Aerial view of Lake Powell in Page, Arizona on 5 April 2022, showing water levels at a historic low. Photo: RJ Sangosti / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post / Getty Images

A shrinking Lake Powell heralds an even worse water crisis in the Southwest’s future – “These trends are on a tragic collision course, underscoring the urgency once again of concerted action on climate”

By Matthew Rozsa 29 August 2022 (Salon) – As climate change worsens, Americans who live in the Southwest will be hit very, very hard: experts predict that large cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas are going to be uninhabitable within decades, as will the surrounding metropolitan areas in their home states of Arizona and Nevada. Those regions […]

Data captured by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus satellite on 30 August 2022 was used to map the extent of flooding currently devastating Pakistan. Photo: ESA

Satellite images show one third of Pakistan underwater – “This is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan. In 22 years of my experience as a humanitarian aid worker, I never saw such destruction caused by floods.”

By Lizzy Davies 1 September 2022 (The Guardian) – Aid workers have appealed for urgent donations to fight the “absolutely devastating” impact of flooding in Pakistan, as new satellite images appeared to confirm that a third of the country is now underwater. As the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched an appeal to raise funds for the 33 million […]

U.S. life expectancy at birth, 1900-2021. Data: CDC. Graphic: Datawrapper

U.S. life expectancy plunged again in 2021, down nearly a year – Last comparable decrease was during height of World War II – “It’s a dismal situation. It was bad before and it’s gotten worse.”

By Mike Stobbe 30 August 2022 NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. life expectancy dropped for the second consecutive year in 2021, falling by nearly a year from 2020, according to a government report being released Wednesday [Provisional Life Expectancy Estimates for 2021 –Des]. In the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated American […]

(a) Annual mean temperature anomalies in the Arctic (66.5∘–90∘N) (dark colours) and globally (light colours) during 1950–2021 derived from the various observational datasets. Temperature anomalies have been calculated relative to the standard 30-year period of 1981–2010. Shown are also the linear temperature trends for 1979–2021. (b) Annual mean temperature trends for the period 1979–2021, derived from the average of the observational datasets. Areas without a statistically significant change are masked out. (c) Local amplification ratio calculated for the period 1979–2021, derived from the average of the observational datasets. The dashed line in (b) and (c) depicts the Arctic Circle (66.5∘N latitude). Graphic: Rantanen, et al., 2022 / Communications Earth and Environment

Arctic warming four times faster than rest of Earth – “Something is happening in the Arctic, and it will affect us all”

PARIS, 11 August 2022 (AFP) – The Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the rest of the planet over the last 40 years, according to research published Thursday that suggests climate models are underestimating the rate of polar heating. The United Nations’ climate science panel said in a special report in 2019 that […]

Firefighters embrace as they work to contain a fire in Saint-Magne, as wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region of southwestern France, 11 August 2022. Stephane Mahe / REUTERS

Drought in England, fires rage in France as heatwave persists

By Stephane Mahe and Manuel Ausloos 13 August 2022 SAINT-MAGNE, France (Reuters) – Firefighters from across Europe came to France’s rescue on Friday to battle a massive wildfire, while fire also raged in Portugal and parts of England faced a severe drought, as successive heatwaves renewed the focus on climate change risks. Much of Europe […]

People spend time at the park at dusk during a summer heat wave, 21 July 2022, in Hoboken, N.J. The continental United States in July 2022 set a record for overnight warmth, providing little relief from the day’s sizzling heat for people, animals, plants and the electric grid, meteorologists said. Photo: Andres Kudacki / AP Photo

U.S. in July 2022 sets new record for overnight warmth

By Seth Borenstein 13 August 2022 (AP) – Talk about hot nights, America got some for the history books last month. The continental United States in July set a record for overnight warmth, providing little relief from the day’s sizzling heat for people, animals, plants, and the electric grid, meteorologists said. The average low temperature for the […]

In August 2022, Colliford Lake near Bodmin, Cornwall, England had dried up. Water levels at Cornwall’s largest reservoir on Bodmin Moor were only 40 percent full. Photo: Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Drought in England could carry on into new year, experts warn – “If this weather persists, we will need a winter far wetter than average to recover”

By Helena Horton and Fiona Harvey 14 August 2022 (The Guardian) – South-east England could be tipped into severe and devastating drought without above-average rainfall this winter, while current water use restrictions in London and surrounding areas are expected to last until the new year even if rainfall returns, ministers have been told. Severe drought […]

A rare earth mine near the Chinese border owned by a company that has no permits. On paper, Sin Kyaing Company is owned by a local militia leader named Lagwi Bawm Lang. But like other Burmese companies in the rare earth mining industry, it is really a front for illegal investment by Chinese businesspeople. Photo: Global Witness

New evidence shows massive and rapid expansion of illicit rare earths industry in Myanmar – “China has effectively offshored this toxic industry to Myanmar over the past few years, with terrible consequences for local communities and the environment”

9 August 2022 (Global Witness) – Myanmar has seen a rapid expansion of illegal mining of heavy rare earth minerals, used in green energy technologies, smartphones and home electronics, with the industry fuelling human rights abuses, environmental destruction and funding local militias linked to the brutal military regime, our new investigation reveals today. Our report shows that […]

The almost dry bed of the Po river at Castel San Giovanni, near Piacenza, in June 2022. Photo: Pierpaolo Ferreri / EPA

Europe’s rivers run dry as scientists warn drought could be worst in 500 years – “There were no other events in the past 500 years similar to the drought of 2018. But this year, I think, is worse.”

By Jon Henley 13 August 2022 (The Guardian) – In places, the Loire can now be crossed on foot; France’s longest river has never flowed so slowly. The Rhine is fast becoming impassable to barge traffic. In Italy, the Po is 2 metres lower than normal, crippling crops. Serbia is dredging the Danube. Across Europe, […]

Departure of temperature from average for July 2022, the sixth-warmest July for the globe since record-keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA. Record-warmest areas included parts of southern Europe and northern Africa, southern and eastern Asia, Brazil, Oceania, and southern Texas/northern Mexico. No large areas experienced record cold. Graphic: NOAA/NCEI

July 2022: Earth’s 6th warmest July on record

By Jeff Masters and Bob Henson 12 August 2022 (Yale Climate Connections) – July 2022 was Earth’s sixth warmest July on record since global record-keeping began in 1880, 0.87 degrees Celsius (1.57°F) above the 20th-century average, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, NCEI, reported on August 12. NASA rated the month as tied for the third warmest […]

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