As a fire scientist, I know the unfolding horror — which has killed more than 60 people — is just the beginning. It's a portent of what Australia and other countries will experience in a warmer world, writes David Bowman.
Let's look at the two decades to 2001, compared to the two decades afterwards. In Australian forests, the average annual burned area in the second period was 350 per cent greater than in the first. If we include 2019 — the year the Black Summer fires began — the increase rises to 800 per cent.
The Black Summer fires were started by lightning and human activity. They were fuelled by extreme heat, record low rainfall and widespread dieback of vegetation. It meant the fires burned at unprecedented intensity.
The Black Summer fires burned more than 24 million hectares nationally. Some 33 people were killed by the fires, more than 429 died from smoke-related effects, and more than 3,000 homes were destroyed.
The drying and warming that drove the Black Summer fires are linked to human-caused climate change. These changes are resulting in longer fire seasons and extended periods of drought.
As I watch the fires blazing in Hawaii, I'm constantly asking myself: when will Australians — who l
Greek and Hawaiian islands have been ablaze recently, as has Canada, leading to Australia's chief scientist to call for a rapid acceleration in the reduction of carbon emissions on Q+A.
"There is a realisation that we've got to do something fast, an energy transition at a rate that we have never seen before.
"This will have a huge impact not just on governments making decisions, but everyone will have to think about the way we live."
Asked if governments were moving fast enough on action to affect climate change, Dr Foley answered in the negative before calling for a dramatic increase in carbon reduction.
"At the moment the requirement is we need to be reducing by 16 megatons of carbon a year, we are doing two, we need to increase by eight times"
Climate Change Protest - ABC (Australia) and Woodside - Media Watch
ABC caught in the crosshairs of Woodside Energy, politicians and the media after a Four Corners crew filmed an attempted protest outside the home of Woodside CEO, Meg O’Neill.
business as usual.
Police make multiple arrests after the five-hour protest against new oil and gas projects at Rishi Sunak's Yorkshire property, prompting calls for investigations into security breach.
Mr Sunak's record on environmental issues has come under scrutiny in recent months after he said he would take a "proportionate approach" to climate change that balances net zero ambitions with the need to keep consumers' bills down.
That has drawn fury from climate protesters who have stepped up their campaigns, disrupting high-profile sporting events, classical music concerts and political speeches.
In response, Mr Sunak's ministers have introduced new laws to clamp down on "eco-mob" protester tactics including slow walking in busy roads and "locking-on" to buildings or infrastructure.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said protesters should "stop the stupid stunts".
Faced with rising seas eating away at her home on Kiribati as a result of climate change, Teaote Davies set out to protect not only her property but others as well.
Kiribati is facing a real challenge.
With no part of its land rising more than 2 meters above the ocean, the country is among the most vulnerable to the encroaching tides.
Small islands have already succumbed to inundation, while others suffer erosion, jeopardising crop cultivation and freshwater reserves.
The I-Kiribati people, who may not use the words "climate change", have now experienced its harsh reality and continue to face the constant threat of rising sea levels.
With July set "virtually certain" to be the warmest month on record, BBC Weather has this analysis.
It is "virtually certain" that July is going to be the world's warmest month since records began, according to scientists.
Some researchers believe it might even be the warmest month in the past 120,000 years.
The UK on the other hand, has experienced milder temperatures and a fair amount of rain.
BBC Weather's Ben Rich has this analysis.
US president pledges to ramp up heat-related worker protections as more than 100 million Americans affected by heatwave.
Outdoor workers with jobs involving physical labour can be more vulnerable, especially when paired with limited protections.
But efforts to bolster regulations have faced pushback from powerful business interests in sectors, such as agriculture, who have rejected calls for enhanced rules and enforcement.
And some US states have moved in the opposite direction: Republican lawmakers in the state of Texas, where the Bureau of Labor Statistics says 42 workers died from extreme heat between 2011 and 2021, recently banned municipalities from requiring employers to provide workers with shade and water.
“Farmworkers will still be told they can’t take a break or that they should drink out of an irrigation hose,” De Loera said. “Even in a state like California with good laws on the books, workers are afraid of speaking up.”
Guterres dubs heatwave across the northern hemisphere ‘terrifying’ as he calls for radical action on climate change.
“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning. The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”
According to ERA5 data from the European Union-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service, the first three weeks of July have been the warmest three-week period on record and the month is on track to be the hottest July and the hottest month on record.
In the face of “tragic” consequences, he repeated his call for swift and far-reaching action, taking aim once again at the fossil fuel sector.
“The air is unbreathable. The heat is unbearable. And the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable,” said Guterres, Portugal’s former prime minister.
Just Stop Oil supporters are disrupting roads in central London during their thirteenth week of continuous resistance against new oil, gas and coal. [1] Throughout the morning, starting from 9am, 132 supporters began marching in nine groups around West, East London and South London. This morning's m...
One of those on the road this morning, Jonathan Kennedy, 44, an Engineer and Parent of two young children, from Brighton, said:
“I’m marching today with Just Stop Oil to demand that the government stops all new oil and gas licensing. We are on track for devastating climate chaos, food scarcity, water scarcity, hundreds of millions of climate refugees- leading to conflict and war. It’s already happening. As a parent, I can’t sit by and watch as the government actively makes the situation worse by issuing more oil, gas and coal licences. This is the complete opposite of what we need to do.”
“When my children ask me what I was doing when there was still a chance to prevent the worst effects of climate breakdown. I will say I tried everything I could. Rishi Sunak and Grant Schnapps, what will you say to your children when they ask you the same question? You have the power to stop all new oil and gas licences. For the sake of your children and their generation, make the right choice. Be o
The Canadian province of Nova Scotia is experiencing its heaviest rain in half a century.
Three months of rain fell in just 24 hours in some areas.
The flooding is the latest extreme weather event to hit northeast Canada - recent wildfires have burnt a record area, sending clouds of smoke south into the US.
There has also been extreme flooding in the US this month. The body of a two-year-old girl found along a river in Pennsylvania is believed to be one of two missing children swept away by flash floods last weekend. Her nine-month-old brother is still missing.
Scientists cannot say for certain that such extreme rainfall is caused by climate change, but the floods are consistent with the changes they expect in a warming world. This is because the warmer the earth becomes the more moisture the atmosphere can hold. This results in more droplets and heavier rainfall, sometimes in a shorter space of time and over a smaller area.
Climate Protesters Disrupt Opening Of Salzburg Festival
July 22, 2023 AFP
"We are the last generation capable of preventing the point of no return," three young activists from the Last Generation group shouted at the festival's premiere of "Jedermann" (Each Man) late Friday, before being escorted away by security, according to a video posted by the group on social media.
Founded in 1920, the Salzburg Festival is one the world's top classical music festivals.
"The citizens of the Last Generation Austria demand that we face this question as a whole society," the group said in a statement. "Especially now, when global heating is getting more out of control and is making itself felt all over the world with ever more extreme temperatures and ever more destructive weather, they can no longer look away."
The protest came as swathes of southern Europe and the United States were baking in record heatwaves.
Orange powder is dropped on to the 17th hole at The Open in a protest by Just Stop Oil at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake.
"Merseyside Police respects the right to protest and expression of views but anti-social, criminal behaviour or disorder will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly."
Workers were reporting high levels of exhaustion and heat stress due to constant power outages during a scorching summer.
Khan works in Bangladesh’s business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. She is one of around 70,000 workers in an industry to which companies around the world outsource entire business functions — from marketing and payroll to human resources. The BPO industry in Bangladesh has been expanding, with jobs in the sector growing steadily in recent years, according to the Bangladesh Association of Contact Center and Outsourcing. According to local media reports, there were at least 350 BPO firms in the country as of March 2023, with an annual revenue of $700 million in 2022. They support real estate companies, health-care facilities, and law firms in the U.K. and U.S. But the foot soldiers of this industry — BPO workers — are now staring at a disconcerting future as global temperatures continue to rise. Several told Rest of World they’re already weary and exhausted.
Five hours from Dhaka, in Chattogram, known for its balmy summers with frequent spells of rain, 27-year-old BPO worker Naima Sh
Extreme weather events in one of the world’s most populous regions bring food insecurity, displacement and disease.
Fears of declines in food production, together with other climate-related calamities such as rising sea levels, have also raised the alarm as millions in South Asia are being internally displaced.
A report published by activist group ActionAid in 2020 estimated the region could see up to 63 million people become migrants by 2050 as a result of extreme weather events.
Huq said displacement from human-induced climate change was further adding to economic migration from rural to urban areas – a continuing phenomenon worldwide – with South Asia being a major “hotspot”, with the greatest displacement taking place in low-lying coastal areas.
“Climate change … is exacerbating the ‘push factor’ – the motivation to migrate away from place of residence – for people who are living in places where they can no longer continue to have livelihoods that they used to have, whether it’s farming or fishing,” he said.
Research shows heat domes, wildfires, and vanishing polar ice are the symptoms.
“These extraordinary extremes could be an early warning of tipping points towards different weather or sea ice or fire regimes,” said University of Exeter climate researcher Tim Lenton. “We call it ‘flickering’ when a complex system starts to briefly sample a new regime before tipping into it. Let’s hope I’m wrong on that.”
In the meantime, the tropical Pacific Ocean is shifting into the warm El Niño phase of a two- to seven-year Pacific Ocean cycle that can boost the average global temperature by 0.2° Celsius, enough to stoke the planet’s fever to a dangerous new high.
“The onset of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean,” said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “Early warnings and anticipatory action of extreme weather events associated with this major climate phenomenon are vital to save lives and livelihoods.”
“I expect a step change
Data from the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyzer tool, that uses satellite data and computer simulations, showed the earth's average temperature reached 17.18 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
Even though the dataset used for the unofficial record goes back only to 1979, Dr Kapnick said that given other data, the world is likely seeing the hottest day in "several hundred years that we've experienced."
Scientists generally use much longer measurements — months, years, decades — to track the Earth's warming. But the daily highs are an indication that climate change is reaching uncharted territory.
China battling extreme weather as rains take toll
STORY: China battling extreme weather as rains take tollDATELINE: July 5, 2023LENGTH: 0:01:03LOCATION: CHONGQING, ChinaCATEGORY: OTHERSSHOTLIST:1. various of Chongqing2. STANDUP (English): YANG SHIYAN, Xinhua correspondentSTORYLINE:China is making ongoing efforts to
China battling extreme weather as rains take toll
July 5, 2023
China is making ongoing efforts to battle extreme weather, as rain-triggered floods wreak havoc in southern and central parts of the country.
The latest round of torrential rains since Monday had killed 15 people and left four others missing in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, local authorities said.
Transcription (English): YANG SHIYAN, Xinhua correspondent "Now I am at Wanzhou District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. Continuous heavy rainfall hit regions including southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, causing heavy casualties and property losses. Now authorities at all levels have given top priority to ensuring people's safety and property, and strived to minimize various losses in the work regarding flood prevention and disaster relief.The city's emergency response headquarters office has raised
Despite record temperatures, some Chinese people are yet to connect the extreme heat to the climate crisis, something activists want to change
“People are becoming more aware of the severity of heatwaves, but not the link between heatwaves and climate change,” says Zhao Li, a senior researcher for Greenpeace east Asia’s Beijing office.
That is partly because, although there is some limited education about climate change, permitted discourse stops short of talking about major policy shifts, such as reducing China’s coal emissions more rapidly. The government has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2060, but concerns about energy security and the need for economic growth mean that local authorities are showing no sign of backing down on building new coal power.
Also, says Zhao, “even if people link heatwaves and climate change, they don’t think it’s something that the individual should pay attention to.” Most people see it as being the government’s responsibility – and therefore out of the hands of the public, she says.
The group painted their palms, wore tape on their mouths, and circled around a Degas sculpture.
Last Saturday, June 24, 20 environmental activists gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a demonstration against the increasingly harsh punishments facing climate protestors.
The group, made up of members from Extinction Rebellion and Rise & Resist, painted their palms red and black and formed a circle around Edgar Degas’s bronze sculpture Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (1878–81)—effectively recreating a protest staged by activists Joanna Smith and Tim Martin at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C. earlier this year.
Smith and Martin, who belong to the Declare Emergency climate group, were arrested for splattering paint on the protective plexiglass surrounding a wax version of the same Degas sculpture at the NGA on April 27. The duo’s demonstration was among the first staged in an American institution after waves of similar protests rocked European museums last year.
The action caused $2,400 worth of damage, but the artwork was not harmed.
A strong kink in the subtropical jet stream is causing an unusual hit of tropical rainfall to spread across the country.
The prolonged spell of rain is predicted to bring widespread totals in the range of 50 to 100mm from the Kimberley through to the southern parts of the Northern Territory and on to tropical Queensland.
If it eventuates, it will be the most widespread winter falls in at least 16 years and well above the average rainfall for the entire season which for most of tropical Australia sits at less than 25mm.