Worst may be yet to come amid an extreme California wildfire season – “The current smoke event is delivering the longest period of unhealthy air quality since EPA records began in 2000”

By Alex Sosnowski 14 August 2018 (AccuWeather) – A couple of very tough months are ahead for the wildfire season and firefighting efforts in the western United States, especially California.Approximately 110 large wildfires are burning across the U.S., and most of these fires are burning in the West, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. […]

2017 was one of three warmest years on record, international report confirms – Greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level reach all-time highs

2 August 2018 (NOAA) – It’s official: 2017 was the third-warmest year on record for the globe, trailing 2016 and 2015, according to the 28th annual State of the Climate report. The planet also experienced record-high greenhouse gas concentrations as well as rises in sea level. The annual checkup for the planet, led by scientists […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of smoke plumes towering over California, 6 August 2018

By Adam Voiland 9 August 2018 (NASA) – In July and August 2018, towering plumes of smoke have risen from several fires in northern California. Though heavy rains ended the lengthy drought that parched California, trees and vegetation killed during that dry spell still linger in California’s forests. With all that extra fuel priming the […]

Video: Thirsty cows swarm water truck as Australia drought rages on

By Lucy Middleton 8 August 2018 (Metro) – Hundreds of thirsty cows swarm a water truck in new footage that shows the real impact of Australia’s biggest drought in decades. The shocking drone footage comes as 100 percent of the state of New South Wales was declared to be drought-affected.Farmer Amber Lea, who shared the […]

New South Wales in July 2018: Fifth-driest July on record

1 August 2018 (Bureau of Meteorology) – Rainfall was very much below average for most of New South Wales in July 2018, except in the northeast. Daytime temperatures were very much warmer than average, while night time temperatures were mostly cooler than average, including areas of coldest on record in parts of the northwest. Much […]

Drought-related stress hits young farmers in Australia hardest

By Cate Swannell 30 July 2018 (MJA) – Farmers who are under 35 years of age, both live and work on a farm, are experiencing greater financial hardship, and are in outer regional, remote, or very remote New South Wales, more frequently report personal drought-related stress (PDS), according to research published by the Medical Journal […]

Recent Australia droughts may be the worst in 800 years

By Mandy Freund, Ben Henley, Kathryn Allen, and Patrick Baker 1 May 2018 (The Conversation) – Australia is a continent defined by extremes, and recent decades have seen some extraordinary climate events. But droughts, floods, heatwaves, and fires have battered Australia for millennia. Are recent extreme events really worse than those in the past? In […]

Australia farmers get permission to shoot kangaroos as New South Wales battles drought – “If we don’t manage this situation, we will start to see tens of thousands of kangaroos starving and suffering”

By Jessie Yeung 8 August 2018(CNN) – Australia relaxed rules about shooting kangaroos in New South Wales (NSW) Wednesday as the state was declared “100 percent in drought” after months of little or no rain.Less than 10 millimeters of rain fell in the state in July, the fifth-driest on record, putting further pressure on dwindling […]

Battling 18 blazes, California may face worst fire season on record – “Fires are burning much more intensely, much more quickly than they were before”

By Don Thompson, Lorin Eleni Gill, and Olga Rodriguez 8 August 2018 LAKEPORT, California (AP) – The largest wildfire ever recorded in California needed just 11 days to blacken an area nearly the size of Los Angeles — and it’s only one of many enormous blazes that could make this the worst fire season in […]

Record drought in northwestern British Columbia sparks nearly 500 wildfires – Fire crews from New Zealand and Australia brought in – “The drought codes are the highest they’ve ever been at this time of year”

5 August 2018 (The Weather Network) – With the number of fires burning across the province rapidly approaching the 500 mark, officials in British Columbia are recruiting help from out of the province – and even out of the country – as they do battle with 2018’s intense wildfire season. The more than 2,200 crew […]

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