A year’s worth of rain – 640mm – fell in just three days.Continue readingDeath toll rises and thousands flee homes as floods hit China
Category: The Anthropocene
The Siberian Times reported the first fire in the beginning of May outside Oymyakon in north-east Yakutia, which is known as “the pole of cold” for its record low temperatures. “Little…Continue reading‘Airpocalypse’ hits Siberian city as heatwave sparks forest fires
“We saw damage almost everywhere, from the Bahamas to the Great Barrier Reef.“ Corals can become stressed when temperatures around them rise just 1˚C (1.8˚F) above their tolerance level.…Continue readingWorld’s coral scientists warn action is needed now to save even a few reefs from climate change
Carbon emissions are set to hit an all-time high by 2023 as just two percent of pandemic recovery finance is being spent on clean energy. “Not only is clean energy…Continue readingCovid recovery to drive all-time emissions high: IEA
This backing for coal, oil and gas is “reckless” in the face of the escalating climate emergency, according to the report’s authors, and urgent action is needed to phase out…Continue reading‘Reckless’: G20 states subsidised fossil fuels by $3tn since 2015, says report
The world is facing unprecedented levels of drought.Continue readingThe current drought is worldwide. Here’s how different places are fighting it.
The intensity and scale of the floods in Germany this week have shocked climate scientists, who did not expect records to be broken this much, over such a wide…Continue readingClimate scientists shocked by scale of floods in Germany
“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…Continue readingAmazon rainforest now emitting more CO₂ than it absorbs
918,000 acres were burned by 67 large fires across the Western United States. So far this year, 2 million acres has been burned by 34,000 fires. In Canada, fires have…Continue readingThe Bootleg Fire in Oregon is among more than 60 wildfires in the U.S.
In Siberia, 2 million acres of forest has been destroyed. The city of Yakutsk hit 35˚C at one point; and the region’s city of Verkhoyansk, seen as one of the coldest…Continue readingSiberia wildfires: Russian army planes and thousands of firefighters battle blazes
The intensity of the fires in California and Oregon is “not something you used to see” so early in the season.Continue readingAmerican west stuck in cycle of ‘heat, drought and fire’
“Every indication is they have no plans of actually fulfilling their campaign promise”.Continue readingUS drilling approvals increase despite Biden climate pledge
The figures are based on projections of a population growth of about 4.5 billion over the same period, and a temperature rise of about 3.7˚C by 2100.Continue readingClimate crisis ‘may put 8 billion at risk of malaria and dengue’ by 2080
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…Continue readingNew York City warned ‘climate change is here’ as storm floods streets and subway
“Ecosystems are going to change in ways that are really difficult to predict. We don’t know where the tipping points are.”Continue reading‘Heat dome’ probably killed 1 billion marine animals on Canada coast
The French government said that it would drop its plans to enshrine the fight against climate change in the Constitution, effectively giving up on what was seen as a major step…Continue readingFrance Drops Plans to Enshrine Climate Fight in Constitution
“Egypt, which depends on the Nile for about 97% of its irrigation and drinking water, sees the dam as an existential threat.”Continue readingEthiopia begins second stage of filling mega-dam, angering Egypt
Kelp are essentially the ocean’s equivalent of trees, capturing up to 20 times more carbon per acre than land forests. They also provide a vital habitat for a broad range of…Continue readingThe scientists fighting to save the ocean’s most important carbon capture system
Five of the world’s leading reef and climate scientists have thanked Unesco for recommending the Great Barrier Reef be listed as world heritage “in danger”, saying it was the right decision…Continue readingGreat Barrier Reef: leading scientists praise Unesco’s ‘in danger’ warning
“Arctic warming is remarkably about 2°C (3.6˚F) in just this short period of time (15 years).”Continue readingJune 2021 Global Temperature Update
Total mean annual forest loss in Southeast Asia was 3.2 million hectares per year during 2001–2019, with 31% occurring on the mountains, and is accelerating.Continue readingUpward expansion and acceleration of forest clearance in the mountains of Southeast Asia
A 2017 study in Germany was one of the first to raise global alarm about the loss of insects. It found that the biomass of flying insects across German…Continue readingGerman climate, insect protection laws cross finish line
Chair of CCAG, Sir David King said: “I believe we have five years left to get on top of this global problem. We began talking seriously about climate change in 1992,…Continue readingReducing carbon emissions not enough, expert warns
Species extinction, more widespread disease, unliveable heat, ecosystem collapse, cities menaced by rising seas—these and other devastating climate impacts are accelerating and bound to become painfully obvious before a…Continue readingCrushing climate impacts to hit sooner than feared: draft UN report
“I cannot say that there was really any breakthrough in the consultations that took place here” said United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa.Continue readingNo breakthrough during ‘exhausting’ online climate talks
“We humans, we have to listen to the laws of nature and face up to the reality that we’re causing our own misery.”Continue readingOceanographer Sylvia Earle on the need for sea conservation
“We will supply energy to the world as long as the demand exists.”Continue readingNorway plans to continue oil exploration and drilling in coming decades
“Ice loss here could be catastrophic and irreversible on centennial time scales.”Continue readingThis melting glacier was already the biggest source of sea level rise. Then things got worse.
85 to 94% loss by 2050 of Great Ape’s habitat, mainly due to resource extraction for mobile phones, timber and palm oil. “What is predicted is really bad”Continue readingGreat apes predicted to lose 90% of homelands in Africa
“Carbon dioxide going up in a few decades like that is extremely unusual”. “For example, when the Earth climbed out of the last ice age, carbon dioxide increased by…Continue readingCarbon dioxide levels hit 50% higher than preindustrial time
“In the past, we may have had one fire in the summer that was notable. Now 50% of our fires are notable—and what I mean by notable is something that…Continue readingDrought-hit ‘tinderbox’ California braces for fires in months ahead
“If we allow fossil fuel burning to continue to grow, our grandchildren may experience CO₂ levels that haven’t been seen on Earth for around 50 million years, a time when crocodiles roamed the…Continue readingEarth’s history sends climate warning
“Nothing looks good.”Continue readingPreparing for summer wildfire season
“There is no longer any realistic chance for an orderly transition.”Continue readingPrepare for DISORDERLY shift to low-carbon era
“While 63% of reefs are projected to continue to accrete by 2100 under the low-impact pathway, 94% will be eroding by 2050 under the worse-case scenario,” Dr Cornwall said. “And no…Continue readingTime running out to save coral reefs
The nightmare scenario: Year 2100, global waming exceeds 4˚C:→ Massive frequent wildfires→ Dead coral reefs→ Frequent prolonged droughts→ Increased air pollution→ Ice-free Arctic summers→ Rapid sea level rise→ Abandoned small…Continue readingClimate change: how bad could the future be if we do nothing?
Populations of migratory freshwater fish have plummeted by 76% since 1970, and large fish – those weighing more than 30kg – have been all but wiped out in most…Continue readingGlobal freshwater fish populations at risk of extinction
“We found the number of small, medium and large corals on the Great Barrier Reef has declined by more than 50% since the 1990s,” said co-author Professor Terry Hughes,…Continue readingThe Great Barrier Reef has lost over half its corals