Iowa corn, soybeans suffer under growing drought – ‘Hot temperatures and lack of moisture continue to stress corn and soybeans as well as pastures and hay ground’

By Donnelle Eller9 September 2013 (Des Moines Register) – Another week of hot, dry weather continued to punish Iowa’s crops, with 35 percent of Iowa’s corn and 33 percent of soybeans rated good to excellent , a report looking at crop conditions through Sunday shows. Last week, 39 percent of both Iowa corn and soybeans […]

Forest fires rage in the Siberia republic of Buryatia

ULAN-UDE, 2 September 2013 (RIA Novosti) – Seven forest fires rage in the Siberian republic of Buryatia covering an area of over 50 hectares, a spokesman for the local forestry department said on Monday. Firefighters managed to put out 12 forest fires over the weekend but winds and record temperatures started a new wave of […]

New Zealand has warmest winter on record in 2013

Average temperature over winter in South Pacific nation was highest since record-keeping began in 1909 Wellington, 3 September 2013 (AP) – Winter lacked an Antarctic chill this year in New Zealand, to record effect. Scientists said on Tuesday that the South Pacific nation had its warmest winter since record-keeping began more than a century ago. […]

U.N. researchers: Global warming clock is at ‘five minutes to midnight’

GENEVA, Genève, 2 September 2013 (AFP) – Humanity has pushed the world’s climate system to the brink, leaving itself only scant time to act, the head of the UN’s group of climate scientists said on Monday. “We have five minutes before midnight,” warned Rajendra Pachauri, whose organisation will this month release the first volume of […]

Graph of the Day: Maximum and minimum temperatures in California, by region, 1950-2010

8 August 2013 (CalEPA) – Summertime (June-August) maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperatures have increased between 1950 and 2010 for each of the six climate regions.  The map of California climate regions is based on a space-time analysis of temperature extremes (see Richman and Lamb, 1985; Comrie and Glenn, 1998; Guirguis and Avissar, 2008 for […]

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 […]

Heat wave kills people, crops, fish, and hopes in China

By Jethro Mullen1 August 2013 Hong Kong (CNN) – Record-breaking temperatures have been searing large swaths of China, resulting in dozens of heat-related deaths and prompting authorities to issue a national alert. People are packing into swimming pools or taking refuge in caves in their attempts to escape the fierce temperatures. Local governments are resorting […]

Sunburned in Siberia: Heat wave leads to wildfires

17 August 2013 (AP) – An intense heat wave in Siberia has contributed to an unusual flare up of wildfires across the fragile and carbon-rich landscape. Smoke from the fires is lofting high into the atmosphere, and is drifting toward the Arctic, where soot can hasten the melting of snow and sea ice. The Siberian […]

Japan breaks national heat record, China heat wave continues – ‘Statistically it is almost certain that many thousands must have perished as the result of the heat over the past month’

By Christopher C. Burt 12 August 2013 (wunderground.com) – An all-time national heat record was set in Japan today (August 12th) when the temperature peaked at 41.0°C (105.8°F) at the Ekawasaki site in Shimanto (part of Kochi Prefecture). The previous record of 40.9°C (105.6°F) was recorded at Tajima and Kumagaya on August 16, 2007. Tokyo […]

Asia heatwaves strain power, health sectors – ‘We are in a critical situation where, if any single power generator goes wrong, we will have to resort to rolling blackouts’

14 August 2013 (Bloomberg) – Record temperatures across North Asia have killed dozens and pushed electricity grids to near breaking point, forcing governments to introduce emergency measures as more of the same heat is forecast. Air-conditioning in South Korea’s public buildings has been shut off as the government Monday warned of power shortages. China has […]

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