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Showing posts from August, 2019

24th August - Today's News: Brazil Finally Acts to Fight Amazon Wildfires

Fnally worldwide condemnation of this year's record number of Amazon fires: Brazil sends army to help tackle blazes and with them seeing so much publicity in recent days, Amazon rainforest fires: Ten readers' questions answered   A giant pumice raft from underwater volcanic eruption makes its way to Great Barrier Reef Weather balloons vital for climate science but pollution they create poses dilemma for BOM And the c olossal volcano behind 'mystery' global cooling finally found - I lopango in San Salvador erupted in 539AD with worlwide consequences.  It is now extinct.

23rd August - Today's News: Lightning Kills Four in Tatra Mountains

Poland lightning strike kills four, injures 100, in Tatra mountains storm The Amazon in Brazil is on fire - how bad is it?   As 'Our house is burning', Macron warns ahead of G7 Meanwhile, on the other side of the world 2019 to be ‘worst-ever year’ for wildfires in Siberia and ‘only rain can now extinguish flames’   In the US, NASA investigates 'fire cloud' formed by wild blazes there. And they've found stardust in the Antarctic snow

19th August - Today's News: Waterspout Flips Boat in Auckland Harbour

Pictures of devastating tornado tearing through Auckland's Viaduct Harbour Another wildfire sweeps across Gran Canaria Istanbul recovers after heavy rains that left one dead More record summer heat bakes Alaska whilst torrential summer rains soak parts of Florida and the Carolinas And Iceland's Okjokull glacier commemorated with plaque - the first, but undoubtedly not the last, to be lost in modern times

17th August - Today's News: NOAA Confirm July World's Warmest Month

In Australia, Perth hit by cold front, bringing snow to Stirling Range in south of WA One man dead, 49 people injured as powerful tropical storm hits western Japan The UK isn't the only country plagued by ignorant yahoos in the hills..... In Canada too, glacier garbage disappoints mountaineers exploring Jasper's Columbia Icefield   How many Earth-like planets are around sun-like stars?   Latest calculations suggest it could be that around 1 in 4 stars have them .... And NOAA data confirms that July 2019 was hottest month on record for the planet

15th August - Today's News: Plastic in the Arctic Air

There are plastic particles falling out of sky with snow in Arctic - which means even there people are breathing in plastic every day .... we really do live in a plastic world. In Japan, nearly 600,000 advised to evacuate as tropical storm makes landfall with up to a metre of rain expected in some places. Greece wildfires leave blackened forests in their wake Fracking prompts global spike in atmospheric methane, study suggests And despite claims we should all go veggie, we can actually fight climate change by eating meat, Ottawa farmers say .  Anyway, it's not what we eat, it's how it's produced.

14th September - Today's News: Kangaroos in the Aussie Snow

Kangaroos filmed hopping through rare Australian snow Bushfires in northern NSW have already taken four homes this winter In Greece, wildfire rages across Evia whilst in the Atlantic, Gran Canaria wildfire forces evacuation of 1,000 and spreads towards popular holiday area Another US heat wave fuels 'crazy heat, even for Mississippi' and power demand record in Texas Rare lightning strikes near North Pole spark fears of warming Arctic as it's predicted that Arctic could be iceless in September if temps increase 2 degrees Myanmar landslide death toll rises to 59 whilst there have now been more than 200 killed, 1.2 million displaced by India floods Contrary to previous suggestions, new research finds that Arctic sea-ice loss has 'minimal influence' on severe cold winter weather , rather, both are a consequence of the same changes in atmospheric circulation.   Meanwhile, around the Antarctic, icebergs delay So

12th August - Today's News: Monsoon Brings deadly Floods, Landslides to India & Myanmar

Monsoon floods wreak havoc on India, death toll up whilst Myanmar scrambles to rescue flood victims as landslide kills dozens Typhoon Lekima: Toll rises as typhoon moves up China coast In Australia,  Victoria cold weather blankets towns in snow, forces closures on 'treacherous' roads 'Ecological grief': Greenland residents traumatised by climate emergency And the sun disappears over the Pole of Cold, in bizarre repeat of last year’s blackout - likely a combination of wildfire smoke and rain clouds.

10th August - Today's News: At Least 13 Dead as Typhoon Lekima Makes Landfall in China

Typhoon Lekima: 13 dead and a million evacuated in China   BOM forecasts 'Antarctic winds' for NSW weekend as towns receive first snow in decades Quite a violent tornado tears through southern Luxembourg; at least 7 injured whilst a waterspout,described by some media as a 'whirlwind' rips through Amsterdam, whips up debris and water And last month there were 400 more deaths during heatwave than average in the Netherlands

9th August - Today's News: One Dead as Severe Weather Hits SE Australia

BOM weather warning for Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia as winds and snow hit with a pier destroyed and one person killed by a falling tree already Eastern China on red alert as super typhoon Lekima approaches UAE-led research tests how ice clouds could help it rain in the desert Climate change will mean more multiyear snow droughts in the West of the USA A new study shows that marine heatwaves kill coral instantly And bad news for catastrophists as it now looks like Earth's last magnetic field reversal took far longer than once thought

8th August - Today's News: More Flash Flooding in Scotland

 There's been more disruption as torrential rain causes flooding across Scotland as flood hell leaves parts of country cut off for days .  It's hoped that wet weather now means early September (when I am doing the Cape Wrath Trail ) will be dry! How snowfalls in Australia have a colourful history, we reminisce, as south-east braces for cold blast  but in parts of Queensland they wonder if it will ever rain again as drought prompts water restrictions in Stanthorpe, with TV ads warning locals on usage Parts of Alaska have no sea ice for the first time ever as temperatures in the region hit record highs (obviously not "ever" .... ) A magnitude 6 quake rattles Taiwan as it braces for Typhoon Lekima Japan’s Mount Asama volcano erupts, residents warned of pyroclastic flows and fiery cinders A quarter of world’s population suffers ‘extreme water stress’, India overshadows the list And using 25 years of satellite data, glaciologists unveil most p

7th August - Today's News; Japan Heatwave Death Toll Now 57

There have now been 57 dead, 18,000 taken to hospitals in Japan due to heatwave since July 29 Europe’s record heat melted Swiss glaciers Flooded West Highland Line rail route to remain closed for a week   Cold and severe weather forecast to hit New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia Typhoon Francisco slams Korea with two more typhoons coming to east Asia in the next week And in Zimbabwe: A third of population faces food crisis, says UN - though the country's economic crisis is partly to blame, along with a recent drought and cyclone.  The country used to be (still could be) the bread basket of southern Africa.  But the deadly impacts of Mugabwe, one of the most evil men in recent history, will linger for a long while to come.

5th August - Today's News: July Was World's Hottest Month on Record

July confirmed as hottest month on record Yesterday saw more thunderstorms in north of Scotland after landslides and travel disruption with part of the Oban railway line swept away. Flash flood kills 12 people at scenic gorge in China Heat wave claims more lives in Japan whilst today Typhoon Francisco pelts Kyushu, leaves some injured and disrupts transportation Several dead, missing as Tropical Storm Wipha slams into Vietnam Hundreds stuck in India's financial capital Mumbai as heavy rain disrupts Mumbai rail service Australia unprepared for more frequent heatwaves, health and emergency authorities say Water loss offsets the cooling effect of aerosols in clouds Team cracks mystery of Dead Sea summer ‘snow’ Sea level rise began accelerating in the 1960s, researchers find - not the 90s as previously thought Perhaps no surprise at all to learn that hungry nations add the least to global CO2 - although they may still indirectly have a higher im

3rd August - Today's News: Why is the Arctic on Fire?

Arctic wildfires: How bad are they and what caused them? Several funnel clouds sighted over western Scotland Whaley Bridge dam: Storms expected as repairs continue  July's European heatwave made up to 3C hotter by warming Alberta's 'stormy summer' clocks record tornado and hail reports Alone in a wild ocean, New Zealand gets smashed by some of the world's biggest waves Drought-stricken NSW braces for an early bushfire season with not enough water to take them on Painted lady butterflies emerge in once-a-decade phenomenon - not appearing in weather radar as yet though Brazil deforestation row: Space research head Galvão out - if you don't tell lies, you lose your job .... And how the Milky Way galaxy is warped and twisted, not flat

2nd August - Today's News: July 2019 Provisionally Warmest on Record

Preliminary data from C3S suggests that July 'marginally' warmest month on record ; although there is an El Nino at the moment, it's not as strong as recent ones. Meanwhile, as it's walloped by heat wave, Greenland sees massive ice melt Whaley Bridge dam collapse: Evacuation over Toddbrook Reservoir fears in Derbyshire after recent heavy rain caused damage to the dam wall.   The RAF are now helping with repairs.   And the National Trust's Lyme Park suffers 'major damage' in floods as well. Russia to investigate if arson caused huge Siberian bushfires, as smoke reaches Alaska, Canada And it looks like the A'Mhoine project will now go ahead as crofters agree to lease land for Sutherland spaceport

1st August - Today's News: Flash Floods Cause Devastation in Yorkshire Dales

Tuesday saw some very heavy rain in many parts of Britain - with 22.2mm in Evesham it was the wettest day here for 3 years.  But not as bad as further north where in the Yorkshire Dales flash flooding: Roads shut and bridge collapses with pictures of devastation in the Dales and the aftermath of the Swaledale floods on photographer Guy Carpenter's website.   And yesterday there was more North West flooding: People rescued as homes and roads flood Meanwhile, the Met Office confirms record temperature in Cambridg e of 38.7c last Thursday And the latest Met Office State of the Climate reports shows that the UK's 10 warmest years all occurred since 2002 Russian army ordered to tackle massive wildfires in Siberia where there's massive wildlife tragedy as bears and foxes flee taiga, while smaller animals suffocate in smoke .  But other parts of the region have seen heavy rain, so there's a mix of fire and flood apocalypse with wildfires ragin