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Climate
Heat is on for Halloween as record temperatures forecast for much of US
Parts of north-east and Great Lakes regions to surpass 80F as thunderstorms predicted from Indianapolis to Louisiana
Do the undead sweat? If they do, this year’s Halloween could be a taxing time for them across parts of the north-east and Great Lakes regions of the US, where temperatures are set to soar above 80F (27C) in some areas.
On Thursday, CNN reported that nearly 50 daily high temperature records may fall, with temperatures rising more than 20F above normal.
Continue reading...Spain floods latest: number of dead expected to rise amid search for survivors
At least 95 people have been killed as more rain is forecast for the flood-hit region of Valencia
- Death toll expected to rise amid anger over preparedness
- People in Spain: have you been affected by flooding?
Experts have been giving their reaction to yesterday’s disaster - sounding a warning about our preparedness and ability to cope.
Extreme weather events are becoming more intense, are lasting longer and are occurring more frequently as a result of human-induced climate change, scientists say.
Continue reading...Spain flood death toll expected to rise amid anger over lack of preparedness
Victims say ‘water was already here’ by the time warning was issued, as military prepares to start searching worst-hit areas
Rescue workers in Spain are searching for more victims after deadly floods, as questions are raised about how one of the world’s most developed nations failed to respond adequately to such an extreme storm.
Torrential rains that began at the start of the week led to flooding that has left at least 95 people dead, the deadliest such disaster in the western European country since 1973.
Continue reading...‘Not just a museum’: Kenya’s seed bank offers unexpected lifeline for farmers
Set up to conserve traditional seeds, the Genetic Resources Research Institute is now helping smallholders diversify with crops resilient to the rapid changes in climate
On a winding road in the densely forested Kikuyu highlands of south-central Kenya lies a nondescript government building: the Genetic Resources Research Institute. Opened in 1988, during the country’s “green revolution”, this little-known national gene bank was set up to hold and conserve seeds from the traditional crops that were in danger of disappearing as farmers and agricultural industry moved to higher-yield varieties.
For decades, it has collaborated with researchers studying crop genetics and others working to develop improved varieties. But as the climate crisis worsens food insecurity, the repository of about 50,000 seed and crop collections could become a lifeline for farmers.
Continue reading...Alarm grows over ‘disturbing’ lack of progress to save nature at Cop16
Fears raised that biodiversity summit not addressing countries’ failure to meet a single target to stem destruction of natural world
Governments risk another decade of failure on biodiversity loss, due to the slow implementation of an international agreement to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems, experts have warned.
Less than two years ago, the world reached a historic agreement at the Cop15 summit in Montreal to stop the human-caused destruction of life on our planet. The deal included targets to protect 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the decade (30x30), reform $500bn (then £410bn) of environmentally damaging subsidies, and begin restoring 30% of the planet’s degraded ecosystems.
Continue reading...Half a Million People Killed in Deadliest Weather Disasters Since 2004
Inundaciones en Valencia, España: lo que hay que saber
Flash Floods in Spain Kill Dozens: What to Know
‘We were trapped like rats’: Spain’s floods bring devastation and despair
Residents describe impact of floods and downpours – with some places hit with a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours
The gratitude that greeted Tuesday’s dawn downpours was short-lived in Utiel. When the longed-for rains finally reached the town in the drought-stricken eastern Spanish region of Valencia, they were merciless in their abundance.
“People were very happy at first because they’d been praying for rain as their lands needed water,” said Remedios, who owns a bar in Utiel. “But by 12 o’clock, this storm had really hit and we were all pretty terrified.”
Continue reading...Three Mile Island Is at the Center of Efforts to Expand Nuclear Capacity to Meet Rising Power Demand
‘Wicked problem’: five charts that show how the climate crisis is making Australia more dangerous
A report by BoM and CSIRO checks ‘vital signs of Australia’s climate’ – and shows temperature trends will only worsen
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“It is a wicked problem,” says Dr Karl Braganza at the Bureau of Meteorology, after running through Australia’s latest State of the Climate report.
The effects of rising heat on land and in the oceans, coupled with rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, are changing Australia’s climate rapidly and “flowing through to how our society, economy and other things operate”.
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Continue reading...Clean Energy Is Booming in the U.S. The Election Could Change That.
Firefighters were elated after a federal bill provided them support for cancer. Then came ‘a slap in the face’
A 2022 law gave wildland firefighters with ‘presumptive cancer coverage’, but the list of ailments left out a range of cancers affecting women
Riva Duncan was overjoyed when Congress in 2022 approved better support for federal wildland firefighters during their cancer battles. As a retired fire officer of the US Forest Service (USFS), Duncan had spent years fighting for the friends and colleagues who disproportionately fell ill.
The 2022 law gave firefighters so-called “presumptive cancer coverage” – meaning they were eligible for workers compensation and the process to receive federal financial support for disability and death was streamlined. Finally, she thought, firefighters wouldn’t have to prove cancer and other illnesses, including lung and heart diseases, had derived from their hazardous and carcinogenic work to receive needed funds.
Continue reading...‘I can’t stop now’: Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ+ law forces climate activist into exile – video
Climate activist Nyombi Morris became outspoken about LGBTQ+ rights after his sister was outed as a lesbian and expelled from school. Last year, Uganda passed a new law that imposes up to 20 years in prison for 'recruitment, promotion and funding' of same-sex 'activities', and life imprisonment or the death penalty for certain same-sex acts. After Morris received an anonymous call threatening to rape and arrest him if he did not stop 'promoting homosexuality', the 26-year-old went into hiding for a few weeks and then, with the help of the Uganda-based human rights group Defend Defenders, fled to Denmark where he has applied for asylum.
Continue reading...‘I can’t stop now’: Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ+ law forces climate activist into exile
Already targeted for opposing the EACOP oil pipeline, claims that he was gay forced Nyombi Morris to flee
When an anonymous caller threatened to rape and arrest Nyombi Morris if he did not stop “promoting homosexuality”, he knew he had to flee Uganda. The 26-year-old climate activist, who had become outspoken about LGBTQ+ rights after his sister was revealed as a lesbian and expelled from school last year, has faced a fierce backlash for his advocacy.
And things only got worse after his environmental non-profit organisation, Earth Volunteers, began collaborating with LGBTQ+ groups to support young people who identified as gay and were at risk of persecution.
Continue reading...Butterflywatch: Gatekeepers spread north to take up residence in Scotland
Widespread in England, it joins other species to have expanded range in recent years due to climate change
It may have been a fairly awful summer for butterflies but Scotland continues to enjoy some pleasant lepidopteran surprises, thanks to global heating.
Its list of resident species increased by one this year when the gatekeeper, never officially recorded north of the border in the past century, was spotted in several locations. Meanwhile, the elusive white-letter hairstreak, which was only recorded for the first time close to the River Tweed in 2017, has now been found in Dundee, more than 60 miles farther north.
Continue reading...Mount Fuji snowless for longest time on record after sweltering Japan summer
As of 29 October, the iconic mountain was still without snow, marking the longest period since records began 130 years ago
Japan’s Mount Fuji remained snowless on Tuesday, marking the latest date that its slopes have been bare since records began 130 years ago, the country’s weather agency said.
The volcano’s snowcap begins forming on 2 October on average, and last year snow was first detected there on 5 October.
Continue reading...Rescues as torrential rain brings flash flooding to Spain – video
Several people have died, an official said, and at least seven people are missing after torrential rain caused flash floods in southern and eastern Spain, shutting roads and high-speed train connections. Raging flood waters swept through the town of Letur in the east, pushing cars through the streets. State weather agency AEMET declared a red alert in the Valencia region and the second-highest level of alert in parts of Andalusia.
Continue reading...