A layer of dense smoke spread through much of Alberta during the week of 14 May 2023, caused by forest fires. The smoke that enveloped Calgary briefly gave the city one of the worst air-quality ratings in the world, as the fires to the north and west led to the evacuation of roughly 29,000 people across the province. Photo: Jen Osborne / The New York Times

Alberta is on fire, but discussing climate change is taboo during 2023 election – “It’s very tough to talk about oil and gas in Alberta because it’s sort of the goose that lays the golden egg”

By Ian Austen 20 May 2023 (The New York Times) – When I arrived in Alberta recently to report an upcoming political story, there was no shortage of people wanting to talk about politics and the provincial election on May 29. But, even as wildfires flared earlier than usual and raged across an unusually wide […]

During the last week of April 2023, temperatures in parts of Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Algeria were up to 20°C higher than normal for the time of year. Graphic: Met Office

Western Mediterranean heatwave rare even for today’s warmed world – Extreme April 2023 heat in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Algeria almost impossible without climate change

7 May 2023 (Climate Centre) – A rapid study of last month’s extraordinary heatwave in the western Mediterranean by World Weather Attribution scientists says that while Europe and North Africa have experienced more extreme heat in recent years, the April heatwave was “so extreme that it is also a rare event in today’s warmer climate”. During the […]

These two images show shrinking water reservoirs in the Catalonia region of Spain on 21 Mar 2021 and 12 Apr 2023. Photo: Allison Nussbaum / NASA

Spain records hottest and driest April on record – “This is the worst period that we have had for the last 100 years”

MADRID, 8 May 2023 (AP) – Drought-stricken Spain says last month was the hottest and driest April since records began in 1961. The State Meteorological Agency, known by the Spanish acronym AEMET, said Monday the average daily temperature in April was 14.9 degrees Celsius (58.8 Fahrenheit), that is 3 degrees Celsius above the average. AEMET […]

A smoke column rises from wildfire EWF031 near Lodgepole, Alberta, Canada 4 May 2023. Photo: Alberta Wildfire / REUTERS

Thousands forced to evacuate as wildfires ravage western Canada

By Nia Williams 5 May 2023 (Reuters) – A week of record hot weather in western Canada has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, as wildfires rage in parts of Alberta and rapid snow melt triggers flooding across interior British Columbia. By Friday, more than 13,000 people were under evacuation orders in Alberta, […]

Global annual mean temperature anomalies with respect to pre-industrial conditions (1850-1900) for six global temperature data sets (1850-2022). Graphic: WMO

WMO annual report highlights continuous advance of climate change – “While greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the climate continues to change, populations worldwide continue to be gravely impacted by extreme weather and climate events”

Geneva, 21 April 2023 (WMO) – From mountain peaks to ocean depths, climate change continued its advance in 2022, according to the annual report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Droughts, floods, and heatwaves affected communities on every continent and cost many billions of dollars. Antarctic sea ice fell to its lowest extent on record […]

Rough rice prices from the Chicago Board of Trade, 19 April 2018 - 19 April 2023. Graphic: CNBC

Global rice shortage in 2023 is set to be the biggest in 20 years – “At the global level, the most evident impact of the global rice deficit has been, and still is, decade-high rice prices”

By Lee Ying Shan 18 April 2023 (CNBC) – From China to the U.S. to the European Union, rice production is falling and driving up prices for more than 3.5 billion people across the globe, particularly in Asia-Pacific – which consumes 90% of the world’s rice. The global rice market is set to log its largest […]

The European model shows temperatures across Southeast Asia rising well above normal on Monday, 17 April 2023. Numerous heat records were broken across Southeast Asia, China and other parts of the continent in mid-April, with Thailand in particular experiencing unusually extreme conditions. Weather historian Maximiliano Herrera described it as the “worst April heat wave in Asian history.” Graphic: WeatherBell.com

Historic Asia heat breaks hundreds of records, with extremes in Thailand and China – Thailand recorded its all-time hottest temperature – “Worst April heat wave in Asian history”

By Dan Stillman 17 April 2023 (The Washington Post) – Numerous heat records have been broken across Southeast Asia, China and other parts of the continent in recent days as the region remains in the grip of a dangerously scorching heat wave, with Thailand in particular experiencing unusually extreme conditions. Weather historian Maximiliano Herrera is describing […]

Map showing the physical imprint and consequences of extreme summer heat across the Pacific Northwest in 2021. The June-August (JJA) 2021 seasonally averaged temperature anomalies (t2m) over North America calculated from the 1951-1980 mean of ERA5 Reanalysis, with the Pacific Northwest region (PNW; 42–53 °N, 124–115 °W, dark blue box) highlighted. The year 2021 (dashed black line) is shown relative to the distribution (black line) and probability density (red line) curves of JJA t2m values over the period 1950–2021 for the PNW region. White exes indicate the locations of all tree-ring chronology predictors used in the subsequent JJA t2m reconstruction. Graphic: Heeter, et al., 2023 / npj Climate and Atmospheric Science

The summer of 2021 was the Pacific Northwest’s hottest in a millennium – “The tree scorch was shocking. The average summer temperatures were extraordinarily away from the norm.”

By Sid Perkins 14 April 2023 (Science News) – A two-week-long heat wave in the Pacific Northwest in 2021 helped make that summer a record breaker for the region (SN: 7/7/21). Now, tree ring data from the area’s forests reveal that the summer of 2021 was also the region’s hottest of the last millennium. The average temperature […]

World map showing sea surface temperatures as of 14 April 2023, with warm colors indicating higher temperatures. Ocean surface temperatures hit an all-time high in April 2023, breaking every record since satellite measurements began in the 1980s. Graphic: ClimateReanalyzer.org

The surface of the ocean is now so hot it’s broken every record since satellite measurements began

By Stephanie Pappas 14 April 2023 (Live Science) – Ocean surface temperatures have hit an all-time high this month, breaking every record since satellite measurements began in the 1980s. Temperatures reached a global average of 69.98 Fahrenheit (21.1 degrees Celsius) in the first days of April. The previous record of 69.9 F (21 degrees C) […]

Map showing natural catastrophe loss events in 2022. Natural catastrophes caused overall losses of US$270 billion worldwide. Data: Munich Re, NatCatSERVICE, 2023. Graphic: Munich Re

Munich Re: Climate change and La Niña driving losses – “Climate change is taking an increasing toll. The natural disaster figures for 2022 are dominated by events that, according to the latest research findings, are more intense or are occurring more frequently.”

10 January 2023 (Munich Re) – With overall losses of around US$ 270bn (previous year US$ 320bn) and insured losses of roughly US$ 120bn (previous year US$ 120bn), 2022 joins the recent run of years with high losses. Overall losses were close to the average for the last five years, while insured losses were significantly […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial