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Global Warming...New Report...and it ain't happy news

 
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Reply Wed 22 May, 2024 08:26 am
Climate crisis in the Antarctic: ‘doomsday glacier’ is melting even faster than expected.

Widespread seawater intrusions beneath the grounded ice of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica
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Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Reply Wed 5 Jun, 2024 06:48 am
Alle Vögel sind schon da ("All the Birds are there") is one of the best-known German spring and children's songs. The text was written in 1835 by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798-1874) and published in his poems in 1837. The first musical setting by Ernst Richter also appeared in the same year.

With the marsh warbler, quail and turtle dove, the last bird species have now returned to Germany from their wintering grounds. Like other wild animals, migratory birds have a kind of internal clock. This tells them when they should return to us from warmer climes. And migratory birds have apparently ‘reset’ this internal clock in recent years.

The University of Kassel has analysed bird migration data from a period of 180 years. The result: birds are now returning earlier - sometimes several weeks earlier.
And this is largely due to climate change.

The study by the University of Kassel shows that almost all bird species are returning earlier today than 180 years ago. Depending on the species, birds have adapted differently to climate change. According to the study, there are species whose return has only changed by a few days - for example the tree pipit. The swallow, on the other hand, returns almost a month earlier, according to the study.

Previous studies have also shown that climate change is having an impact on the behaviour of migratory birds. This time, however, the study organisers found that the return of the birds has shifted forward more than previous studies had shown.

Study (Abstract, in English)
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Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Reply Fri 7 Jun, 2024 08:14 am
Enormous, heavy rainfall led to severe flooding in southern Germany.
Climate change also played a role in this, an analysis shows: the rainfall was up to ten per cent heavier than without man-made global warming.

Southern Germany floods mostly strengthened by human- driven Climate Chang
Quote:
Press Summary (First Published 2024/06/07)

• Floods similar to the June 2024 Southern Germany floods are up 2 mm/day (up to 10%) wetter in the present than they have been in the past.

• This was a somewhat uncommon event.

• We mostly ascribe the heavy precipitation associated with the Southern Germany floods to human driven climate change and natural climate variability likely played a modest role.
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hightor
 
  2  
Reply Fri 7 Jun, 2024 11:44 am
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are surging "faster than ever" to beyond anything humans ever experienced, officials say

Quote:
One of the major drivers of the exceptional heat building within Earth's atmosphere has reached levels beyond anything humans have ever experienced, officials announced on Thursday. Carbon dioxide, the gas that accounts for the majority of global warming caused by human activities, is accumulating "faster than ever," scientists from NOAA, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California San Diego found.

"Over the past year, we've experienced the hottest year on record, the hottest ocean temperatures on record, and a seemingly endless string of heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires and storms," NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a press release. "Now we are finding that atmospheric CO2 levels are increasing faster than ever."

The researchers measured carbon dioxide, or CO2, levels at the Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory. They found that atmospheric levels of the gas hit a seasonal peak of just under 427 parts per million in May — an increase of 2.9 ppm since May 2023 and the fifth-largest annual growth in 50 years of data recording.

It also made official that the past two years saw the largest jump in the May peak — when CO2 levels are at their highest in the Northern Hemisphere. John Miller, a NOAA carbon cycle scientist, said that the jump likely stems from the continuous rampant burning of fossil fuels as well as El Niño conditions making the planet's ability to absorb CO2 more difficult.
https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/06/06/338b4bc2-71a0-42ae-be54-85649a2dee51/thumbnail/620x465/aec772b6b9c6dd4fa8b981bcfdc1d8d1/unnamed.png?v=94cbb61397dbf7eca3740fa55510ba88
This graph shows the full record of monthly mean carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii. The carbon dioxide data on Mauna Loa constitute the longest record of direct measurements of CO2 in the atmosphere. NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory

The surge of carbon dioxide levels at the measuring station surpassed even the global average set last year, which was a record high of 419.3 ppm — 50% higher than it was before the Industrial Revolution. However, NOAA noted that their observations were taken at the observatory specifically, and do not "capture the changes of CO2 across the globe," although global measurements have proven consistent without those at Mauna Loa.

CO2 measurements "sending ominous signs"

In its news release, NOAA said the measurements are "sending ominous signs."

"Not only is CO2 now at the highest level in millions of years, it is also rising faster than ever," Ralph Keeling, director of Scripps' CO2 program, said in the release. "Each year achieves a higher maximum due to fossil-fuel burning, which releases pollution in the form of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Fossil fuel pollution just keeps building up, much like trash in a landfill."

Carbon dioxide "acts like a blanket in the atmosphere," NOAA explained — much like other greenhouse gases that amplify the sun's heat toward Earth's surface. And while carbon dioxide is essential in keeping global temperatures above freezing, having such high concentrations shoots temperatures beyond levels of comfort and safety.

That warming is fueling extreme weather events, and the consequences are aleady being felt, with deadly floods, heat waves and droughts devastating communities worldwide and agriculture seeing difficult shifts.

The news from NOAA comes a day after the European Union's climate change service, Copernicus, announced that Earth has now hit 12 straight months of record-high temperatures, a trend with "no sign in sight of a change."

"We are living in unprecedented times. ... This string of hottest months will be remembered as comparatively cold," Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus, said.

cbs
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EldonG
 
  0  
Reply Sun 16 Jun, 2024 05:06 pm
@blatham,
Hell, even the oil companies know it's true, and publicly admitted it. Now, there's just a lot of "It's too expensive".
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Reply Mon 17 Jun, 2024 06:08 am
Researchers have repeatedly found that environmental factors have an impact on cognitive performance; it is even possible that climate changes in human history are reflected in brain size. (>link<)

Now there is a new (quaint) study that shows that politicians express themselves in parliament in a simple way at higher temperatures.
Senior citizens are apparently particularly heat-sensitive.

The effect of temperature on language complexity: Evidence from seven million parliamentary speeches

Quote:
Summary

Climate change carries important effects on human wellbeing and performance, and increasingly research is documenting the negative impacts of out-of-comfort temperatures on workplace performance. In this study, we investigate the plausibly causal effect of extreme temperatures, i.e., out-of-comfort, on language complexity among politicians, leveraging a fixed effects strategy. We analyze language complexity in over seven million parliamentary speeches across eight countries, connecting them with precise daily meteorological information. We find hot days reduce politicians’ language complexity, but not cold days. Focusing on one country, we explore marginal effects by age and gender, suggesting high temperatures significantly impact older politicians at lower thresholds. The findings propose that political rhetoric is not only driven by political circumstances and strategic concerns but also by physiological responses to external environmental factors. Overall, the study holds important implications on how climate change could affect human cognitive performance and the quality of political discourse.
Walter Hinteler
 
  3  
Reply Thu 20 Jun, 2024 05:54 am
@Walter Hinteler,
Researchers find extreme heat four times more likely than at turn of millennium and urge reduction in fossil fuels

Deadly heat in Mexico and US made 35 times more likely by global heating

Extreme heat killing more than 100 people in Mexico hotter and much more likely due to climate change
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Walter Hinteler
 
  3  
Reply Thu 20 Jun, 2024 06:15 am
The UK Supreme Court has ruled Surrey Council should have considered the climate change impacts of new oil wells. This landmark ruling could threaten future UK oil drilling.

Key oil project must count full climate impact - court
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Walter Hinteler
 
  3  
Reply Fri 21 Jun, 2024 06:34 am
Scientists call for regulation to stop regional use of marine cloud brightening having negative impact elsewhere


Climate engineering off US coast could increase heatwaves in Europe, study finds
Quote:
A geoengineering technique designed to reduce high temperatures in California could inadvertently intensify heatwaves in Europe, according to a study that models the unintended consequences of regional tinkering with a changing climate.

The paper shows that targeted interventions to lower temperature in one area for one season might bring temporary benefits to some populations, but this has to be set against potentially negative side-effects in other parts of the world and shifting degrees of effectiveness over time.




Diminished efficacy of regional marine cloud brightening in a warmer world
Quote:
Abstract

Marine cloud brightening (MCB) is a geoengineering proposal to cool atmospheric temperatures and reduce climate change impacts. As large-scale approaches to stabilize global mean temperatures pose governance challenges, regional interventions may be more attractive near term. Here we investigate the efficacy of regional MCB in the North Pacific to mitigate extreme heat in the Western United States. Under present-day conditions, we find MCB in the remote mid-latitudes or proximate subtropics reduces the relative risk of dangerous summer heat exposure by 55% and 16%, respectively. However, the same interventions under mid-century warming minimally reduce or even increase heat stress in the Western United States and across the world. This loss of efficacy may arise from a state-dependent response of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation to both anthropogenic warming and regional MCB. Our result demonstrates a risk in assuming that interventions effective under certain conditions will remain effective as the climate continues to change.
hightor
 
  2  
Reply Fri 21 Jun, 2024 08:27 am
@Walter Hinteler,
The lack of an effective global authority will continue to cause disputes as individual nation states attempt solve worldwide climate-induced problems on a regional level. The political leaders of the world have fallen short on addressing this emerging crisis – but what are they supposed to do when the public refuses to foot the bill?

I heard some climate optimist on the radio pointing to how effectively China reduced the air pollution in Beijing and how this demonstrates progress, an example for us all to follow – completely ignoring the fact that authoritarian states can do this if they want but democracies don't have that option. Especially when the polluting industries have as much money and political power as they do in the USA. The agricultural reforms in the EU and the massive protests against them are a good example of this dynamic – voters rejecting the very measures needed to solve the problem.
Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Reply Fri 21 Jun, 2024 08:42 am
@hightor,
In my opinion, one important point is that a country's climate policy can change quickly due to changes in domestic political constellations
Long-term climate policy is difficult to implement domestically - no matter where in the world.

However, it should not be forgotten that, according to all predictions and statistics, climate change will particularly affect people in developing countries. Low-lying coastal areas in Bangladesh and islands such as the Maldives are threatened by rising sea levels. In the Sahel region, more droughts and floods will make food and drinking water even scarcer.
However, these countries not only lack the money and technology to better prepare for the consequences of climate change. They have hardly any lobby and only a weak negotiating position in international talks.
Many (industrialised) countries still rely mainly on fossil fuels. In the past, these countries have often put the brakes on negotiations.
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  3  
Reply Sat 22 Jun, 2024 06:33 am
In future, Berlin could feel like the Italian region of Emilia Romagna - and Miami like Saudi Arabia: an interactive map shows the city or region whose current climate is most similar to the expected future climate of your own place of residence. Environmental researcher Matthew Fitzpatrick from the US University of Maryland developed the "Future Urban Climates" application.

The map shows that the temperature and humidity of northern regions could have approached values that are currently typical for regions closer to the equator by 2080 as a result of the climate crisis. Data for more than 40,500 cities and over 5,000 metropolitan regions are included, according to the university.

What will climate feel like in 60 years?]
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  3  
Reply Tue 25 Jun, 2024 04:16 am
Newly identified tipping point for ice sheets could mean greater sea level rise

Quote:
Small increase in temperature of intruding water could lead to very big increase in loss of ice, scientists say

A newly identified tipping point for the loss of ice sheets in Antarctica and elsewhere could mean future sea level rise is significantly higher than current projections.

A new study has examined how warming seawater intrudes between coastal ice sheets and the ground they rest on. The warm water melts cavities in the ice, allowing more water to flow in, expanding the cavities further in a feedback loop. This water then lubricates the collapse of ice into the ocean, pushing up sea levels.


Coupled ice–ocean interactions during future retreat of West Antarctic ice streams in the Amundsen Sea secto
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  2  
Reply Tue 25 Jun, 2024 08:16 am
First country in the world: Denmark plans climate tax for meat and dairy farms - the country wants to cut 70 percent of its total emissions by 2030.

Denmark sets first carbon tax on agriculture
0 Replies
 
 

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