Weather sounds Climate Alarm

Alarming weather stories recently support the calls for climate change in Australia to be tackled as a national emergency, both in terms of mitigation (reducing carbon emissions) and adaptation.

Close to home there’s the drought, that farmers in NSW and Qld are calling the worst drought in living memory:

• Bureau of Meteorology Drought Report
• Drought through the eyes of a 16 year old  ABC

Heatwaves have hit Europe and firefighters have battled blazes from Greece to Sweden:

• Europe is boiling under a record breaking heatwave  ABC

• Why Europe is going through a heatwave  Guardian

California is again fighting wildfires:

• California Wildfires 2018  San Francisco Chronicle

Japan has endured both flooding and heat waves:

• Japan Floods Death Toll Climbs after Historic Rain and Landslides Guardian
• Editorial: Feeling the heat of climate change, Japan Times

In Laos, a major dam broke and ‘continuous rainstorms’ were cited as the cause:

• Laos dam collapse: Many feared dead as floods hit villages BBC

Temperature records are being broken around the world:

‘In Quriyat, Oman, temperatures did not drop below 42.6 C for an entire 24-hour period, the highest “minimum” temperature ever recorded on Earth. On July 5, a weather station in the Algerian Sahara noted a temperature of 51.3 C, the highest ever reached in Africa. The next day, Los Angeles recorded its own high of 43.9 C’. (Source)

Sadly in all these places there are devastating impacts on people and nature and enormous costs for infrastructure and business.