A view of the greens and fairways on a golf course near New Romney in Kent on 5 August 2022, as parched parts of England faced a hosepipe ban ahead of another predicted heatwave. Months of little rainfall, combined with record-breaking temperatures in July, left rivers at exceptionally low levels, depleted reservoirs, and dried out soil. Photo: Gareth Fuller / PA

News roundup for 8 August 2022 – Climate impacts have worsened vast range of human diseases – “Forever chemicals” have made rainwater “unsafe to drink” globally

Workers pull up ornamental grass in Southern Nevada. Photo: CBS News

Due to climate change, Nevada says goodbye to grass – “I’d like to think we can all band together and solve problems without killing ourselves”

By John D’Amelio 7 August 2022 (CBS News) – In Las Vegas, Nevada, it’s come to this: climate change has helped make water ever more scarce, so under a new Nevada law, the grass has got to go. “When we look at outdoor water use in Southern Nevada, landscaping far and away is the largest water […]

Insured losses linked to extreme weather in Canada, 1983-2021. Data: Insurance Bureau of Canada. Graphic: Reuters

Canada village razed by wildfire wrestles with climate-proofing its future – “I’m not expecting I’ll be rebuilding ever”

By Nia Williams 5 August 2022 REVELSTOKE, British Columbia (Reuters) – A year after a wildfire destroyed the western Canadian village of Lytton, residents, municipal leaders, and the British Columbia government are grappling with the slow and costly reality of future-proofing a community against climate change. The remote village sits at the confluence of the […]

Satellite view of Lake Mead on 6 July 2000 and 3 July 2022. Data: Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Photo: Lauren Dauphin / NASA Earth Observatory

Image of the Day: Satellite view of Lake Mead in 2000 and 2022 – “Declining water levels due to climate change and 20 years of ongoing drought have reshaped the park’s shorelines”

By Michael Carlowicz 20 July 2022 (NASA Earth Observatory) – Continuing a 22-year downward trend, water levels in Lake Mead stand at their lowest since April 1937, when the reservoir was still being filled for the first time. As of July 18, 2022, Lake Mead was filled to just 27 percent of capacity. The largest reservoir in the […]

Aerial view of a structure burning during a wildfire in Palo Pinto County, Texas on Monday, 18 July 2022. The 110-degree heat wave caused a record 24 wildfires in Texas this week. Two Texas wildfires consumed at least 21 homes amid the record heat wave. Photo: KDFW FOX 4 / AP

U.S. Central states, Texas break power use records again in heat wave – Texas Gov. Abbott’s inaction leads to huge electricity bills

20 July 2022 (Reuters) – Power use in Texas and other central states hit all-time highs Tuesday and could break that record again in Texas on Wednesday as homes and businesses crank up air conditioners to escape a brutal heat wave blanketing most of the country. Electric grid operators across the country said they have […]

Firefighters work against a wildfire near Landiras, southwestern France, on Saturday, 16 July 2022. Firefighters struggled to contain wildfires in France and Spain as Europe wilted under an unusually extreme heatwave that authorities link to a rise in excess mortality. Photo provided by the fire brigade of the Gironde region (SDIS 33). Photo: SDIS 33 / AP

Humanity faces “collective suicide” over climate crisis, warns UN chief – “No nation is immune. Yet we continue to feed our fossil fuel addiction.”

By Fiona Harvey 18 July 2022 (The Guardian) – Wildfires and heatwaves wreaking havoc across swathes of the globe show humanity facing “collective suicide”, the UN secretary general has warned, as governments around the world scramble to protect people from the impacts of extreme heat. António Guterres told ministers from 40 countries meeting to discuss the […]

A wildfire burns near a wind turbine at night outside Tabara, Zamora, during the second heatwave of the year in Spain, 18 July 2022. Photo: Isabel Infantes / REUTERS

UK shatters record for highest temperature as Europe sizzles – Major incident declared in London as fires burn – Dozens of temperature records fall in France as fires rage in southwest

By Danica Kirka and Jill Lawless 19 July 2022 LONDON (AP) – Britain shattered its record for highest temperature ever registered Tuesday amid a heat wave that has seared swaths of Europe — and the national weather forecaster predicted it would get hotter still in a country ill prepared for such extremes. The typically temperate nation […]

An aerial photo taken on 8 July 2022 shows the widespread destruction of a wheat field near Siversk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Fires in dry wheat fields can easily be sparked by explosions or the red-hot fragments of artillery shrapnel. Photo: Miguel Medina / AFP

Ukrainian wheat burns as global food crisis looms – Ukrainian wheat farmers struggle to harvest their crop as Russian artillery pounds fields

19 July 2022 (U.S. Wheat Associates) – As an export market development organization, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) represents the interests of U.S. wheat farmers in overseas markets. We are happy to compete fairly with wheat farmers in other countries on the basis of functional quality and value. Yet, working for these hard-working farm families also gives us […]

A delivery boy with an electric cycle wades through a flooded street due to heavy rainfall in Mumbai, India, 5 July 2022. Photo: Getty Images

Red alert issued in Mumbai as city records 70 percent of July rainfall in just six days – 8 killed in floods during Hindu pilgrimage in Kashmir

By Stuti Mishra 8 July 2022 (The Independent) – A red alert has been issued for Mumbai as the densely populated metropolis has received 70 per cent of its average July rainfall in just the first six days of the month. Mumbai usually receives an average annual rainfall of 2,205mm, over four times the amount […]

A protester stands against a water cannon as police use tear gas to disperse demonstrators near President’s residence during a protest demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, amid the country’s economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 8 July 2022. Photo: Dinuka Liyanawatte / REUTERS

Sri Lanka police impose curfew, fire tear gas as unrest escalates – “We have seen the use of lethal weapons in protests”

By Uditha Jayasinghe 8 July 2022 COLOMBO (Reuters) – Police in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo imposed a curfew after firing tear gas and using a water cannon on student protesters on Friday ahead of a planned weekend rally, as public discontent escalates over the worst economic crisis in seven decades. The island nation has […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial