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Duration of Indian Hot Season Nearly Doub
Duration of Indian Hot Season Nearly Doubles as Crushing Drought and Heat Expand Across the Subcontinent
For
India, the hot-season-like temperatures began in late February —
two months earlier than usual. After a brief respite, they fired
again in March, bringing April-like temperatures a month too soon.
The hot season for this region typically begins in mid-April and
extends through mid-June. In 2017, hot-season conditions sparked in
late February. Today, life-threatening temperatures of between 100
and 115 F blanket much of this vast, densely populated land.
The
early onset of heat comes after years of expanding drought, warming
temperatures, melting glaciers and drying rivers, bringing with it a
deepening hardship. Farmers across the country report a sense of
deepening desperation as cries for help in the form of nationwide
protests break out. Meanwhile, those working outdoors increasingly
suffer from heat- and dehydration-related kidney failure. This year,
conditions that threaten heat injury and loss of life have spurred
schools across the country to close early.
Levels
of atmospheric carbon dioxide hit record concentrations.
Some
records aren’t meant to be broken — but when it comes to
climate change, humans still haven’t gotten the memo.
Last
fall, the Earth passed a major climate milestone when measurements
taken at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory showed that atmospheric
concentrations of carbon dioxide had passed — potentially
permanently — 400 parts per million.
This
week, measurements taken from the same observatory show that yet
another marker has been passed: Carbon dioxide in the Earth’s
atmosphere, for the first time in modern record-keeping, has
surpassed 410 parts per million.
The
newest aerial surveys covered over 8,000 kilometers (5,000) miles,
which includes 800 individual coral reefs.
According
to the surveys, 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) of the Great Barrier
Reef is now bleached. These new statistics come less than a year
after 93 percent of the reef suffered severe damage, with reports
adding that the effects have also spread further south.
Combined
with the mass bleaching event, the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Debbie
added to the devastation, as it struck a section of the reef that
managed to escape the worst of the bleaching.
Nine
homes were destroyed and mandatory evacuations of approximately 7,000
homes were in place Friday afternoon due to an ongoing brush fire.
Nearly
5,000 acres were scorched near Everglades Boulevard and 30th Avenue
SE.
That
fire, which sparked Thursday afternoon was 10 percent contained as of
Friday afternoon. Greater Naples Fire Chief Kingman Schuldt described
the area as "a war zone."
A
second brush fire, which also started Thursday, burned approximately
350 acres near Frangipani Avenue before it was fully contained Friday
afternoon, fire officials said.
Many
regions are burning while in the west the problem is snow melt water
in the Ob, the world's 7th longest river.
Rising
temperatures and strong winds are fuelling an increase in wildfires,
as highlighted in these dramatic pictures.
Worst-hit
regions in the coming days are expected to be TransBaikal, Kemerovo
region and Omsk along with the Republic of Buryatia.
Space
monitoring spotted 23 'hot spots' across 6,800 hectares.
Many
were sparked by the illegal burning of hay, an annual problem.
But
peat fires in Buryatia are posing a serious threat, says Greenpeace,
which claims the authorities are turning a blind eye.
Alexey
Yaroshenko, head of the forestry department at the campaigning group,
said: 'Large wildfires in drained peat bogs are active again in the
Kabansky district of Buryatia.
'The
largest wildfire covers, according to preliminary information, about
500 hectares in a peat bog close to Bolshaya Rechka village.
'Smaller
wildfires have been registered by systems of remote monitoring, also
in the delta of Selenga River as well as on drained peat bogs close
to Seleginsk.'
With
no rain due, and a hot summer in prospect, this will lead to
worsening fires and 'create a life and health threat to people' and
pose problems for transport.
In
Irkutsk, fires are being blamed on setting fire to dry grass and last
year's garbage, after which the blazes become out of control.
TransBaikal
had five wildfires on Friday morning, and there were four in
Khabarovsk....
RT
makes light of colder conditions
Roads,
houses, and even flowers covered in thick snow – though it’s
mid-April, winter won’t loosen its grip on Russia and Eastern
Europe, as abundant photos on social media clearly illustrate.
Arlene
formed on April 20 as Tropical Depression 1 and strengthened into a
tropical storm at 5 p.m. EST that day.
On
April 20 NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of
Tropical Depression One as it was strengthening into a tropical
storm.
The
image showed a large area of thunderstorms over the southwestern and
northeastern quadrants of the storm.
NOAA's
GOES-East satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Arlene
on April 21. Thunderstorms wrapped tightly around the center of
circulation and a large band of storms circled west of center.
Located
to the west of Arlene were clouds associated with another frontal
system.
Arlene
was moving toward the west near 31 mph (50 kph) and this general
motion is expected to continue today.
Maximum
sustained winds were near 50 mph (85 kph) with higher gusts.
On
April 19, 2017 the Governor of Louisiana declared a State of
Emergency for the Louisiana coastline. The hope is that this
declaration will bring nationwide attention to the desperate need for
restoration and protection. The leadership in Louisiana is hoping
that the President and Congress will declare the eroding coastline a
national emergency and force Federal agencies to act quickly to help
preserve the coast. Louisiana currently has over one hundred
restoration and protection projects in the works but progress is slow
because of federal regulations, environmental review, and permitting.
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