Global warming is supercharging a hot and dangerous summer – “The old records belong to a world that no longer exists”

By Joel Achenbach and Angela Fritz 26 July 2018 (The Washington Post) – In the town of Sodankyla, Finland, the thermometer on July 17 registered a record-breaking 90 degrees, a remarkable figure given that Sodankyla is 59 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in a region known for winter snowmobiling and an abundance of reindeer.This […]

Japan heat wave drives up food prices, prison inmate dies – Heat wave declared “special disaster” in South Korea

TOKYO, 25 July 2018 (Reuters) – Vegetable prices in Japan are spiking as much as 65 percent in the grip of a grueling heat wave, which drove temperatures on Wednesday to records in some areas hit by flooding and landslides, hampering clean-up and recovery efforts. As many as 65 people died in the week to […]

As Greek wildfire closed in, a desperate dash ended in death – “The only road was the sea”

By Jason Horowitz 24 July 2018 MATI, Greece (The New York Times) – They nearly reached the water.As wind-fueled wildfires that killed at least 80 people in vacation areas outside Athens bore down on their seaside resort, 26 men, women and children gathered in the hope that they could find the narrow path leading to […]

Wildfires in Greece kill at least 74, driving some into the sea – “We had to swim out because of the smoke, but we couldn’t see where anything was. We didn’t all make it.”

By Niki Kitsantonis, Richard Pérez-Peña, and Russell Goldman 24 July 2018 ATHENS (The New York Times) – Fast-moving wildfires near Athens have killed at least 74 people, officials said on Tuesday, and have forced thousands of tourists and residents to flee in cars and buses, on foot, aboard boats and on makeshift rafts. In desperation, […]

Global warming is killing the cedar trees of Lebanon – “Climate change is a fact here. There is less rain, higher temperatures, and more extreme temperatures.”

By Anne Barnard; photography by Josh Haner 18 July 2018 Barouk Cedar Forest, Lebanon (The New York Times) – Walking among the cedars on a mountain slope in Lebanon feels like visiting the territory of primeval beings. Some of the oldest trees have been here for more than 1,000 years, spreading their uniquely horizontal branches […]

Fire crews continue battling dozens of fires in northeastern Ontario – “Everything is very, very dry. We haven’t had much rain at all. We have new fires that are starting every single day.”

KILLARNEY, Ontario, 22 July 2018 (The Canadian Press) – Crews are continuing to battle dozens of forest fires in northeastern Ontario, after the biggest of the blazes more than doubled in size over the course of a day. The province’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said in a release that as of Saturday night […]

India suffering worst water crisis in its history – New Delhi and 20 other cities to run out of groundwater by 2020 – 600 million people already face high-to-extreme water stress

By Rahul Bedi 19 June 2018 New Delhi (The Telegraph) – An Indian government think tank has warned that New Delhi is set to run out of groundwater within two years as climate change and dramatic population growth hit supplies [Composite Water Management Index – June 2018 –Des].Based on data collected from 24 of 29 […]

Wildfires rage in Arctic Circle as Sweden calls for help – “This is definitely the worst year in recent times for forest fires”

By Jonathan Watts 18 July 2018 (The Guardian) – At least 11 wildfires are raging inside the Arctic Circle as the hot, dry summer turns an abnormally wide area of Europe into a tinderbox.The worst affected country, Sweden, has called for emergency assistance from its partners in the European Union to help fight the blazes, […]

All-time records melt in northern Scandinavia – Extreme heat grips Japan and Korea

By Bob Henson 18 July 2018 (Weather Underground) – Temperatures soared into the nineties Fahrenheit north of the Arctic Circle on Tuesday and Wednesday, as 2018’s parade of exceptional heat continued marching across the Northern Hemisphere. This week has been northern Scandinavia’s turn under the sizzling klieg lights, including Lapland (Sápmi), the region of northern […]

June 2018: Earth’s 5th warmest June on record

Dr. Jeff Masters 16 July 2018 (Weather Underground) – June 2018 was the planet’s fifth-warmest June since record keeping began in 1880, said NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) on Monday. NASA rated June 2018 as tied for third-warmest June on record. NOAA found that the only warmer June months were 2016, 2015, 2017 […]

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