Sunday 23 April 2017

Abrupt climate change - 04/22/2017

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For India, the hot-season-like temperatures began in late February — two months earlier than usual. After a brief respite, they fired again in March, bringing April-like temperatures a month too soon. The hot season for this region typically begins in mid-April and extends through mid-June. In 2017, hot-season conditions sparked in late February. Today, life-threatening temperatures of between 100 and 115 F blanket much of this vast, densely populated land.

The early onset of heat comes after years of expanding drought, warming temperatures, melting glaciers and drying rivers, bringing with it a deepening hardship. Farmers across the country report a sense of deepening desperation as cries for help in the form of nationwide protests break out. Meanwhile, those working outdoors increasingly suffer from heat- and dehydration-related kidney failure. This year, conditions that threaten heat injury and loss of life have spurred schools across the country to close early.



Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide hit record concentrations.

Some records aren’t meant to be broken — but when it comes to climate change, humans still haven’t gotten the memo.

Last fall, the Earth passed a major climate milestone when measurements taken at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory showed that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide had passed — potentially permanently — 400 parts per million.

This week, measurements taken from the same observatory show that yet another marker has been passed: Carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere, for the first time in modern record-keeping, has surpassed 410 parts per million.



The newest aerial surveys covered over 8,000 kilometers (5,000) miles, which includes 800 individual coral reefs.

According to the surveys, 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) of the Great Barrier Reef is now bleached. These new statistics come less than a year after 93 percent of the reef suffered severe damage, with reports adding that the effects have also spread further south.

Combined with the mass bleaching event, the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Debbie added to the devastation, as it struck a section of the reef that managed to escape the worst of the bleaching.





Nine homes were destroyed and mandatory evacuations of approximately 7,000 homes were in place Friday afternoon due to an ongoing brush fire.
Nearly 5,000 acres were scorched near Everglades Boulevard and 30th Avenue SE.

That fire, which sparked Thursday afternoon was 10 percent contained as of Friday afternoon. Greater Naples Fire Chief Kingman Schuldt described the area as "a war zone."

A second brush fire, which also started Thursday, burned approximately 350 acres near Frangipani Avenue before it was fully contained Friday afternoon, fire officials said.





Many regions are burning while in the west the problem is snow melt water in the Ob, the world's 7th longest river.

Rising temperatures and strong winds are fuelling an increase in wildfires, as highlighted in these dramatic pictures.

Worst-hit regions in the coming days are expected to be TransBaikal, Kemerovo region and Omsk along with the Republic of Buryatia.

Space monitoring spotted 23 'hot spots' across 6,800 hectares.

Many were sparked by the illegal burning of hay, an annual problem.


But peat fires in Buryatia are posing a serious threat, says Greenpeace, which claims the authorities are turning a blind eye.

Alexey Yaroshenko, head of the forestry department at the campaigning group, said: 'Large wildfires in drained peat bogs are active again in the Kabansky district of Buryatia.

'The largest wildfire covers, according to preliminary information, about 500 hectares in a peat bog close to Bolshaya Rechka village.

'Smaller wildfires have been registered by systems of remote monitoring, also in the delta of Selenga River as well as on drained peat bogs close to Seleginsk.'

With no rain due, and a hot summer in prospect, this will lead to worsening fires and 'create a life and health threat to people' and pose problems for transport.

In Irkutsk, fires are being blamed on setting fire to dry grass and last year's garbage, after which the blazes become out of control.

TransBaikal had five wildfires on Friday morning, and there were four in Khabarovsk....


RT makes light of colder conditions


‘April, you are so winter’: Blizzards won’t let up in Russia, E. Europe (PHOTOS)


Roads, houses, and even flowers covered in thick snow – though it’s mid-April, winter won’t loosen its grip on Russia and Eastern Europe, as abundant photos on social media clearly illustrate.



Arlene formed on April 20 as Tropical Depression 1 and strengthened into a tropical storm at 5 p.m. EST that day.

On April 20 NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Depression One as it was strengthening into a tropical storm.
The image showed a large area of thunderstorms over the southwestern and northeastern quadrants of the storm.

NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Arlene on April 21. Thunderstorms wrapped tightly around the center of circulation and a large band of storms circled west of center.

Located to the west of Arlene were clouds associated with another frontal system.
Arlene was moving toward the west near 31 mph (50 kph) and this general motion is expected to continue today.

Maximum sustained winds were near 50 mph (85 kph) with higher gusts.




On April 19, 2017 the Governor of Louisiana declared a State of Emergency for the Louisiana coastline. The hope is that this declaration will bring nationwide attention to the desperate need for restoration and protection. The leadership in Louisiana is hoping that the President and Congress will declare the eroding coastline a national emergency and force Federal agencies to act quickly to help preserve the coast. Louisiana currently has over one hundred restoration and protection projects in the works but progress is slow because of federal regulations, environmental review, and permitting.


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