Saturday, 7 July 2018

Climate change- driven extreme weather: Temperature records shattered across the world

Temperature records are falling in just about every part of the globe. These are just the stories from the past couple of days – not in any particular order.

I will deal with the effects on agriculture and human habitat separately

Heatwave Shatters Temperature Records Across Northern Hemisphere

Robertscrobbler

 Major temperature records have been shattered throughout the Northern Hemisphere as the heat of human caused climate change bites deep.


Africa may have witnessed its all-time hottest temperature Thursday: 124 degrees in Algeria


6 July, 2018

The planet’s hottest continent probably just endured its hottest weather ever reliably measured.

An Algerian city soared to 124.3 degrees (51.3 Celsius) Thursday, adding to the onslaught of records for extreme heat set around the planet during the past 10 days.

The blistering-hot temperature reading, observed in Ouargla, is probably the highest temperature ever reliably measured both in Algeria and in all of Africa. The record was first identified by weather records expert Maximiliano Herrera.

Ouargla, with a population of nearly half a million, is located in north central Algeria, roughly midway between Morocco and Tunisia.

Location of Ouargla, Algeria, indicated by red marker. (Google)

Its 124.3-degree temperature surpassed Africa’s previous highest reliable temperature measurement of 123.3 degrees (50.7 Celsius) set July 13, 1961, in Morocco.

Higher temperatures previously measured in Africa have either been invalidated or climate experts find them dubious:

  • The hottest temperature ever measured in Africa and on the planet was once thought to be 136.4 degrees (58 Celsius) observed in El Azizia, Libya, but that record was rejected by the World Meteorological Organization after a committee identified five concerns with its collection.
  • A temperature of 131 degrees (55 Celsius) observed in Kebili, Tunisia, on July 7, 1931. is officially considered Africa’s (and the eastern hemisphere’s) hottest measurement. But extreme weather expert Christopher Burt, who has studied the record, calls it “suspicious” because of lack of comparable temperatures in modern times and assigned it a validity score of one out of 10. Etienne Kapikian, a French meteorologist, called the record “a big joke.”

In his blog post on this latest Africa temperature reading, Jeff Masters includes a run-down of other questionable temperature readings from Africa logged during the colonial period.

In order for Thursday’s temperature in Ouargla to be considered official and a record for Africa, it would need to be certified by the World Meteorological Organization while the previous record from Tunisia would also have to be invalidated.

Whether or not the Ouargla record is certified, the temperature posted seems plausible as the weather pattern was conducive to the exceptionally hot conditions.

European model analysis of heat dome over northern Africa, July 5 (WeatherBell.com)

Northern Algeria was under the influence of an extraordinarily intense heat dome or zone of high pressure aloft, when the high temperature occurred. Statistically, the strength of the heat dome was 3.5 to 4 standard deviations from normal, meaning it was highly unusual.

The European model showed temperatures more than 20 degrees above normal very close to Ouargla which, for a desert climate, is an extreme anomaly.

Temperature difference from normal July 5 in northern Africa as analyzed by the European model. (WeatherBell.com)

This probable all-time heat record is one of many set over the past 10 days because of numerous intense heat domes scattered around the Northern Hemisphere.

Locations where heat records have been set include:

  • In North America: Denver; Montreal; Mount Washington, N.H., and Burlington, Vt.
  • In Europe: Glasgow, Scotland, Shannon, Ireland, Belfast, and Castlederg, Northern Island
  • In Eurasia: Tbilisi, Georgia and Yerevan, Armenia
  • In the Middle East: Quriyat, Oman, which posted the world’s hottest low temperature ever recorded on June 28: 109 degrees (42.6 Celsius).

In addition, in Northern Siberia, along the coast of the Arctic Ocean, model analyses showed temperatures rose over 40 degrees above normal on July 5, above 90 degrees. Data here is scarce so records cannot be confirmed for this exceptional anomaly.

The heat wave in southeast Canada, which brought an record heat to Montreal, has been blamed for 34 deaths.

While no single heat record, in isolation, can be attributed to global warming, collectively, this large group is consistent with the kind of extreme heat we expect to see increase in a warming world.



A historic heat wave in northern Africa on Thursday, July 5, brought Africa its hottest reliably measured temperature on record: 124.3°F (51.3°C), at Ouargla, Algeria. Ouargla (population 190,000) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Algerian Sahara Desert, at an elevation of 719 feet (219 meters).

The key word here is ‘reliably’. Many hotter temperatures have been reported in Africa during the colonial period—including the official African record of 131°F (55.0°C) at Kebili, Tunisia on July 7, 1931—but all of these hotter temperatures have serious credibility issues, as explained by wunderground weather historian Christopher C. Burt below. According to weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera, the previous all-time African record for reliably measured maximum temperature was 123.3°F (50.7°C) on July 13, 1961 at Semara, Western Sahara. His research shows that the hottest temperature reliably measured in Kebili, Tunisia was 119.3°F (48.5°C) in July 2005, with the second highest reliably measured temperature coming this Thursday, at 118.8°F (48.2°C)--a far cry from the official record of 131°F (55.0°C)!




An intense heat wave is shattering temperature records in Iran and the Caucasus nations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, causing power shortages that are adding to discomfort in the region.

Weather experts on July 6 said the heat wave is the result of a high-pressure dome or heat dome that formed over the Eurasian region and reaches as far north as southern Russia, where temperatures hit a record high for June on June 28.

In the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, temperatures soared to a record of 41 degrees Celsius on July 4, contributing to unhealthy air pollution levels reported by the National Environmental Agency.

Earlier in the week, on July 1, temperatures hit a record 43 degrees in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, prompting heavy use of air-conditioning that the government said caused an explosion at a hydroelectric power plant and a nationwide power outage.

It was the worst power outage since Azerbaijani independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

A day later, temperatures soared to a record high 42 degrees in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, while Iran experienced its hottest July temperature ever -- 53 degrees -- causing misery and power shortages and prompting the government to change work hours in Tehran to save electricity.



Record-breaking heat is descending on Southern California on Friday, bringing new fire dangers as well as health concerns for people who have to endure the conditions.

Today will be one for the record books. Almost all if not all of the daily records will fall today. It is likely that several monthly records will fall and it’s possible that 1 or 2 all time records will be made today,” the National Weather Service said in its most recent statement.

Saturday will again be dangerously hot and the excessive heat warning will continue into the evening. But it will not be as staggeringly hot as today.”

An excessive-heat watch is in effect for much of southwestern California for Friday and Saturday, the weather service said. Temperatures in the valleys, the lower mountains and desert locations are expected to range between 102 and 112 degrees. Parts of the coast could reach around 100 degrees.






View image on Twitter

Historic flooding hit Des Moines, Iowa over the weekend following a series of thunderstorms that started affecting the city on Saturday evening, June 30, 2018. More than a 305 mm (1 foot) of rain fell on some parts of the city by Sunday morning. One person was killed.

Des Moines metro area received between 76 and 203 mm (3 to 8 inches) of rain with some areas receiving well over 305 mm (12 inches), according to local media reports. Heavy rain was accompanied by winds in excess of 96 km/h (60 mph).

According to KCCI Des Moines, Ankeny received the brunt of the storm’s force and saw around 254 mm (10 inches) of rainfall in a short time frame, according to NWS. At one point during the storm, rain fell at a rate of more than 102 mm (4 inches) per hour


HOT! Irish temperature next week are going to break records.
Ireland’s historic heatwave is set to continue into next week when temperatures will rock to unseasonable highs.

All weather records in Ireland are set to be broken next week when the temperatures hit 91.4F (33C) bringing the Irish the hottest day in 40 years.

After over two weeks of sunny weather and heat Ireland’s heatwave is set to continue, with no foreseeable end in sight. Next Thursday, July 12, will see record breaking temperatures hit 91.4F. These temperatures are predicted for Limerick and Carlow with the rest of the country experiencing at least 77F.





Weather officials in Japan are warning of record-high rainfall across a wide part of the country through the weekend.

The Meteorological Agency said on Thursday that a seasonal rain front hanging over the country is bringing heavy rain to eastern and western Japan, and Okinawa.

The agency said heavy rain over the next few days will raise the danger of landslides and flooding



It's the middle of winter but Thursday has felt closer to a summer's day in Sydney, as the mercury climbed 9 degrees above the July average of 16.4.

At a top of 25.2, it's easily the hottest day on record for the first week of July – a full degree above the previous record of 24.1 in 2004.

And it will remain relatively warm until a cool wind change on Friday afternoon, although even over the course of the weekend, temperatures will remain around 2 degrees above average.

The monthly temperature record for Sydney's Observatory Hill is 26.5, from July 30 last year.

If it reaches at least 23 tomorrow (the forecast is 24), it would be the earliest occurrence of two consecutive days above 23 degrees in July, and only the eighth time two such days have been recorded in July (since a Stevenson screen was installed at Observatory Hill in around 1910), according to weather bureau senior climatologist David Martin.



A massive 100,000 acre blaze has hurled off 300 foot high walls of fire that local authorities are describing as a ‘fire tsunami.’


 The Spring Creek Fire, now the third largest in the Colorado state record, has forced more than 2,000 people to evacuate, destroyed or damaged 200 homes, and drawn the emergency response of 1,000 firefighters.


60 percent of bees lost over winter in Virginia





In Virginia, the Department of Agriculture found that there was a loss of nearly 60 percent of honeybees over the 2017-2018 winter season.

The winter losses were 59.5 percent,” said Keith Tignor, State Apiarist.

This is the highest rate since 2000, which was when the state began monitoring bee winter losses.

Hot Eastern Siberia on July 5


Temperatures are running into the upper 80s and lower to mid 90s (F) in Eastern Siberia on July 5, 2018 -- which is up to 36 F above average. Warmer than normal temperatures extend well into the Arctic Ocean. And smoke from large Siberian wildfires is visible in the satellite shot.




Heat over Siberia and parts of the Arctic Ocean is wreaking havoc on forests and could have impacts on sea ice. It’s possible that temperatures could crack the 90s in Siberia to end the week, which is bad news because the region is already a smoldering, smoky mess.

It’s the second time in two months that major wildfires have lit up northeast Russia. The latest round is clearly visible on satellite images, which show smoke spreading over an area roughly 1,250 miles (2011 kilometers) wide. The scope of the smoke dwarves the County Fire currently raging in California.


Smoke from Central Russia extending into the as far as the Beaufort Sea and Point Barrow/Utqiagvik (~4000km) in the latest Atmosphere Monitoring Service forecast
Over 31 celcius in northern Siberia now.


Hundreds of thousands of people across a wide swathe of western and central Japan were evacuated from their homes on Friday as torrential rain flooded rivers and set off landslides, killing at least four people.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued its strongest possible warning about the "historic" rainfall and said more was set to batter already saturated areas through Sunday, raising the danger of more landslides and major damage.

One part of the main island of Honshu had been hit with twice the total amount of rain for a normal July by Friday morning, and the rain was relentless through the day.






A sudden flooding of the river Nenska in the village of Tchuberi in Svaneti region has cut the village off from the rest of Georgia, as all five bridges have been destroyed, infrastructure has been heavily damaged and many of the houses are in water.

The village has no electricity and there is no mobile connection, Gvantsa Japaridze, a local official told the Netgazeti.ge.


Meanwhile it made 45 degrees Celsius in Yerevan, Armenia (official temperature - 42C)



Map of Australia with big red patches of much of the inland from WA border east, indicating over 1.5 above normal
The data has come through from the financial year and it was hot with maximum temperatures the warmest on record from July to June.

Minimums were also above average but not record-breaking, at only 0.72 degrees above the long term average.

The Bureau of Meteorology's David Jones said it was quite remarkable how consistent the temperature anomalies were.

A message on a church noticeboard saying 'whoever is praying for fine weather please stop'.

"The only part of Australia that saw temperatures almost average was the far north west corner," he said.


It’s been few and far between and the lack of it has broken all-time records, especially in western NSW. That’s rain we’re talking about of course.

NSW in general has had its driest start to a year in 30 years, but in some areas of NSW, it’s the driest it’s ever been. That’s despite some solid rain in the last week in parts of central NSW and in the far north of the Northern Tablelands.

Broken Hill collected just 18.2mm of rain during the last six months, which makes this their driest first half of a year in records dating back to the late 1800s, according to Weatherzone.


Syracuse, N.Y. -- With another 90-plus degree today, Syracuse is off to its hottest early July in 107 years.

The average high temperature in the first five days of July has been 92.2 degrees. The record is 93.6, set way back in 1911.

Syracuse hit 91 degrees at 3:19 p.m. today, the fourth 90-degree day in the first five days of the month. The coolest day, relatively speaking, was Tuesday, when it was "only" 87 at Hancock International Airport.

Today is the eighth 90-degree day so far this year, with the hottest part of the summer still to come.


Dozens of wildfires are burning across the West, from California to Colorado, with thousands of firefighters toiling away in hot, dry weather, trying to prevent the blazes from burning down homes and businesses.

Why it matters: These fires are coming early in the wildfire season, which is potentially a bad sign for how the rest of the summer and fall may proceed, before winter rains and snow presumably return. In other words, the horrific wildfire season of 2017, which was the worst in California history, could be nearly equaled or exceeded this year.


It was a steamy Independence Day over much of the eastern half of the nation, especially in the Ohio Valley and Northeast, where the temperatures surged into the 90s with high humidity. Record highs fell in New York, Georgia, and Maine.

More heat is ahead today (Thursday), as the heat index will lift into the triple digits along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and approach 100 into New England. The mercury will surge into the 90s.
Heat related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat


Iran’s Water Crisis

Population and agricultural growth puts a strain on water resources. Many countries in the Middle East are suffering from a water shortage due to drought as well as mismanagement. This can lead to economic and consequently political instability.

One of the most vulnerable countries is Iran, who has not developed an effective system of water supply and use.

In fact, drought poses a bigger threat for the future of Iran than the countries it considers “enemies” — US and Israel.



The temperatures will be sizzling hot the next few days across the Southwest, especially in the desert areas of Nevada, Arizona, and California. Heat alerts include Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego and Phoenix. Widespread triple digit heat will be found in the deserts today (Thursday), with 90s common in the rest of the Southwest.



The vast majority of the country officially enters a state of “absolute drought” today with no rainfall recorded at 24 out of 25 weather stations during the last two weeks.

The extreme weather conditions have prompted Irish Water to expand a hosepipe ban from the Greater Dublin Area to the whole country from Friday morning.

From 8am on Friday the use of hoses in nearly all circumstances will be banned across the country. Irish Water warned the ban will likely continue until at least July 31st in order to allow water sources to replenish themselves.

The hot dry spell is expected to continue for the foreseeable future with Met Éireann saying it does not expect any rainfall within the next 10 days.

On average, demand across all water resources nationally has increased by 15 per cent, a level Irish Water said “cannot be sustained for any period of time”.



Thirty-three people have died in a heat wave that has baked the southern part of the Canadian province of Quebec, officials say.

The sweltering weather began last Friday with temperatures hitting 35C (95F) and high humidity.

The death toll has climbed every day this week, with most of the victims between the ages of 50 to 80.

The heat wave is the worst the province has seen in decades, officials say.

Temperatures rise in NSW! 5-9 degrees above average

Ben Domensino, Thursday July 5, 2018 - 17:59 EST
Parts of NSW just had their warmest July day in more than half a century.

A stream of air flowing over NSW from central Australia caused temperatures to climb five to nine degrees above average across most of the state on Thursday.

Gunnedah (24.8C) had its warmest July day in 60 years, while Goulburn (19.7C) and Wagga Wagga (20.1C) registered their highest July temperatures in 43 and 42 years, respectively.

Tamworth (23.4C), Trangie (23.4C) and Dubbo (22.9C) all had their warmest July day in more than two decades.

Further east, Sydney registered its warmest day on record for the first week of July, reaching a top of 25.3 degrees in the city shortly before 3pm. This beat the previous record of 24.1 degrees from the first week of July in 2004.

The warm air will linger over northern, central and eastern NSW into Friday, although a cooler southwesterly change will flush the heat out of the state by the weekend.

While summer temperatures in Lapland typically remain in the teens, this week it was much warmer than in the south.
Äiti laittaa aurinkovoidetta lapsen selkää.
The record for Finland’s hottest temperature so far this year nearly went to Finnish Lapland on Tuesday.

The village of Kevo in Finland’s northernmost municipality, Utsjoki, lost out by a whisker when it came to setting a heat record this week. The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) says the mercury topped out at 29.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

That was just a tenth of degree below the summer record so far. It was set back on May 15, when the temperature climbed to 29.6 degrees at Helsinki Airport, in the south-eastern town of Kouvola and in Kimitoön on the south-west coast.

Kevo’s average temperature in July is 13 degrees. More than 1200 km north of Helsinki, the town is home to a nature reserve and the University of Turku’s Subarctic Research Station. It’s also Finland’s driest location, receiving an annual average of just 415 mm of rain.



Emergency repairs had to be made to a road in far north Queensland after bitumen melted around car tyres, causing traffic chaos....

Meanwhile, Tablelands Regional Council Mayor Joe Paronella said he understood it was a change of weather that led to the tyre damage.

"I have never seen anything like it and when the reports started coming through yesterday it was just incredible," he said.



A bin lorry sank into melted tarmac as Britain sweltered in some of the hottest temperatures of the year so far.

Thames Valley Police posted a photo of the HGV stuck in a road in Newbury, Berkshire, as the vehicle awaited recovery.

It has not been confirmed if hot weather caused the truck to sink into the ground, as temperatures sat around the 27C mark in Berkshire.


In a move straight out of the Soviet Union handbook, PG&E has warned they may cut electrical power to some California residents during “extreme weather” to help prevent wildfires.

This comes after some poorly maintained Pacific Gas and Electric power lines and equipment have been determined to have started last year’s deadly wildfires in the Napa Valley wine country area.

Cal Fire investigators said Friday that equipment owned and operated by PG&E ignited 12 wildfires that raged in hot, dry weather and high winds across Northern California in October, charring hundreds of square miles in Sonoma County and beyond, destroying thousands of structures and killing 18 people



A fast-spreading wildfire in California's Siskiyou County sparked on Thursday has caused the closure of Interstate 5 between Yreka, California and Ashland, Oregon, and prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency as the blaze has consumed 5,000 acres so far.

The "Klamathon Fire" fire started around midday, southeast of Hornbrook, and grew to 1,000 acres in the afternoon, reported Mail Tribune. The Statesman Journal reported that the flames had spread across 5,000 acres by the evening. At the time of writing the fire is zero percent contained.

On Thursday night, California Governor Edmund G. Brown declared a state of emergency in Siskiyou County as residents were evacuated from their homes.

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued an emergency proclamation for Siskiyou County due to the effects of the Klamathon Fire, which has destroyed structures, threatened homes and critical infrastructure and caused the evacuation of residents,” the declaration said.


Flash floods in Italy

1 comment:

  1. All FAKE records of temperatures and climate events.
    ‘The Deliberate Corruption of Climate Science’.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPzpPXuASY8
    Tim’s website is
    “Human Caused Global Warming”, 'The Biggest Deception in History’.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPzpPXuASY8
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO08Hhjes_0
    www.drtimball.com

    ReplyDelete

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