Massive anti-Beijing protests which have gripped Hong Kong over the past month, and have become increasingly violent as both an overwhelmed local police force and counter-protesters have hit back with force, are threatening to escalate on a larger geopolitical scale after the White House weighed in this week.
With China fast losing patience, there are new reports of a significant build-up of Chinese security forces on Hong Kong's border, as Bloomberg
From nearly the start of the protests which began over a proposed extradition bill (which would see Hong Kong citizens under legal accusation potentially extradited to the mainland) interpreted as major Chinese overreach inside historically semi-autonomous Hong Kong, officials in Beijing have suggested an "external plot" afoot, more recently alleging the hidden hand of the United States.
The latest charge made Tuesday by mainland government officials is that the still escalating Hong Kong unrest is the "creation of the US"— something which the Trump admin official speaking under anonymity to Bloomberg firmly denied.
On Monday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a press interview
that "protest is appropriate" and that "we hope the Chinese will do the right thing" regarding respecting Hong Kong's historic "one country, two systems" status. This was enough to elicit a quick response alleging US meddling out of Beijing on Tuesday.
“The White House is monitoring a buildup of chinese forces on Hong Kong’s border, a senior administration official said.” Here we go..the moment the pla army marches from Shenzhen, it’s over. china’s army is going to invade HK. It’s inevitable. #hk
“It’s clear that Mr. Pompeo has put himself in the wrong position and still regards himself as the head of the CIA,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a news briefing
.
"He might think that violent activities in Hong Kong are reasonable because after all, this is the creation of the U.S.”
China's position has been to recently declare the protests going "far beyond" what's legal and "peaceful" amid clashes with police.
People’s Liberation Army soldiers at Stonecutters Island naval base in Hong Kong last month. Source: NYT/Reuters
Last
week Chinese military leaders hinted that People's Liberation Army
troops could be used to quell the protests following widespread
reports of vandal attacks on the central government’s liaison
office in Hong Kong, according to The
New York Times Ministry
of National Defense, Senior Col. Wu Qian, said at the time, “That
absolutely cannot be tolerated.”
For now, few details are known concerning the reported Chinese "build-up" on the border, which could consist of military forces, as Bloomberg added to its report:
The nature of the Chinese buildup wasn’t clear; the official said that units of the Chinese military or armed police had gathered at the border with Hong Kong. The official briefed reporters on condition he not be identified.
The timing of the back and forth unsubstantiated allegations is interesting especially in light of President Trump seeking to reinvigorate stalled trade deal negotiations with China, currently being conducted in Shanghai following the ceasefire to the trade war.
The sea ice is extremely thin (one meter or less) throughout the
Arctic Ocean, with anomalously large ice free areas over the Laptev,
Kara, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The Bering Sea reached an ice free
state very early. Also, ice free areas are growing off the north
coast of Greenland and offshore the islands of the Canadian Archipelago; this is where the thickest ice of 3-6 meters used to be located. However there is now are only isolated areas with thickness of 3 meters and much of it is only 1-2 meters thick.
The ice is being removed by offshore winds now capable of pushing the
ice out to sea.
North coast of Greenland, July 74-29.
Canadian Archipelago, July 14-29th.
This"detachment" of the sea ice sheet from those coastlines is
unprecedented and exposes the Central Arctic sea ice to lower albedo
heating with additional dark open water (running 2-8 C above normal
around the Arctic Ocean where it is exposed), as well as large swells
and high winds from storms as we move into August and September. In
my opinion, this "detachment" phenomenon elevates the risk
of major sea ice collapse and a new record low minimum for sea ice in
the Arctic Basin by mid-September.
July 29th sea surface temperature anomalies relative to 1961-1990 normals.
Most of the Arctic sea ice is surrounded by sea surface temperatures
2.25-8 C/4-14 F above normal.
Peak temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday over the Greenland tundra may
be as high as 20-25 C (68-77 F) with the interior ice sheet in the
range of 3-5 C (37-41 F), potentially higher. Darkening and resulting
albedo reduction on the ice sheetis being caused by increasing meltwater, algae growth and soot from fires in the Arctic. There is the potential for this week to bethe 2nd biggest melt event ever observedon Greenland.
Greenland is forecast to be 4.9 C above 1981-2010 normals or 6.7 C above pre-industrial early Wednesday morning.
3. The fires in the Arctic are reaching apocalyptic levels. According to
Greenpeace of Russia 12 million hectares (over 29.6 million acres) have been burned in Russia this year,with 3.2 million hectares actively on fire in Siberia as of July 27th. In addition to burning vegetation, carbon-rich peat is burning and will likely burn for months, releasing significant carbon emissions. There were 50 megatonnes of carbon dioxide released in June across the Arctic from fires, surpassing the total emissions released from the Arctic in June in 2010-2018 combined. By late-July, total emissions reached 121 megatonnes, exceeding the record emissions season for fire in the Arctic in 2004of 110 megatonnes. Fires have not only burned in the Siberian Arctic, but also Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, and Scandinavia.
There are 72 active fires in Alaska as of July 29th,with five over 40,500 hectares (100,000 acres) and one approaching 202,300 hectares (500,000 acres). As previously mentioned, much of soot from the fires will fall on snow and ice in the Arctic, reducing albedo and accelerating melting of both.
4. Large emissions of methane gas appear to be venting from the Arctic
Basin. This can be seen via satellite atmospheric sounding data
showing wide swaths in the middle atmosphere over the Arctic Ocean
with emissions of at least 2000 parts of billion of methane
(considered a large concentration). Methane is at least 150 times
more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide on timescales of 5
years or less and is growing in concentration in Earth's atmosphere.
Methane detected in the middle atmosphere July 29th. Many high concentration plumes are originating from the Arctic region.
The highest concentration methane layer in the upper-atmosphere. Global
mean is near 1900 ppb and Northern Hemisphere mean likely in
2000-2200 ppb range. A "methane veil" covers much of the
Northern Hemisphere, with significant area of high concentration
methane over the Siberian continental shelf.
5. The conditions favorable for extensive melting of sea ice, Greenland
ice and the production of further large fires (namely, very abnormal
heat and drying of vegetation/peat) will continue over Greenland,
much of Alaska and Central Siberia forat least the next two weeks.
A
series of natural disasters are hitting Siberia, with the latest a
dire threat from severe flooding to Baikal - the oldest and
deepest lake in the worth, containing 20% of the planet’s
unfrozen freshwater.
The
alert concerns flooding in Baikalsk - where evacuation has begun -
and
concerns
that toxic mudflows can dump poisonous sludge from a former pulp
and paper mill into the lake’s pristine maters.
Pools
of liquid sludge containing lignin poses a huge threat to the life in
Baikal with warnings of an ‘ecological catastrophe’.
‘We
can only pray now,” said one campaigner pointing to a risk of a dam
burst on the Solzana River where a bride had been swept away already.
The alert concerns flooding in Baikalsk. Water comes close to the Trans-Siberian Railway, some districts of the town are already flooded, bridge across river Solzana which leads to Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill collapsed.
While
Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, a Soviet-era production facility seen as
an
ecological
threat to the lake, is now closed, the risk of pollution from
untreated waste storages at the site is acute, say reports.
The
last devastating Baikal mudflow was in July 1971 which washed 20
kilometres of the Trans-Siberian Railway into the lake and destroyed
several sections of the
road from Irkutsk to Ulan-Ude.
The
railway could again be threatened
Elsewhere,
some 2,000 have been evacuated in major flooding in Amur region in
the Russian Far East.
There
are fears of a repeat of the massive destruction of 2013.
Stranded
pets have been rescued with 17 villages hit and 600 houses underwater.
The last devastating Baikal mudflow was in July 1971 which washed 20
kilometres of the Trans-Siberian Railway into the lake and destroyed several sections of the road from Irkutsk to Ulan-Ude.
Some
3,000 kilometres east, the settlement of Tulun has faced its second
massive evacuation in a month from flooding - while also suffering
from wildfire smoke.
The
Iya River is expected to use up to 10 metres above its normal level.
President
Vladimir Putin has twice visited this area in Irkutsk region after
the first wave of flooding.
With
wildfires, almost 3 million hectares are now burning in Siberia and
the Russian Far East.
Smoke
pollution has eased in Kemerovo, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, and Altai
regions - but is forecast to return with a change of wind direction.
Wildfires raging in Yakutia.
Out-of-control
infernos are destroying permafrost by burning the tundra both north
and south of the Arctic Circle.
Elsewhere
centuries-old boreal forests of cedar, pine and larch - known as the
lungs of the Northern Hemisphere - are turning to ashes.
Concern
in rising over health risks with locals complaining they are living
in a “gas chamber”, while wild animals are “fried alive”.
Worst
hit is Yakutia where 1.8 million hectares are now ablaze.
Here
the tundra is aflame on both sides on both sides of the Arctic
Circle.
Famous Mir mine in thew city of Mirny, Yakutia, in normal weather and covered witrh the smoke.
In
Krasnoyarsk, just short of one million hectares are on fire.
Here,
an Emergencies Ministry pilot said that he has been waiting to fly
his water-spraying plane on burning forests but no order was given.
'Every
day I and the whole team are on duty. There are four aircraft,' he
revealed.
'Since
the beginning of the fires, not a single specialised Be-200 has been
lifted into the air.
'Yet
all around everything is burning and in the smoke.'
Some 2,000 have been evacuated in major flooding in Amur region in the Russian Far East. Pictures: Amurskaya Pravda, @tim0n050
Like
many locals he attacked the authorities for turning a blind eye to
fires in remote locations where few live.
‘They
say it is expensive to extinguish and if part of the forest burns
down - it is not scary.,’ he said. 'I think this is absurd.
‘The
forest burns and does not stop - the fire spreads in dry and windy
weather.
‘Of
course, now, probably it will be expensive to extinguish everything
that burns.
‘But
why was there no order to fly out earlier, when the fire had just
begun to spread. Everything was under control then?
'I
have been living in the North for a long time - there have been fires
before, but I have not seen one like this year.
‘Yes,
the fire is far from people, for example, in Vanavara, but there is
such smoke there! And no-one thinks about the people who are there.’
More than 100 settlements in Irkutsk region are covered with the smoke too. Piuctured: Kirensk, Ust-Ilimsk, Ust-Kut towns.
Postings
from people hit by fires have been dramatic.
‘Our
children are suffocating,’ one woman posted.
‘We
are right next to the epicentres of wildfires, and we struggle to
breathe,’ complained mother Marina in Evenkia, in the north of
Krasnoyarsk region, one of the worst-hit.
Olga
from Tura, in the same region, said: ‘We see bears coming out of
the taiga one after the other, deer, too, and smaller animals - but
mainly bears.
‘Planes
stopped coming because they can’t land in thick smog.
‘People
walk around the village in masks but they are no real help as even
with a mask on it hurts to breathe.'
More
than 1,500 km further west, Valeria Glukhova from the city of Omsk,
said: ‘I was
at a bus stop and I felt like I was locked inside a gas chamber.
‘Every
time I inhaled the air burnt my lungs. I returned home with awful
headache and soon started vomiting.
‘My
husband called an ambulance.
‘My
head is aching, my throat is hurting, my eyes are itchy.
‘I
had to walk for about ten minutes, and now hair smells of smoke so
badly, as if I was sitting all night long by a campfire.
‘I
saw many teenagers and children wearing medical masks, but I am
pretty sure they are not enough, you literally need a gas
mask.’
Vanavara settlement is covered with the smoke, but the head of the village denies any threat to people's health.
In
badly-hit Vanavara locals have posted pictures which have been
disputed by local administration chief Alexander Zarubin who
accused them in exaggeration, using photoshop or filters, which
they deny.
In
this settlement a child was shown wearing a mask because of the
pollution.
Locals
accuse Zarubin of talking ‘nonsense’.
A
senior regional official denied that the situation was as serious as
resdients and the media had claimed. 'This is a common natural
phenomenon, it is meaningless to fight with this, and sometimes it
can be even harmful. If we have a snowstorm in winter
in
cold weather, no one comes up with the idea to drown icebergs so that
we have a warmer weather.’ said Krasnoyarsk governor
Alexander Uss.
UPDATE:
Today
Russia declared a state of emergency over wildfires in Krasnoyarsk
and Irkutsk regions and parts of Sakha (Yakutia) and Buryatia
republics.
Talking
to Siberian Times, an emergency pilot in Krasnoyarski Krai said he
had
spent days waiting to fly his firefighting plane, but received no
order to do so.
"Every
day the whole team and I are on duty. There are four aircraft,"
he said in an article published on Monday.
"Since
the beginning of the fires, not a single specialized [plane] has been
lifted into the air."
"They
say it is expensive to extinguish and if part of the forest burns
down — it is not scary," the unnamed pilot said.
Greenpeace
steps in
Separately,
the region's officials said that cost of the firefighting effort is sometimes "ten times larger than the possible damage" cause
by the fire.
But
the pilot slammed the calculation as "absurd."
"Of
course, now, probably it will be expensive to extinguish everything
that burns," he said.
"But
why was there no order to fly out earlier, when the fire had just
begun to spread?"
The
Russian charter of Greenpeace had launched a petition to force the government to move against wildfires in Siberia, which was signed by
some 245,000 by Tuesday evening.
The
wildfires "have long stopped being a local problem" and
have "transformed into an ecological disaster with consequences
for the entire country," Greenpeace said.
Greenpeace
expert Grigory Kuksin said the soot and ashes accelerate the melting
of the Arctic ice and permafrost, which in turns releases even more
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
"It
is comparable to the emissions of major cities," he told the AFP
news agency. "The more fires affect the climate, the more
conditions are created for new dangerous fires."
The
group said almost 12 million hectares have already burned this year, destroying forests that absorb carbon dioxide.
Siberia
was almost 10 degrees Celsius (18 Fahrenheit) warmer than the ong-term average in June, according to World Meteorological
Organization.
Posts
