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☆ Farm animals, crops suffer from extreme weather affecting China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This year, extreme heat has ravaged many parts of the country even earlier than last year. Animals killedIn recent days, reports of farm animals killed by extreme heat have dominated the news. The pigs suffocated to death amid extreme heat and poor air circulation, Jimu News, a government-owned news website, cited an unnamed employee at the farm as saying. The heat wave was blamed for killing large numbers of farmed carp living in rice fields in the southwestern region of Guangxi. And more extreme weather events are likely to come.

Persons: Sheng Xia, El, El Niño, ”, Sheng, Wang Gang, Niño, Xi Jinping, Shi Guangming Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Meteorological Administration, Citic Securities, “, El, World Meteorological Organization, Qiushi, Communist, Villagers, China Today, China Media Group Locations: Hong Kong, China, Yunnan, Sichuan, El, Shanghai, Beijing, Jiangsu, Guangxi, Henan, Pingdingshan, Henan province, Xinjiang

☆ Exxon rebuts proxy advisor, says net zero emissions scenario 'unlikely'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Glass Lewis backed the initiative, concluding Exxon could face material financial risks from the net-zero scenario. Exxon has said the world is not on a path to achieve net-zero emissions in 2050. The 2050 net-zero emissions (NZE) scenario of the International Energy Agency (IEA) envisions a path to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. "It is highly unlikely that society would accept the degradation in global standard of living required to permanently achieve a scenario like the IEA NZE," Exxon said in dismissing the proposal. Exxon rebutted the proxy firm's recommendation that it evaluate the impacts of a worst-case oil spill at its offshore Guyanese oil platforms.

☆ Heat Will Likely Soar to Record Levels in Next 5 Years, New Analysis Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Brad Plumer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The NewsGlobal temperatures are likely to soar to record highs over the next five years, driven by human-caused warming and a climate pattern known as El Niño, forecasters at the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. The previous record for Earth’s hottest year was in 2016. There is a 98 percent chance that at least one of the next five years will exceed that, the forecasters said, while the average from 2023 to ’27 will almost certainly be the warmest for a five-year period ever recorded. “This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management and the environment,” said Petteri Taalas, the secretary general of the meteorological organization. “We need to be prepared.”

Breaching 1.5 degrees may only be temporary, the WMO said. Countries pledged in the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees – and preferably to 1.5 degrees – compared to pre-industrial temperatures. Scientists consider 1.5 degrees of warming as a key tipping point, beyond which the chances of extreme flooding, drought, wildfires and food shortages could increase dramatically. “This report does not mean that we will permanently exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius level specified in the Paris Agreement which refers to long-term warming over many years. However, WMO is sounding the alarm that we will breach the 1.5 degrees Celsius level on a temporary basis with increasing frequency,” said WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas, in a statement.

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - For the first time ever, global temperatures are now more likely than not to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7F) of warming within the next five years, the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. But that did not necessarily mean the world would cross the long-term warming threshold of 1.5C above preindustrial levels set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Partially responsible for boosting the chance of hitting 1.5C is an El Niño weather pattern expected to develop in the coming months. During this natural phenomenon, warmer waters in the tropical Pacific heat the atmosphere above, spiking global temperatures. The El Niño "will combine with human-induced climate change to push global temperatures into uncharted territory", said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas in a press statement.

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Britain is accelerating plans to protect London from flooding caused by a warming climate and rising sea levels, bringing forward its scheme of work to protect the city centre by 15 years. The government statement said the change was based on improved climate change models which showed the "heightened risk of flooding from a warming climate and rising sea levels." Rising sea levels, in part caused by melting glaciers and record ocean temperatures, are a global threat posing existential risk to some low-lying island states and coastal cities. In April, the World Meteorological Organization said global sea levels were rising at more than double the pace they did in the first decade of measurements in 1993-2002 and touched a new record high last year. ($1 = 0.7923 pounds)Reporting by William James, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese cities broil in heat, brace for more record temperatures
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Recently, Yunnan province was gripped with temperatures of more than 40 Celsius, which is especially burdensome for power grids as millions of homes begin to switch on air conditioners. read moreOver the past couple days, Shandong province and Beijing issued heat warnings. Populous cities such as Jinan, Tianjin and Zhengzhou are expected to see temperatures soar to as high as 37 degrees Celsius. The China Meteorological Administration has warned regions to prepare for more extreme heat this year. The World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) latest assessment also predicts the strong likelihood of the El Niño weather phenomenon returning later this year.

CNN —A Swiss village has been ordered to evacuate amid warnings a large mass of rock looming overhead could come tumbling down in the coming days. Leaders in Brienz held a town hall event on Tuesday evening and told residents they would have to leave by 6 pm local time on Friday. Rebecca Dell, a researcher at the University of Cambridge warns that climate change is driving glacier melt in the Alps. If a slope becomes too unstable, events such as rockslides may occur,” she told CNN. The village, which houses under 100 residents, according to Swiss public broadcaster SRF, is located in Switzerland’s eastern canton of Graubünden.

☆ Ocean temperatures are off the charts right now, and scientists are alarmed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Ocean surface heat is at record-breaking levels. Since La Niña ended in March, ocean temperatures seem to be on a rebound, scientists say. Worrying impacts of ocean warmingWhatever the reasons behind the increase in ocean heat, the impacts are potentially catastrophic if temperatures continue to head off the charts. For now, ocean surface temperatures have started to fall, even if they remain high for this time of year. As scientists continue to analyze the reasons for record ocean warming, they are clear records will continue to be smashed as the climate crisis intensifies.

☆ El Niño, Global Weather Pattern Tied to Intense Heat, Is Expected by Fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Forecasters from the World Meteorological Organization are reporting increased chances that the global climate pattern known as El Niño will arrive by the end of summer. With it comes increased chances for hotter-than-normal temperatures in 2024. While there is not yet a clear picture of how strong the El Niño event will be or how long it might last, even a relatively mild one could affect precipitation and temperature patterns around the world. “The development of an El Niño will most likely lead to a new spike in global heating and increase the chance of breaking temperature records,” said Petteri Taalas, the secretary general of the meteorological organization, in a news release.

☆ A looming El Niño could prompt a spike in global temperatures, UN agency warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An El Niño climate pattern will likely develop later this year, which could exacerbate global warming and break temperature records around the world, forecasters from the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. The United Nations agency said it cannot yet forecast the strength or duration of the El Niño, but according to its outlook, there is a 60% chance that the El Niño will form between May and July and an 80% chance it will form between July and September. "The development of an El Niño will most likely lead to a new spike in global heating and increase the chance of breaking temperature records," Taalas said. An El Niño has the opposite effects on weather and climate patterns than a La Niña. Both weather patterns result from variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific and are part of an intermittent cycle known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO.

☆ Pace of rise in global sea level has doubled, UN climate report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The remains of houses are pictured as rising sea levels destroy homes built along the shoreline, forcing villagers to relocate, in El Bosque, Mexico, November 7, 2022. Extreme glacier melt and record ocean heat levels - which cause water to expand - contributed to an average rise in sea levels of 4.62mm a year between 2013-2022, the U.N. agency said in a major report detailing the havoc of climate change. "We have already lost this melting of glaciers game and sea level rise game so that's bad news," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas told a press conference. Rising sea levels threaten some coastal cities and the very existence of low-lying states such as the island of Tuvalu - which plans to build a digital version of itself in case it is submerged. Climate scientists have warned that the world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of warming El Niño conditions.

☆ Earth Day 2023: The world just failed its annual health checkup
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The WMO’s annual State of the Climate Report, published Friday ahead of Earth Day, is essentially a health checkup for the world. Global sea levels climbed to the highest on record due to melting glaciers and warming oceans, which expand as they heat up. “Communities and countries which have contributed least to climate change suffer disproportionately.”A man uses a hand fan in a park in central Madrid during a heatwave, on August 2, 2022. The hottest year on record, 2016, was the result of a strong El Niño and climate change, said Baddour. “This is really a wake up call that climate change isn’t a future problem, it is a current problem.

☆ U.N. weather agency retires Fiona, Ian as hurricane names after 2022 devastation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] An aerial view of damaged boats and property after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S., September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon StapletonMarch 30 (Reuters) - Fiona and Ian have been retired as hurricane names by the World Meteorological Organization after devastating storms with those names killed dozens of people and inflicted billions of dollars in damage in 2022. The names are typically recycled every six years, and a total of 96 names have been retired. Going forward the name Fiona will be replaced in the rotation by Farrah and Ian by Idris, the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico in September 2022, knocking out power to the entire island before slamming into eastern Canada, killing at least 31 people and becoming one of that Canada's costliest recent natural disasters.

☆ Factbox: Why is Cyclone Freddy a record-breaking storm?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Nellie Peyton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HIGHEST CYCLONE ENERGYFreddy holds the record for most accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), a measure based on a storm's wind strength over its lifetime, of any storm in the southern hemisphere and possibly worldwide. Freddy has generated about as much accumulated cyclone energy as an average full North Atlantic hurricane season, according to the World Meteorological Organization. By last week it was in second place for the most accumulated cyclone energy of any storm since 1980, with the record held by Hurricane and Typhoon Ioke in 2006. RECORD LENGTHFreddy may have broken the record for longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Freddy had seven separate cycles of rapid intensification, according to satellite estimates, said the World Meteorological Organization.

☆ Storm Freddy triggers floods in Malawi, killing at least 11
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Frank Phiri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane, Zambezia, Mozambique, March 12, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. UNICEF Mozambique/2023/Alfredo Zuniga/Handout via REUTERSBLANTYRE, Malawi, March 13 (Reuters) - At least 11 people have died and 16 are missing around Malawi's second-largest city Blantyre after tropical storm Freddy brought torrential rains that triggered floods and landslides, police said on Monday. It pummelled Mozambique for the second time in a month as a cyclone over the weekend before weakening as it moved inland towards Malawi. "Some missing people are feared buried in rubble and our team is working with other cooperating national agencies," Kalaya said. Scientists say climate change is making tropical storms stronger, as oceans absorb much of the heat from greenhouse gas emissions and when warm seawater evaporates heat energy is transferred to the atmosphere.

[1/3] Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane, Zambezia, Mozambique, March 12, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. It pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides. At least six people died in Mozambique's Quelimane, which was struck hard by the storm, authorities told the public broadcaster on Monday. The total number killed by storm Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month is now nearing 100. Malawi has been battling the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, and U.N. agencies have warned the situation could now get worse.

☆ Record-strength cyclone Freddy pounds Mozambique after making second landfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 12 (Reuters) - Cyclone Freddy battered central Mozambique on Sunday after making landfall for a second time in a month and breaking records for duration and strength of tropical storms in the southern hemisphere. More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique last month, killing 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar. More than half a million people are at risk of being affected Mozambique this time, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). At least one person was killed there on Saturday when his house collapsed on him as the storm swept onshore, state TV reported. Two weeks ago, 27 died when the storm first made landfall, after first being spotted near Indonesia on Feb. 6.

☆ Floods and high winds hit Mozambique as record-breaking cyclone Freddy nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MAPUTO, March 11 (Reuters) - Cyclone Freddy was settling off the coast of Mozambique on Saturday, bringing flooding and high winds to Quelimane two weeks after killing at least 27 people in southern Africa when it first made landfall last month. After swirling for 34 days straight, the weather system is likely to have broken the record for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone. The cyclone is slow-moving, which meteorological experts say means it will pick up more moisture off the sea, bringing heavy rainfall. More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique last month, bringing heavy rains and floods that damaged crops and destroyed houses, with OCHA putting its death toll at 27 so far -- 10 in Mozambique and 17 in Madagascar. More than half a million people are at risk in Mozambique this time, especially around in Zambezia, Tete, Sofala and Nampula and Zambezia provinces.

☆ Chile battles deadliest wildfires on record as heatwave grips
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Fabian Cambero | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Trees can be seen after a wildfire burned areas in Santa Juana, near Concepcion, Chile, February 5, 2023. REUTERS/Juan GonzalezSANTIAGO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Chilean firefighters were battling to hold back forest fires on Monday as authorities said hot and dry weather would continue this week, potentially exacerbating what are already the deadliest blazes in the country's recent history. The state National Forestry Corporation reported that as of Monday morning there were 275 active fires, of which 69 were currently in combat. The heat wave and strong winds have caused a rapid spread of the flames during the Southern Hemisphere summer season. Reuters GraphicsReporting by Fabian Andres Cambero; Editing by Caitlin WebberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Earth’s Ozone Layer Recovers as Airborne Chemicals Decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Eric Niiler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Airborne chemicals that destroy ozone are now declining for the first time, helping to repair the atmospheric layer that protects humans from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, according to a new report by a U.N.-backed panel of scientists. In a report released Monday by the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization, researchers found a significant thickening of the ozone layer, a region of the atmosphere from 9 to 18 miles high that absorbs ultraviolet rays and prevents them from reaching the Earth’s surface.

☆ UN says ozone layer slowly healing, hole to mend by 2066
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Earth’s protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years, a new United Nations report says. “In the upper stratosphere and in the ozone hole we see things getting better,” said Paul Newman, co-chair of the scientific assessment. Natural weather patterns in the Antarctic also affect ozone hole levels, which peak in the fall. A third generation of those chemicals, called HFC, was banned a few years ago not because it would eat at the ozone layer but because it is a heat-trapping greenhouse gas. The report also warned that efforts to artificially cool the planet by putting aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect the sunlight would thin the ozone layer by as much as 20% in Antarctica.

☆ Earth’s Ozone Layer Recovering as Damaging Airborne Chemicals Decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Eric Niiler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Airborne chemicals that destroy ozone are now declining for the first time, helping to repair the atmospheric layer that protects humans from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, according to a new report by a U.N.-backed panel of scientists. In a report released Monday by the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization, researchers found a significant thickening of the ozone layer, a region of the atmosphere from 9 to 18 miles high that absorbs ultraviolet rays (UV) and prevents them from reaching the Earth’s surface.

☆ Europe's heatwave may have caused more than 20,000 'excess' deaths
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Juliette Portala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Higher-than-expected excess deaths from Europe's heatwaveMany deaths due to high temperature may be under-reportedHeatwaves to become more frequent and intense in futureNov 24 (Reuters) - Summer heatwaves in France, Germany, Spain and Britain led to more than 20,000 "excess" deaths, a report compiling official figures said on Thursday. A heatwave in 2003 caused more than 70,000 excess deaths across Europe, largely in France, and led many countries to implement measures such as early warning systems, asking people to check on others and opening air-conditioned schools. France reported about half of the summer's excess deaths in Western Europe, with 10,420 fatalities in total. Excess deaths reached 3,271 in England and Wales during the summer, Britain's Office of National Statistics reported. Spain recorded 4,655 heat-attributable deaths between June and August while the German health agency reported 4,500.

☆ New Climate Early Warning System Aims to Plug Weather Blind Spots Around the World
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Eric Niiler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—The United Nations and the U.S. are working to expand the network of weather stations across sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia and the Caribbean and Pacific island regions to create a climate early-warning system that can better anticipate severe droughts, heat waves, tropical storms and floods. Less than half of the U.N.’s 193 member countries are covered by early-warning systems, and less-developed and island nations are contributing only 10% of the weather data that the World Meteorological Organization requires under international agreements.

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