Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Iraq’s largest hydropower dam grinds to halt as water level falls to record low

By Anwar Faruqi Anwar FaruqiThu Jan 27, 11:08 am ET BAGHDAD (AFP) – Record low water levels at Iraq’s largest hydroelectric dam have ground turbines there to a halt, amplifying a power shortage that led to riots last summer, a top official said on Thursday. Adel Mahdi, advisor to the electricity minister, said water levels […]

Two cyclones threaten flood-ravaged Queensland

January 29, 2011 (AAP) – Queenslanders are being urged to prepare for the worst as two powerful cyclones threaten to batter the flood-ravaged state. Tropical Cyclone Anthony is hovering off the Australian eastern seaboard, with authorities warning it will increase in intensity and hit landfall as early as Sunday afternoon, local time. It’s feared a […]

The 25 countries whose governments could get crushed by food price inflation

By Gregory WhiteJan. 22, 2011, 12:08 PM Food inflation is now a reality for much of the world. It contributed to the overthrow of the Tunisian government, has led to riots across the Middle East and North Africa, driven up costs in China and India, and may only be getting started. Whether you blame a […]

Pakistan flood crisis as bad as African famines, UN says – ‘Humanitarian crisis of epic proportions’

Survey shows almost a quarter of children under five are malnourished in Sindh province, six months after floods By Declan Walsh in Islamabad, www.guardian.co.uk Thursday 27 January 2011 09.56 GMT A “humanitarian crisis of epic proportions” is unfolding in flood-hit areas of southern Pakistan where malnutrition rates rival those of African countries affected by famine, […]

Graph of the Day: Anomaly Map of Greenland Melting Days for 2010

Anomaly map of Greenland melting days for 2010 derived from passive microwave data. Hatched regions indicate where MAR-simulated meltwater production exceeds the mean by at least two standard deviations. Abstract: Analyses of remote sensing data, surface observations and output from a regional atmosphere model point to new records in 2010 for surface melt and albedo, […]

Roubini: Jump in food, energy prices ‘can topple regimes’

By Tom Keene and Stuart WallaceJan 26, 2011 8:42 AM PT  A surge in food and energy costs is stoking inflation in emerging markets and causing riots that may topple governments, said Nouriel Roubini (video of Roubini interview), the New York University economist who predicted the financial crisis. Global food costs monitored by the United […]

A closer look at the financial impact of Australia’s epic floods

By Gregory WhiteJan. 27, 2011, 11:48 AM The weather: it has been blamed for the weak Q4 2010 UK GDP, today’s disappointing jobs number in the U.S., and soaring commodity prices. Obviously a lot of folks don’t buy that, but the impact is self-evident, especially in Australia. The government is so worried the money spent […]

Image of the Day: Flooding in Queensland, Australia Viewed from Orbit, January 2011

This Envisat image shows the flooded area – represented by the blue colour – south of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia. Envisat acquired this multi-temporal false colour image with its onboard Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument, working in wide swath medium resolution (WSM) mode, in January 2011. Queensland inundated Technorati Tags: Australia,flood,monsoon,global warming,climate change

Cold comfort: Canada’s record-smashing mildness

By Bob Henson 18 January 2011 Some fascinating weather has unfolded across the Northern Hemisphere over the last month, but you may have only heard about part of it. The media dutifully reported on the heavy snow that battered the mid-Atlantic and New England states in late December. It was also the United Kingdom’s coldest […]

Saying the unsayable: ‘Kiss goodbye’ to the 2°C target for global warming

By Roger Harrabin19 January 2011 It is virtually impossible for the world to keep within the CO2 limits defined as safe for the climate, according to the chief economist of the International Energy Agency think tank. Dr Fatih Birol told an audience in London that key nations were not prepared to take the steps necessary […]

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