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 […]

Sudan’s worst floods for 25 years leave 500,000 facing destruction and disease

By Mark Tran    23 August 2013 (The Guardian) – Forty-eight people have been killed and more than 500,000 affected by the worst floods in Sudan in quarter of a century. The region around the capital, Khartoum, was particularly badly hit, with at least 15,000 homes destroyed and thousands of others damaged. Across Sudan, at least […]

Australia floods of 2010 and 2011 caused global sea level to drop – ‘Only in Australia could the atmosphere carry such heavy tropical rains to such a large area, only to have those rains fail to make their way to the ocean’

By Tim Radford for Climate News Network23 August 2013 (The Guardian) – Rain – in effect, evaporated ocean – fell in such colossal quantities during the Australian floods in 2010 and 2011 that the world’s sea levels actually dropped by as much as 7mm. Rainwater normally runs swiftly off continental mountain ranges, pours down rivers, […]

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By HRVOJE HRANJSKI 22 August 2013 MANILA, Philippines, (AP) – Lashed each year by typhoons and stuck with outdated drainage systems, the Philippine capital has been hit by ever-worsening floods.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 […]

Mayor Bloomberg: Why Hurricane Sandy forced cities to take the lead on climate change

  By Michael Bloomberg, Special to CNN21 August 2013 (CNN) – For the first time in human history, more than half the world’s population is living in cities, which now produce approximately 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That puts cities on the frontlines of the battle against climate change — and more and […]

Arctic warming and our extreme weather: New study finds no clear link

By Jason Samenow19 August 2013 (Washington Post) – Is the dramatic decline of Arctic sea ice, spurred by manmade global warming, making the  weather where we live more extreme?  Several recent studies have made this claim. But a new study finds little evidence to support the idea that the plummeting Arctic sea ice has meaningfully […]

Hurricane Sandy rebuilding task force releases rebuilding strategy

Contact: Aaron Jacobs, Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, Aaron.F.Jacobs@hud.gov 19 August 2013 WASHINGTON – President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, chaired by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, today released a rebuilding strategy to serve as a model for communities across the nation facing greater risks from extreme weather and to continue […]

Increased flooding may cost the world $1 trillion by 2050 – ‘These are scary numbers and they are likely to be underestimates’

By John Roach 19 August 2013 (NBC News) – Flood damage in the world’s major coastal cities may top $1 trillion a year by 2050 due to rising seas and subsiding land, according to a new study. The startling figure is “not a forecast or a prediction,” but rather a means to “show that not […]

Shanghai sets new all-time record (again) as heat wave bakes eastern China

By Justin Grieser8 August 2013 (Washington Post) – While the eastern U.S. and Canada have recently seen below-normal temperatures, a major summer heat wave has been the story in eastern China since early July. Shanghai saw its hottest July in 140 years as temperatures soared to 100ºF or higher for 10 straight days between July […]

National Farmers' Union claims extreme weather poses biggest threat to British farming – ‘The biggest uncertainty for UK agriculture is extreme weather events’

By Damian Carrington    28 July 2013 (The Guardian) – Extreme weather being driven by climate change is the biggest threat to British farming and its ability to feed the nation’s growing population, according to Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers’ Union. His comments, in an interview with the Guardian, come after a week of […]

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