Munich Re: Large number of weather extremes in 2010 a strong indication of climate change – ‘As if the weather machine had changed up a gear’

Munich RE27 September 2010 Floods in central Europe, wildfires in Russia, widespread flooding in Pakistan. The number and scale of weather-related natural catastrophe losses in the first nine months of 2010 was exceptionally high. Two months ahead of the World Climate Summit scheduled for 29 November to 10 December in Cancún, Mexico, Munich Re emphasises […]

20 most popular stories of 2010

Here are 2010’s most-viewed stories on Desdemona. A few have had further developments since they were posted, and I’ve noted this where appropriate.  Not surprisingly, the most popular event was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with seven entries (that’s why this post is about the top twenty stories, instead of the top ten). Six of […]

Graph of the Day: Summer Temperature Anomalies in Moscow, 1950-2010

By Heidi Cullen and Claudia TebaldiOctober 27th, 2010 The summer of 2010 brought intensely hot weather to large portions of the northeastern U.S., central Europe, and Russia. Russia was especially hard hit as a heat wave — with daily high temperatures hitting 100°F — contributing to the deaths of as many as 15,000 people in […]

Fire disaster in Israel is a typical example of expected climate change effects in the Mediterranean

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2010) — The fire disaster in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa is a typical example of climate change effect and a taste of the future, says Dr. Guy Pe’er, one of the authors of Israel’s first report to the UN on climate change. Ten years ago, Dr. Pe’er and other Israeli scientists […]

Subarctic wildfires a ‘runaway climate change’ risk

By Marlowe Hood – Sun Dec 5, 1:57 pm ET PARIS (AFP) – Global warming is driving forest fires in northern latitudes to burn more frequently and fiercely, contributing to the threat of runaway climate change, according to a study released Sunday. Increased intensity of fires in Alaska’s vast interior over the last decade has […]

Mideast prays for rain as balmy weather lengthens drought

Nicosia (AFP) Dec 3, 2010 – Israeli firefighters are battling a deadly forest fire as unseasonably warm weather blankets a tinder dry Middle East, and some countries are even organising prayers for rain. Thousands of Israeli firemen and rescuers fought to put out the fire on the second day running, as international help poured in […]

In Colorado, freedom to burn – ‘It ain’t our fire’

By DINA FINE MARON of ClimateWireOctober 26, 2010 FOURMILE CANYON, Colo. — On a hot afternoon in late September, Allen Owen looked into the distance, hoping for rain. He crawled along unmarked dirt roads in his white Dodge Ram four-wheel drive truck, passing handwritten signs saying, “Thank you firefighters!” and “Be hopeful!” surveying the mounds […]

Video: Climate denial: More to deny than ever

Gil Smart says that after a summer of climate catastrophes, conservative climate change deniers have to work extra hard to ignore the obvious. Climate denial: More to deny than ever via R. Pauli Technorati Tags: global warming,climate change,coral,Indonesia,ocean,flood,wildfire,forest fire,heat wave

Graph of the Day: Agricultural Output in Russia, 2006-2010

By Geoff RileyThursday, August 26, 2010 This BBC news article explains how extreme weather conditions in Russia this summer is hitting GDP growth.  The Russian economy has always been sensitive to changes in the world prices of commodities such as oil and gas (two major exports). In this sense, Russia is more exposed than the […]

Crop failures set to increase under climate change

  Contact: Hannah Isom, h.isom@leeds.ac.ukUniversity of Leeds 7 Oct 2010(University of Leeds) Large-scale crop failures like the one that caused the recent Russian wheat crisis are likely to become more common under climate change due to an increased frequency of extreme weather events, a new study shows. However, the worst effects of these events on […]

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