Dust, global warming portend dry future for the Colorado River – Rocky Mountain snowpack melts six weeks earlier than in the 1800s

14 November 2013 (CIRES) –  Reducing the amount of desert dust swept onto snowy Rocky Mountain peaks could help Western water managers deal with the challenges of a warmer future, according to a new study led by researchers at NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder. With […]

Plague of cicadas in Provence, caused by global warming, could destroy lavender fields in 20 years

By Kim Willsher25 November 2013 PARIS (theguardian.com) – Deep below the once purple but now wintering and dormant fields of Provençal lavender, something is rotten. It will not make itself known until spring and summer, when the cicadas – another symbol of this picturesque region of southern France – are ready to emerge from the […]

Puntland, Somaliland reel from post-cyclone rains, flooding – ‘The rain is accompanied by an extreme cold, wind, and a lot of water, which have killed the people and the animals’

GAROWE, Somalia, 16 November 2013 (Garowe Online) – The survivors of a severe cyclonic storm that rammed into Somalia’s northeastern region of Puntland are desperate for food, medicines, and clean water but, with so much anxiety and chaos in the hardest-hit areas, the distribution is limited, Garowe Online reports. Despite the efforts of Puntland government, […]

Philippines: Number of displaced people increases from 1.9 million to 3 million

16 November 2013 (UNOCHA) – Government agencies estimate that between 9 to 13 million people have been affected by Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) across nine regions. About 18 per cent (2.3 million people) of the total affected population is concentrated in Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas and Central Visayas regions. Figures are expected to […]

Deadliest tropical cyclone in Somalia’s history kills at least 100

By Abdiqani Hassan11 November 2013 BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) – At least 100 people were killed when a tropical cyclone hit Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region at the weekend, the government said on Monday, declaring a state of emergency and appealing for international aid. The government said hundreds of people were missing after the storm made landfall […]

Amazon deforestation could cause droughts in California –‘Amazon deforestation will not only affect the Amazon, it will not be contained’

By Rhett A. Butler 8 November 2013 (mongabay.com) – Complete deforestation of the Amazon rainforest could reduce rainfall in the Pacific Northwest by up to 20 percent and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada by up to 50 percent, suggests new research published in the Journal of Climate. The study is based on high resolution computer […]

Largest coal mine in Australia approved, will use more than nine billion liters of water per year – ‘It’s bordering on hypocrisy, really’

3 November 2013 (AAP) – The federal government has approved a massive coal mining project in central Queensland that will be the largest in the country. Environment Minister Greg Hunt approved the 37,380 hectare Kevin’s Corner project on Friday. The mine, to be operated by a joint India-Australia consortium, GVK-Hancock, is the first to be […]

50,000 km of roads built across Brazilian Amazon in 3 years

29 October 2013 (mongabay.com) – Roads are rapidly expanding across the Brazilian Amazon opening up once remote rainforests to loggers, miners, ranchers, farmers, and land speculators, finds a new study published in the journal Regional Environmental Change. Researchers from Imperial College London and Brazil-based Imazon used maps of existing roads and satellite imagery to track […]

85,000 evacuated in new flooding in southeast India – ‘The situation is very grim as the entire Delta area is completely inundated’

NEW DELHI, 26 October 2013 (AP) – Days of torrential rains have unleashed floods in southeast India that have killed dozens of people and forced the evacuation of more than 70,000 others from hundreds of low-lying villages. As of Saturday, there were 39 flood-related deaths in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa States since the rains began […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of dangerous China smog, 22 October 2013

Oct 22, 2013 (NOAA) – Heavy smog has shrouded much of eastern China, and air quality levels have been dropped to extremely dangerous levels. The heavy smog is caused by industrial pollution, coal and agricultural burning, and has been trapped by the mountains to the west and wind patterns. The thick haze of smog is […]

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