How did the end of the world become old news?

By David Wallace-Wells 26 July 2018 (Daily Intelligencer) – There has been a lot of burning lately. Last week, wildfires broke out in the Arctic Circle, where temperatures reached almost 90 degrees; they are still roiling northern Sweden, 21 of them. And this week, wildfires swept through the Greek seaside, outside Athens, killing at least […]

Relentless heat to feed California firestorm as Carr Fire death toll reaches 5

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologist 29 July 2018 (AccuWeather) – The hot, dry weather that contributed to the deadly California firestorm shows no sign of letting up into the first part of August.“Unfortunately, not much is expected to change in regards to the weather pattern for a majority of the West, with hot, dry weather […]

Deadly Northern California wildfire grows by two-thirds overnight – “We’ve been experiencing more and more damaging wildfires, more fires that ignite rapidly”

By Alexandria Sage, with additional reporting by Bernie Woodall and Brendan O’Brien; Editing by Scott Malone and Matthew Lewis 28 July 2018 REDDING, California (Reuters) – Nine people were reportedly missing as a monster wildfire in Northern California grew by two-thirds overnight after killing two firefighters, destroying hundreds of buildings and sending thousands of frantic […]

Record-breaking heatwave turns Europe brown in satellite photos

By Kasha Patel 27 July 2018(NASA) – A persistent heatwave has been lingering over parts of Europe, setting record high temperatures and turning typically green landscapes to brown.The images above show browning in north-central Europe on July 24, 2018. For comparison, the second image shows the same area one year ago. Both images were acquired […]

5th deadliest wildfire globally in past 100 years: 87 dead from fires in Greece on 23 July 2018

Dr. Jeff Masters 27 July 2018 (Weather Underground) – The death toll from the horrific 23 July 2018 fires in Attica, Greece has risen to 87, with dozens more missing. According to statistics from EM-DAT, the international disaster database, this would make the Greek fires of 2018 the deadliest in European history – and fifth […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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, […]

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