The climate context for ‘unprecedented’ Balkans flooding – ‘We can see what is quite obviously a trend of extreme weather’

By Andrea Thompson20 May 2014 (Climate Central) – The torrential rains and catastrophic floods that raged through parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia were unprecedented in the historical record of the region, going back 120 years. But extreme weather events like this one are something communities may have to contend with more and […]

Floods affect over 1 million in Balkans, destruction to cost billions of euros – ‘This country has not experienced such a natural cataclysm ever in its history’

By Aida Cerkez and Jovana Gec21 May 2014 SARAJEVO, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA (Associated Press) – Floodwaters receded Wednesday in Bosnia and Serbia, just enough to reveal the next shock: recovery from the historic flood will probably cost billions of euros that neither of the countries has. Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija said the flood affected 23,000 square […]

Global warming raises risks of more deadly Everest-like avalanches, researchers say

21 May 2014 (Sydney Morning Herald) – Mountaineering tourism in Nepal faces a threat from global warming as melting glaciers feed the risk of more deadly disasters such as the avalanche on Mount Everest that killed 16 people last month, scientists said on Tuesday. More than 2,000 foreign mountaineers flock to the Himalayan nation sandwiched […]

Rising seas, floods, and wildfires threatening most cherished historic sites in U.S.

20 May 2014 (UCS) – The growing consequences of climate change are putting many of the country’s most iconic and historic sites at risk. From Ellis Island to the Everglades, Cape Canaveral to California’s César Chávez National Monument, these sites symbolize values that unite all Americans — patriotism, freedom, democracy, and more — and together […]

Flooding in Serbia and Bosnia triggers more than 3,000 landslides, wiping out whole villages – Floods disturb land mines from region’s 1990s war – ‘The situation is catastrophic’

18 May 2014 (Associated Press) – Floodwaters triggered more than 3,000 landslides across the Balkans on Sunday, laying waste to entire towns and villages and disturbing land mines leftover from the region’s 1990s war, along with warning signs that marked the unexploded weapons. The Balkans’ worst flooding since record keeping began forced tens of thousands […]

Rift widening between energy and insurance industries over climate change

By Ken Silverstein18 May 2014 (Forbes) – Being a big business, the insurance industry is a strong backer of free enterprise and its laissez-faire leaders. But a rift could be developing now that some major carriers are staking claims in the climate change cause while many of their congressional backers have remained skeptical of the […]

The people of Miami know about climate change. We’re living it.

By Marc Caputo   17 May 2014 (The Observer) – Clear skies above but water below, a woman on a moped navigates a flooded street corner on Miami Beach, an all-too-familiar sign for residents of this iconic peninsula where the ocean seems more likely than ever to swamp Ocean Drive one day. If there’s an image […]

World’s first ‘climate change refugee’ has appeal rejected – ‘When Kiribati disappears, we’re going to die with our kids’

By Kathy Marks12 May 2014 (The Independent) – Ioane Teitiota, from the South Pacific island nation of Kiribati, had hoped to become the world’s first climate change refugee. His low-lying homeland is likely to be engulfed by waves by the end of this century – and to become uninhabitable long before then. But the Court […]

Thousands flee, 20 die in worst floods ever recorded in Balkans – Bosnia and Serbia get three months’ worth of rain in three days

By JOVANA GEC and ALMIR ALIC, with additional reporting by Aida Cerkez and Sabina Niksic from Sarajevo, Bosnia; Irena Knezevic in Banja Luka, Bosnia; and Marko Drobnjakovic in Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia17 May 2014 MAGLAJ, Bosnia (AP) – Packed into buses, boats and helicopters, carrying nothing but a handful of belongings, tens of thousands fled their […]

What are the odds that El Niño will occur in 2014? And if it does, how strong will it be?

By Michelle L’Heureux, NOAA Climate Prediction Center8 May 2014 (RealClimate) – Much media attention has been directed at the possibility of an El Niño brewing this year. Many outlets have drawn comparison with the 1997-98 super El Niño. So, what are the odds that El Niño will occur? And if it does, how strong will […]

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