Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI), 1700-2021. For 2021, the AGGI was a record high 1.49, representing an increase in total direct radiative forcing of 49 percent since 1990. The atmospheric abundance of CO2 has increased by an average of 1.88 ppm per year over the past 42 years (1979-2021). This increase in CO2 is accelerating — while it averaged about 1.6 ppm per year in the 1980s and 1.5 ppm per year in the 1990s, the growth rate increased to 2.4 ppm per year during the last decade (2011-2021). The annual CO2 increase from 1 January 2021 to 1 January 2022 was 2.60 ± 0.08 ppm. Graphic: Montzka, 2022 / NOAA

Greenhouse gas pollution trapped record 49 percent more heat in 2021 than in 1990 – Methane increase in 2021 largest since 1982 – “The primary gases responsible for climate change continue rising rapidly”

23 May 2022 (NOAA) – Greenhouse gas pollution caused by human activities trapped 49 percent more heat in the atmosphere in 2021 than they did in 1990, according to NOAA scientists. NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index, known as the AGGI, tracks increases in the warming influence of human emissions of heat-trapping gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, […]

Map showing land surface temperature across most of India, 29 April 2022. In Spring 2022, India faced a prolonged heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 42°C in numerous cities across the country. This came just weeks after India recorded its hottest March since the country’s meteorological department began its records over 120 years ago. This image, produced using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission, shows the land surface temperature across most of the nation. According to the India Meteorological Department, maximum air temperatures reached 43-46°C over most parts of Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh and East Uttar Pradesh; in many parts over Gujarat, interior Odisha; and in some parts of Madhya Maharashtra on 28 April 2022. Graphic: ESA

A hot, deadly summer is coming in 2022 with frequent blackouts – “We really expect these problems to get worse in the next five years”

By Dan Murtaugh, Rajesh Kumar Singh, and Naureen S. Malik 22 May 2022 (Bloomberg) – Global power grids are about to face their biggest test in decades with electricity generation strangled in the world’s largest economies. War, drought, shortages, historically low inventories, and a pandemic backlash: energy markets across the planet have been put through […]

Global map showing the highest marine heatwave (MHW) category experienced at each pixel in 2021 (reference period 1982–2011). Light grey indicates that no MHW occurred in a pixel over the entire year. (b) Stacked bar plot showing the percentage of the surface of the ocean experiencing an MHW on any given day of the year. (c) Stacked bar plot showing the cumulative percentage of the surface of the ocean that experienced an MHW over the year. Note: These values are based on when in the year a pixel first experienced its highest MHW category, so no pixel is counted twice. Horizontal lines in this figure show the final percentages for each category of MHW. (d) Stacked bar plot showing the cumulative number of MHW days averaged over the surface of the ocean. Note: This average is calculated by dividing the cumulative sum of MHW days per pixel weighted by the surface area of those pixels. Data: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (NOAA OISST). Graphic: Robert Schlegel

WMO: Four key climate change indicators broke records in 2021 – Past seven years have been the warmest seven years on record – “A dismal litany of humanity’s failure to tackle climate disruption”

GENEVA, 18 May 2022 (WMO) – Four key climate change indicators – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification – set new records in 2021. This is yet another clear sign that human activities are causing planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere, with harmful and […]

A worker rests on sacks of processed wheat at a wholesale grain market in New Delhi, India, 17 May 2022. Photo: Amarjeet Kumar Singh / ANADOLU AGENCY / GETTY

India hit with deadly flooding and heat waves at the same time – Wheat prices exceed record high – “This is a real climate emergency”

By Arshad R. Zargar 18 May 2022 NEW DELHI (CBS News) – While a huge swathe of India bakes under record-breaking heat, the vast country’s northeast is being devastated by floods. Heavy rains started lashing the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh last week, triggering floods and mudslides that have washed away houses, fields of […]

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrives at a resort hotel to meet with Elon Musk in Porto Feliz, Brazil, Friday, 20 May 2022. The Telsa and SpaceX chief executive officer tweeted that he was in Brazil to help bring Internet service to rural schools in the Amazon and to help monitor the Amazon environmentally. Photo: Andre Penner / AP Photo

Elon Musk visits Brazil’s Bolsonaro to discuss Amazon plans

By Diane Jeantet 20 May 2022 RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Tesla and SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk met with Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday to discuss connectivity and other projects in the Amazon rainforest. The meeting, held in a luxurious resort in Sao Paulo state, was organized by Communications Minister Fábio Faria, who has […]

A protester in Sri Lanka hurls a tear-gas canister back at the police officers who fired it, 19 May 2022. Photo: Atul Loke / The New York Times

Sri Lanka is the first domino to fall in the face of a global debt crisis – Will Bangladesh be next? – “I’m deeply concerned about developing countries”

By Larry Elliott 9 May 2022 (The Guardian) – The departure of Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, follows weeks of protest and a deepening crisis. There is no bankruptcy system for states but if there was then the south Asian country – down to its last $50m (£40m) of reserves – would be first in […]

Surface temperature map for Europe and North Africa on 20 May 2022. Morocco observed its hottest day in May on 20 May 2022, recording a temperature of 45.7°C (114°F). With some areas reaching a scorching 44ºC in Spain on 21 May 2022, this unprecedented heatwave could make May the hottest month of the century. Graphic: Scott Duncan

Spain endures record heatwave as May 2022 to become hottest month of the century – Morocco suffers hottest day in May on record

22 May 2022 (Euronews) – Spain is feeling the heat after temperatures soared this weekend, reaching up to 15 degrees above average for the season. With some areas reaching a scorching 44ºC on Saturday, this unprecedented heatwave could make May the hottest month of the century. At least 13 regions were on alert due to […]

A farmer pours water on himself while working at a wheat farm in the Ludhiana district of Punjab, India, on Sunday, 1 May 2022. Photo: T. Narayan / Bloomberg / Getty Images

India bans wheat exports as heat wave hurts crop and domestic prices soar – “The Indian ban will lift global wheat prices”

By Rajendra Jadhav, Mayank Bhardwaj, and Nigam Prusty 15 May 2022 MUMBAI (Reuters) – India banned wheat exports on Saturday days after saying it was targeting record shipments this year, as a scorching heat wave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high. The government said it would still allow exports backed by already […]

Protesters set a bus on fire during a demonstration outside the Sri Lankan president’s home in Colombo on 31 March 2022.Photo: Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP / Getty Images

Sri Lanka crisis: shoot-on-sight order issued as troops deployed in Colombo – Mobs burn more than 50 houses belonging to politicians – Ex-PM flees to naval base

By Hannah Ellis-Petersen 11 May 2022 (The Guardian) – Troops and armoured vehicles have been deployed across the city of Colombo and security officials given orders to shoot on sight anyone deemed to be participating in violence as anti-government protests continued to rock Sri Lanka. The crisis turned volatile earlier this week after pro-government supporters began attacking […]

Map showing percent change in predicted 12 month-ending count of drug overdose Deaths, by U.S. jurisdiction, December 2020 - December 2021. Graphic: CDC / National Center for Health Statistics

U.S. surpasses record 100,000 overdose deaths in 2021 – “2022 will probably be as horrible as 2021 was, quite possibly worse”

By Meryl Kornfield 11 May 2022 (The Washington Post) – More Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021 than any previous year, a grim milestone in an epidemic that has now claimed 1 million lives in the 21st century, according to federal data released Wednesday. More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, […]

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