Is global warming behind new threat by bears in Siberia? ‘If there isn’t enough snow or food, the bears may not hibernate at all’

By Olga Gertcyk5 October 2015 (The Siberian Times) – The old stereotype of bears walking the streets in these regions was largely fictitious: in the past, bears and man coexisted, their paths seldom crossing, or so many experts say. This is changing as a spate of incidents highlight this year. And the attacks from hungry […]

The rapid and startling decline of the world’s vast boreal forest – ‘Shifts that researchers thought would take place over 50 or a hundred years have taken place over a decade’

By Jim Robbins12 Oct 2015: Report (Yale e360) – The boreal forest wraps around the globe at the top of the Northern Hemisphere in North America and Eurasia. Also known as taiga or snow forest, this landscape is characterized by its long, cold and snowy winters. In North America it extends from the Arctic Circle […]

In the ‘new North’, forest fires are permanently altering the landscape

By Adam Wernick3 October 2015 (PRI) – Scientists are warning that intense wildfires in the northernmost areas of North America are changing the composition of the tundra ecosystem, degrading permafrost and contributing to a northward migration of trees, all of which have serious implications for the future of the climate. Warming air masses resulting from […]

Global marine analysis suggests food chain collapse – ‘There will be a species collapse from the top of the food chain down’

13 October 2015 (University of Adelaide) – A world-first global analysis of marine responses to climbing human CO2 emissions has painted a grim picture of future fisheries and ocean ecosystems. Published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), marine ecologists from the University of Adelaide say the expected ocean acidification […]

El Niño could leave 4 million people in Pacific without food or drinking water – ‘We’re in uncharted waters’

By Ben Doherty  11 October 2015 (The Guardian) – Two dozen people have already died from hunger and drinking contaminated water in drought-stricken Papua New Guinea, but the looming El Niño crisis could leave more than four million people across the Pacific without enough food or clean water. The El Niño weather pattern – when […]

Alaska mulls extra oil drilling to cope with climate change – ‘We are in a significant fiscal challenge. We have villages that are washing away because of changes in the climate.’

By Matt McGrath 12 October 2015 Alaska (BBC News) – Expanding the search for oil is necessary to pay for the damage caused by climate change, the Governor of Alaska has told the BBC. The state is suffering significant climate impacts from rising seas forcing the relocation of remote villages. Governor Bill Walker says that […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of devastating rainfall in the Bahamas and South Carolina, 1-5 October 2015

By Mike Carlowicz5 October 2015 (NASA) – A major October hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean never made landfall, yet it has wreaked havoc in the Americas. Hurricane Joaquin sat just offshore of The Bahamas for several days, pounding the island nation with category 4 winds and flooding rain. Meanwhile, in the southeastern United States, a […]

Time-lapse video shows Folsom Lake’s dramatic water level drop

30 September 2015 (ABC10 News) – A video posted on Facebook shows the dramatic water level drop at Folsom Lake. “I’ve been collecting and assembling these since March of 2015 through August 2015 showing the effects of the drought in California is having on our reservoirs,” Sacramento resident Ryan Griffith said in his Facebook post. […]

Autumn cancelled in southern Siberia as Altai basks in 27C (80F) heat – ‘What the hell is going on?’

By Kate Baklitskaya10 October 2015 (The Siberian Times) – Is it a freak heat wave or an indisputable sign of global warming? The experts will argue about this but a range of balmy temperatures in October in Siberia certainly begs a few questions: 27C in Altai, 24C in Barnaul, 21C in Novosibirsk, 21C in Tomsk, […]

Deforestation and drought – ‘The pace of change is far outpacing our understanding of what the change is doing, and by the time we do understand it’s probably going to be too late”

By Jim Robbins9 October 2015 (The New York Times) – Like California, much of Brazil is gripped by one of the worst droughts in its history. Huge reservoirs are bone dry and water has been rationed in São Paulo, a megacity of 20 million people; in Rio; and in many other places. Drought is usually […]

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