Collapsing glacier wrecks a Swiss mountain village

Posted on June 4, 2025June 6, 2025 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

Ice is the key to the future climate | Polar ice caps are melting fast, with multiple scenarios and surprising consequences | The collapse of mountain glaciers is equally alarming, but in different ways | Rapid permafrost thaw in Arctic regions is leading to unforeseen consequences: especially Methane release.

“We’ve lost our village!”

The disaster in Blatten is only the most recent of an increasing number of catastrophic landslides caused by melting ice and permafrost. As Europe rapidly warms, rain is falling more often than snow, providing the heat and lubrication that brings glaciers to collapse.

Unstable permafrost, melting glaciers are unleashing more deadly Alpine ice slides

A huge chunk of glacier in the Swiss Alps broke off in mid-May, dumping a deadly mash of ice, mud and rock down the mountain, burying most of a mountain village. The village of Blatten had already been evacuated was 90% buried by rubble.

While this particular catastrophe was unprecedented in terms of damage, the frequency of Alpine disasters such as rockslides and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) has been increasing. Permafrost in Alpine locations and also in the Arctic is no longer so “perma,” causing accelerated destabilization of tundra and mountainsides.

Europe’s Alps and Pyrenees lost 40% of their glacier volume from 2000 to 2023.

Glacier Lake Outburst Floods

Similar to Alpine rockslides but even more insidious are Glacier Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF). While the Batten, Switzerland catastrophe was unprecedented in terms of damage, the frequency of Alpine disasters such as rockslides and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) has been increasing. Similar to Alpine rockslides but even more insidious are Glacier Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF).

WHAT CAUSES GLOF:

As glaciers melt at a frenetic pace new lakes back up behind newly formed ice dams in the Andes, Alps and Himalayas. When these dams break, massive torrents rushe downstream, often in a cataclysmic flood. These floods have become more common as global warming causes rapid melting of glaciers around the world.

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Juneau Alaska — Flash glacier outburst flood in Juneau as GLOF events increase globally. In a repeat of a 2023 catastrophe, an “outburst flood” from the Mendenhall Glacier sent millions of gallons of rock and water into a neighborhood in Juneau. About 100 homes were evacuated and a state of emergency was declared. According to authorities, shocked residents managed to swim out of their homes in the middle of the night.

Glacial floods in high mountain Asia (The “Roof of the World”) projected to triple by 2100.

For the past decade, the valley has filled with rain and meltwater as the glacier recedes. Then the water burrows a tunnel into the ice dam, which eventually breaks through and pouring into the city below.

Tibet 2016 double glacier landslides kill dozens

A glacier in Tibet’s Aru mountain range suddenly collapsed in 2016, killing nine people and their livestock, followed a few months later by the collapse of another glacier. The avalanche of rock and ice carried 60 cubic meters and covered about seven square miles. It was followed by another major collapse months later.

Juneau’s Mendenhall glacier repeats 2023 slide, an ongoing warning with extensive damage to homes

More than 100 homes in Juneau, Alaska, were damaged by flooding in August 2024 after a glacial lake overflowed, sending surging water to nearby neighborhoods in what has become a recurring problem for people in the state’s capital.

Summer flooding is an annual concern for people who live near the Mendenhall Glacier, which last year unleashed flooding that swept away trees and homes, including two buildings that collapsed into the Mendenhall River, which flows through parts of Juneau.

The world has a third pole – and it's melting quickly | Glaciers | The Guardian

The rapidly melting “third pole” is essential to fresh water for billions.

Glaciers are melting away in all mountain regions on the planet, including the Alps, the Andes and the Himalayas.

Beyond the sadness of incomparable beauty lost, glaciers provide fresh water sources for several billion humans, especially downstream from the Himalayas.

This global catastrophe will manifest itself in two stages:

Increase in mountain lake water level, followed by extreme flooding (Glacier Lake Outbreak Flood)
Extreme drought and lack of fresh water on a massive scale, especially Asia.

Chicago dust storm was a toxic event

Posted on May 29, 2025May 30, 2025 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

historic dust storm chicago

“These are man-made ecological disasters, driven by a form of agriculture that exploits and depletes the land, leaving millions of acres of soil exposed and eroding for half the year. We can’t keep farming this way.” – Robert Hirschfield, Director of Water Policy at Prairie Rivers Network.

Chicago’s dust storm was complex, and worse than you thought

A massive wall of dust and dirt particles enshrouded the city of Chicago in mid-May, causing ground stops at O’Hare and Midway and bringing the region of 10 million residents to a halt. Driven by 60 MPH winds, the violent storm brought near-zero visibility to highways and wrecked crops and agricultural infrastructure.

While the global warming related implications of this event are obvious, there are other consequences, specifically, the toxic chemicals that comprised the storm-driven particles. As with most climate driven disasters, this one is also a reflection of the unsustainable practices of human industrial agriculture. The “dust” that showered down on the city contains heavy doses of lead and other toxic farm chemicals, including pesticides.

ONGOING CROP DAMAGE / MORE HERBICIDE IN THE SOIL

While the effects in the big city got most of the press, the petite haboob was bad news for downstate soy and corn farmers, as millions of tons of chemical doused topsoil ended up in Lake Michigan. These businesses will now be re-applying fertilizer and weed killer (Roundup) to their damaged fields, compounding the ecological suicide at the heart of industrial agribusiness.

Strictly in terms of weather, this is a highly unusual event for the Midwest…but “highly unusual” is rapidly losing its meaning.

Record floods kill five in Australia

Posted on May 24, 2025May 28, 2025 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

Record floods in Australia: Global warming comes to haunt the climate perp nation

About 50,000 people were trapped by record floodwaters, said to be the worst in memory, if not all time. The event has been declared a natural disaster as more torrential rains move toward Sydney and Newcastle.

The NSW State Emergency Service responded to over 535 flood rescues in 24 hours as six months of rain fell in one day. More than 100 schools have been closed and 10,000 of homes and businesses have been damaged.

It is somehow appropriate that Australia – with its commitment to massive coal mining for export – is considered by climate scientists to be the planet’s canary in a coal mine. To repeat: these sorts of lethal and extreme weather events are increasingly more intense and frequent as global warming accelerates.

DROUGHT FLOOD DROUGHT

At the same time, large swathes of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are severely drought-affected due to some of the lowest rainfall on record.

Drone shot of floods in NSW, Australia

Global Warming Speeds Up As Emissions Spike

Posted on May 20, 2025May 24, 2025 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

It’s far worse than you think, and getting worser.

While the great unwashed seem to think that global warming has slowed, the reality is quite the opposite. In spite of the way these statistics are reported, concentrations of CO₂ are increasing in the atmosphere and oceans and a sudden jump in methane is turbocharging climate collapse.

Rate of global sea levels rise continued to increase more than expected in 2024, due to thermal expansion as oceans warmed faster than predicted.

And CO₂ stays there for thousands of years, as every molecule that spews forth remains. The 1.5° C threshold was a joke all along, but that is well behind us now as CO₂ levels cross the 430 PPM mark for the first time. This year is projected to be the second year in a row to exceed that 1.5° C mark. There is no going back.

More frequent hot weather and droughts have dealt a significant blow to crop yields, especially for key grains like wheat, barley, and maize, according to a Stanford study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Bolivia, Brazil lead record global forest loss

Brazil and Bolivia led forest destruction in 2024 as drought worsened fires and land was cleared for large-scale agriculture and cattle-farming.

Forest loss in Bolivia and across Latin America is part of a broader worldwide trend. New data released earlier this week by World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch found that global forest loss reached record highs in 2024, with almost twice as much tropical primary forest lost in 2024 as in the year before. That is equal to an area larger than Ireland.

Trump ignores disaster relief in MAGA states

Surprise! Trump ignores climate disasters in MAGA states

Red state officials are pleading with the Trump administration for help in recovering from deadly disasters as President Donald Trump triggers frustration in states struck by tornadoes, floods and storms. Shocking, no one is responding. Perhaps they need to buy a ticket to his bit coin events.

Trump has left states, counties and tribes in limbo in states such as Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama and Arkansas up in the air on 17 disaster aid requests. More than half are a month old The grifter government continues massive cuts to personnel and budget.

More at Scientific American.

Australia faces yet another record flood event

It is somehow appropriate that Australia – with its commitment to more coal production – is considered by climate scientists to be the planet’s canary in a coal mine. About 50,000 people were trapped by record floodwaters, said to be the worst in memory, if not all time. The event has been declared a natural disaster as more torrential rains move toward Sydney and Newcastle.

The NSW State Emergency Service responded to over 535 flood rescues in 24 hours as six months of rain fell in one day.

More coverage here

Runaway deforestation reducing Amazonian rainfall

Numerous studies using satellite data, climate models, and field observations confirm that continued deforestation leads to measurable reductions in rainfall. Some models predict that deforestation beyond 20–25% of the Amazon’s original cover could trigger irreversible ecological changes.

Trees in the Amazon rainforest play a crucial role in the water cycle when they release water vapor, generating clouds and rainfall. When they are killed, precipitation drops. “Flying rivers” carry water vapor long distances; when they are weakened, the climate of vast areas of South America area affected.

Local weather patterns are disrupted, creating hotter, drier microclimates. reduce atmospheric humidity, and create drier, hotter microclimates that further reduce rainfall.

Illegal Loggers rape Gran Chaco forest to clear land for cattle

Invasion of criminal loggers lays waste to Gran Chaco forest

Over 8 million hectares of forest have been cleared in the Gram Chaco region of Argentina. The once pristine forests are being raped by illegal logging interests to make room for cattle ranching and soybean cultivation.

Consequences are global and local, as endangered species are wiped out, indigenous peoples are run out of their homes and irreversible desertification erodes soil and increases water scarcity. economically.

More heartbreak in the Guardian.

Minnesota wildfires worsen

Minnesota wildfire season another harbinger of the coming shitstorm

Governor Waltz declared an emergency in northern Minnesota.

As of mid-May, over 40,000 acres have burned across the state—triple the typical annual total. These blazes have destroyed more than 140 structures, primarily in St. Louis and Lake counties.

Ever warmer temperatures, drought and low humidity are exacerbating the crisis.

Thousands evacuated in Indian GLOF landslides

More than 1,000 people were left stranded in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim after landslides in the high-altitude region cut off access to several areas.

This region was the scene of a devastating GLOF event in 2023 as a glacial lake bursts it’s newly formed moraine dam, with torrential floods crashing 300 miles downstream, killing 55. Glacial Lake Outburst Floods are increasing as glaciers melt across the alpine regions of the planet.

Unpredictable GLOF events are becoming more common as the world warns:

On 28 April 2025, a Glacial Outburst Flood landslide killed two people in occurred at Vallunaraju, Peru.

A study was conducted by an international team of scientists.

Cedar and pine trees getting killed by global warming

As warming driven rising sea levels inundate the coasts of Chesapeake Bay cedar and pine trees are dying at unprecedented rates. Deciduous trees are dying as the salt water encroaches, giving way to marches dominated by reeds.

Higher arsenic content as rice harvests are threatened

Increased temperatures and Co2 emissions raise concentrations of arsenic in rice. Arsenic occurs naturally, but common methods of growing rice in inundated fields subject the crop to concentrated levels of the heavy metal, which causes tumors, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The potential consequences have been estimated in millions of additional cases of cancer by 2050, to which would be added those deriving from the increased risks for all other non-oncological pathologies, such as diabetes, heart attacks, neurocognitive disorders and problems during pregnancy and birth.

JAPAN SHORTAGE

As the most common cereal consumed worldwide, rice is already under pressure from warming factors. Japan is currently facing a rice shortage caused by record heat in 2023. As prices soar, the government has release its emergency rice stockpile for the first time in history.

Coffee now on the list of climate threatened luxury items.

But don’t worry, the wealthy will be able to afford it longer than you can.

Climate changed driven disruptive weather has affected supplies of coffee beans, which is driving up the price of your favorite not-remotely-necessary luxury cup. The benchmark that sets the global price of arabica coffee has more than doubled over the past year, with 25% of that surge coming since the start of 2025. For the first time, one pound of arabica costs more than $4 on commodity markets.

Unpredictable weather patterns have messed with agricultural production around the world. Chocolate prices are also up sharply in 2025 with higher temperatures and rainfall levels spoiling cacao yields in West Africa

Rapid Sea level rise

“We used to swim to the island, now we walk.”

Alexandria is one of the world’s sinking cities, along with Venice, Miami, Lagos, Jakarta and others. An IPCC report predicts that with global sea levels rising at the current rate, and without adequate preventive measures, thousands of kilometers of the Nile delta could be fully submerged by 2100.

Like the rest of Egypt’s Mediterranean coast around the delta, El Max also faces several other environmental risks, including land subsidence, soil erosion, earthquakes and water pollution from nearby petrochemical plants, which all add to the increasing vulnerability of the area.

SE smashed by storm and fires

NOAA targeted as lethal storms and fires smash records

At least 42 people are dead after powerful storms swept through the Midwest and the South over the weekend and drenched parts of the Northeast.

Multiple states woke up Monday morning to damage from dust storms, wildfires, rain and tornadoes following nearly 1,500 storm reports across the country from Friday to Sunday.

Two children died in Transylvania County, North Carolina, after a tree fell through the center of their family’s trailer early Sunday. Firefighters found the boys — ages 11 and 13 — “trapped directly under the tree and other debris,”

Rapid Warming Drives Massive Flood Increase In Himalayas/Asia as glaciers melt

Rising temps have triggered a 25 year increase in flood risk and unpredictability in High Mountain Asia. The study confirms that planetary heating from the burning of oil, coal, and gas is driving the rise in all four of the main types of floods seen in the region.

Rapid Sea level rise

Sea level rise is increasing 50% faster than 30 years ago.

Since 1880, global sea levels have risen approximately 8–9 inches (21–24 cm), with rates accelerating in recent decades. Between 1993 and 2002, the ocean rose by 24 mm. Over the past decade, that number increased to 36 mm. While 3.6 mm per year seems small, it has already intensified coastal flooding and storm surges. By 2100, over 410 million people could be at risk. climate.gov

Drought flood drought as wildfires cross Carolinas

Weather whiplash continues to take it’s tool in the Carolinas. Evacuations continues amidst an emergency evacuation from wildfires in North and South Carolina.

GovernorEver

Los Angeles Firestorm Catastrophe: Get Used To It

Posted on January 10, 2025February 7, 2025 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

Record Hot January 2025 Is Counter to Predictions

Because of El Nino pattern, 2025 was expected to be a little cooler than the record breaking year 2024.

That’s not what happened. Hope there’s nothing wrong with the weather.

These Santa Ana Winds Are Different

CLIMATE WHIPLASH HAS CREATED A PERFECT FIRESTORM

The fire-whipping winds that seem intent on destroying Los Angeles are not new, just as the hurricanes and droughts are not new. However, the monster gales driving the historic conflagrations of 2005 are pumped up by global warming to a degree that makes any attempts at containing them futile. The winds coming from the high deserts to the east reach hurricane force, driven by the record temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

California, much of the American West, and increasing expanses of the globe are caught in a deadly weather pattern that alternates extreme rainfall with severe drought. The current firestorm was preceded by two years of unprecedented rainfall, followed by a heatwave and drought. That is the recipe for the disaster now unfolding.

Today's Santa Ana winds are growing ever more powerful as global warming supercharges them to hurricane force. — *Today’s Santa Ana winds are growing ever more powerful as global warming supercharges them to hurricane force.*

“Hurricane of fire” apocalypse carries a warning of very bad year to come

The unprecedented fires in Los Angeles could not have been stopped by any human effort, but the bogus, evil onslaught of political opportunism is a harbinger of what to expect as global warming triggers more and more disasters

The death toll is ten and expected to rise.
There are five wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area. Palisades is the largest with nearly 20,000 acres burning and more than 5,000 structures destroyed. Eaton is at nearly 14,000 acres and still 0% contained. The newest fire, Kenneth, burning nearly 1,000 acres in LA and Ventura counties, is 35% contained.
Downed power lines, open gas lines and compromised structures will remain a threat. .
Winds at the Palisades fire are expected to gust up to 40-60 mph Friday night. Forecasters expect a short break in winds on Saturday before they pick up again on Sunday and into next week.
Water supplies ran out as human efforts were shown once again to be overmatched by the anger of the planet.

2024 WAS THE HOTTEST YEAR ON PLANET EARTH BY A STUNNING MARGIN

Blowing past the imaginary 1.5C threshold for the first time.

Historic storm smashes Ireland

Storm Éowyn a historic storm you missed

Ireland was caught unprepared for a monster storm that hit the island nation with 100 MPH winds, smashing infrastructure, bringing floods and, ironically, wrecking renewable energy installations. Hundreds of thousands were without power for days.

Mass Murre die-off in Alaska

Mass Alaskan sea bird death by heat wave

A marine heat wave that occurred between 2014 and 2016 killed about 75% of the population of the common murre, a coastal seabird. This is the largest single species wildlife die-off in modern history.

According to the latest research, the numbers have yet to rebound. The study documented the devastating effect that marine heat waves have had on the population of these birds along the coast of Alaska.

The anomaly, known as “the blob,” persisted for two years, disrupting marine food webs. The impact became visible as more than 62,000 emaciated common murre carcasses washed ashore from California to Alaska – most washing up within the Gulf of Alaska.

Greenland's lakes have turned from blue to brown as global warming alters the ecosystem

Greenland lakes turning brown as environment warms

Record heat and rain turned thousands of Greenland lakes nasty brown in 2022 as they hit a tipping point and began emitting carbon dioxide.

Record heat and rain in 2022 pushed the lakes of West Greenland past a tipping point, according to a new study at the University of Maine. Heat waves turned snow into rain and thawed the island’s permafrost — frozen ground that stores carbon, iron and other elements. The rains then washed these elements into lakes, turning them brown.

Less sunlight was able to penetrate the lakes as they darkened, which had a ripple effect on the microscopic plankton living in the water. The number of plankton absorbing CO₂ through photosynthesis declined, while the amount of plankton breaking down and releasing carbon increased.

The lakes normally absorb CO₂ in the summer, but by the following year they had flipped to become carbon dioxide producers. These types of widespread changes would normally take centuries. Researchers have observed the browning of lakes across the Northern Hemisphere, including the U.S., but it typically takes multiple decades — much longer than the transformation of Greenland’s lakes.

“The magnitude of this and the rate of change were unprecedented,” study lead author Jasmine Saros, a professor of paleolimnology and lake ecology at the University of Maine, said in the statement.

Climate Whiplash Devastation in Las Angeles

Global warming driven wildfires fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds continue roaring through Southern California since Tuesday, January 8, 2025, killing at least 10 people, displacing over 200 000 residents, and destroying more than 10 000 homes and buildings in just three days. In addition, more than 360 000 customers, or just over 1 million people in California were left without power.

Aside from the evil nonsense being spewed by the oligarch owned Republicans, there is nothing that could have stopped this apocalypse.

Earth breached the 1.5C safety zone for the first time in 2024

Planet breached 1.5C threshold in 2024

As the death toll climbed from wildfires raging in California, scientists confirmed on Friday that the world has just experienced the first year in which temperatures exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial times.

Global temperatures in 2024 soared to yet another record level, but this time it was such a big jump that Earth temporarily passed a major symbolic climate threshold.

“The trajectory is just incredible,” C3S director Carlo Buontempo told Reuters, describing how every month in 2024 was the warmest or second-warmest for that month since records began.

Australia climate insurance crisis

Australia also faces massive climate insurance crisis

Australia has long been considered the canary in the coal mine of global warming collapse. New data indicated the continent is only a few years away from a California-style natural catastrophe insurance disaster, with 5.6 million homes nationwide believed to have some risk of bushfire.

Climate Council research has revealed at least ten electorates most likely to have homes declared uninsurable by 2030, due to the heightened risk of flood or fire wiping residences out.

Prolonged drought causes Africa to slaughter elephants, zebras

Posted on October 23, 2024December 3, 2024 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

Australian Spring is the hottest ever

Prolonged drought has driven southern African nations to slaughter iconic animals for food

Catastrophic drought has compelled desperate governments in southern Africa to resort to culling hundreds of iconic “safari” animals to feed their hungry people.

Persistent lack of rainfall has caused crop failure and livestock herd decline, resulting in 70 million people at daily risk of starvation. Namibia began slaughtering animals in late summer, ultimately culling 723. Zimbabwe also authorized the slaughter of 200 elephants. The elephants were taken from national parks where global warming is driving growing competition between humans and wildlife. As temperatures continue to rise, the region has seen steadily dwindling food and water resources.

Both Zimbabwe and Namibia have declared a national disasters.

Although the animals are supposed to be killed humanely by professional hunters, there is plenty of opinion to go around. The overwhelming question is what this practice will lead to as millions are threatened with food scarcity. Authorities estimate that South African precipitation levels will fall by as much as 2% by the end of the century

Zimbabwe elephant slaughter to feed hungry population — Further south, the country of South Africa – the most developed nation on the continent – is struggling with an intractable water shortage. While the climate is one factor in this looming crisis, leaks and poor infrastructure maintenance are also to blame.

NO GOOD NEWS AS AUTUMN DISASTERS MULTIPLY

New Methane microbial feedback

neW methane feedback loop

warming releases more microbes

A disturbing new source of methane (CH₄) appears to be creating a new feedback loop, adding to multiple existing sources of this dangerous gas.

Methane concentrations began to spike by 5 or 6 ppb per billion every year from 2007 onward. In 2020, the growth rate nearly doubled.

Simply put, the new methane emitters are the trillions of microbes found in wetlands and landfills. As the earth warms, they produce more methane.

Methane has also increased from oil and gas operations, cattle, landfills and marshes, and most recently (and most alarming) from thawing permafrost in the Arctic.

CH₄ is about 80 times more potent than CO2, although it breaks down faster. CO2 remains in the atmosphere for thousands of years.

Australia November heatwave

North Australia heat waves startiing early

ONE OF THE EARTHS HOTTEST PLACEs

It’s still Spring in Australia’s Northern Territories but temperatures are climbing well past 120F. Heatwave warnings are in place for large parts of Queensland and the northern territory — with the northern half of the country expected to be one of the hottest places on the planet.

Wildfires New Jersey and California see 14,000 evacuations

Wildfires AfFlict Ca, NJ, CT & Pennsylvania

“we barely made it out”

Dozens of homes in Ventura County went up in flames as the fast moving Mountain fire engulfed thousands of acres and triggered 14,000 evacuations. Hundreds of properties have been destroyed by the fire with damage to hundreds more.

Meanwhile red flag warnings have been issued for most of New Jersey as a continued extreme drought, combined with high winds, has pushed fire conditions from bad to critical. The Forest Fire Service is already battling at least three sizable wildfires in South Jersey.

Most US states are in a state of mild to severe drought.

Glaciers receding globally

global Glacier collapse photos

Christian Åslund

In 2002, Swedish photographer Christian Åslund began documenting the rapid retreat of Arctic glaciers. Those photos were compared with pictures of the same glacier from a century before. The contrast is stunning.

Åslund has since been commissioned to revisit the same locations he documented over two decades ago to find that the situation has deteriorated dramatically.

The comparison images are so shocking that when they were first published in 2002, people accused Åslund of faking them. They either claimed he had manipulated the mages or that he had shot them in summer, while the old photographs were taken in winter.

he thing is: glaciers stay essentially the same all year round, so it would not have mattered what time of year the photos were taken – except in the fevered brains of denialists.

The Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the planet, kicking in albedo feedback that is irreversible.

Greenhouse gas hitting new highs

mitigation IS A joke

Greenhouse gas levels continued to climb to new records in 2023, according to a report from the World Meteorological Organization. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than than any time during human existence. Among the causes cited are wildfires, fossil fuel and other industrial emissions and a probable reduction in carbon absorption by forests.

Greenhouse gases include CO_2,CH_4,N₂O.

All of these levels are rising real fast.

Record rains produce Killer floods in Spain

mega Floods In SpaiN kill 250, wreck towns

“We were trapped like rats. Cars and trash containers were flowing down the streets. The water was rising to three meters”

Several dozen were killed in eastern Spain after flash floods smashed cars in village streets that had turned into swift moving torrents.

Onlookers described an onslaught of muddy water tossing cars and truck ahead of it. The state is describing the event as Spain’s worse natural disaster in memory. Scientists generally hesitate to attribute any single catastrophe to global warming for a number of reasons, but the science is hard to argue with.

“With every fraction of a degree of fossil fuel warming, the atmosphere can hold more moisture, leading to heavier bursts of rainfall.” – Dr Friederike Otto, Imperial College, London.

“No doubt about it, these explosive downpours were intensified by climate change,” he said

Another Scary UN Climate Report

“The World Is Playing With fire”

SECOND SCARY un REPORT

Another world changing report on the global climate disaster is being widely ignored because it’s no fun to read. The United Nations 2024 edition of UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report says our world has a “gargantuan task” ahead of it to avoid “unthinkable” consequences.

That’s why most people decide not to think about them.

Tree Species Going Extinct

1/3 of Tree Species Disappearing

38% At risk

According to the first Global Tree Assessment, 38 percent of tree species are at risk of extinction.

The assessment, led by Botanical Gardens Conservation International and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission Global Tree Specialist Group, is an initiative that looks at the conservation status assessments of all Earth’s tree species on the IUCN Red List.

“Today, we are releasing the global assessment of the world’s trees on the IUCN Red List, which shows that more than one in three tree species are threatened with extinction.

THWAITES GLACIER crash getting worse

losing 50 billlion tons

More bad news on the so called “Doomsday Glacier” as new research shows seawater moving beneath the ice shelf and eating it away from underneath. About the area of Florida, this massive ice form is already shedding 50 billion tons of ice each year, responsible for about 4% of global sea level rise. The water comes into direct contact with a larger amount of the glacier than previously thought.

Global warming is increasing toxic metals in the oceans

SEA LEVEL RISE RATE doubles in 10 years

NEW SATELLITE REPORT

The rate of sea level increase continues to climb, as indicated by new satellite measurements published in Nature. From 1993 until the end of 2023, global mean sea level has risen by about 4.3 in.

This represents an increase in yearly rate from ~2.1 mm/year to ~4.5 mm/year in 2023, more than double. This data is consistent with increases from IPCC, which mean a total of about 6.5 in. over the next three decades. If this trajectory of sea level rise continues over the next three decades, sea levels will increase by an additional 169 mm globally, comparable to mid-range sea level projections from the IPCC AR6.

ADM Co2 plant leaking

CO₂sequestration is still bullshit

another boondoggle

After two decades of blowing CO₂ up our butts in the form of carbon sequestration mythology, the first actual commercial site in the US is reporting its second leak. Archer Daniels Midland’s heavily subsidized carbon dioxide sequestration well sits beneath Lake Decatur, this central Illinois’s primary source of drinking water. It has now reported its second leak.

The facility in central Illinois was the first permitted commercial carbon sequestration operation in the country, and is part of the fossil fuel multibillion dollar gold rush to steal more money pretending to fix the problem they created.

The leaks can lead to toxic metal contamination and lower pH levels, making the water supply undrinkable.

Fires burning in all South American countries

Amazon wildfire carnage worsens

DROUGHT MAY BE ENDING

As rains finally end Brazil’s historic drought, the damage from wildfires shows and area the size of Switzerland destroyed.

“The data is exceptionally alarming, it’s a very abrupt surge,” Ane Alencar, science director at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute.

The surge in destruction comes a year before Belem will host the annual ccliamte conference joke known as COP30.

Deforestation in the Amazon usually begins with chainsaws. Wet, fallen trees are left lying on the ground until they’re dry enough to set afire. They’re not even used for lumber.

lETHAL FLOODING IN NEW MEXICO

record rainfall

Roswell, NM recorded a record rainfall of 5.78 in. as the state declared a flood disaster area. Two people died in the sudden deluge.

Local authorities described the flash flooding as “extreme” as the National Guard rescued nearly 300 people from floodwaters.

Global warming is increasing toxic metals in the oceans

TOXIC METALS INCREASING IN OCEANS

GLOBAL WARMING EFFECTS

A new study points to global heating-related factors combining to increase levels of toxic metals in the planet’s seas. These accumulations are in addition to the damage done by agricultural and industrial pollution.

This uptick is due to melting glaciers, thawing permafrost, and coastal erosion. The trend is particularly true for mercury, which poses a risk to communities dependent on traditional fishing.

Niger floods kill hundreds and displace millions

UNRELENTING NIGER FLOODS

MILLION ARE DIsPLACED

Floods caused by intense rains have resulted in 339 deaths and displaced more than 1.1 million people in Niger since June. Described by authorities as unprecedented, the floods have devastated the Sahel nation’s critical resources, cultural sites, and schools.

Over the last few months, heavy rains have flooded every Chad province, burst a Nigerian dam, wrecked infrastructure in the region while killing 1,460.

Wyoming wildfires

WILDFIRES TORCH WYOMING forests

about 200,000 acres

Two out of control wildfires have burned more than 147,000 acres in Wyoming, adding to the right wing conspiracy stockpile. In this case, the nuts are claiming that the government is burning up land because they need it for rare earth minerals. Surprisingly similar to a line of conspiracy being spread in North Carolina.

More OBX beach homes collapse into the Atlantic

Posted on September 25, 2024October 5, 2024 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

3 more NC beach homes crash into the Atlantic in 4 days

The very definition of insanity

After three more Outer Banks beach homes in the town of Rodanthe collapsed into the ocean in late September, the house surfing totals look like this:

3rd collapse in 24 hours
4th OBX house in the water in six weeks
10 OBX beach home failure since 2020

The Outer Banks of North Carolina are experiencing some of most rapid sea level rise on the planet, while at the same time beach erosion has been an ongoing threat to vacation homes for many decades.

And yet an awful lot of people don’t seem to grasp (or want to grasp) the scale of the problem.

3 Outer Banks beach house collapse in 4 days — *“People say hateful things and ask why we built our house in the middle of the ocean,” said one homeowner. Isn’t the larger question: why do you keep doing it?*

Global Warming +

Even the knuckle draggers who continue to insist that climate change is a hoax understand that sea levels are rising on coasts of the Carolinas faster than almost anywhere else in the world. That truth is the major contributing factor to the crisis on the OBX. nothing can change the fact that these are low lying sand bars that have never been stable, so building on them has always been a risk.

Which explains why many owners and developer seem believe that someone else should assume the risk.

Some OBX residents have sold off and retreated while the getting is good; others have elevated their homes in the hopes that they will stave off disaster, at least in their lifetime. But the majority stay put and demand that the beaches get restored (re-nourished – a great euphemism for Other People’s Money) get restored by state or the Feds (the Federal government they despise). Repeat as needed.

Government over-reach is really about where the government is reaching.

But the fact is, these barrier islands are doomed as the oceans slowly, and now more quickly claim them. The water is moving in at rates of 10 to 15 feet a year in some places…And the water always wins.

WHO PAYS FOR THIS MESS?

The ongoing issue for the Outer Banks, Miami Beach, the Gulf Coast the coastal Northeast as well as other disappearing barrier islands throughout the US is: who pays for the wealthy to continue to rebuild on the coasts even though it is clear that this process is unsustainable?

You do. In a lot of sneaky ways.

Government subsidies and disaster relief policies encourage risky coastal development, artificially inflating property values. Start with the National Flood Insurance Program, created by the U.S. Congress in 1968. Private insurance is in business to make profits, so they are hesitant to subsidize a losing bet. The NFIP offers flood insurance at below market insurance rates for homes in risky places. Guess who makes up the different in premium payments?

Congratulations if you said “Me?”

OPM FOR THE OBX

Most taxpayers don’t realize we are also subsidizing wealthy beach home owners and corporate real estate investors as we unwittingly and involuntarily pony up for “beach re-nourishment.” Bringing in sand from elsewhere and dumping until the next storm.

We also pay for building massive coastal infrastructure with Federal dollars. Local and state governments persuade the Federal Government (taxpayers) to foot the bill for rebuilding coastal development in dumb places. For example, the Army Corps of Engineers pumped nearly 2 million cubic yards of sand to restore beaches in Ocean City after Hurricane Sandy washed them away. The city paid $4 million and the Feds paid $14 million. This process takes place around the country.

And, how do you feel about spending millions to restore the beaches of Surfside, FL, one of the wealthiest zip codes in the nation?

Here’s another powerful trend that almost no one thinks of: The so called “financialization” of real estate. As a major driver of the housing shortage and high rental prices, this process is where the money men lock up vast swatches of real estate. They are the fund guys who swoop in after major devastation and force out the people who used to live there. is driving prices up across the country. (Watch what happens after major storms like Helene.)

They have no stake in the locality and most likely live somewhere else. The net effect is to drive the markets upward and provide leverage for more risky behavior.

These boys have political influence and that’s why they are entitled to your money.

Quite simply, human nature guarantees that when owners don’t personally bear the true costs of insuring and rebuilding, they have no reason to stop. As the seas rise, storms become more intense and flooding increases, private insurance companies will continue to pull out of these regions and the burden will increasingly fall on the public, until the public figures it out and put a stop to it. Keep an eye on the insurance crisis already brewing post Helene.

As a taxpayer, you paid about $15 billion to construct a new massive levee system for New Orleans following Katrina? These are the same people who sued the Army Corps of Engineers for adequately protecting a place that should not be there in the first place. A new $57 billion federal project is underway to keep the booming Galveston real estate market thriving. In 1930, Galveston newspaper triumphantly crowed: “We have defeated the seas once and for all.” But the seas did not stay defeated.

If this kind of money were going to single mothers in the ‘hood, it would be labeled socialism.

106 days over 100°F for Phoenix

Posted on September 4, 2024September 24, 2024 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

Phoenix breaks new heat record with 106 days over 100°F

And 56 days over 110°F

South America & Amazon burning as never before

Half of Brazil is in an extended megadrought as other nations cut hydro

From Brazil’s Amazon rainforest to the world’s largest wetlands to super dry forests in Bolivia an unprecedented onslaught of wildfires is smashing all time records. Brazil’s space research agency Inpe reports 346,112 fire hotspots so far this year in all 13 countries of South America. This alarming statistic breaks the 2007 record of 345,322 hotspots. Even the capital was threatened, as flame erupted in Brasilia, destroying almost 5,000 acres in Brasilia National Park. The city was covered in smoke, schools were canceled and hundreds of millions in crops were lost.

Ecuador has cut power to half the country due to extreme drought. Colombia was fighting out of control burns across seven states. Bolivia has declared a national emergency.

“It’s a hurricane of flames!”

Fires burning in all South American countries

Flash glacier outburst flood in Juneau as GLOF events increase globally

In a repeat of a 2023 catastrophe, an “outburst flood” from the Mendenhall Glacier has sent millions of gallons of rock and water into a neighborhood in Juneau. About 100 homes were evacuated and a state of emergency was declared. According to authorities, shocked residents managed to swim out of their homes in the middle of the night.

Two miles from the end of the Mendenhall Glacier, ice dams blocks Suicide Basin valley, an open space left after the glacier melted away. GLOFs originating from Suicide Basin have occurred annually but flooding has worsened in recent years. Record flood levels were set both last year and this year.

As glaciers melt at a frenetic pace new lakes back up behind newly formed ice dams in the Andes, Alps and Himalayas. When the dams break, the water rushes downstream, often in a cataclysmic flood. These floods have become more common as global warming causes rapid melting of glaciers around the world.

200,000 displaced in latest Nigeria flooding

Hundreds dead after weeks of torrential rains and floods

Weeks of flooding have killed nearly 200 people in Nigeria and washed away homes and farmlands, the country’s disaster management agency said, further threatening food supplies, especially in the hard-hit northern region.

The floods have destroyed 107,000 hectares of essential in the north, the source of much of the country’s ag output. Nigeria has the highest number of hungry people in the world, with 32 million — 10% of the global burden — facing acute hunger.

Nigerian floods

107°F breaks record as Australian winter ends with large scale heat event

Hottest ever winter temperature recorded down under

The temperature is the hottest every recorded on the continent for any winter month (which as a reminder, is the seasonal opposite of the Northern Hemisphere).

Records are also being broken in Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales.

“It doesn’t matter how you slice and dice it…The temperature records have been gobsmacking.” – Dr Linden Ashcroft, the University of Melbourne.

Australia land hurricane turns deadly as winds top 100 MPH

Derecho, hurricane forces winds have killed at least one in Victoria State, a heat wave is driving bushfire in Queensland and Tasmania is under water as Australia undergoes a triple climate event.

Monday saw with record flooding in Tasmania, an emergency bushfire in NSW, and more than 600 houses damaged by wind in Victoria.

In Queensland, firefighters are continuing to fight bushfires in the Scenic Rim in the state’s south-east. Residents near Kerry Road have been told to prepare to leave as hot and dry weather are creating “perfect” conditions for bushfires, the state firefighting service said.

Land continues collapsing in Rancho Palos Verdes as power is cut

Electricity has been cut to hundreds of residents of Rancho Pales Verdes, CA as landslides in the area continue to occur without warning.

“There is no playbook for an emergency like this one,” – L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn.

The moving land that is creating a danger to electrical equipment in the area, according to Southern California Edison. While hundreds of homes are affected, but most are expected to be temporary shut offs. However about 20 homes in Seaview will be losing power “indefinitely.” Gas company officials said the area continues to experience significant new land movement damaging roads, homes and further threatening the safety of SoCalGas’ infrastructure

The crisis is over a year old, as massive landslumps have accelerated on about 700 acres as a delayed reaction to heavy rains from spring 2023.

“This is bigger than Rancho Palos Verdes. This land movement is so gigantic and so damaging, that one city should not have to bear the burden alone.“

Rancho Palos Verdes cuts

Climate threatens global food supply

Global food supply is fraying as heat looms

The accelerating climate emergency poses a significant threat to the global food supply, with both direct and indirect effects on crops, livestock, and fisheries.

Planet wide heating is already having far-reaching effects on the global food supply, impacting crop yields and increasing food insecurity. These impacts are shaped by rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, more frequent extreme weather events, and increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

The climate emergency affects crop yields due to extended heat waves and water scarcity, extreme weather and unpredictable precipitation patterns. Often overlooked, nutrient content in staple crops may also be affected. Crop yields may even increase due to higher CO2 levels, but actual nutrients may decrease, resulting in more empty calories.

In addition, warming lake and ocean waters are stressing marine life, which affects fisheries and aquaculture. Increased CO2 levels in the ocean are causing fundamental changes to acidity.

The range of crop destroying insects and other pest is migrating toward the poles.

As luxury goods and basic stables become more expensive and then unavailable, it will become increasingly challenging for paid climate deniers to keep up the lies.

Summer ends with record breaking heat, floods, landslides and wind events

Link to more stories.

325 ft high wall of wildfire sweeps Jasper, Alberta

Posted on July 28, 2024August 3, 2024 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

Wildfires devastate Jasper, Alberta and National Park

25,000 evacuated in Canadian Rockies

The town of Jasper, AB and surrounding national park were laid waste by a 328 ft. wall of fire that swept through, melting cars, torching buildings and infrastructure with apocalyptic heat.

Intense heat melted vehicles, torched buildings

As of late July, there are 48 wildfires burning “out of control” around the province of Alberta as the region sees the continuation of annual fire problem that seemingly has no end.

Wildfire devastates Japser, Alberta

wildfires melt car in Jasper, AB

Amped up megafires driven by climate-fueled cocktail of conditions.

Alberta has experienced significant wildfires in recent years, reflecting broader trends in increasing wildfire frequency and intensity due to climate change. The causes are warmer temperatures, prolonged droughts, and earlier snowmelt contribute to drier conditions, increasing the likelihood of wildfires.

Western USA continues to burn as firenado is recorded in California

The cataclysmic Park Fire in Northern California was growing at a rate of 8 sq miles an hour and has burned more than 350,000 acres of land north-east of Chico. Hundreds of fires are out of control in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

Communities elsewhere in the U.S. West and Canada also were under siege Saturday from fast-moving flames. More than 110 active fires covering 2,800 square miles (7,250 square kilometers) were burning in the U.S. on Friday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center

Firenado recorded amidst devastating wildfires

Summer 2024 brings it

Floods, record breaking cyclones, lethal heat waves and landslides happen simultaneously as the human species sleepwalks into oblivion.

Current update here

Dubai hits 140F heat index

Posted on July 20, 2024 by rapidclimatechange_tfkjps

IS IT WARM OR IS IT JUST ME?

“The body doesn’t care what the instruments report, it only knows whether or not it can cool itself.”

This week has seen reports of heat index records in the Gulf and Near East that exceed 140°F, in some cases as high as 150°F. That level is well above what the human body can tolerate for long.

The most newsworthy event focused on Dubai, which measured a 144°F heat index and a “real” temperature of 113°F. Asaluyeh, Iran also reported a 149 °F heat index. But the parade of broken records is covering much wider swaths of the planet, including catastrophic heat waves in the US West and East coasts, Southern Europe, South Asia and Africa.

Most of these places are historically hot. But not this hot for this long. Real people are dying, including the barely reported June deaths of 1,300 Hajj pilgrims in Mecca in 120°F heat. They were going to throw stones at the devil.

Is the heat index – which accounts for air temperature and humidity – real?

Short answer: real enough to cook your internal organs, my friend.

In the context of effect on the human body, the heat index is EVEN MORE REAL than standard air temperatures as measured on the thermometer. The body doesn’t care what the instruments report, it only knows whether or not it can cool itself.

For example, Persian Gulf International Airport reported successive thermometer air temperature readings of “only” 108°F and 106°F, but heat indexes of 149°F. Why the big difference? Part of the answer is a lesser reported stat: a 95°F reading of Persian Gulf water temperatures, which generate massive amounts of humidity.

The body cools itself by sweating, but at those levels it is unable to do that because moisture doesn’t evaporate. The human body begins to shut down at a core temperature of around 109.4°F. At that point, we begin to heat from inside. Any heat index over 105°F is dangerous to the human body (new studies are concluding even lower levels can be lethal). Above 124°F is considered extremely dangerous.

Then you die.

“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.”

In the US, most places experiencing this rapid increase in temperatures are in the Desert Southwest, which typically have lower humidity and also air conditioning. So those with the means can live inside during long heatwaves, going from air conditioned home to air conditioned car to air-conditioned restaurant. So for now, it’s mostly the poor and homeless who die.

The other under-reported stat is overnight lows, which are increasing even faster than daytime highs. If anything, these numbers are more critical to any environment, because humans and plants are unable to recover. Humans can migrate if they are able, but trees not so much.

In the Near East, nighttime lows have been in the 80s up to high 90s in places. The same trends are clear in other regions of the overheating planet.

As heat indexes become more widely reported, climate denialists are lining up to deride these statistics as woke science, not real, like birds. It is another conspiracy, although who benefits is a different question altogether.

After 20 years of covering the global climate disaster, I have divided denialist trolls into two camps: 1) those who are well paid to continue the multi-billion dollar, multi-decade gas lighting extravaganza brought to you by the fossil boys and 2) fools.

However, there is likely significant overlap between these groups.

Link to global updates