19th June - Today's News: May Warmest on Record

NOAA data now in shows Earth has its warmest May and is off to warmest year on record - of course, some will tell us that's simply because NOAA manipulates the data to show what they want and really we're plummeting into a new ice age .....   

.....which, if true, makes it even odder that Alaska breaking records with unsually hot, dry weather - shouldn't Alaska be getting colder?

Further south, Arizona swelters in triple-digit temps as heat wave drags on, with 115f in Phoenix

Storm heads northeast after flooding Oklahoma, Arkansas

Of course, it's mid winter in NZ, so no surprise that South Island wakes to freezing conditions, closed roads - plenty of snow for skiers

 Research by the Niels Bohr Institute suggests a risk of major sea level rise in England, northern Europe - up to 1.5m by the end of the century, assuming global temperatures - leading to increased melting of ice caps - rise by around 4c as per some predictions.   Meanwhile, a separate study shows that Alaska glaciers make large contributions to global sea rise - and as noted above, Alaska has been abnormally warm and dry of late ....

Active volcanoes are spotted on Venus

And confirming what we already knew, jet contrails affect surface temperatures by reducing the diurnal range, just like any other clouds.