net zero by 2050.

Nat zero refers to balancing out any greenhouse gas emissions produced by industry, transport or other sources by removing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere.

A range of major carbon-producing countries, including the US, the UK, Japan and the EU, have signed up to the idea. Last September, China said it would get there by 2060.

India, the world's fourth largest emitter, doesn't seem keen to join the club.

"2060 sounds good, but it is just that, it sounds good," Raj Kumar Singh, India's minister for power, told a meeting organised by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

"I would call it, and I'm sorry to say this, but it is just a pie in the sky."

To the discomfort of his fellow panellists, Mr Singh singled out developed countries where per capita emissions are much higher than in India.

"You have countries whose per capita emissions are four or five or 12 times the world average. The question is when are they going to come down?"

"What we hear is that by 2050 or 2060 we will become carbon neutral, 2060 is far away and if the people emit at the rate they are emitting the world won't survive, so what are you going to do in the next five years that's what the world wants to know."

Mr Singh pointed out that while it was the richer countries who had burned most of the fossil fuels that have caused the problems, they now wanted developing countries to stop - that was unfair, he said.

"The developed world has occupied almost 80% of the carbon space already, you have 800 million people who don't have access to electricity. You can't say that they have to go to net zero, they have the right to develop, they want to build skyscrapers and have a higher standard of living, you can't stop it," he told the meeting.

China's minister Zhang Jianhua told the IEA virtual event that his country wanted "increased mutual understanding and mutual trust to work as one", on the issue of climate change.

However, that desire to work as one didn't stretch as far as the UK, with China declining an invitation to take part in a key climate and development ministerial meeting for vulnerable countries.

There was a feeling among officials that diplomatic arguments with China over human rights were spilling over into the climate arena.

US special envoy on climate change, John Kerry, went out of his way to pour oil on troubled waters when speaking at the IEA event.

Both India and China see themselves as developing economies and want to retain some sense that richer Western nations have to take the lead on climate.

The former secretary of state was keen to say that there wouldn't be just the same carbon-cutting plan for every country, but everyone would have to do more.

"We can't just willy-nilly ignore the next 10 years because the scientists tell us that if we don't do enough in the next 10 years we cannot keep the Earth's temperature at 1.5C, we cannot even get on a roadmap to net zero by 2050," he said.

"So my plea is to avoid the 'happy talk' and recognise that this challenge is global and never has there been a challenge that requires the unity of countries all across the planet than now."

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56596200.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-environment/brazil-seeks-1-billion-in-foreign-aid-to-curb-amazon-deforestation-by-30-40-environmental-minister-idUSKBN2BR0I1?il=0

Brazil’s environment minister wants $1 billion in foreign aid from countries including the United States to help reduce deforestation in the Amazon between 30% and 40%, according to an interview published on Saturday in newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo.

“The plan is $1 billion over 12 months,” the minister, Ricardo Salles, told the newspaper. “If those resources were available to be used in that way (to fight deforestation), we can commit to a reduction of between 30% and 40% in 12 months.”

Brazil has been widely criticized for its failure to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest. Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has said he prefers to exploit the economic resources of the rainforest rather than protect it, and has sent troops to try to handle the problem with little success.

A third of the money would be used to fund actions to combat deforestation directly, Salles said, while the remaining two thirds would be used for economic development, to give people who have benefited from the rainforest alternative opportunities.

He added that he had asked the United States for money and had also asked Norway “if they wanted to collaborate.”

The military would remain in charge, Salles said, because it is cheaper to pay their daily rates than to hire full-time staffers at the environmental agency Ibama. The agency has suffered budget cuts under Bolsonaro.

“If we don’t get the money, we will do the best we can with our resources, but I cannot commit to a specific percentage of (deforestation) reduction,” Salles said.

 

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Climate change: Electric trucks 'can compete with diesel ones'

The view that battery-powered heavy goods lorries can't compete with diesel is being challenged by new research.

It had been felt that the extra batteries needed for freight would make electric vehicles too expensive.

But a new study says that if fast charging networks are built for trucks, then they can beat diesel in terms of cost.

With fast charging, the bigger the vehicle, the greater the advantage for electric, say researchers.

In the UK, and around the world, there's a strong shift among consumers towards electric-powered cars.

Figures for March in the UK saw sales of battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars reach 14% of the market.

When it comes to pure electric vehicles, Western Europe is the global hotspot with over 700,000 battery-powered cars sold in 2020.

But it is a different story when moving heavy freight.

For climate change, this is an important issue. Around 7% of global carbon emissions are generated by heavy transportation trucks.

While Tesla and other manufacturers have taken small steps into this market, critics argue that they will struggle to be cost-competitive with diesel.

Adding extra batteries to carry the bigger loads just doesn't add up financially is the view.

But this new study from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), says that we are looking at the issue the wrong way round.

In their research paper, the authors say that fast charging and not bigger batteries is the key to commercial competition for large-scale electric lorries.

"If you take that average value, which is our default analysis in the paper, we are really at the tipping point where this starts to make sense," said lead author Björn Nykvist from SEI.

"It doesn't really matter [about] the size of the battery pack in the truck. You really just need more power from the charger."

"The key here is that, basically, a heavier vehicle consumes more energy. The more energy you consume, the more saving potential there is. So, a very heavy truck uses more diesel per kilometre than a lighter one, but that's also a big savings potential if you can switch to electricity."

In their study, the authors developed a model where an electric lorry operated for 4.5 hours and then charged for 40 minutes on a high-powered device.

With heavy goods transportation focused on main roads, ports and terminals, it's likely that a smaller number of chargers would be required than is needed for electric cars.

The only problem is that this type of commercial fast charger doesn't yet exist. However, the researchers are confident that this technology will come on-stream quite rapidly.

Governments concerned about climate change might be best placed to provide incentives in this area say experts.

"It might be a good idea to get the electric truck market going by using a purchase price incentive from government," said Dr Heikki Liimatainen from Tampere University of Technology in Finland, who was not involved in the study.

"But I think it's more important that if subsidies are given then they should be given to build the charging networks along the main roads."

Large manufacturers agree that the move to electric lorries will depend on fast charging facilities in key locations.

"The potential to decarbonise road transport is great," said Lars Mårtensson, environment & innovation director at Volvo Trucks.

"But it is clear to us that an infrastructure of fast chargers is important and we see the greatest need for governmental incentives to establish these at hauliers' home depots and at logistics centres."

While there have been reservations about the use of electric trucks, there has been a lot of noise about the potential for hydrogen-powered vehicles at the heavier end of the market.

"The key is the price of the hydrogen fuel cell, that price has been going down, but not as fast as the price of batteries," says Dr Liimatainen.

"If they come down, they will be quite competitive in the largest trucks, but it all depends on price."

The study has been published in the journal Joule.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56678669.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/17/covid-pandemic-made-2020-the-year-of-the-quiet-ocean-say-scientists

The Covid-19 lockdown has produced the quietest year for the world’s oceans in recent memory, according to a group of scientists working on a global map of underwater soundscapes.

Noise pollution from ship engines, trawling activities, oil platforms, subsea mining and other human sources declined significantly last spring, say the researchers, who are part of a collaborative network of 231 non-military hydrophones.

They believe the relative hush can provide valuable comparative data for an unplanned experiment in how sound affects whales, coral and other marine species.

Like light pollution on the land, human noise is a growing concern in the oceans because it has been proven to disrupt species that depend on sound for communication and navigation. Low-frequency signals can travel thousands of kilometres. Studies in the north-east Pacific showed an increase of 3 decibels each decade in human-generated sounds below 100 hertz between the 1960s and early 2000s. By one reckoning, the volume of this audio pollution is now around the same level as the natural background noise of the ocean.

This faded substantially last year at the height of lockdown in March, April and May, starting – like Covid – around China and then spreading worldwide. The volume surged back to a new height in the summer as shipping companies rushed to make up for lost time. Sound levels have now stabilised close to the average for recent years.

Scientists have retrospectively declared 2020 “the year of the quiet ocean” and the data from this exceptional period will be published in the coming months in scientific journals.

“Be prepared for exciting results,” said Jesse Ausubel, the director of the Program for the Human Environment at the Rockefeller University. The oceans are unlikely to be as quiet as during April 2020 for many decades to come.

The softening of human sound was most evident in coastal areas and shipping lanes. Jennifer Miksis-Olds, the director of the Center for Acoustics Research and Education at the University of New Hampshire, said this created conditions for a “natural experiment. Since the Industrial Revolution, she said, human noise has masked the ambient sounds of wind, waves and ice and forced marine life to adapt in a similar way to customers in a noisy restaurant, who have to raise their voices or repeat themselves to be understood.

This is part of a bigger project. Ausubel is the founder of the International Quiet Ocean Experiment, a 10-year plan launched in 2015 to create a time series of measurements of ambient sound in many ocean locations. Part of the goal is create evidence to persuade ship operators, oil and gas facilities and jetski users to dampen their decibels for the sake of marine ecosystems.

“We’d like the word soundscape to become a lot better known. Sound is light in the oceans. It illuminates the ocean for many animals. They use it to communicate, to hunt, and can be harmed by noise at excess,” Ausubel said.

He and colleagues – including specialists at St Andrews – plan to expand the hydrophone network, particularly in the southern hemisphere, to more than 500 devices. Using modelling and data collaborations with shipping companies and other ocean users, they hope to produce a global map of ocean sound within the coming years. This should reveal important patterns, such as increases in noise along shipping lanes and near oilfields and windfarms, which could prove as important for ocean health and regulation as roadside air pollution monitoring, or water-contamination measurements near factories.

There is a long way to go. Currently, there are relatively detailed soundscapes of busy areas, such as the North Sea, and then piecemeal, one-off studies from other regions. Filling in the gaps will require a major effort to share data and make reporting consistent across time and place.

Two important steps in this direction were announced this week with the launch of a new software tool, known as Manta (Making Ambient Noise Trends Accessible) and developed by an international team of experts coordinated by Miksis-Olds, to standardise ocean sound recording data. There have also been tests of a new platform to share acoustic data worldwide, the Open Portal to Underwater Sound (Opus), which is being hosted by the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany.

Ausubel compared the recent developments in the soundscape network to the completion of a ring of satellites around the equator in 1979. Back then, there was a party in the World Meteorological Office in Geneva to celebrate the fact that scientists could monitor the entire atmosphere for the first time.

“We are now at the onset of an era in which we can observe ocean soundscapes in much the same way,” he predicted.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/iea-issues-dire-warning-co2-emissions-it-predicts-5-rise-2021-04-20/

Global CO2 emissions from energy are seen rising nearly 5% this year, suggesting the economic rebound from COVID-19 could be "anything but sustainable" for the climate, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

The IEA's Global Energy Review 2021 predicted carbon dioxide emissions would rise to 33 billion tonnes this year, up 1.5 billion tonnes from 2020 levels in the largest single increase in more than a decade.

"This is a dire warning that the economic recovery from the COVID crisis is currently anything but sustainable for our climate," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.

This year's rise will likely be driven by a resurgence in coal use in the power sector, Birol added, which the report forecast to be particularly strong in Asia.

It should also put pressure on governments to act on climate change. U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a virtual summit for dozens of world leaders this week to discuss the issue ahead of global talks in Scotland later this year.

Last year, when power use dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, energy-related CO2 emissions fell by 5.8% to 31.5 billion tonnes, after peaking in 2019 at 33.4 billion tonnes.

The IEA's annual review analysed the latest national data from around the world, economic growth trends and new energy projects that are set to come online.

Global energy demand is set to increase by 4.6% in 2021, led by developing economies, pushing it above 2019 levels, the report said.

Demand for all fossil fuels is on course to grow in 2021, with both coal and gas set to rise above 2019 levels.

The expected rise in coal use dwarves that of renewables by almost 60%, despite accelerating demand for solar, wind and hydro power. More than 80% of the projected growth in coal demand in 2021 is set to come from Asia, led by China.

Coal use in the United States and the European Union is also on course to increase but will remain well below pre-crisis levels, the IEA said.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/putin-says-russias-greenhouse-gas-emissions-should-be-lower-than-eus-2021-04-21/

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he wanted Russia’s total net greenhouse gas emissions to be less than the European Union’s over the next 30 years, a goal he described as tough but achievable.

Russia is the world's fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter. Putin is set to deliver a speech at an online climate change summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday.

"Over the next 30 years, accumulated net greenhouse gas emissions in Russia must be lower than in the European Union," Putin told top officials and lawmakers at his annual state-of-the-nation speech.

"This is a difficult task, given the size of our country, its geography, climate and economic structure. However, I am absolutely certain that this goal, given our scientific and technological potential, is achievable."

Russia's greenhouse gas emissions are around half of the total of the 27 EU countries, which combined have more than three times the population.

The EU has announced aggressive targets to reduce its emissions over the next three decades, aiming to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050. Russia's targets so far have been more modest.

Russia's economy is heavily reliant on exports of oil, gas and mineral resources, and the push to combat climate change poses serious challenges for the Kremlin.

"Construction of green infrastructure by using oil and gas revenues could better prepare Russia for the energy transition. However, the green projects are still perceived in Russia with big scepticism," said Dmitry Marinchenko, a senior director at Fitch.

He added that Russia is still aiming to make use of its vast oil reserves over the next decade by launching massive projects, such as Vostok Oil, designed by the oil giant Rosneft.

Putin has said Russia is warming at 2.5 times the world average and that it would be a disaster if the permafrost melts in its northern cities.

The Russian leader, who has questioned whether human activity is the sole driver of warming climate cycles, has lately cast himself as a defender of the environment.

Russia joined the 2015 Paris Agreement to fight climate change in September 2019. Putin ordered the government last November to work towards an emissions cut by 2030 of up to 30% below 1990 emissions levels. The EU is aiming for a 40% cut by 2030, on its path to carbon neutrality by 2050.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-pledges-halve-its-emissions-by-2030-renewed-climate-fight-2021-04-22/

The United States and two other countries hiked their targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions at a global climate summit hosted by President Joe Biden, an event meant to resurrect U.S. leadership in the fight against global warming.

Biden unveiled the goal to cut emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels at the start of a two-day climate summit kicked off on Earth Day and attended virtually by leaders of 40 countries including big emitters China, India and Russia.

The United States, the world's second-leading emitter after China, seeks to reclaim global leadership in the fight against global warming after former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from international efforts to cut emissions.

"This is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis," Biden, a Democrat, said at the White House.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the new U.S. goal "game changing" as two other countries made new pledges.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who visited Biden at the White House this month, raised Japan's target for cutting emissions to 46% by 2030, up from 26%. Environmentalists wanted a pledge of at least 50% while Japan's powerful business lobby has pushed for national policies that favor coal. Canada's Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, raised his country's goal to a cut of 40%-45% by 2030 below 2005 levels, up from 30%.

Chinese President Xi Jinping did not announce a new emissions goal, saying that China expects its carbon emissions to peak before 2030 and the country will achieve net zero emissions by 2060.

China will gradually reduce its coal use from 2025 to 2030. China, a leader in producing technology for renewable energy like solar panels, still relies heavily on coal for its electricity generation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed giving preferential treatment for foreign investment in clean energy projects, but also made an apparent reference to the United States being historically the world's top greenhouse gas polluter. "It is no secret that the conditions that facilitated global warming and associated problems go way back," Putin said.

The U.S. climate goal marks an important milestone in Biden's broader plan to decarbonize the U.S. economy entirely by 2050 - an agenda he says can create millions of good-paying jobs but which many Republicans say they fear will damage the economy.

The U.S. emissions cuts are expected to come from power plants, automobiles, and other sectors across the economy, but the White House did not set individual targets for those industries.

The new U.S. target nearly doubles former President Barack Obama's pledge of an emissions cut of 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. Sector-specific goals will be laid out later this year. How Washington intends to reach its climate goals will be crucial to cementing U.S. credibility on global warming, amid international concerns that America's commitment to a clean energy economy can shift drastically from one administration to the next.

Biden's recently introduced $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan contains numerous measures that could deliver some of the emissions cuts needed this decade, including a clean energy standard to achieve net zero emissions in the power sector by 2035 and moves to electrify the vehicle fleet.

But the measures need to be passed by Congress before becoming reality.

The American Petroleum Institute, the top U.S. oil and gas lobbying group, cautiously welcomed Biden's pledge but said it must come with policies including a price on carbon, which is a tough sell among some lawmakers.

“With a transparent price on carbon and innovation, we can make measurable climate progress within this decade without hurting America’s middle-class, jeopardizing U.S. national security, and undermining economic recovery," said Mike Sommers, API's president and CEO.

Biden focused on restoring U.S. climate leadership during his campaign and in the first days of his presidency after Republican Trump, a climate change skeptic, removed the United States from the Paris agreement on global warming. The new administration has come under heavy pressure from environmental groups, some corporate leaders, the UN secretary general and foreign governments to set a target to cut emissions by at least 50% this decade to encourage other countries to set their own ambitious emissions goals.

The summit is the first in a string of meetings of world leaders - including the G7 and G20 - ahead of annual UN climate talks in November in Scotland. That serves as the deadline for nearly 200 countries to update their climate pledges under the Paris agreement, an international accord set in 2015.

Leaders of small island nations vulnerable to rising seas, like Antigua and Barbuda and the Marshall Islands, also spoke at the summit.

World leaders aim to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a threshold scientists say can prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

A Biden administration official said with the new U.S. target, enhanced commitments from Japan and Canada, and prior targets from the European Union and Britain, countries accounting for more than half the world's economy were now committed to reductions to achieve the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal.

European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed delight that the United States was back in the climate fight.

 

[MenInG]

WASHINGTON: Pakistan assured the international community on Thursday that it would shift to 60 per cent clean energy and 30pc electric vehicle use by 2030.

Addressing the US-initiated Leaders Summit in Washington, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam also urged developed nations to fulfil their commitment to help others make this transition from carbon-based to clean energy.

“We have committed ourselves to 60pc clean energy and 30pc electric vehicle transition by 2030. So, Pakistan is clearly doing more than its share for the climate change issue,” he said.

“Now, the world needs to do more on climate finance. It needs to deliver climate finance for countries in energy transition, for countries who need to adapt, like Pakistan,” Mr Aslam added. “It needs to honour the commitment of $100 billion a year” to this cause, as promised.

Leaders from 40 countries are attending this two-day virtual summit, which started on Earth Day with big pledges from the world’s major carbon emitters, China, the US, India and Russia.

US President Biden, who is hosting this two-day virtual summit, made the biggest pledge — promising to cut his country’s carbon emissions by 50 to 52pc from 2005 levels.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga raised Japan’s target for cutting emissions to 46pc by 2030, up from 26pc.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to reduce his country’s emissions by 40 to 45pc by 2030 below 2005 levels, up from 30pc.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said China expects its carbon emissions to peak before 2030 and the country will achieve net zero emissions by 2060.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed giving preferential treatment for foreign investment in clean energy projects, but also blamed the US for the climate crisis. “It is no secret that the conditions that facilitated global warming and associated problems go way back,” he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he and President Biden were launching the India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership to “help mobilise investments, demonstrate clean technologies, and enable green collaborations”.

Later, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack invited Pakistan’s representative, Mr Aslam, to share with the world what a water-stressed country like Pakistan was doing to manage its water resources.

Mr Aslam pointed out that Pakistan contributes less than 1pc to global emissions, yet it’s one of top 10 on the list of most vulnerable countries because of its topography and geography.

“We face the Himalayan glaciers which are melting in the north, the arid zones which are getting heat waves like never before, cyclones in the south and rising sea levels and floods in the plains,” he said.

The Pakistani representative informed the world that in recent years the frequency and intensity of these disasters had gone up, affecting 220 million people. “So, Pakistan is really at the forefront of this climate disaster,” he said.

Pakistan, he said, was a strong and resilient nation and was doing its best to cope with this disaster. “We are planting 10bn trees and restoring nearly 1m hectares of forests, including the mangroves in the south,” he said. “Pakistan is the only country in the world with an increasing mangrove cover.”

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2021

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/12/emissions-shrinking-the-stratosphere-scientists-find

Humanity’s enormous emissions of greenhouse gases are shrinking the stratosphere, a new study has revealed.

The thickness of the atmospheric layer has contracted by 400 metres since the 1980s, the researchers found, and will thin by about another kilometre by 2080 without major cuts in emissions. The changes have the potential to affect satellite operations, the GPS navigation system and radio communications.

The discovery is the latest to show the profound impact of humans on the planet. In April, scientists showed that the climate crisis had shifted the Earth’s axis as the massive melting of glaciers redistributes weight around the globe.

The stratosphere extends from about 20km to 60km above the Earth’s surface. Below is the troposphere, in which humans live, and here carbon dioxide heats and expands the air. This pushes up the lower boundary of the stratosphere. But, in addition, when CO2 enters the stratosphere it actually cools the air, causing it to contract.

The shrinking stratosphere is a stark signal of the climate emergency and the planetary-scale influence that humanity now exerts, according to Juan Añel, at the University of Vigo, Ourense in Spain and part of the research team. “It is shocking,” he said. “This proves we are messing with the atmosphere up to 60 kilometres.”

Scientists already knew the troposphere was growing in height as carbon emissions rose and had hypothesised that the stratosphere was shrinking. But the new study is the first to demonstrate this and shows it has been contracting around the globe since at least the 1980s, when satellite data was first gathered.

The ozone layer that absorbs UV rays from the sun is in the stratosphere and researchers had thought ozone losses in recent decades could be to blame for the shrinking. Less ozone means less heating in the stratosphere. But the new research shows it is the rise of CO2 that is behind the steady contraction of the stratosphere, not ozone levels, which started to rebound after the 1989 Montreal treaty banned CFCs.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, reached its conclusions using the small set of satellite observations taken since the 1980s in combination with multiple climate models, which included the complex chemical interactions that occur in the atmosphere.

“It may affect satellite trajectories, orbital life-times, and retrievals […] the propagation of radio waves, and eventually the overall performance of the Global Positioning System and other space-based navigational systems,” the researchers said.

Prof Paul Williams, at the University of Reading in the UK, who was not involved in the new research, said: “This study finds the first observational evidence of stratosphere contraction and shows that the cause is in fact our greenhouse gas emissions rather than ozone.”

“Some scientists have started calling the upper atmosphere the ‘ignorosphere’ because it is so poorly studied,” he said. “This new paper will strengthen the case for better observations of this distant but critically important part of the atmosphere.”

“It is remarkable that we are still discovering new aspects of climate change after decades of research,” said Williams, whose own research has shown that the climate crisis could triple the amount of severe turbulence experienced by air travellers. “It makes me wonder what other changes our emissions are inflicting on the atmosphere that we haven’t discovered yet.”

The dominance of humanity activities on the planet has led scientists to recommend the declaration of a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene.

Among the suggested markers of the Anthropocene are the radioactive elements scattered by nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s and domestic chicken bones, thanks to the surge in poultry production after the second world war. Other scientists have suggested widespread plastic pollution as a marker of a plastic age, to follow the bronze and iron ages.

 

[OMB]

Explained: What is causing ‘mice rain’ in eastern Australia?

The current plague is being called one of the worst plagues in decades and started being reported around mid-March in Australia’s eastern states.

AustraliaResearch carried out by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), which is led by CSIRO says that increasing zinc phosphide in mouse baits will help farmers to battle the higher than average mouse numbers in eastern Australia. (Photo Credits: CSIRO)
The government of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia has extended a support package of $50 million to farmers to deal with a devastating mouse plague that has affected farmers, community members and residents. To control the plague, the government has now authorised the use of an otherwise outlawed poison called bromadiolone.

NSW Farmers have called the plague an “economic and public health crisis” and had initially demanded that the government pay for 50 per cent of the cost of baits.

When did the plague begin?

The current plague is being called one of the worst plagues in decades and started being reported around mid-March in Australia’s eastern states. Live Science reported in March as a result of the “rampaging mice”, some farmers lost entire grain harvests “while hotels have had to close because they can’t keep the critters out of the rooms.”

In some places, residents of affected areas reported mice falling out from roof tops causing “mice rain”. Live Science also reported that Steve Henry, who is a researcher at Australia’s national science agency called CSIRO, attributes the plague to an unusually abundant grain harvest, which caused a surplus of mice earlier in the season.


Add to this the fact that mice have a short breeding cycle (a pair of breeding mice can give birth to a new litter every 21 days or so) and are not very choosy about food. The health department of Australia’s Victoria state notes that rodents (which includes rats and mice) are the second most successful mammals on the planet after humans.

How does a plague of this scale affect people?

As per Victoria’s health department there are 2,200 species of rodents and Australia has more than 60 native rodent species and three introduced pest species.

Rodents are capable of destroying food grains and can cause widespread damage to domestic households, commercial businesses, farms, manufacturers and livestock. Further, rodents can not only gnaw through materials but can also ruin supplies by excreting on them. Rodents can also cause diseases such as leptospirosis and typhus fever. They can also carry fleas or ticks that can harm pets and humans.

Rats and mice can stay in walls, ceilings, under cupboards or bathtubs, in rubbish heaps, wood piles, thick vegetation and in holes under buildings. The Guardian reported that the mice have made their way to rural hospitals, biting patients. The local health district of NSW has also reported an increase in mouse-related disease.

How can plagues be controlled?

Research carried out by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), which is led by CSIRO says that increasing zinc phosphide in mouse baits will help farmers to battle the higher than average mouse numbers in eastern Australia. As a result of this research, the authorities have allowed makers to double the toxicity levels in mouse baits.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-causing-mice-rain-in-eastern-australia-7315197/

 

[MenInG]

US President Joe Biden's administration will suspend oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending an environmental review.

The move reverses former President Donald Trump's decision to sell oil leases in the refuge to expand fossil fuel and mineral development.

The giant Alaskan wilderness is home to many important species, including polar bears, caribou and wolves.

Arctic tribal leaders have welcomed the move but Republicans are opposed.

In January, Mr Trump pushed ahead with the sale for the rights to drill for oil on around 5% of the refuge, just days before his presidential term ended.

Covering some 19 million acres (78,000 sq km) the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is often described as America's last great wilderness.

It is a critically important location for many species, including polar bears.

A demonstrator holds a sign against drilling in the Arctic Refuge on the 58th anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, during a press conference outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, December 11, 2018.

During his campaign, Mr Biden pledged to protect the habitat.

"President Biden believes America's national treasures are cultural and economic cornerstones of our country," White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said in a statement.

"He is grateful for the prompt action by the Department of the Interior to suspend all leasing pending a review of decisions made in the last administration's final days that could have changed the character of this special place forever," she added.

Arctic tribal leaders praised the decision.

"I want to thank President Biden and the Interior Department for recognising the wrongs committed against our people by the last Administration, and for putting us on the right path forward," Tonya Garnett, special projects coordinator for the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, said in a statement.

"This goes to show that, no matter the odds, the voices of our Tribes matter."

The Biden administration's move was criticised in a joint statement by Republican senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski along with representative Don Young and Governor Mike Dunleavy.

"This action serves no purpose other than to obstruct Alaska's economy and put our energy security at risk," Ms Murkowski said.

Mr Dunleavy added that the leases sold by the Trump administration "are valid and cannot be taken away by the federal government".

The first sale of parts of the refuge received little interest from the oil and gas industry and generated high bids of around $14 million (£10 million).

BBC

 

[OMB]

G7 to agree tough measures on burning coal to tackle climate change


World leaders meeting in Cornwall are to adopt strict measures on coal-fired power stations as part of the battle against climate change.

The G7 group will promise to move away from coal plants, unless they have technology to capture carbon emissions.

It comes as Sir David Attenborough warned that humans could be "on the verge of destabilising the entire planet".

He said G7 leaders faced the most important decisions in human history.

The coal announcement came from the White House, which said it was the first time the leaders of wealthy nations had committed to keeping the projected global temperature rise to 1.5C.

That requires a range of urgent policies, chief among them being phasing out coal burning unless it includes carbon capture technology.

Coal is the world's dirtiest major fuel and ending its use is seen as a major step by environmentalists, but they also want guarantees rich countries will deliver on previous promises to help poorer nations cope with climate change.

The G7 will end the funding of new coal generation in developing countries and offer up to £2bn ($2.8bn)to stop using the fuel. Climate change has been one of the key themes at the three-day summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.

Leaders of the seven major industrialised nations - the UK, US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy - are expected to set out plans to reduce emissions from farming, transport, and the making of steel and cement.

They will commit to protecting 30% of global land and marine areas for nature by 2030. They are also expected to pledge to almost halve their emissions by 2030, relative to 2010 levels. The UK has already surpassed that commitment.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a news conference on Sunday afternoon, the final day of a summit where he has clashed with EU leaders over the Brexit deal's requirements for checks on goods from Britain to Northern Ireland.

'Plain to see'
A video message from Sir David Attenborough will be played to world leaders in Cornwall on Sunday as they set out their plans for meeting emissions targets.

Speaking beforehand, Sir David said: "The natural world today is greatly diminished... Our climate is warming fast. That is beyond doubt. Our societies and nations are unequal and that is sadly plain to see.

"But the question science forces us to address specifically in 2021 is whether as a result of these intertwined facts we are on the verge of destabilising the entire planet."

He said the decisions facing the world's richest countries were "the most important in human history".

As well as the measures on coal and ending almost all direct government support for the fossil fuel sector overseas, the G7 is expected to phase out petrol and diesel cars.

BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said there had been "a crucial lack of detail on two questions so far: the proposed green masterplan to help developing countries get clean technology and the amount of cash richer [countries] will hand to the poorer to tackle the climate crisis".

China, which according to one report was responsible for 27% of the world's greenhouse gases in 2019 - the most of any country - is not part of the G7.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-57456641

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/01/nowhere-is-safe-say-scientists-as-extreme-heat-causes-chaos-in-us-and-canada

Climate scientists have said nowhere is safe from the kind of extreme heat events that have hit the western US and Canada in recent days and urged governments to dramatically ramp up their efforts to tackle the escalating climate emergency.

The devastating “heat dome” has caused temperatures to rise to almost 50C in Canada and has been linked to hundreds of deaths, melted power lines, buckled roads and wildfires.

Experts say that as the climate crisis pushes global temperatures higher, all societies – from northern Siberia to Europe, Asia to Australia – must prepare for more extreme weather events.

Sir David King, the former UK chief scientific adviser, said: “Nowhere is safe … who would have predicted a temperature of 48/49C in British Columbia?”

King, who along with other leading scientists set up the Climate Crisis Advisory Group earlier this month, said scientists had been warning about extreme weather events for decades and now time was running out to take action.

“The risks have been understood and known for so long and we have not acted, now we have a very narrow timeline for us to manage the problem,” he said.

In Canada experts have been shocked by the rise in temperature, which on Tuesday hit 49.6C (121.1F) in the town of Lytton, British Columbia, smashing the national record for the third day in a row.

On the US west coast, Seattle and Portland have registered consecutive days of exceptional heat. Local authorities said they were investigating about a dozen deaths in Washington and Oregon that could be attributed to the scorching temperatures.

Michael E Mann, professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University and author of The New Climate War, said as the planet warmed up such dangerous weather events would become more common.

“We should take this very seriously … You warm up the planet, you’re going to see an increased incidence of heat extremes.”

Mann said the climate was being destabilised in part by the dramatic warming of the Arctic and said existing climate models were failing to capture the scale of what was happening.

“Climate models are actually underestimating the impact that climate change is having on events like the unprecedented heatwave we are witnessing out west right now,” he added.

On Wednesday the US president, Joe Biden, blamed the climate crisis for the heatwave in the western US and Canada which officials said had already broken 103 heat records across British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and Northwest Territories.

The US National Weather Service said the peak in the region was 42.2 C on Tuesday in Spokane, Washington, another local record. About 9,300 homes lost power and the local utility Avista Utilities said planned blackouts would be needed, affecting more than 200,000 people.

In British Columbia (BC) at least 486 sudden deaths were reported over five days during the heatwave. The chief coroner said typically there would have been about 165 sudden deaths, suggesting more than 300 deaths could be attributed to the heat.

“While it is too early to say with certainty how many of these deaths are heat related, it is believed likely that the significant increase in deaths reported is attributable to the extreme weather BC has experienced and continues to impact many parts of our province,” Lisa Lapointe said in a statement.

Lapointe said the figures were preliminary and would increase as coroners in communities across the province entered other death reports into the agency’s system.

“Our thoughts are with people who have lost loved ones,” said Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, warning the blistering temperatures in a region of the country ill-prepared for such heat was a reminder of the need to address the climate crisis.

Police sergeant Steve Addison said: “I’ve been a police officer for 15 years and I’ve never experienced the volume of sudden deaths that have come in such a short period of time.”

Many of those who died over the five-day period were elderly people who lived alone and were found in residences that were hot and not well ventilated.

“People can be overcome by the effects of extreme heat quickly and may not be aware of the danger,” Lapointe said.

Scientists said that the scale of the heatwave in the US and Canada should serve as a “wake-up call” to policymakers, politicians and communities around the world, especially in the buildup to the crucial UN Cop26 climate summit to be hosted by the UK in November.

“The risk of heatwaves is increasing across the globe sufficiently rapidly that it is now bringing unprecedented weather and conditions to people and societies that have not seen it before,” said Prof Peter Stott from the Met Office. “Climate change is taking weather out of the envelope that societies have long experienced.”

Prof Simon Lewis of University College London described the situation as “scary” and warned that extreme heat events could have huge impacts on everything from food prices to power supplies.

“Everywhere is going to have to think about how to deal with these new conditions and the extremes that come along with the new climate that we are creating. That means everyone needs plans.”

He said it was crucial governments and policymakers heeded the warning signs and dramatically ramped up plans to halt fossil fuel emissions and prepare societies to deal with more extreme weather events.

“This is a warning in two senses,” said Lewis. “We have to get emissions down to zero fast to cut off the new extreme heatwaves, and we have to adapt to the new climate conditions we are creating.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/02/canada-wildfires-british-columbia-heatwave

On the heels of an unprecedented heatwave that left hundreds dead in British Columbia, Canada’s westernmost province is now battling a fresh threat.

More than 100 wildfires are burning across the province, as of late on Thursday, 86 of which started in the past two days. Evacuation orders and alerts have gone out in a dozen communities. The province’s premier, John Horgan, suggested that the crisis could become dire enough to see the Canadian military deployed.

There was a similar picture in the US west. Hundreds of firefighters battled in high heat against several wildfires in the forests of far northern California, where the flames have already forced many communities to evacuate.

Mount Shasta, the volcano that towers over the region, was shrouded on Thursday in a haze of smoke plumes so huge they could easily be seen in images from weather satellites in space.

In British Columbia, it was supposed to be a week of tentative celebration – Thursday was the day that the province’s Covid-19 state of emergency was lifted. But now the province is likely to be facing a new state of emergency over the wildfires.

“Absolutely, we may well, depending on how the fire season starts to unfold require a provincial state of emergency such as we have seen in our past five seasons in this province,” the province’s public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, said.

In the tiny village of Lytton, where a wildfire struck with such fury that residents had mere minutes to evacuate, an unknown number of residents were still unaccounted for on Friday. Community Facebook groups were brimming with posts by residents desperate to track down their missing loved ones.

The Vancouver Sun reported at least two people died attempting to shelter in a hole in the ground as the fire raged.

In the days leading up to the fire itself, Lytton set national heat records for three days straight until Tuesday, when the mercury reached a hellish 49.5C (121.1F), baking virtually all moisture from the region.

Horgan said “anecdotal” reports suggested the fire may have been ignited by an errant spark cast by a freight train into tinder-dry grass near the town. However, he cautioned that a formal investigation would be needed to determine the precise cause.

The Lytton inferno and the heatwave that preceded it are the result of a so-called “heat dome” – a weather phenomenon where a ridge of high pressure traps and compresses warm air, driving up temperatures and baking the region. While not unheard of, climate scientists say heat domes like this will become more common and more intense because of climate change.

Thanks to British Colombia’s usually moderate climate, many homes do not have air conditioning. When thermometers soared, those who could escaped to the beaches and ice-cold mountain creeks nearby to seek relief.

Many of those who couldn’t were forced indoors, seeking shelter in city-run cooling stations, at sprinklers and water misters set up around town, even resorting to sleeping in wet T-shirts.

In downtown Vancouver, many of the city’s most marginalised communities have borne the brunt of the heatwave’s wrath in sweltering single-room-occupancy hotels and other social housing, or gathering in alleys and doorways, seeking any shade they could find.

Community activist Angel Gates said that while she had her own air conditioning unit to keep her and her friends cool, most of the building did not. “It was just so hot,” she said. “There were ambulances coming all the time.”

At Vancouver’s Overdose Prevention Society, a supervised drug consumption site in the city’s downtown core, manager Trey Helton said workers went through 14 cases of bottled water in a three-hour period. “We had a lot of people passing out from heat exhaustion, trying to get them into the shade and basically just a lot of 911 calls,” Helton said.

 

[Technics 1210]

Where's Gretta?

The solar orbit has inched closer, it will get hotter. The sun has stolen childhoods!

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/02/canada-heatwave-500-deaths

Nearly 500 people may have been killed by record-breaking temperatures in Canada’s westernmost province, as officials warn the grim toll from “heat dome” could rise again as more deaths are reported.

On Friday, British Columbia’s chief coroner said that 719 “sudden and unexpected deaths” had been reported over the past week – triple the number during a similar period in a typical year.

“We are releasing this information as it is believed likely the extreme weather BC has experienced in the past week is a significant contributing factor to the increased number of deaths,” the chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, said in a statement.

The coroner’s office said it would typically expect close to 230 deaths in a similar period.

The overall total will probably rise after more communities provide data, but Lapointe said the province has seen a promising downward trend in recent days as the heat ebbs and shifts eastward.

Officials have cautioned it will probably take months to determine the exact cause of death for hundreds of residents, but they say heat played a significant role in the surge in fatalities, especially among seniors in the province.

“Many of the deaths experienced over the past week were among older individuals living alone in private residences with minimal ventilation,” Lapointe said in her statement.

In a region of the country accustomed to mild summer temperatures, communities were forced to scramble to find ways to help vulnerable residents stay safe amid blistering temperatures.

But regional officials are facing growing questions over their response to the crisis.

On Thursday, the head of the province’s emergency health service apologized after residents were made to wait hours for ambulances during the worst of the heatwave.

Global News reported that British Columbia’s emergency services centre – which allows paramedics to be redeployed to high need areas – wasn’t activated until after the worst of the heatwave had passed.

The weather system that enveloped large swaths of the Pacific north-west broke 103 heat records across British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and Northwest Territories earlier this week, according to Environment Canada.

The heat has done little to help a province already vulnerable to the devastating effects of wildfires.

At least two people are believed to have died in a wildfire that destroyed the village of Lytton on Wednesday. Police attempted to search for missing residents, but dangerous conditions have prevented them from entering the community.

Late on Friday, 136 active wildfires were reported in British Columbia, including nine which were “of concern”, according to officials. The dry, hot weather is expected to continue for the next week, hampering efforts to gain control over the fires.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/05/new-zealand-experiences-hottest-june-on-record-despite-polar-blast

New Zealand has experienced its hottest June since records began more than 110 years ago, according to official climate data.

Despite a polar blast that swept up the country last week, figures from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research’s (NIWA) show the average temperature for June was 2C warmer than usual, with twenty-four locations around the country hitting their own record highs.

That makes this June New Zealand’s warmest since NIWA’s seven station temperature series began in 1909. The warmth was widespread, with every long-term monitoring station observing either above or well-above average mean temperatures. It was particularly warm in Motueka, near the top of the South Island, where the mean temperature of 10.8C was 3.2C higher than the town’s 1981-2010 average.

Of the six main centres, Auckland was the warmest and sunniest, Tauranga was the wettest, Christchurch was the coldest and driest, and Dunedin was the least sunny.

The highest temperature recorded was in Hastings, in the Hawke’s Bay, and Leigh, north of Auckland, both reaching 22C on different days of the month.

The 2C average increase is “a massive shift” relative to normal, climate scientist Gregor Macara said, adding that the previous June record was an average 1.64C higher than usual.

NIWA puts the increase in temperatures down to above-normal sea level air pressure to the east of the country, and climate change.

“North-easterlies are dragging air masses from the sub-tropics, so they are relatively warm. The fact we were having more north-easterlies than normal delivered warmer air over the country than we would typically see in June.”

Sea surface temperatures were also warmer than normal and could be a contributing factor.

“Because we are an island nation, our climate is characterised as maritime, which means it is influenced by the sea. The warmer-than-normal sea surfaces helped to sustain the warmer-than-normal air temperatures,” Macara said.

Underpinning all of this was climate change, he said. In the past 100 years, New Zealand’s temperature has increased by 1C, which is contributing to the overall warmer temperatures, Macara said.

If warmer winter months persist in the years to come, that could spell trouble for the country’s ski-fields and agricultural sector.

“It will pose increasing challenges on the ski-industry because it will be more marginal to operate earlier in the season with the lack of snowfall, or with temperatures that are too warm to enable artificial snow to be made.”

Earlier in June, two of the country’s most popular skiing destinations – Queenstown’s Coronet Peak and Wanaka’s Cardrona Alpine Ski Resort – had to delay their openings due to the warm weather and lack of snowfall.

Agricultural industries that rely on frosts would also suffer, he said, but added the warmer weather could provide opportunities for re-orienting the sector towards crops that do well in warmer climates.

NIWA forecasters predict a continuation of warm weather throughout the remaining winter months.

 

[Firebat]

Record June temperatures point to more 'extraordinary' extremes

North America experienced its warmest June on record, according to the EU's Earth observation programme.

That will come as no surprise given the unprecedentedly high temperatures recently recorded during the heatwave that hit Canada and parts of the US.

But UK residents may be startled to learn that despite the rain and cloud they experienced, it was the second warmest June on record for Europe.

It was also the fourth warmest June ever recorded worldwide.

Copernicus, the EU's Earth observation programme, produces its figures for world temperatures from computer-generated analyses using billions of measurements from satellites, aircraft and weather stations around the world.

Climate experts say the findings point to a frightening escalation in temperature extremes.

"We are getting used to record high temperatures being recorded somewhere around the world every year now," says Prof Peter Stott of the UK Met Office.

He says what meteorologists like him find shocking is not that the world is experiencing more heatwaves but that temperature records are increasingly being broken by such large margins.

In Canada and the north-western US, several cities recorded temperatures a full 5 degrees Celsius above previous records.

A Siberian heatwave last year saw temperatures more than 5C above the previous record between January and June.

A study by the Met Office on the extreme heat in the Russian region found that reaching such temperatures was almost impossible without human-caused climate change.

It anticipates similar results from studies of the Canadian heatwave.

Its initial calculations suggest the odds of the sort of temperatures experienced in Canada occurring without climate change are very low indeed, says Professor Stott.

"It is telling us that changes in average climate are leading to rapid escalation not just of extreme temperatures, but of extraordinarily extreme temperatures," he adds.

That is exactly what the science says we should expect, Prof Friederike Otto of the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University told the BBC.

"Every decade the world has increased the rate of greenhouse gas emissions and that has increased the rate of warming. So, of course, heat records are being broken more frequently," she maintains.

Prof Otto believes the risks from the increasing number of heatwaves the world now experiences is not taken seriously enough.

Storms and flood provide dramatic before-and-after images and cause widespread damage to property.

Heatwaves, by contrast, do not leave a trail of destruction in their wake. Prof Otto describes them as "silent killers".

"People rarely drop dead on the street, but die quietly in their poorly insulated and un-air-conditioned homes."

Indeed, how many victims these events claim is often only apparent months after the event when statisticians can calculate excess mortality.

Prof Otto says even if we do manage to achieve the dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that many countries around the world are now committed to, we will still see more frequent and more intense heatwaves than we have today.

She advises that, alongside cutting carbon emissions, we should be investing in adaption and resilience to ensure our communities can withstand the higher temperatures we can expect in the future.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57742482

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/08/heat-dome-canada-pacific-northwest-animal-deaths

More than 1 billion marine animals along Canada’s Pacific coast are likely to have died from last week’s record heatwave, experts warn, highlighting the vulnerability of ecosystems unaccustomed to extreme temperatures.

The “heat dome” that settled over western Canada and the north-western US for five days pushed temperatures in communities along the coast to 40C (104F) – shattering longstanding records and offering little respite for days.

The intense and unrelenting heat is believed to have killed as many as 500 people in the province of British Columbia and contributed to the hundreds of wildfires currently burning across the province.

But experts fear it also had a devastating impact on marine life.

Christopher Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, has calculated that more than a billion marine animals may have been killed by the unusual heat.

A walk along a Vancouver-area beach highlighted the magnitude of devastation brought on by the heatwave, he said.

“The shore doesn’t usually crunch when you walk on it. But there were so many empty mussel shells lying everywhere that you just couldn’t avoid stepping on dead animals while walking around,” he said.

Harley was struck by the smell of rotting mussels, many of which were in effect cooked by the abnormally warm water. Snails, sea stars and clams were decaying in the shallow water. “It was an overpowering, visceral experience,” he said.

While the air around Vancouver hovered around the high 30s (about 100F), Harley and a student used infrared cameras to record temperatures above 50C (122F) along the rocky shore.

“It was so hot when I was out with a student that we collected data for a little bit and then retreated to the shade and ate frozen grapes,” said Harley. “But of course, the mussels, sea stars and clams don’t have that option.”

Mussels are hardy shellfish, tolerating temperatures into the high 30s. Barnacles are even sturdier, surviving the mid-40s (about 113F) for at least a few hours.

“But when the temperatures get above that, those are just unsurvivable conditions,” he said.

The mass death of shellfish would temporarily affect water quality because mussels and clams help filter the sea, Harley said, keeping it clear enough that sunlight reaches the eelgrass beds while also creating habitats for other species.

“A square meter of mussel bed could be home to several dozen or even one hundred species,” he said. The tightly bunched way mussels live also informed Harley’s calculation of the scope of the loss.

“You can fit thousands on to an area the size of a stove top. And there are hundreds of kilometres of rocky beach that are hospitable to mussels. Each time you scale up, the numbers just keep getting bigger and bigger. And that’s just mussels. A lot of sea life would have died.”

While mussels can regenerate over a period of two years, a number of starfish and clams live for decades, and they reproduce more slowly, so their recovery is probably going to take longer.

Harley has also received reports from colleagues of dead sea anemones, rock fish and oysters.

Experts have cautioned that the province needs to adapt to the reality that sudden and sustained heatwaves are likely to become more common as a result of climate change.

Another heatwave is expected to strike the western United States and south-western Canada in the coming week, highlighting the relentlessness of the dry summer heat.

“The nerdy ecologist part of me is excited to see what will happen in the coming years,” said Harley. “But most of the rest of me is kind of depressed by it. A lot of species are not going to be able to keep up with the pace of change. Ecosystems are going to change in ways that are really difficult to predict. We don’t know where the tipping points are.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/08/pacific-northwest-heatwave-deaths

The death toll from the record-breaking heatwave that struck the US Pacific north-west last week has risen to nearly 200, with health authorities reporting 116 deaths in Oregon and 78 in Washington state.

The data in Washington state are particularly striking given historical context. There were seven heat-related deaths in Washington between mid-June and the end of August in 2020. Between 2015 and 2020, the state saw just 39 deaths in the late spring and summer months.

“This huge jump in mortality due to heat is tragic and something many people thought they’d never see in the Pacific north-west with its mostly moderate climate,” Dr Scott Lindquist, Washington’s acting state health officer, said in a statement. “But climates are changing, and we see the evidence of that with dramatic weather events, major flooding, historic forest fires, and more.”

In Oregon, most of the deaths were in Portland’s Multnomah county; many of those who died lacked air conditioning or fans, and succumbed to the heat alone. The youngest victim was age 37, and the oldest was age 97, according to the Associated Press.

On Tuesday, the Oregon governor, Kate Brown, directed agencies to review how the state can improve its handling of heat emergencies. Brown also enacted emergency regulations to protect workers from heat, following the 26 June death of a farm worker in rural Oregon.

The heatwave, which also struck western Canada, is also thought to have killed as many as 500 people in British Columbia, and fostered hundreds of wildfires currently burning in the province.

During the heatwave, temperatures broke previous records in many municipalities; in some areas, they exceeded 115F (46C). Meteorologists said the weather event was prompted by two pressure systems.

“The Pacific north-west got caught in a region where a series of feedbacks set up these very warm temperatures – no, hot temperatures – with very little cloud cover and very warm temperatures at night too,” Richard Bann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, previously told the Guardian.

The fresh data on fatalities comes as a new analysis found that the deadly heatwave would have been “virtually impossible without human-caused climate change”, which added several extra degrees to scorching record temperatures. The researchers behind the study from World Weather Attribution, which has not yet been peer reviewed but relies on peer-reviewed methodology, write that “the observed temperatures were so extreme that they lie far outside the range of historically observed temperatures.”

“This makes it hard to quantify with confidence how rare the event was,” they said, noting that even in an environment that’s enduring the climate crisis, such a historic heatwave is still a once-in-a-millenium weather event. However, if climate change were to increase another 0.8C, it could happen every five to 10 years, the study claimed.

Experts have also said that more than 1 billion marine animals on Canada’s Pacific shore are likely to have died because of the extreme heat. Christopher Harley, a University of British Columbia biologist, said that a walk on a Vancouver-area beach underscored the extreme loss of marine life.

“The shore doesn’t usually crunch when you walk on it. But there were so many empty mussel shells lying everywhere that you just couldn’t avoid stepping on dead animals while walking around,” Harley previously told the Guardian.

Mass death of shellfish would temporarily impact water quality, as clams and mussels help filter the sea, keeping the water clear enough so sunlight can reach eelgrass beds, in turn creating other species’ habitats, Harley said.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/09/new-york-city-storm-flooding-climate-change

Commuters having to wade through waist-deep water on subway concourses, rain cascading directly onto train platforms, desperate motorists rescued by police from their inundated cars – the battering New York City has taken from tropical storm Elsa has raised questions as to how well the metropolis is prepared for the ravages of the climate crisis.

Elsa had already hit areas of Florida and Georgia, causing at least one death, before shifting north, where it unleashed a barrage of thunderstorms on Thursday. The storm is now expected to move towards the Boston area, with about 40 million people from New Jersey to Maine issued flash flooding warnings.

Some of the most dramatic scenes played out in New York City on Thursday afternoon. Videos taken by commuters showed people struggling through murky floodwater in order to catch the subway at the 157th St station. “It was filthy water. Completely opaque, a dark gray-green with bits of rubble floating in it,” one local resident said. “It was real disgusting.”

Other videos captured torrents of water flowing down stairs at the 149th St station and commuters at Spring St tentatively moving along a platform as rainwater gushed from the ceiling. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, responsible for the subway, said that if drains at street level can’t handle the water it will come through the vents into stations, adding that crews had helped return stations to a sense of normalcy by Friday.

Meanwhile, above ground, a major highway in the Bronx became completely flooded, with the police using a truck to rescue at least a dozen drivers who had become trapped by the fast-rising waters.

Blame was quickly placed upon New York City’s creaking infrastructure. Eric Adams, who this week won the Democratic primary for the New York City mayor election, criticised the MTA for “bad spending decisions for decades”. The former police officer added: “This cannot be New York.”

But some scientists pointed out that extreme rainstorms affecting the US north-east, including New York, are consistent with the effects of a climate different from all prior experience. A major federal government climate assessment in 2018 found rain intensity is increasing due to global heating, warning that the region’s aging infrastructure is “not designed for the projected wider variability of future climate conditions compared to those recorded in the last century”.

Andra Garner, a climate scientist at Rowan University, said that flooding in New York City “has already become more frequent than in the past, and as long as we continue to warm the planet, we can expect more of this, not less”.

Garner’s research has estimated that New York City could be hit by severe floods that reach more than 2.25m (7ft), enough to inundate the first story of a building, every five years within the next decade if planet-heating gases are not radically reduced. Such major floods were expected only once every 25 years in the 1970s.

The ninth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, perhaps the best-known storm to have caused major flooding as well as power blackouts in New York City, is in October, and Elsa has fueled criticisms that the city is still not properly prepared for flooding that can cause its transportation to grind to a halt.

State and city officials have put forward various measures to upgrade subway stations and to place flood protections along New York’s lengthy coastline, but some question whether enough has been done. Mark Levine, a city council member, said that the city was “way behind on hardening our infrastructure”. Levine added that “climate change is here.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57794263

Wildfires are raging in the west of the United States as the region is hit by a heatwave that has brought record temperatures to several areas.

Communities have been told to evacuate as firefighters struggle to battle the blazes in the extreme conditions.

Two firefighters in Arizona died when their aircraft crashed while responding to a wildfire.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas matched its all-time temperature high of 47.2C (117F) on Saturday.

Firefighters battling the many wildfires in the region say the air is so dry that much of the water dropped by aircraft to quell the flames evaporates before it reaches the ground.

It comes just weeks after another dangerous heatwave hit North America, in which hundreds of sudden deaths were recorded, many of them suspected of being heat-related.

The region experienced its hottest June on record, according to the EU's Earth observation programme.

Experts say that climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves. But linking any single event to global warming is complicated.

However, a study by climate researchers said the heat that scorched western Canada and the US at the end of June was "virtually impossible" without climate change.

Arizona's Bureau of Land Management paid tribute to the two "brave wildland firefighters" who died in a plane crash while performing aerial reconnaissance, command and control over the lightning-caused Cedar Basin Fire.

"Our hearts are heavy tonight with sincere condolences to families, loved ones and firefighters affected by this tragic aviation accident", the agency said.

The accident occurred at around noon local time (19:00 GMT) on Saturday near the small community of Wikieup. Further information was not immediately available and the firefighters have not been officially named.

In the north of Nevada, near the border with California, people were evacuated from their homes as wildfires triggered by lightning strikes tore through parts of the Sierra Nevada forest region.

One fire, which more than doubled in size between Friday and Saturday, sent up a giant cloud of smoke and ash which, combined with the dry heat, generated its own lightning, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"As long as it's this hot and we have these low humidities, it's kind of hard to tell when and where we're going to catch this," Lisa Cox, information officer for the so-called Beckwourth Complex fires, told the newspaper.

In Oregon, a wildfire fanned by strong winds in the Fremont-Winema National Forest doubled in size to 120 sq miles (311 sq km) on Saturday.

The fire was threatening power cables that send electricity to California. Power grid operators in California have urged customers to conserve electricity by reducing their use of appliances and to keep thermostats higher during the evening when solar energy is diminished or no longer available.

In Idaho, Governor Brad Little declared a wildfire emergency on Friday and mobilised the state's National Guard to help fight fires also sparked by lightning.

Fires have also been burning in Canada's western province of British Columbia amid unusually hot, dry weather. An entire village was wiped out in a blaze earlier this month after it recorded Canada's highest ever temperature of 49.6C (121.3F).

The country on Sunday ordered new railway safety rules for areas where there is a high wildfire risk. The rules will require Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway to take a number of precautions, including reducing train speeds when there is an extreme fire risk and removing combustible material near tracks.

Several areas in Nevada and California have matched or passed temperature records, according to preliminary data by the National Weather Service (NWS), and the extreme heat is expected to continue.

A temperature of 54.4C (130F) was registered in California's Death Valley on Friday, matching one recorded in August 2020 - which some argue is the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth. A temperature of 56.7C (134F) was registered in the area in 1913, but this is contested by climate experts.

Millions of people are under an excessive heat warning, with those affected urged to drink plenty of water and stay in air-conditioned buildings where possible.

Cooling centres - air-conditioned public spaces - have been set up in some areas to help residents get relief from the heatwave.

Heat warnings have also been issued in parts of Canada, with those affected urged to consider rescheduling outdoor activities for cooler periods of the day, and monitor for symptoms of heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/14/amazon-rainforest-now-emitting-more-co2-than-it-absorbs

The Amazon rainforest is now emitting more carbon dioxide than it is able to absorb, scientists have confirmed for the first time.

The emissions amount to a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, according to a study. The giant forest had previously been a carbon sink, absorbing the emissions driving the climate crisis, but is now causing its acceleration, researchers said.

Most of the emissions are caused by fires, many deliberately set to clear land for beef and soy production. But even without fires, hotter temperatures and droughts mean the south-eastern Amazon has become a source of CO2, rather than a sink.

Growing trees and plants have taken up about a quarter of all fossil fuel emissions since 1960, with the Amazon playing a major role as the largest tropical forest. Losing the Amazon’s power to capture CO2 is a stark warning that slashing emissions from fossil fuels is more urgent than ever, scientists said.

The research used small planes to measure CO2 levels up to 4,500m above the forest over the last decade, showing how the whole Amazon is changing. Previous studies indicating the Amazon was becoming a source of CO2 were based on satellite data, which can be hampered by cloud cover, or ground measurements of trees, which can cover only a tiny part of the vast region.

The scientists said the discovery that part of the Amazon was emitting carbon even without fires was particularly worrying. They said it was most likely the result of each year’s deforestation and fires making adjacent forests more susceptible the next year. The trees produce much of the region’s rain, so fewer trees means more severe droughts and heatwaves and more tree deaths and fires.

The government of Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been harshly criticised for encouraging more deforestation, which has surged to a 12-year high, while fires hit their highest level in June since 2007.

Luciana Gatti, at the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil and who led the research, said: “The first very bad news is that forest burning produces around three times more CO2 than the forest absorbs. The second bad news is that the places where deforestation is 30% or more show carbon emissions 10 times higher than where deforestation is lower than 20%.”

Fewer trees meant less rain and higher temperatures, making the dry season even worse for the remaining forest, she said: “We have a very negative loop that makes the forest more susceptible to uncontrolled fires.”

Much of the timber, beef and soy from the Amazon is exported from Brazil. “We need a global agreement to save the Amazon,” Gatti said. Some European nations have said they will block an EU trade deal with Brazil and other countries unless Bolsonaro agrees to do more to tackle Amazonian destruction.

The research, published in the journal Nature, involved taking 600 vertical profiles of CO2 and carbon monoxide, which is produced by the fires, at four sites in the Brazilian Amazon from 2010 to 2018. It found fires produced about 1.5bn tonnes of CO2 a year, with forest growth removing 0.5bn tonnes. The 1bn tonnes left in the atmosphere is equivalent to the annual emissions of Japan, the world’s fifth-biggest polluter.

“This is a truly impressive study,” said Prof Simon Lewis, from University College London. “Flying every two weeks and keeping consistent laboratory measurements for nine years is an amazing feat.”

“The positive feedback, where deforestation and climate change drive a release of carbon from the remaining forest that reinforces additional warming and more carbon loss is what scientists have feared would happen,” he said. “Now we have good evidence this is happening. The south-east Amazon sink-to-source story is yet another stark warning that climate impacts are accelerating.”

Prof Scott Denning, at Colorado State University, said the aerial research campaign was heroic. “In the south-east, the forest is no longer growing faster than it’s dying. This is bad – having the most productive carbon absorber on the planet switch from a sink to a source means we have to eliminate fossil fuels faster than we thought.”

A satellite study published in April found the Brazilian Amazon released nearly 20% more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the past decade than it absorbed. Research that tracked 300,000 trees over 30 years, published in 2020, showed tropical forests were taking up less CO2 than before. Denning said: “They’re complementary studies with radically different methods that come to very similar conclusions.”

“Imagine if we could prohibit fires in the Amazon – it could be a carbon sink,” said Gatti. “But we are doing the opposite – we are accelerating climate change.”

“The worst part is we don’t use science to make decisions,” she said. “People think that converting more land to agriculture will mean more productivity, but in fact we lose productivity because of the negative impact on rain.”

Research published on Friday estimated that Brazil’s soy industry loses $3.5bn a year due to the immediate spike in extreme heat that follows forest destruction.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/15/heatwave-us-west-canada-wildfires

The fourth searing heatwave in five weeks is set to strike the west of the United States and Canada this weekend, aggravating wildfires that are already ravaging an area larger than Rhode Island as drought and record-breaking temperatures tied to the climate crisis pummel the region.

The impending heatwave comes as 12 states are already battling 71 active wildfires. The combined area of blaze is about 1,562 sq miles (4,047 sq km), according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

The largest blaze by far continues to be the Bootleg fire in south-central Oregon, which has been burning for nine days and has devastated an area larger than New York City with no sign of it letting up. As of Thursday morning, the fire is at only 7% containment and the cause is still unknown.

Almost 2,000 houses are currently threatened by the Bootleg fire. Tim McCarley described to the Associated Press having to flee his home in a rural area north of Bly. “The sheriff’s department had been there and they said, ‘If you don’t get out of here now, then you are going to die,’” he said. “We were running around like a chicken with its head cut off, throwing stuff into the car. Then we say, OK, that’s it, we got to go.”

They evacuated from the flames which came within 5ft (1.5 metres) of his house. Their trailer resembled a “melted beer can”, McCarley told the news agency, after the fire had passed.

Several large fires are also burning across northern California, including the Dixie Fire, which erupted on Wednesday, and has grown to more than 2,250 acres close to where the deadly 2018 Camp Fire tore through the town of Paradise, and remains at 0% containment

“It’s a lot of steep and inaccessible terrain and that’s making it really difficult to get containment,” said Lynette Round, an information officer with Cal Fire. “Ground Crews have to hike in, so it is a lot of work for the firefighters.”

Meanwhile, in Mariposa county, the River Fire was brought to 36% containment, after destroying five structures and burning through 9,500 acres. Evacuation orders were lifted as crews worked to mop up hotspots, but officials warned that “years of drought and disease have weakened many trees, and those dead and downed trees and logs continue to pose problems”.

The number of acres burned in California this year is already eclipsing the number by this time last year, when the state set a record for the most amount of land burned. By the end of 2020, roughly 4.1m acres had been scorched.

“Last year was quite an anomaly in August when we had over 14,000 lightning strikes that caused multiple fires at one time. Hopefully that does not happen again this year,” Round said. “But what we are seeing this year is we didn’t have as much rainfall and that makes the fuels more susceptible to burning.”

The raging wildfires are stoked by a wave of exceptional temperatures across the western region combined with a prolonged drought that has desiccated vegetation. The west has grown warmer and drier in recent decades as a result of the climate crisis, accelerating the fires and making the job of controlling them more difficult.

More than 60% of the US west is suffering exceptional or extreme drought – the highest rating since authorities began monitoring the phenomenon 20 years ago. Temperatures have also reached historic levels, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marking 585 all-time records in the past 30 days.

“When have heat like this we are always concerned,” Round said, emphasizing that residents in the area must remain vigilant.

Writing in the Washington Post, meteorologist Matthew Cappucci said that the next punishing heatwave is expected to start on Saturday and reach a critical peak by Monday. It will be centered on a swath of the Rocky Mountains in the US and up into Canada, bringing temperatures up to 30F (16.7C) above the average for the time of year.

“In addition to the hot temperatures, the sultry air mass will spur additional wildfire growth and ignition across the west, where dozens of fires are already raging,” Cappucci predicted.

Satellite images posted on Twitter by the National Weather Service showed four giant clouds forming over the Bootleg fire with the southernmost starting to mass into the most extreme fire clouds of its sort, known as a pyrocumulonimbus. Such clouds, which occur when heat rises from a fire, can cause hail, lightning and tornadoes that can in themselves be extremely dangerous on the ground.

The weather service said the cloud pattern was “terrifying in its own right”, and asked the public to “send positive thoughts and well wishes to the firefighters right now. It’s a tough time for them.”

Fatigue has already started to set in for first responders battling the blazes and this is just the beginning of a fire season expected to get worse in the coming months.

“We’re talking about a new kind of fire season, with repeated and persistent fires producing weeks and months of smoke,” said UCLA public health professor David Eisenman in a statement, noting that the compounding disasters will take a mental toll on residents as well. “Weeks at a time, most people are resilient, but if it happens for a few months every summer, that’s a different story. And months of smoke are the new thing that we’re going to see.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jul/17/northern-ireland-records-its-highest-ever-temperature

The hottest day of the year so far has been provisionally recorded in all four UK nations, with Northern Ireland reaching the highest temperature ever recorded, the Met Office has said.

Ballywatticock, in County Down, Northern Ireland, saw a maximum of 31.2C, while 30.7C was recorded at Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, England, although temperatures could rise further this afternoon.

Usk, in Monmouthshire, Wales, reached 29C, and 28.2C was recorded in Threave, in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland.

But the Met Office said temperatures could rise yet higher in England and south Wales on Sunday as the summer heatwave continues. Tom Morgan, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Temperatures are expected to increase even further on Sunday, reaching highs of 33C in the south of the UK.”

He added that an extended hot spell of weather is expected to last for much of the week ahead: “It’s going to mean that people are really going to feel the effects of the heat as we go through this week.”

Thousands have flocked to beaches across the country, including Bournemouth beach in Dorset, where many cooled off in the sea with surfboards and inflatables.

Public Health England (PHE) and the Met Office have warned people to take care during the hot spell, advising people to stay hydrated, apply sunscreen and not to leave children or pets in cars.

PHE urged people to look out for others who may be struggling in the heat, such as older people and those who live alone.

The RAC has also warned drivers to be careful during a busy weekend on the roads and to check that their car is road-ready before setting off.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/20/everything-is-on-fire-siberia-hit-by-unprecedented-burning

Every morning and evening for the last few days, shifts of young villagers have headed out into the taiga forest around Teryut with a seemingly impossible task: to quell the raging fires that have burned closer and closer for a month, shrouding this remote eastern Siberian village in an acrid haze.

So far, little has worked. Amid the worst wildfire season in memory, locals have vowed to defend their village to the last, sending away small children for their protection from the smog while they stay on to fight back the flames.

“For a month already you can’t see anything through the smoke,” said Varvara, a 63-year-old pensioner from Teryut, a village in the Oymyakonsky district. “We have already sent the small children away. And the fires are very close, just 2km [1.2 miles] from our village.”

The extraordinary forest fires, which have already burned through 1.5m hectares (3.7m acres) of land in north-east Siberia have released choking smog across Russia’s Yakutia region, where officials have described this summer’s weather as the driest in the past 150 years. And that follows five years of hot summers, which have, according to villagers, turned the surrounding forests and fields into a tinderbox.

Varvara said their main hope was that this week brought heavy rains to their region, which is located more than 400 miles from the city of Yakutsk across mostly impassable taiga, or snow forest.

“Emergency workers have come and villagers are also fighting the fires but they can’t put them out, they can’t stop them,” she said by telephone. “Everything is on fire.”

More than 50 settlements have been covered in smog, which has periodically halted operations at Yakutia’s main airport and disrupted river traffic.

The unprecedented scale of the fires has prompted locals to join auxiliary fire brigades.

“These are our homes, our forests, and our people,” said Ivan Nikiforov, a resident of Yakutsk, the capital of Yakutia, who has joined a volunteer fire brigade for the first time this year. “Our relatives are breathing smog. I couldn’t stand by.”

“It’s a thick smoke, yellow,” said Nikiforov, describing the fires near Magaras, a village about 100km from the capital Yakutsk. “I don’t know how the locals could stand it. It will probably have health effects for them in the future. People are both depressed and angry. This situation should not have been allowed to take place.”

Grigory Mochkin, who runs several Crossfit gyms in Yakutsk, said he had spent the last few days volunteering to build firebreaks and helping set up controlled burns to try to stop the spread of the flames.

“The fires have touched absolutely every single person’s life in Yakutia,” said Mochkin. “The fires are very large this year. And since the smoke has gotten to Yakutsk, people are very vocal on social networks because every person’s life has been affected. In past years, the smog has covered the city for at most a day.”

The smoke has been seen as a health hazard for young children and the elderly in particular. “It’s like standing next to a campfire,” said Aytalina, a 26-year-old from Yakutsk. “This year you open a window and the stench just fills the room. People are feeling very poorly.”

The choking smog has hovered for days over the city of more than 280,000, where residents have been warned to stay at home. “The level of air pollution went down [on Monday] for three hours thanks to the wind,” Aytalina said. “We went out to the store for 15 minutes for groceries. That was our first time outside of the apartment since [Friday].”

Locals have blamed various factors for the fires, from the climate crisis to poor government preparedness, to a ban on purging dry grass, budget cuts to forestry services, alleged arsons, and, in particular, the hot summers.

“There never used to be summers with such large fires,” said Nikolai Verkhovov, a native of Srednekolymsk, a village on the River Kolyma more than 750 miles from Yakutsk. “But last year a village in my district nearly burned down.” He suggested that budget cuts to forest ranger services and corruption could play a role in the fires.

“In Yakutsk itself the fire season has been growing exponentially since 2018,” he said. “This year has been unbelievably awful. Enormous parts of the forest are on fire. It’s so smoky it is hard to breathe and your eyes tear up.”

Many of those contacted sent screenshots from IQAir, an air quality app that showed that the concentration of pollutants in the air in downtown Yakutsk was so high that it was accompanied by an icon of a man in a gas mask and the description “life-threatening”.

Some people from Yakutsk have sought to leave the region during the wildfire season or considered emigrating permanently. One young woman said that as she got off a flight to Moscow from Yakutsk, she realised that her hair and clothing stank of smoke.

Others fear for those at risk in the region.

“Here in Yakutsk I have many elderly relatives, we are all worried for them,” said Verkhovov. “Some are also sick with coronavirus. My aunt was in the hospital for a month, she finally managed to get her temperature down and then the smoke has just made it worse and slowed down her recovery.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/24/america-heatwave-climate-crisis-heat-dome

The most extensive heatwave of a scorching summer is set to descend upon much of America in the coming week, further roasting areas already gripped by severe drought, plunging reservoirs and wildfires. A massive “heat dome” of excessive heat will settle across the heart of the contiguous US from Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast, bringing elevated temperatures to the Great Plains, the Great Lakes, the northern reaches of the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific north-west and California.

Places used to more mild summers are set for punishing heat, with temperatures expected to breach 100F (37C) in the Dakotas and Montana, a state in which the city of Billings has already experienced 12 days above 95F (35C) this month. Areas of states including Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma may get “sweltering” temperatures reaching 110F (43C), Noaa said, while cities such as Des Moines, Minneapolis and Chicago will get significantly above-average heat.

The latest, but most expansive, in a parade of heatwaves to sweep the US is likely to bring thunderstorms and lightning to some areas, as well as worsen drought conditions ranked as “severe” or “exceptional” that now cover two-thirds of the US west.

Climate scientists have said the barrage of heatwaves over the past month, which have parched farms, caused roads to buckle and resulted in the obliteration of long-standing temperature records, are being fueled by predicted human-caused climate change – but admit to being surprised at the ferocity of the onslaught.

“It’s been a severe and dangerous summer, some of the heatwaves have been devastatingly hot,” said Michael Wehner, a a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “We certainly expected these type of temperatures as global warming continues but I don’t think anyone anticipated they would be so hot right now. I don’t think we could’ve expected so many heatwaves in the same general region in one summer.”

The most extraordinary of the recent heatwaves occurred in the Pacific north-west in June where the normally mild region was bathed in heat that broke temperature records by more than 10F (5.5C). The heat, which caused hundreds of people to die in cities including Seattle and Portland, where it reached 116F (46C), has caused several scientists to question their previous estimates of how the climate crisis will reshape heatwave severity.

“You expect hotter heatwaves with climate change but the estimates may have been overly conservative,” Wehner said. “With the Pacific north-west heatwave you’d conclude the event would be almost impossible without climate change but in a straightforward statistical analysis from before this summer you’d also include it would be impossible with climate change, too. That is problematic, because the event happened.”

Wehner said the ongoing heatwaves should prompt governments and businesses to better prepare for the health impacts of high temperatures, which range from heatstroke to breathing difficulties caused by smoke emitted from increasingly large wildfires.

“The good news is that heatwaves are now on people’s radars a bit more,” he said. “But these sort of events are completely unprecedented, you expect records to be beaten by tenths of a degree, not 5F or more.

“It’s a teachable moment in many ways for the public that climate change is here and now and dangerous. It isn’t our grandchildren’s problem, it’s our problem. But it’s been a teachable moment for climate scientists too.”

 

[pakistani pride]

Climate change?
One of the worst summers here in the netherlands. Rain, rain and more rain!

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/25/wildfires-california-oregon-west

As California’s biggest wildfire destroyed multiple homes, its flames racing through rugged terrain, and as numerous other blazes battered the American west, the governor of Oregon said the climate crisis was “like a hammer hitting us in the head”.

“We have to take action,” Kate Brown said.

In California, the Dixie fire, which started on 14 July, had already leveled more than a dozen buildings when it tore through the tiny community of Indian Falls after dark.

An updated damage estimate was not immediately available but fire officials said the blaze charred more than 181,000 acres in Plumas and Butte counties and was 20% contained.

The fire was burning in a remote area, hampering firefighters as it charged eastward. It prompted evacuation orders in several small communities and along the shore of Lake Almanor, a popular getaway spot.

The largest US wildfire, the Bootleg fire in southern Oregon, was nearly half surrounded as more than 2,200 crew members worked in heat and wind, fire officials said. The growth of the blaze had slowed but thousands of homes remained threatened, authorities said.

“This fire is resistant to stopping at dozer lines,” said Jim Hanson, a fire behavior analyst, in a news release from the Oregon Department of Forestry. “With the critically dry weather and fuels we are experiencing, firefighters are having to constantly reevaluate their control lines and look for contingency options.”

The governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, spoke to CNN’s State of the Union.

“The harsh reality is that we’re going to see more of these wildfires,” she said. “They’re hotter, they’re more fierce and obviously much more challenging to tackle. And they are a sign of the changing climate impacts.

“In the last year, Oregon has had four federal emergency declarations in addition to the pandemic. We had historic wildfires last fall that we are still rebuilding and recovering from. We had terrible ice storms in February. Over a half-a-million people lost power. And then most recently, as you know, we had the heat dome event … we unfortunately lost over 100 Oregonians.

“So climate change is here, it’s real and it’s like a hammer hitting us in the head. And we have to take action.”

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for four northern counties because of wildfires he said were causing “conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property”. The proclamation opened the way for more state support.

Brown praised the federal government.

“The Biden-Harris administration has stepped up,” she said. “They understand that we need a comprehensive, collaborative approach to tackling wildfire. We obviously always continue to need additional financial resources and boots on the ground. But that’s something we will have a conversation about post-wildfire season.”

Random, short-term and natural weather patterns are being heightened by long-term, human-caused climate change. Global warming has made the west much warmer and drier in the past 30 years.

“It’s incredibly important,” Brown said, “with climate change, that we get into these forests and start doing the thinning and harvest and prescriptive burning, so that we can create healthier landscapes, landscapes that are more resilient to wildfire.”

On Saturday, fire crews from California and Utah headed to Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte said. Five firefighters were injured on Thursday when winds blew flames back on them as they worked on the Devil’s Creek fire in rough, steep terrain near the rural town of Jordan in the north-east of the state.

Another high-priority blaze, the Alder Creek fire in south-west Montana, had charred more than 6,800 acres and was 10% contained. It was threatening nearly 240 homes.

Elsewhere, the Tamarack fire south of Lake Tahoe continued to threaten communities on both sides of the California-Nevada state line. The fire, sparked by lightning on 4 July, has destroyed at least 10 buildings.

Heavy smoke from that blaze and the Dixie fire lowered visibility and may at times ground aircraft providing support for fire crews. The air quality south of Lake Tahoe and across the state line into Nevada deteriorated to very unhealthy levels.

In north-central Washington, firefighters battled two blazes in Okanogan county that threatened hundreds of homes and caused hazardous air quality conditions. And in northern Idaho, east of Spokane, Washington, a small fire near the Silverwood Theme Park prompted evacuations on Friday. The park was back open on Saturday with the fire half contained.

Although hot weather with winds posed a continued threat of spreading blazes, weekend forecasts also called for a chance of scattered thunderstorms in California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and other states. But forecasters said some could be dry thunderstorms that produce little rain but a lot of lightning, which can spark fires.

By Sunday more than 85 large wildfires were burning around the US, most in western states. They had burned over 1.4m acres.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/record-smashing-heat-extremes-may-become-much-more-likely-with-climate-change-2021-07-26/

Cyprus. Cuba. Turkey. Canada. Northern Ireland. Antarctica. All recorded their hottest-ever temperatures in the last two years, and according to a new study, more such extremes are coming.

In the next three decades, "record-shattering" heat waves could become two to seven times more frequent in the world than in the last 30 years, scientists report in a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Beyond 2050, if current greenhouse gas emissions trends continue, such record-breaking heat waves could be three to 21 times more frequent, the study found.

Even with the records seen in 2021, "we haven't seen anything close to the most intense heat waves possible under today's climate, let alone the ones we expect to see in the coming decades," said co-author Erich Fischer, a climate scientist at ETH Zurich.

For the study, the researchers used climate modeling to calculate the likelihood of record-breaking heat that lasted at least seven days and far surpassed earlier records.

Communities preparing for climate change need to be preparing for such extremes, he said.

"Every time record temperatures or precipitation go well beyond what we've experienced during our lifetime, that's usually when we're unprepared and the damage is largest," Fischer said.

Last month's Canadian heat wave killed hundreds of people and reached 121 Fahrenheit (49.6 Celsius) - an eye-popping 8 degrees Fahrenheit (4.6 degrees Celsius) above the country's previous record, set in 1937.

"We should no longer be surprised if we see records smashed by large margins," Fischer said.

If greenhouse gas emissions are aggressively cut, the likelihood of heat waves would remain high but the chances of exceeding records would eventually fall over time, the study suggests.

The new research shows that "we must expect extreme event records to be broken - not just by small margins, but quite often by very large ones," climate scientist Rowan Sutton at the University of Reading's National Centre for Atmospheric Science said in a statement.

"This highlights the huge challenge to improve preparedness, build resilience and adapt society to conditions that have never previously been experienced," Sutton said.

The study was released as scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change begin two weeks of virtual meetings to finalize their next global climate science assessment.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/27/salmon-boiled-alive-pacific-north-west-heatwave-video

Salmon in the Columbia River were nearly roasted to death when water temperatures rose during the Pacific north-west’s record-shattering heatwave, according to a conservation group that has documented the disturbing sight.

In a video released on Tuesday by the non-profit organization Columbia Riverkeeper, a group of sockeye salmon swimming in a tributary of the river can be seen covered in angry red lesions and white fungus, the results of stress and exposure to extreme temperatures.

The salmon had been traveling upstream in the Columbia River from the ocean, to return to their natal spawning areas, when they unexpectedly changed course, explained Brett VandenHeuvel, the executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper. He described the sockeye as veering off to the Little White Salmon River, a tributary of the Columbia River where the video was recorded, in an effort to essentially “escape a burning building”.

On the day the video was recorded, the river had hit just over 70F (21C), a lethal temperature for these anadromous fish if they are exposed to it for long periods. The Clean Water Act prohibits the Columbia River from rising over 68F (20C).

VandenHeuvel compared the situation to a person trying to run a marathon in over 100F (38C) temperatures.

“The difference is that this isn’t recreation for the salmon,” he said. “They have no choice. They either make it or they die.”

The salmon in the video won’t be able to spawn in the tributary, and are expected to die from disease and heat stress.

This scene is yet another example of the tragic toll taken by the recent heatwave, which killed hundreds of people across the Pacific north-west and Canada, probably caused more than 1 billion marine animals to perish, and contributed to fires across the region.

But VandenHeuvel said the incident went beyond the heatwave, and was exacerbated by the many dams that for decades have held up the water flows across Washington state and beyond, and thus increased water temperature. Climate change and the recent deadly heatwave simply threw the situation to the extreme.

A videographer captured the scene for the Columbia Riverkeeper earlier this month as part of the organization’s effort to try to keep track of the salmon’s progress in the heat.

VandenHeuvel said it was too early to say exactly how many salmon have died as a result of the hot water. But there are tens of thousands of sockeye still in the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers, and so as these waterways grow hotter over the next two months, many more fish could die. And given that Snake River sockeye are already considered endangered, the death of just a small section of their population could have dire effects.

VandenHeuvel recalled traveling out to the area in the days after the video was recorded, and said he saw salmon suffering in a similar way in other tributaries. He even spotted several sockeye carcasses downstream.

“It’s heartbreaking to watch animals dying unnaturally,” he said. “And worse, thinking about the cause of it. This is a human caused problem, and it really makes me think about the future.”

In the video, the salmon can be seen with what looks to be fuzzy white patches, which is likely a fungal infection that appears when salmon become stressed from hot water.

Don Sampson, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and an advisory board member for the Northwest Tribal Salmon Alliance, described watching the video as akin to seeing his relatives die.

“That’s how bad I felt,” said Sampson, who is also hereditary chief of the Walla Walla tribe. “I mean I was near in tears when I saw it.”

He compared it to 2015, when about 250,000 sockeye died in the Columbia River and its tributaries after an especially hot summer.

Sampson predicted that the situation was only going to get worse, and said it was vital to move forward with a proposal of breaching four dams in eastern Washington state.

“It’s really appalling that we have solutions to save salmon, but we’re not doing it,” said Sampson. “We don’t have the political will, our members of Congress in the north-west don’t have the political strength or will to stand up to protect salmon for future generations.”

VandenHeuvel agreed that these types of scenes would continue to play out if officials did not take direct action.

“I see this as a deeply sad vision for our future. But I also see it as a call to action. There’s mitigation measures we can take to save the salmon, to cool our rivers,” he said. “And if this video doesn’t inspire some serious reflection, then I don’t know what will.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/30/turkish-fires-sweeping-through-tourist-areas-are-the-hottest-on-record

The heat intensity of wildfires in Turkey on Thursday was four times higher than anything on record for the nation, according to satellite data passed on to the Guardian.

At least four people were killed by blazes that swept through the tourist regions of Antalya and Muğla, forcing thousands of holidaymakers to be evacuated from their hotels by a flotilla of boats.

Conditions there and at the sites of dozens of other blazes throughout the country were tinder dry. Turkey’s 60-year-old temperature record had been broken the previous week when Cizre, a town in the south-east, registered 49.1C.

After deadly heatwaves in the Americas, floods in Europe and China, and fires in Siberia, the scenes of destruction in Turkey add to concerns about the growing ferocity of extreme weather in a climate-disrupted world.

Local media published photos of popular Aegean Sea resorts surrounded by burning hillsides and forest and farmland reduced to ash. At Bodrum, in Muğla province, 80 hectares were burnt despite firefighting efforts on the ground and by air. The flames cut off two hotels, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,000 tourists and staff by coastguard and fishing vessels.

Wildfires are common in Turkey during the summer, but the blazes over the past two days have been exceptional. Satellite analysis by the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service show the heat intensity of the country’s fires on Thursday reached about 20 gigawatts, four times higher than the previous daily maximum.

“Those numbers are off the scale compared to the last 19 years,” said Mark Parrington, a senior scientist in the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. He said the smoke from fires near Antalya and Mersin was now being transported to Cyprus.

Residents of affected towns told reporters they had never seen anything like it. Ibrahim Aydın, a farmer, said he had lost all his livestock and nearly been killed while fighting the flames. “Everything I had was burned to the ground. I lost lambs and other animals,” he told the Daily Sabah. “This is not normal. This was like hell.”

Throughout the country, firefighters battled more than 50 blazes. Dozens were hospitalised by the fumes. As news spread, #PrayForTurkey was trending on Twitter with images of devastation and maps showing the locations of the more than two dozen fires across the country.

Ministers in the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speculated that the cause may be arson attacks by the Kurdish separatist movement PKK, but provided no evidence. Few domestic reports mentioned broader climate trends that are heightening the dangers of fire in Turkey and elsewhere.

Climate scientists have long predicted the Mediterranean will be hit hard by rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, driven by human emissions. Future wildfire risk is projected to increase in southern Europe, according to the last report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The Turkish climate scientist Levent Kurnaz said recent weather had created conditions for easy ignition. “The weather is extremely hot and dry. This helps to start fires. Our smallest mistake leads to great disaster,” he tweeted.

This year looks likely to continue the trend. The World Meteorological Organisation tweeted that extreme heat is hitting the wider Mediterranean region with temperatures forecast to rise well above 40C in inland areas of Italy, Greece, Tunisia and Turkey. It has urged preparations to prevent health and water supply problems.

The heatwave in southern Europe is expected to linger well into next week with some forecasts suggesting it could be among the most severe on record. The Turkish meteorological office sees little likelihood of respite in the week ahead. Next week, Ankara and several other sets are set for temperatures more than 12C higher than the August average.

Wildfires have already hit southern Greece, forcing evacuations of villages outside the western port city of Patras, and killed one person in Lebanon. Blazes are also reported in Bulgaria and Albania. High temperature warnings have been issued in North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria and parts of Romania and Serbia.

The EU has issued its highest fire risk alert to places in Italy, Portugal, Spain and parts of north Africa. Further east, a large fire broke out on Thursday in Lebanon. “The risk is very high right now,” Parrington said. “We could start to see more fires in the coming weeks if these temperatures continue.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkish-wildfire-leaves-charred-home-ashes-blazes-continue-2021-07-31/

Days after a raging wildfire in southern Turkey drove his family from the home they lived in for four decades, Mehmet Demir returned on Saturday to discover a burnt-out building, charred belongings and ashes.

Bedsprings, a ladder, metal chairs and some kitchenware were the only things left identifiable after some of the worst fires in years tore through the region, with several still burning four days after they erupted on Wednesday.

Demir's home, near the coastal Mediterranean town of Manavgat, not far from the popular tourist resort Antalya, was hit by one of almost 100 fires which officials say broke out this week across southern and western Turkey, where sweltering heat and strong winds fanned the flames.

"The blaze spread through the highlands and raged suddenly," Demir told Reuters as he looked around the wreckage of his home, built in 1982. "We had to flee to the centre of Manavgat. Then we came back to find the house like this."

"This was our (only) saving for the past 39-40 years. We are now left with the clothes we are wearing, me and my wife. There is nothing to do. This is when words fail."

The death toll from the fires rose to six on Saturday, as two firefighting personnel died during efforts to control the fire in Manavgat, broadcaster CNN Turk said. Thousands were evacuated from their homes.

Satellite imagery showed smoke from the fires in Antalya and Mersin was extending to the island of Cyprus, around 150 km (100 miles) away.

Wildfires are common in southern Turkey in the hot summer months but local authorities say the latest fires have covered a much bigger area.

On Saturday a new blaze erupted in the popular holiday resort town of Bodrum on the Aegean coast and some residential areas and hotels were evacuated, according to broadcasters.

Video footage showed plumes of smoke rising from mountains above white iconic houses of Bodrum and a helicopter discharging water. Firefighters are trying to control the blaze before it reaches residential areas.

With deadly heatwaves, flooding and wildfires occurring around the world, calls are growing for urgent action to cut the CO2 emissions heating the planet.

Turkey's Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said a total of 98 fires had broken out in the past four days, of which 88 were under control.

Fires continued in southern coastal provinces of Adana, Osmaniye, Antalya, Mersin and the western coastal province of Mugla, a popular resort region for Turks and foreign tourists, where some hotels have been evacuated this week.

Weather forecasts point to heatwaves along the Aegean and Mediterranean coastal regions, with temperatures expected to rise by 4 to 8 degrees Celsius (46.4 Fahrenheit) over their seasonal average, Turkish meteorological authorities say.

They are forecast to reach 43 to 47 C in Antalya next week.

President Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to Manavgat on Saturday all damaged houses would be rebuilt and losses compensated.

Neighbouring Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine and Iran have sent firefighting planes and support teams to the affected areas, he added.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/some-wildfires-rage-turkey-although-most-have-been-contained-2021-08-01/

The death toll from wildfires on Turkey's southern coast rose to eight on Sunday as firefighters battled for a fifth day to contain blazes still raging in coastal resort towns.

Two more people died on Sunday due to wildfires in the southern town of Manavgat, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, adding that 10 others were receiving treatment in hospital in the area.

Most of more than 100 blazes that erupted in Turkey in the last five days have been contained, authorities said. However, fires were still blazing in Manavgat and in Marmaris and the inland town of Milas, Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said, prompting the evacuation of some residential areas and hotels.

In the popular resort town of Bodrum, a group of tourists and hotel staff was evacuated by boat as flames spread and plumes of smoke filled the sky, footage showed. Pakdemirli said the blaze in the area had been contained by Sunday morning.

The fires had already claimed the lives of five people in Manavgat and one person in Marmaris in recent days. Efforts were being made to put out six fires still blazing in Turkey on Sunday, according to Forestry Ministry data.

Since Wednesday thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Locals as well as support teams from Russia, Ukraine, Iran and Azerbaijan were deployed to help firefighters. The Turkish government pledged to rebuild damaged homes and compensate for losses in areas affected by the fires.

Pakdemirli said that at least 13 planes, 45 helicopters, drones, and 828 fire-fighting vehicles were involved in firefighting efforts.

In neighbouring Greece, firefighters were trying to contain a wildfire burning in the west of the country that destroyed houses and left 15 citizens in hospital with breathing problems on Saturday, authorities said. Temperatures have been high in much of the country in recent days and are expected to reach 44 degrees on Monday and Tuesday.

On the Italian island of Sicily, firemen said on Saturday they were battling for a second straight day wildfires that reached the town of Catania, forcing people to leave their homes and the local airport to temporarily shut down.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/02/turkey-appeals-for-help-to-fight-wildfires-as-heatwave-continues

Turkey has launched an international appeal for help in taming fires raging across the country that have killed eight people in recent days, as what has been described as one of the worst heatwaves in decades intensifies in south-east Europe.

Following criticism of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after it emerged that Turkey has no firefighting planes, authorities in Istanbul were promised water-dropping planes from the European Union. The country is battling deadly wildfires along its coastline for a sixth day.

Nearly 95,000 hectares have been devastated by the flames so far this year, compared with an average of 13,516 at the same point in the years from 2008 to 2020. Turkey’s defence ministry released satellite images showing the extent of the damage, with forest areas turned black and smoke still visible.

Wildfires have also broken out across much of southern Europe, including Greece, Spain and Italy, with temperatures rising above 40C (104F), forcing hundreds to evacuate.

Temperatures reached 45C (113 F) in Greece, which is using old power stations to cope with demand for air conditioning. Workers with health conditions have also been allowed to take time off work.

A major blaze broke out early on Saturday near Patras in western Greece and five villages have been evacuated. Eight people in the region were hospitalised with burns and respiratory problems.

Cyprus, recovering from a major wildfire last month, has kept water-dropping planes on patrol to respond to fires as they break out. “If you don’t react right away with a massive response to any outbreak, things can turn difficult quickly,” forestry service chief Charalambos Alexandrou told state-run media.

At least five people have been wounded, 30 more treated for light smoke inhalation, and holidaymakers evacuated after wildfires devastated a pine wood near a beach in Pescara, Italy. The country has recorded more than 800 wildfires, according to authorities, the majority in Sicily, with hundreds of tourists and inhabitants evacuated from their homes after a series of wildfires broke out in Palermo and Catania.

“We have had difficult years in our history in the fight against wildfires, but this year is likely to be the worst,” said Fabrizio Curcio, head of Italy’s civil protection. “About 33% of the distress calls were launched in the last week alone.”

Dann Mitchell, a professor of climate science at the University of Bristol, told AP that the heatwave in south-east Europe “is not at all unexpected, and very likely enhanced due to human-induced climate change”.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/spanish-croatian-planes-join-battle-against-turkish-wildfires-2021-08-03/

Firefighting planes from Spain and Croatia joined the battle against wildfires raging for a seventh day near Turkey's southern resorts amid increasing calls for more aerial support and sharp criticism of the government's response.

Nine fires were blazing on Tuesday, fanned by strong winds, temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104°F), and low humidity, officials said. Plumes of black smoke rose from hillsides and forests near the coastal resorts of Bodrum and Marmaris.

Two firefighting planes from Spain and one from Croatia joined teams from Russia, Iran, Ukraine and Azerbaijan to battle blazes on Tuesday, after Turkey requested European support. The mayors of the southern resort cities of Bodrum and Antalya have pleaded for more planes this week as the fires raged near Mediterranean and Aegean coasts.

A village near the town of Milas, just north of Bodrum, was evacuated due to approaching fires, broadcaster Haberturk said. Flames engulfed houses and buildings, footage showed.

Opposition parties criticised President Tayyip Erdogan and his government for depleting the country's firefighting resources over the years. Thousands also took to social media calling for Erdogan to step down, while others criticised the lack of resources and what they called inadequate preparations.

"To say it frankly, Turkey is not being managed," said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). "The government of the (presidential) palace has rendered our state incapable."

Responding to criticism that the government had rejected some offers of international help, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey had assessed many proposals, prioritising offers of planes and helicopters.

He said some countries, including France and Greece, rescinded their offers because of their own needs and fires. Israel's foreign ministry said it discussed the situation with Turkish officials but was told Turkey did not need assistance.

Turkey's radio and television watchdog RTUK told broadcasters on Tuesday that negative coverage of the fires could encourage "an atmosphere of chaos", harming the public's and firefighters' morale. It warned the media of the "harshest punishments" if they did not adhere to RTUK's principles.

The heatwave that has fuelled the fires came after months of exceptionally dry weather in Turkey's southwest, according to maps issued by meteorological authorities.

Data from the European Forest Fire Information Service showed there have been three times as many fires as usual this year, while the more than 136,000 hectares burnt in Turkey were three times the area burnt on average in an entire year.

Eight people have been killed in a total of 156 wildfires which have erupted in the last week. There were no reports of further casualties on Tuesday.

The government is investigating the cause of the fires, including possible arson. Authorities caught one person who tried to light a fire outside a military compound in the southwestern province of Denizli, the Defence Ministry said.

Since Wednesday, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes and some tourists fled their hotels by boat or by road, although Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy said holidaymakers had returned within hours.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/04/california-west-coast-wildfires-weather

California’s largest wildfire exploded again after burning for nearly three weeks in remote mountains, with officials warning that hot, dry weather threatened to further stoke the flames.

Officials warned that the high temperatures increase the risk of new fires across much of the state. “I think we definitely have a few hard days ahead of us,” said Shannon Prather with the US Forest Service.

Strong winds on Tuesday stoked the Dixie fire, which grew to over 395 sq miles (1,024 sq km) across Plumas and Butte counties. The blaze jumped perimeter lines in a few spots, prompting additional evacuation orders for about 15,000 people, fire officials said.

Heat from the flames also created a pyrocumulus cloud, a massive column of smoke that rose 30,000ft (10,000 yards) in the air, Mike Wink, a state fire operations section chief said.

Firefighters had been able to save homes and hold large stretches of the blaze in recent days, but a red flag warning was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon through Thursday because of hot, bone-dry conditions with winds up to 40 mph. That could drive flames through timber, brush and grass, especially along the northern and north-eastern sides of the vast wildfire.

Similar risky weather is expected across southern California, with heat advisories and warnings issued for interior valleys, mountains and deserts for much of the week.

The Dixie fire has threatened thousands of homes and destroyed 67 houses and other buildings since breaking out 14 July. It was 35% contained.

About 150 miles (240km) west of the Dixie fire, the lightning-sparked McFarland fire threatened remote homes along the Trinity River in the Shasta-Trinity national forest. That fire was only 5% contained, and is was burning fiercely through drought-stricken vegetation and had doubled in size every day, fire officials warned.

Heat waves and historic drought tied to climate change have made wildfires harder to fight in the American west. Scientists say climate change has made the region much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Nearly a hundred large, active wildfires are burning across 13 US states, engaging more than 20,000 firefighters and support personnel.

California is battling 11 large active blazes. Montana has 25 and Idaho 21.

In southern Oregon, lightning struck parched forests hundreds of times in a 24-hour period, igniting 50 new wildfires. But firefighters and aircraft attacked the flames before they spread out of control and no homes were immediately threatened.

The state’s Bootleg fire, the nation’s largest at 647 sq miles (1,676 sq km), was 84% contained and firefighters were busy mopping up hotspots and strengthening fire lines.

“Crews are working tirelessly to ensure we are as prepared as we can be for the extreme fire weather forecast for the next couple days,“ a US Forest Service update said.

In Hawaii, firefighters on the Big Island in recent days gained control over the biggest brush fire that island has ever recorded. The Nation fire torched more than 62 sq miles (160 sq km), forcing thousands of people to evacuate and destroying two homes.

Mike Walker, the state fire protection forester for the department of land and natural resources, said the total area burned could end up being the most the state has ever seen.

“It is pretty significant,” he said, adding that sustained 30mph winds with gusts of up to 50mph drove the fire roughly 100 acres an hour through Saturday and Sunday.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/05/climate-crisis-scientists-spot-warning-signs-of-gulf-stream-collapse

Climate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points.

The research found “an almost complete loss of stability over the last century” of the currents that researchers call the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The currents are already at their slowest point in at least 1,600 years, but the new analysis shows they may be nearing a shutdown.

Such an event would have catastrophic consequences around the world, severely disrupting the rains that billions of people depend on for food in India, South America and West Africa; increasing storms and lowering temperatures in Europe; and pushing up the sea level in t4he eastern North America. It would also further endanger the Amazon rainforest and Antarctic ice sheets.

The complexity of the AMOC system and uncertainty over levels of future global heating make it impossible to forecast the date of any collapse for now. It could be within a decade or two, or several centuries away. But the colossal impact it would have means it must never be allowed to happen, the scientists said.

“The signs of destabilisation being visible already is something that I wouldn’t have expected and that I find scary,” said Niklas Boers, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, who did the research. “It’s something you just can’t [allow to] happen.”

It is not known what level of CO2 would trigger an AMOC collapse, he said. “So the only thing to do is keep emissions as low as possible. The likelihood of this extremely high-impact event happening increases with every gram of CO2 that we put into the atmosphere”.

Scientists are increasingly concerned about tipping points – large, fast and irreversible changes to the climate. Boers and his colleagues reported in May that a significant part of the Greenland ice sheet is on the brink, threatening a big rise in global sea level. Others have shown recently that the Amazon rainforest is now emitting more CO2 than it absorbs, and that the 2020 Siberian heatwave led to worrying releases of methane.

The world may already have crossed a series of tipping points, according to a 2019 analysis, resulting in “an existential threat to civilisation”. A major report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, due on Monday, is expected to set out the worsening state of the climate crisis.

Boer’s research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, is titled “Observation-based early-warning signals for a collapse of the AMOC”. Ice-core and other data from the last 100,000 years show the AMOC has two states: a fast, strong one, as seen over recent millennia, and a slow, weak one. The data shows rising temperatures can make the AMOC switch abruptly between states over one to five decades.

The AMOC is driven by dense, salty seawater sinking into the Arctic ocean, but the melting of freshwater from Greenland’s ice sheet is slowing the process down earlier than climate models suggested.

Boers used the analogy of a chair to explain how changes in ocean temperature and salinity can reveal the AMOC’s instability. Pushing a chair alters its position, but does not affect its stability if all four legs remain on the floor. Tilting the chair changes both its position and stability.

Eight independently measured datasets of temperature and salinity going back as far as 150 years enabled Boers to show that global heating is indeed increasing the instability of the currents, not just changing their flow pattern.

The analysis concluded: “This decline [of the AMOC in recent decades] may be associated with an almost complete loss of stability over the course of the last century, and the AMOC could be close to a critical transition to its weak circulation mode.”

Levke Caesar, at Maynooth University in Ireland, who was not involved in the research, said: “The study method cannot give us an exact timing of a possible collapse, but the analysis presents evidence that the AMOC has already lost stability, which I take as a warning that we might be closer to an AMOC tipping than we think.”

David Thornalley, at University College London in the UK, whose work showed the AMOC is at its weakest point in 1,600 years, said: “These signs of decreasing stability are concerning. But we still don’t know if a collapse will occur, or how close we might be to it.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/06/wildfires-out-of-control-greece-turkey-thousands-flee

Thousands of people have fled wildfires that are burning out of control in Greece and Turkey, including a large blaze just north of Athens that left one person dead, as a protracted heatwave turned forests into tinderboxes and flames threatened populated areas, electricity installations and historical sites.

Turkey’s wildfires, described as the worst in decades, have swept through swathes of the southern coast for the past 10 days, killing eight people.

In Greece, firefighters were battling 56 active wildfires on Friday, Civil Protection chief Nikos Hardalias said. Multiple evacuation orders were issued for inhabited areas of the mainland and the nearby island of Evia, while the fire near Athens burned forests and houses in its path heading toward Lake Marathon, the capital’s main water reservoir.

“We continue our effort hour by hour to tackle the multiple fires we face today,” Hardalias said. “Conditions are exceptionally dangerous.” The wind picked up on Friday afternoon in many parts of Greece, increasing the risk of fires.

Athens’s main trauma hospital said a 38-year-old man had died after sustaining a head injury from a falling utility pole in Ippokrateios Politeia, one of the neighbourhoods north of Athens affected by the fire.

On Evia, the coastguard mounted a major operation to evacuate hundreds of people by sea, using patrol vessels, fishing and tourist boats and private vessels to rescue residents and holidaymakers overnight and into Friday. Dozens of other villages and neighbourhoods were emptied in the southern Peloponnese region and just north of the Greek capital as blazes raced through pine forests.

“We’re talking about the apocalypse, I don’t know how [else] to describe it,” Sotiris Danikas, head of the coastguard in the town of Aidipsos on Evia, told state broadcaster ERT, describing the sea evacuation.

The coastguard said 668 people had been evacuated from beaches in north-east Evia by early Friday afternoon after flames cut off all other means of escape. Coastguard vessels continued to patrol the coastline.

A coastguard vessel was also rescuing another 10 people trapped on a beach by another fire near the town of Gythio in the southern Peloponnese region.

Greek and European officials have blamed the climate crisis for the multiple fires burning through swaths of southern Europe, from southern Italy to the Balkans, Greece and Turkey. Massive fires have been burning across Siberia in the north of Russia for weeks, while hot, bone-dry, gusty weather has also fuelled devastating wildfires in California, destroying whole towns in some cases.

Greece has been baked by its most protracted heatwave in three decades, with temperatures soaring to 45C (113F). Thousands have fled homes and holiday accommodation, while at least 20 people, including four firefighters, have been treated for injuries. Two of the firefighters were in intensive care in Athens, while another two were in hospital with light burns, the health ministry said.

More than 1,000 firefighters and nearly 20 aircraft are battling huge fires across Greece, while extra firefighters, planes, helicopters and vehicles were arriving from France, Switzerland, Romania, Cyprus, Croatia, Israel and Sweden.

In Turkey, authorities on Friday evacuated six more neighbourhoods near the Mugla province town of Milas as a wildfire fanned by winds burned 3 miles (5km) away from a power plant. At least 36,000 people were evacuated to safety in Mugla province alone, officials said.

Meanwhile, several excavators cleared strips of land to form firebreaks in a bid to stop flames from reaching the Yenikoy power plant, the second such facility to be threatened by wildfires in the region.

Wildfires near the tourism resort of Marmaris, also in Mugla province, were largely contained by late Thursday, officials said, while by Friday afternoon, the two main fires in neighbouring Antalya province were brought under control and cooling efforts were under way, agriculture and forestry minister Bekir Pakdemirli tweeted.

In Greece, firefighters went door-to-door in areas about 12.5 miles north of Athens telling people to evacuate, while helicopters dropped water on towering flames and thick smoke blanketed the area. Authorities sent push alerts to mobile phones in the area urging residents to leave, while a refugee camp on the outskirts of the capital was evacuated overnight. Constant flare-ups that threatened inhabited areas hampered the work of hundreds of firefighters there.

The fire halted traffic on the country’s main highway connecting Athens to northern Greece and damaged electricity installations. The power distribution company announced rolling cuts in the wider capital region to protect the electrical grid.

In the Drosopigi area, resident Giorgos Hatzispiros surveyed the damage to his house on Friday morning, the first time he was seeing it after being ordered to evacuate the previous afternoon. Only the charred walls of the single-storey home remained, along with his children’s bicycles, somehow unscathed in a storeroom. Inside, smoke rose from a still-smouldering bookcase.

“Nothing is left,” Hatzispiros said. He urged his mother to leave, to spare her the sight of their destroyed home.

In southern Greece, dozens of villages and settlements were evacuated, where a blaze was stopped before reaching monuments at Olympia, birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games.

The fires also disrupted Covid-19 vaccinations. The health ministry announced the suspension of vaccinations at centres in fire-affected areas, saying appointments could be rescheduled when conditions allowed.

In a televised address on Thursday night, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister, said: “Our priority is always the protection of human life, followed by the protection of property, the natural environment and critical infrastructure. Unfortunately, under these circumstances, achieving all these aims at the same time is simply impossible.”

He said the wildfires displayed the reality of the climate crisis.

In 2018, more than 100 people died when a fast-moving forest fire engulfed a seaside settlement east of Athens. Some of them drowned trying to escape by sea from the smoke and flames after becoming trapped on a beach.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/07/dixie-fire-california-largest-spread

People living in the scenic forestlands of northern California were facing a weekend of fear as huge wildfires threatened to reduce thousands of homes to ashes.

The Dixie fire, which has been raging for three weeks and incinerated much of the gold rush-era town of Greenville this week was threatening more than 10,000 buildings in the northern Sierra Nevada. It had engulfed an area larger than the size of New York City.

It was the largest current wild-land blaze in the nation and the third-largest in recorded California history, according to the state department of fire and forestry protection.

Wind-driven flames destroyed dozens of homes and most of Greenville’s downtown on Wednesday and Thursday, and also heavily damaged Canyondam, a hamlet with a population of about three dozen people. The fire reached Chester but crews managed to protect homes and businesses there, officials said.

Charlene Mays kept her gas station in Chester open as long as she could, telling weary firefighters not to apologize for the trail of ash their boots left on the floor. But when the small town on the north-west shore of Lake Almanor lost power, Mays decided it was time for her to leave.

She ran home to grab a box of valuables, including her husband’s class ring and some jewelry. The smoke was so thick it was hard to breathe. Chunks of ash broke apart as they hit the ground, making a sound like broken glass.

That was two days ago. Since then, Mays has been living in the parking lot of Lassen College in Susanville. Her husband stayed behind to maintain some water tanks firefighters were using. It’s just her, a miniature pinscher chihuahua named Jedidiah and a pit bull named Bear.

Her home was still standing on Friday but her fate was bound with the direction of the wind. She wasn’t alone.

“I’ve got probably 30 of my regular customers right here,” she said.

The Dixie fire, named for the road where it started, now spans an area of 679 square miles and was just 21% contained on Friday. No injuries or deaths have been reported.

Weather at the fire site was expected to have higher humidity and calmer winds on Saturday with temperatures topping 90 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the 40-mph gusts and triple-digit highs recorded earlier in the week.

But the blaze and its neighboring fires, within a couple hundred miles of each other, posed a continuing threat.

Heatwaves and historic drought tied to the climate crisis have made wildfires harder to fight in the American west.

Scientists say climate breakdown has made the region much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Smoke from the fires blanketed central California and western Nevada, causing air quality to deteriorate to very unhealthy levels and, in some areas, the worst levels in the world as measured by World Air Quality Index, especially in Plumas county, about 170 miles north of Sacramento, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Air quality advisories extended through the San Joaquin Valley and as far west as the San Francisco Bay Area, where residents were urged to keep their windows and doors shut.

California is on track to surpass last year, which had the worst fire season in recent recorded state history.

Since the start of the year, more than 6,000 blazes have destroyed more than 1,260 sq miles, more than triple the losses for the same period in 2020, according to state fire figures.

As well as climate change and neglected forest management, the utility company Pacific Gas & Electric’s transmission lines often spark fires, including possibly the Dixie blaze.

The Dixie fire ignited less than 10 miles from the start of the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest in California’s history, also sparked by PG&E equipment, in the thickly forested Feather River Canyon, 100 miles north of state capital Sacramento. The Camp fire destroyed the towns of Paradise and Concow and killed 85 people.

California’s raging wildfires were among more than 100 large, active fires burning across 14 states, mostly in the west where historic drought conditions have left lands parched and ripe for ignition.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/08/dixie-fire-california-blaze-pge-role

As relatively cool temperatures and higher humidity slowed the Dixie fire raging across northern California on Saturday, attention shifted to the role an already disgraced utility company may have played in the gigantic blaze.

By Saturday evening, the Dixie fire covered 447,723 acres and had destroyed 370 structures, including residential, commercial and other buildings. The fire was only 21% contained, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection did not expect full containment until 20 August.

Although no deaths have been reported, thousands of locals have been forced to flee their homes. Some have been tormented by conflicting information about whether their properties are still standing.

“This fire has been a beast,” evacuee Jessi Roberts told the San Francisco Chronicle. “So many homes obliterated. We are a very small rural area, and we feel like we’re on our own. We have people camped out in the woods with children. We need help.”

Although the fire’s cause remains under investigation, Pacific Gas & Electric – a California-based utility company – has admitted that its equipment may have been linked to the devastation.

US District Judge William Alsup ordered PG&E to submit drone surveillance, a description of vegetation in the area, and an explanation of its involvement in starting the Fly fire, which has merged with the Dixie fire. He also requested a filing that documents every blaze PG&E started or is suspected of starting during this wildfire season.

In recent years, the beleaguered utility has already been criminally prosecuted and driven into bankruptcy after its equipment ignited a series of harmful or deadly fires.

“PG&E’s responses will not be deemed as an admission by PG&E that it caused any fire, but they will serve as a starting point for discussion,” Alsup wrote.

The Dixie fire continues to tear through California and has become the largest single fire in state history. Already, it’s ravaged the small town of Greenville, where only about a quarter of structures have been rescued from fiery demolition.

California Governor Gavin Newsom spent Saturday in Greenville surveying damage. The skies were an ominous ochre from smoke. The local post office had been reduced to a few walls and rubble.

“We need to acknowledge, just straight up, these are climate-induced wildfires,” Newsom said in a video. “And we have to acknowledge we have the capacity in this country – not just the state – to solve this.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/13/july-worlds-hottest-month-ever-recorded-us-scientists

July was the world’s hottest month ever recorded, US government scientists have confirmed, a further indication of the unfolding climate crisis that is now affecting almost every part of the planet.

The global land and ocean surface temperature last month was one degree Celsius, 0.9C (1.6F), hotter than the 20th-century average of 15.8C (60.4F), making it the hottest month since modern record keeping began 142 years ago.

It has beaten the previous record set in July 2016, according to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

“In this case, first place is the worst place to be,” said Rick Spinrad, the administrator of Noaa. “July is typically the world’s warmest month of the year, but July 2021 outdid itself as the hottest July and month ever recorded. This new record adds to the disturbing and disruptive path that climate change has set for the globe.”

Last month’s record heat was driven by soaring temperatures across the world, with Asia experiencing its hottest July on record and Europe, which has been scorched by heatwaves and wildfires in countries including Greece and Italy, recording its second hottest July on record. Europe’s hottest ever recorded temperature was reportedly set in Sicily on Wednesday, where it reached a roasting 48.8C (119.8F).

Australia had its fourth warmest July on record, while North America, which has been confronted with extreme heat, drought and wildfire across much of its western half for much of the year, has its sixth-highest July temperature on record.

The Noaa climate report also found that Arctic sea ice extent was more than 18% below an average set between 1981 to 2010, the fourth smallest extent since satellite records began in 1979.

It is now “very likely” that 2021 will rank among the 10 hottest years ever recorded, Noaa stated.

Confirmation of the record July heat follows the release of a landmark Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on Monday which found that humans’ burning of fossil fuels has “unequivocally” heated up the planet to temperatures not seen on Earth in around 125,000 years.

This behavior is pushing the world towards dangerous climate breakdown that can only be averted by deep and rapid cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

Spinrad said that IPCC report “confirms the impacts are widespread and rapidly intensifying.”

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/18/swedish-mountain-shrinks-by-two-metres-in-a-year-as-glacier-melts

Sweden’s only remaining mountaintop glacier, which until 2019 was also its highest peak, lost another two metres in height in the past year due to rising air temperatures driven by climate change, Stockholm University says.

In 2019, the south peak of the Kebnekaise massif was demoted to second in the rankings of Swedish mountains after a third of its glacier melted. Kebnekaise’s north peak, where there is no glacier, is now the highest in the Nordic country.

“On 14 August, the southern peak of Kebnekaise was measured at 2,094.6 metres (6,912 feet) above sea level by researchers from Tarfala research station. This is the lowest height that has been measured since the measurements started in the 1940s,” the university said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The decrease in the peak and the changed appearance of the drift can mainly be explained by rising air temperatures but also changing wind conditions, which affect where the snow accumulates in the winter.”

It said the changes reflect a longstanding warming of Sweden’s climate, citing the recent UN climate panel report that said global warming had caused an unparalleled melting of glaciers and was close to spiralling out of control.

Kebnekaise’s south peak measured as high as 2,118 metres in the mid-1990s.

The Kebnekaise massif is located around 150 km (90 miles) north of the Arctic Circle in the Scandinavian Mountains range that stretches across large parts of northern Norway and Sweden, and is part of the Laponia World Heritage Site.

 

[MenInG]

Climate change protesters have blocked five M25 junctions, causing long tailbacks and disruption for motorists.

There have been protests at junctions 20 for Kings Langley, Herts, 14 for Heathrow terminal four, three for Swanley in Kent, six for Godstone, Surrey and 31 for Lakeside, Essex.

Police said 42 people had been arrested for highways obstruction.

Protest group Insulate Britain said action would go on until a "meaningful commitment" was made.

It tweeted it was "disrupting the M25" to "demand the government insulate Britain".

Hertfordshire Police said 18 people were arrested after officers were called to a protest near junction 20 at about 08:00 BST.

Supt Adam Willmot said: "Protesters ignored police requests to move location, so we took robust action to enable roads to be reopened and to remove the protesters causing obstructions."

The force closed the slip roads in both directions, which led to "congestion and delays on both the M25 and the A41", but the closures had lifted by 10:20 BST.

Essex Police said 12 people were arrested after it was called to reports that a number of people were blocking the road near junction 31 just before 08:15 BST.

It said officers worked to resolve the situation "quickly and safely", which included shutting the slip road. It has now reopened.

Ch Insp Paul Austin said the action caused "significant disruption" and thanked drivers for their "patience and understanding."

Kent Police has confirmed that 12 people were arrested at the junction where the B1273 and the M25 meet at junction three, near Swanley.

It said it was called at 08:10 BST to a group of people obstructing the roundabout. The road is now clear.

Surrey Police said it was called just before 08:00 BST to a protest at junction six, where the slip road had been closed with a diversion set up.

It tweeted that a number of people had been arrested following protests at junctions six and 14.

Earlier, the exit slip road to Heathrow terminal four had been closed. National Highways has confirmed that the incident at junction 14 had been cleared and "all associated closures have been lifted" and that both exit slip roads at junction six had also reopened.

Some drivers were frustrated with the delays but others tweeted their support.

Clive Farnham from Crawley tweeted that they should "have a protest on the side of the road " and "allow others to go about their business", while Laura asked the group if they had "thought about the pollution you are causing to the environment with the tailbacks of 15/20 miles on several sections of the m25 which makes it all a joke".

Green Party member, Matt Hill, thanked the protesters and tweeted that while he was "frustrated and concerned" that his son was late for college, he was "nowhere near as concerned as I am for his future if we don't act urgently to address our climate emergency".

In a statement on its website, Insulate Britain said that Monday's disruption was "just the start".

"Actions will continue until the government makes a meaningful commitment to insulate Britain's 29 million leaky homes, some of the oldest and most energy inefficient in Europe," it said.

It added that its demands were delivered by hand to 10 Downing Street on 21 August, but so far no-one in government had responded.

'No-brainer'
Zoe Cohen from Insulate Britain told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We regret having to do this but we really have no other option. They're a group of ordinary people who've come together and put their bodies on the line.

"They're doing this because they're desperate for meaningful action from the government, and insulating our homes is the most efficient way to reduce our emissions and avoid climate catastrophe."

Supporter Liam Norton, 36, from London, said he was "shocked at the lack of significant action" from the government.

"It's a no-brainer. Insulating Britain will reduce emissions, provide hundreds of thousands of jobs and stop our elderly dying in cold homes each winter," he said.

"So stop messing about, Boris, and get on with the job.

"As soon as a statement is made that we can trust and is meaningful, we will get off the roads."

A government spokeswoman said: "People's day-to-day lives should not be disrupted, especially on busy motorways where lives are put at risk and resulting traffic delays will only add to vehicle emissions.

"We are investing £1.3bn this year alone to support people to install energy efficiency measures, and our upcoming Heat and Buildings Strategy will set out how we decarbonise the nation's homes in a way that is fair, practical and affordable."

 

[MenInG]

Climate change protesters sparked the fury of motorists again this morning, causing major traffic disruption when they blocked the M25 for the second time in a week.

Eighteen protesters belonging to 'Insulate Britain' halted traffic near Junction 23 at South Mimms in their latest protest which began at 8am today.

Another group shut down the main carriageway of the M25 anti-clockwise in Surrey between junction 9 at Leatherhead and junction 8 at Reigate.

A third group blocked junction 1b near the Dartford crossing. Demos were also taking place at Junction 25 on the M25, the A10 in Hertfordshire and Junction 10 of the A3 in Surrey.

The group said it had sent 89 protesters to various sites along the motorway this morning. Around 9.30am the group had blocked a total of six sites.

Protesters held aloft signs saying 'sorry for the disruption' as they faced a barrage of insults from motorists stuck in the queue during rush hour.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/global-climate-talks-open-cries-betrayal-blame-2021-11-01/

A U.N. conference critical to averting the most disastrous effects of climate change opened on Monday, with world leaders, environmental experts and activists pleading for decisive action to halt global warming.

The task of the COP26 conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at a weekend summit in Rome.

The G20 is responsible for around 80% of emissions of carbon dioxide - the gas produced by burning fossil fuels that is the main cause of the heatwaves, droughts, floods and storms that are growing in intensity worldwide.

"Humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change. It's one minute to midnight on that Doomsday clock and we need to act now," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the opening ceremony.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded the conference hall that the six hottest years on record have occurred since 2015.

Other speakers, including activists from the poorer countries hardest hit by climate change, delivered a defiant message.

"Pacific youth have rallied behind the cry 'We are not drowning, we are fighting'," said Brianna Fruean from the Polynesian island state of Samoa, at risk from rising sea levels. "This is our warrior cry to the world."

As Johnson took the stage, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg retweeted an appeal for her millions of supporters to sign an open letter accusing leaders of betrayal.

"This is not a drill. It's code red for the Earth," it read. "Millions will suffer as our planet is devastated -- a terrifying future that will be created, or avoided, by the decisions you make. You have the power to decide."

In Rome, the G20 leaders failed to commit to a 2050 target to halt net carbon emissions - a deadline widely cited as necessary to prevent the most extreme global warming - badly undermining one of COP26's main aims.

Instead, they only recognised "the key relevance" of halting net emissions "by or around mid-century", and set no timetable for phasing out domestic coal power, a major cause of carbon emissions.

Their commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies "over the medium term" echoed wording used by the G20 at a summit in Pittsburgh as long ago as 2009.

Discord among some of the world's biggest emitters about how to cut back on coal, oil and gas will not make their task easier.

At the G20, U.S. President Joe Biden singled out China and Russia, neither of which sent its leader to Glasgow, for not bringing proposals to the table.

He told the conference: "Glasgow must be the start of a decade of shared ambition and innovation to preserve our future."

Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country is by far the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, ahead of the United States, told the conference in a written statement that developed countries should not only do more but also support developing countries to do better.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, one of the world's top three oil producers along with the United States and Saudi Arabia, dropped plans to participate in any talks live by video link, the Kremlin said.

Less senior delegates - many of them held up on Sunday by disruptions to trains between London and Glasgow - had more mundane problems.

More than a thousand had to shiver for over an hour in a bottleneck outside the venue to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test and gain access, while being treated by activists to an electronic musical remix of Thunberg's past speeches.

Delayed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, COP26 aims to keep alive a target of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

To do that, it needs to secure more ambitious pledges to reduce emissions, lock in billions in climate-related financing for developing countries, and finish the rules for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement, signed by nearly 200 countries.

"Climate financing" could make or break the talks. In 2009, the rich nations most responsible for global warming pledged to provide $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries deal with its consequences.

The commitment has still not been met, generating mistrust and a reluctance among some developing nations to accelerate their emissions reductions.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley compared the vast sums pumped into the global economy by rich countries' central banks in recent years with the insufficient amounts spent on climate help for poor nations.

"Our people are watching and our people are taking note ... Can there be peace and prosperity if one-third of the world lives in prosperity and two-thirds lives under seas and face calamitous threats to our wellbeing?" she told the conference.

Developed countries confirmed last week they would be three years late in meeting the $100 billion climate finance pledge - which many poor countries and activists say is insufficient anyway.

The pledges made so far to cut emissions would allow the planet's average surface temperature to rise 2.7C this century, which the United Nations says would supercharge the destruction that climate change is already causing.

Two days of speeches by world leaders will be followed by technical negotiations. Any deal may not be struck until close to or even after the event's Nov. 12 finish date.

 

[MenInG]

More than 100 world leaders will promise to end and reverse deforestation by 2030, in the COP26 climate summit's first major deal.

Brazil - where stretches of the Amazon rainforest have been cut down - will be among the signatories on Tuesday.

The pledge includes almost £14bn ($19.2bn) of public and private funds.

Experts welcomed the move, but warned a previous deal in 2014 had "failed to slow deforestation at all" and commitments needed to be delivered on.

Felling trees contributes to climate change because it depletes forests that absorb vast amounts of the warming gas CO2.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is hosting the global meeting in Glasgow, will call Tuesday's deal a "landmark agreement to protect and restore the earth's forests".

"These great teeming ecosystems - these cathedrals of nature - are the lungs of our planet," he will say.

The two-week summit in Glasgow is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control.

The countries who say they will sign the pledge - including Canada, Brazil, Russia, China, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo - cover around 85% of the world's forests.

Some of the funding will go to developing countries to restore damaged land, tackle wildfires and support indigenous communities.

Governments of 28 countries will also commit to remove deforestation from the global trade of food and other agricultural products such as palm oil, soya and cocoa.

These industries drive forest loss by cutting down trees to make space for animals to graze or crops to grow.

More than 30 of the world's biggest companies will commit to end investment in activities linked to deforestation.

And a £1.1bn fund will be established to protect the world's second largest tropical rainforest - in the Congo Basin.

Prof Simon Lewis, an expert on climate and forests at University College London, said: "It is good news to have a political commitment to end deforestation from so many countries, and significant funding to move forward on that journey."

But he told the BBC the world "has been here before" with a declaration in 2014 in New York "which failed to slow deforestation at all".

He added that this new deal did not tackle growing demand for products such as meat grown on rainforest land - which would require high levels of meat consumption in countries like the US and UK to be addressed.

Ana Yang, executive director at Chatham House Sustainability Accelerator, who co-wrote the report Rethinking the Brazilian Amazon, said: "This deal involves more countries, more players and more money. But the devil is in the detail which we still need to see.

"This is a really important step at COP26. This meeting is around increasing the level of ambition and keeping global temperature rises below 1.5C - this is a big building block," she added.

Tuntiak Katan, from the Coordination of Indigenous Communities of the Amazon Basin, welcomed the deal, telling the BBC that indigenous communities were on the frontline of stopping deforestation.

Mr Katan, an indigenous Shuar from Ecuador, said indigenous communities globally protected 80% of the world's biodiversity but faced threats and violence.

"For years we have protected our way of life and that has protected ecosystems and forests. Without us, no money or policy can stop climate change," he said.

The deal's signatories will include a number of key countries.

Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of palm oil, a product found in everything from shampoo to biscuits. Production is driving tree destruction and territory loss for indigenous people.

Meanwhile, Russia's huge natural forests, with more than one fifth of the planet's trees, capture more than 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon annually.

In the planet's biggest rainforest, the Amazon, deforestation accelerated to a 12-year high in 2020 under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

"Having Brazil signing the deal is really important because it holds a large chunk of tropical forests. But the money must be channelled to people who can make this work on the ground," Ms Yang said.

Many people living in the Amazon, including in its urban areas, depend on the forest for their livelihoods and they need support in finding new incomes, she added.

Trees are one of our major defences in a warming world. They suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, acting as so-called carbon sinks. They absorb around one third of global CO2 emitted each year.

Currently an area of forest the size of 27 football pitches is lost every minute.

Depleted forests can also start to release CO2. If too many trees are cut down, scientists are worried that the planet will reach a tipping point that will set off abrupt and unpredictable climatic change.

The 200 countries going to the conference in Glasgow, Scotland, are being asked for plans to cut emissions by 2030.

Climate change is causing more extreme weather. The past decade was the warmest on record, and governments agree urgent change is needed.

At the Paris climate conference in 2015, countries agreed to keep global warming well below 2 degrees celsius - with a target of 1.5 degrees celsius.

At this conference every country will be asked to say how they will help cut emissions.

Decisions made at COP could change our future. From boilers to cars and how you power your home, it’s all up for discussion.
go to the previous slide

On the second day of the two-week climate summit, the US and EU are also launching an initiative that aims to drive global efforts to cut emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas which comes from sources including fossil fuel extraction and livestock farming.

Dozens of heads of state will join the pledge, which commits countries to cut their emissions of the gas by 30% by 2030.

The opening day of the conference in Glasgow saw India pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2070 - missing a key goal of the COP26 summit for countries to commit to reach that target by 2050.

Among those to address the summit was the Queen, who urged world leaders in a video message to act "for our children and our children's children" and to "rise above the politics of the moment".

Outside of the conference, climate activist Greta Thunberg told young protesters that politicians attending COP26 were "pretending to take our future seriously", calling for an end to "blah, blah, blah".

Under present targets, the world is on track for warming of 2.7C by 2100 - which the UN says would result in "climate catastrophe".

BBC

 

[MenInG]

Glasgow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday launched the initiative, 'Infrastructure for Resilient Island States' (IRIS), along with his British counterpart Boris Johnson during the 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow.

Speaking on the occasion, the Indian PM said that the launch of IRIS provides new hope and new confidence. It also provides satisfaction with regard to doing something for the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change.

“The launch of Infrastructure for Resilient Island States fills us with new hope and beliefs. This gives us the satisfaction to do something for the most vulnerable nations,” PM Modi said during the event to launch IRIS in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Indian PM stressed during his address that climate change will affect all and no nation will be spared from its consequences.

“The past few decades have proven that nobody remains untouched by the effects of climate change. Be it developed nations or nations that are rich in natural resources. It's a huge threat,” he asserted.

Modi pointed out that small island nations face the biggest threat from climate change as the same would trigger a rise in sea level.

“Small Island Developing States are most threatened with climate change. For them, it's a matter of life and death, a challenge to their existence. Calamities due to climate change can become devastating for them. It isn't only a challenge for their lives but also for their economy,” PM Modi said, highlighting the worst consequences of global warming that is leading to climate change.

The PM, meanwhile, highlighted India’s efforts in assisting the countries threatened by climate change.

“Guessing the threat of climate change on Small Island Developing States, India made special arrangements for cooperation with Pacific Islands and CARICOM countries. We trained their citizens in solar technologies and made continuous contributions for development,” the PM noted.

He further informed that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would take an initiative for SIDS to provide real-time information on cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring etc.

“India's space agency ISRO will build a special data window for SIDS (Small Island Developing States). With this, SIDS will continue to get timely information about cyclones, coral-reef monitoring, coast-line monitoring etc. through satellite,” PM Modi said in Glasgow.

https://www.timesnownews.com/intern...untouched-by-effects-of-climate-change/828710

 

[MenInG]

More than 40 countries are committing to shift away from coal, in pledges made at the COP26 climate summit, the UK government says.

Major coal-using countries including Poland, Vietnam and Chile are among those to make the commitment.

But some of the world's biggest coal-dependent countries, including Australia, India, China and the US, did not sign up to the pledge.

Coal is the single biggest contributor to climate change.

Signatories to the agreement have committed to ending all investment in new coal power generation domestically and internationally.

They have also agreed to phase out coal power in the 2030s for major economies, and the 2040s for poorer nations, the UK said.

Dozens of organisations also signed up to the pledge, with several major banks agreeing to stop financing the coal industry.

"The end of coal is in sight," UK business and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said.

"The world is moving in the right direction, standing ready to seal coal's fate and embrace the environmental and economic benefits of building a future that is powered by clean energy."

But UK Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said there were "glaring gaps" from China and other large emitters, who have not committed to stop increasing coal use domestically. He also noted that there was nothing on the phasing out of oil and gas.

Mr Miliband said the UK government "has let others off the hook".

COP stands for Conference of the Parties. The 26 indicates this is the 26th conference.
The 200 countries going to the conference in Glasgow, Scotland, are being asked for plans to cut emissions by 2030.
Climate change is causing more extreme weather. The past decade was the warmest on record, and governments agree urgent change is needed.
At the Paris climate conference in 2015, countries agreed to keep global warming well below 2 degrees celsius - with a target of 1.5 degrees celsius.
At this conference every country will be asked to say how they will help cut emissions.
Decisions made at COP could change our future. From boilers to cars and how you power your home, it’s all up for discussion.
go to the previous slide

Although progress has been made in reducing coal use globally, it still produced around 37% of the world's electricity in 2019.

Countries like South Africa, Poland and India will need major investments to make their energy sectors cleaner.

Juan Pablo Osornio, head of Greenpeace's delegation at COP26, said: "Overall this statement still falls well short of the ambition needed on fossil fuels in this critical decade."

He added: "The small print seemingly gives countries enormous leeway to pick their own phase-out date, despite the shiny headline."

BBC

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/un-climate-negotiators-go-into-overtime-save-15-celsius-goal-2021-11-13/

U.N. climate talks in Scotland appeared to be tentatively heading for a deal on Saturday that conference host Britain said would keep alive a goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius to maintain a realistic chance of avoiding catastrophe.

Alok Sharma, the conference chairman, urged the almost 200 national delegations present in Glasgow to accept a deal that seeks to balance the demands of climate-vulnerable nations, big industrial powers, and those whose consumption or exports of fossil fuels are vital to their economic development.

"Please don't ask yourself what more you can seek but ask instead what is enough," he told them, in the closing hours of a two-week conference that has already overrun by a day. "Is this package balanced? Does it provide enough for all of us?"

"Most importantly - please ask yourselves whether ultimately these texts deliver for all our people and our planet."

The final agreement will require the unanimous consent of the countries present, ranging from coal- and gas-fuelled superpowers to oil producers and Pacific islands being swallowed by the rise in sea levels.

The meeting's overarching aim is to keep within reach the 2015 Paris Agreement's target to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said the conference was poised to make a "remarkable step".

A draft deal circulated early on Saturday in effect acknowledged that existing commitments to cut emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gases are nowhere near enough, and asked nations to set tougher climate pledges next year, rather than every five years, as they are currently required to do.

In a public check-in round with key delegations, there was encouragement for Sharma from China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of the dirtiest fossil fuel, coal, but also a country yet to develop its full economic potential.

"We noted that there are still differences on some issues and currently this text is by no means perfect, but we have no intention to open the text again," Chinese negotiator Zhao Yingmin told the conference hall.

'DON'T KILL THIS MOMENT'

The West African state of Guinea, which had pressed hard on behalf of the G77 group of developing countries for greater commitments from rich countries to compensate them for "loss and damage" from unpredictable climate disasters, also indicated that the group would accept what had been achieved.

However, India, whose energy needs are heavily dependent on its own cheap and plentiful coal, signalled unhappiness.

"I am afraid ... the consensus remained elusive," Environment and Climate Minister Bhupender Yadav told the forum, without spelling out whether or not India would block a vote on the package.

EU Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans, speaking after Yadav, asked if the marathon conference was at risk of stumbling just before the finish line and urged fellow delegates:

"Don't kill this moment by asking for more texts, different texts, deleting this, deleting that."

Scientists say that to go beyond a rise of 1.5C would unleash extreme sea level rise and catastrophes including crippling droughts, monstrous storms and wildfires far worse than those the world is already suffering.

But national pledges made so far to cut greenhouse emissions - mostly carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil and gas - would only cap the average global temperature rise at 2.4 Celsius.

However, Saturday's draft, published by the United Nations, called for efforts to reduce the huge subsidies that governments around the world give to the oil, coal and gas that power factories and heat homes.

Previous U.N. climate conferences have failed to single out fossil fuels for their harm to the climate.

Britain tried to unblock the issue of climate finance, one of the thorniest, by proposing mechanisms to make sure the poorest nations finally get more of the financial help they have been promised.

Developing countries argue that rich nations, whose historical emissions are largely responsible for heating up the planet, must pay more to help them adapt to its consequences as well as reducing their carbon footprints.

MORE MONEY?

The draft urged rich countries to double finance for climate adaptation by 2025 from 2019 levels, offering funding that has been a key demand of small island nations at the conference.

Adaptation funds primarily go to the very poorest countries and currently take up only a small fraction of climate funding.

Britain also said a U.N. committee should report next year on progress towards delivering the $100 billion per year in overall annual climate funding that rich nations had promised by 2020 but failed to deliver. And it said governments should meet in 2022, 2024 and 2026 to discuss climate finance.

Even $100 billion a year is far short of poorer countries' actual needs, which could hit $300 billion by 2030 in adaptation costs alone, according to the United Nations, in addition to economic losses from crop failure or climate-related disasters.

Vulnerable nations have argued for decades that rich countries owe them compensation for the "loss and damage" from climate events that cannot be avoided.

But wealthy countries fear being found liable for such disasters and opening the door to bottomless payments.

As a result, no U.N. climate conference has yet yielded any funding under this heading for the countries most affected - and Saturday's Glasgow draft also made no firm commitment.

Negotiators were, however, closing in on a deal to settle rules for carbon markets - mechanisms that put a price on emissions to allow countries or companies to buy and sell "permits to pollute", or credits for absorbing emissions.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59280241

China and India will have to explain themselves to climate-vulnerable nations, COP26 President Alok Sharma has said as the summit ends.

It comes after the two nations pushed for the language on coal to change from "phase out" to "phase down" in the deal agreed in Glasgow.

But Mr Sharma insisted the "historic" deal "keeps 1.5C within reach".

It is the first ever climate deal that plans explicitly to reduce coal - the worst fossil fuel for greenhouse gases.

The summit, which was initially due to end on Friday, had to go into overtime before a deal was agreed late on Saturday - following the late intervention from India to water down the language on coal.

Later on Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will join Mr Sharma to give a Downing Street news conference on the outcome of the climate summit.

Mr Sharma said the deal struck in the Glasgow climate pact was a "fragile win" and urged China and India to "justify" their actions to nations that are more vulnerable to the effects of global warming.

He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "I am going to be calling on everyone to do more.

"But as I said, in relation to what happened yesterday, China and India will have to explain themselves and what they did to the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world."

Mr Sharma, who had to hold back tears as he closed the summit following the late intervention, added: "I wouldn't describe what we did yesterday as a failure - it is a historic achievement."

China teaming up with India to water down the language will have come as something of a blow to those who wanted a much more ambitious outcome at the conference.

However - perhaps they should not be too pessimistic about the final agreement.

For example, here in Beijing the Communist Party's media mouthpiece Xinhua wire service is already stressing in its commentaries that coal is "the dominant source of carbon dioxide emissions in the process of electricity generation".

It may sound like that is just stating the obvious - but such wording from Xinhua represents a transmission of the party line across the country: coal is the biggest part of the problem!

Beijing knows that ultimately the writing is on the wall for coal, but it's the speed of its phase out which matters to the Chinese government.

It believes that the most developed countries got the world into this problem in the first place - enriching themselves along the way - so now argues that countries like China need to be cut more slack to catch up.

What's also being stressed here from the Chinese delegation has been the perceived shortfall from advanced countries to deliver on their promises to provide finance and technological support for developing countries to help them move to cleaner energy.

Vice Minister Zhao Yingmin, who headed China's team in Glasgow, said he hoped developed countries could "make further efforts to honour their commitments, enhancing support for developing countries, instead of merely urging other parties to raise their ambitions".

line
One of the main goals set out by COP26 was to ensure we do not go above 1.5C by 2100 - which scientists have said would limit the worst impacts of climate change.

As part of the agreement struck in Glasgow, countries will meet next year to pledge further major carbon cuts with the aim of reaching the 1.5C goal. Current pledges, if fulfilled, will only limit global warming to about 2.4C.

Scientists have warned if global temperatures rise by more than 1.5C the Earth is likely to experience severe effects such as millions more people being exposed to extreme heat. The world is currently 1.2C warmer than it was in the 19th Century.

Under the Glasgow climate pact:

• Countries were asked to republish their climate action plans by the end of next year, with more ambitious emissions reduction targets for 2030
• There is an emphasis on the need for developed countries to increase the money they give to those already suffering the effects of climate change - beyond the current $100bn annual target
• The language about coal has been included for the first time ever in a global climate deal
• A pledge in a previous draft to "phase out" coal was instead watered down to a commitment to "phase down" coal

The final deal agreed on has been met with some criticism.

Ed Miliband, shadow business and energy secretary, told the Sky News' Trevor Phillips programme that "keeping 1.5 degrees alive is frankly in intensive care".

He said the world's task was to halve global emissions by 2030 and said that despite some progress in Glasgow "the world is only probably about 20% or 25% of the way to that goal".

But Mr Miliband commended Mr Sharma on his efforts.

The UN's climate change chief, Patricia Espinosa, described the mention of coal and fossil fuels as a "huge step forward".

But she added that "we need to also balance out the social consequences for so many people around the world, especially in the poor countries".

Lord Deben, the chairman of the Climate Change Committee, told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend that the UK should negotiate future trade deals with "some congruence with the world battle on climate change" - pointing to Australia as an example.

"I hope our government will also recognise that you really cannot sign trade deals on the basis that Australia can do nothing to insist on their farmers meeting the challenge of climate change and then export their goods to Britain," he said.

He added that India's push to change the language on coal was a "misuse" of the process.

A report by the Climate Action Tracker group has calculated that at the current rate, the world is heading for 2.4C of warming by 2100.

If no action was taken, scientists believe global warming could exceed 4C in the future. This could lead to devastating heatwaves, droughts, extreme rainfall and floods. As a result, millions of people could lose their homes to rising sea levels.

In addition to this, the change in climate could lead to irreversible damage to our ecosystem - with the mass extinction of animal and plant species.

 

[MenInG]

COP26: Did India betray vulnerable nations?

The Glasgow climate deal has put India and China in the spotlight after they opposed a commitment to "phase out" coal while negotiating the final agreement.

Instead, countries agreed to "phase down" coal, causing disappointment and concern over whether the world can limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5C.

"China and India will have to explain themselves and what they did to the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world," said the COP26 president, Alok Sharma. Mr Sharma also called the deal "historic" and said it "keeps 1.5C within reach".

Earlier drafts of the agreement contained an commitment to phase out unabated coal (unabated refers to coal that is burned without carbon capture and storage technology, which advocates say significantly decreases emissions).

So what happened?

At the start of the summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to cut emissions to net zero by 2070, reduce carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030, and raise the share of renewables in the energy mix to 50%, among others.

The ambitious announcements, welcomed then, now stand in stark contrast to India's last-minute intervention to water down the language on coal.

China, which otherwise shares a tense relationship with its neighbour, was a strong ally throughout the final negotiations.

The summit was expected to end on Friday but went into overtime until a deal was hammered out late on Saturday night.

The last day of negotiations saw China argue "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" or CBDR - it means countries that have signed the UN climate deal have a common responsibility to fight climate change, but have different capacities to do so given that they are in different stages of economic development.

China said that various countries' efforts to meet the 1.5C target should be seen in the context of their efforts to eradicate poverty.

India agreed. "How can anyone expect that developing countries make promises about phasing out coal and fossil fuel subsidies? Developing countries still have to do deal with their poverty reduction agenda," India's Environment Minister, Bhupender Yadav, said.

The words "phasing out unabated coal" had triggered the argument. Without a consensus, there would be no final text to adopt, and that meant the summit would fail.

So, key negotiators were seen huddling to secure an agreement ahead of the final session where the deal would be adopted.

India's environment minister Bhupender Yadav attended the Glasgow summit
At first, the cameras were focussed on Chinese negotiators, including their leader Xie Zhenhua, who were speaking to US special climate envoy, John Kerry. They were also seen speaking with Mr Sharma.

Then Mr Yadav was seen talking to Mr Sharma and the two spoke at least twice while everyone waited for the final session to begin.

When it did, India took the floor and sought permission to make a proposal. Mr Yadav proposed that the phrase "phase out unabated coal" in the final draft text of the agreement be replaced with "phase down coal".

His words were met with silence barring a few whistles in the background.

Once the agreement had been finalised, various countries took to the stage to express their disappointment over the change, arguing that "phasing out coal" was a major pillar to keep the 1.5C target alive.

"We do not need to phase down coal but to phase out coal," Switzerland said, while calling the process "untransparent".

"The longer you take to phase out coal, the more burden you put on natural environment and your economy," EU envoy Frans Timmermans said.

A heavy round of applause followed the statement.

Several small island states said keeping 1.5C out of reach would mean a death sentence for them.

Mr Sharma, seemingly on the brink of tears, apologised for the way things had unfolded.

But some experts say this could have been better handled by developed countries.

The emphasis on coal while leaving out oil and gas would disproportionately impact developing countries such as lndia and China, Brandon Wu, director of policy and campaigns at ActionAid, said.

"We would have liked the "phasing out" of all fossil fuels and not just coal," said Avinash Chanchal, senior climate campaigner, Greenpeace India.

He added that the "weakened draft reflected the lack of trust among rich and poor countries as previous commitments were not met".

Developing countries such as India have argued that they are being put under pressure to move from fossil fuels to renewables, while developed countries are not helping them financially and with technology.

"This text has so many lines on mitigation [emissions reduction]. What countries need to do, what they have to submit every year and even the details of upcoming high level meetings etc, but there is nothing on finance. How can we call this a balanced text?" Mr Yadav said.

India is the third-largest carbon emitter after China and the US but its per capita emissions is around seven times lower than that of the US, according to studies, including one by the World Bank.

An energy secure future is essential for India's economy - which is recovering from the pandemic while also battling sluggish growth - and coal is a big part of that goal.

"The challenge is to make it a just transition to low carbon so that people don't suffer," says Chirag Gajjar, an energy expert with World Resources Institute India.

"India's track record with renewables is solid; its target was 20 gigawatts by 2010 and by 2016 it was already heading towards 175 gigawatts. So, if India is able to send the right signal, renewables can grow exponentially."

If that happens, India will certainly win accolades but for now it has earned criticism for managing to water down what many say is a key commitment to fight global warming.

Mr Yadav, however, sees it differently.

"As COP26 draws to a close, I would like to thank the entire team with me in Glasgow that worked hard to make the summit a success for India," he has tweeted.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-59286790

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Large western countries were massive looters and polluters but now that they are industrialised they want to pull the rug underneath up and coming countries like India.

India and China have a right to pursue whatever is in their national interests.

Its ok for Mr Sharma and our government to have tears in their eyes over the climate but pump billions into killer industries like the defence industry.

 

[James]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Whilst we await confirmation of any new highest minimum <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/temperature?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#temperature</a> records, St James's Park has now provisionally beaten the record for the warmest <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NewYearsDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NewYearsDay</a>. Further temperature updates will be issued later <a href="https://t.co/s3QIiFbNJP">pic.twitter.com/s3QIiFbNJP</a></p>— Met Office (@metoffice) <a href="https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/1477259733123969025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Robert]

Everyone should watch Don’t Look Up on Netflix.

 

[Robert]

Large western countries were massive looters and polluters but now that they are industrialised they want to pull the rug underneath up and coming countries like India.

India and China have a right to pursue whatever is in their national interests.

Its ok for Mr Sharma and our government to have tears in their eyes over the climate but pump billions into killer industries like the defence industry.

They do have the right, but they also have the responsibility not to kill billions of human souls.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

They do have the right, but they also have the responsibility not to kill billions of human souls.

Unfortunately they are following the western capitalist model that has put profits before anything else.

Now when we are a spent force and they are on the verge of taking over, we are pretending to care about the climate and human souls.

 

[James]

<b>BBC — Denmark to make domestic flights fossil fuel free by 2030.</b>

Denmark's government has announced a goal to make domestic flights fossil fuel free by 2030.

In her New Year's address, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she wants to "make flying green".

However she acknowledged that the solutions to reach her target were not yet in place.

Denmark is aiming for a 70% cut in overall carbon emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.

"To travel is to live and therefore we fly," said Ms Frederiksen, announcing her plan.

"When other countries in the world are too slow. Then Denmark must take the lead and raise the bar even more," she said.

She added that achieving green domestic flights will be difficult but researchers and companies are working on solutions.

The European manufacturer Airbus has announced plans to develop hydrogen-fuelled planes that could be operational by 2035.

If the hydrogen used to fuel them is generated using renewable energy, this could be a way for Denmark to reach its goals.

However it is unclear if the technology will be ready, and costs sufficiently low, for the 2030 target to be reached.

Sweden has also announced plans to make its domestic flights fossil fuel free by 2030. It is also hoping to make international flights green by 2045.

Earlier this year, the government there announced plans to introduce increased airport fees for high-polluting planes.

Meanwhile France is moving to ban domestic flights where the same journey could be made by train in under two-and-a-half hours.

The measures could affect travel between Paris and cities including Nantes, Lyon and Bordeaux.

— — —

 

[Robert]

Unfortunately they are following the western capitalist model that has put profits before anything else.

Now when we are a spent force and they are on the verge of taking over, we are pretending to care about the climate and human souls.

Pretending? You think we are pretending? Speak for yourself. I have taken an environmental qualification, cut out meat and milk, stuck a solar array on my roof, started composting and recycle everything.

The problem is not the Western capitalism model, it’s (1) fossil fuel and (2) meat farming. Capitalism can pivot to renewable power and a vegetable diet.

 

[Technics 1210]

Fossil fuel is a term created by the Petroleum industry to give the impression commodities such as oil are scarce thus valuable It well known that Oil and Coal do not come from dinosaur bones.

Eating meat should be encouraged as cattle contributes to methane gas and methane gas is one of the, if not the largest contributer to 'Green House' gases.

If you don't eat the cattle then the atmosphere will rattle.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/climate-fueled-permafrost-thaw-threatens-up-half-arctic-infrastructure-report-2022-01-11/

Thawing permafrost could put as much as 50 percent of Arctic infrastructure at high risk of damage by 2050, requiring tens of billions of dollars in maintenance and repairs, scientists warned on Tuesday.

The world’s permafrost — land that remains frozen year-round — has been warming at between 0.3 and 1.0 degree Celsius per decade since the 1980s, with some areas of the High Arctic having increased by more than 3°C over four decades, according to a scientific review of research from the last two decades published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.

That’s enough to thaw much of the long-frozen ground. Already, some roads are buckling and building foundations are cracking in northern Russia, Alaska, and Canada.

“Infrastructure is in trouble,” said report co-author Dmitry Streletskiy, a geographer at George Washington University. “But it’s not like an earthquake. It’s a relatively slow process, which gives us enough time" to prevent some damage.

Scientists say this trend will continue as climate change escalates. From satellite imagery, they estimate that at least 120,000 buildings, 40,000 km (24,850 miles) of roads, and 9,500 km (5,900 miles) of pipelines could be at risk, highlighting threats to some Canadian highways, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, and the Russian cities of Vorkuta, Yakutsk, and Norilsk.

But people are still building in the Arctic. Satellite images show that coastal infrastructure has increased by 15 percent, or 180 square km (70 square miles), since 2000, according to another study published last year in the journal Environmental Research Letters. About 70 percent of that growth is linked to the oil and gas industry, especially on Russia’s Yamal Peninsula and near the Yamburg gas field, according to that study’s lead author, Annett Bartsch, a polar researcher with the Austrian-based b.geos research and consultancy group.

“There are a lot of new roads and rail tracks,” Bartsch said.

Engineers use several costly strategies when building on permafrost. For example, they place heat-diverting pipes along roads and building foundations to help keep the frozen ground stable.

Maintenance costs for major infrastructure could increase by $15.5 billion by mid-century, but would still be unable to prevent some $21.6 billion in damages, according to the review paper’s most conservative estimates.

For decades, researchers have focused on monitoring the carbon long locked in permafrost, worrying that the release of climate-warming carbon dioxide and methane could push the world toward runaway global warming.

But “the impact on infrastructure is already happening today,” said Vladimir Romanovsky, a geophysicist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks whose research was among the more than 160 studies assessed in the review. “It’s much more urgent for people who live and work on permafrost.”

 

[James]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-60009944

<b>Pacific volcano: Ash-covered Tonga is like a moonscape say residents</b>

A massive volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered tsunami waves has smothered the Pacific islands in ash, cut power and severed communications.

Up to 80,000 people there could be affected, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) told the BBC.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the tsunami had wreaked "significant damage", washing boats ashore and battering beachside shops.

No deaths have been reported so far.

Information remains scarce, however, and New Zealand and Australia are sending surveillance flights to assess the extent of the damage.

Katie Greenwood of the IFRC in Fiji said that help was urgently needed.

"We suspect there could be up to 80,000 people throughout Tonga affected by either the eruption itself or from the tsunami wave and inundation as a result of the eruption," she said.

"That was a shock to people, so we do hold some concern for those outer islands and we're very keen to hear from people."

The underwater volcano erupted on Saturday, sending a plume of ash into the sky and triggering warnings of 1.2m (4ft) waves reaching Tonga.

The eruption was so loud it could be heard in New Zealand, some 2,383km (1,481 miles) from Tonga.

Locals say Tonga looks "like a moonscape" after being coated in a layer of volcanic ash.

The dust was reportedly contaminating water supplies and making fresh water a vital need, Ms Ardern said on Sunday.

Aid charities said the ash and smoke had prompted authorities to tell people to drink bottled water and wear face masks to protect their lungs.

As the sky darkened with ash, videos showed traffic jams as people fled low-lying areas by car. Hours later, Tonga's internet and phone lines went down, making the island's 105,000 residents almost entirely unreachable.

Prior to the largest eruption, the volcano had been erupting for several days. The Tonga Meteorological Agency had warned that the smell of sulphur and ammonia was being reported in some areas.

Ms Ardern said power was being restored to some parts of the island and mobile phones were slowly starting to work again. But the situation in some coastal areas remained unknown.

Unable to speak to their friends and family, many Tongans in Australia and New Zealand have grown concerned for their safety.

Fatima said she had not heard anything from her colleague who runs a seafront restaurant in Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa.

"It's all very sad, we are hoping for the best," she told the BBC. "This will hit them so hard as they have been in lockdown a long time with no tourists visiting and now this."

The volcano is in an area of seismic activity.
Satellite images suggest some outlying islands have been completely submerged by seawater.

Experts say the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano is one of the most violent in the region in decades.

It triggered tsunami warnings in several countries, including Japan and the US, where flooding hit some coastal parts of California and Alaska.

UK Foreign Office minister Zac Goldsmith called the situation in Tonga "shocking" and said Britain stood "ready to help and support our Commonwealth friend and partner in any way we can".

 

[James]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-60106981

<b>Tonga volcano: Eruption more powerful than atomic bomb, Nasa says</b>

A volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered a tsunami was hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima during World War Two, Nasa says.

The eruption "obliterated" a volcanic island north of the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa, the agency said.

Tonga says more than four-fifths of the population has been affected by the tsunami and falling ash.

Three people were confirmed killed in the tsunami last week.

Before the eruption, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic island was two separate islands joined by new land formed in 2015.

Nasa says the eruption was so powerful all the new land is gone, along with "large chunks" of the two older islands.

The widespread emission of volcanic ash, gases and particles from the eruption has proven to be a massive challenge for Tongan officials.

In the immediate aftermath of the eruption and tsunami, there were fears that water sources had been polluted by the thick blanket of ash, increasing the risk of diseases like cholera and diarrhoea.

However, officials noted that testing in recent days had cleared ground water and rainwater as safe to drink.

But fine volcanic ash and emissions continue to pose a public health risk.

Exposure could potentially cause breathing difficulties, affect the cardiovascular system, and irritate the lungs, eyes and skin.

In an update, the government said 62 people on Mango, one of the worst-hit islands, had to be relocated to the outer island of Nomuka "after losing their homes and all of their personal belongings".

The government added however, that many of those residents could be moved again to the main island Tongatapu due to a lack of food and supplies.

It added that there were under two dozen injuries, mostly from Nomuka.

Rescuers have set up a field hospital there after the existing clinic was swept away in the tsunami.

Ships and planes carrying foreign aid have been arriving in Tonga since last week, after locals were finally able to clear the island's only airport runway of ash.

New Zealand and Australia have led the international response, using their air force and naval carriers to make contact-less drops of supplies including water, food, hygiene kits and tents, as well as water-treating and telecommunications repair equipment.

The remote archipelago was cut off for five days because the explosions severed the sole fibre-optic sea cable bringing internet to the island.

A patchy telephone line was restored last week, allowing "limited international phone calls".

But even communication between the main island and the outer islands remains "an acute challenge", the Tongan government statement said.

They added that a ship was due to arrive this week to repair the internet cable.

Firms had previously estimated the cable could take up to four weeks to repair.

The arrival of foreign aid has vastly accelerated the flow of information from the stricken island.

Due to Covid fears, the aid work is still all being carried out by locals through groups like the Red Cross.

Tonga, which is effectively Covid-free, has requested no foreign aid workers land in the country to prevent an outbreak.

But the UN's representative in the region, Sione Hufanga, told the BBC that could change given the scale of damage.

 

[James]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60171581

<b>Storm Malik: Winds up to 80mph could hit parts of UK</b>

Gusts of wind up to 80mph could hit some parts of the UK this weekend as Storm Malik sweeps in.

Yellow weather warnings will be in place across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England for most of Saturday.

The strongest winds are expected in eastern Scotland - where there is an amber warning - on Saturday morning.

The Met Office warned of possible power cuts and likely disruption to road, rail, air and ferry transport.

Another storm is also expected to hit Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland, as well as northern and eastern England on Sunday evening, with a yellow warning for wind in place until 12:00 GMT on Monday.

The other warnings in place are:
— A yellow wind warning for Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England from 04:00 until 15:00 on Saturday
— A yellow wind warning for Orkney and Shetland from 12:00 until 20:00 on Saturday
— An amber wind warning for eastern Scotland from 07:00 until 15:00 on Saturday

Named by the Danish Meteorological Institute, Storm Malik is expected to bring winds of 60mph and up to 80mph in coastal areas, on its way towards Denmark.

The Met Office said Storm Malik's impact would be greatest in Denmark on Sunday but the UK would be "dealt a glancing blow" from Saturday as it moves eastwards.

The forecaster warned injuries and danger to life could occur from flying debris, as well as from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.

Scotland's Railway said it would be introducing speed restrictions for safety reasons on parts of the Dundee-Aberdeen, Aberdeen-Inverness, Far North, West Highland and Kyle lines on Saturday morning into the early afternoon.

The East Coast Mainline, North Berwick branch line, and Borders Railway will also be affected.

Paul Gunderson, chief meteorologist for the Met Office, said: "For those in the north of the UK there will be high winds and rain on Saturday, with showers possibly turning wintry in the high ground of the north."

While the highest winds are expected in exposed coastal areas in the north and east of Scotland, it is expected to be a windy day for most of the affected areas.

Further south, the weekend weather will feature some blustery wind, with some small amounts of rain.

BBC weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker said the worst disruption would probably be in eastern Scotland, including in Edinburgh, Perth and Aberdeen.

"By Saturday evening things will be dying down but there's another storm hot on its heels on Sunday with a very similar level of intensity," he said.

"The warning is actually of a lower level for the following day - that's because the storm is still a couple of days away so there's still some uncertainty."

 

[MenInG]

A nine-year-old boy and a 60-year-old woman have been killed by falling trees in strong winds caused by Storm Malik.

The youngster died after a tree fell on him and a man in Winnothdale, Staffordshire, at around 1pm on Saturday.

Both were taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital, where the boy passed away and the man remains for treatment.

"A scene remains at the location, where people are asked to avoid the area," Staffordshire Police added. "The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner."

It was confirmed earlier that a 60-year-old woman had died after being hit by a fallen tree in Aberdeen. Scotland has seen winds of more than 100mph.

It comes as parts of the country reel from the impact of Storm Malik, with more than 130,000 homes and businesses suffering power cuts and widespread travel disruption.

And there are warnings another storm is set to batter the UK with strong winds, snow and heavy rain within hours.

https://news.sky.com/story/woman-ki...-storm-set-to-batter-uk-within-hours-12528044

 

[James]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-60177979

<b>US East Coast blanketed by 'bombogenesis' snowstorm</b>

The US East Coast is being battered by the first major blizzard to hit the region in four years.

Five states declared an emergency hours before heavy snow and hurricane-force winds blasted the area.

Experts warn of "historic" snowfall in some places and flood warnings have been issued near the coast.

More than 5,000 US flights have been cancelled.

As the storm arrived, more than 116,000 households across Massachusetts were without power.

Forecasters say there is a chance the storm, known as a Nor'easter, will blanket the Boston area with up to 2ft (61cm) of snow, and up to 1ft (30cm) of snow has already fallen in parts of New York.

The current record of 27.6in (70cm) within 24 hours was set in 2003.

Gusts as strong as 60-75mph (96-120km/h) have been forecast along the coastline.

Experts say the storm will undergo bombogenesis, meaning that colder air is expected to mix with warmer sea air, leading to a swift drop in atmospheric pressure.

The process leads to a so-called bomb cyclone.

"Travel should be restricted to emergencies only," warned the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boston.

"If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle."

The powerful storm began to hit the country's coast in the early hours of Saturday morning, with inches of snowfall already blanketing a number of states.

Bryce Williams, a meteorologist based in the state, told the New York Times the heaviest would hit there by Saturday evening before conditions clear up across the weekend.

"If you don't have to be out and about, we're trying to say: Stay home until Sunday," he told the newspaper.

Winds are expected to strengthen, possibly reaching hurricane-level speeds, according to the NWS and Accuweather.

A blizzard warning has been issued throughout the north-east, the first time such an alert has been issued since 2018.

The governors of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island and Virginia declared states of emergency, telling residents to stay off the roads for their own safety.

75 million people are in the path of the storm, according to CBS News.

New York Mayor Eric Adams cancelled outdoor dining for Saturday, as well as vaccine appointments, but struck an optimistic tone when telling reporters that the city was handling the storm like "a well-oiled machine".

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has said that the storm "could be life-threatening" and suggested that residents stay home "with a six pack of beer and wait it out".

Police in New Jersey's Atlantic City pleaded with residents not to "make it harder on our first responders by venturing out", while Governor Phil Murphy said that the state's famous shoreline "is getting getting clobbered" by the storm.

In Connecticut bus operations have been suspended until Sunday, while Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee has announced the closure of several bridges due to "dangerous conditions".

Florida is also expected to see some of its coldest temperatures in years, leading to iguanas - a cold-blooded lizard species - to become immobilised and fall out of trees.

 

[James]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-60187954

<b>Storm Corrie: Thousands without power as second storm approaches</b>

About 18,000 households in Scotland are still without power as a second storm is forecast to cause further disruption.

Storm Corrie is expected to hit the north east and Highlands from 17:00 on Sunday, areas which were badly affected by Storm Malik on Saturday.

A 60-year-old woman in Aberdeen and a nine-year-old boy in Staffordshire were killed by falling trees.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said there had been "widespread damage".

However he said the impact of the first storm was being felt most acutely in the north east - an area which bore the brunt of power losses and damage during Storm Arwen in November.

A number of welfare centres have been opened for people needing showers and power, while hot food trucks have also been sent to areas most in need.

About 20,000 homes were without power overnight.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said the majority were in rural Aberdeenshire and the Moray coast, with some in Angus, the Highlands and Perthshire.

The firm's engineers had struggled to access faults due to fallen trees blocking roads and it has since moved to "red alert" status.

SP Energy Networks, which supplies electricity in south and central parts of the country, said it had restored power to 22,450 customers but 550 remained off supply at 11:10 on Sunday.

Mr Swinney added that the timing of Storm Corrie meant that disruption could last for "a number of days".

He said: "On behalf of the Scottish government, I would like to offer sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the lady who died in Aberdeen this morning.

"SSEN have engineers out across the area and will continue to assess the damage caused to their network and the extent of repairs needed."

Graeme Keddie, director of corporate affairs for SSEN, said that, as of 11:30 on Sunday, about 18,000 homes had still to be reconnected and the majority would be dealt with on Sunday.

More engineers will travel to Scotland to tackle the impact of Storm Corrie, he said, and they would prioritise the people who have been without power the longest.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Sunday Show the firm was dealing with types of storms "we've not seen in recent years" and that investment into network resilience would be reviewed.

"Since Storm Arwen we've repaired the network back to full health," he said.

"Obviously we called Arwen a once in a generation storm - this is still a significant event.

"We invest in our network each and every year and that is increasing. That includes £100m in north of Scotland to increase the resilience of our infrastructure and around £7m in tree cutting.

"I would say there are obviously options to make the network more resilient such as underground cables, but the cost of that is quite prohibitive and sometimes five to ten times the amount of overhead line."

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for wind from 17:00 on Sunday until 06:00 on Monday covering the north east, Highlands and some parts of the central belt.

A yellow warning for the rest of the country takes effect from 15:00 until 12:00 on Monday.

Gusts of up to 85mph were recorded on the Aberdeenshire coast as Storm Malik swept across Scotland and the north east of England.

The Scottish government chaired a resilience meeting to ensure "appropriate measures" were in place, as potential gusts of 90mph could hit exposed coastal locations during Storm Corrie.

ScotRail have said train services will be wound down between 18:00 and 00:00 when the worse weather is expected.

A limited number of cross-border and freight services will continue to run on some lines, but at reduced speed, it said.

A spokesperson said: "We know the impact that the earlier withdrawal of services will have on customers but it's a necessary step to ensure the safety of our staff and customers due to the severe weather.

"If you have to travel [on Sunday], please check the ScotRail app or website before heading to the station. With services being withdrawn in the early evening, we'd ask all customers to carefully plan ahead."

On Saturday Police Scotland urged people to avoid travel unless "absolutely essential". Fallen trees and flying debris caused widespread structural damage in addition to power outages.

In Glasgow, people living near a landmark tower have been evacuated from their homes amid fears for its safety.

An exclusion zone has been set up around the Trinity building at Lynedoch Street after Glasgow City Council said its "structural deterioration" had been worsened by high winds.

 

[James]

<b>Heavy snow has caused major disruption to the Winter Olympics schedule with temperatures set to plummet below -22C at the Beijing Games.</b>

Several ski slopestyle events had to be pushed back a day because of the conditions at the Genting Snow Park.

The women's freeski qualifications were postponed on Sunday because of heavy snow and poor visibility.

Difficult conditions at the alpine skiing meant 33 of the 87 men's giant slalom starters were unable to finish.

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, who finished fourth in the opening run, used an expletive when asked to describe how little he could see in the blustery snow at the National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing.

<b>More snow is forecast on Monday, with temperatures in the mountains set to drop further and reach -35C with windchill.</b>

Ironically, the difficulty caused by the fresh snow came after the Games had been criticised for being the first Winter Olympics to rely almost 100% on artificial snow.

Artificial snow used at Beijing 2022 "poses tough environmental questions" with more than 222 million litres of water needed to create snow conditions, ecological experts said last month.

Away from the mountains, there was heavy snow in central Beijing - which is unusual for the Chinese capital in February.

The city averages less than half an inch of snow in the month but was covered by a thick blanket on Sunday.

BBC

 

[James]

<b>Warning of 90mph gusts during Storm Dudley</b>

Parts of Scotland, England and Northern Ireland could be battered by winds gusting to 90mph later this week, forecasters have warned.

The Met Office has issued an amber "be prepared" warning for 18:00 on Wednesday to 09:00 on Thursday.

Named Storm Dudley, it has been forecast to bring inland winds potentially gusting to 80mph and up to 90mph on exposed coasts and hills.

Police Scotland said there was a "high risk" of travel disruption.
The Scottish government said the Transport Scotland resilience room and the multi-agency response team would be active for the duration of the amber warning.

A second storm - Storm Eunice - is expected to bring strong winds across southern Scotland and also England, Wales and Northern Ireland on Friday.

Snow has also been forecast for parts of Scotland.

The amber warning covers central and southern Scotland, north east and north west England and Northern Ireland.

The cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and York are covered by the warning.

It also includes parts of Argyll and Bute, Fife, Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, Cumbria and County Antrim.

The Met Office said: "Very strong westerly winds are expected to develop across western Scotland and northern Northern Ireland late Wednesday and extend eastward across southern Scotland and northern England during the evening.

"There is still some uncertainty in the timing and location of the strongest winds but there is the potential for inland wind gusts of 70-80 mph in places.

Gusts of 80-90 mph are possible around exposed coasts and hills."

The Met Office has also issued a yellow "be aware" warning for high winds for the rest of Scotland, the north of England and Northern Ireland during Storm Dudley.

It covers from 15:00 on Wednesday to 18:00 on Thursday.

Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said south and central Scotland were expected to face the worst of the conditions on Wednesday and Thursday.

She said: "The high winds will likely bring challenges for the trunk road network, with the potential for restrictions on bridges, so travellers should make sure they plan their journey in advance, drive to the conditions and follow Police Scotland travel advice."

Police Scotland urged people to prepare for disruption and allow extra time for journeys.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-60375137

 

[James]

Storm Eunice: Millions across UK told to stay home as severe winds hit

Millions of people have been told to stay at home as one of the worst storms in decades, Storm Eunice, hits the UK.

Rare red weather warnings - meaning there is a danger to life from flying debris - have been issued by the Met Office covering much of southern and eastern England, and south Wales.

Gusts of up to 92mph have been recorded on the Isle of Wight.

Hundreds of schools are closed and travel networks are experiencing cancellations and major disruption.

Power cuts have left thousands of properties in south-west England and south Wales without power.

BBC Weather said Eunice "could well be one of the worst storms in three decades".

It is the second storm in a week for the UK after Storm Dudley battered parts of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, leaving thousands of homes without power.

The Met Office has issued several weather warnings across the UK:

- A red warning for wind - the highest level of alert - along the coastline of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset and south Wales from 07:00 GMT until 12:00 on Friday with gusts of up to 90mph

- A further red warning for wind has been issued for London, south-east England and parts of east England from 10:00 until 15:00

- An amber warning for wind covering all of England south of Manchester and Wales until 21:00 with gusts of up to 80mph

- A yellow warning for snow for much of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England from 03:00 until 18:00

- A yellow warning for wind in the Midlands, north-east England, north-west England, parts of Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland from 07:00 and 18:00 with gusts of up to 70mph

- A yellow warning for wind covering London, south-east England, south-west England, Wales and parts of the West Midlands from 06:00 to 18:00 on Saturday


Red weather warnings are rare, and mean that roofs could be blown off, power lines brought down and trees uprooted - as well as flying debris which could cause a danger to life.

The last red warning was for Storm Arwen in November last year, but before that one had not been issued since the so-called "Beast from the East" in 2018.

BBC Weather meteorologist Ben Rich said he expected Eunice to "cause damage, huge disruption and coastal flooding" - but he said it was "impossible to know exactly how bad this storm is going to be".

"Winds of the same strengths will cause different impacts in different regions of the UK - for example, coasts of western Scotland are far better prepared for 80mph winds than inland parts of southern England."

BBC Wales weatherman Derek Brockway said although Eunice was not a hurricane, winds would reach hurricane force level.

People have been warned to "tie down" objects in their gardens, fasten doors and windows and keep cars locked in garages if possible away from trees and walls.

And the Met Office said people should avoid travelling if they could and stay at home when winds reach the highest speeds.

Hundreds of schools are staying shut on Friday due to the high winds in much of Wales and affected areas of England, including in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset and Bristol.

There are concerns that Storm Eunice's strong winds and a possible storm surge could combine with high spring tides to bring coastal flooding to the west, south-west and the south coast of England.

Ten severe flood warnings - meaning there is a danger to life - are in place on the Severn Estuary and the Wye Estuary. Less serious flood warnings and alerts have been issued for other parts of England, Scotland and Wales.

River flooding in the Pennines, North Yorkshire and Lancashire is expected during the weekend. The water level in rivers, lakes and streams is likely to rise and overflow due to a combination of after-effects of Storm Dudley and snow melting.

A government source told the BBC they were "well-prepared" with more than 250 high-volume pumps and 6,000 trained staff able to be deployed, adding they were not taking the threat posed by Eunice "lightly".

Major incidents have been declared in Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Avon and Somerset and Hampshire.

In Cornwall and Somerset, residents are being urged to stay at home and only travel on Friday if "absolutely necessary".

Both councils advised people to stay back from cliffs and seafronts due to the danger of large waves, with Cornwall warning of possible flooding during the high spring tides at about 06:00.

The government held an emergency Cobra meeting on Thursday to discuss the response to the incoming storm and Prime Minister Mr Johnson said the Army was "on stand-by" to support those affected.

A second Cobra meeting has been scheduled for Friday morning.

The storm is also expected to bring widespread travel disruption.

All train services in Wales have been suspended on Friday, while rail companies are urging other customers not to travel, with blanket speed restrictions set to be imposed on the main rail lines across the country.

Several train companies and airlines have warned their passengers there will be disruptions to their journeys due to the storm. Some travel companies have urged their passengers to amend their bookings if possible.

Warnings of disrupted services and requests for people not to travel have been issued by Great Western Railway, West Midlands Railway, London North East Railway, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway and CrossCountry trains.

For air travel, British Airways said the rate of aircraft permitted to land at Heathrow Airport was being reduced because of the gale force winds and confirmed it had cancelled flights over the "extreme" conditions at some airports.

Many airports have urged customers to check flights, with London City, Cardiff and Exeter airports are among those to have cancelled flights.

The storm has brought significant snowfall to parts of northern England and Scotland.

National Highways - which is in charge of England's motorways and major A-roads - has said there was a "particularly high risk" that high-sided vehicles, caravans and motorbikes could be blown over and has urged drivers of those vehicles not to travel on bridges and viaducts.

Several bridges have closed on Friday, including the M48 Severn Bridge, the A14 Orwell Bridge in Suffolk and the QEII Bridge in Dartford.


In other developments:

- London, Cornwall, Breckland Council near Norfolk and Stoke-On-Trent City Council are opening emergency shelters for people sleeping rough

- Several councils said bin collections would be suspended on Friday
Legoland in Windsor, the London Eye, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Wakehurst, and RHS gardens, are among a number of tourist attractions to close

- A red weather warning has also been issued for Counties Kerry and Cork in the south west of the Republic of Ireland, from 03:00 until 08:00 on Friday. Schools in seven counties are also closing


Many people were just recovering from Storm Dudley on Wednesday as they braced for Eunice.

Dudley left thousands of people in north-east England, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Lancashire without power.

Northern Powergrid said it had restored power to all of its more than 20,000 customers affected by the storm by Thursday evening.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60426382

 

[James]

<b>Climate change: IPCC report warns of ‘irreversible’ impacts of global warming</b>

Many of the impacts of global warming are now simply "irreversible" according to the UN's latest assessment.

But the authors of a new report say that there is still a brief window of time to avoid the very worst.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that humans and nature are being pushed beyond their abilities to adapt.

Over 40% of the world's population are "highly vulnerable" to climate, the sombre study finds.

But there's hope that if the rise in temperatures is kept below 1.5C, it would reduce projected losses.

Just four months on from COP26, where world leaders committed themselves to rapid action on climate change, this new UN study shows the scale of their task.

"Our report clearly indicates that places where people live and work may cease to exist, that ecosystems and species that we've all grown up with and that are central to our cultures and inform our languages may disappear," said Prof Debra Roberts, co-chair of the IPCC.

"So this is really a key moment. Our report points out very clearly, this is the decade of action, if we are going to turn things around."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60525591

 

[MenInG]

Britain's sweltering heatwave is set to peak on Friday with temperatures of up to 34C (93.2F).

The Met Office said London and potentially some places in East Anglia are most likely to reach this high, making it the hottest day of the year so far.

Away from the capital and the south east, highs of 27C to 30C (80.6F to 86F) are expected across most of England and Wales, making much of the UK hotter than parts of Jamaica and the Maldives.

Thursday was the hottest day of the year so far, with 29.5C (85.1F) recorded at Northolt in west London on Thursday.

Highs of 26.1C (78.98F) were recorded in Cardiff, 21.4C (70.52F) in Edinburgh and 20.6C (69.08F) in Derrylin in Northern Ireland on Thursday.

 

[MenInG]

Dozens of people have died and millions of homes are underwater following huge floods in north-eastern India and Bangladesh.

At least 59 people have been killed according to the AFP news agency.

Lightning storms have killed at least 21 people in Bangladesh, while the remainder were lost to floods, lightning and landslides in India, the agency reported.

Troops were called in to rescue thousands of people stranded by floods which have severed transport links, authorities said on Saturday.

While floods in Bangladesh are regular, experts say climate change is increasing their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability.

In India's Assam state, two million people have seen their homes submerged in flood waters since Thursday, the state's disaster management agency said.

The Brahmaputra - one of Asia's largest rivers - breached its mud embankments, inundating 3,000 villages and croplands in 28 of Assam's 33 districts.

MORE ON BANGLADESH
A girl carries her brother as she wades through a flooded road after heavy rains, on the outskirts of Agartala, India, June 18, 2022.
At least 27 killed and millions of homes underwater after flooding wreaks havoc in India and Bangladesh

On Saturday, India's prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was praying for the safety of people affected by the floods.

Meanwhile India's Meghalaya state's chief minister Conrad Sangma tweeted that authorities were inspecting damage caused by landslides in the north-eastern state.

Water levels in all major rivers across Bangladesh are rising, according to the flood forecasting and warning centre in Dhaka, the nation's capital.

The flood-prone country has about 130 rivers.

The flooding in Bangladesh, described by a government expert as potentially the country's worst since 2004, was exacerbated by the runoff from heavy rain across Indian mountains.

Last month, a pre-monsoon flash flood, triggered by a rush of water from upstream in India’s north-eastern states, hit Bangladesh’s northern and north-eastern regions, destroying crops and damaging homes and roads.

The country was just starting to recover when fresh rains flooded the same areas again this week.

Bangladesh, a nation of 160 million people, is low-lying and faces threats from natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, made worse by climate change.

SKY

 

[daytrader]

Clearance efforts afoot as landslides block Gilgit-Baltistan roads

• NDMA issues alert for torrential rains causing landslides, urban flooding
• FWO clearing Jaglot-Skardu road
• Tourists advised against travelling at night, during rain
• Over 100kmph winds recorded in Lahore

ISLAMABAD / GILGIT / PESHAWAR: As rain-triggered landslides have blocked a major road at multiple locations in the upper parts of the country between Gilgit and Skardu, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned the departments concerned to remain alert in the wake of a series of heavy rains in the country from Monday to Wednesday that may cause further landsliding and urban flooding.

Also on Monday, intermittent rain continued to lash the upper parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to the latest advisory issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the series of torrential rains with winds and thundershowers, beginning in upper and central parts of the country from Monday, will continue till Wednesday. All provincial departments, National Highway Authority, Frontier Works Organisation and other institutions have been asked to remain alert and take precautionary measures.

The new rain spell might trigger landslides in vulnerable areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Galiyat, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and generate flash floods in the local nullahs in Rawalpindi/Islamabad, KP, Punjab, Kashmir, GB and northeast Balochistan where windstorms may damage dilapidated structures.

The NDMA has also advised those residing in low-lying areas to immediately report any emergency situation.

“[The weather pattern] may cause urban flooding in Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Lahore during the forecast period,” the Met Office warned, advising travellers and tourists to remain extra cautious during the forecast period and avoid unnecessary travel.

The Met Office also expected the monsoon to set in during the last week of June.

The monsoon rainfall is expected to be above normal over Punjab and Sindh, and slightly above normal over the remaining parts of the country. The first phase of monsoon (July 1 to mid-Aug) is expected to be wet as compared to the last phase (mid-Aug to end-Sept).

Skardu road blockades

Over the last 24 hours, Skardu Deputy Commissioner Kareem Dad Chughtai has been tweeting pictures of landslide-induced blockade of the Jaglot-Skardu road at multiple points. On Monday, he said the 160-kilometre patch that connected Gilgit and Skardu, and was a major link with the Karakoram Highway, was blocked at Chamachu, Maloppa, Tormik and other areas of Skardu following torrential rains.

He further said the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) was working to clear the road, and advised tourists against taking the route until it was cleared. He especially urged people not to travel at night until Thursday and in the rain during the day.

Further issuing a travel advisory for tourists flocking to the region for summer vacation, Mr Chughtai tweeted that heavy rains continued in Deosai plains and tourists were advised against travelling from Skardu to Astore and vice versa during rains. “Night travel via Deosai is prohibited for tonight.”

Meanwhile, scattered rain across GB lowered the mercury levels, and hilly areas received snowfall. Rain-induced flooding also damaged houses and roads in the Ghanche district. Several tourists visiting the region faced difficulties after the Jaglot-Skardu road blockade as well as the sudden change in weather pattern.

According to the Met Office, rain-thundershower is expected in GB and other parts of the country.

Earlier on Friday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had issued an alert to its GB chapter and other district disaster management authorities to stay vigilant in the wake of a looming risk of a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) amid the prevailing weather conditions.

Rain in KP

On the other hand, intermittent rain continued to lash the upper parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday; however, no casualties were reported, officials said.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said the flow of rivers was normal, however, a GLOF was reported in the remote Ishperu Gol area of Terich village of Upper Chitral that damaged a 50kV micro-hydel power station in the area.

The PDMA also said that over the past 24 hours, the Kalkot Daba Road in Upper Dir as well as the Swat-Shangal main road at Machar area of Alpuri of Shangla district had been blocked due to land-sliding, but were later cleared.

Meanwhile, the Lahore airport area witnessed winds in excess of 100 kilometres per hour, as the gale reached speeds of up to 55 knots, the Met Office in Lahore said on Monday night.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1695922/clearance-efforts-afoot-as-landslides-block-gilgit-baltistan-roads

 

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