Greater Sydney dam levels on 17 November 2019. Dams in greater Sydney are currently at 46.6 percent capacity. According to the NSW water authority, they are on track to hit 40 percent, which means Level 2 water restrictions would be imposed by February 2020 or March 2020. Since June 2019, the greater Sydney area in New South Wales state has been under Level 1 water restrictions, which limit water usage in filling pools or running hoses unattended. It is the first time the restrictions have been implemented since 2003, during a drought that lasted until 2009. If dam levels drop just a few percentage points in greater Sydney, residents could face even harsher water restrictions. Graphic: WaterNSW

As deadly Australia bushfires rage, Sydney may be running out water

By Jessie Yeung 15 November 2019 (CNN) – Australia is reeling from deadly bushfires and the worst drought in decades — but fears are now growing that things could get worse, as a water shortage in the country’s biggest city begins to bite. Four people have died in this year’s blazes, which have been exacerbated […]

The home of Edward and Stella O’Neal is torn down due to damage caused by flooding during Hurricane Dorian in Ocracoke, North Carolina. Photo: Daniel Pullen / The Washington Post

Amid flooding and rising sea levels, residents of one barrier island wonder if it’s time to retreat – “Is this really sustainable? The answer is pretty clearly no.”

By Frances Stead Sellers 9 November 2019 OCRACOKE, North Carolina (The Washington Post) – On any normal late-fall day, the ferries that ply the 30 miles between Swan Quarter and this barrier island might carry vacationing retirees, sports fishermen and residents enjoying mainland getaways after the busy summer tourist season. But two months ago, Hurricane […]

Former HSBC employees protest about unfair cuts, or “clawbacks”, to their pensions outside of the HSBC annual general meeting at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, England, 13 April 2019. Photo: The Telegraph

“Their house is on fire”: the pension crisis sweeping the world – “We just have to explain to millennials that their parents might have to move back in with them”

By Josephine Cumbo and Robin Wigglesworth 16 November 2019 LONDON/OSLO (Financial Times) – Jan-Pieter Jansen, a 77-year-old retiree from the Netherlands, had high hopes for a worry-free retirement after having saved diligently into a pension during his working life. But Mr Jansen, a former manager in the metal industry, has been forced to reappraise his […]

Aerial view of smoke from bushfires blanketing mountain ranges, as seen during a commercial flight over northern New South Wales, 16 November 2019. Photo: Tracy Nearmy / Reuters

Devastating bushfire conditions to worsen in Australia – “Until we get significant rainfall, the fires will not go out”

By Lidia Kelly 17 November 2019 MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rising temperatures, lightning strikes and erratic winds are set to fan wildfires in Australia in the week ahead, officials said on Sunday, with emergency crews already working day and night to contain more than 130 blazes. The state of New South Wales, where 367 homes have […]

Photo of an oxygen bar in Delhi, India on 15 November 2019. A 15-minute session costs $7.00. Photo: Reuters

More than half of India coal-fired power plants set to miss pollution deadline – Less than 2 percent currently in compliance

By Sudarshan Varadhan 15 November 2019 NEW DELHI (Reuters) – More than half of India’s coal-fired power plants ordered to retrofit equipment to curb air pollution are set to miss the deadline, private industry estimates and a Reuters analysis show, as millions in the country wake up to toxic air each day. Thermal power companies, […]

The council chamber in Ferro Fini Palace in Venice, which is located on Venice’s Grand Canal, was flooded for the first time in its history on Tuesday night, 12 November 2019 – just after the Veneto regional council rejected measures to combat climate change. Photo: Andrea Zanoni

Italian council is flooded immediately after rejecting measures on climate change

By Gianluca Mezzofiore 15 November 2019 (CNN) – Veneto regional council, which is located on Venice’s Grand Canal, was flooded for the first time in its history on Tuesday night — just after it rejected measures to combat climate change. The historic Italian city has been brought to its knees this week by the worst […]

Wild cows lounge on North Carolina’s Cedar Island in May 2019. On 6 September 2019, Hurricane Dorian blasted the island with Category 1 force winds and rain, creating what locals described as a “mini tsunami”. The low-lying marshlands were soon inundated with an estimated eight feet of water, and the cows were swept out to sea by the storm surge. They got lucky when they washed up at Cape Lookout National Seashore. Photo: Paula O'Malley Photography

Three cows swept away by Hurricane Dorian found on island miles from shore – “Who knows exactly, but the cows certainly have a gripping story to share”

By Antonia Noori Farzan 14 November 2019 (The Washington Post) – The only way to get to Cape Lookout National Seashore, a 56-mile chain of undeveloped barrier islands in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is by boat. It’s not uncommon for visitors to spot bottlenose dolphins, or even the occasional seal. But last month, park officials […]

Smog blankets India’s capital Delhi, 14 November 2019. Photo: Arshad R. Zargar / CBS

Dangerous air pollution in India forces Delhi schools to close for 2nd time in 2 weeks – “I cannot play outside because the air is too toxic to breathe”

DELHI, 15 November 2019 (CBS News) – The air pollution in India’s capital got so bad again this week that the government was forced to close schools. It was the second time in two weeks. The air has been choked with a concentration of noxious pollutants about 10-times higher than what’s considered safe by the […]

Satellite view of smoke from wildfires in New South Wales, Australia, 6 November 2019 - 14 November 2019. Photo: NASA EISDIS Worldview

Another total fire ban in place for Sydney as death toll rises to four – “You haven’t had bushfires like these bushfires before”

By Helen Pitt, Lisa Visentin, Laura Chung, Jenny Noyes, and Sally Rawsthorne 14 November 2019 (The Sydney Morning Herald) – A total fire ban is in place in Sydney and seven areas across the state today, as the death toll from NSW bushfires has climbed to four and two men were charged over lighting fires […]

Projected (a) mean winter (Oct-April) soil temperature, (b) mean winter air temperature, (c) mean leaf area index (July-August), (d) annual gross primary productivity (GPP), (e) mean non-summer (NS; September - May) unfrozen soil moisture, (f) mean summer soil moisture (June-August), and (g) cumulative summer precipitation (June-August) for the northern permafrost region from 2018 through 2100 under RCP 4.5 (blue) and 8.5 (red) based on ESM ensemble outputs. Graphic: Natali, et al., 2019 / Nature Climate Change

Arctic shifts to a carbon source due to winter soil emissions – “The warmer it gets, the more carbon will be released into the atmosphere from the permafrost region, which will add to further warming”

By Samson Reiny 8 November 2019 (NASA) – A NASA-funded study suggests winter carbon emissions in the Arctic may be adding more carbon into the atmosphere each year than is taken up by Arctic vegetation, marking a stark reversal for a region that has captured and stored carbon for tens of thousands of years. The […]

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