Landsat 8 images from 21 July 2018 (left) and 16 September 2018 (right) illustrating the Taku Glacier transient snowline. The 21 July 2018 snowline is at 975 m and the 16 September 2018 snowline is at 1400 m. Average end-of-summer snowline is 975 m; the 2018 end-of-summer snowline was the highest observed in the 73-year record. Graphic: AMS

State of the Climate in 2018: 2018 was the fourth-hottest year on record, behind 2016, 2015, and 2017

12 August 2019 (NCEI) – A new State of the Climate report [pdf] confirmed that 2018 was the fourth warmest year in records dating to the mid-1800s. Last year was the fourth warmest year on record despite La Niña conditions early in the year and the lack of a short-term warming El Niño influence until […]

Flames consume a tree as wildfires rage in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, 1 August 2019 Photo: The Siberian Times

Massive wildlife tragedy in Siberia as bears and foxes flee taiga, while smaller animals suffocate in smoke – “The climatic situation will deteriorate in Siberia”

By Svetlana Skarbo 1 August 2019 (The Siberian Times) – Predators seek food in villages all around Siberia as climate expert warns of worse fires each year due to soaring rise in temperatures, 10°C above average. Wild animals are turning to humans as they escape gas-chamber-like woods, with wildfires continuing to rage across almost 3 […]

Graphs from the “Climate Change and Land 2019” report by the IPCC, showing changes relative to 1961 of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, world agricultural production, food demand, and desertification and land degradation. Graphic: IPCC

World food security increasingly at risk due to “unprecedented” climate change impact, new UN report warns

8 August 2019 (UN News) – More than 500 million people today live in areas affected by erosion linked to climate change, the UN warned on Thursday, before urging all countries to commit to sustainable land use to help limit greenhouse gas emissions before it is too late. Speaking at the launch of a Special […]

Satellite view showing more than 5 million km² of Siberia covered by smoke from wildfires, 11 August 2019. For comparison, the area of EU is about 4.5 million km², and the area of contiguous U.S. about 8.1 million km². Satellite image: MODIS / Terra. Graphic: Antti Lipponen

Image of the Day: Satellite view of 5 million km² of Siberia covered by smoke from wildfires, 11 August 2019

11 August 2019 (Twitter) – This satellite view shows more than 5 million km² of Siberia covered by smoke from wildfires on 11 August 2019. For comparison, the area of the EU is about 4.5 million km², and the area of contiguous U.S. about 8.1 million km². Satellite image: MODIS / Terra. Graphic: Antti Lipponen […]

This 25 January 2019 photo shows water tanks containing contaminated water that has been treated at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan. The utility company operating Fukushima's tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant said Friday, 9 August 2019 it will run out of space for tanks to store massive amounts of treated but still contaminated water in three years, adding pressure for the government and the public to reach consensus on what to do with the water. Photo: Kyodo News / AP

Fukushima nuclear plant will soon run out of space for radioactive water – 1.37 million ton limit will be reached in the summer of 2022

By Mari Yamaguchi 8 August 2019 TOKYO (AP) – The utility company operating Fukushima’s tsunami-devastated nuclear power plant said Friday it will run out of space to store massive amounts of contaminated water in three years, adding pressure on the government and the public to reach a consensus on what to do with it. Three […]

Animation showing the concentration of black carbon particulates — commonly called soot — around the Arctic from 1 July 2019 to 29 July 2019. Graphic: Lauren Dauphin / NASA Earth Observatory

Arctic fires fill Northern Hemisphere skies with soot

By Kasha Patel 1 August 2019 (NASA) – In June and July 2019, more than 100 long-lived and intense wildfires blazed within the Arctic Circle. Most of them burned in Alaska and Siberia, though a few raged even in Greenland. As these fires lofted thick plumes of smoke into the skies, they also launched megatons of tiny, harmful particles into the […]

Photo showing black skies over the sub-Arctic Verkhoyansk district in the north of Yakutia, Russia, 9 August 2019. The darkness is caused by unusually think cloud formation driven by carbon monoxide from the enormous forest fires in the south of Yakutia. Photo: The Siberian Times

Black skies over Siberia: Sun disappears behind thick clouds in bizarre repeat of 2018 blackout – Giant sub-Arctic wildfires spewing enormous amounts of carbon monoxide

9 August 2019 (The Siberian Times) – Residents of sub-Arctic Verkhoyansk district of Yakutia woke up in complete darkness. There was no trace of light until after 8am local time over the Verkhoyansk district in the north of Yakutia. Almost exactly a year ago – in July 2018 – there was another pitch black morning […]

Super yacht the “Rising Sun” at the harbor of Santa Margherita Ligure, 24 June 2016. The “Rising Sun” is owned by billionaire and film producer David Geffen, filmed by a drone. The yacht is the 10th largest in the world. Photo: Fly View

A-listers flock to Google summit in private jets, mega yachts to talk climate change – Greta Thunberg will travel to UN summit by sail

By Emily Smith and Ebony Bowden 30 July 2019 (NY Post) – The world’s rich and famous have flocked to a posh Italian resort to talk about saving Mother Earth — but they sure are punishing her in the process. The billionaire creators of Google have invited a who’s who of A-list names— including former […]

Breakup of sea ice on the north coast of Greenland, 14-29 July 2019. Photo: Nick Humphrey / NASA Worldview

Siberia forest fires spark potential “disaster” for Arctic – 12 million hectares have burned in Russia this year – “The most important event on the planet right now? Arctic climate chaos.”

30 July 2019 (AFP) – Gigantic forest fires have regularly raged through the vast expanses of Russia’s Siberia, but the magnitude of this year’s blazes has reached an exceptional level with fears of a long-term impact on the environment. As fires sweep across millions of hectares enveloping entire cities in black smoke and noxious fumes, […]

A woman in Kirensk, near Irkutsk, Russia, wears a mask against pollution from nearby wildfires, 29 July 2019. Photo: The Siberian Times

Wildfires and floods rage through Siberia – 3 million hectares burning in Siberia and Russian Far East – Russia declares state of emergency – “Our children are suffocating”

29 July 2019 (The Siberian Times) – A series of natural disasters are hitting Siberia, with the latest a dire threat from severe flooding to Baikal – the oldest and deepest lake in the worth, containing 20% of the planet’s unfrozen freshwater. The alert concerns flooding in Baikalsk – where evacuation has begun – and […]

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