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Record hot seawater killed more than three-quarters of human-cultivated coral that scientists had placed in the Florida Keys in recent years in an effort to prop up a threatened species that’s highly vulnerable to climate change, researchers discovered. They saw widespread death in both repopulated and wild coral on five Florida Keys reefs. Only 22% of the 1,500 repopulated staghorn coral that they surveyed was still alive, NOAA said. “What happened in 2023 was absolutely devastating,” said retired NOAA coral monitoring chief Mark Eakin, who now is corresponding secretary for the International Coral Reef Society. “Coral restoration is almost certainly doomed to fail under climate change,” Baum said in an email.

Persons: critters, Katey, ” Lesneski, Lesneski, “, It's, that's, ”, Mark Eakin, ” Eakin, Eakin, Julia Baum, ” Baum, it's, Seth Borenstein Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, El Nino, NOAA, Looe Key, NOAA's, Coral Reef Society, University of Victoria, Associated Press Locations: Florida, elkhorn, El, Looe, AP.org

☆ Crises in Ecuador, Haiti Could Fuel Migration in 2024, Report Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Kylie MadryMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Thousands more people could be forced to leave Ecuador and Haiti in 2024 due to humanitarian crises such as intensifying violence, climate impacts and deepening poverty, the International Rescue Committee said in a report on Wednesday. "Multiple factors...will deteriorate living conditions for millions of people in Ecuador and Haiti, potentially forcing thousands to seek safety elsewhere," the IRC said. "The crises in Haiti and Ecuador are creating a ripple effect across the entire region," said IRC regional head Julio Rank Wright in a statement. "Without a functioning political system, the government will struggle to address violence and meet growing needs," the IRC said in the report. Food insecurity will likely also deepen in Haiti in 2024, the IRC said.

Persons: Kylie Madry, Julio Rank Wright, Jovenel Moise, Ariel Henry, Eli Moreno, Ros Russell Organizations: Kylie Madry MEXICO CITY, International, El, Global, Transnational, Global Initiative Locations: Kylie Madry MEXICO, Ecuador, Haiti, Colombia, Panama, Darien, Caribbean, Kenya, Mexico City, Panama City

They found that 10 countries, including Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen, and Pakistan, experienced the majority of locust outbreaks among 48 affected nations. The researchers also found a strong link between the magnitude of desert locust outbreaks and weather and land conditions like air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and wind. El Nino, a recurring and natural climate phenomenon that affects weather worldwide, was also strongly tied to bigger and worse desert locust outbreaks. “As such variability increases, it is logical to predict that locust outbreaks will increase as well,” said Tallamy. The desert experienced locust outbreaks in 2019 after uncontrolled breeding following cyclones, which filled the desert with freshwater lakes.

Persons: Elfatih Abdel, Rahman, Douglas Tallamy, ”, Paula Shrewsbury, al Khali, Xiaogang Organizations: Agriculture Organization, National University of Singapore, Food, International, of, Physiology, Nino, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, World Bank, Associated Press Locations: Africa, South Asia, Agriculture, Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen, Pakistan, East Africa, Shrewsbury, India, Asia, Arabian, West Africa, AP.org

☆ Valentine's Day chocolate prices highest in years amid cocoa shortage
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But lovers may experience sticker shock this year due to higher cocoa and sugar prices. "Chocolate prices are the highest we've seen in years," said a representative of NielsenIQ. He noted that in spite of higher prices, the chocolate market is robust in mature markets like Europe and North America. Now, chocolate and Valentine's Day are synonymous, even if critics say the affiliation is perpetuated by marketing gimmicks. That being said, chocolates are not the only Valentines' Day treats that will dent the wallet this year.

Persons: Scott Olson, Sergey Chetvertakov, David Branch, there's, Kim, Mintec, It's, Andrew Francis Wallace Organizations: Valentine's, Getty, P, El Nino, Food Institute, Branch, CNBC, Bloomberg, National Confectioners Association, Toronto Star Locations: Chicago , Illinois, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Wells, Asia, India, Africa, Azaguie, Europe, North America, Western Europe, Singapore, Toronto

☆ Colombia Turns Drug-Fumigation Planes Into Fire Fighters
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia on Wednesday added eight aircraft, some previously used to fumigate drug crops, to its fire-fighting fleet as it braces for more dry El Nino weather that has stoked major wildfires. President Gustavo Petro declared a natural disaster in January as fires ravaged areas of the world's second-most bio-diverse country. Petro attended an event in Tolima province displaying the four AT-802 Air Tractor planes and four Black Hawk UH-60 helicopters, originally donated by top ally the United States, that were refitted to drop water and chemicals to quell flames. The planes were used to spray the herbicide glyphosate on illegal plantations of coca, the chief ingredient in cocaine, until 2015 when the flights were stopped due to health concerns related to the chemical. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Petro, Luis Jaime Acosta, Julia Symmes Cobb, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Tractor Locations: BOGOTA, Colombia, Nino, Tolima, United States

☆ The Midwest is having a ‘non-winter.’ El Niño is only partially to blame
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Winter has gone missing across the Midwest and Great Lakes, and time is running out to find it. Dozens of cities are on track for one of the warmest winters on record, making snow and ice rare commodities. A classic El Niño pattern coupled with the effects of a warming climate are to blame for this “non-winter” winter, said Pete Boulay, a climatologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Missing snowfall is even more pronounced in areas surrounding the Great Lakes, especially those that are typically buried by lake-effect snow. The lackluster ice coverage is part of a larger troubling trend across the Great Lakes.

Persons: Pete Boulay, we’ve, ” Boulay, “ I’ve, Boulay, ” Melissa Widhalm Organizations: CNN, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Regional Climate Center, Paul International, Nashville, Twin Cities, Purdue University, NOAA, Climate Central, Climate Locations: Midwest, Great Lakes, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, St, Erie , Pennsylvania, Great, Climate Central

☆ Brazil Has a Dengue Emergency, Portending a Health Crisis for the Americas
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Stephanie Nolen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Brazil is experiencing an enormous outbreak of dengue fever, the sometimes fatal mosquito-borne disease, and public health experts say it is a harbinger of a coming surge in cases in the Americas, including Puerto Rico. Brazil’s Health Ministry warns that it expects more than 4.2 million cases this year, outstripping the 4.1 million cases the Pan-American Health Organization recorded for all 42 countries in the region last year. Brazil was due for a bad dengue year — numbers of cases of the virus typically rise and fall on a roughly four-year cycle — but experts say a number of factors, including El Niño and climate change, have significantly amplified the problem this year. “The record heat in the country and the above-average rainfall since last year, even before the summer, have increased the number of mosquito breeding sites in Brazil, even in regions that had few cases of the disease,” Brazil’s health minister, Nísia Trindade, said.

Persons: El, “, Nísia Trindade Organizations: Brazil’s, Ministry, American Health Organization Locations: Brazil, Americas, Puerto Rico

☆ Climate change: The world just marked a year above a critical limit of 1.5 degrees scientists have warned about
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Angela Dewan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The past year was 1.52 degrees hotter on average than temperatures before industrialization, according to data from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate and weather monitoring service. That 12-month average was boosted by the hottest January on record, which was 1.66 degrees warmer than the average January temperature in pre-industrial times. Keeping global warming below 2 degrees, but preferably 1.5, was the centerpiece goal of the Paris Agreement, which most of the world’s nations signed onto in 2015. Extreme weather events already made more frequent and severe by long-term global warming are now being supercharged by El Niño, scientists say. The twin threat also supercharged the California storms this week, scientists said, enhancing rainfall and boosting the storm’s destructive power.

Persons: El Niño, Copernicus, Matt Patterson, ” Copernicus, Samantha Burgess Organizations: El, CNN, Global, University of Oxford Locations: Paris, Chile

Outside, the tornado had turned the farm’s 103-year-old barn to rubble and strewn debris across the fields for hundreds of yards. Patterson, the meteorologist, said the storm was like ones typically seen in Wisconsin in the late spring and summer. That comes after a 2018 study found that tornadoes were moving farther east, into states like Wisconsin. Conditions collided in Wisconsin late afternoon on Thursday creating the perfect conditions for tornadoes to form, Patterson said. Photos and video shot near Evansville, Wisconsin, that were posted on social media show a tornado with lightning flashing around it.

Persons: Taylor Patterson, Connie Arndt, ”, “, Matt Artis, Artis, ” Hunter Oller, Patterson, El, Dan Wagner, Andy, couldn’t, Andy Wagner, Carrie Antlfinger, Bauer, Brodhead Organizations: National Weather Service, Local, Atmospheric Administration, El Nino, Artis, Associated Press Locations: EVANSVILLE, Wis, Wisconsin, Madison, Iowa, Milwaukee, Evansville, family’s, Porter, Brodhead , Wisconsin, Magnolia, Washington, New Mexico, Upper Midwest, Maine, Evansville , Wisconsin

☆ Atmospheric river: Definition, relationship to hurricanes, potential benefits, and more FAQs answered
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Atmospheric rivers are rivers of water vapors low in the Earth's atmosphere. Below, we answer some FAQs about atmospheric rivers. What causes an atmospheric river? Atmospheric rivers and hurricanes have a few things in common, Cordeira said, but "the processes in the atmosphere that give rise to a hurricane are different than the processes that give rise to atmospheric rivers." In 1994, MIT researchers Yong Zhu and Reginald E. Newell published a paper about "atmospheric rivers and bombs."

Persons: Jason Cordeira, Cordeira, El, it's, Carlos Barria, they're, Yong Zhu, Reginald E, Newell, Ralph et al Organizations: Service, Los Angeles Times, Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Center, Western, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, West, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, REUTERS, MIT, University of California Locations: West Coast, Southern California, Mississippi, California, California , Oregon, Washington, Europe, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, West, Bolinas , California, Hawaii, San Diego

☆ Cocoa prices surge to all-time highs as bad weather hurts West Africa crop yield
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

The hand of Alain Kablan Porquet in dry cocoa beans, in Gagnoa, Ivory Coast, November 19 2023. Cocoa prices have surged to all-time highs this week as bad weather conditions hammer crop yields in West Africa, home to three quarters of the world's production. Cocoa futures prices have surged more than $1,000 or nearly 40% since the start of the year to hit an intraday all-time high of $5,874 per metric ton Thursday. The El Nino weather phenomenon is causing drier temperatures in West Africa, hurting crop yields in Ghana and Ivory Coast, the two largest producers of the bean. "The changing weather patterns means that the potential yields of cocoa are now permanently impaired," Hamza Hussain, a commodities analyst at TD Asset Management, told CNBC Thursday.

Persons: Alain Kablan, Hamza Hussain Organizations: El, Asset Management, CNBC Locations: Gagnoa, Ivory Coast, West Africa, Ghana

Increasingly, voters are demanding that the men vying to succeed him address the tradeoffs between fast growth and a healthy environment in the world's fourth most populated country. In recent years, surging commodity prices have fueled fast economic growth and helped Indonesia become a middle-income country. That growth is expected to slow as the boom loses steam, according to a World Bank report. “That means, if the government forces its development, it will involve inefficient and unproductive allocation of resources.”Another campaign issue: food estate programs, massive plantations the government set up to fortify national food security. INDONESIA’S ENERGY TRANSITIONIn 2021, coal-rich Indonesia was the world’s ninth-largest source of carbon emissions that are causing global warming, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

Persons: —, Joko Widodo, It's, Joko Widodo —, Prabowo Subianto, Josua Pardede, ”, Arianto Patunru, Baswedan, Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, El Organizations: Permata Bank, EV, Australian National University, of Economic, Law Studies, International Energy Agency, World Bank, Youth, Bank, El Nino, AP Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, Jakarta, Nusantara, Borneo, Anies, Central Java, Widodo, Washington, Kalimantan

☆ Australia Records Its 8th Warmest Year as Climate Change Lifts Temperatures
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia experienced its eighth-warmest year in 2023, with the influence of climate change pushing average temperatures almost 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1961-1990 average, the weather bureau said on Thursday. Forecasters warn that climate change will make Australia hotter and increase the severity of weather extremes. "Climate change continues to influence Australia's climate," the Bureau of Meteorology said. The national mean temperature was 0.98 C warmer than the 1961–1990 average, with the winter average 1.53 C above the 1961–1990 average, the bureau said. Forecasters expect El Nino to fade and perhaps swing later this year into its opposite, La Nina, which makes wetter weather more likely in Australia.

Persons: El, Nina, Peter Hobson, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: CANBERRA, Meteorology Locations: Australia, 473.70mm, Western Australia, El Nino, South America, Southeast Asia

☆ January Was World's Warmest on Record, EU Scientists Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Kate AbnettBRUSSELS (Reuters) - The world just experienced its hottest January on record, continuing a run of exceptional heat fuelled by climate change, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday. Last month surpassed the previous warmest January, which occurred in 2020, in C3S's records going back to 1950. Every month since June has been the world's hottest on record, compared with the corresponding month in previous years. "Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop global temperatures increasing," she said. Still, average global sea surface temperatures last month were the highest for any January on record.

Persons: Kate Abnett BRUSSELS, Samantha Burgess, Kate Abnett, Sandra Maler Organizations: El, Nina Locations: U.S, Paris

☆ Climate change: The world just marked a year above a critical limit scientists have warned about
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Angela Dewan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The past year was 1.52 degrees hotter on average than temperatures before industrialization, according to data from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate and weather monitoring service. That 12-month average was boosted by the hottest January on record, which was 1.66 degrees warmer than the average January temperature in pre-industrial times. Scientists are more concerned with multi-year warming above these thresholds, but the 12-month record shows the world is fast approaching the Paris Agreement’s limits. “Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to stop global temperatures increasing.”The climate crisis is driven primarily from humans burning coal, oil and gas for energy. Extreme weather events already made more frequent and severe by long-term global warming are now being supercharged by El Niño, scientists say.

Persons: Copernicus, Matt Patterson, ” Copernicus, Samantha Burgess, El Niño Organizations: CNN, Global, University of Oxford, El Locations: Paris, Chile

☆ ‘Super El Niño’ is here, but will it last? What’s in store for the coming months
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The current El Niño is now one of the strongest on record, new data shows, catapulting it into rare “super El Niño” territory. It means a very strong El Niño is ongoing. El Niño influences weather around the globe, so its strength and demise will continue to have an impact on the weather we experience in the coming months. Average conditions during an El Niño winter across the continental US. El Niño has been known to enhance atmospheric river events on the West Coast.

Persons: El, El Niño, Niño, Michelle L’Heureux, ” L’Heureux, L’Heureux, El Niños, Javier Torres, There’s, CNN’s Rachel Ramirez, Brandon Miller Organizations: CNN, El, AFP, Getty Locations: El, California, West Coast, Americas, Chile, Valparaiso, South America, Africa, Australia, Asia

☆ Zimbabwe Bets on No Till Farming to Reduce El Nino Impact on Grain
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

No till farming minimises soil disturbance, which helps keep carbon in the soil and also enriches soil biodiversity, reducing the need for chemical fertilisers that emit greenhouse. Zimbabwe is one of the countries worst affected by the El Nino weather pattern and struggles to feed itself. Zimbabwe produced 2.3 million tons of maize last year. The country requires 2.2 million tons of the staple grain annually for human and livestock consumption. "This is a reflection that farmers are adopting the recommended climate-proofing interventions, especially during the El Nino condition," cabinet said in a statement released late on Tuesday.

Persons: Vangelis Haritatos, Mthuli Ncube, Zimbabwe's, Nelson Banya, Michael Perry Organizations: Reuters, El, Finance, Nino Locations: HARARE, Zimbabwe, El Nino, Pacific

☆ Dengue Spreads Fast in Brazil Prompting Emergency Health Measures
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Ricardo Brito and Anthony BoadleBRASILIA (Reuters) - Dengue fever has surged in Brazil's hot rainy season, forcing health authorities to take emergency measures and start mass vaccination against the mosquito-borne illness. In the first five weeks of this year 364,855 cases of infection have been reported, the Health Ministry said, four times more than dengue cases in the same period of 2023. The rapid spread of dengue has caused 40 confirmed deaths, the ministry said, and a further 265 are being investigated. The Health Ministry has set up an emergency center to coordinate operations against dengue across Brazil. Dengue fever symptoms include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and an itching skin rash.

Persons: Ricardo Brito, Anthony Boadle BRASILIA, Qdenga, Tedros Adhanom, Anthony Boadle, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, Health Ministry, Federal, Army, Brazilian Air Force, World Health Organization, WHO, El Locations: Brazil, Minas Gerais, Brasilia, Brasilia ., Rio de Janeiro, Europe, America

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — For the eighth straight month in January, Earth was record hot, according to the European climate agency. Even though it was record hot in January, the level above normal was lower than the previous six months, according to Copernicus data. This is the time of year that El Nino warming often peaks, said Texas A&M University climate scientist Andrew Dessler. Minneapolis has already set a record for the number of 50-degree days for a winter. “For maple trees to run, it needs to be freezing at night, above freezing during the day.

Persons: Copernicus, Andrew Dessler, ” Dessler, that's, Natalie Mahowald, ”, Kathie Dello, floes, “, Greg McKush, ” McKush, Theresa Baroun, ” Baroun, Ed White, Rick Callahan, Seth Borenstein, Steve Karnowski, @skarnowski Organizations: PAUL, European Space Agency, Nino, El Nino, Cornell University, United, North Carolina State, Minnesota, Montgomery National Golf Club, ”, Syrup Producers Association, Isle Royal, Metropolitan Mosquito Control, Associated Press Locations: United States, Minneapolis, Texas, United Nations, Paris, North Carolina, Minnesota, Harriet, ” In Wisconsin, U.S, Wisconsin, De Pere , Wisconsin, Green Bay, Lake Superior, Michigan , Minnesota, Canada, St, Paul , Minnesota, Borenstein, Kensington , Maryland, Detroit, Indianapolis, AP.org

☆ Data from sponges suggest the world has overshot a climate limit, new study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

These findings, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, are alarming but also controversial. Other scientists say the study contains too many uncertainties and limitations to draw such firm conclusions and could end up confusing public understanding of climate change. Researchers say the results also suggest global temperature could overshoot 2 degrees of warming by the end of the decade. Changing that baseline would mean the world has already warmed at least 1.7 degrees (scientists say long-term global warming currently stands at between 1.2 to 1.3 degrees). Whatever the baseline for measuring global warming, what remains clear, experts say, is that the impacts will worsen with every fraction of a degree of warming.

Persons: ” Malcolm McCulloch, Gavin Schmidt, ”, Gabi Hegerl, Yadvinder Malhi, It’s, Amos Winter, Joeri Rogelj, “, Winter Organizations: CNN, University of Western, NASA, University of Edinburgh, Environmental, Institute, University of Oxford, Indiana State University, Grantham Institute, Imperial College London Locations: Puerto Rico, Caribbean, Paris, University of Western Australia

At least 112 people have been killed by wildfires in central Chile, leading its president to declare two days of national mourning. Scientists say climate change makes the heat waves and drought now hitting South America more likely — and both contribute to wildfires by drying out the plants that feed the blazes. “Climate change has made droughts more common,” said Mitchard. Climate change makes stronger El Niños more likely, said Mitchard, and droughts caused by it are likelier to be more intense. And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that globally, extreme heat waves happen five times more often because of human-caused global warming.

Persons: Edward Mitchard, ”, We’ve, Mitchard, — Organizations: South America, University of Edinburgh School of Geosciences, it's, World Resources Institute, Associated Press Locations: Chile, Colombia, CHILE, Santiago, Scotland, South America, Belgium, AP.org

A handful of centuries-old sponges from deep in the Caribbean are causing some scientists to think human-caused climate change began sooner and has heated the world more than they thought. Other scientists were skeptical of the study's claim that the world has warmed that much more than thought. He said this study also supports the theory that climate change is accelerating, proposed last year by former NASA top scientist James Hansen. Carbon dioxide and other gases from the burning of fossil fuels are what causes climate change, scientists have established. “They are cathedrals of history, of human history, recording carbon dioxide in the the atmosphere, temperature of the water and pH of the water,” Winter said.

Persons: Malcolm McCulloch, ”, ” McCulloch, “, —, Amos Winter, James Hansen, Natalie Mahowald, McCulloch, Winter, Michael Mann, credulity, ” Mann, El, La Nina, Michael Oppenheimer, ” ___ Teresa de Miguel, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: University of Western, Associated Press, Indiana State University, NASA, Cornell University, United Nations, University of Pennsylvania, Caribbean, El Nino, La, Princeton University Locations: Caribbean, University of Western Australia, Mexico City, AP.org

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Another potentially dangerous “Pineapple Express” storm was expected to hit California late Saturday, bringing the threat of flooding and mudslides over the next couple of days. WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM THIS LATEST ‘PINEAPPLE EXPRESS'? The storm is forecast to move south down the Central Coast and hit the Los Angeles area with downpours, flash floods and high-elevation mountain snow beginning Sunday morning. Parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties will likely get hammered hardest by this storm, according to the National Weather Service. The Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, northeast of downtown Los Angeles, canceled its eight-race program that was scheduled for Sunday.

Persons: Ventura Organizations: ANGELES, Pacific, San Francisco Bay Area, WHAT, National Weather Service, Coast, NASCAR, Coliseum, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, III, El Nino Locations: California, Santa Barbara, San Francisco Bay, Los Angeles, San Diego, Hawaii, Northern California, Orange County, Southern California, Southern, Ventura, Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, Santa, Arcadia, San Marcos

☆ Australia Sweats Through Heatwave, Bushfire Risk Rated 'Extreme'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Large swaths of Australia on Sunday sweltered through a heatwave as authorities warned of elevated bushfire risk in an already high-risk fire season during an El Nino weather pattern. The nation's weather forecaster had heatwave alerts in place for Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Western Australia, warning temperatures in some parts of the country could hit the low 40s Celsius (over 104 degrees Fahrenheit). The high in the west of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, was forecast at 39 C (102 F), almost 10 degrees above the February mean, forecaster data showed. Hot and dry conditions combined with gusty winds prompted the forecaster to issue "extreme fire danger" warnings for parts of Victoria and South Australia states. Sunday's hot weather - the latest in a string of heatwaves to scorch Australia - comes after the country's east was hit last month by damaging floods.

Persons: El, Sam McKeith, William Mallard Organizations: SYDNEY, Australian Capital, El Nino Locations: Australia, El Nino, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Western Australia, Sydney, Victoria, South Australia, scorch Australia

☆ Chile's Capital Faces Heat Wave, Experts Warn of More to Come
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile's capital and other regions are facing a heat wave, as meteorologists warn that extremely hot weather will become increasingly frequent in the country's austral summer. Over six million inhabitants of Chile's capital Santiago have been enduring days of hot, dry temperatures made worse by the surrounding mountains blocking fresh hair to the city. Scientists have warned that climate change and El Nino are major drivers of extreme heat. Amid the high temperatures in Santiago, many have escaped to the country's coastal areas, which are already filled with vacationers and summertime visitors from abroad. An Argentine tourist said he escaped to a Chilean coastal area to avoid the high temperatures that were also being recorded in parts of neighboring Argentina.

Persons: Marcela Rodriguez, Andres Moncada, El, Nicolas Cortes, Sandra Maler Organizations: Reuters, Ocean, El Nino Locations: SANTIAGO, Chile's, Santiago, Argentine, Chilean, Argentina

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