Forest fires in Indonesia trigger haze fear in Singapore

By Elga Reyes  28 August 2013 (Eco-Business) – The province of Riau in Sumatra, Indonesia has been covered in smog since early this week when the number of fire hotspots spiked at 488, the highest level in two months following Southeast Asia’s worst haze pollution in 16 years. The smoke, mostly contained in the provincial […]

Unprecedented floodwaters continue to rise In Russia’s Far East – Some towns to be rebuilt in new, flood-safe areas

29 August 2013 (RFE/RL) – The level of the Amur River near the city of Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far East has reached a record high of 750 centimeters as devastating floods caused by heavy rains continue. Dams have been quickly built near Khabarovsk to protect two major power stations from water levels as high as […]

Amur flooding breaks records in China – Flood peak reaches Harbin – ‘This flood peak will last longer than that of the 1998 floods’

28 August 2013 (CCTV) – As the Heilongjiang river records its biggest flood in over a century, another major river in the region, the Songhuajiang, has seen its flood peak reach Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang province. As the flood peak passed through Harbin Tuesday morning, it recorded the highest water level on this […]

Record flooding affects more than 2 million in NE China – Heilong River sees worst floods in history

By Zhu Ningzhu27 August 2013 CHANGCHUN (Xinhua) – Floods and heavy rains have caused the death of at least 20 people and adversely affected more than 2.2 million in northeast China’s Jilin Province, local authorities said. Persistent rain has brought chaos to 56 county-level regions of the province, forcing 239,000 people to be evacuated, according […]

Record flooding prompts emergency in Russia’s Far East – ‘We have never seen such a large-scale flood in our country’s history’

By Ilya Arkhipov and Marina Sysoyeva17 August 2013 (Bloomberg) – Five regions in Russia’s Far East declared a state of emergency amid flooding assessed by the national weather center as the worst in the country’s history. Floods were heaviest in the Amur region, Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said today on a videoconference. Conditions are set […]

What’s making the floods worse in Manila?

By HRVOJE HRANJSKI 22 August 2013 MANILA, Philippines, (AP) – Lashed each year by typhoons and stuck with outdated drainage systems, the Philippine capital has been hit by ever-worsening floods. Population growth, inadequate infrastructure, corruption, deforestation and even trash build-up combine to exacerbate the impact. It’s a trend experts expect to continue. Here’s why: “NO […]

Heat wave kills people, crops, fish, and hopes in China

By Jethro Mullen1 August 2013 Hong Kong (CNN) – Record-breaking temperatures have been searing large swaths of China, resulting in dozens of heat-related deaths and prompting authorities to issue a national alert. People are packing into swimming pools or taking refuge in caves in their attempts to escape the fierce temperatures. Local governments are resorting […]

Sunburned in Siberia: Heat wave leads to wildfires

17 August 2013 (AP) – An intense heat wave in Siberia has contributed to an unusual flare up of wildfires across the fragile and carbon-rich landscape. Smoke from the fires is lofting high into the atmosphere, and is drifting toward the Arctic, where soot can hasten the melting of snow and sea ice. The Siberian […]

Japan breaks national heat record, China heat wave continues – ‘Statistically it is almost certain that many thousands must have perished as the result of the heat over the past month’

By Christopher C. Burt 12 August 2013 (wunderground.com) – An all-time national heat record was set in Japan today (August 12th) when the temperature peaked at 41.0°C (105.8°F) at the Ekawasaki site in Shimanto (part of Kochi Prefecture). The previous record of 40.9°C (105.6°F) was recorded at Tajima and Kumagaya on August 16, 2007. Tokyo […]

Carbon stored in Arctic permafrost is being mobilised in Eurasia river basins

By Peter Rüegg 19 August 2013 (PhysOrg) – Using indicator molecules, a team of researchers headed by ETH Zurich demonstrates that carbon stored in the Arctic permafrost is being mobilised in Eurasian river basins. Arctic permafrost soils store vast amounts of carbon in the form of dead but not decomposed plant debris. Around half of […]

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