CLIMATE CHANGE -

DROUGHT, HEAT, WILDFIRES

Items from July 2005 - December 2006
Items from 2000 & 2001

"If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them." - Isaac Asimov

U.S. Drought Monitor.

2007 -

9/14/07 -
NORTH CAROLINA - August 2007 was the HOTTEST IN 113 YEARS OF RECORD-KEEPING with an average temperature of 77.1 degrees across Western North Carolina. That bumped out August 1900 out of the hottest spot with an average of 75.1 degrees. The June-August 2007 summer season ended with a long-lasting heatwave that SET MORE THAN 2,000 NEW DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL UNITED STATES. The record heat helped make this the second warmest August and the sixth warmest summer on record for the contigious U.S.

9/13/07 -
PARAGUAY - The government of Paraguay has declared a state of emergency after large fires destroyed more than 100,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land. The fires have worsened in four provinces. Most of the fires were blamed on farmers deliberately setting small blazes to clear lands for cotton and soybean crop planting.

NORTH CAROLINA has been hit with more than 5400 wildfires this year - before the typical start of the fall wildfire season.

AUSTRALIA - Long-term national weather forecasters believe that despite a La Nina weather pattern, the chances of any good spring rain have decreased for Queensland. While a rain-inducing La Nina weather event continues, cooler sea temperatures north of Australia are lessening the chances of precipitation. Australia's climate is expected to be influenced by the UNUSUAL state of the oceans to the north and northwest which have been cooling strongly since June.

RUSSIA - Russians have had to shoot three UNUSUALLY aggressive polar bears so far this year, in what environmental group WWF said was a sign the bears’ feeding patterns were being disrupted by global warming. The bears used to come ashore in winter along the sea ice to forage for food, but that the ice had retreated UNUSUALLY far from the coast leaving predators with a long swim. “This makes them particularly vulnerable since animals in search of food lose their sense of danger, they enter villages and often attack people." WWF also said the retreating sea ice had hit the walrus population.

Climate change is affecting Europe faster than the rest of the world and rising temperatures could transform the Mediterranean into a salty and stagnant sea, Italian experts said Wednesday. Warmer waters and increased salinity could doom many of the sea's plant and animal species and ravage the fishing industry. Scientists still don't know why the region is more sensitive to climate change, but in the next decades, temperature increases hitting Europe during the summer months could be 40 percent to 50 percent higher than elsewhere. The change is also being felt at sea level, with a surface temperature increase of 1 degree every decade. "The Mediterranean is becoming warmer and saltier" due to increased evaporation. This could disrupt the flow at the Strait of Gibraltar, a key gateway to the Mediterranean. The higher salt concentration in the Mediterranean would cause water to flow out into the Atlantic Ocean, as opposed to Atlantic water coming into the Mediterranean, which serves as the sea's lifeline. Even more worrying, a study conducted by Italy's marine research institute indicates the temperature increases are creeping into the cold depths of the Mediterranean. Measurements conducted last winter off Italy's western coast at a depth of up to 300 feet showed temperatures were about 3.6 degrees above average. Temperature differences between the sea's layers create the currents that allow the Mediterranean's waters to mix and bring up fresh nutrients to feed the algae that form the basic diet of most fish species. These temperature rises could wipe out "up to 50 percent of the species," the study said. The decline in the algae population measured last winter also reduced by 30 percent the sea's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, one of the gases blamed by scientists for heating the atmosphere like a greenhouse.

9/12/07 -
BRITAIN - The wet summer and warmer-than-average temperatures mean that leaves are already starting to change colour and conkers, the traditional harbinger of autumn, have started falling from the trees. Japanese maples were in full autumn colour four weeks early. In Staffordshire, birch and hawthorn trees have started turning from green to gold almost a fortnight ahead of the official start of autumn, the equinox on September 23. Some fruit harvests have also come early as a result of this year's unpredictable weather. English Coxes, often considered the first sign of autumn, usually go on sale late in September but they appeared on supermarket shelves last week. It is the EARLIEST THE FRUIT HAS GONE ON SALE FOR AT LEAST 20 YEARS. Blackberries also ripened early. The blackberry season - not normally in full swing until late September - was now almost over. Mushrooms, which typically appear in late September, were also out early.

U.S. climate change - A Maryland beekeeper's annual records of honey production reveal that flowering trees are blooming nearly a month earlier than they did a few decades ago.

AUGUST RECORDS BROKEN in the U.S. -
Cities where August set a precipitation record (for any month) were:
Waukon, IA (19.11")
Hokah, MN (18.99")
Lacrosse (NWS), WI (17.00")
Madison, WI (15.18")
Rochester, MN (14.07")
Rockford, IL (13.98")

At least seven other locations had their wettest August on record, including Minneapolis, MN; Norfolk, NE; Mansfield, OH; South Bend, IN; Sioux City, IA; Benton Harbor, MI; Waterloo, IA. Though not setting a monthly record, San Antonio, TX had enough rainfall to set a record for wettest summer and wettest year to date.

With an ongoing drought, there were some opposite records also set in adjacent areas both to the north and south of the wet area, such as:
Doniphan, MO - driest August on record (0.00")
North Little Rock, AR - driest month on record (0.01")
Cape Girardeau, MO - driest August on record (0.01")
Poplar Bluff, MO - driest August on record (0.24")
Charlotte, NC - driest August (0.41")
London, KY - driest August on record (0.45")
Marquette, MI - driest May-August period on record
In addition, dry conditions contributed to Lake Superior reaching its record lowest level for August.

Locations where August was the warmest month on record:
Huntsville, Muscle Shoals, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham and Anniston, AL
Key West, Naples, and Fort Lauderdale, FL
Atlanta, GA
Louisville and Bowling Green, KY
Tupelo, MS
Raleigh-Durham and Greensboro, NC
Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Bristol/Tri-Cities, and Jackson, TN

At least 20 additional locations set all-time August warmth records across at least 13 states. This included Phoenix, AZ; Tallahassee, FL; Paducah, KY; Reno, NV; Asheville; NC; Cincinnati, OH, Columbia, SC; Memphis, TN; Roanoke, VA; Charleston, WV. In addition, Las Vegas, NV, Salt Lake City, UT, and Sterling, VA (Washington Dulles) had their warmest summers on record.

9/11/07 -
Two-thirds of the world's polar bears will be gone by the middle of the century. The US Geological Survey says parts of the Arctic are losing summer ice so fast that no bears will be able to live there within several decades. Scientists believe Arctic ice will hit a record low this year. Some areas where polar bears now roam, such as the Barents Sea north of Norway and Russia, will be unable to support the animals at all by the middle of the century. The bears might persist in other regions; but about 40% of the summer habitat will be gone by 2050, and with it, two-thirds of the current population. This year so far, the Arctic summer ice is almost 30% below the long-term average.

9/10/07 -
GREENLAND - Mini earthquakes and glacier acceleration on the Greenland ice cap are signs climate change is speeding up. The quakes are caused by giant chunks of ice breaking off the rock they have been frozen to for hundreds of years. Though small in magnitude, the earthquakes bolster concerns that the entire ice shelf could collapse, causing a catastrophic change in sea levels worldwide. The speed at which Greenland's glaciers flow into the sea has also accelerated. The Ilulissat glacier is dumping ice chunks into the ocean at a rate of 2 meters per hour - more than three times faster than 10 years ago. Given the changes, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's current prediction sea levels will rise eight to 24 inches this century may be too low. Some estimate the seas may rise by more than two meters.

9/9/07 -
NEW YORK - Central New York SET A NEW RECORD FOR HIGH TEMPERATURES Friday. The mercury reached 95 degrees. The previous record for September 7th was 91 degrees. Friday's temperature also tied the highest for this year, set back in August. They have now hit 90 degrees (or more) 14 days this year. Last year it only happened six times. The average for Central New York is eight. Syracuse BROKE A RECORD HIGH temperature on Friday. The mercury hit 92 degrees before noon breaking the 91 degree record set back in 1960.

GEORGIA - Last month's heat wave in Richmond County BROKE THE 129-YEAR RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR AUGUST.

CALIFORNIA - State officials confirmed on Friday that in the last three days at least five more people died in the southern part of the state due to the intense heat, bringing the death toll from the week-long heat wave to 25.

U.S. - The federal government needs to do a better job addressing how climate change is transforming the hundreds of millions of acres under its watch, according to a congressional investigative report to be released this week. Accountability office officials gathered reports of dramatic changes across the nearly 30% of U.S. land that lies under federal control. Since 1850, the glaciers in Glacier National Park have declined from 150 to 26 and the habitat of bighorn sheep, mountain goats and grizzly bears is vanishing. Wildfires are flaring in Alaska, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada. Climate-triggered coral bleaching in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is eroding the area's tourist appeal. Sea levels are rising around the low-lying Florida Keys. Global warming is killing off the nation's trees. Spruce bark beetles are chewing their way through Alaska's Kenai Peninsula and the Chugach National Forest, while pine beetles are destroying red spruce woodlands. Even pinyon pines hundreds of years old that have survived droughts before in the Southwest are dying off. Non-native grasses have replaced native shrubs in the Mojave Desert, fuelling hotter and longer-lasting wildfires. For the most part, the men and women overseeing these 600 million acres of land and 150,000 square miles of protected waters have little direction on how to respond to these shifts. "Global warming is and will continue to contribute to species extinctions, flooding of coastal refuges and massive movements of wildlife populations in search of more hospitable habitat. Polar bears and other imperiled species, wildlife refuges, parks and myriad natural resources are at risk and Congress clearly needs to provide more legislative direction because the agencies have failed to do so."

Creators of the Times Atlas have had to make significant changes to their latest edition because of changes to the world's landscapes caused by climate change. Cartographers have had to redraw coastlines and reclassify types of land to reflect changes to geographical features like Lake Chad in Africa, which is now 95 percent smaller than it was in 1963. "We can literally see environmental disasters unfolding before our eyes. We have a real fear that in the near future, famous geographical features will disappear forever. The outline of places are changing, like Bangladesh. Sea levels are rising about three millimetres a year, which has strange effects on the coastline." Some of the changes are influenced by irrigation schemes, like the Aral Sea in central Asia which has shrunk in size by three-quarters in the last 40 years as waters have been diverted to help a cotton-growing scheme.

Several recent studies have drawn a link between animal births and climate change. The sex of Australian central bearded dragons can be "switched" by heat. A team of researchers recently incubated eggs at relatively high temperatures – between 34°C and 37°C and found that the majority of embryos that had ZZ sex chromosomes (genetically male), went on to hatch as females. The team is worried that the lizards may not be able to adapt fast enough to warming temperatures, leading to males being wiped-out altogether.
Female loggerhead turtles in Florida, increasingly rely on long-distance relationships with males in North Carolina. That's because the sex of the loggerhead hatchlings is determined by the temperature at which the egg is incubated: warmer temperatures yield females, cooler ones yield males. So warming temperatures in the US mean that southern populations of loggerheads are increasingly dominated by females.
After the strong El Niño events of 1982–83 and 1997–98 populations of Galápagos penguins declined by more than 60%. There is a 30% chance it will disappear entirely within 100 years, if El Niño events keep happening with the same frequency. If, however, the frequency increases, as predicted by some climatologists, the risk becomes greater. A doubling of the strong events leads to an 80% of extinction within 100 years.

UNUSUAL ANIMAL SIGHTING - CALIFORNIA - An unusual sighting occurred on the coast this week when three large manta rays were spotted about eight miles off Dana Point. A captain for seven years said he has never seen them in local waters before. Marine biologists were surprised and excited about the Monday sighting. A professor of marine science at Orange Coast College said in his 35 years of teaching he's only heard of manta rays being here once - and even that was iffy. His source was a fisherman who enjoyed drinking. "This is EXTREMELY UNUSUAL. VERY RARE, one in a million." The dark gray rays had a white underbelly and a wingspan of 10- to 12-feet wide. "They were just kind of swimming along in a formation, staggering one after the other. They were just cruising right at the surface." When a marine biologist for the Ocean Institute first heard of the sighting, her reaction was "how bizarre is that?" The last official sighting she had heard about in the area was during El Nino. She speculated that the manta rays came here because of the quick change in water temperatures this past week. Water temperatures had dropped to about 59 degrees because of upwelling – when colder water is pushed up to the surface by strong winds. With the hot weather, the water temperatures have shot up drastically since Sunday. There may be a large, temporary current called the "Davidson counter current" coming through from Baja. If the mantas found their way here, other subtropical fish such as the Wahoo barracuda, large sun fish, green sea turtles, and the black jellyfish that washed up on shore a few years ago could also be making their way to the region. "If we're seeing mantas here, there's a chance we'll see stranger creatures here. Tell everybody to keep their eyes peeled, when things like this happen, we can see anything out there." The rays are usually found in tropical areas and coral reefs, as well as the Sea of Cortez and through Baja, and occasionally in San Diego, the highest point of their range. During Monday's sighting, the manta rays came up to the bow, like dolphins sometimes do, and swam with the boat for about five minutes before the boat took off to look for more fish to catch.

9/7/07 -
KENTUCKY - August was Louisville’s HOTTEST MONTH EVER, with an average overall temperature of 85 degrees, about a degree warmer than the previous record set in July 1901. At Fort Knox, temperatures reached the triple digits on four days in August. The two hottest were Aug. 15 and 16, when the mercury rose to 103. Before this summer, the station hadn’t seen triple-digit highs in eight years. August had 24 straight days 90 degrees or higher. Only four days had highs cooler than 90, and all of these were 85 or greater. The average daily high for the month was 94.2 degrees. Last year’s figure was 86.

AUSTRALIA - Drought will become a redundant term as Australia plans for a permanently drier future, according to the nation's urban water industries chief. And climate experts predicted the present drought would continue, signalling a cruel summer for farmers and sparking fears of higher food prices. "The urban water industry has decided the inflows of the past will never return. We are trying to avoid the term 'drought' and saying this is the new reality." Irrigators on the Murray River, including many Victorian citrus growers and dairy farmers, face their worst ever summer. Fresh produce would be hit and food prices would probably rise. More than half of Australia's agricultural land, including all of Victoria's, is now drought-declared. "If rain is not forthcoming (over the next week or two), there's going to be … quite a few farmers, particularly those dairy farmers on the Murray, that will fall by the wayside." Combined storages and inflows in the Murray system are at RECORD LOWS and the situation is deteriorating. "These are the WORST CONDITIONS SINCE 1936 when the Hume Dam was completed. It will take multiple years for storages to recover and the outlook is very grim." "No one predicted how savagely low inflows would be under climate change." Melbourne's water stores were yesterday at 38.7 per cent, 8 percentage points lower than the same time last year. They have risen by only 0.1 of a percentage point in the past 10 days. The city is on stage 3a water restrictions, but may move to stage 4 bans over summer. Adelaide and Brisbane also face a dire summer of restrictions. The La Nina weather system, originally predicted as a drought-breaker, has so far dumped rain over the eastern seaboard and into the ocean without sufficient impact on mainland Australia. Australia could face another El Nino (which would bring more severe drought conditions) within 18 to 24 months.

9/6/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Water restrictions may never end - Australia may never fully recover from the current decade-long drought due to climate change, experts have warned.

CALIFORNIA - At least 25 deaths have been blamed on an eight-day heatwave in southern California that has finally started to cool. Temperatures in inland and mountainous areas of Los Angeles have fallen, with most places down below 38C for the first time in a week. Temperatures are expected to drop further back to seasonal norms over the next two days.

9/5/07 -
RUSSIA - Forty fires covering the area of over 540 hectares of taiga are raging in Russia’s Baikal region. Peat-bog fires, that are also fixed there, are difficult to put out. With that in view, an emergency situation has been announced in Baikal’s Chita region. Access to forests by local residents is banned. Starting from spring, there have been over 1,400 wildfires in the Chita region, which have destroyed over 185,000 hectares of taiga.
SIBERIA - A state of emergency was declared Tuesday in south-central Siberia as four new wildfires raised the number of fires burning to 36. The area affected is in Tuva, where more than 4,700 acres have been burned by the fires in the past week. Officials said weather was frustrating firefighters with temperatures running in the 90s, dry conditions and no rain forecast in the near future. Since April 1, 241 forest fires have been reported in Tuva. The fires have burned more than 94,000 acres, which is double last year's figure. That has raised another problem for regional officials, as the entire year's firefighting budget has been used.

OHIO - a RECORD HIGH of 96 degrees was reached on Tuesday. It was the FIFTH DAILY RECORD this year. August had the most days above 90 of any month: 25; the most number of days above 100: five. Four of those broke records; three were consecutive. It was the hottest August on record with an average temperature of 81.6. Normal is 74.5 degrees.

CALIFORNIA - The week-long heat wave in Southern California has claimed four lives and caused power outages to more than half a million customers, utility and local officials said on Tuesday. Triple-digit temperatures lingered over some of Southern California for the seventh straight day on Tuesday, while most cities in the region saw temperatures in the mid-to-high 90s. The heatwave is expected to break by today.

9/4/07 -
KOREA saw more sleepless tropical nights this summer than ever, when nighttime temperatures stayed above 25 degrees Celsius. There were twice as many of them this summer as in the average year. In August alone, the frequency of tropical nights was four times higher than ever before. Meteorologists cite global warming and the heat island effect as the main culprits. Rainfall was 676.3 mm this summer, 23.6 mm less than before, but Korea saw 46 days of rain this summer, seven days more than in the past.

CALIFORNIA - A heat wave swept southern California for a sixth day on Sunday, claiming the lives of an elderly couple, setting RECORD TEMPERATURES and leaving thousands of customers without power. In downtown Los Angeles, the temperature reached 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 C), and set records along the coast in Long Beach (103 degrees/39 C) and 56 miles inland in Riverside (112 degrees/44 C). On Sunday, there was RECORD HEAT in Riverside at 113 degrees, topping records for a Sept. 2 registered in 1948 and 1955.
On Monday temperatures were heading back toward triple digits on the seventh day of the heat wave.

OHIO - Dayton remains in a moderate drought despite a record rainfall on Aug. 20 and August was among the HOTTEST ON RECORD.

SOUTH CAROLINA - August set HEAT RECORDS all across South Carolina.

TENNESSEE - Even though temperatures have fallen below the 100-degree mark, some areas of Tennessee are still experiencing RECORD HEAT for this time of year.

9/2/07 -
GREECE - The fires that have reduced vast swaths of Greece to a stinking, charred vision of hell have shocked the world. For those who live in Greece, the catastrophe is the worst thing to have hit the country since the ravages of the second world war. Like the war, the fallout will almost certainly affect their lives for at least the next generation. "This is our tsunami. Our 9/11." The loss of life has been shocking. Who can forget the images of bodies blackened by the side of the road, the nightmarish midnight infernos swallowing up hillsides, or the story of a mother and her four children who died, clinging together in the car, trying to escape? Whole villages have been incinerated, and perhaps even worse, ancient olive groves and pine forests with their attendant history, livelihoods and futures, are now piles of ashes.

AUSTRALIA - Wind gusts well over 100km/h wrought havoc in the Geelong region yesterday morning. The strongest gusts of 119km/h were recorded at 10am at Geelong Airport at Grovedale. The short gusts were in the category of violent storm as defined by the Beaufort Scale, but only for a short time. Only hurricane force winds rate higher. The average winds of 83km/h were the STRONGEST RECORDED SINCE 1983 when the weather station was established at Grovedale. "It's a VERY UNUSUAL event." The winds came on top of unseasonal warm weather, with strong northerly winds driving temperatures up in recent days. August temperatures in Melbourne were about two degrees above normal, making it the WARMEST AUGUST ON RECORD. August was a month of contrasts for Geelong, with a wet and wintry start turning into an early spring for the rest of the month.

NORTHWEST PASSAGE NEARLY OPEN - For over 500 years, arctic explorers have sought a passage between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. This summer, sea-ice melt opened this fabled and long-sought passageway between the oceans.

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8/31/07 -
SOUTHERN EUROPE - Satellite sensors detected far more fire-generated “hot spots” in southern European countries in August than they have even during previous spikes in fire activity over the past 10 years. The Greek wildfires, visible from space, SHATTERED RECORDS. Data is beginning to show how immense the burns really were. Greece “has experienced more wildfire activity this August than other European countries have over the last decade.” August was also the worst month for fires in Greece in the past 10 years by a factor of four. There remains the threat of more fires in the next few days. Another major heat wave is expected this weekend, making natural and human-ignited blazes all the more likely.

GREECE - A distinctly better day dawned across fire-ravaged southern Greece on Thursday, with most wildfires either extinguished or under control, as only four spots - two in the Peloponnese and two on the large island of Evia - were still identified as "problems". Of the four, the worst wildfire was in the verdant Karytaina district of western Arcadia prefecture, in the central Peloponnese. The death toll, meanwhile, of all wildfire-related deaths remained at 64. The week of wildfires in Greece has caused at least $1.7 billion in damage.

MACEDONIA - Wildfires continue to blaze in five sites in Macedonia on Thursday. According to the latest reports, the Galicica mountain fire is still burning in the hamlets of Tumba and Diva Jasika. The blaze scorched dry grass, juniper-trees and beech-trees. The blaze consumed 3.5 hectares of woodland. The fire near the village of Oreska Cuka is still blazing. The firefighters have averted the blaze from spreading onto the village. The wildfire between the villages of Bezikovo and Preseka, Kocani area, is still active. It scorched 50-60 hectares of woodland. Also burning are wildfires in Zajas-Bukojcani, Kicevo area, and on the mountainside in Straza area near Kicevo. The inaccessible terrain hampers the firefighting efforts. Several wildfires have been put under control, including the blaze just outside the Village of Banista, near the border with Albania. The blaze consumed roughly 500 square meters of woodland. Firefighters contained the wildfire just outside the village of Vaksince, Kumanovo area, which consumed 60-70 hectares of pine forest.

ALGERIA is facing an UNPRECEDENTED heat wave resulting in forest fires that are being felt across the entire northern regions. In the Tizi Ouzou province in the central northeast of the country at least four people died from severe burns. The temperature in Algiers reached the 110 Fahrenheit or 42 Celsius, pushing power consumption to peak levels on August 28th. Firefighters are battling fires on 28 fronts; a battle that appears difficult to win. 36 fires are currently destroying forests in Annaba, Guelma and El Tarf. In all, 74 fires have been active over the past couple of days in 19 provinces, affecting 21,000 hectares of land (52,000 acres). Since the beginning of summer, 1,204 fires have been registered, making 2007 the busiest season for Algerian firefighters.

U.S. - RECORD HEAT continues to plague parts of the U.S. - This summer is setting records for heat and drought in the west, southwest and southeastern United States. Charlotte, North Carolina, is about to set a record for most consecutive days in one year with high temperatures over 90 degrees. The west has seen severe heat for months. In California, Palm Springs has seen brutal temperatures hovering near 115-degrees, while in Arizona it's been 110-degrees or hotter for 29 straight days, a new record. Severe drought conditions are drying up lakes, lawns and fields. Farmers are fighting to save crops and cattle in some of the driest areas. In North Carolina there is a "hay emergency," continuing what has been a rough go for several seasons now. "We've had a late freeze that damaged crops in North Carolina, and then we've had a drought that has been very severe, but then couple that with probably the hottest August temperatures that have ever been recorded on record. We've had our three strikes but we're still fighting." Smaller crops and the extra cost for farmers to deal with the conditions will surely mean higher market prices in the fall.

CANADA - Climate change could be causing cougar attacks - A combination of warm winters and Alberta's population boom is causing a recent jump in cougar attacks.

8/30/07 -
LAKE SUPERIOR is headed for a record low water level for August, with more record lows likely in September and October, environment officials from Canada and the U.S. said Tuesday. "We would need a hurricane" to avoid a record. Water levels on the largest of the Great Lakes have been below the long-term average since 1998 - the LONGEST PERIOD OF BELOW-AVERAGE WATER LEVELS IN HISTORY. Portions of the Lake Superior watershed have been drier or in moderate drought conditions since May 2006, and extreme drought conditions now affect most of the watershed. Lake Superior's water level on Aug. 27 was 182.98 metres above sea level, below the August record low of 183.02 metres set in 1926. The all-time record low was 182.72 metres above sea level in April 1926. With the lower water levels, surface temperature has increased by fractions of a degree, but it's enough to increase evaporation, which adds to the problem.

ALGERIA - Massive fires have raged in forests in different provinces in Algeria. In Cherea mountains (23 km west of Algiers), local authorities ordered to evacuate several families living next to the fires. A temperature of 43 degrees has been recorded in coastal cities such as Algiers, Annaba, Tizi Ouzou, Bejaia and Boumerdes. In the wilaya (province) of Tlemcen (west of Algiers), a large number of families had to leave their houses because of fires that raged mountains. In the east, RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES were recorded. At Algiers’ hospitals, emergency departments have received people with respiratory diseases and allergy, especially children and old people, all day long.

AUSTRALIA - THE EARLIEST TOTAL FIRE BANS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIAN HISTORY are in force days before the end of winter, as the state prepares for a dangerously hot and windy day today. Bans came into force at midnight for the West Coast, Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Lower Eyre Peninsula and Mt Lofty Ranges, just four months after last summer's fire bans were lifted in April. The bans are in force until midnight tonight, when much of the state will have baked in unseasonal temperatures up to 30C and been lashed by winds gusting up to 120km/h. The previous earliest ban was October last year. "It's not the highest risk conditions I've seen, but it's certainly the highest (fire risk) I can remember at this time of the year. That's in 20-plus years. The number one issue we've got is the ground is so dry on the West Coast and the Mt Lofty Ranges." Predictions of hot winds also have the state's farmers on edge and such conditions have the potential to financially "devastate" some. "It will ruin crops if it is of the nature we're told (with) strong winds, high temperatures and a very, very drying and crop-destroying day. It's giving rise to many, many concerns...(it will be) absolutely devastating to some and to the economy of the state as well. Who would have predicted two days like this (in one week), and this is going to be worse than the one we had a couple of days ago and we're not even into spring yet." "The stress of a long, dry period on our trees means we're getting a significant number of trees down. This weather pattern, this whole thing is something we expected in summer, certainly not winter. We get storms all year round, we can't dispute that, (but) the weather patterns certainly appear to us to have changed because we don't seem to get as many winter storms now."

ARIZONA - Broiling hot temperatures are gripping the Phoenix area. The heat is shoe-melting, spirit-crushing and now, RECORD-BREAKING. Phoenix hit its 29th day of 110 degree-plus temperatures Wednesday, breaking the record of 28 days set in 1970 and 2002. The average number of days that top 110 degrees in a given year is 10. The weather service is forecasting temperatures of 105 degrees for the rest of the week.

CALIFORNIA - This summer’s outbreak of oakworms is THE MOST SEVERE IN YEARS. Mature worm larvae are found on the Central Coast from May to June and adults emerge June to July. The worms quickly go to work feeding on oak trees. They have a hefty appetite for leaves, and in no time a healthy oak tree can be left practically naked. The worms don’t kill trees, but defoliation can leave them looking sickly. Lack of rain in the winter and spring created ideal conditions for an eruption in the oakworm population. Normally, this area sees two life cycles of oakworms, but the warm dry weather has spawned a recent third generation, which is EXTREMELY RARE, according to arborists.

8/29/07 -
GREECE - The country's worst fires in living memory have killed at least 64 people since they began five days ago, ravaging olive groves, forest and orchards and incinerating homes, wild animals and livestock. Fires burned through about 184,000 hectares, or 454,000 acres, of forest, groves and scrubland between August 24th and 26th. During those three days, more land was burned in Greece than during ALL of 2000, which had been the worst year recorded by the EU's fire information service. Fires kept breaking out despite progress on some fronts, including a blaze just outside Athens in Grammatiko, located near ancient Marathon. Since yesterday 56 new fires have broken out. The worst were concentrated in the mountains of the Peloponnese in the south and on the island of Evia north of Athens. Meanwhile, a strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5 struck the fire-ravaged area in the south, panicking residents, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

AUSTRALIA - This month the minimum overnight temperature in the city of Sydney has averaged 11.2 degrees, almost 2 degrees above average. Top daytime temperatures during the month have averaged 19.4, also well above normal. The mercury soared to 27 yesterday afternoon after almost reaching 28 on Monday - 10 degrees above normal. "It is starting to get UNUSUAL."

ARIZONA - Valleywide temperatures hit 110 degrees on Tuesday and TIED AN ALL-TIME SUMMER HEAT RECORD. The "110 degree day record" will most likely fall by Thursday. And it looks as though they will be breaking the record for the most days in a year with a high temperature greater than 110. The current record is 28.

Tropical rainfall is on the rise, NASA scientists have said. Using a 27-year-long global record of rainfall assembled by the international scientific community from satellite and ground-based instruments, the scientists found that the rainiest years in the tropics between 1979 and 2005 were mainly since 2001. The rainiest year was 2005, followed by 2004, 1998, 2003 and 2002 respectively. “When we look at the whole planet over almost three decades, the total amount of rain falling has changed very little. But in the tropics, where nearly two-thirds of all rain falls, there has been an increase of five percent.” The rainfall increase was concentrated over tropical oceans, with a slight decline over land. A warming trend in Earth's atmosphere and surface temperatures would produce an accelerated recycling of water between land, sea and air.

8/28/07 -
GREECE - Firefighters rushed helicopters and buses Monday to evacuate more than two dozen villages threatened by towering walls of flames that had killed 63 people while ravaging swaths of forest and farmland in Greece. The evacuation was THE BIGGEST SEEN IN PEACETIME in Greece.

8/27/07 -
GREECE - More international help was set arrive in Greece today to fight the DEADLIEST FOREST FIRES IN THE PAST 150 YEARS, amid growing suspicion that many of the blazes which have killed more than 60 people and destroyed hundreds of houses were arson.
Wildfires are burning in half of Greece - "This is an UNPRECEDENTED SERIES OF EVENTS that has occurred in Greece, upwards of 170 individual wildfires, mostly in the south of the country." Greece has NEVER EXPERIENCED A DISASTER ON THIS SCALE. Police say it is not clear how many people are unaccounted for and say they fear an even higher death toll. As authorities evacuated hundreds of people trapped by flames in their villages, dozens were hospitalized. Thousands of hectares of agricultural land and pastures have been scorched.
Photos

BULGARIA - The number of people who have died as a result of the wildfires in the Bulgarian municipality of Topolovgrad rose to two. The victims were from the village of Prisadets. The situation in the region remains serious. The fire has engulfed kilometers of forest and is moving towards the Municipality of Svilengrad. The villages of Filipovtsi, Prisadets and Varnik were evacuated.

MASSACHUSETTS - on Saturday, the Attleboro area endured its second day in a row of RECORD-SETTING HEAT. The temperature hit 95 degrees at 4 p.m., just breaking the previous record of 94 degrees, set in 1993.
NEW HAMPSHIRE - A strong line of thunderstorms moved across New Hampshire on Saturday night, tearing down trees and knocking out power to as many as 7,000 people. The line of storms followed a record hot summer day for the Granite State. In Concord, the temperature hit 98 degrees, BREAKING THE RECORD by one degree.
NEW YORK - Temperatures soared Saturday afternoon, SHATTERING THE PREVIOUS RECORD HIGH for this date by six degrees. The high of 91 degrees, measured at the airport at 2:14 p.m., broke the old record of 85, set in 1993.
GEORGIA - The 100-plus degree heat and the rainfall shortage this month has caused drought conditions so bad that they usually DON'T OCCUR MORE THAN ONCE A CENTURY. The drought in 70 of Georgia's 159 counties — almost half — has now been classified as "exceptional." In an "exceptional" drought, the affected regions experience widespread crop losses, and the water level in reservoirs, streams and wells drop so low that it creates a water emergency. These conditions are RARE. The drought has spared only four Georgia counties - all of which received plentiful rain from Tropical Storm Barry. 40 other counties are in an "extreme" drought. That happens ONCE IN 50 YEARS and also causes crop loss and water shortage, although not as severe as in an "exceptional" drought. The state's rainfall total for the year is 17.51 inches. That's almost half of normal. Add to that the temperature - August has seen nine days when the temperature climbed to 100 degrees or more in metro Atlanta, making it the HOTTEST MONTH SINCE THE WEATHER SERVICE BEGAN KEEPING RECORDS. (map)
ALABAMA - The U.S. Drought Monitor labeled 73 percent of Alabama "exceptional" for its lack of rainfall. Alabama has become significantly drier since Aug. 7, when 52 percent of the state was labeled exceptionally dry. Every county in Alabama has some degree of drought or abnormal dryness. "Not only have our farmers been suffering through the highest level of drought in the entire United States, but now we are experiencing RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES that may cause even more losses."
KENTUCKY - Baking under another RECORD-BREAKING HEAT WAVE, customers of Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities Co. were being asked for the first time this year to conserve electricity. The request for area residents to temporarily turn off their air conditioners, dishwashers and other appliances comes as near 100-degree heat continues to drive record levels of energy consumption. Thursday the mercury climbed to 99, breaking the record set in 1959 of 98 degrees. Records have been dropping like beads of sweat since the heat wave started July 30. The record string of consecutive days with 90-degree heat or more was broken last Monday when the city experienced its 22nd consecutive day. The streak ended Tuesday, the 14th, when the high was only 88. The previous record of 21 straight days had been set three times: August of 1900, July of 1901 and August of 1936.
TENNESSEE - Thursday’s 99-degree heat eclipsed the day’s Tri-Cities RECORD of 94 degrees set in 1968. Relief from the RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES isn’t expected until today, when meteorologists forecast a 40 percent chance of rain and temperatures in the upper 80s.

8/26/07 -
GREECE - A nationwide state of emergency has been declared in Greece, amid a rising death toll from raging forest fires. 47 people have died and many others may be trapped on the Peloponnesian peninsula. Radio stations are being inundated with calls from people in remote mountain villages saying they are surrounded by fire. Almost 200 fires have been reported - there were about 70 new blazes during Saturday, while many others continued to burn from the previous day. Strong winds have blown smoke and ash towards Athens 330km (200 miles) away, starting more fires and blocking out the sun over the capital. Fire crews said they had found at least 30 bodies in villages near Zaharo as they searched burned out cars and houses. "It's a tragedy," an eyewitness told Greek television. "I can see the burnt bodies of a mother holding her child in her arms. Further away there are more bodies. It's terrible." Emergency workers have been finding charred bodies in fields, homes, and in cars. Fire officials confirmed that three firefighters were among the dead. (photos)
Emergency services have been overwhelmed. Friday was previously the deadliest day of a terrible summer of forest fires, a war of attrition against the flames that has now been raging for two months. At least nine people are reported to have burned to death in their cars as they attempted to flee the flames in the western Peloponnese region. The victims, driving near the town of Zahero, were surrounded by a wall of fire and could not break through. A local prefect close to the scene described it as horrific. "The situation is extremely dire... The speed with which this fire has been spreading is astonishing." Scores of other people in the region have been taken to hospital with burns. The biggest fires are still raging out of control, whipped up by dry winds gusting up to gale force, which have hampered the efforts of water-dropping aircraft.
These are the WORST FOREST FIRES TO HIT GREECE IN DECADES.

8/23/07 -
SICILY - Dozens of Italians were forced to leave their homes in Sicily this week as regional wildfires damaged homes and threatened communities.

JAPAN faces electricity shortages as a sustained heat wave pushes demand to RECORD LEVELS, straining a supply grid compromised by the forced shutdown of the world’s largest nuclear plant. Tokyo Electric Power, the world’s biggest private utility, on Wednesday asked about two dozen industrial customers to cut electricity use after temperatures in the capital reached 36 degrees.
"The high temperatures stretch into the night and so odd is the heat that even a huge downpour did nothing to change the conditions. Indeed the heat and late evening shower were simultaneous! Strange but true."

MISSOURI - This year's heat wave TIED A RECORD FOR LONGEST HEAT WAVE IN HISTORY Wednesday morning when the mercury climbed above 90 at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport on its way to a predicted high of 99. It marks the 28th consecutive day with a temperature above 90, tieing the record set in August-September 1983. Since July 26, when a high of 90 was recorded, the heat has set four records for daily high temperatures and the airport reading has reached 100 or above four times as well. On 18 days, the temperature has exceeded 95, including a 17-day stretch from Aug. 2 through Saturday. The heat wave has claimed one fatality in Cape Girardeau County. The heat doesn't appear ready to release its grip on the region.

TENNESSEE - LONGEST HEAT WAVE IN HISTORY - The heat wave, with temperatures of 95 and above, has lasted 19 days including Wednesday. The previous record is 18 back on August 15th through September 1st of 1993. Wedensday was the 7th day of 100 or above. The record is 15 in 1952. The hottest summer average, June-August is 82.0 in 1993. This summer so far: 81.0 (could break this). The hottest year in Chattanooga: 1938 with an average of 63.1. So far this year: 61.6 (including the freeze in April).
A periodic disease that is likely the cause of dead deer in Tennessee and surrounding states is being made more severe by the drought and the heat wave.

FLORIDA - RECORD HEAT.

COLORADO - RECORD HEAT - This summer Denver recorded 50 days where the mercury has hit or surpassed 90-degrees Fahrenheit, with a rainfall deficit of nearly three and a half inches.

8/22/07 -
NORTH CAROLINA - Sure, it's supposed to be hot. It's August. But not this hot. Not record-setting hot. Not for a whole month. But it could happen. Greensboro could smash the mark for the hottest August on the books. On top of that, the area could set the record for the driest August ever. "This really has been an exceptional month for heat and dryness." NEW RECORD HIGHS have been set on five days this August in Greensboro. The combination of hot, dry weather has taken a significant toll on crops and livestock, lawns and gardens, lakes and streams, and pets and people. Eighteen of the 20 days this month have seen the temperature hit 90 or above. A typical month might have eight or nine such days. Through Sunday, Greensboro has recorded an average temperature of 83.4 for the month. The previous record for August is 80 degrees, set in 1975. Record highs were set on six days this month and record minimums on another five. As of 5 p.m. Sunday, the state has experienced 471 wildfires this month; that's more than double the average for August. "We're SMASHING RECORDS ALL OVER THE PLACE."

SOUTH CAROLINA - Some areas of South Carolina are approaching the DRIEST AUGUST ON RECORD, which could upgrade the state's drought status to severe.

IDAHO - The relentless spread of large wildfires has prompted the governor to declare a state of emergency and fire managers in three national forests to give up on trying to extinguish the blazes, focusing instead on protecting homes and other structures. Fire managers on some large wildfire complexes said they would need to wait for a different kind of help to fight back the flames: snow. "With the resources we have and the conditions on the ground, we're not going to be able to go in there and put them all out. It's physically impossible to do so. Unless things really change weatherwise, we expect them to burn until the winter snow hits the mountains."

MONTANA, CALIFORNIA - More than 300 homes were evacuated as a wildfire destroyed two houses and cut off the main entrance to a Billings, Montana, subdivision. At some of the surviving homes, firefighters were battling flames "right up to the back door". Gusty winds and low humidity helped spread flames elsewhere in western Montana, prompting more evacuations near several blazes. Southeast of Missoula, Granite County authorities evacuated 213 cabins and homes in the path of a complex of fires that had charred at least 44,000 acres, or 69 square miles, in three national forests. Dozens of ranch properties in California were put on alert Monday as the third-largest wildfire in modern state history raged through Los Padres National Forest backcountry. The blaze had blackened 214,725 acres, or 336 square miles, since starting on July 4. It was 75 percent contained. The firefighters, more than 3,000 strong, faced rugged terrain, temperatures in the 90s and extremely low humidity in an area that hadn't burned in 75 to 100 years.

8/21/07 -
ARCTIC - Previously unknown islands are appearing as Arctic summer sea ice shrinks to record lows, raising questions about whether global warming is outpacing UN projections. Polar bears and seals have also suffered this year on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard because the sea ice they rely on for hunts melted far earlier than normal. "Reductions of snow and ice are happening at an alarming rate. This acceleration may be faster than predicted" by the UN climate panel this year. The thaw of glaciers that stretch out to sea around Svalbard has revealed several islands that are not on any maps. "Islands are appearing just over the fjord here" as glaciers recede...I know of two islands that appeared in the north of Svalbard this summer. They haven't been claimed yet." Islands have also appeared in recent years off Greenland and Canada. The US National Snow and Ice Data Centre said on Friday that Arctic sea ice had "fallen below the 2005 record low absolute minimum and is still melting". Arctic sea ice reaches an annual minimum in September before freezing again.

KOREA has had six days of rain so far this month, an average of one every three days. The showers are so frequent that some people believe Korea's climate is becoming like that of subtropical regions of Southeast Asia. Many people were caught in a sudden rain shower in Seoul's Jongno district around 10 a.m. Monday. At the same time there were also downpours of 0.5 to 4 mm in Seodaemun-gu, Dongdaemun-gu and Jungrang-gu. The Korea Meteorological Administration, however, hadn't forecast any rain for those areas that day. There were tropical nights with nighttime temperatures above 25 degrees once every two nights. That's another reason some people believe in the subtropical climate theory. There is more evidence to support this hypothesis - In Jeju Island, Busan, and some cities in Southern Gyeongsang Province including Masan, Tongyeong, Geoje, and some in South Jeolla Province including Mokpo, Yeosu, Wando Island, features of a subtropical climate began appearing several years ago.

Unpredictable savanna rains may have led to cooperation among birds, a study finds. Delaying having kids to help raise the offspring of others seems like a bad choice if you want to reproduce, but many African starlings have adopted this strategy to deal with the unpredictable climate of their savanna habitats. This behavior, called cooperative breeding, is typical of many animals, from insects and shrimp to birds and even humans, but the reasons underlying its evolution and distribution among such a wide array of species have been unclear. All of the cooperative breeders among the starlings live in savannas - highly seasonal habitats with great variation in rainfall, and thus food, from one year to the next. The species that do not engage in cooperative breeding are found mostly in forests, which have more reliable annual food resources. "Faced with an uncertain and unpredictable environment, it pays evolutionarily to live and breed in social groups that will help you weather the bad times and make the most of the good times." Helping relatives feed their kids increases the chances of passing on some of your genes, since siblings share a large proportion of their DNA. The first humans also lived in the savannas of East Africa. With global warming, weather patterns are expected to become more variable worldwide and could possibly drive social behavior more toward cooperative breeding among temperate species that don't normally live in family groups.

U.S. - A two-week heatwave in the southern and Midwestern US has resulted in the deaths of at least 43 people, many of whom were elderly. On Sunday, temperatures dropped to 94F (34C) in Memphis, Tennessee - the first time in 10 days they did not top 100F. In Memphis, the "heat index", a measure that factors in humidity to describe how hot the weather feels, has risen above 100F every day since 27 June. The heatwave has been responsible for 12 deaths in Tennessee, nine in Missouri, eight in Alabama, four in Arkansas, four in Georgia, three in Illinois, two in South Carolina and one in Mississippi.

ARIZONA - The Phoenix area is approaching a record that most would likely not want to see. It's the record for the number of days in a year the Phoenix area has reached at least 110 degrees. The current record is 28 and the Phoenix area is at 26 and counting. The chances are very good the Phoenix area will break the record soon because of forecasts of above-average temperatures throughout the week. The latest the Phoenix area has hit 110 degrees was Sept. 15, 2000. That means the area has about a month to smash the record.

SOUTH CAROLINA - August has been an UNUSUALLY FIERY MONTH according to experts at the South Carolina Forestry Commission. Fire numbers are up. Wildfire behavior has been more aggressive in recent weeks, due in part to the drought conditions that persist across the state. "We usually don't see flame heights extending beyond tree tops in August."

CALIFORNIA - A massive fire in the Los Padres National Forest grew an additional 11500 acres Sunday, making it ONE OF THE LARGEST WILDFIRES IN MODERN CALIFORNIA HISTORY. "It's growing, and it may become the granddaddy of them all before this is over with." The fire has burned 199,588 acres of wilderness, or 312 square miles. It was 75% contained, with more than 3,000 personnel working on it. Authorities closed a highway and encouraged residents of about two dozen rural Ventura County homes to evacuate. A 45-mile stretch on Highway 33, between Ventucopa and Wheeler Gorge, was closed to all traffic, including residents.

8/20/07 -
Have instances of extreme weather conditions increased over the last few years? There were 26 “major flood disasters” worldwide in the 1990s, compared to 18 in the 1980s, eight in the 1970s, seven in the 1960s and 6 in the 1950s. As per a recent study by U.S. scientists, the proportion of tropical cyclones reaching categories 4 or 5 has risen from 20% in the 1970s to 35% in the 1990s over the globe. In the last 50 years, cold days, cold nights and frost have become less frequent, while hot days, hot nights, and heat waves have become more frequent.

8/19/07 -
U.S. - Nearly three dozen wildfires were burning Friday in Montana and Idaho, fueled by tinder-dry conditions and windy weather. The fires were among 55 large active fires reported from Hawaii to Virginia. In California, the Zaca fire burning in Santa Barbara County since July 4 had jumped to 183,408 acres – 287 square miles. Smoke and ash from the fire continued to fill the air in Santa Barbara and other coastal communities, prompting health officials to issue a health advisory. (photos)

WEST VIRGINIA - People and plants suffered as the temperature rose to 104 degrees Thursday at Yeager Airport, the HOTTEST DAY IN CHARLESTON IN 18 YEARS. The heat BROKE THE ALL-TIME RECORD FOR AUGUST 16, topping the previous high of 98 degrees set in 1998. Records have been kept since 1901. This was the 12th day this month when the temperature hit 90 or more and the 28th day this year. Just half an inch of rain has fallen in Charleston in August, leaving the area with rainfall for the year at 20.91 inches, eight inches short of average for this date. Although more than 5 inches of rain fell in July, greening up the grass, it provided only temporary relief to a prolonged dry spell that began in mid-April. On Thursday, federal officials declared most of West Virginia a disaster area. The summer’s drought has hurt West Virginia’s crops and livestock so badly, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared farmers in 49 counties immediately eligible for emergency loans.

JAPAN - The recent heat wave continued in western Japan on Saturday. At least 56 people have died this month in the heat wave, caused by high air pressure from the hot Pacific Ocean. In the west of the Tokai region, the mercury soared to 39C in Takahashi, a RECORD HIGH.
Japan sizzled through its HOTTEST DAY ON RECORD Thursday as a heat wave claimed at least 13 lives and threatened power supplies.

KOREA - A heat wave swept Korea on Thursday and a heat wave warning was issued for the first time for Seoul and other central regions.

UNITED KINGDOM - Climate change is disrupting the habits of birds which normally migrate to and from Britain in winter. With its relatively mild climate and ice-free conditions, Britain attracts over five million birds each winter from cooler climes such as Greenland, northern Europe and Siberia - but the number is falling. Warmer winters mean that some yearly visitors, including mallards, shelducks and turnstones, are choosing not to fly as far as Britain because they can find suitable conditions closer to home. "The UK has had both the perfect climate and perfect habitats for these birds, but the evidence is growing that climate change impacts are starting to bite. Sea level rise and warmer winters are reducing their numbers, undermining our importance for birds." Other birds are now staying in Britain over the winter instead of migrating to warmer climates. The number of waterfowl species wintering in Britain has doubled in the past three decades as migration patterns change.
SCOTLAND - Climate change has caused a decline in the number of birds migrating to the Lothians in winter. There has been a sharp fall in numbers of dunlin and turnstone, of which there are internationally important populations in the Firth of Forth. They believe that birds which are traditionally attracted by the relatively mild winters are no longer forced to fly as far as Scotland to find suitable conditions. A lack of food availability has been blamed for the "worst breeding season on record" for guillemots on the east coast. "If we do get the predicted three to four degree rise in temperature, then many bird species in Scotland could face a precarious future." "Climate change has definitely affected seabirds. We have noticed this year that gannets are having to travel much further to find food, as far as Norway, because of the changes in fish stocks. "The puffin population has also declined as a result of the growth in tree mallow."

KENYA - Climate change is to blame for increasing conflicts between humans and wildlife across East Africa, and is heightening the risk that animal diseases will spread. Climate change is to blame for rivers drying up and species migrating to new habitats, causing changes in ecosystems. This has led to animals, such as lions, killing domestic animals like sheep and goats in villages near the animal parks. Villagers have also complained of elephants, rhinos and buffalo destroying food crops as they wander away from the parks in search of food and water. Kenya's 66 animal parks are all experiencing changes in animal disease patterns.

CANADA - Expanding forests in the Canadian Rocky Mountains are slowly isolating groups of alpine butterflies from each other, which may lead to the extinction of the colourful insects in some areas. A rising tree line in the Rockies is due to global warming. The alpine Apollo butterfly (Parnassius) inhabits open meadows because they, like other types of butterflies, need sunlight to generate enough body heat in order to fly, and forests are generally too shady for them and inhibit their ability to move. However, expanding forests are pinching off the Parnassius from their neighbors in nearby meadows. "The risk of local extinction and inbreeding depression will increase as meadows shrink, the population sizes decrease and the populations become more isolated." One particularly cold winter or summer season may be enough to wipe out an entire meadow of Parnassius.
CANADA - In the York region of Ontario, hot temperatures coupled with a lack of rainfall, have produced RECORD DRY CONDITIONS. "It's almost as if the clouds have forgotten how to rain." The combined rainfall for June, July and August is currently at 82 mm at Buttonville airport and 71 mm in Aurora. 1978 and 1988 are tied as the region's driest on record with about 93 mm of combined rainfall for June, July and August. "We are dealing with 35 or 40 per cent of what rainfall should be." In southwestern Ontario, although extreme conditions often occur, there is usually a balance, so an extremely dry period will be followed by a period with more rain. However, that is not the case this summer with month after month of dry conditions. "What surprises me most is the persistence of the dry. Usually, it balances out." In addition to ponds drying up, farmers are losing crops due to the drought or suffering financially by having to irrigate. And in many ways, the damage the environment suffers due to a drought-like conditions can be worse than an extreme weather event, such as a tornado, because trees and plants suffer long-term damage, leaving them susceptible to disease. "It's going to get worse before it gets better."

An amateur meteorologist from Toronto has embarrassed NASA scientists by catching an error in recent climate-change data. The resulting flap has led to accusations and finger-pointing over whether NASA's error was genuine.

8/17/07 -
BRITAIN - A magnolia has flowered for the third time in a year, possibly due to climate change and the unpredictable weather. The pink New Zealand-bred Apollo hybrid normally only blossomed once a year, in spring. It previously blossomed in late November and in April. A gardener for 25 years said, "I'm not a scientist so I can't comment about global warming but I have seen for myself how the seasons are changing, and the past year has been a particularly unusual one. We had a wet but mild autumn and winter, a hot spring and now a wet summer. It's not surprising nature is confused...Ten years ago it would have flowered once a year, then it became twice, and now there is the very real possibility that it will become four."

Historical accounts have drawn attention to the years AD 1315 to 1318 as a period of climatically induced famine often referred to as having been associated with the "Great Rains". Many believe the whole of north-western Europe may have been affected when it rained, in a manner similar to the present, throughout three successive summers, autumns and winters. It was a period without parallel in recent history and coincided with a time of severe food shortages, military raids for food, as well as death due to famine. Irish Annals describe the summer of AD 1315 as " ugly with foul weather, intolerably damagingly and tempestuous ". The year AD 1316 coincided with a "general failure of all fruits of the earth by excessive rains and unseasonable weather leading to famine", while AD 1317 includes accounts of famine-induced cannibalism. "The episodes of exceptional rainfall associated with the famines of AD 1315 to 1318 coincide with ice core measurements that indicate the occurrence of abnormally high Atlantic sea surface temperatures. It is inferred that such ocean surface overheating led to increased evaporation and hence an increased supply of moisture ultimately delivered as summer rains and winter storms.Whatever the causes of such an abrupt change in climate, we would be well served to learn the lessons of history."

ITALY - Wine before its time alarms Italy - Global warming, or perhaps just a hot summer, puts the nation's grape harvest on a fast track. This is AN EARLY HARVEST UNLIKE ANYTHING ITALY HAS EXPERIENCED IN MEMORY. The grapes in the Lazio region, around Rome, are ripening at least 20 days early. In the northern regions of Veneto and Trentino, the home of refreshing Prosecco and other sparkling wines, the grapes were ready to pick in early August, three to four weeks early. In Sicily, there is a rush on now to find seasonal workers; red grapes are primed to ripen in early September, a month early. "I'm a bit scared. I've never picked grapes this early in the season. We're used to picking grapes in October. That's when the grape festivals are. Even my father is saying: What the hell has gone wrong with the world?" The summer heat will improve this year's vintage but it is also a wake-up call to consider how or whether the business is changing. "But it is all very strange. To have two harvests like this in four years. It's never happened before. My father, who's 72, and his father were in the business. They've never seen it before. We see this as global warming. I mean, once is exceptional. But to happen again so fast, something must be happening." If the pattern continues, "this will likely change the variety of grapes in Europe. Growers will have to find grapes that fit the weather cycle."

Unrelenting heat that has baked the U.S. Midwest and South for the past 10 days has killed at least 37 people. In Memphis, Tennesse, the mercury topped out at 105 degrees Thursday, a RECORD and the seventh consecutive day of triple-digit temperatures. There were also eight confirmed deaths in Illinois, four each in Arkansas and Georgia, two in South Carolina and one in Mississippi.
TENNESSEE - Nine people have died in Tennessee from heat-related causes since the wave of RECORD-SETTING triple-digit temperatures washed over the state last week.
SOUTH CAROLINA - The temperature in Columbia hit 100 again Wednesday, marking the ninth time in 11 days the mercury rose at least that high. While it’s difficult to rank heat waves, this one certainly is AMONG THE TOPS SINCE MODERN RECORD-KEEPING BEGAN in Columbia in 1887.
ALABAMA - Another record was reached Wednesday when the temperature reached 107 degrees in the Shoals. Not only was it the HOTTEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED FOR THE DATE, the 107-degree reading marked the second-hottest day on record in the Shoals. Wednesday was the ninth consecutive day of the temperature reaching 100 degrees or hotter in the Shoals. No August on record in the Shoals has seen more consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures. Lately, it has been another day and another high temperature record in the Shoals. Some unofficial weather stations around the Shoals recorded high temperatures as hot as 110 degrees Wednesday. Compounding the problem of the record-setting hot weather is the lack of rain. The last rain recorded at the Muscle Shoals airport was July 31. "It has been as hot and dry in August as anyone can remember."
INDIANA - southern Indiana is sweltering under RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES. It hit 104 degrees in Evansville Wednesday, a record high for the date, which was set in 1896 at 100 degrees. It was the hottest day since 1966. Wednesday also marked the 13th consecutive day of temperatures 95 degrees or higher in the city and was the fourth day in August above 100 degrees.
MISSOURI - On Tuesday in Neosho, the highs reached 103, BREAKING A LONG-STANDING RECORD set in 1902 of 99 degrees. The average for August has been a ghastly 97.1 degrees. “It's probably not your typical summer, because there are some summers where you won't even reach 100 degrees.” Part of the reason why these extended triple-digit temperatures seem so brutal is due to the abnormal amount of rainfall Southwest Missouri received in June and July, which led to flooding situations in both Joplin and Coffeyville, Kansas. All in all, 2007 has been an EXTREMELY ODD YEAR as far as weather's concerned. “I think we've all seen these types of (weather) situations occur before, maybe except for that April freeze, but it's certainly UNUSUAL that we've had several extremes.”
ARIZONA - A RECORD HIGH temperature of 114 degrees was set at Phoenix Sky Harbor on Sunday. That broke the old record of 113 degrees set in 1933.
PENNSYLVANIA - Usually, according to the water-resources extension specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, thunderstorms are random events that pop up in different places and over time, the precipitation they deliver covers the landscape more or less evenly - even in dry summers. But that has not been the case this year. And that is a big reason why the state Department of Environmental Protection declared a drought watch for 58 counties on Aug. 6. "The thing that is most striking to me - what makes this summer different from any other I can remember - is that it seems like the same places are getting hit by thunderstorms and others keep getting missed by the rain. This year it is just incredible how it has been happening...You drive down the road and one agricultural field looks really good and it is obvious it has gotten enough precipitation, but you go a mile or two farther and you see brown fields and stunted crops that are dying from the lack of rain. From what I have seen and heard, it's that way all over the state. The real problem this summer is that the weather systems have been diving deep into the South into places such as Texas - where they have been getting too much rain - and then sliding to our north up into New England, where they have gotten plenty of rain." It's well known that thunderstorms often lose their punch coming down off the Allegheny Plateau, moving east. "But for some reason, the storms this summer are really dying out coming off the plateau, and that has resulted in the central part of the state being the driest." "Ground water levels are declining across the state and some areas have even recorded RECORD LOW LEVELS already, so we need substantial amounts of rain."

8/16/07 -
JAPAN sizzled through its HOTTEST DAY ON RECORD Thursday (8/16), as a heat wave claimed at least six lives across the country and spurred fears of an electricity shortage. The mercury hit 40.9 degrees Celsius (105.62 degrees Fahrenheit) in the western city of Tajimi on Thursday afternoon, breaking a previous national record of 40.8 degrees Celsius set in 1933. Temperatures also soared to NEW RECORDS in Tokyo and across the country, spurring holiday makers to take cover indoors. Rail tracks were bent out of shape in the sun, and firefighters struggled to deal with fire alarms set off erroneously by rising temperatures. The heat also got the best of sumo wrestler Takamisakari, who smashed into his practice room window as he nearly collapsed following practice.

8/12/07 -
Arctic sea ice is at its 'LOWEST EVER LEVELS. Sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere has plunged to the LOWEST RECORDED ICE AREA IN RECORDED HISTORY, the lowest levels ever measured, US polar specialists said, adding they expect the record low to be "annihilated" by summer's end. “The new record came a full month before the historic summer minimum typically occurs. There is still a month or more of melt likely this year. It is therefore almost certain that the previous 2005 record will be annihilated by the final 2007 annual minima closer to the end of this summer.” The drop in sea ice this year is more geographically sweeping than in previous low years. "The character of 2007's sea ice melt is unique in that it is dramatic and covers the entire Arctic sector. Atlantic, Pacific and even the central Arctic sectors are showing large negative sea ice area anomalies."

DEFORESTATION of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil fell by about a third in the 12 months through July to the LOWEST RATE IN AT LEAST SEVEN YEARS.

8/10/07 -
Natural weather variations have offset the effects of global warming for the past couple of years and will continue to keep temperatures flat through 2008, a new study shows. But global warming will begin in earnest in 2009, and a couple of the years between 2009 and 2014 will eclipse 1998, the warmest year on record to date. The Earth is headed for a RECORD-SETTING HEAT WAVE after 2009, a team of U.K. climate experts said in the first such report based on observations from recent years. Scientists unveiled a 10-year climate model, predicting a rapid increase in temperatures between 2009 and 2014. Each year from 2010 through 2014 has at least a 50 percent chance of being warmer than 1998, the hottest on record. The estimate is the first stemming from data collected since 1990 on ocean temperatures, heat-trapping gases and other factors. Other forecasters used information gathered from 1960 to 1990. "Global warming is a problem that needs some action sooner rather than later." The results for years beyond 2014, which haven't been published, suggest that heat records will continue to be set after that. Cooling in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific will forestall record annual temperatures for the next two years. After that, global heat will resume an upward climb that has also been predicted by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The UN's World Meteorological Organization bolstered those estimates with a report saying that global surface temperatures were 1.89 degrees Celsius (3.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than average in January and 1.37 degrees above the mean in April. Only a rare event such as the eruption of a major volcano might keep warming at bay, at least temporarily. For example, the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, on Luzon in the Philippines, cooled global annual temperatures by about half a degree Celsius during the following two years. Pinatubo spewed out an enormous cloud of gas and ashes that spread around the earth in two weeks, blocking out some of the sun's rays.

Mexico's glaciers are doomed. Glaciers that crown Mexico's tallest mountains and which inspired Aztec legends of lost love and a snake god could disappear within a few decades, with scientists pointing to global warming as a cause of their demise. “We estimate the glaciers could last another 20 or 30 years." Mexico's two remaining glacial fields hold some of the world's few tropical glaciers, which are also found in South America, Africa and Papua New Guinea but are melting fast as world temperatures rise. On Iztaccihuatl, a dormant volcano and one of two white-capped peaks that can be seen from Mexico City, glaciers have shrunk about 70 per cent since 1960.

A chunk of an Arctic glacier broke into the sea and triggered a huge wave that injured 18 people on a sightseeing boat, almost all of them British tourists. Four people were seriously hurt in the accident by Hornbreen glacier on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. “The glacier calved (split off) and a big wave washed over the boat. The boat rocked back and forth and passengers fell on the deck.” Boats are meant to stay clear of glaciers around Svalbard, which is about 1000km from the North Pole, in case chunks fall off. But there are no fixed rules for how far is safe. Glaciers naturally break apart as they slide downhill but many are shrinking more quickly than usual because of global warming.

MONTANA - Depending upon who's talking, this year's fire season has already passed by the 2000 and 2003 seasons as the WORST SINCE 1910. That supposition is based on where the state is now with maybe one more month of fires ahead before a good rain or snow finally extinguishes the fires for good. To make matters worse, seven new lightning-caused fires were detected Tuesday in the Swan Lake area, despite a light rain. In the worst case scenario posed by some firefighters, the raging Chippy Creek Fire, which exploded across 29,000 acres on a windy Saturday and now may be the largest wildfire in Montana, could burn all the way to the Brush Creek Fire west of Whitefish - crossing U.S. Highway 2 at Marion and covering about 50 miles. Now burning about 26 miles southwest of Kalispell, predominant winds could push the fire into thousands of acres of thick dry timber north and east. The fire was reportedly 5 percent contained but was threatening 50 homes near Hubbart Reservoir. About 1,500 homes are threatened by the Jocko Lakes Fire, which has burned 15,000 acres and cost nearly $1 million to fight so far. (photo)

ALABAMA - RECORD HEAT was recorded in several cities Wednesday. It was 103 degrees in Montgomery, Anniston and Pinson. The heat wave is expected to be even worse today.

NORTH CAROLINA - RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES will again scorch area residents. The morning temperature in Charlotte was the highest on record since 1896.

8/9/07 -
FINLAND - The RECORD TEMPERATURE FOR THIS SUMMER WAS BROKEN in various parts of Ostrobothnia on Tuesday. The highest temperatures of +29.3°C were measured in Ylistaro and Kauhava in Southern Ostrobothnia, while in Haapavesi the readings were +29.1°C at their warmest. On Tuesday, the heat wave swept across most parts of the country. The previous record temperature this year of +29°C was registered on June 9th. It was measured in Suomusjärvi in Western Finland. The warm air mass brought by a high-pressure system, settled on the western side of Finland, is dominating the weather.

SOUTH CAROLINA - Temperatures continued to break records across South Carolina on Wednesday, as residents were advised to stay in air-conditioned buildings. It has never been hotter at the Greenville airport, which recorded a high of 104 degrees. It BROKE THE RECORD for Aug. 8 by six degrees, was THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN AUGUST and tied the all-time highest reading, previously reached in 1952, 1954 and 1999. The previous record high for the date was 102 in 1999. Columbia, which is typically the hottest city in the state, due to its sandy soil, low elevation and distance from the ocean, climbed to 105 degrees, BREAKING THE PREVIOUS DAILY RECORD of 102 set in 1900. Columbia has recorded highs of 100 or above for four days in a row. Greenville's high Tuesday of 100 degrees BROKE A DAILY RECORD set in 1935, while both Columbia and Charleston tied previous records. Charleston was predicted to feel the hottest Wednesday because of the coastal humidity. The high reached 98 with the heat index reaching 116 degrees at 5 p.m. Thirteen of South Carolina's 15 official weather stations reported highs of 100 or above Wednesday. Excessive-heat warnings were issued for most of the state. Utility companies are urging residents to conserve energy to both save on their power bills and ensure an adequate supply. "We are seeing RECORD DEMANDS to go with these record high temperatures."

GEORGIA - Albany's high temperature reached a RECORD 106-degrees Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - temperatures at Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington International Airport SET A NEW RECORD at 102 degrees beating the previous record of 99 set in 1980.

WISCONSIN - All the talk of this summer's drought in July is suddenly being drowned out by torrential rainfalls in August in a severe swing of the weather from desert sands to sand bags. Two weeks ago, southern Wisconsin was so dry, power plants at dams on the Wisconsin River were barely operating because very little water was flowing downstream to turn the generators. Today, southern Wisconsin is under a flash flood watch because of heavy rains that have fallen every other night since Saturday, with possibly the heaviest rains still to come. Meteorologists hedged on calling the current weather roller coaster a product of global warming, but noted UNUSUAL and severe weather becoming a pattern. "Dry weather, floods, wildfires, all seem to be more amplified, and we could possibly see more of it over the next quarter- to half-century." Bizarre weather is causing worldwide calamity in 2007. Monsoons dropped 14 inches of rain in one day in the Indian subcontinent, temperatures hit the 90-degree mark in Moscow, and the driest April in 100 years was followed by the wettest May ever in Germany. A study says entire climate zones will shift toward higher latitudes - toward the North and South poles - and rise up to higher elevations in mountain ranges as the world starts to experience climates not seen before and traditional extreme climate areas such as the Arctic and Antarctic will disappear entirely.

ITALY - Suspicions that many of the hundreds of fires sweeping Italy this summer were started by organised crime were heightened when a firefighting helicopter was reportedly shot at and saboteurs attacked a communications beacon used by firefighters near Naples. "Behind these simple fires hides a business worth millions, with the Camorra aiming to create new zones for building." The infrastructure minister compared the situation to "the wild west, or worse", and called for the army to be sent in to boost security. The Amalfi coast and a national park on the foothills of Vesuvius are among the areas hit by fire in recent days in Campania, while up and down the country 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres) of woodland have burned so far this year. On Tuesday alone 197 fires were reported. Holidaymakers were trapped on the beach in the Puglia town of Peschici last month by flames which killed three people. This week a fire in the Monte Mario park in Rome forced residents from their homes and sent smoke drifting towards the dome of St Peter's. The Italian environmental group Legambiente has said more than half of all Italy's fires are started deliberately, whether by organised crime, building speculators or farmers seeking more land to cultivate. There have been similar claims that many of the fires across Greece this summer were started on purpose. Even when authorities step in to ensure burned tracts of woodland are replanted and not built on, investigators have suggested the mafia gains since it is investing in the tree-planting business.

8/8/07 -
January and April 2007 recorded what was likely the HIGHEST LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURES THOSE MONTHS HAVE EVER SEEN since records began in 1880. January was a full 1.89°C (3.4°F) warmer than average and April 1.37°C (2.47°F) warmer than average. Several regions also experienced prolonged heat waves and torrential rains leading to flooding, while devastating cyclones and hurricanes made landfall in several regions, including the first ever recorded cyclone in the Arabian Sea. There has been an increasing trend in the extreme events observed during the last 50 years, particularly heavy precipitation events, hot days, hot nights and heat waves. [see link for a catalog of extreme weather events recorded across the world during the first half of 2007]

U.S. - A dangerous heat wave has settled over large areas of the country this week. Oppressive heat is scorching areas from the South through the Midwest to the East Coast. The upper 90s are expected from the western Plains to the East Coast through the weekend. High temperatures can be more than uncomfortable - they can be deadly. "People don't realize it but heat is generally the number-one killer" among weather-related causes. The hot weather has claimed the life of one elderly person in Arkansas. It is the state's second heat-related death this year. Arkansas had a heat death toll of seven last summer, and 11 died as a result of the heat in 2005. Over the weekend and Monday, Tennessee issued warnings in some parts of the state, admonishing those with heart or lung disease as well as senior citizens and children to avoid prolonged outdoor exposure. Temperatures in most of the state of Missouri are predicted to climb far into the high 90s this week, even hitting 100 degrees in many places. On the East Coast, Delaware Park cancelled its Tuesday horse races because the temperature was expected to hit the 90s with a heat index above 100, a threat to horses and jockeys. Most of Georgia and Tennessee are under a heat advisory. Officials suspect the heat in Oklahoma is responsible for one death. The Central Texas forecast calls for another day of temperatures in the upper 90s today and a heat advisory is in effect for parts of North Texas including Dallas.

8/7/07 -
FLORIDA - The official temperature hit 97 degrees in parts of South Florida on Sunday, setting a NEW RECORD and raising concerns about coping with the heat. The high temperatures are UNUSUAL in South Florida, which usually sees summer heat moderated and cooled by sea breezes. The record of 97 beat the previous record by 1 degree, and is 6 degree above normal. Some areas of South Florida were even hotter. A weather pattern keeping thunderstorms at bay has also caused caused the heat to linger, and when combined with high humidity, created conditions where it feels like it was 104 degrees or more.

8/6/07 -
CROATIA - A state of emergency has been declared in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, whose suburbs are threatened by a major forest fire. The emergency services were ready to evacuate residents from the hillside districts above the city centre. Firefighters and water-bombing planes are struggling to contain the blaze. The fire has been burning for several days, fed by strong gusts of wind. Unexploded landmines left over from the Croatian war in the 1990s are also hampering the efforts of firefighters. Hot weather across southern Europe has led to SOME OF THE WORST FOREST FIRES ON RECORD. More than 3,000 sq km (1,200 sq miles) of forest in southern Europe has already burned this year, almost as much as in the whole of 2006. Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy have all been affected, as well as countries like the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Turkey. Spain and Portugal are also at risk in the days ahead as temperatures soar there as well.

MONTANA has declared a state of emergency following the spread of wildfires. One of them has more than tripled in size and crept to within two kilometres of some 200 homes that have been evacuated. Lighter wind and higher humidity are expected at the fire northeast of Missoula and the wind is largely blowing the blaze back onto itself. However, wind-blown embers are still sparking spot fires up to three kilometres ahead of the main blaze. The wildfire started Friday and exploded to about 20 square kilometres by late Saturday. Now it has more than tripled to about 70 square kilometres.

Lake Superior changes mystify scientists - Deep enough to hold the combined water in all the other Great Lakes and with a surface area as large as South Carolina, Lake Superior's size has lent it an aura of invulnerability. But the mighty Superior is losing water and getting warmer, worrying those who live near its shores, along with scientists and companies that rely on the lake for business. The changes to the lake could be signs of climate change, although scientists aren't sure. Superior's level is at its LOWEST POINT IN EIGHT DECADES and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Meanwhile, the average water temperature has surged 4.5 degrees since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region's air temperature during the same period. That's no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons. A weather buoy on the western side recently recorded an "amazing" 75 degrees, "AS WARM A SURFACE TEMPERATURE AS WE'VE EVER SEEN IN THIS LAKE." Water levels also have receded on the other Great Lakes since the late 1990s. But the suddenness and severity of Superior's changes worry many in the region. As the bay heats up, the perch, walleye and smallmouth bass that have lured anglers to campgrounds and tackle shops are migrating to cooler waters in the open lake. Low water has cost the shipping industry millions of dollars, with vessels forced to carry lighter loads. Precipitation has tapered off across the upper Great Lakes since the 1970s and is nearly 6 inches below normal in the Superior watershed the past year. Water evaporation rates are up sharply because mild winters have shrunk the winter ice cap - just as climate change computer models predict for the next half-century. Yet those models also envision more precipitation as global warming sets in - instead, there's drought, suggesting other factors. "It's just not clear what the ultimate result will be as we turn the knob up. It could be great for fisheries or fisheries could crash."

8/5/07 -
WESTERN EUROPE has heated up more than previously thought over the past century. The average duration of heatwaves in Western Europe has doubled since 1880. The frequency of extremely hot days has nearly tripled in the past century. Heatwaves last an average of three days now, with some lasting up to 13 days. This compares with an average of about 1.5 days in 1880. The western European climate in summer is becoming more variable - the range of temperatures has increased. Many previous assessments of daily summer temperature change underestimated heatwaves in Western Europe by about 30%.

BRITAIN'S crazy summer continues as NEXT spring's daffodils bloom. Botanists believe the warm spring and chilly summer fooled the dwarf bulbs into appearing seven months early. Daffodils usually flower at the start of spring before dying off in June. The bulbs then remain dormant in the soil before coming back to life the following year. Britain saw the weather of all four seasons on a day in August! Spring daffodils were in bloom in the North, autumn conkers were ready to drop in the South and wintry storms were lashing parts of Scotland. While Aberdeenshire enjoyed its early spring, southern England is showing signs of a premature August. Apple trees are heavy with fruit in Kent, holly berries are bringing colour to Hampshire's hedgerows and conkers are ready to drop in Essex.
This year, following the mild winter, flowers appeared weeks early. In places, daffodils burst into life in February. April was the hottest for England in 348 years, but May, June and July the wettest. June saw giant hailstones splatter London and torrential floods submerge Yorkshire. And last month's deluges were the worst England has seen in 60 years. Leylandii trees are turning an ugly shade of brown as the WORST OUTBREAK OF CYPRESS APHIDS FOR 26 YEARS sees millions of the insects swarming over them.

8/3/07 -
CANADA - The third day of a scorching heat wave hit Peterborough hard with RECORD-SETTING TEMPERATURES and near-dangerous air quality.
This has been ONE OF THE DRIEST SUMMERS ON RECORD across Alberta.

European fires near RECORD levels - Forests fires that have ravaged southern Europe during the past month were SOME OF THE WORST ON RECORD. More than 3,000 sq km (1,200 sq miles) of forest have already burned this year, almost as much as in the whole of 2006. There are warnings of more fires in the days ahead, with Spain and Portugal, where temperatures are soaring, most at risk. Most recently, fires in the Canary Islands have forced thousands to flee. Firefighters there are continuing to battle two major fires. Experts described the fires on Tenerife and Gran Canaria as an environmental catastrophe. Some 20% of forests have been destroyed, and recovery is expected to take years. The normal fire season in Europe has only just started, but blistering heat and hot dry winds have already fanned wildfires across parts of southern Europe. July 2007 was one of the worst-ever months on record, according to figures from the European Forest Fire Information System, which date back some 20 years. Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Italy have all been affected, as well as countries like the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Turkey.

8/2/07 -
SOUTH AFRICA - The wildfires that have been raging across South Africa have been described as the WORST THE COUNTRY HAS EXPERIENCED SINCE THE 1980s.

CANADA - Record-breaking rainfall in June led to excess moisture, which raised the humidity index during July's heat wave. It has been more than half a century since the city of Saskatoon has experienced such heat. The three hottest Julys on record were in 1936, 1937 and 1947. 2007 is the fourth hottest.

8/1/07 -
BRITAIN - A growing number of experts believe that this year’s unpredictable weather, which brought spring on early, then deluged Britain with record rainfall, has now taken them straight to autumn - bypassing summer altogether. Holly berries are appearing in the hedgerows, conkers and apples are falling from the trees and mushrooms are springing up in the fields. All the signs are that the briefest of brief English summers is coming to an end and autumn is already upon them. Fruiting holly has been spotted in Hampshire, conkers are appearing in Essex, blackberries are ripe in Devon and the nation’s orchards are preparing for an early harvest. Early apple varieties are already being harvested. “Autumn has definitely come earlier this year. We expect varieties like Discovery to be in the shops as soon as next week. Later varieties, like Cameo, are already showing really good colour, which is extraordinarily early. Normally we wouldn’t expect to see that until the last week of September.” Many of those working in agriculture had already noticed the signs of an early autumn. “From my office in Devon I can see ripened blackberries, which I would not have usually expected to see for several weeks yet. There is concern that seasons are becoming a lot less predictable and that will clearly have an impact on British farmers.” The early onset of autumn can be explained in part by record high temperatures in spring, when average temperatures of 48F (9C) – the highest since records began in 1914 – led to plants and trees like the Hawthorn flowering early. By mid-April, fields were filled with tulips and rhododendrons were making an early appearance. Migrating birds have also been confused by this year’s weather, with flocks of swifts arriving in April rather than May. The soaring spring temperatures were followed by the wettest summer in more than 200 years. The recent downpours and relatively cool weather tricked some plants into thinking winter was on its way. A spokesman for the Met Office’s Centre for Climate Change said it was too early to say whether this year’s conditions were evidence of global warming.

A mounting wave of invasive species migrations are being seen all around the world. From pythons in the Everglades to voracious Tilapia in Lake Victoria, plants, animals and microbes are spreading rapidly into niches in which they didn't evolve, often with disastrous results. Scientists ("invasion ecologists") are studying the spread of non-native species and the possible restoration responses to that change and are finding that not only climate change and local environmental carelessness, but larger forces as well, are driving a biological blender effect, where plants and animals from various places are scattered all over the world. Across huge swathes of the United States, climate zones have already shifted: such zones may already be marching northwards at a rate of tens of kilometers a year. And, of course, climate change has only just begun.

CANARY ISLANDS - More than 12,000 people have fled their homes on the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, where five days of fires have burnt 35,000 hectares (86,000 acres) of land. The fires are now under control, but the situation remains dangerous as more high temperatures are expected. "These are the BIGGEST FIRES IN THE LAST 10 YEARS on the archipelago. The rugged landscape of these islands makes firefighting very complicated, except from the air. But while there is a lot of wind and very high temperatures, helicopters generally cannot operate."

GREECE overnight declared a state of emergency on the Cyclades islands, including the popular holiday destinations of Mykonos and Santorini, because of water shortages caused by a drought and heatwave. The mayor of the island of Kimolos warned the island was without water and the situation was unlikely to improve any time soon. Locals and tourists in the Cyclades have complained of lengthy cuts in water supply after a year-long drought. Greece, along with other parts of southern Europe have been hit by a heatwave over the last week with temperatures reaching up to 46 degrees Celsius. In Athens alone, where nearly half the Greek population lives, water reserves have fallen by 26.4 per cent in July from the same month last year.

7/31/07 -
Heat wave wreaking havoc across Southeast Europe - Drought, fire, electricity outages and water shortages are among the effects of a heat wave that has afflicted Southeast Europe during the past weeks. Rivers are drying up, and crops are being destroyed at an UNPRECEDENTED level. Even when the searing temperatures have abated, the impact – in terms of the economy – could be felt for a long time to come. Romania has already lost almost 1.7 million hectares of its grain crop, out of a total 2.8 million. Experts project that up to 90% of the crop will eventually be destroyed. Meanwhile, specialists with the Romanian Waters Administration warn that rivers will dry up in the coming weeks. Hydropower production is down. The largest plant in Romania saw a drop in power production of 40%. Authorities warn that the heat wave could lead to the closure of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant and the suspension of bilateral energy export contracts. At least 33 heat-related deaths have been recorded. Serbia has also been sweltering, with temperatures soaring as high as 42 degrees Celsius in some areas. The heat has also resulted in several fires, the biggest of which broke out in the Stara Planina mountains, about 300km southwest of Belgrade. An estimated 300 hectares of grassland and shrubbery have burned, and firefighters were unable to control the blaze for three days. In Kosovo, the authorities decided July 24th to declare a state of emergency. Fires have broken out in the municipalities of Gjilan, Kamenica, Ferizaj, Peja, Prizren and Suhareka Hani i Elezit. Heat has caused a number of fires across Montenegro. The heat and drought have further exacerbated Albania's perennial summer energy shortages. The country depends on hydropower, which has sunk to HISTORICALLY LOW LEVELS. The state energy corporation has been cutting power for consumers for two to four hours a day. Officials also report fires across the country, In Macedonia, a state of emergency was already in effect, due to a previous heat wave in June. Temperatures that have reached 43 degrees Celsius have caused more than 200 fires in Macedonia, destroying more than 4,000 hectares of forests and pastures. Fires burned all over Greece last week as temperatures remained high. Scientists warn that loss of forest acreage has an effect on Athens that is equivalent to a doubling of vehicles overnight. In other words, Athens seems to have lost an essential part of its natural cooling mechanism. In Croatia, the number of drownings has doubled as people flock to the water in an attempt to seek relief from the heat. Although meteorologists are saying the temperatures are due to break, no rain is forecast for the region.

VIETNAM - A heat wave threatens to accompany droughts and spark epidemics in Vietnam until September, experts say. Localities in the northern-lowlands, northern-central provinces and the west-Central Highlands region will be hardest hit by the hot spell, which might bring water shortages and human and cattle disease outbreaks. However, the heat will also be accompanied by heavy rains in all other areas of the country through October. Severe hot spells have already hurt the central region, triggering in several forest fires and prolonged droughts in Nghe An province, where rivers and lakes have dried up, causing a serious shortage of water.

7/30/07 -
ISRAEL - Even as temperatures began to drop on Sunday, the heat wave that has rocked Israel continued to wreak havoc. Electricity consumption in Israel reached a NEW HIGH on Sunday, hitting a RECORD 10,040 megawatts consumed by 3 p.m. On Sunday afternoon, a French tourist died of heat stroke while hiking. Over the weekend, a 15-year-old yeshiva student collapsed and died during a hike, due to dehydration. Another 14 people in northern Israel have been hospitalized for dehydration since the heat wave started last week. Injuries resulting from direct exposure to the sun were not the only dangers of the most recent heat wave. Fires have been flaring up all over the country. Over the last thirty years, Israel's average temperature at dawn has risen by over two degrees centigrade.

7/29/07 -
ALBANIA, MACEDONIA - Disasters have been declared in both countries due to loss of property and livelihoods as a result of the wildfires that have swept through. In Albania, wildfires are active in 21 of the country's 36 districts, and the flames have destroyed 15 homes, consumed 4 fire trucks, and ravaged 4,942 acres of forest land. In addition, widespread smoke is causing health issues, particularly for women and children. In Macedonia, heat wave-related wildfires have consumed 7,413 acres of forests in 32 municipalities, directly impacting approximately 1 million people, half of Macedonia's population. The fires have caused one death in Macedonia due to smoke inhalation and they continue to threaten vital infrastructure and lives as they approach major urban areas.

U.S. - Wildfires in the United States in the first six months of 2007 have been significant, with hundreds of thousands of acres affected in Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, Minnesota, and even Catalina Island, California. The National Interagency Wildfire Center has predicted the hot zones of wildfire risk through August. The wildfire forecast includes all of Florida and the southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Additionally, western North Carolina and Virginia and portions of Alaska are at high risk. One obvious factor is the drought conditions in many of these states. Alarmingly, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed abnormally dry conditions in wide areas of the United States as of June 1 - well before the tinder dryness of later summer months.

CALIFORNIA - Non-native grasses in the Mojave Desert are fueling wildfires that have charred large swaths of native plants and killed local animals, dramatically changing the face of the desert. In addition to competing directly with native plants for scarce desert resources, non-native grass species have increased the length of the western fire season and made wildfires more widespread. The grasses have been spreading across the Southwest ever since they were brought over as feed for animals by Spanish colonists hundreds of years ago. Historically, wildfires rarely bothered the Mojave because of gaps between shrubs that made it difficult for fire to jump from plant to plant. But red brome and other invasive grasses have changed all that by filling in the spaces between the native shrubs, allowing fires to spread more quickly and wiping out all the shrubs in the process. Data compiled by USGS scientists show that wildfires are happening more often and are much bigger in certain parts of the Mojave now than in the past because of the grassy invasion. In 2005, for example, the area of the Mojave burned by wildfires was 132% of the total area burned in the previous 25 years.

7/27/07 -
EUROPE - Three heat-related deaths were reported in Greece overnight as southern Europe blistered under a devastating heatwave and environmentalists blamed many of the fires raging in Italy on arsonists. Greek authorities said two elderly women were found dead in the Peloponnese village of Diakofto where a fire was raging for a third day. A 76-year-old man died on Wednesday evening in another fire in the village of Mamoussia. The blaze destroyed homes there and in two other towns, Pyrgaki and Melissia. The inferno broke out in the area some 200km from Athens on Tuesday and has yet to be brought under control. A dozen other fires were still burning across the country, much of which wilted under temperatures of 45 C. There were major blazes on the islands of Kefalonia and Zakynthos in the Ionian sea, at Chios island in the Aegean, Hydra south of Athens and in Kastoria and Kozani, in the north. Two Greek Canadair pilots have already died while trying to douse a forest fire, as well as three firefighters. In Italy, at least 4500ha of protected areas have burned in the past three weeks. "Most of the fires of the past few days have been of a criminal nature. It is well known that fire almost always serves to get rid of trees and other natural obstacles to make way for new hotels, villas or pastures." In Bulgaria, some 950ha in the centre and northeast were on fire, prompting Sofia to seek aid from the European Union, NATO and Russia. A state of emergency was declared Wednesday in the central Kazanlak region and northeastern Dabovo. Temperatures have dropped, but winds are still fanning the fires. In Slovakia, a fire sparked by lightning raged overnight through the Slovensky Raj national park in the country's east. Croatia's Dalmatian coast was ablaze with dozens of fires, and 1400 tourists and residents were evacuated on Wednesday from the island of Solta, where some 400ha of forest and olive groves burned down and homes were threatened. Worst-hit Hungary, where up to 500 people may have died last week from heat-related causes, was enjoying a significant drop in temperatures with the welcome arrival of a cool front.

SYRIA - An explosion at an ordnance depot that was blamed on summer heat killed at least 15 soldiers Thursday and wounded 50 others. Witnesses said high temperatures, which reached 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 Deg C), also caused fires in northern Syria starting Wednesday night that might have spread to the military complex.

SOUTH DAKOTA - 1,100 cattle died in a heat wave on Monday through Wednesday - Feedlots affected mainly in northeast. As many as 1,100 cattle, most of them being finished for sale in feedlots, died in the high heat and humidity. It's a RARE occurrence that caught many off guard. The lethal combination of heat and humidity, coupled with a lack of breeze and continued hot temperatures overnight, contributed to the deaths. Most are not covered by insurance for such a scenario, which means operators and cattle producers lost thousands of dollars this week. Cattle in feedlots, especially those almost finished, tend to be more susceptible to heat because of their heavier, fatter condition. Cattle huddle close to protect against flies. The combined body heat of the huddling herd probably increased the stress on each animal in the group. The extreme heat even has range animals struggling to survive.

MONTANA - RECORD HEAT in the Big Sky state, where Missoula, Montana, recorded 9 days with highs of 100°F or greater during the first 23 days of July.

MINNESOTA - In International Falls, Wednesday's high of 95 degrees BROKE THE 1949 RECORD of 92 degrees. Heat indices, or "feels-like" temperatures have been hovering near 105 degrees.
Minnesota is dry and getting drier. A band of severe drought now extends from the southwestern corner of the state, through the Twin Cities, up to the northeastern tip. The only part of Minnesota that isn't short on rain is a portion of the northwest. Eighty-two percent of the state is now rated abnormally dry, while 35 percent is in moderate drought and 24 percent is in severe drought, according to the drought center. Only 18 percent of the state is close to normal. "We had very good rainfalls in April and May and then it just stopped." The situation is most critical for corn. As of last Friday, 60 percent of the state's corn crop was rated in fair to very poor condition. It's less critical for soybeans and sugarbeets, which can do their developing later. But the dry weather has already meant less alfalfa and hay. This is normally the wettest time of year for Minnesota. The areas where the drought has been developing over central and southern Minnesota are 4 inches to 5 inches short on precipitation. "It's the equivalent to missing the whole month of June's rainfall."

CANADA - NO PLACE IN CANADA HAS EVER BEEN AS HOT AND HUMID as Carman was Wednesday, at least since Environment Canada started keeping records more than 125 years ago. The humidex reading topped out at a whopping 53 C, BREAKING THE ALL-TIME CANADIAN HUMIDEX RECORD of 52.1 C set in Windsor, Ont., in 1953. The humidex is a Canadian invention that measures how the combination of heat and humidity feel to your body.

Antarctic ozone depleted naturally, researchers say - British researchers have found large quantities of natural ozone-depleting chemicals in Antarctica. They reported finding high concentrations of halogens, such as bromine and iodine oxides. "The springtime peak of iodine oxide [20 parts per trillion] is the highest concentration recorded anywhere in the atmosphere." The bromine came from sea salt and the iodine from "almost certainly bright orange algae that coat the underside of the sea ice around the continent." The finding may raise questions about the belief that chemicals made by humans are behind the disappearance of ozone over the continent. It has been a common belief that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) produced by humans are what is breaking down the ozone layer.

7/26/07 -
HONG KONG - A heatwave has continued to take its toll, with two deaths and more than a dozen people falling ill in the past few days, and the temperature soaring to an all-time RECORD HIGH on southern Hong Kong Island. A dole recipient taking part in outdoor community work collapsed with suspected heatstroke yesterday, bringing to 13 the number of people who have been overcome by the heat since Monday. Two people - an outdoor worker and a teenager playing football - died on Monday and at least eight people were taken ill. Another five people fell sick on Tuesday. The temperature hit a record high of 38 degrees Celsius at Repulse Bay on Hong Kong Island yesterday, while temperatures of above 36 degrees Celsius were recorded in parts of northern New Territories. The highest temperature on record previously was 36.1 degrees, which was registered on August 19, 1900, and August 18, 1990.

TAIWAN - Taitung County in eastern Taiwan has been hit hard by the MOST SERIOUS DROUGHT IN 30 YEARS, leaving government officials scratching their heads trying to find water to save crops. Officials said Wednesday that although they have diverted water from four streams in the county to help farmers, the volume of water still falls short of what farmers need to begin second-stage rice planting, and more than 50 percent of the tea crop has already withered. Taitung County has not had its usual share of rain since early this year. Citing an example, they noted that the county's Chihshang township, one of Taiwan's main centers for producing organic rice, has recorded a total rainfall of only 258 mm thus far this year - less than one third of the normal amount - and that the expected plum rain season between May and July has never appeared. Now water wells in Chihshang township are running dry, something local residents say they have not seen in 60 years.

TURKEY is facing a new heat wave coming in from the Balkans and the middle Mediterranean region. Temperatures are expected to rise by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius across the country, with meteorologists predicting the thermometer to rise over 40 C in western Turkey. In particular, experts say the heat will be at its peak at 5 p.m. The whole country is experiencing ONE OF ITS HOTTEST SUMMERS SINCE RECORDS BEGAN. Temperatures are already 8 to 10 degrees above seasonal norms. The same problem is being experienced throughout the Balkans and southeast Europe, leaving no one untouched by the extreme weather. The western and Aegean regions of Turkey are already being hit by the new heat wave. In Istanbul, the mercury is predicted to shoot to 40 degrees, but coupled with a 60-percent humidity rate it will feel much higher. In the Aegean region, the temperatures are expected to range between 38 and 44 degrees. The highest temperatures observed in Turkey yesterday: 43 in Edirne, 41 in Kirklareli, 40 in Balikesir. Forests in Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece have been ravaged by flames this week, blamed on record-high temperatures after the dry winter.

7/25/07 -
HUNGARY - Up to 500 people have died in the past week from the heatwave in Hungary. The deaths - from 15 to 22 July - were caused by heatstroke, cardiovascular problems and other illnesses aggravated by the heat. Some 30 people have also died in the heatwave in neighbouring Romania. The death rate from heat in Hungary is THE HIGHEST IN RECENT YEARS. The daily mean temperature in the past week had reached 30C. In the southern city of Kiskunhalas, the temperature reached a RECORD HIGH of 41.9C on Friday (7/20). South-Eastern Europe is reeling from the hot weather, which has been blamed for widespread forest fires and has also caused economic hardship. They sizzled under the continuing heat wave Tuesday, with temperatures hitting triple digits for a seventh day in a row. In Serbia, the agriculture ministry says 30% of the country's annual harvest has been destroyed because of the heat, with the wheat, soya and vegetable crops worst hit. Hundreds of forest fires have been reported in Greece, where two pilots died on Monday after a water-bombing aircraft they were flying over a forest fire crashed. Another such aircraft flying over a forest fire in Italy crashed on Monday, killing three people. In the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, thousands of firefighters, soldiers and local people battled throughout Monday night to stop a forest fire from reaching the country's second-largest city, Bitola. (jetstream maps)
The highest temperatures in the FREAK heat wave were reported in Greece and Bulgaria, which reached a continent-wide high of 45 degrees Tuesday. In Italy, at least four people were confirmed to have died in forest fires caused by the heat Tuesday which trapped hundreds of tourists on beaches in the Puglia region. Two of them were found burnt to death in a car and two asphyxiated on a beach near the village of Peschici, where the fire swept close to houses, forcing the evacuation of a hotel, several camp sites and tourist resorts. Dozens of houses were destroyed by forest fires in Macedonia and a nation-wide power cut was reported in Albania. Fires were also reported throughout Hungry, with firefighters called out 3,000 times to put out blazes, two and a half times the weekly average.

WESTERN U.S. - Fire crews wrestled with dozens of huge wildfires across the West on Monday in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. A helicopter delivering water to fire crews battling a blaze in the Klamath National Forest crashed Monday, killing the pilot. More than 1,100 fire crews were battling the cluster of about 30 lightning-sparked fires covering 14 square miles near the Oregon state line. Fire managers were worried that dry lightning in some of those states could spark further blazes, though weather systems were expected to bring rain today. "It's great to have rain, but there's always the possibility of a downdraft and erratic winds. There's a high concern over additional lightning strikes." In Montana, a nearly 14-square-mile fire burning on the edge of Lewis and Clark National Forest prompted an evacuation order for 40 summer homes.
CALIFORNIA - RECORD TEMPERATURES and RECORD RAIN are basting the northern coast of California, a region known for brisk ocean breezes and chilly nights all year long. In Crescent City, a coastal town just south of the Oregon border, the mercury dipped to 60 degrees early Monday morning - 3 degrees higher than the previous overnight low-temperature record, which stood for 15 years. The overnight record is also known as the "maximum minimum." Also last week in Del Norte County, the northernmost county along the California coast, a storm front dumped .36 inches of rain in a single day. That easily topped the previous daily record of .29, set in 1958. In Eureka, about 270 miles north of San Francisco, temperatures in the low 70s BROKE RECORDS FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT, from Friday to Monday. On Saturday, the temperature hit 74 degrees, shattering a 1901 record by 5 degrees and exceeding the daytime average high by 11 degrees. Weather forecasters blame the extreme weather on warmer surface sea temperatures, extensive cloud cover, and winds blowing from the southwest to west. A low pressure area will keep temperatures soaring in inland areas in the northernmost reaches of California.

CANADA - Temperatures across the Prairies continued to soar Tuesday, rising 10 to 15 degrees above seasonal averages as a heat wave moved through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and into northwestern Ontario. The heat wave swept into the Prairies over the weekend, BREAKING HEAT RECORDS in several cities dating back as far as the 1930s. Saskatchewan was hit hardest on Tuesday, with the southern city of Coronach being the hot spot for the country, hitting 40.1 C by mid-afternoon. Farmers across the province said the hot weather was causing drought and heat damage in their fields, especially in the southwest. If the heat keeps up, the crops could ripen too quickly. In Winnipeg, the heat was so intense that not only temperature records melted — so did vinyl records. And there were reports that plastic storefront signs also melted. The temperature reached 34 C on Tuesday. A powerful cold front is set to move in. Temperatures already began dropping in Alberta on Tuesday, and starting today a cooling of 10 to 15 degrees will start sweeping across Saskatchewan, reaching Ontario by Thursday.

AUSTRALIA - July is expected to end as ONE OF THE DRIEST MONTHS ON RECORD for Brisbane and large parts of the Darling Downs. Apart from odd showers, no rain is forecast for the coming week. Dry and warm weather is predicted for much of Queensland in the next three months, especially in the north. There is an 80 per cent chance of above normal maximum temperatures in southern Queensland into October. It would be a freak event for the southeast to receive drought-breaking rain in July and there is little prospect of major precipitation into spring.

7/24/07 -
ROMANIA - Drought has cost Romania €1.5 billion (US$2 billion) in damages and has affected more than a third of the country's arable land. Some 2.6 million hectares (6.42 million acres) of crops have been damaged by the arid spell, 36 percent of the country's total arable land. Crops most badly affected by the drought in Romania — a country of 22 million where nearly half the people live in the countryside — are wheat, barely, maize, sunflower and beets. Eastern and southern Romania have been hit the hardest, and in some areas, half of the sunflower and maize crops have been destroyed. The government has declared a state of disaster in 34 of 42 counties.

BULGARIA experienced its HOTTEST TEMPERATURES SINCE RECORDS BEGAN on Monday with the thermometer shooting above 45 degrees.

SERBIA - The city of Pristina a declared state of emergency on Monday, citing extreme high temperatures and a potential shortage of drinking water. High temperatures exceeding 40 degrees have caused fires all around Kosovo in recent days. The directory for civil protection and emergency registered 71 fires last week alone. In the meanwhile, reservoirs providing drinking water for the region are seven or eight metres below their usual level.

ITALY - A plane fighting one of the fires raging across Italy amid a heat wave crashed Monday in a central region, killing one crew member and seriously injuring the other one. The Canadair plane crashed in the Abruzzo region, where soaring temperatures and winds fanned several blazes. The heat wave gripping Italy peaked with 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in the southern city in Bari, while many other cities registered temperatures in the late 30s degrees Celsius (100s F). The heat is expected to continue at least through midweek.

NORTH DAKOTA - Grand Forks on Sunday had a RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE for the date, of 72 degrees. That broke the previous record of 68 degrees, set in 1964. "It actually felt warmer in the east because they had such higher humidities." Dickinson reached 97, after a RECORD HIGH temperature of 102 on Saturday. It topped the record of 100 degrees set in 1936. Temperatures were expected to top triple-digits in western North Dakota until Wednesday evening, when there was a chance for storms.

Could climate change herald mass migration in the U.S.? Concerns are being raised as the U. S. Southwest grapples with historic drought, water supply depletion and the creeping sense that things can only get worse. For the past month, not a drop of rain has fallen in Maricopa County in Arizona, home to greater Phoenix, the state’s economic engine and fastest-growing hub. Over that period, temperatures have hovered five to seven degrees above the 30-year average, at one point holding steady at over 43C for 10 straight days, while hundreds of brush fires burned statewide. "And they're still building billion-dollar houses, right in the middle of the desert. It doesn't seem rational, does it?" Rational, some would say, would be a mass migration from the drought-ravaged American southwest, where Southern California just experienced its driest 12-month period in recorded history, to more verdant climes, like Ohio. "We don't have earthquakes, we don't have brush fires, we've got all the fresh water you could ever want." The Great Lakes alone have as much as 25 per cent of the world's supply of water. According to the U.S. government, the population of the United States is expected to reach 450 million by 2050 – an increase of almost 50 per cent. The predicted pattern of settlement for these new citizens will take them to the seven most built-out regions of the country – Arizona, Texas, Florida and California among them. "You're going to have 150 million people living in at least seven of the major regions that don't have water, don't have carrying capacity, can't feed themselves. It's an ecological disaster waiting to happen. So there's a good reason to think that people should come back to the Northeast, where we have the carrying capacity, and have the water." The Colorado river is the main water source for more than 30 million people stretching from Colorado in the north all the way down to the U.S.-Mexico border. By the end of the century, inflow to the river (which includes runoff and tributaries) is expected to drop by as much as 40 per cent. At the same time, climate change projections show temperatures in the most parched regions of the Southwest increasing between five and seven degrees. In Arizona, though, these warnings seem to fall on deaf ears. "The Greater Phoenix region continues to bust at the seams. People look at this and think, "This can't go on, can it?" But it does, and faster than anywhere else in America. From 1990 to 2005, the population of Greater Phoenix grew 47.7 per cent. In Scottsdale, a posh, affluent corner of Greater Phoenix that, despite the lack of moisture, has more golf courses per capita than anywhere else in America, growth was 72.1 per cent over the same period. By mid-century, some estimates suggest it will reach 10 million, leaving Phoenix and Tucson fused in the desert. "We'll basically be one massive urban corridor."

7/23/07 -
The death toll from Romania's heat wave rose to 15 on Sunday after six more people died in the Black Sea country where temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Meteorologists say high temperatures, which could exceed 42 degrees in the southern regions on the Danube river border with Bulgaria, might last until early next week. A previous two-week long heat wave in June claimed 30 lives, scorched thousands of hectares of farmland and plunged the country's cereal crop to a four-year record low. Authorities said air conditioning and cooling systems systems, working flat out, have pushed energy consumption toward levels recorded during cold winter months. Extreme weather in the form of high temperatures and heavy rain hit other countries in the region. Tiny ex-Soviet neighbour Moldova, one of Europe's poorest nations, is suffering from the WORST DROUGHT IN 60 YEARS, with day temperatures hovering at a record 41 Celsius. Greece has declared war against roasting weather, with headlines screaming: "Nightmare in the land of fire", after firefighters spent days battling a blaze on Mount Parnitha that destroyed the surrounding area and the fire service reported 115 fires in a 24-hour period. The temperature in Greece this weekend is due to soar to 43C in the shade. "It is a desperate situation." Meanwhile, Macedonia has declared a state of emergency while France and Spain are experiencing droughts which are gearing up to become the worst on record. The blazing temperatures have stoked fears of a tourism backlash as the heat becomes unbearable. "The Mediterranean climate of this country no longer exists," the director of the Greek Institute of Environmental Research said. "It is changing even faster than we expected."

MOLDAVIA - Arid weather has driven Moldovan agriculture into a desperate situation, and the country will have to restore the Soviet-era system of irrigation to prevent dire aftermath of the current heat wave. The drought is being compared to the one that hit the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1946 and 1947 and entailed mass famine. The country will have to buy about 200,000 tons of food-grade wheat this year. This is about a half of Moldova’s annual consumption. Losses in the farming sector already exceed 80 million U.S. dollars.

MARYLAND - Climate change has already begun to alter the Chesapeake Bay, warming and raising its waters in a way that could unbalance delicate ecosystems and doom low-lying islands. A report sketches a prognosis that is troubling even by the standards of the Chesapeake - a beautiful but polluted estuary that environmentalists have spent decades trying to save. Some of the bay's oldest problems, such as low-oxygen "dead zones," could get worse as the bay's water slowly warms. And new problems are cropping up, as key plants and animal species show signs that they are uncomfortably warm.

7/22/07 -
EUROPE - the death toll from a heat wave in Romania, Austria and Bulgaria rose to 18. A total of 11 people have now died in Romania amid a heat wave which led to five deaths in Austria and two in Bulgaria. In Hungary, the temperature hit an ALL-TIME RECORD of 41.9 degrees celsius at Kiskunhalas, 130 km south of the capital Budapest. Meteorologists said temperatures could get even higher in Romania's southern regions on the Danube river border with Bulgaria, where forest fires have ravaged thousands of hectares (acres) of land. Greece has been badly hit by forest fires over the past month as it swelters in its hottest summer in more than a century. Three fire-fighters were killed in a blaze on the island of Crete.

ALBANIA - A heat wave driving temperatures over 40 degrees has sparked a series of fires across Albania.

MONTANA - Missoula has hit 100 degrees or higher seven times already, BREAKING A RECORD set in 1936.

CANADA - The heat wave that swept through Western Canada and the South-Western States, has hit Manitoba, sending temperatures to NEW ALL-TIME HIGHS.

7/20/07 -
BALKANS - CROATIA, SERBIA, ALBANIA, BULGARIA - A heatwave has gripped parts of the Balkans where temperatures have hit 42 degrees Celsius (108 Fahrenheit), causing wild fires, power shortages and traffic disruption. Off the coast of Croatia, even sea temperatures were expected to hit a RECORD 30 degrees in the coming days. In the Serbian capital, Belgrade authorities wheeled out two dozen cistern trucks with water to hot spots such as bus and train stations. Officials banned the sale of eggs in outdoor markets and cautioned against swimming in the Ada Ciganlija lake, as the difference in temperature between the air and the water had caused several swimmers to suffer cardiac arrest and die. Trains arriving in Bucharest have reported delays due to speed restrictions imposed by the authorities worried the heat could buckle rails and cause derailments. The government has also banned trucks heavier than 7.5 metric tons from the main roads during the day to safeguard surfaces softened by the heat from deforming. Falling water levels in Albania's hydropower stations caused power cuts of up 14 hours a day and also affected the water supply, which depends on electricity to operate its pumps. Wild fires were reported in Macedonia, Bulgaria and in parts of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province. Kosovo's largest waterfall, in the town of Klina, DRIED UP FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1965.
BULGARIA - The temperatures in six towns in Bulgaria's Danube plain on Thursday reached RECORD TEMPERATURES - their peak in over a century. The mercury in the town of Belene zoomed up to 41.2C and in Veliko Tarnovo - to 39.9C. The heat wave overflowed also the Danube plain tows of Pleven, Lovech, Knezha and Vratsa, where the temperatures have not fallen below 37C.

ROMANIA - The latest heat wave sweeping most of Romania left at least five people dead, the Health Ministry said Wednesday. More than 8,500 people have needed emergency care since Monday, and some medical workers have been called back from vacations. Temperatures have hovered around 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) since Monday, and were expected to remain high for another week. A previous heatwave in June claimed the lives of 30 people in the Black Sea state over a two-week period and scorched thousands of hectares of farmland, badly hitting the country's cereal crop.

MACEDONIA is suffering a heat wave that is expected to get still worse and they declared a state of emergency on Thursday as forest fires raged across the country. A government official said the state of emergency would last for two weeks, with the possibility of an extension. Meteorologists from the Hydro-Meteorology Directorate warned that temperatures as high as 43 degrees Celsius were still to come in the next few days. The country’s south was expected to suffer temperatures as high as 44 degrees over the weekend, while temperatures in the capital Skopje were expected to be two degrees lower.

HUNGARY - As the sun continues to beat down on Hungary and temperatures hover around the 40 degree Celsius mark, the National Medical Officer's Service announced on Thursday that a health warning would remain in effect until next Tuesday. The environment ministry has warned of dust and ozone levels due to high temperatures, little wind, and heavy traffic. Budapest's Mayor told a news conference on Thursday the city would never again try to save money by buying buses or trams that were not air-conditioned. Farmers have reported weather problems. Their crops are baking in the heat. The harvest is on two million hectares and involves six million tonnes of crops and 70,000-75,000 people. Farmers have reported fruit crops drying on trees and maize that is so dry it is going straight into silos.
Hungary on Wednesday saw temperatures EXCEED THE PREVIOUS NATIONAL RECORD of 38 degrees centigrade recorded in 1904. The temperature reached 38.3 degrees in certain regions as the country continued to swelter in the heat wave.

GREECE - It will get even warmer across Greece over the next few days as the country heads into its second heat wave this summer, but experts said that temperatures are unlikely to reach 46 Celsius (115 Fahrenheit). Temperatures in Athens are expected to reach 37C (99F), with a further increase early next week. The anticipated heat wave is likely to peak on Tuesday. “From our estimates it looks as though we will not have temperatures as high as 46C, as in June. But it will still be a fairly strong heat wave, as on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we are expecting temperatures to rise to 42C (108F).”

Animals across Europe falling asleep due to heat wave - Animals at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo in Austria are so exhausted from the high climates that they're falling asleep all over the place. With the temperature climbing up 37 degrees celsius in the past two days and predicted to hit the 38 mark today, staff at the capital's zoo have been busy hosing the animals down in an attempt to cool down the inhabitants. And it's not just Austria where the animals are experiencing sun stroke. Caretakers at the Czech Republic's Prague zoo, where temperatures hit the 35 degrees celsius mark, have been spraying their elephants with water. The heat wave in Sarajevo, Bosnia, has led to water shortages in many villages, causing problems for the dehydrated bird population. (photos)

VIETNAM - A heat wave engulfing the northern and central regions of Viet Nam over the past week will drag on for a few more days. Scorching sunny periods and high humidity have increased temperatures in the north to between 37C and 38C and up to 39C in the country’s central area. Nghe An Province was the hardest hit with temperatures reaching between 38C and 40C almost everyday this month. Residents in Con Cuong, Tuong Duong and Que Phong Districts couldn’t beat the heat as it continued to climb to 42-43C. The summer heat has resulted in an increasing number of people suffering from illnesses like heat stroke, high fevers, convulsions and depression, especially in the central region.

WESTERN U.S. - The West is ablaze with major fires which have the potential to exhaust all agency fire resources.

Contrary to common belief, melting glaciers due to global warming contribute more to the rising sea level than melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, researchers have said. Scientists found that the ebb and flow of glaciers where they meet the water causes them to speed up and deliver more ice into the world's oceans than previously estimated. Glaciers and ice caps account for 60 percent of the meltwater that flows into the oceans, which has been speeding up over the past 10 years from global warming. By comparison, ice breaking off and melting from Greenland's ice sheet contributes 28 per cent of the world's ice to the oceans, and the Antarctic ice sheet another 12 per cent.

7/19/07 -
Lighthearted weather stories are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Extreme weather in the form of drought and heat dominated the United States in the first half of 2007, according to a report issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The dry conditions also killed crops and triggered local drought emergencies, spelling more trouble for parched areas in the western United States. But the Plains states suffered most from moody weather, with droughts followed by heavy rain that flooded areas from Texas to Kansas. In the Southeast, meanwhile, NOAA recorded the second-driest January to June period on record, and the DRIEST-EVER April to June in the Southeast. Worldwide, the year to date is the second-warmest on record, which could spell increasing trouble for water-stressed nations. A recent United Nations report warned that as many as 250 million Africans will face water shortages within 15 years. Perhaps most ominously, the South Pole experienced THE WARMEST JUNE ON RECORD.

7/17/07 -
HEAT CREATING RECORD POWER DEMAND:
IDAHO - The scorching heat blanketing Idaho is creating ALL-TIME HIGH DEMANDS for electricity. Idaho Power set a new record Friday when usage topped out at 3,193 megawatts at about 4 p.m. It marked the third time this month the utility has had to rewrite its record books. Temperatures in July have consistently surged into the 100s across the state, a streak that was expected to continue for several more days before easing by this weekend with temperatures predicted in the low 90s. Low snowpack and drought have reduced flows and hydroelectric energy production on Snake River dams, forcing the utility to supplement about 33 percent of its peak afternoon demand with imported electricity.
CANADA - Alberta - Consumers in Alberta can look forward to hefty electricity bills as continued heat and RECORD DEMAND jack up prices in Canada's first deregulated electricity market. Power prices in Alberta red-lined Monday at $999.99 per megawatt hour - the maximum allowable by the province - as hot weather blanketed most cities, driving up cooling and generation loads. Even the province's power plants were overheating, forcing some generators to ramp down power output by 10 to 15 per cent as temperatures remained well above seasonal values for the third week in a row.

GHANA - "Reports from the three northern regions about this season's rainfall are very disquieting. Indeed, looking at the daily level of the Akosombo Dam, it is quite obvious that the rains are not falling up north as they should. Some experts have started sounding the alarm that there would most likely be a major shortfall in food production in these three already distressed regions of the country. Without intending to sound alarmist, we wish to call on all the agencies involved in food and nutrition security to start preparing and stockpiling food."

7/16/07 -
CHINA - Climate change linked to the contraction of wetlands at the source of China's two longest rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow River, has reduced the volume of water flowing in the rivers. Scientists studied changes over the past 40 years to the wetlands on the cold Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in west China where the two rivers have their source. Analyzing aerial photos and satellite remote sensing figures, they found that the wetlands on the plateau have shrunk more than 10 percent over the past four decades. The wetlands at the origin of the Yangtze River suffered the most, contracting by 29 percent. In addition, about 17.5 percent of the small lakes at the source of the Yangtze River have dried up. "The wetland plays a key role in containing water and adjusting the water volume of the rivers. The shrinking of the wetland on the plateau is closely connected with global warming." Even though rainfall has increased in the region, the contraction of the wetland has reduced the flow of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. "But the increased rainfall didn't lead to more water flow in the rivers because the evaporation was so fast as a result of global warming." Another WWF study showed that global warming has caused glaciers to shrink, frozen earth to melt, grasslands to turn yellow and rivers to dry up in Tibet. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau used to boast 36,000 glaciers covering an area of 50,000 sq km which feed several of the major rivers in China and Southeast Asia. In the past 100 years, the area of these glaciers has shrunk by 30 percent.

UTAH - A high of 104 degrees Saturday in Salt Lake City BROKE A 68-YEAR-OLD RECORD. The old record for July 14 was 103, set in 1939. Two other Utah locales set RECORD HIGHS Saturday, July 14. Brian Head, which reached 85, broke the old record of 78 from 1998. Coalville hit 100, eclipsing the previous record for July 14 of 99, set in 2002.

SOLAR OUTPUT AND GLOBAL WARMING - there are now decades-long, high-quality satellite solar measurements: These establish that there have been no significant changes in solar irradiance since 1979. In the longer term, reconstructions suggest that solar forcing since preindustrial times is less than 10% that of the total human-induced forcing. In addition, the pattern of observed temperature changes - warming throughout the troposphere (the lowest 10 kilometers or so of the atmosphere), but cooling above that in the stratosphere - is inconsistent with solar-dominated forcing, but consistent with greenhouse gas (and other human-induced) forcing. There have been some suggestions that cosmic rays could affect clouds. However, these have been based on correlations using limited records. These have generally not stood up when tested with additional data, and furthermore, their physical mechanisms remain only speculative.

7/15/07 -
Most of the armed conflicts in eastern China over the past 1,000 years were triggered by food shortages caused by climate, say researchers. The finding lends weight to the idea that future climate change, resulting in water and food shortages, might have similar effects. "Regions with rich resources and those lacking resources could be hot spots for conflicts." Between 1000 and 1911, there were 899 wars in eastern China, where most of the country's food is grown. Over the same period, climate data for the Northern Hemisphere show six major cycles of warm and cold phases. Crop and livestock production dropped significantly during the cold phases. All four decades of very high conflict, and most periods of high conflict, coincided with cold phases. Warfare generally lagged 10-30 years behind the start of a cold phase. "The potential for human conflict within and across national boundaries is certainly something that climate change could exacerbate. There is a long history of nation states invading other nation states for natural resources...In the coldest period of the Little Ice Age, we can find the general crisis of the seventeenth century in Europe, Japan, Korea and the Ottoman Empire."

7/13/07 -
WESTERN U.S. - Wildfires are still burning in 12 western states. Crews in Utah are still battling the biggest blaze in state history, which has spread across more than 500 square miles.

BRITISH COLUMBIA - Seven ALL-TIME TEMPERATURE HIGHS were set across British Columbia on Wednesday, with most of the records falling in the Fraser Valley, the Greater Vancouver area and on Vancouver Island. Victoria registered the highest temperature since record-keeping began at Victoria airport, soaring to a baking 36.3 degrees. The previous record was 36.1 in 1941. Victorians also experienced the hottest night ever recorded when the temperature dropped to a balmy 19.6 C overnight Tuesday, beating the high of 18.3 C set in 1944.

7/12/07 -
BRITAIN - FREAK WEATHER is threatening the unique habitat of the Norfolk Broads, experts warn - and it could prove catastrophic if it continues. The recent prolonged heavy rainfall means the water is as high today as it was at any time during the winter. And to compound the problems, the water level is also staying high for longer than in previous months. This has led to vital management work having to be abandoned by staff - leaving an uncertain future for plants, insects and animals. “If the flooding continues on our Broads reserves, it will have major implications on both the wildlife habitats and our ability to complete habitat management programmes. It could have quite a serious effect on invertebrates as well. Fen orchids and some other rare plants are under water when they don't expect to be. We certainly anticipate we will lose some. To lose any would be a disaster. It could change the wildlife we have in the Broads.” Mowing is vital for many flowering plant species, including orchids, and milk parsley for the caterpillars of swallowtail butterflies. Sedge that was cut last year is in danger of rotting as it is submerged under water, with the knock-on effect of now waiting five years instead of the normal four for the next crop. Other trust work has also been affected by the weather - the Flying Flock cannot be sheared yet as the fleeces are too wet. “The heavy downpours and the extremely high summer water levels will undoubtedly have affected the breeding success of many birds, small mammals and insects. But, in general, wildlife can cope with short-term perturbations in the weather and will only really be catastrophically affected if these heavy downpours through the summer become a pattern that repeats itself in the future.”

NEW ZEALAND - settlements being repeatedly hit by adverse weather conditions may have to consider moving, the Prime Minister has said. A state of civil emergency was declared in the Far North yesterday after torrential rain and violent winds caused flooding and slips, before moving south and battering Auckland and Coromandel. The town of Kaeo has been submerged under water for the second time this year. When asked whether towns like Kaeo might have to shift to safer areas, the Prime Minister said there would come a point where that would have to be considered. The problem is that many settlements had been established on the basis of old weather patterns, which have changed in the erratic world climate.

NEW YORK - One-hundred-year floods could come as often as once every 10 years by the end of this century, Long Island lobsters could disappear and New York apples could be just a memory if nothing is done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report on the impact of global warming by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The report, which covers New York, New Jersey along with the entire Northeast, was released at a news conference Wednesday morning, in the wake of an intense heat wave of the kind that scientists warned could come far more frequently if business continues as usual. New York City might have to swelter through a full month with temperatures over 100 degrees. The prolonged heat could dry up the Catskill Mountain waters that supply the city, and air quality could decline, worsening conditions for people with asthma and allergies. Some changes, like earlier springs, longer summers and less snowy winters are already being seen. But scientists said things would become far worse, and much more costly. Sea levels could rise, inundating coastal areas on southern Long Island and pushing water over parts of lower Manhattan, flooding the financial district and pouring water into the subways, making them inoperable. The impact on New York State’s $3.5 billion a year agricultural industry could be devastating.

7/11/07 -
OREGON - Crews around Portland and the Willamette Valley battled the fire threat as RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES soared above 100 degrees Tuesday. Fire crews regularily start patrols around the first of August, but because temperatures are heating up so quickly in Portland, this year they're getting a jump start.

7/10/07 -
KANSAS - The first half of 2007 has been one to forget for many Kansans, as blizzards, deadly tornadoes and now flooding have caused millions of dollars in damages, disrupted lives and put a dent in the state’s economy. Of the state’s 105 counties, only three have escaped being designated a disaster area by local, state or federal officials this year. “We are beginning to wonder what has brought Kansas to the focal point” of severe storms. We have certainly gotten every type of storm you can have, with the exception of hurricane, and we hope we don’t have one of those.” State officials are still tallying the damage from last week’s floods, which affected 20 counties in southeast Kansas. So far, emergency management personnel have identified about 3,100 homes destroyed or heavily damaged in five counties. Winter storms that crippled western Kansas earlier this year and a rash of spring tornadoes, including one that largely destroyed Greensburg, have caused more than $1 billion in damages already with the state spending at least half that for recovery efforts. Much of the damage has occurred in rural areas, which have struggled in recent years because of drought. Meteorologists said there’s no one cause of this year’s weather mayhem, noting that the blizzards were caused by a strong jet stream while the tornadoes and flooding were driven by a weak jet stream. For the rest of the summer, forecasters predict weather to remain between the extremes.

PAKISTAN - The sea level temperature in the Arabian Sea is rising gradually as a result of global warming, threatening the costal areas of Pakistan , including Karachi, according to experts. “The sea level temperature of the Arabian Sea has risen between 0.2 Celsius to 0.8 Celsius over the last decade or so. That is also contributing in the increase of extreme weather events in our coastal areas. The tropical cyclones or monsoon depressions in the Arabian Sea were quite rare weather events but during the last 10 years or so the frequency of these extreme weather events has been on the rise." Global warming will also disrupt food security to millions of people because it paves the way for drought, disease and cyclones. In fact, droughts are the first sign of global warming. Countries such as Pakistan, which mainly depend on irrigation, will be badly affected by global warming, thereby making it difficult to feed their fast growing population. “Plants that cling on through heat and drought by special adaptations will suffer greater stress. Climate change will make life tougher because even the small amounts of water available will evaporate more quickly, reducing the growing time available. One of the problems of drier soils is erosion. This is made worse when people remove the natural vegetation to make room for crops." Pakistan is already suffering immensely due to salinity and land degradation and hundreds of thousands acres of fertile land are becoming uncultivable. Almost 37 per cent of the irrigated area of Sindh and 17 per cent of Punjab has become water logged and saline. These areas have not only lost their soil fertility but the underground pockets of sweet water have also become brackish and saline. As a result of global warming, desertification has started in Pakistan and sandy tracks generated by moving sand dunes are engulfing productive areas in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan.”

7/9/07 -
WESTERN U.S. - Wildfires are spreading in several US western states, threatening homes and closing highways. One homeowner has been killed and 27 homes destroyed in South Dakota's Black Hills. Temperatures as high as 38C (100F) have followed a drier-than-normal winter and meant conditions are ideal for fires. In Utah, the largest wildfire in state history has destroyed almost 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares). Other fires are raging in California, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. "There are seasoned fire fighters who are seeing FIRE BEHAVIOR THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. Things are just igniting with a single spark." In the Los Padres National Forest in Southern California 11 firefighters were injured. Many of the fires have been blamed on lightning strikes in tinder-dry forest areas, after a mild winter which saw lower-than-average rainfalls.

7/8/07 -
U.S. - This week, temperatures were approaching or exceeding RECORD LEVELS ACROSS THE WEST and prompted the National Weather Service to issue a RARE excessive-heat warning, with highs in the Colorado River Basin nearing or surpassing 120 degrees. The Weather Service issued the excessive heat warning to alert the public to the dangers of prolonged heat waves. Only winter cold - not earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes or floods - claims more lives than heat. In Utah, on Wednesday, a weather station south of St. George measured a high of 118 degrees - an ALL-TIME RECORD FOR THE STATE. Thursday, the same station posted a 117-degree high. Temperatures in Salt Lake City were expected to tie a record 102 on Friday.
The scorching heat wave coupled with tinder-dry conditions sent wildfires running amok throughout the West on Saturday. Wildfires burned mobile homes, closed highways and forced evacuations from a popular wilderness park Saturday as firefighters worked through scorching heat to contain blazes throughout the West. No injuries were reported. Yellowstone National Park and state fisheries managers asked anglers starting Saturday not to fish on some Montana rivers between noon and 6 p.m. due to drought and scorching weather. Water temperatures in some lower-elevation rivers have reached 73 degrees in recent days, conditions that can stress and even kill fish.

MONTANA, OREGON - Friday the 6th, was THE HOTTEST DAY EVER RECORDED in Missoula, where sidewalks shimmered in heat that reached 107 degrees. Only on five instances since 1936 has the thermometer reached 105, the most recent on July 10, 1973. In Montana, triple-digit temperatures are usually not seen until August. The normal July high in Helena is 83 degrees - not the 105 expected Friday. By midday, records were already set or tied in the Montana cities of Cut Bank, Great Falls, Havre, and Bozeman. Some 11 heat records were broken in the region on Thursday. Eastern Oregon SET 15 RECORD HIGHS on Thursday.

CALIFORNIA - At least 200 hundred people from the town of Independence are being evacuated as three wildfires ignited by a lightning storm continue spreading quickly through a popular wilderness park in the Sierra's eastern front. No injuries or fatalities had been reported, but more than 500 firefighters are battling the blaze that has consumed at least 17,000 acres of the 2-million-acre Inyo National Forest. The blazes are completely uncontained.

7/6/07 -
CHILE - Scientists on Tuesday blamed global warming for the disappearance of a glacial lake in remote southern Chile that faded away in just two months, leaving just a crater behind. The disappearance of the lake in Bernardo O'Higgins National Park was discovered in late May by park rangers, who were stunned to find a 130-foot deep crater where a large lake had been. After flying over the lake, scientists said they were able to draw preliminary conclusions that point to climate change as the leading culprit for the lake's disappearance. They suggested the melting of nearby glaciers raised the lake's level to the point where the increased water pressure caused part of a glacier acting as a dam to give way. Water in the lake flowed out of the breach, into a nearby fjord and then to the sea. The advance and retreat of glaciers are part of the normal dynamics of the Patagonia, but climate change is distorting the process. "This would not be happening if the temperature had not increased."

OREGON - eastern Oregon set 15 RECORD HIGHS on Thursday, July 5th.

7/3/07 -
CALIFORNIA - Fire season truly began Monday in San Diego County with three wildfires springing up in three hours, one in Bonsall and two near Julian. Together, they charred about 175 acres, and one continued to burn through the night. Firefighters, well aware of the county's desperately dry conditions, jumped on the fires with all their resources. Firefighters have predicted this could be a dangerous time for fires. The county just finished the driest two-year period in more than a century. It's been hot and there's an abundance of dead plants ready to combust. Worse yet, heat is expected to intensify through the week. “It's extremely hot and extremely dry, and conditions are ripe to have three fires. It's not unusual to have three fires, but what is UNUSUAL is that it is so dry, the fires get hot real fast.”

ARCTIC - Ancient ponds in the Arctic are drying up during the polar summer as warmer temperatures evaporate shallow bodies of water. For 24 years, researchers have been tracking ponds at Cape Herschel, located on the east coast of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, formerly the Northwest Territories of Canada. Last year, when they went back to check, some of these 6000-year-old ponds had vanished. "We were surprised. We arrived in early to mid-July and the ponds we had been monitoring were dry. Some of them had dried up completely. Some were just about to lose the last remaining centimetres of water. It's really interesting to see how quickly it is happening. We could see this trend had started a while ago but at no time did we expect it to accelerate." A study of the fossilised sediments in these pools of water showed climate changes beginning as long as 150 years ago. The researchers had thought these ponds were permanent. But change has come rapidly. "It is a bit of a tipping point. We don't know how far this warming or drying will go." They also discovered that ponds that formerly remained frozen until mid-July were free of ice as early as late May. The changes will have significant impact on the birds and animals that rely on these sources of fresh water to survive and breed. "The ecological ramifications of these changes ... will cascade throughout the Arctic ecosystem. Lower water levels will have many indirect environmental effects, such as further concentration of pollutants."

7/1/07 -
EUROPE - In 2003, Europe was consumed by a heat wave that killed roughly 35,000 people. Four years later, there have been reminders of this strange climatic event as temperatures in some parts of Europe over the past week have reached up to 46 degrees. Though the death toll in Europe is nowhere near that of 2003, it is still raising eyebrows. Forty-two people have died in Italy and the Balkans, 23 deaths were reported in Romania, two in Bulgaria and Cyprus, nine in France, two in Spain and seven heat-related deaths in Greece. In parts of Italy, temperatures reached 46, and 42 in Athens and Argos in southern Greece. Conditions began to cool down in Romania. Paris and Berlin registered 39. There is clearly a "general warming" and "we are meeting more extreme events than usual. This heat wave in Europe and Israel is a signal of such warming." But to determine if global warming is truly the culprit, measurement on a year to year basis is inadequate; better to look at 10-year increments. "Scientists cannot really prove it at present, but we are more than 70 percent confident the reason is global warming."

CYPRUS - A huge fire in central Cyprus has destroyed several holiday homes and forced the evacuation of at least two villages. The blaze is raging in the area of Saittas in the Troodos mountains, some 55km (30 miles) south-west of the capital Nicosia. So far there have been no reports of any serious injuries. The fire was described as "a big catastrophe". The blaze was threatening the Troodos forest - one of the most scenic areas of the eastern Mediterranean island. Strong winds and a scorching heatwave had helped the fire to spread rapidly. The heatwave has been blamed for the deaths of three elderly people in Cyprus in the past week.

CALIFORNIA - July 1 of 2006 to June 30 of this year, only 3.21 inches of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles — the LOWEST PRECIPITATION LEVEL SINCE RECORDS STARTED BEING KEPT in the 1880s. Other cities around the region, including Pasadena, Culver City, Anaheim and Riverside, also set ALL-TIME RECORDS. Over the last year, rainstorm after rainstorm bounced away from Southern California. Two high-pressure systems parked themselves in the region, deflecting the precipitation. The unrelenting dry conditions have sapped moisture from plant life in hillsides and canyons, making them far more susceptible than normal to sparks from fireworks. The latest studies of brush and grasslands by the L.A. County Fire Department found that the moisture level in plants is THE LOWEST IN 26 YEARS. And that doesn't count the large amount of brush that has already died. Of equal concern to firefighters is the wind. Typically, Southern California records 30 days of Santa Ana winds a year. But over the last 12 months, the region saw more than 100 days of Santa Anas. On Friday, the National Weather Service again issued a red flag fire warning for forest and mountain areas. "We've NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS. The Griffith Park and Hollywood Hills fires show that something that could normally be contained immediately could rage out of control with the wind. Things are going to be bigger and worse than ever."

MONTANA - the 100-degree temperature recorded Thursday at Gallatin Field airport BROKE THE RECORD SET IN 1984. In Bozeman, the temperature hit a record-high 94 degrees Thursday, BREAKING THE OLD RECORD set in 1892. Across Southwest Montana, eight RECORD HIGHS WERE BROKEN Thursday. Hot temperatures actually claim more lives than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. From 1979 to 1998, an estimated 7,500 people died in the United States as a result of exposure to excessive heat.

6/29/07 -
GREECE - Greek firefighters are battling a major forest fire which has threatened the suburbs of the capital, Athens. The strong winds fuelling the fire have dropped and firefighters have so far prevented the blaze from reaching the suburbs. The blaze, on the slopes of Mount Parnitha, is being contained, officials say, but a huge plume of black smoke is towering over the city. Electricity pylons, exploding after a RECORD HEATWAVE, have sparked some of the fires, but arson is also suspected. The fire near Athens is one of more than 100 blazes which have broken out across Greece in the last few days. On Thursday, two volunteer firefighters were trapped by flames and died of smoke inhalation in the centre of the country. Temperatures have now dropped below 40C, after peaking at 46C earlier in the week, but forecasters say another heatwave is expected next week.

INDONESIA - Scientists agree climate change has already begun unsettling the arrival of seasons and causing unseasonal fluctuations in temperatures, which are key to rice field cycles, agriculture and biodiversity. Climate change is causing the arrival of seasons to be more erratic and tends to produce shorter wet seasons with more rainfall and longer dry seasons with prolonged water shortages. As a result, Indonesia has much to lose given that rice is its staple food and most Indonesians work in the agricultural sector. Adaptation measures would include drawing up a dynamic plantation calendar for each plant and natural condition, creating new varieties of plants resilient to barren weather and implementing efficient irrigation methods and water conservation. New varieties of rice, corn and potato should have shorter harvesting lives to match shorter wet seasons. Global warming has already damaged Indonesia's rice-harvest cycle, leading to decreased production capabilities. "In Java, the cycle is 1.6 (harvests) per year compared to 2 some years before, meaning we no longer harvest rice twice a year. Outside Java, the cycle is even lower at 1.1 times." It is expected fish populations in Indonesia will move southward to Australia due to sea current changes. Global warming is destroying biodiversity in the world's seas, killing animals and plants and triggering the outbreak of viruses and bacteria that pose global threats to human health.

CANADA - Starving mountain pine beetles in central British Columbia have moved into spruce trees as the supply of lodgepole pines disappears. Although spruce are generally not nutritionally or chemically suitable for the beetles to reproduce, they still do enough damage to kill the trees. Last year, more than 9.2 million hectares of B.C. and Alberta forest were in an advanced stage of attack from the tiny, but voracious beetles. As they seek new food sources they are moving east. The worry is that the beetles will soon hit the mother lode of pine trees in the boreal forest. If the beetles jump from the lodgepole pine to the boreal forest's jack pine, an infestation could wipe out billions of trees all the way to the East Coast.

ANTARCTICA - An ice sheet that is the world's largest, with enough water to raise global sea levels by 61 metres, is relatively stable and poses no immediate threat, according to new research. "The East Antarctic ice sheet is the largest and the coldest, and is going to be the last to respond in any great way to global warming. Our research suggests changes in sea levels due to global warming will not be caused by changes in the East Antarctic Ice Sheet yet."

6/28/07 -
EUROPE - Dozens of people across southern Europe have perished in a blistering heatwave. Greece authorities said that the LONGEST HEATWAVE IN THE COUNTRY'S HISTORY had killed five people, but media said the death toll was at least ten people. “The weather conditions have been UNPRECEDENTED, we have never had a heatwave lasting for eight straight days.” Athens on Tuesday registered heat up to 46.2C (115.16) in the western district of Nea Filadelfia, the HIGHEST SINCE RECORDINGS THERE BEGAN in 1955. Dozens of wildfires have broken out in rural areas of northern, southern and central Greece and threatened homes before being brought under control. In Romania, the weather-related death toll climbed to 30 after a violent storm lashed the south of the country.
The heatwave has killed at least 35 people in parts of southeast Europe and hit wildlife and crops, from the humble toad in Greek lagoons to grain across the region, while fruit is ripening weeks early in Italy. Greece is experiencing its WORST HEATWAVE IN 110 YEARS that has already killed eight people, with temperatures reaching 46 Celsius (114.8 Fahrenheit) during five days of sweltering weather that showed no signs on Wednesday of letting up. In southern Italy, after the HOTTEST SPRING IN NEARLY TWO CENTURIES, this year's harvest of grapes and other fruit and vegetables is expected to be as much as a month earlier than usual, at the beginning of August. The heat is "literally cooking" Sicilian lemons on the trees, while watermelons, peppers, courgettes, peaches and tomatoes are also at risk. Greece's flora and fauna are suffering and environmentalists warned the scorching temperatures could have a long-term effect on animal populations and plants. "Birds, now in their nesting period, laying eggs in exposed nests are at a very high risk. The eggs are overheating if left uncovered so birds have to remain on the eggs for much longer." Swallows are having problems finding mud for their nests, forcing them to travel further in search for their building material while frogs, toads and salamanders are seeing their habitats dry up, shortening their life span and affecting in turn those animals who feed on them. "These are all linked to each other. With the frog and toad populations dropping, birds who feed on them have problems finding food as they stay in Greece until the autumn." Greece's unusually mild winter, coupled with a warmer than normal May and the current June heatwave, has already triggered changes that could be here to stay. Fish stocks in rivers and lakes are dropping as water is pumped out for agricultural use due to a lack of rain, threatening a rare Greek otter which feeds on them. "Flowers above the treeline on Mount Olympus that start blossoming in May have already competed their cycle, far too early. Among those are several rare, indigenous flowers." "This weather creates a web of problems that will have long-term effects if it persists or if it reoccurs in the coming years." A drought in southeast Europe has already threatened grain crops in countries including Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, where the Anatolian news agency quoted the head of a big cooperative as predicting a 50 percent drop in this year's cotton crop.

CALIFORNIA - Firefighters tackling a massive blaze in northern California are nervously bracing for a backlash from the weather, with forecasted gusty winds threatening to spread the inferno. The fire has scorched 1254 hectares, destroyed more than 225 structures - including 176 homes - and forced the evacuation of around 3500 local residents. A further 950 residences and 350 commercial businesses were threatened by the fire, which is only 44 per cent contained. Firefighters suffered a setback yesterday when wind-driven flames leaped across containment lines before eventually being extinguished. Forecasted strong winds failed to materialise Wednesday but are expected later.

Tens of millions of people could be driven from their homes by encroaching deserts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia. If action is not taken, some 50 million people could be displaced within the next 10 years. The study by the United Nations University suggests climate change is making desertification "the greatest environmental challenge of our times". Desertification is an environmental crisis of global proportions, it says, and one third of the Earth's population are potential victims of its creeping effect. The over-exploitation of land and unsustainable irrigation practices are making matters worse.

6/27/07 -
GREECE, ROMANIA, ITALY, TURKEY, BULGARIA, UKRAINE - Temperatures soared to 46C (114.8 F) in some parts of Greece on Monday, and authorities expected the heatwave to continue for at least another three days, making this Greece's HOTTEST JUNE EVER. In Romania temperatures on Tuesday hit 41C. In southern Italy, where temperatures were also above 40C, brush fires broke out. About 150 people have been admitted to hospital over three days in Turkey's Mugla province. Southeastern Europe was already suffering a drought, even before the latest heatwave. Bulgarian farm ministry sources said a week ago that the wheat crop might be down 30 per cent from last year. Grain producers say Romania might have to import a million tonnes of wheat this year to cover a domestic shortfall. And in Ukraine, the Government has imposed stringent limits on grain exports for three months in an attempt to keep down bread prices.

MALTA - The night between Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th was the WARMEST NIGHT RECORDED OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS. The lowest temperature registered by the Meteorological Office at Malta International Airport was 28.3 deg C. This was slightly more than a degree higher than the previous record of 27.2 deg C, which was measured at dawn on June 30th, 2003. The temperature recorded on Monday reached 39.5 deg C, almost as high as the record for the month, which however remained the 40.1 deg C recorded on June 13th, 1997. The high temperatures witnessed over the past days were produced by a ridge of high pressure over the central Mediterranean, which caused the air to descend from the higher levels of the atmosphere, compressing it and warming it in the process. This 'pumping' activity of the atmosphere persisted during the night giving them a very warm and dry night.

CALIFORNIA & ALASKA - Firefighters trying to contain a raging wildfire in California have suffered a setback, after the blaze jumped a defence line forcing hundreds to flee. The authorities have warned that strong winds forecast for the Lake Tahoe area today could fan the flames. The wildfire has so far destroyed 200 homes and forced 1,000 people to leave. Meanwhile, damp, cooler weather has also helped contain a wildfire on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. The blaze south of Anchorage has spread across 90 square miles (233sq km) and destroyed more than 80 homes.

UTAH - Fire restrictions in effect after early season rash of wildfires - Dry vegetation, soaring temperatures and the approach of the traditional fireworks season have promoted fire officials to issue extreme fire restrictions.

COLORADO - Wildfires near oil and gas drilling operations are raising concerns. The Cottonwood Creek fire near Parachute last week burned within 200 yards of gas wells. It was a stark reminder that the proliferation of mountain hideaway homes isn't the only booming development that's added to the challenge of wild land firefighting in recent years. Western Colorado's energy industry has set up natural gas wells and pipelines in many remote areas where wildfires are a threat. Fire manager for the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit says there are not a lot of rules yet on how to deal with this threat.
Sunday, Denver set a NEW RECORD when the temperature reached 100 degrees at the airport, beating the record from 1988 by one degree.

TENNESSEE - Monday the thermometer topped out at 94 degrees, BREAKING THE RECORD of 93-degrees set in 1940.

ALABAMA - Wildlife experts and pest control professionals say insect infestations are up as increased numbers of ants and cockroaches enter homes seeking water. Rodents and snakes - which typically prefer to avoid humans - are also venturing into more densely populated areas as their water sources dry up and food grows scarce. Pest control firms have also noticed a spike in rodent calls, UNUSUAL for this time of year. Rodents generally enter homes in October as temperatures fall, and homeowners usually report infestations in January and February when the first litters of baby rats and mice start running around. Usually, exterminators report very few, if any, rodent calls between May and October. "Rodents would prefer not to be around humans, but if they're hungry or thirsty enough, they'll put up with it."

Humans can significantly help stop global warming by adopting a vegetarian diet. Raising animals for food is responsible for more greenhouse gases than all vehicles in the world combined. Study after study has shown that animal agriculture contributes to global warming and environmental destruction, yet instead of urging people to go vegetarian, most U.S. politicians and environmental spokespeople just continue to hype hybrid cars, recycling, and fluorescent light bulbs as solutions to our spiraling environmental problems. According to Greenpeace, chickens raised for KFC, and other companies that "produce" chicken flesh, are fed crops that are grown in the Amazon rain forest. Carbon dioxide emissions aren't our only environmental concern, of course. There's deforestation, water and air pollution, world hunger, and more. But according to the U.N., raising animals for food is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." More than 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to grow grain to feed farmed animals; farmed animals are fed more than 70 percent of the corn, wheat, and other grains grown in the U.S.; and almost half of the water and 80 percent of the agricultural land in the U.S. are used to raise animals for food.

6/26/07 -
Southern and eastern Europe & the Mediterranean - Temperatures were expected to reach 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 Fahrenheit) in some areas on Monday and will remain around that level during the week. Helicopters and specially adapted aircraft joined firefighters on the ground in southern Italy to fight a series of fires in Calabria and on the island of Sicily, as a heatwave there continued. The situation was particularly serious in Sicily, where according to media reports guests at a number of hotels near the northwest coast had to be evacuated. The fires were being fanned by the strong southerly winds known as the sirocco. A heatwave in Greece killed two pensioners at the weekend and pushed DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY TO NEW ALL-TIME HIGHS. Hospitals around the country have been placed on alert and municipalities are keeping cooled public facilities open for those without air-conditioning at home, but heatstroke already claimed the lives of an 84-year-old woman in the western town of Egio and a 76-year-old man in Farsala, central Greece. On the island of Cyprus a 72-year-old woman died of heatstroke on Monday as the island sizzled in temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The Mediterranean island is famed for its year-long sunshine but temperatures of 42 degrees now being recorded in the capital are EXTREME. In Romania the capital Bucharest and eight southern districts were placed on orange alerts as the temperature headed above 40 degrees Celsius. The heatwave that has already lasted several days has taken at least 25 lives. First aid tents have been erected in many cities while ambulance services have received thousands of calls.

6/25/07 -
CALIFORNIA - At least 165 homes and other structures were destroyed and as many as 500 more were threatened after a wind-whipped wildfire broke out Sunday afternoon just outside of South Lake Tahoe. “This thing is raging out of control, and there’s no estimate as to when that may change." The 450 firefighters battling the blaze are having a tough time getting close to the fire because the terrain is rugged. The fire has scorched 750 acres and is only 5% contained. Winds as high as 50 mph have fanned the flames throughout the day. The fire has also forced the closure of Highways 50 and 89 leading into the area. Both routes are now being used to evacuate residents. State and federal fire officials had warned of a potentially active wildfire season in the Sierra Nevada following an unusually dry winter. The annual May 1 snow survey found the Tahoe-area snowpack at just 29 percent of normal levels, the lowest since 1988. The U.S. Forest Service recently launched a 10-year program to thin and burn 38,000 acres of forest in the Lake Tahoe Basin to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. The fire’s intensity and quick pace is an indication that a 10-year plan was not enough. “The Forest Service calls for a 10-year plan to remove forest fuels, but this fire didn’t wait 10 years. We need to be in a position to remove fuels faster, sooner."

AUSTRALIA - The drinking water crisis in the South-West has been further highlighted with some of the Western area’s main dams at RECORD LOWS. Millstream Dam just outside Bridgetown has dropped to an alltime Statewide low of 9 per cent capacity. The dam’s current condition was the worst seen in more than 20 years in the region. “It looks like we’ve drained it for maintenance — I’ve never seen it this low. It’s terrible." The Water Corporation would usually start transferring water from Millstream Dam to other dams at this time of the year. No relief is in sight because three fronts arriving within a week are expected to bring only light rains to agricultural areas. Some farmers in the north-west who need 350mm of rain before the end of the year had received only 10mm to date. Farmers around the Geraldton area were losing topsoil to high winds because of the lack of rain.

EUROPE was experiencing mixed weather this past week. Southern areas are baking in a heatwave while the west has been hit by heavy rainstorms that have killed two Austrians. Temperatures in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey in southern Europe are above seasonal norms. The scorching heat has started to affect daily life in the city. The heatwave has already killed 19 people in southern Europe and emergency service phone lines are running hot. Over in western Europe, Germany has been drenched by a heavy rain storm leading to widespread floods. People have been forced to wade through deep floodwaters and push their vehicles out of the water. And in Austria, a sudden storm mixed with heavy rain killed two people in the capital of Vienna. Hail fell in some areas across Austria, stalling regional train services and leading to power outages and many traffic accidents. (video)

6/21/07 -
EUROPE - Last autumn-winter season was Europe's WARMEST FOR MORE THAN 700 YEARS. The last time Europeans saw temperatures similar to those of the autumn and winter of 2006-07, they were eating strawberries at Christmas in 1289. European climate measurements and temperature records stretch back several hundred years to 1659. Estimating historical temperatures beyond then involves scrutinising contemporary documents and diaries. Separately the temperatures experienced during autumn 2006 and winter 2007 are likely to have been the warmest in 500 years. But the sequential combination of two such warm seasons is a still RARER event – probably the first since 1289. In that year, people in western and central Europe wrote accounts of what they viewed as EXTREMELY UNUSUAL events. "Documents report for instance that strawberries were eaten at Christmas, and the [vineyards] produced leaves, stock and even blossoms in the middle of January, and in Vienna fruit trees were flowering like in May. This was really extreme, so maybe it can be compared to today in western and central Europe." Similar UNUSUAL events have also been noticed in this recent warm period. For instance, hazel trees and snowdrops in Germany blossomed a full 30 days earlier than at any time in the last 50 years in spring 2007. And in 2006, horse chestnut trees in Switzerland blossomed twice instead of their usual once. "This is really an EXCEPTIONALLY RARE event." The 1289 temperatures may have been caused by a large volcanic eruption in the tropics. The warm autumn and winter in 2006-07 were due to warm air moving up from the Atlantic off the coast of North Africa.

6/19/07 -
Spring in the Arctic is arriving "weeks earlier" than a decade ago. Ice in north-east Greenland is melting an average of 14.6 days earlier than in the mid-1990s, bringing forward the date plants flower and birds lay eggs. The observed changes could disrupt the region's ecosystems and food chain, affecting the long-term survival of some species. "We were particularly surprised to see the trends were so strong when considering that the entire summer is very short in the High Arctic - just three or four months from snowmelt to freeze-up." The warming in the region, which is occurring at twice the rate of the global average, could affect the future stability of the region's ecosystem. "There could be positive consequences in the short term, and potentially negative consequences in the long term."

More than a third of the United States is in the grip of a menacing drought that threatens to spread before the summer ends. North and South Carolina are fighting over a river. In Tennessee, springs are drying up, jeopardizing production of Jack Daniels whiskey. The mayor of Los Angeles is asking residents to take shorter showers. And in Georgia, the governor is praying for rain. Parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee are experiencing a level D4 drought, the most extreme level charted and the worst in the nation. Severe drought conditions are moving north, into Kentucky and closer to the Midwest. "It's ONE OF THE WORST DROUGHTS IN LIVING MEMORY in the Southeast at this point. This happens only about every 50 years or so." Officials said farmers throughout the South are being hit hard, with losses to cotton, peanuts and corn. Farmers in California, Kentucky and Alabama are selling their herds because of a shortage of hay to feed them. Experts blame the Southeast's drought on a persistent high-pressure system that has kept rain away from the area. In California, an abnormally dry winter is the culprit.

DARFUR - the UN Secretary General said that the slaughter in Darfur was triggered by global climate change and that more such conflicts may be on the horizon. Four years of fighting has killed at least 200,000 people. "The Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change." UN statistics show that rainfall declined some 40 percent over the past two decades, as a rise in Indian Ocean temperatures disrupted monsoons. When Darfur's land was rich, black farmers welcomed Arab herders and shared their water. With the drought, however, farmers fenced in their land to prevent overgrazing. "For the first time in memory, there was no longer enough food and water for all. Fighting broke out." Sudan is not the only country with such problems - Somalia, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso are other African countries with "food and water insecurity."

COLORADO - Denver BROKE A 67-YEAR RECORD with the temperature reaching 97-degrees on Sunday afternoon. The previous record high temperature for June 17 in Denver was 94 degrees, set in 1940. Temperatures across the rest of the state also were high Sunday, with Greeley the hottest reported at 100 degrees. Average highs for June are about 84 degrees and lows are about 54 degrees.

TEXAS - Fort Wayne has seen an UNUSUAL number of days reach 90-degree temperatures - 11 since May 1, which is significant. “This is a high number. We saw five days into the 90s in May, where the average is usually just one day.”

6/14/07 -
GEORGIA - The wildfires that have swept through the Okefenokee this year are the LARGEST IN THE LOWER 48 STATES OF THE U.S. IN NEARLY A CENTURY, since 1918. The state sees an average of 8,000 forest and brush fires a year, but the vast majority are doused before they can burn an acre. The typical wildfire can be contained by a single ranger armed with a fire plow. But not the fire that started April 16. High winds toppled a tree into a power line, fanning the resulting sparks to ignite nearby brush left dry by the lack of rain. The same winds then urged the flames deep into the surrounding longleaf and loblolly pine forests. The air itself was arid, with no hint of the humidity that usually accompanies the beginning of the oppressive South Georgia summer. The fire raged through 18,000 acres in its first day – roughly 26 square miles. Two months later, the fire has consumed more than 600,000 acres on both sides of the Georgia/Florida border, including most of the Okefenokee and tens of thousands of acres of commercial pine forests. Commonly referred to as a swamp, the Okefenokee is technically a bog, because its moisture comes from rainwater rather than a spring or river. When there's meager rainfall, as in recent months, the water table drops, drying out the peaty, compostlike soil. After the bog catches fire, it usually continues to burn for a year, spreading underground until all available fuel has been depleted. As global warming continues, the semipermanent high-pressure weather cells covering the planet are expected to expand, with much of the rainfall occurring at the edges of those cells, leaving their cores drier. Since, during summer months, the Southeast is at the center of such a cell – called the Bermuda high – Georgia will gradually, and perhaps irreversibly, lose rainfall to the Northeast and Canada. As the state becomes hotter and drier, wildfires will become more frequent and more intense.

Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake, has DROPPED TO ITS LOWEST LEVEL IN 81 YEARS. The water is 20 inches below average and a foot lower than just a year ago. The dropping levels have had serious environmental and economic consequences. Wetlands have dried up. Power plants run at half capacity. Cargo ships carry partial loads. Boaters struggle to find a place to dock. The changes can be seen all along the 2,800-mile shore of Lake Superior, the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes. The water has receded, sometimes 50 feet or more, from its normal shoreline. Lake Huron and Lake Michigan are at low levels, as well, although not quite as extreme. The average water temperature of Lake Superior has risen 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979. The Edison Sault Electric power plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, will operate at less than 50% capacity this year because its water flows have been slashed as a result of the low lake levels. That pushed the company to buy high-cost power elsewhere and increase rates. Large beds of wild rice that grow in the wetlands have gone dry. Everyone is waiting for the water to rise. "It seemed normal last October. Then it dropped and never came back."

HAWAII - The Maui Department of Water Supply has declared a drought in Upcountry Maui, imposing mandatory water restrictions, while dry conditions are getting worse on the Big Island. Maui officials Tuesday imposed 10 percent water restrictions on nonagricultural users in many areas, but gave farmers 30 days grace. "Low inflows to the surface water treatment facilities are earlier than normal and could signal a long, dry summer." On the Big Island, where similar conditions have gone on for a lot longer, farmers aren't so lucky. "Nonirrigated crops, those dependent on natural rainfall, were in fair to poor condition. And livestock operations were being stressed by the low moisture levels." The Hawaii County Mayor declared a state of emergency a week ago due to the continuing dry weather.

6/13/07 -
PAKISTAN - At least 63 more people died on Sunday from the effects of Pakistan's RECORD-BREAKING HEAT WAVE, bringing the weekend death toll to 110. The mercury rose as high as 52 degrees in south-west parts of the country as the hot spell entered its fourth day, also setting a 78-year record in the city of Lahore in the central Punjab province. Hundreds of people were also hospitalised with sunstroke, and meteorologists predicted the heat wave will last at least three more days.

ALABAMA - the National Weather Service says that, "since Katrina came and left, for some reason we've had like a blocking pattern over us which has kept the weather systems away. It's kept us dryer than normal. It's also made us a little warmer than normal and that hasn't changed, so it's, it's VERY UNUSUAL." They are half a year behind in rainfall. Normal rainfall would be about 66 inches a year, since January 2006, they are 32 to 33 inches below that.

6/11/07 -
PAKISTAN - At least eight persons died in different localities of Faisalabad due to the intense heat and the 16-year-old HEAT RECORD WAS BROKEN in Mianwali when the mercury shot up to 51 degree centigrade on Sunday. Life in the Mianwali was paralyzed on Sunday owing to the hot and humid weather.

INDIA - With day temperatures hovering around the 45 degrees celsius mark in most of North India, this has been a summer like few others. And the unabated heat wave is throwing life out of gear across the region. The scorching heat wave is keeping people indoors. With the maximum temperature going beyond the 44 degrees celsius twice so far, Delhi seems set to breach the 45 degree celsius mark that it last recorded on 21st June 2005. In Rajasthan, after the heat and dust of the Gurjar agitation, the state has to contend with searing temperatures with 45 degrees celsius now almost the norm and the three deaths so far have BROKEN THE 5-YEAR RECORD OF HEAT WAVE CASUALTIES in Rajasthan. Chandigarh was as uncomfortable as Delhi with a maximun temperature of 45 degree celsisus. As there is no respite in sight, the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that the maximum temperatures are likely to remain between 44-46 °C over much of North India. So for now, North India is hoping for the monsoon to arrive on time.
INDIA - On Sunday, June 10, Shimla recorded 31.5 Celsius, the HIGHEST-EVER TEMPERATURE. Even the night temperature touched 22.3 Celsius, which is the HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED HERE.

6/10/07 -
U.S. - Drought, a fixture in much of the West for nearly a decade, now covers more than one-third of the continental USA. And it's spreading. As summer starts, half the nation is either abnormally dry or in outright drought from prolonged lack of rain that could lead to water shortages. Welcome rainfall last weekend from Tropical Storm Barry brought short-term relief to parts of the fire-scorched Southeast. But up to 50 inches of rain is needed to end the drought there, and this is the DRIEST SPRING IN THE SOUTHEAST SINCE RECORD-KEEPING BEGAIN IN 1895. California and Nevada just recorded their DRIEST JUNE-TO-MAY PERIOD SINCE 1924, and a lack of rain in the West could make this an especially risky summer for wildfires. Dry episodes have become so persistent in the West that some scientists and water managers say drought is the "new normal" there. In Minnesota, which is in its WORST DROUGHT SINCE 1976, the situation is improving slowly, although a wildfire last month burned dozens of houses and 115 square miles in the northeastern part of the state. The Southeast, unaccustomed to prolonged dry spells, may be suffering the most. In eight states from Mississippi to the Carolinas and down through Florida, lakes are shrinking, crops are withering, well levels are falling and there are new limits on water use. "We need 40-50 inches of rainfall to get out of the drought."

ALABAMA - Weather forecasters are calling the drought most of north Alabama is experiencing right now a “ONCE-IN-50-YEARS” EVENT. This is a history-making drought with the potential to continue through the summer. “With this type of deficit coming into May and June, it is usually tough to get much change unless we get a tropical depression coming up from the Gulf of Mexico.” Most of North Alabama is now in the “exceptional drought” category, D4, which is the worst of the five-level classification system used by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Some rivers have reached HISTORICALLY LOW STREAMFLOWS. Farm ponds are experiencing lowered levels as well, with some smaller creeks, typically having water in them after a wet spring, going dry. Some people using wells have experienced difficulty. Agriculture has been impacted, and extension agents report cotton and soybeans, fruits and vegetables and pasture lands are all being affected.

INDIA - The entire North India was left baking on Saturday with the mercury shooting up to RECORD LEVELS at many places and the sledgehammer heat wave claiming 18 more lives, pushing the death count so far this summer to 53. Sriganganagar in Rajasthan blazed at 48.9 degrees Celsius as the mercury topped 47 degrees at Hisar in Haryana and Amritsar in Punjab. Hisar sizzled at 47.9 degrees, seven notches above normal, and Amritsar at 47.8, up by eight degrees, as the heat wave seared through the region crippling normal life, with frequent power breakdowns adding to the woes of residents.

PAKISTAN - The Punjab provincial capital city witnessed the hottest day of the season, as the temperature soared to 48 degree Celsius BREAKING A 78 YEAR HEAT RECORD, while the mercury hit 50 degrees Celsius at Mianwali. The previous high temperature in the city was recorded on June 8, 1929. Other cities of Punjab also witnessed RECORD SUMMER HEAT. This spell of heat wave is expected to continue for the next two/three days.

Monitoring the saltiness of the ocean water could provide an early indicator of climate change. Significant increases or decreases in salt in key areas could forewarn of climate change in 10 to 20 years time. Scientists predicted that the waters of the southern hemisphere oceans around South Africa and New Zealand are the places to watch. Palaeoclimate data shows that the ocean's currents (like the Gulf Stream and its North Atlantic deep water partner) are capable of shifting gears very suddenly, but until now it wasn't clear how this occurred. Using a combination of modern observations, numerical models and palaeoclimate data scientists are increasingly realising that salt is the key. A build up of salty water can stimulate deep water circulation, while a diluting of the waters is linked to sluggish flow. Salt increases the density of water. Once a pocket of water becomes salty enough it sinks, drawing in additional water from surrounding areas, and initiates an ocean circulation loop called thermohaline overturning. The scientists discovered that a build up of salt in the waters off the coast of South Africa could help to speed up ocean circulation in the North Atlantic, despite the two areas being thousands of kilometres apart. Meanwhile, a decrease in saltiness in South African waters could be linked to a slowing down of the North Atlantic circulation. These changes in ocean circulation occur over very short time-scales, usually in less than a decade or two. Ocean water can't possibly travel this fast (it takes nearly a century for a parcel of water to move from the South Atlantic to the North Atlantic). Instead the scientists think that energy is transferred through the ocean along a deep pressure wave. "The surge of salt generates a pressure gradient in the ocean that sends energy to the north without water actually being transported." Regardless of whether ocean circulation speeds up or slows down it causes significant climate change, altering the hydrological cycle and affecting atmospheric circulation patterns too. Currently there is no large-scale salt monitoring system in place in the southern hemisphere oceans.

6/8/07 -
CANADA - It has been ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE WEATHER YEARS ON RECORD in Toronto, with unheard of mild conditions in January, one of the most bitterly cold Februarys in recent memory and a strange back and forth spring that's seen conditions blow hot and cold. At this rate, summer should prove interesting when it officially begins June 21st. Consider what they've been through this last week alone. On Friday, they were mired in a heat alert and a smog advisory. By Tuesday, some residents had their jackets and even gloves out, as an Arctic front passed through, leaving the city windy and cold with a RARE risk of June frost. And on Thursday the coaster was back on the upswing - but only for a day. By today, temperatures are expected to hit 31C, with another hot and sticky air mass that will completely melt those memories of that one cold Tuesday. And even that won't last. A cold front that moves in late at night is expected to trigger some potentially violent thunderstorms and deflate temperatures again, but this time to a more normal level of around 21C on Saturday.

6/6/07 -
Rapid urban growth combined with the effects of climate change will cause more and bigger disasters unless the world better prepares itself for them, senior UN officials said on Tuesday. People living in the slums of large cities where millions exist very close together and rescue services are poorly prepared, face particular risks. Mega-cities such as Mexico City, Mexico, and New Delhi and Calcutta in India, are prone to severe earthquakes, while New York is at risk of dangerous flooding and tsunamis. Jakarta, Indonesia; Tokyo; Shanghai, China; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Mumbai, India, are threatened by both quakes and floods. With the number of people living in cities predicted to overtake those in rural areas this year, the potential for huge disasters was growing. “You could have catastrophes of a scale you have not seen so far." Climate change, in particular sea-level rise, will inevitably increase the number and intensity of dangerous weather conditions threatening large cities. “Climate change is already a reality and we’re only going to - in the best of circumstances - be reducing its impact. Whatever carbon emissions reduction measures are taken now, we will still face virtually the same problems for the next 30,40, 50 years."

6/5/07 -
NEW ZEALAND has just bathed in the WARMEST MAY IN MORE THAN 140 YEARS of temperature measurements. Most of the nation also experienced the DRIEST MAY ON RECORD and enjoyed more sun than the average autumn. And scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research say there is little sign of a cold snap in the next couple of months. The mercury was prevented from dropping by warmer than normal seas to the west of New Zealand and anticyclones to the east producing warm north westerlies over the country. The unusual spell has been mirrored across the Tasman, with Australia RECORDING ITS EQUAL WARMEST MAY ON RECORD, at 2C above normal.

JAPAN - The Meteorological Agency plans to establish by the end of June an organization to analyze the causes of abnormal weather in the wake of climactic phenomena such as heat waves and heavy snow in recent years, that have impacted on society and the economy. The new organization plans to invite the country's top experts to make mid- and long-term predictions relating to abnormal weather and announce their forecasts swiftly, similar in style to the Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction. The organization will comprise 10 experts, including university professors of oceanic circulation, tropical meteorology and other relevant sciences. When unusual weather occurs or is predicted, the organization's members will analyze the climate in relation to global atmospheric activity, global warming and other phenomena. The agency will exchange information through e-mail and other channels so it can have members examine abnormalities as quickly as possible. The agency will then issue predictions on the likely impact and time frame of the abnormal weather. As abnormal weather is caused by many complex factors, even the agency has difficulty determining the cause of certain conditions. "We'd like to offer reliable information to help municipal officials in charge of disaster prevention take rapid measures."

6/4/07 -
INDIA - As the mercury soared to unbearable levels across the North India Sunday, people mostly remained indoors to escape from the scorching sun. Ten persons died due to torrid heat in Uttar Pradesh, as Lucknow experienced the summer's hottest day with mercury soaring to 44.6 degree Celsius, raising the death toll since the onset of summer to 22. Three heat-related deaths had been reported from Kanpur since Saturday, two each from Varanasi and Kaushambi and one each from Banda, Chitrakoot and Orai districts. Varanasi also witnessed the hottest day this summer, BREAKING A 10-YEAR RECORD with 46.2 degrees. It was also the hottest place in the entire North India.

NEW JERSEY - Their lingering winter ended abruptly toward the end of an UNUSUALLY wet and cold April, catapulting them directly into a wave of summery warmth. Arriving late, spring 2007 arrived in a rush. Practically overnight, the trees sprung into leaf, the tulips popped open and the lilacs of midseason arrived without waiting for daffodils delayed by bad weather to have their moment on nature's stage. "Everthing's been completely out of whack. I still have early irises blooming, the peonies are just starting and already the summer phlox are ready to flower. The erratic weather threw off a lot of plants - some are far ahead and some are lagging behind." The spastic two-step in the landscape mirrors the erratic temperature swings that made May unpredictable. Although the month was mild overall, with temperatures running 2 degrees above the expected, there were notable highs and lows. The erratic weather patterns and earlier heat are the shape of things to come, say experts who study climate change. "The climate is gradually getting warmer here as in the rest of the world. In the future it will get warmer sooner, the plants will bloom sooner and the pests will arrive sooner." According to a study released in 2005, spring has leapt forward by nearly 10 days in the last 30 years. The research looked at 130 species of birds, animals, trees and other plants seeking evidence of changes in early spring behavior. This year, April showers did bring abundant May flowers. But the moisture of the wettest April in 113 years didn't linger long in the sandy, fast-draining soils of the state's southern half.

6/3/07 -
TEXAS - FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 30 YEARS, San Antonio got through May without the official temperature breaking 90 degrees. And the heat is way overdue, according to 121 years of data. San Antonio on average records its first 90-degree day on April 9. By the end of May last year, San Antonio International Airport already had recorded 36 days of 90 degrees or more. San Antonio reached 89 degrees four times in May. But it has not reached 90 since Oct. 6 — a stretch of almost eight months. That stretch is expected to end by Monday, June 4, well before the latest date on which the city first hit 90 — June 8 in both 1885 and 1957. The last time the first 90-degree day came so late, in 1977, it arrived on June 6.

NEW YORK - it was the SUNNIEST MAY ON RECORD in Buffalo. And the monthly rain total was more than two inches below normal. “It’s been an amazing month.” Buffalo received 84 percent of the available sunshine for May, the highest for the month since sunshine statistics began being kept in 1891. The previous best May was 83 percent, in 1934. The average May is about 58 percent. It’s among the highest percentages for any month. "We’ve had some in the 85-86 percent range, but they’ve all been in June or July.” At 0.87 inches, it was the fourth-driest May ever. Normally in May, Buffalo gets 3.23 inches of rain.
A mere quarter-inch of rain fell in Rochester last month, making it THE DRIEST MAY ON RECORD here in an UNUSUALLY rain-free, sunny month in much of upstate New York. Rochester, which averages 2.92 inches of rain in May, got a 0.24-inch sprinkle. The previous low was 0.36 inches in May 1977.

ALABAMA - 2007 already is the DRIEST SPRING ON RECORD in much of north and central Alabama, and significant rainfall is still days away. The arid conditions are a particularly ominous sign since the area normally gets about one-third of its annual rainfall from March through May. Many crops already are on the verge of ruin because of the lack of precipitation. A shady cypress swamp in the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge dries up every summer, but not in May, as happened this year. "It is pretty UNUSUAL." Freezing weather that killed crops in mid-April gave way to weeks of unseasonably hot and record-setting dry weather that shows no sign of letting up. Millions of acres of crops and lawns that should be soft and green are instead reedy and yellowing. The temperature is in the upper 80s, and smoke from fires in Georgia and Florida has reduced visibility to less than two miles at times. The haze blots out the sun. The drought gripping the northern two-thirds of the state is as bad as any in the nation, with rainfall deficits of a foot and even more. Rainfall in Huntsville is about 10 1/2 inches below normal for the year, but that's good compared to other places. Anniston is more than 16 1/2 inches low, and Tuscaloosa is nearly 18 1/2 inches below normal. Statewide, about 600 wildfires burned 8,800 acres during May. Only 100 or so fires occur during a typical May. Without significant rain the drought in north Alabama could soon be classified as "extreme," a once-in-50-years event.

GEORGIA - May was THE DRIEST ON RECORD IN THE LAST 107 YEARS in the city of Macon. During the month of May, only a trace of rain was reported at the airport. The previous record low rainfall for May occured in 1918 when just .11 of an inch of rain fell.

RUSSIA - THE FIVE HOTTEST DAYS IN MOSCOW'S RECORDED HISTORY could be summed up by a single image: an ice-cream truck stuck in melted asphalt on a Moscow street. Russians were caught by surprise by the UNPRECEDENTED stretch of hot weather as the mercury climbed to the high 80s and 90s, triggering minor power failures, causing sunstrokes and leading to a spate of drownings.
The last day of spring in Moscow has seen ANOTHER TEMPERATURE RECORD BROKEN, the sixth this month. The mercury in the capital topped 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 degrees Fahrenheit) by midday, beating the previous record for May 31 of 30.6 degrees Celsius (87 degrees Fahrenheit) set in 1889.

6/1/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Most of Queensland, NSW, Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania all had their WARMEST MAY ON RECORD. "This is yet another sign of the widespread climate change that we are seeing unfold across the globe." Sydney had its WARMEST MAY SINCE 1958, but could have hit an all-time high if it wasn't for a spell of cool nights in the past week. In Canberra, it was THE WARMEST MAY IN 68 YEARS worth of records. Brisbane had its WARMEST MAY IN SEVEN YEARS. The longest-standing record broken was that of Melbourne itself which had its WARMEST MAY IN 152 YEARS OF RECORDS. In Tasmania, Hobart had its WARMEST MAY IN 124 YEARS of records. "Normally by this time of year, Tasmania would be well and truly in the grips of Southern Ocean cold fronts. While the fronts have been moving through fairly regularly over the last few weeks, they have not had the very cold air associated with them that would be typical at this time of year."

FLORIDA - Already dangerously dry, Lake Okeechobee dropped to a RECORD LOW, and while some rain is almost certain over the weekend, a long, wet summer will be needed to reverse the drought. The water level, which reached 8.97 feet above sea level Wednesday, matching the record set on May 24, 2001, fell to 8.94 feet overnight. "As these extreme weather conditions continue, we are focused on the challenges ahead to best protect drinking water supplies, meet agricultural needs and safeguard our natural resources." Months of low rainfall, measuring only 40 inches in the past 18 months, have been extreme enough to qualify the drought as a ONCE-IN-A-CENTURY EVENT for the 730-square-mile lake, which is the primary backup water supply to 5 million South Floridians. More than 200 days have passed since any water flowed into the lake from the Kissimmee River to the north, which feeds it.

NEW YORK - The city of Rochester was just hours away from closing the books on its DRIEST MAY ON RECORD. Barring any torrential rains before midnight, Rochester will have received just a quarter-inch of rain for the month, making it the driest since the mid-19th century when the government began keeping weather records. The good news for western New York is that there was so much precipitation in April, the soil is able to handle the dry conditions - for now.

KENTUCKY - So far this month, some areas have had less than an inch of rain; the norm is about 4½ inches. "Along with that dry spell, there's been warming temperatures as well." The result is weather that feels more like July than May: hot and dry, with temperatures almost 10 degrees above normal. All of Kentucky is in either mild or moderate drought. Some areas are being asked to conserve drinking water, and rainfall in southern Kentucky is 6 to 9 inches below normal. The eastern third of the state has been in a state of moderate drought for two weeks. The culprit is a high-pressure system in the west, hovering over the Missouri River Valley, keeping rain at bay. As that system breaks up, they'll see cooler temperatures and more rainfall. The high-pressure system is "shunting all the weather north of the Ohio River. Everybody that's getting (rain) is north of the Ohio River." While such a dry spell is not unusual, it came earlier than normal this year - right in the middle of the growing season. Crops are taking the biggest hit, especially young trees, pasture crops, and those with shallow roots. "It's going to make the crops later in being ready, and it will hurt the yield."

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5/31/07 -
RUSSIA - HEAT RECORD BROKEN FOR THE FOURTH DAY IN A ROW - Moscow has BROKEN THE ALL-TIME TEMPERATURE RECORD FOR MAY 30, after BREAKING THE RECORDS FOR EACH OF THE PREVIOUS THREE DAYS. The mercury reached 31.9 degrees Celsius (89.4 degrees Fahrenheit) by mid-day, beating a 116-year record of 31.4 degrees Celsius (88.5 degrees Fahrenheit) for Wednesday's date. Forecasters predict that today will also see temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit), and that yet another record could be set.

CALIFORNIA - With drought conditions continuing into another year, residents are likely to have more encounters with wild animals coming down from the hills around the town of Twentynine Palms to find food and water. They also are more likely to not find wild animals in their usual haunts at Joshua Tree National Park. A breeding bird survey along a 25-mile route, stopping every half- mile and counting everything they could see and hear for three minutes, came up with few sightings. “Usually every year there would be mourning doves at every stop.” This year there were a lot of stops where they did not see anything at all. “Even the common things were pretty scarce.” With wild animals, particularly predators, coming into town in search of food and water, “you don’t want to let your pets wander around outside unsupervised.” Predators, most likely coyotes, “may look at your dog or cat as an easy meal." Large animals have been seen outside their usual haunts. There have been a number of badger sightings, including reports of a badger moving into the White Tank Campground. “It was being semi-aggressive toward campers." In addition to bobcats, animal control has been getting calls about rattlesnakes, coach whips, scorpions, tarantulas and even owls. “The whole desert is coming alive.”

5/30/07 -
RUSSIA - Another HEAT RECORD has fallen as Russia's capital city continues to bake in unseasonable May weather, with a temperature of 32.1 degrees Celsius (89.7 degrees Fahrenheit) beating a 116-year-old maximum on Tuesday.

AUSTRALIA - Windy, wet and UNUSUALLY warm — a combination that summed up Melbourne's past 24 hours and caused widespread damage across the state. Central Melbourne was buffeted by gusts of up to 100 km/h yesterday. In the city, the wind was strong enough to shatter windows, send roof panels flying and leave some suburban residents without power for hours. Warm temperatures, combined with cloudy conditions, were responsible for the gusty winds. "These conditions are actually more typical of spring than they are of autumn." Melbourne's HOTTEST MAY NIGHT ON RECORD — 17.9 degrees — was recorded early yesterday, beating the previous record of 17.8 degrees in 1947.

5/29/07 -
RUSSIA - Yesterday was the HOTTEST MAY DAY IN MOSCOW FOR OVER A CENTURY: thermometers on May 28 read +32.9 degrees Celsius (91.2 degrees Fahrenheit), and meteorologists say that the Russian capital HAS NOT SEEN SUCH A SUSTAINED STREAK OF +30-DEGREE DAYS IN MAY FOR 128 YEARS. "It's really an extreme event." Due to the heat, some Moscow businesses are being obliged to cut down on energy consumption, something that usually only happens during winter's most severe frosts. Meteorologists warn that the heat will last at least until the end of the week, when Moscow will get a brief reprieve before the abnormally hot weather returns. "For the last week – May 23, 27, and 28 – several temperature records have been broken." The UNUSUAL heat is due to a massive high-pressure system sitting over Kazakhstan. "As it revolves, it is sending hot air from Central Asia to Russia. As a result of the high-pressure system, all of European Russia is experiencing hot weather – since last week, every other city in this region has seen new temperature records set. Moscow is experiencing almost the same temperature as in Cairo or the Arabian Desert."

NEPAL - Only 27 years ago Imjha Tse Valley was filled with glaciers but due to a rise in temperature, they have melted at an average rate of 10 metres a year and formed a huge lake containing 28 million cubic metres of water. The lake is 100m deep, 500m wide and 2km long. "The lake is absolute proof of the dangerous impact of global warming in this world, and the worst consequence is in the Himalayan region." In the past few decades, there have been several incidents of glacial lakes bursting, flooding villages, causing landslides, killing people and destroying farms and houses. Over 20 glacial lakes are at risk of bursting out of moraine dams. Of Nepal's 3,000 glacial lakes, over 2,000 have gradually melted and contain lakes, but up to now there has been little study of this phenomenon. Climate change experts are concerned that glaciers formed by over two million years of snowfall are now receding faster in the Himalayas than anywhere else in the world.

WILDFIRES -
5/28/07 -
CANADA - Forest fires have reached a critical level in Quebec, especially in the northwest and north-central regions, while forcing more than 1,000 people to flee an eastern reserve. This year has been worse than usual for forest fires in the province. "To date, we've had 280 forest fires since the beginning of the season. Our five-year average is 189 fires and only 2,600 hectares, so we're quite above that."

5/27/07 -
BRITAIN - A warm spring has brought about the early arrival of some UK wildlife. Over the past few months, amateur naturalists have logged more than 24,000 first sightings of six key species of plants and animals. Members of the public were asked to record the dates they have first seen red-tailed bumblebees, frogspawn, flowering hawthorns, seven-spot ladybirds, peacock butterflies and swifts. The Woodland Trust said it was worried "because the changes are so rapid"...This has been our earliest Springwatch year, well ahead of the normal time we would have expected to see these events 30 years ago."

CANADA - Ottawa's experience on the Rideau Canal during the winter of 2007 may be considered Canada's tipping point for the idea of climate change. When the canal freezes over in winter, it becomes the world's longest skating rink. Except last winter there was no winter. The canal didn't freeze until a brief period much later in the season. Ottawa is the second coldest national capital in the world, behind only Ulaanbaatar, in Mongolia. But on Jan. 5 it was a balmy 50 degrees Fahrenheit, by far the WARMEST SUCH DATE THERE IN RECORDED HISTORY. People were out golfing, the FIRST TIME IN RECORDED MEMORY people could golf in eastern Ontario in January. The sustained summer threw Central Canada for a loop. Meanwhile, British Columbia was also left aghast, as a prolonged series of ferocious storms battered the coast and buried the interior of the province in yards of snow. The subtropical weather pattern known as the Pineapple Express drenched the coast four times in two weeks during November, accompanied by hurricane-force winds. Then a series of snowstorms hit the length of the coast in December, leaving hundreds of thousands without power for days on end. Followed by more pounding rain in early January. Victoria got three times its normal rainfall for the month. The west coast rain-forest town of Tofino recorded 10 inches in 30 hours. Vancouver's Stanley Park was the prime topic in the west, as the winds blew down huge swaths of old-growth timber and wreaked $3 million in damage. The federal environment minister pronounced the storms a direct example of climate change in action. In the blink of an eye, climate change rocketed up the Canadian public agenda to become the dominant problem in people's minds. "Little has been done to seriously address this problem which is literally threatening life on Earth as we know it." "The more timid our response is, the harsher the consequences will be." There is regional frustration on both sides of the U.S./Canada border about both national governments' stances on climate change. One thing Westerners have in common no matter where they live is a certain dubious skepticism about how they're running things back East. Schwarzenegger last week told President Bush to "get out of the way" and stop hampering California's efforts to curtail emissions or he'll go to court. A "Hydrogen Highway" network of filling stations from Whistler to San Diego is envisioned for alternate-fuel vehicles and a green ports strategy is in the works. "Out of the blue British Columbia has taken everyone by surprise. Nationally we've got made-in-Canada and made-in-America non-solutions. B.C. has stepped aside and done it on it's own, similar to California."

LITHUANIA - NEW HEAT RECORDS were registered throughout Lithuania this week as more hot weather and thunder showers are forecast for the weekend. On Tuesday, May 22, the nation’s highs were 27 - 30 degrees Celsius, exceeding the temperature records for that day at as many as 15 meteorology stations. More heat records were expected to be broken Saturday.

MASSACHUSETTS - Boston hit 92 degrees, recorded at Logan Airport. That BROKE A DAILY RECORD GOING BACK TO 1932, when it was 91. Worcester's 88 degrees tied the record, also set in 1932.

NEW ZEALAND - The balmy May weather is threatening to delay the start of the ski season. Most fields are due to open in early June, but say they have only a thin or non-existent snow base. "Traditionally we have opened in the first or second week of June but this may be a different year for us." Snowmakers are on standby for the temperature to fall low enough to start the snow-making machines. Most parts of New Zealand are over a degree warmer than average this month, with parts of Canterbury and Otago two degrees warmer than usual. If the warm weather continues, May will be on track to be the warmest in 20 years or even the warmest on record. By mid-May last year, a biting southerly had brought hail and snow. This year the southerlies have yet to really arrive and warmer northwesterly winds are dominating. Sea temperatures are also above average and the difference between actual and normal May temperatures is growing daily. It is UNUSUAL that no region is experiencing below average temperatures. Bug exterminators are in demand for fly removal, which is not usually needed by this time of year. More UNUSUALLY, in the last fortnight there has been demand for killing cockroaches, not normally a problem in the far south. Electricity demand is also significantly below last May, with demanding actually falling week by week so far this month, whereas electricity demand normally increases from Easter through to the middle of winter.

5/25/07 -
CHINA - Melting glaciers 'could flood Yangtze' - Chinese Government authorities warn that melting glaciers in Tibet could flood China's longest river, the Yangtze, later this year. Currrent meteorological and hydrological readings are similar to those in 1998. In that year, 3,000 people were killed when the Yangtze River overflowed. "We should be vigilant for a comparatively big flood on the Yangtze." If the river again rises to such levels, it would put huge pressure on areas close to the Three Gorges Dam. Vast amounts of snow have melted on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, where the Yangtze originates. Some Chinese officials have previously linked this year's high winter temperatures to man-made global warming. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned last month that global warming posed a grave threat to Himalayan glaciers. The China Meteorological Administration has forecast heavy rainfall and typhoons this summer, mainly in the southern part of the country, especially affecting the lower reaches of the Yangtze. Heavy floods could be potentially disastrous as populous cities such as Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing are situated along the river. State media earlier this month warned that China this year faced its greatest threat in a decade from typhoons, floods, droughts and other extreme weather caused by climate change.

5/23/07 -
GEORGIA - Drought could stop all outdoor water use, after ONE OF THE DRIEST SPRINGS IN RECENT HISTORY. The lingering drought - now categorized as "extreme" in 74 Georgia counties - already has led state authorities to limit outdoor water use to only a few days each week. If it intensifies, state officials could soon decide whether to limit most outdoor water usage to one weekend day or even ban it altogether. Farmers are also facing their own tough decision: Whether planting some crops is even worth the hassle. The state's $50 billion agricultural industry already is under siege by the drought and the outlook is withering. Staples such as corn, which usually soak up water around this time of the year, are particularly suffering. And Georgia peanut farmers, who typically plant the seeds in May, are holding off for now.

ALABAMA - It's being called the WORST DROUGHT IN ALABAMA IN NEARLY FIFTY YEARS. The lack of rain taking its toll on everything from drinking water in some towns to electricity production. The dry conditions are perhaps most obvious on the state's lakes and rivers. A close look at the shore line and bridges at Lake Martin reveals a 4-foot drop in the water level over recent weeks.

5/22/07 -
INDIA - Is the weather pattern changing? Monsoons last year saw deficient rains. Winters were fogless. Now summers are witnessing more rains than usually witnessed during this time of the year. Average rainfall from March 1, 2007 to May 16, 2007 was 121% more than the normal standard set for the period. In fact, every district on an average received 48.5 mm rains in said period in comparison to 22.0 mm normally. The phenomenon was widespread. Out of 57-met-districts in the state, 37 witnessed rains more than normal standard. Rainfall exceeded normals by more than 100% at 26 districts. At five places it was more than 300%. In 26-met-districts rainfall was normal or below normal. Ghazipur topped the list by receiving 104.1 mm rains which was 428% above normal. In Bahraich, Azamgarh and Lucknow, the rainfall was 396%, 360% and 330% above normals, respectively. Auraiya, Badaun, Ferozabad and Jyotiba Phule Nagar witnessed rains 229%-297% above normal standards. Significantly, the weather trend has been irregular since the start of 2006. The usual chill was missing from the winters followed by ‘humid’ summers, while the entire month of May was lashed by rains and thunderstorms. Total rainfall in monsoon was 30% less than normal, followed by winters sans fog. Now summer 2007, which is also referred to as post-winter and pre-monsoon session by meteorologists, has also been continuously lashed by rains and thunder showers over the last two and half months, giving rise to fears that monsoon might again go dry this year, if the present situation continues. The change in wind pattern led to a rise in maximum temperatures all over the state on Monday. Dry hot westerly winds dominated the climate, replacing moisture laden easterlies. It was the FIRST TIME IN THE MONTH OF MAY THAT PEOPLE FACED DRY HOT WINDS popularly known as "loo" in this part of the world. While Kanpur was the hottest by recording 42.2 Degrees Celsius maximum temperature, Lucknow was simmering at 41 degrees Celsius. While the weather has been behaving in an HIGHLY UNUSUAL MANNER over the last year, the period taken for assessment is too small to make any sweeping remarks about change in weather pattern. "Weather calculations are based on a period not less than 20 years."

5/21/07 -
NORTH CAROLINA - Fish in Townsend Lake seem confused by the unusual weather. Fishermen found that the fish were following a seemingly aimless pattern : some pre-spawn, some post-spawn, some just about to move into the spawn. "The fish were all confused. We've had weird weather this year, so they're all screwed up."

PAKISTAN - Earlier characterized as a remote threat, the effects of global warming have started emerging in Pakistan with summers becoming hotter and winters chillier, making it unbearable for human beings to adapt themselves to the sharply swinging mercury. In some areas of NWFP an unprecedented freezing cold weather was recorded this year that crippled life and its routine activities. The meteorologists' have predicted record hot weather this year which would enhance chances of health related problems apart from increasing shortages of food and water. Moreover, due to the changing global weather, the risk of heavy floods would increase that would inundate low lying areas. The world renowned meteorologists maintain that the lives of high number of people are at great risk due to the rapidly altering weather. According to the research of Psychology experts, the rising suicide ratio in the society is also caused by the altering atmosphere which is one of the major factors leading to the behavioral change in people. Likewise, meteorologists and weather experts have forewarned of acute dearth of food and water by the year 2020 and have said that 2007 would be the hottest year after 1850 when the recording of temperatures was started.

5/20/07 -
CANADA - A Manhattan-sized ice island off the northwest coast of Canada's Ellesmere Island could soon be on the move because of extraordinary conditions in the eastern Arctic - a "sentinel" of climate change, being fitted with a tracking device, that can be followed in real time as it travels the Arctic. Huge cracks and areas of open water have been appearing near the Ayles Ice Island in recent weeks. The ice island formed in August 2005 when the Ayles Ice Shelf, which was between 3,000 and 4,500 years old, cracked off Ellesmere Island and slid into the sea. It is 66 square kilometres in area and between 30 and 40 metres thick, making it the LARGEST ICE ISLAND IN CANADA IN 30 YEARS. The island could soon start moving because of the remarkable ice loss occurring in the nearby Lincoln Sea at the northeastern tip of Ellesmere. The sea is losing vast amounts of ice because the Nares Strait ice bridge, which normally forms between Ellesmere Island and Baffin Island in December - and prevents the Arctic ice from moving south, did not form this winter. The loss is also generating enormous fractures in the polar pack ice, some of them hundreds of kilometres long. Large parts of the Lincoln Sea "have essentially been ice-free for the last month or two, which is EXTREMELY UNUSUAL." Huge slabs of thick, hard multi-year ice up to 90-kilometres across have been breaking free in the Lincoln Sea and sailing south, bound for the waters off Labrador and Newfoundland. The ice is coming down and breaking up as it travels through Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea. Some chunks have been spotted as far south as Fogo Island off Newfoundland. In the past, large ice islands have migrated around the Arctic for 40 to 50 years. The big question now is whether Ayles Island, which is expected to head toward the southwest, will become stuck in Canada's Arctic islands, or head for the Beaufort Sea - a prospect that worries oil companies. The Ayles Ice Shelf was one of six ice shelves left in Canada, remnants of a vast icy fringe that covered the top end of Ellesmere for eons.

5/18/07 -
Earth's natural defences against climate change 'beginning to fail' - The earth's ability to soak up the gases causing global warming is beginning to fail because of rising temperatures, in a long-feared sign of "positive feedback," new research reveals. Climate change itself is weakening one of the principal "sinks" absorbing carbon dioxide - the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. As a result, atmospheric CO2 levels may rise faster and bring about rising temperatures more quickly than previously anticipated. Stabilising the CO2 level, which must be done to bring the warming under control, is likely to become much more difficult, even if the world community agrees to do it. "The climate clock is beginning to tick faster...The shift that has been detected in a four-year study...is ONE OF THE MOST OMINOUS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE. It implies a breach in the planet's own defences against global warming." Human society has hugely benefited from the earth's natural carbon absorption facility, which means oceans and forests take up roughly half of the CO2 pumped into the atmosphere. Although supercomputer models of the climate have for some time predicted the weakening of the ocean and terrestrial sinks, no example of it happening has actually been detected - until now. Now the research team has found the vast Southern Ocean, which is the earth's biggest carbon sink, accounting for about 15 per cent of the total absorption potential, has become effectively CO2-saturated. The level of the gas it is absorbing has remained static since 1981 - but in that time the amount emitted has grown by 40 per cent, so it has stopped keeping pace and much more CO2 is left over to trap the sun's heat. Stormier weather and stronger waves are churning up the sea and bringing natural CO2 stored there closer to the surface - which reduces the ability of the surface to absorb the gas from the air.

5/17/07 -
GEORGIA - The WORST WILDFIRES IN GEORGIA SINCE THE 1950s have blackened more than 600 square miles of dried-out forest and swampland in drought-stricken southeastern Georgia and northern Florida. Commercial timber losses are estimated to be at least $30 million. "The fire will burn in the swamp until we get a tropical depression that will drop 9 to 10 inches of rain. That's what it's going to take." And it could be months before that happens. The area probably will not get a drenching until hurricane season peaks, perhaps between August and October or November. In 2002, a wildfire in the Okefenokee burned nearly 20 square miles before rain doused it almost a year later. Hundreds of residents from cities up to 100 miles apart have fled their homes for short periods. In Florida, thick curtains of smoke have briefly closely sections of two busy interstate highways, I-10 and I-75. Fire officials worry that the outside help could evaporate once the summer wildfire season heats up in the West. "California's probably going to explode at some point this summer and states like Nevada and Colorado are in drought conditions. There is a potential for property and lives to be at risk because there's not enough fire trucks." Inside the swamp, it is so dry that water levels are as much as 2 feet below normal.

HOME SWEET HOME - A billion people — one in seven people on Earth today — could be forced to leave their homes over the next 50 years as the effects of climate change worsen. About 155 million people are known to be displaced now - this includes 25 million displaced by conflict and human rights abuses, 25 million by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, and 105 million by large development projects, with another 8.5 million now officially classed as refugees. This figure could be augmented by as many as 850 million, as more people are expected to be affected by water shortages, sea level crises, deteriorating pasture land, conflicts and famine. "A staggering number of people are being pushed aside to make way for dams, roads and other large-scale development [projects]."

5/16/07 -
ANTARCTICA - Vast areas of snow in Antarctica melted in 2005 when temperatures warmed up for a week in the summer (January) in a process that might accelerate invisible melting deep beneath the surface. A new analysis of satellite data showed that an area the size of California melted and then re-froze - THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THAWING IN 30 YEARS. Unlike the Arctic, Antarctica had shown little-to-no warming in the recent past with the exception of the Antarctic Peninsula, where ice sheets have been breaking apart. The melting occurred in multiple distinct regions, including far inland, at high latitudes and at high elevations, where melt had been considered unlikely. Evidence of melting was found up to 560 miles inland from the open ocean, farther than 85 degrees south (about 310 miles from the South Pole) and higher than 6,600 feet above sea level. Maximum air temperatures at the time of the melting were UNUSUALLY high, reaching more than 41 F in one of the affected areas. They remained above melting for approximately a week. "Antarctica has shown little to no warming in the recent past with the exception of the Antarctic Peninsula, but now large regions are showing the first signs of the impacts of warming as interpreted by this satellite analysis. Increases in snowmelt, such as this in 2005, definitely could have an impact on larger scale melting of Antarctica's ice sheets if they were severe or sustained over time." The 2005 melt was intense enough to create an extensive ice layer when water refroze after the melt. However, the melt was not prolonged enough for the melt water to flow into the sea. No further melting has been detected through March 2007. "It is vital we continue monitoring this region to determine if a long-term trend may be developing."

Climate change was a key factor in the abandonment of Cambodia's ancient city of Angkor, Australian archaeologists said. The city, home to more than 700,000 people and capital of the Khmer empire from about 900AD, was mysteriously abandoned about 500 years ago. It has long been believed the Khmers deserted the city after a Thai army ransacked it, but University of Sydney archaeologists working at the site say a water crisis was the real reason it was left to crumble. "It now appears the city was abandoned during the transition from the medieval warm period to the little ice age." To sustain a population of 750,000, the Khmers had a meticulously organised water management system, but blockages found in two large structures that controlled the water system in central Angkor suggested the network had begun to break down late in the city's history. The discoveries complemented previous field work that had led the team to conclude the city was abandoned when new monsoon patterns, brought about by climate change, had made the site unsustainable.

5/15/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Melbourne has notched up its DRIEST YEAR ON RECORD, with less than half the average annual rain falling on the city. The 40-year record was smashed at 9am (AEST) today with a measly 316.4mm of rainfall recorded in the past 365 days. Melbourne's average annual rainfall is 638.8mm. UNPRECEDENTED severe drought conditions persisted in Melbourne and surrounding areas over the last year. They have had an UNPRECEDENTED 10-year pattern of below-average rainfall, prompting a dire warning from the weather bureau. "Melbourne will need to experience significantly higher than average rainfall for sustained periods for water catchments to return to near-normal levels."

NAMIBIA - RECORD TEMPERATURES at the coast soared at the weekend, as the dreaded annual east-wind conditions set in. The mercury at Swakopmund shot up to 42.3 degrees Celsius on Friday. This may well be the highest maximum temperature officially recorded at the coast. There were only 12 days since April 1994 when temperatures rose above 40 degrees. The last record reading was 42 degrees, and that was measured in April 1999. According to these statistics, it could be safe to assume that Friday's maximum temperature was in fact the HIGHEST THE CENTRAL COASTAL AREA HAS EVER EXPERIENCED. It is the start of winter, even though it felt and looked like summertime at the coast this weekend.

U.S. - Smoke from massive wildfires in southeast Georgia and north Florida is spreading gradually into south Alabama, northwest Florida and southeast Mississippi.
FLORIDA - Strong winds were complicating firefighters' efforts to contain a gigantic wildfire along the Georgia-Florida line Monday, and officials said more north Florida residents may need to be evacuated. About 570 residents still were not allowed to return to 150 homes evacuated between Interstate 10 and the Florida-Georgia state line.

5/14/07 -
INDIA - Scorching heat in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has killed 36 people in the past 24 hours, most of them elderly and destitute. Daytime temperatures hovered around 44C in many parts of the state, with the coal mining town of Kothagudem in the northeast recording a top temperature of 48C. Weather officials said the temperatures being recorded in May were around 3C above normal. Nearly 3000 cows, buffaloes and sheep have died in the heatwave over the past 10 days.

Forced migration is now the most urgent threat facing poor people in the developing world. The effects of climate change could make at least one billion people homeless between now and 2050, says the charity Christian Aid. The group expects climate change to deepen an already worsening global migration crisis. The charity says it fears the wave of migrations will generate new conflicts in areas of the world where resources are most scarce. We hear a lot about people trying to come to European and other rich countries, but the real crisis is developing a long way away and remains little recognised. The charity points out that most of those on the move will have to remain in their own countries as internally displaced people with no rights under international law and no voice - in many cases their lives will be in danger.

The U.S. is trying to block sections of a draft agreement on climate change prepared for next month's G8 summit, according to documents seen by the BBC. Washington objects to the draft's targets to keep the global temperature rise below 2C this century and halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The draft says action is imperative. But the US's proposed revisions strike out clauses such as "climate change is speeding up and will seriously damage our common natural environment and severely weaken (the) global economy... resolute action is urgently needed in order to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions". U.S. negotiators also want to remove from the draft firm targets for improving energy efficiency in buildings and transport, and a call for the establishment of a global carbon market. "I think the real objective (of the US negotiators) is not just to keep the lid on and have nothing happen while President Bush is in office, but they are trying to lay landmines under a post-Kyoto agreement after they leave office," commented the president of the Washington-based National Environmental Trust.

INDIA - In the last two years, there has been heavy rainfall in drought-prone areas, while the flood-prone areas were left dry. Meteorologists are studying such a shift in the rainfall pattern, trying to correlate this with climate change. Admitting the impact of climate change, the earth science ministry’s annual report said, “The findings indicate minor but perceptible shifts in the monsoon trough positions and the strength of monsoon flow.” The prospects for a good monsoon have brightened as global forecasts have increased the chances of the La Nina factor by 50% against a ‘low-possibility’ prediction earlier. But the rainfall distribution is likely to be uneven with more concentration on the west coast of the country. La Nina is the below-normal cooling of the Pacific waters and is responsible for heavy rains. The four-month southwest monsoon usually begins its course in the mainland in June. This year, it arrived in the Andaman seas on May 10, a week earlier than usual.

5/13/07 -
FLORIDA - Southwest winds from former Subtropical Storm Andrea are blowing smoke from more than 70 fires in Cuba into the Atlantic Ocean and it's mixing with smoke from the fires already burning in Georgia and Northern Florida. The merging smoke created a large plume that is being pushed into the area from the north by what remains of Subtropical Storm Andrea. And with the weakening of Andrea, the National Weather Service in Tampa says the smoky conditions will stay through the weekend. Florida Highway Patrol reports two road closures due to heavy smoke. It is unknown when these roads will open.

U.S. FIRES - bushfires have scorched thousands of hectares of tinder-dry parkland and forced large scale evacuations across the country. Several hundred firefighters were deployed to tackle blazes in Florida and California, where RECORD DRY WEATHER and high temperatures have forced authorities to maintain a state of near-perpetual alert. Los Angeles is in the grip of the DRIEST START TO THE YEAR SINCE RECORDS BEGAN in 1877. The drought meant the fire season had begun earlier than usual. "We're seeing dry vegetation that we normally don't see until June or July."

AUSTRALIA - The drought's crippling grip should be broken by August. If not, the country will be in deep trouble. An analysis of El Ninos has revealed a striking pattern that should boost the hopes of farmers and city residents nervously watching dam levels. The National Climate Centre has identified 20 El Ninos - the sustained warming of large areas of the central and eastern tropical Pacific - that have brought drought to the Murray-Darling Basin in the past 107 years. "In all 20 cases," the demise of the El Nino was followed by "a period of sustained above-normal rainfall...no later than the following winter [June-August]". Twelve El Ninos were followed by significant falls in the next February to April. The rest ended with rain from May to July. "There is no historical precedent in 107 years of records for dry conditions to continue unbroken through the winter following an El Nino event." The latest El Nino ended in February, so if the 107-year pattern holds, good rain should be falling over the Murray-Darling Basin within three months. If the long-term pattern is broken, and significant rain does not fall by August, south-eastern Australia would be facing "a disaster, particularly for irrigators. Then we'd be in unexplored territory." Such an "extreme event...would obviously have a major impact on the public debate" over climate. "It would be UNPRECEDENTED. The impact on water availability would be severe in the Murray- Darling Basin." However, the report cautioned that even if above-average rain did fall this winter, dams and rivers might be slow to recover. The drought has almost 83.3 per cent of NSW in its grip, up from 78.5 per cent last month.

5/11/07 -
CALIFORNIA - A fast-moving wildfire on the southern California resort of Santa Catalina Island has forced residents and tourists to the waterfront as flames burned more than 1600ha and heavy ash fell over the area. At least one house and several small businesses were destroyed. Many residents in the main town of Avalon, which was virtually surrounded by fire, were ordered yesterday to evacuate their homes. They boarded ferries that whisked them to the mainland about 35km away. It was the second major fire this week in southern California, which is suffering its DRIEST YEAR ON RECORD. The island blaze comes just as Los Angeles firefighters gained control of a 330ha brush fire that scarred the city's Griffith Park and forced the evacuation of a wealthy Hollywood Hills neighbourhood. Catalina has had just 5cm of rain since January and residents said they had never seen such a dangerous wildfire or one that threatened Avalon. The Los Angeles fire was considered the WORST FIRE IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS IN 50 YEARS and local officials feared it was a sign of things to come. "We are facing an incredibly difficult fire season."

5/10/07 -
CANADA - the mercury climbed to RECORD-BREAKING LEVELS across southern and central Manitoba. At 5 p.m. CT, it was 31 C in Winnipeg. The city's previous record for May 9 was 30.7 C, set in 1992. Winnipeg isn't the only Manitoba locale to smash a heat record Wednesday. "We had RECORDS SET, for example, in Dauphin, at Gimli, at Swan River, at Fisher Branch, Gretna, Melita and even in central Manitoba." The town of Emerson, south of Winnipeg on the U.S. border, was Wednesday's Canadian hotspot at 31.7 C. Normal temperatures for the region are around 18 C.

Urban planning is vital to worldwide efforts to reduce greenhouse gases because cities are "polluting centres" that leave big ecological footprints. Those plans need to consider how ordinary people, including the urban poor, live every day. While cities pose a threat to their local environments, there is great opportunity for city governments to encourage citizens to change their lifestyles. "A business as usual scenario is not going to work." This year, for the first time in history, the world's urban population is expected to exceed its rural population. The transition to a more urban world will be particularly evident in Africa, which by 2030 will no longer be a rural continent but an urban one.

A UN report warns that a hasty switch to biofuels could have major impacts on livelihoods and the environment. Biofuels can bring real benefits, but there can be serious consequences if forests are razed for plantations, if food prices rise and if communities are excluded from ownership. And it concludes that biofuels are more effective when used for heat and power rather than in transport. The European Union and the US have recently set major targets for the expansion of biofuels in road vehicles, for which ethanol and biodiesel are seen as the only currently viable alternative to petroleum fuels. The prices of food, land and agricultural commodities could be driven up, with major impacts in poorer countries where people spend a much greater share of their incomes on food than in developed nations. The report warns also of the impacts on nature: "Use of large-scale mono-cropping could lead to significant biodiversity loss, soil erosion and nutrient leaching." Water is also a concern. The expanding world population and the on-going switch towards consumption of meat and dairy produce as incomes rise are already putting pressure on freshwater supplies, which increased growing of biofuel crops could exacerbate.

5/9/07 -
CHINA - Beijing is experiencing its EARLIEST SUMMER IN MORE THAN 30 YEARS. The country's meteorologists consider the season to have officially started when the mercury tops 22 degrees Celsius (71 Fahrenheit) for five straight days, which it did from Thursday to Monday. It was the earliest occurrence since 1971. The temperature rose to 33.5 degrees Celsius (92 Fahrenheit) on Monday, the highest in the capital this year and HOTTEST FOR THAT DATE SINCE 1986. Sunny weather expected in Shanghai could also mean the EARLIEST SUMMER IN 100 YEARS in the commercial hub. The average temperature across the country in April was 1 degree Celsius higher than normal. The early summer follows one of the warmest winters in decades and a sizzling 2006, China's hottest year since 1951.

5/8/07 -
WILDFIRES - U.S. - A raging wildfire in southeast Georgia – now burning into its fourth week – has consumed more than 100,000 acres, or 156 square miles, as of Monday night. The blaze was one of several burning in the area. Elsewhere, wildfires were reported in Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Michigan and Arizona, forcing evacuations in some areas as flames threatened residential areas. In northeastern Minnesota, a 16,500-acre wildfire forced about 100 people from their homes. The fire destroyed about 30 buildings.

CALIFORNIA - Ventura County was seeing RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES Monday as Santa Ana winds kicked in, bringing hot and dry air across much of the county. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning due to high brush fire danger. By 10 a.m., the temperature in Camarillo was 85 degrees, breaking a record that had stood since 1949, when the thermometer reached 84 degrees. It was a similar story in Oxnard, where it was 89 degrees as of 10:10 a.m. The record high for Oxnard for May 7th had been 85 degrees set in 1929.
Santa Ana winds normally come in the fall and are RARE for May.
Santa Ana-like winds baked the San Francisco Bay Area Monday, sending temperatures soaring toward RECORD LEVELS. The weather pattern tied or broke three local records on Sunday. Richmond recorded a high of 87, tying the previous mark set in 1969. Oakland soared to 90 degrees downtown, topping the previous high of 86 set in 1987 and topped 89 degrees at the Oakland International Airport to best the mark of 86 in 1949. Several long-standing records were being threatened early Monday including San Francisco's 93 set in 1879 and Santa Rosa's 91 set in 1916. It was unseasonably warm Monday morning at 2 a.m. when it was already 73 degrees in San Francisco - 21 degrees warmer than at the same time on Sunday.
Santa Ana's high on Monday was 99 degrees, SHATTERING THE RECORD for the date in 2004 by 8 degrees. Fullerton also set a NEW RECORD Monday at 97 degrees.

AUSTRALIA - Critics are chuckling at claims which top U.S. radio commentator, Art Bell, made this weekend, that Australian authorities are in secret emergency talks to evacuate 11 million citizens due to the crippling drought. The weekend host for the Coast to Coast radio show claimed Australians would be forced to travel to other parts of the world on a flotilla of cruise ships carrying up to 500,000 people at a time because of the dwindling water supply. And while there has been some talk of evacuating a handful of isolated country towns struggling to maintain their water supply, Bell repeated the claims of a supposed Russian scientist – who said Australia had sought the help of other western nations to consider moving its citizens to the vast wilderness regions of Alaska and Canada. He paraphrased claims by supposed Russian scientist Sorcha Faal that secret talks were already under way to evacuate half the country, following Prime Minister John Howard's grim warning that the nation's food bowl region of the Murray Darling was under direct threat.

5/7/07 -
RUSSIA - About 30 square miles of taiga burned Thursday in the Amur region of Russian Siberia. The area affected by fires quintupled in one day. But so far the fires have not threatened inhabited areas, pipelines or roads. More than 2,000 people were involved in firefighting efforts and 12 airplanes and helicopters were being used. At least 25 fires had been reported Thursday. Fires in the taiga - the coniferous evergreen forests of Siberia -- have become increasingly large and frequent in recent years. While fires are a normal part of the forest's life cycle, scientists have been concerned about the extent that climate change or human exploitation of the forest could be contributing to the increase.

BRITAIN - Heatwaves and a rise in food poisoning, flooding, ultra-violet light and ozone pollution triggered by global warming could kill thousands of people a year across Britain in coming decades, say government forecasts published this week. The document does not alter a number of key forecasts made five years ago, including some benefits of climate change such as the likelihood that warmer winters will cut the number of annual cold-related deaths by about 20,000. International researchers argue that the negative impact on human health from climate change will more than offset any benefits. Research conducted following the 2003 heatwaves that killed more than 35,000 people across Europe suggested there would be 6,350 premature deaths during such an event in Britain - the likelihood of which was put at one in four over the next 10 years. The research draws on recent assumptions that Britain's mean annual temperature will rise by 2.5 to 3 degrees centigrade by the end of the century. It predicts intense downpours, increasing the risk of injury and death linked to flooding. Citing previous forecasts, it estimates that the number of people at a high risk from flooding could rise from 1.5m today to 3.5m by 2100, and stresses the need for upgraded coastal defences, notably in East Anglia. It says that every degree centigrade rise could increase the number of food poisoning cases by 4.5 per cent - notably because of a growing incidence of salmonella infection. The report predicts an increase in skin cancers. The latest estimates from the World Health Organisation suggest that deaths and injuries will at least double by 2030. Its conservative estimates - based only on diarrhoea-related disease, malaria and malnutrition - suggest climate change is already causing 150,000 premature deaths a year globally.
Over a quarter of the UK's gardeners believe they can already see signs of climate change in their flower beds and lawns, according to a survey. Earlier blooming bulbs was reported as the most obvious sign cited by gardeners (60%), while nearly a quarter (24%) have also noticed an increase in the amount of garden waste, such as grass trimmings and prunings. Compared with previous years, 44% stated they needed to start mowing earlier in the season, while 36% noticed their lawns kept growing throughout the year and 32% said they needed to mow lawns more frequently as grass seemed to be growing faster.

CHINA - The long drought in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is threatening the survival of the country's tiny beaver population. In northern Xinjiang's Altay area, low water levels have driven the semi-aquatic rodents from the Ulungur River, their main habitat in China, to look for new homes. "We have received reports that beavers have died searching for new habitats. Some are killed by dogs and some simply die from thirst. After the snow has melted in May, the drought will make living conditions even worse." Some beavers had started digging into the banks of irrigation channels, posing a threat to local agricultural production. The population of beavers in China is about 500, even lower than that of the giant panda. Beavers usually spend winter in nests built in riverbanks where water levels exceed 1.5 meters. The Altay region had seen little precipitation since last winter and has recorded its DRIEST SPRING SINCE 1974. The water volume of the Ulungur River is just 60 percent of level at the same time last year.
Newspapers on Friday reported RECORD TEMPERATURES in Beijing which saw the mercury hit 31.9 degrees (89.4 degrees Fahrenheit) on May 3, the HIGHEST IN 40 YEARS. This followed the WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD in the Chinese capital, when temperatures rose to 16 degrees Celsius in early February, far above the normal average of around freezing. Northeastern China and the Himalayan region of Tibet also witnessed abnormally high temperatures during the winter months, which were the WARMEST IN BOTH REGIONS FOR DECADES.

ARCTIC - Global warming has sent marauding wolves into an Alaskan hamlet, killed Norwegian reindeer with unlikely parasites and may even spur suicide among Inuit youth, Arctic leaders said. Climate change has brought formerly unheard-of species - black bears, beavers and cottonwood trees - to the small community of Arctic Village, Alaska. It also changed the way wolves hunt for food, forcing them to band together in a pack and prey on dogs tied up outside villagers' homes instead of hunting solo in snow-covered areas. That is because the snow failed to come as expected last September; it finally arrived in December, but by then the ground was frozen deep and solid. "We're seeing the same changes in Norway, too, on the other side of the pole." There was more precipitation and more extreme weather, including thawing and refreezing in winter, which creates layers of ice that make it hard for reindeer to find food. There are also new parasites that manage to survive the winter to attack and kill the reindeer. Inuit people are unable to read the ice anymore. "Reading the ice" means relying on millennia of Inuit observation to determine when and where ice is safe. The changing Arctic climate has undermined that traditional system, and some Inuit have fallen through ice in places where it used to be safe.

Future eastern United States summers look much hotter than originally predicted with daily highs about 10 degrees warmer than in recent years by the mid-2080s, a new NASA study says. Previous and widely used global warming computer estimates predict too many rainy days, the study says. Because drier weather is hotter, they underestimate how warm it will be east of the Mississippi River. In the 2080s, the average summer high will probably be 102 degrees in Jacksonville, 100 degrees in Memphis, 96 degrees in Atlanta, and 91 degrees in Chicago and Washington. But every now and then a summer will be drier than normal and that means even hotter days. Simulated results for July 2085 show the average high in the southeast neared 115 and pushed 100 in the northeast. Even Canada flirted with the low to mid 90s. The study got mixed reviews from other climate scientists, in part because the eastern United States has recently been wetter and cooler than forecast.

5/3/07 -
MALTA - With an average of six hours and 30 minutes of bright sunshine a day, last month was the third cloudiest April on record – only the Aprils of 1966 and 1982 were cloudier – despite having been one of the driest. Last month, with only 5.2mm of rainfall, was ONE OF THE DRIEST APRILS OF THE PAST 84 YEARS. This amount of rain was a good 16 mm below average. With a mean wind speed of 8.1 knots (9.3 mph or 15 kilometres per hour), this year April has not lived up to its reputation for being the windiest month of the year. In fact, for 90% of the time the wind at Malta International Airport last month was in the “light to moderate” speed bracket.

WEST VIRGINIA - A new RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE for May 1 was added to the record books Tuesday in Bluefield. The old record high was 82 set back in 1962. This year, by 3 p.m. the weather service had reported a maximum temperature of 86 degrees. Temperatures across the region almost matched or even exceeded the Mercer County area’s record high.

SOUTH DAKOTA - Sioux Falls set a RECORD HIGH Sunday of 90 degrees and tied a record high Monday of 92 (set in 1992). On Sunday, it broke the record of 86 set in 1965. On Sunday, Yankton also tied a record high of 92 set in 1891.

FLORIDA - firefighters worked Wednesday to extinguish several blazes that had consumed more than 1,500 acres in Volusia, Lake and Flagler counties, forcing the evacuations of several homes. About 1,000 acres of brush and swampland were burning in Ormond Beach near the Flagler-Volusia county line. Officials expected it to get larger before being contained. Several homes in the area were evacuated but there were no immediate reports of damages. More than 550 acres had burned in a separate blaze in northeast Lake County.

CALIFORNIA - Fifty percent of normal rain, fast-drying brush and early 90-degree temperatures are creating the perfect recipe for a treacherous fire season, fire officials say. Fire season has not yet begun, but the start may be only days away. The National Interagency Fire Center is predicting increased wildfire risk in the West and Southeast. In a report released Tuesday, the fire center reported that snowpack in the Sierra is near its LOWEST LEVEL IN TWO DECADES. Higher-elevation areas in the Sierra that are usually not accessible until June because of snow are passable now, which means the Sierra is drying out earlier than normal. Unseasonably early fires already have occurred -- one near Edison Lake in the mountains east of Huntington Lake, another near Shaver Lake and two west of Coalinga. "It's definitely going to be an early year - actually last year never stopped." Some say the browning of Fresno County's foothills looks more like June than early May. "We think it's going to be one hellacious fire season with the lack of rain." Population growth in the foothills of Madera and Fresno counties also has complicated firefighting in recent years because there is more emphasis on protecting the new homes than on slowing growing blazes.

5/2/07 -
MINNESOTA - Conifer tress should be evergreen, but across northeastern Minnesota many have rusty-orange or red needles instead. The problem is called winter injury and is widespread this spring because of harsh winter conditions and the region's recent drought. Although the needles look bad, the trees and limbs are probably still alive and most of the trees will make it. It has affected many evergreens, including red pine forests and arbor vitae bushes in yards.

WISCONSIN - State forestry officials scrambled Sunday to contain more than 60 wildfires that broke out as low humidity, high temperatures and high winds converged to create the most dangerous fire conditions Wisconsin had seen in the last several years. Several structures were lost in Douglas County, and more were threatened. "I can't remember the last time we had a red flag warning over such a broad area as this. It's been one of the busiest days in a long, long time."

GEORGIA - The fires in Southeast Georgia that started after a tree fell on a power line in rural Ware County, have now spread to over 78,000 acres of federal, state, and private land. “The wildfires have taken a tremendous toll on our state, and you simply cannot comprehend the shear magnitude of this devastation until you see it firsthand."

5/1/07 -
GEORGIA - The LARGEST WILDFIRE IN GEORGIA HISTORY continued to grow Sunday in Ware County and spawned new blazes, ratcheting up resident fears the firestorm may burn through the summer. The wildfire has burned more than 82,000 acres since sparked April 16 when wind blew down a power line. Meanwhile, more than 20 smaller wildfires were burning throughout Southeast Georgia during the weekend. "Fire seems to be everywhere ... and the problem is not going away until we get a significant rainfall. With these winds and no rain, there's really nothing you can do with it."

Arctic ice is melting faster than computer models of climate calculate, (about 30 years ahead of projections) according to a group of US researchers. Since 1979, the Arctic has been losing summer ice at about 9% per decade, but models on average produce a melting rate less than half that figure. The latest observations indicate that Arctic summers could be ice-free by the middle of the century. "Some computer models show periods of great sensitivity where the Arctic ice system collapses suddenly, and that trend may occur a bit earlier; that's the best guess, but exactly when it's hard to say."

ICELAND - Temperatures hit NEW RECORDS across Iceland Sunday. In Ásbyrgi national park in northeast Iceland the temperature went up to 23°C, which is THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED TEMPERATURE IN ICELAND IN APRIL. The average temperature in Iceland in April is little over 5°C, while the average temperature during June, July and August is 10 to 15°C. Heat records were broken in other parts of the country too. The temperature in Akureyri, northeast Iceland, went up to 21.5°C, which is a record temperature there for April.

EUROPE - The month of April was so warm and so dry across Western Europe that it REWROTE THE WEATHER RECORD BOOKS IN COUNTRY AFTER COUNTRY, as hot air masses from Africa and the effects of a changing climate combined to drive up temperatures and drive away rain. April 2007 was the eighth consecutive month of higher-than-normal temperatures in Germany, and the 13th straight month of unusually warm conditions in France. April — and the 12 months ending in April — are set to be the WARMEST IN 350 YEARS that records of the Central England Temperature have been kept. In the north of France, where the unseasonable warmth has struck hardest, farmers are irrigating more than usual, raising the prospect of water shortages if hot and dry conditions continue. French wine makers also could face difficulties if a sudden cold snap ruins vines that have matured unseasonably early because of the warm spring. German farmers already are complaining about devastation from the dryness. “If there is no steady rainfall in the next ten days, we are facing a crop failure for barley, wheat and sugar beets.” They warned of rising beer prices later in the year. In Germany, April set records in three categories — it was the driest, sunniest and warmest April since comparable records have been kept, starting in 1901. The average monthly temperature across Germany was 53 degrees Fahrenheit, 8 degrees above normal; the previous record of 51 degrees was set in 1961. The sun shone for 283 hours in the month, nearly double the average. The sunniest April on record had been that of 1968, when 217 hours of sunshine were logged. In the Rhineland, in the western part of Germany, there were 15 days with temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) in April, more than are seem in a typical July. And only 7 percent of the usual amount of rain fell in the month. In the north and much of central Italy, the temperature in April was 11 to 13 degrees warmer than the historic average.

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4/30/07 -
GERMANY - A brush fire disrupted main line train services and traffic on a stretch of highway in central Germany Sunday amid a severe lack of rain and unseasonably high temperatures. Rainfall in April across Germany has been 93 percent below average, prompting the nation's Society for Soil Science to call the situation "dramatic" and warn that many farmers could be threatened. No rain is forecast for the coming week.

ARIZONA - The temperature in Lake Havasu City inched past the RECORD HIGH over the weekend. The thermometer shot to 104.6 degrees at 4:10 p.m. Saturday. The previous record was 104 degrees, set in 2000. Normally at this time of year, it would be 15 degrees cooler. A high-pressure ridge over the southwest should keep temperatures over 100 until the middle of next week; the ridge is causing hot weather over the entire region. The RECORD HIGH temperature in Imperial, Calif. was also broken Saturday, when it hit 106 degrees. The old record was 101 degrees, set in 2004. Phoenix reached 101 degrees at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, short of the record 104 degrees set in 1992.

CLIMATE CHANGE EARLY WINNERS - a mosquito that can barely fly is emerging as one of climate change's early winners. The insect, which lives in the carnivorous purple pitcher plant, is genetically adapting to a warming world. By entering hibernation more than a week later than it did 30 years ago, the Wyeomyia smithii mosquito is evolving to keep pace with the later arrival of New England winters. Along with Canadian red squirrels and European blackcap birds, the mosquito - a non biting variety found from Florida to Canada - is one of only five known species that scientists say have already evolved because of global warming. The species best suited to adapting may not be the ones people want to survive. Scientists say species with short life cycles - Wyeomyia smithii lives about eight weeks - can evolve quickly and keep up with changing environmental conditions as a result. Rodents, insects, and birds, some carrying diseases deadly to humans, are genetically programmed to win. Polar bears and whales, which take years to reproduce, are not. Species that take longer than two years to reproduce will not be able to keep up with the current pace of climate change. Some of the laggards will probably become extinct, while others will migrate to new places. Some long-lived species may be able to adjust without genetic changes; humans, for example, can move from flood-prone areas as sea levels rise. Some short-lived species may die because their environment changes too greatly for them to survive. "Rapid climate change is actually now driving the evolution of animals - that is a dramatic event." Until now, the effects of climate warming had been most noticeable in the Arctic, as glaciers melt. But dramatic changes are also being seen in northern temperate zones such as New England, where the average winter temperature has risen 4.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 30 years. Growing seasons have lengthened, winter is arriving later, and the weather has become more erratic. "The world is going to be a very different-looking place. We are going to have very different sets of organisms living together."

4/29/07 -
UNITED KINGDOM - this month is likely to be the WARMEST APRIL SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1943. The provisional mean temperature for the UK is 10.0C (50.0F), beating the previous historical high of 9.2C (48.6), recorded in 1943. Forecasters say this month is on course to set new records in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The average temperature for the UK over the past 12 months is also shaping up to RECORD A NEW HIGH of 10.4C (50.7F) Meteorologists also expect this month to be the WARMEST APRIL IN CENTRAL ENGLAND FOR MORE THAN 300 YEARS. The provisional mean figure in the region for April 2007 is 11.1C (52.0F) - that is 3.2C (5.8F) above the long-term average. The data has been compiled from observations that go into the Central England Temperature record, which covers a triangular area stretching from the west of London across to Bristol and south of Lancashire. This series, which dates back to 1659, is the world's longest running temperature series. Ecologists say the unseasonable weather could leave wildlife vulnerable if the dry spell continues into the summer. Researchers have found that spring is beginning on average six to eight days earlier than it was 30 years ago. "We have seen lots of things leafing or flowering a lot earlier that we would expect to see them appear. The most obvious sign of this at the moment is that oak trees have come out into leaf very well, but many ash trees are still quite bare." This could present problems for local food chains. "You may have a situation where an insect relies on a particular plant, and birds or other animals rely on that insect further up the food chain. If there is a breakdown in the synchrony between them then it could be disastrous."

Earth is nearing the climate change 'tipping point' - Mexican butterflies fluttering around Austin, Texas could be harbingers of a global apocalypse caused by climate change, scientists warned a congressional committee last week. Global warming is reaching a point at which flooding, pestilence, fire, disease and starvation could threaten human existence. "Human health is already being affected. Just as we're seeing birds and butterflies coming up from Mexico, human parasites and their wild animal vectors are likely to be shifting northward as well." "Glaciers are melting. Sea level is rising. Hurricanes are stronger. Heat waves are more deadly. Forest fires are more intense. Entire species are disappearing." The Earth's temperature rose more than 1.25 degree Fahrenheit over the 20th century and more than half of all plant and animal species showed a measurable response. With predictions of a further temperature increase of up to 12 degrees over the coming century, the changes will be much more dramatic, and even disastrous. "This represents a climate the Earth hasn't seen in several million years and an Earth that humans, as a species, have never seen." "For humanity itself, the greatest threat is the likely demise of the West Antarctic ice sheet as it is attacked from below by a warming ocean and above by increased surface melt." If the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets were to melt, the world's oceans would rise to where Florida and many East Coast cities would be engulfed, as would almost all of Bangladesh and areas of China occupied by 250 million people. "We are either going to solve this problem or we are going to destroy the planet. The time to act is now."

4/27/07 -
EUROPE - Since the start of April, the temperatures and dryness have SET RECORDS in parts of France and Germany. Large swaths of northern France have been so cloudless, there have been about 11 hours of sunshine a day for the last few weeks, nearly double the usual amount. There also has been a lack of rain in Italy, the Netherlands and Britain. There are fears that droughts and electricity shortages are just around the corner. For some climate-change experts, the unseasonably high temperatures are a reason for anxiety. They foresee restrictions on water use and a growing likelihood of infestations by insects and pests. "Four seasons of warm weather in a row can create quite a shock to our ecosystem." This month will probably be the warmest April on record in France. "We've had an exceptionally warm month with temperatures more than 10 degrees above the seasonal averages, and we expect the next three months to be above normal." There was barely a drop of rain in some parts of France during much of April, something that is "VERY, VERY RARE." British forecasters also say April is very likely to set a new record in terms of highest mean temperature. They predict the heat to continue. "Signals for the rest of the summer indicate another warmer than average summer." Northern Italy and pockets of central Italy experienced RECORD-SETTING heat in April. In Germany, the Wednesday edition of the newspaper Bild carried a front-page headline predicting a "Sahara summer." Temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) are predicted in some regions, including Frankfurt this weekend, and the German weather service is "quite certain" April will be the warmest, sunniest and driest since 1901, when weather monitoring began. In a sign of changes under way in Europe, clement conditions have led people to experiment with vineyards and olive groves in parts of Devon and Cornwall in Britain. Oil seed rape, the third biggest crop grown in Britain, is flowering two weeks earlier than usual and might yield a better harvest because of the sunnier weather. Around Paris the sunshine and heat were exacerbating the effects of tailpipe fumes and other emissions, and could trigger respiratory and eye conditions and other disorders. Airparif issued its EARLIEST EVER OZONE-ALERT this year on April 15, beating a record of May 30, which was set in 2003. "Everywhere looks nice" but "in the back of my mind there is a feeling that it's just not right."

AUSTRALIA - Climate change is affecting the growth of fish, with those living in warmer, shallow waters (above a depth of 250 metres / 825 feet) growing faster and species in cooling deep ocean waters (below 1000m) growing slower. "These observations suggest that global climate change has enhanced some elements of productivity of shallow-water stocks but at the same time reduced the productivity and possibly the resilience of deep-water stocks. Growth rates in the deep-water fish are slowing because water temperatures down there have been falling, apparently for the last several hundred years." The study found sea temperatures off east Tasmania had risen nearly 2C, while a southerly shift in South Pacific winds had strengthened the warm, southerly flowing East Australian Current which runs down Australia's east coast.

CANADA - VANCOUVER ISLAND - In the past year they and their salmon have experienced what global warming will throw at us in cycles of ever more extreme weather: excessive rain and wind in the winter and excessive drought and sunshine-induced high water temperatures in the summer. Take a logging road anywhere on the Island and you will find blown down forests and huge boulder run-off events that wiped out backroads, and even Highway 19 north of Sayward, creating moonscapes of rock and thousands of tons of logs. Weather events have many effects on salmon. Sockeye delay entry to rivers over 18 degrees C and they die from disease while waiting around. They die in freshwater at 20 degrees, too.

4/26/07 -
At a time when climate change impacts are accelerating, our ability to observe those impacts from space is deteriorating. Cuts in US government funding for Nasa programs will dramatically weaken scientists' capacity to monitor and understand the planet's climate. If present trends continue, by 2015 the number of U.S. Earth-observing satellite missions will be reduced by half, putting the scientific systems they support "at risk of collapse." Such a loss would severely hamper the ability of scientists to collect basic information about the Earth's climate system, to monitor changes - including those that directly affect human health, such as disease outbreaks and water contamination - and provide accurate weather forecasts. Programs involving measurements of temperature, ozone, ocean winds, water vapour, and solar radiation are among those expected to be curtailed. The substitution of more economical but less capable instruments on some missions will worsen forecasts of El Nino, hurricanes and coastal weather. Due to a series of cancelled or delayed missions, ageing satellites and instruments, and decline in funding for new projects, the nation's space-based observing programme is in disarray. A committee of more than 100 leading American scientists and policy-makers authored the NRC report. "To do the entire programme would cost the American public $2 per person per year." Yet none of the recommended new missions is slated for funding under President Bush's proposed 2008 budget. ""By 2012 we go to a 20-year low and Earth sciences goes in the tank."

GERMANY has already heated up by 0.9 degrees Celsius in the past century and could rise another 2 to 5 degrees by 2100. German meteorologists say that the country must start preparing for extreme weather that could cause numerous deaths due to global warming. Germany can expect heavy storms and intense heat waves. Germany experienced the warmest decade of the 20th century from 1990 to 1999 as well as seeing a 9-percent rise in precipitation. Farmers in particular will be forced to deal with the effects. The changing climate will also unleash greater risks for people's health, such as infectious diseases and skin cancer. As a result of the higher temperatures, Germany would be subject to more rain and less snow in winter. "German cities will increasingly become 'heat islands' and there will be a growing need for fresh air corridors into cities..We have to do all we can to ensure that the earth does not become uninhabitable."

4/25/07 -
ITALY - the government is meeting to discuss emergency measures to counter the effects of an impending drought this summer. Weeks of dry weather have followed an unusually mild winter, and with a hot season predicted, water levels in the country's reservoirs and rivers are likely to continue to plummet. The shortages could affect the production of Italian staples like parmesan and prosciutto, as crops for feeding cattle wilt and fail. For homeowners, this could mean cut-backs and even electricity blackouts.

MASSACHUSETTS - Despite torrential rains a week ago, the ground has dried out enough that RECORD TEMPERATURES, low humidity and strong winds combined to promote a rash of brush fires in the region. The state Bureau of Forest Fire Control issued a "red flag warning" for brush fires in Western Massachusetts. At Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, the temperature reached 87 degrees in mid-afternoon, beating the previous record for the date, 83 degrees, set in 1996. Combined with humidity that has been between 10 and 20 percent for the last several days, and winds that frequently gusted to 20 mph yesterday, any spark or flame in the outdoors has the potential to start a brush fire.

CANADA - A one-day temperature spike had Maritimers sweating Monday, but weather experts credit a system of tropical air rather than a sign of disastrous climate change. Each Maritime capital BROKE ITS TEMPERATURE RECORD on Monday by a significant margin. Charlottetown, Halifax and Fredericton all experienced temperatures in the mid- to high-20s, shattering some long-standing records. Fredericton's 28.1 C broke the 1984 record of 22.6 C; Charlottetown's 21.7 C bested the 1956 high of 15.6 C; and 23.7 C in Halifax topped the old mark of 18.3 C, a record set in 1913. Other Maritime areas saw record temperature jumps Monday. Czernkovich noted Miscou Island, N.B., which was 21.6 C, had a previous record high of 13.9 C.

The earth is approaching a collision with climate change that can‘t be avoided, but that doesn‘t mean we shouldn‘t try to make the hit as soft as possible, says a leading global environmentalist. “I think if you‘re driving an automobile on the freeway, and you realize you‘re going to have a collision or hit something, to not put on the brakes would seem to be madness. Because the chances are if you can slow the impact, you‘ll be less damaged." Scientists are worried about climate change because they‘ve seen what it can do. “(We) know damn well what climate change does, it wreaks havoc on this planet. Thus far, no species, really, has escaped the consequences of climate change - including our own." Two million years ago, climate change forced our ancestors to use tools, and to start bonding over the need to share food. Ten thousand years ago, we were forced to begin growing crops and breeding animals. “This climate change that has beset us - whether we caused it or not - is irrelevant. It‘s going to have a hell of an impact. We need to start figuring out how we‘re going to cook with it and what it‘s going to mean." Tropical regions such as Africa may be the first affected, while cooler regions such as Canada will be alright for longer. Within a decade Mount Kilimanjaro will have no ice for the first time in 10,000 years. Rising sea levels could put almost one billion people out of their homes in 50 years. “What is Canada and the United States and Britain and Europe going to do about a refugee population of a billion people? Who‘s going to feed them? What‘s going to happen to security? These are real issues."

4/24/07 -
Archaeologists are uncovering a huge prehistoric "lost country" hidden below the North Sea. This lost landscape, where hunter gatherer communities once lived, was swallowed by rising water levels at the end of the last ice age. This large plain disappeared below the water more than 8,000 years ago. It serves as a warning for the scale of impact that climate change can cause. Human communities would have lost their homelands as the rising water began to encroach upon the wide, low-lying plains. As the temperature rose and glaciers retreated and water levels rose, the inhabitants would have been pushed off their hunting grounds and forced towards higher land - including to what is now modern-day Britain. "In 10,000 BC hunter gatherers were living on the land in the middle of the North Sea. By 6,000 BC, Britain was an island. The area we have mapped was wiped out in the space of 4,000 years." "At times this change would have been insidious and slow - but at times it could have been terrifyingly fast. It would have been very traumatic for these people."

GUYANA - A disastrous impending drought is expected to soon be upon them. On their low-lying agricultural bread-basket coastland a drought of the scale implied is a fairly RARE occurrence. Their weather recently has been doing at least one strange thing. Miles from the low-lying coastal area, flood conditions at Lethem were such that some citizens were forced to leave their homes - this was thought to be a quite unlikely happening because it is an upland area. Those who feel disinclined to abandon their homes in coastal areas and seek safe accommodation higher up, due to the coming predicted sea level rise, have been advised to build their homes of prefabricated building panels. The panels would be joined by bolts and nuts and bolted down on square reinforced concrete foundation pads. The normal rate of increase in height of any flood waters, it is estimated, will be slow enough to allow the unbolting, dismantling of the entire building and stacking of the panels and pieces on a truck to be transported out of the low lying areas.

BRITAIN - Nature is springing its surprises as Britain basks in another spell of sizzling sunshine. Legions of tiny frogs have been spotted among colorful flowerbeds across the UK. The pond-dwellers have rushed through the tadpole stage to become fully formed MANY WEEKS EARLIER THAN ANY PREVIOUS YEAR. Hordes of ducklings are taking their first tentative paddle out on the pond. Flowers burst into bloom weeks before they were expected. Wasps and bumble bees, not usually spotted before June, are out in force. Experts have warned that the recent UNUSUAL weather trends are a further sign of global warming, leading to fears of future droughts and climate upheaval. April could still prove to be the warmest and driest since 1949. The South-east, where hardly any rain is expected all month, could eclipse the record lack of rainfall in April 1912. Only 1.3mm of rain fell at Kew compared with average rainfall of around 55mm for this time of year.

MASSACHUSETTS - A RECORD HIGH of 86 degrees was reported in Boston on Monday, and the dry conditions raised the risk of brush fires.

4/23/07 -
WISCONSIN - DNR officials warn that northern Wisconsin’s drought could set off a record number of spring fires. Foresters fighting wild fires in northern Wisconsin are already having a busy spring. “What was UNUSUAL about [Friday] was the very low relative humidity that we experienced; we had relative humidity in the low 20% and very active fire behavior...It was fortunate we didn’t have high winds to push around the fires.” With northern Wisconsin facing a third year of drought, the DNR is prepared to face fires that could be in proportion to the record number in the spring of 1977. “In that year just four large fires in Wisconsin consumed over 49,000 acres in the spring of 1977 and that was in the late April and early May.”

PENNSYLVANIA - UNUSUAL weather conditions for the past ski season created challenges for area ski resort operators. “Bizarre is the word that applies to the past winter. It was EXTREMELY UNUSUAL. This is my 15th year at Hidden Valley, and I had never seen anything remotely like this winter. It was quite an aberration.” Warmer-than-normal temperatures in December and January created havoc for ski operators by wiping out much of their holiday business. Temperatures were 8 degrees higher than normal for that period. Once winter weather finally arrived in mid-January, skiing conditions were good.

CALIFORNIA - on Friday, RECORD LOW HIGH TEMPERATURES were reached for the day when a cold Pacific storm brought a season-high half-inch of rain to downtown Los Angeles and snow to the Southland mountains. Until the storm hit, it was the LONGEST INTO A SEASON DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES HAD GONE WITHOUT A DAY OF AT LEAST A HALF-INCH OF RAIN. The previous record was March 2, set during the 1923-24 season. The season begins July 1 each year. So far, this is THE DRIEST SEASON TO DATE, with 3.17 inches - nearly 12 inches below the normal rainfall to date. If fewer than 1.25 inches of rain fall by the end of the day on June 30, it will be the driest season since records began being kept in downtown Los Angeles in July 1877.

4/22/07 -
U.S. - more than 60 percent of the nation now has abnormally dry or drought conditions, a climatologist says, and there is actually plenty of water to drink. In the United States the definition of "drought" has become watered down and muddied as policy makers fight over decades-old water rights and homeowners remain largely oblivious to the potentially severe shortages that loom. Drought is one of the planet’s most complex natural hazards, and exactly when a drought begins and ends is difficult to determine because it tends to develop gradually. The average annual precipitation for Phoenix, Arizona, is about 8 inches, but since 1995, the city’s rainfall has been more than 20 inches below normal. In the East, where rainfall is generally much more plentiful, drought comes quicker and is declared when rain hasn’t fallen for a few months. By contrast, South Florida is currently in the grip of a severe drought due to less-than-normal precipitation. The region would need an estimated six weeks of steady rain for water levels to return to normal. In the Southwest, even after rains, major reservoirs may not return to their full capacity. Because many urban areas in the Southwest, with the exception of Las Vegas, have multiple sources of water (from local reservoirs, the Colorado River and groundwater), residents sense that they are virtually immune to droughts. “That redundancy of supply has gotten the major urban areas through a string of really dry years." But recent population booms in rural areas, where people often depend on a single source of water, are causing problematic shortages. Allotments of water from the Colorado River, a major source of water for many Western states, were made during the 1920s, one of the region’s wettest periods this century. So now there are more claims to the water than there is water to go around. Water shortages will affect many areas of the United States and the world, leading to “water wars” between states and countries if global temperatures continue to rise throughout the next century. According to a recent study, over the coming century the Southwest will essentially transition into a state of “perpetual drought” due to the effects of global warming. This prediction leads to the questions of whether the worsening arid conditions of the Southwest should be called a drought or whether the regional climate is changing.

The U.S. government, insurer of last resort, faces a potential payout of at least $919 billion under a worst-case scenario of flood and crop losses due to global warming, according to a report. It recommends an analysis of the potential long-term implications of climate change for federal flood and crop insurance programs. Droughts, hurricanes, flooding and other factors of climate change are now considered in the risk calculations by many large private insurers. But the government's flood and crop insurance programs "have done little to develop comparable information." The main cause of catastrophic losses for the crop insurance program is drought. (several interesting interactive global warming links, slide shows)

FLORIDA - Almost half of South Florida's golf courses were cited for failing to meet drought-induced water reporting requirements. If the district discovers that a golf course used more water than allowed, it could be subject to fines up to $10,000 per day. Golf courses, like homeowners and other businesses in southeast Florida, have been under water restrictions since March 22. While residents are limited to watering yards twice a week, golf course operators can water playing areas at will but must lower their use by 30 percent. Golf courses claim about 3 percent of the water used each day in southeast Florida. About 60 percent of the region's water supply goes to public consumption, with about half of that used to irrigate landscaping.
Of the 50 U.S. states, Florida will be experiencing the fastest noticeable climate change, according to new studies. Because of its low elevation, long subtropical coastline and the bulk of the people living close to the seashore, rising ocean levels and violent weather patterns will affect them more than any other state. Unless Florida reduces emissions and adapts: cities will have to shell out big bucks for seawalls and flood-control structures; agriculture will be hurt by drought; insurance companies will refuse to provide coverage in areas vulnerable to greater storm damage; coral bleaching and acidic seas will devastate sport and commercial fishing. Sea levels are rising twice as fast as early computer models predicted. New calculations are estimating a three-foot rise by the end of this century. "A real concern is that the models are underestimating the rate of rise." The Florida Keys, tiny islands just a few feet above sea level, are the most vulnerable. Since 1930, the ocean has risen about nine inches around Key West. On a barrier island, such as Miami Beach or the Florida Keys, a one-foot rise could put water 200 to 2,000 feet inland. Beneath the Florida Keys, a lens of fresh water covers the salt water. As the seas rise, they push the fresh water up, especially in times of drought. As the salt water rises, the roots of trees that thrive in fresh water are then in salt water. Rising seas also threaten South Florida's underground freshwater drinking supply. "But it's not all doom and gloom. If I believed that, I'd shoot myself. When you take an action, a system puts down a new memory. From my perspective, [halting climate change] is about lag time, not doom and gloom."

Climate change shifts sheep shape - Climate change could have an impact on animal evolution and ecology, scientists believe. A 20-year study of Scottish sheep found weather patterns were driving changes in body shape and population size. Harsh winters led to larger sheep, which brought about changes in population size, yet in milder winters this effect was not seen. over the years, winters have been getting a little bit better; and as "Winters have got better, we have found there is not as much natural selection for large animals as we saw in the past, as there is less advantage to being big." Environmental factors are driving evolutionary and ecological change, and researchers predicted that as the climate changed, and winters became less frequently harsh, the sheep would get smaller and the population size would be more stable.

4/20/07 -
GEORGIA - Firefighters made slow progress Thursday against two wildfires that have forced more than 1000 people from their homes and destroyed 18 homes as they spread. Officials say the larger fire, which began Monday when a tree fell on a power line, is now 30 percent contained.
Severe drought conditions have developed across the northwest and southeast portions of Georgia with rain deficits for the year of up to 11 inches in some parts.

FLORIDA - The threat of wildfire hangs over Florida. Anxious farmers fear drought's impact on their crops. Scientists and a growing number of policymakers wonder if this current crisis isn't just a glimpse into the weather-related challenges that the state will face in years to come. The level of alarm is highest in South Florida, where officials already are thinking about the last-ditch possibility of taking water from conservation areas to prevent long-term damage from saltwater intrusion into water wells. In the 1970s, drought led to saltwater intrusion in South Florida, and Lake Okeechobee's water supply and quality were adversely affected. Then, as now, severe drought threatened two of Florida's biggest economic engines, tourism and agriculture. The drought ended before the crisis turned into a catastrophe. But the governor formed a task force that made several recommendations, including restricting coastal development because of harmful effects on water resources. "When one considers how much development has occurred in coastal areas in recent years, it is apparent that the intent of the act has not been applied."
Almost 130 years ago, a geologist urged Congress to develop an extensive water management plan for the Midwest in the face of rapid growth. Congress ignored him, and disastrous droughts have periodically devastated that region. Drought is part of a natural weather cycle, but farmers on the Great Plains have dealt with it by pumping water from an underground aquifer to irrigate their fields. "It's the agricultural equivalent of paying your mortgage with a credit card - the bank catches up with you eventually. In this case, the water table under the Great Plains is now dropping dramatically, as much as five feet in a single year."

Whether climate change starts wars in the future is not yet clear, but it has already pitted India, China and Pakistan against the developed world led by the UK and EU. India and China, two countries that will be pressured hard to accept emission norms, argued that the Security Council did not have any "competence" to deal with the matter. The Indian ambassador rubbished the idea that climate change presented any kind of imminent security issue that the Security Council should deal with. The UK's foreign secretary said, "The Security Council is the forum to discuss issues that threaten the peace and security of the international community. What makes wars start? Fights over water. Fights over food production, land use." India and China took the opposite position, that attempts to curb economic growth would result in greater disparities and more insecurity.

History shows most societies have not been particularly competent or sensible in adapting to severe weather or climate events. In 1877 a famine hit India and killed 8 million people - most of who died not from starvation but from water-borne diseases in makeshift camps provided by British colonists. "Even the best-intentioned adaptations can have unexpected and ugly consequences." And though the U.S. government was warned about the imminence of a hurricane of the likes of Hurricane Katrina, which decimated the U.S. Gulf region in 2005, uniform building codes were not adequately enforced in the affected communities. But adapting to climate change can work if governments act quickly.

China has successfully created artificial snow in the mountainous region of Tibet, raising hopes of a man-made solution to drought and melting glaciers there. The snowfall measured one centimetre (0.4 inches) deep. "To launch artificial precipitation can help alleviate drought on the grassland in northern Tibet." They did not give details of the method used but chemicals such as silver iodide spread by aircraft or rockets are commonly used in cloud seeding to increase rainfall in arid regions. Recent Chinese meteorological studies have found precipitation is declining and temperatures rising on the Tibetan plateau, a vital hydrological region because it is the source of many major rivers that flow through China and other countries. The studies have noted the region's glaciers also were receding at a rapid clip.

THE PHILIPPINES is on its way to a major climate change catastrophe — that is, unless the government takes urgent and ambitious action to avert a disaster that will put millions of Filipinos at risk. Greenpeace issued the warning April 4 during the release of never-before seen maps that illustrate the extent of climate change impacts on the archipelago. Only 1 of the 16 regions of the Philippines is not vulnerable to a one meter rise in sea level. The regions and provinces most susceptible to sea level rise, extreme weather events, and landslides are also among those with the highest poverty incidence. The cost of the impacts of extreme weather events brought about by typhoons and increased rainfall, already in the hundred millions, is steadily rising. "The stakes are much higher than what we’ve originally imagined. The entire Philippines is a climate hotspot, vulnerable to the worst manifestations of climate change. And unless this disaster is averted, the costs in human lives and economic losses will continue to rise to catastrophic proportions." (maps showing how climate change can irrevocably alter the country’s coastline)

SEA LEVEL SURGE -
More than one billion people live in low-lying areas where a sudden surge in sea level could prove as disastrous as the 2004 Asian tsunami, according to new research. New mapping techniques show how much land would be lost and how many people affected by rapid sea-level rises that are often triggered by storms and earthquakes. Nearly one-quarter of the world's population lives 30m below sea level - the size of the biggest surge during the 2004 tsunami that pulverised villages along the Indian Ocean and killed 230,000 people. A 30m rise in sea level would cover 9.5 million sq km of land worldwide. A rise of just 5m would affect 669 million people and 5.4 million sq km of land would be lost. Sea levels are rising about 1-2mm each year, making it unlikely such a scenario would suddenly occur across the globe. But 10,000 years ago, sea levels rose 20m in 500 years - a relatively short span - after the collapse of the continental ice sheets. The impetus for the project came after the tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 underlined the devastating impact sudden sea level surges can have on those living in coastal areas. 53% of the U.S.'s population lives within 50 miles of the coastlines.

4/18/07 -
TAIWAN woke up to dusty skies on Tuesday and pointed the finger at China for generating weather seldom experienced on the normally humid and rainy island. The dusty front reached Taiwan about midnight following a Saturday sandstorm in northern China, prompting the government to warn people with compromised health about going out before pollution levels eased in the morning. Northern China generates duststorms and sandstorms almost every spring because of drought, overuse of agricultural land and topographic peculiarities. Japan and South Korea have complained to Beijing about downwind dust in their countries. China's dust seldom blows as far south as Taiwan. Local television showed Taipei 101 office tower, the world's highest building, as a silhouette shrouded in whitish brown air.

CANADA - A secret draft version of the Conservative government’s new climate change plan is even weaker than its original approach from last fall, which received disastrous reviews from numerous critics, opposition parties and environmentalists. The 13-page document, marked “secret” and dated April 13, proposes new medium-term targets that would put Canada 11 per cent above its short-term, legally binding commitments under the international Kyoto protocol on climate change. Environmental groups complained the government mixed up numbers in the draft with “doublespeak” to confuse Canadians into thinking it’s taking real action. "This document is simply a smokescreen that demonstrates the government’s unwillingness to achieve the objectives of Kyoto and to address the real environmental problems." The medium-term target is much weaker than Canada’s commitment, under the Kyoto protocol, to reduce emissions by 6% below 1990 levels, between 2008 and 2012. “This is not a target for action, this is a target for global disaster.”

VIETNAM - Mekong Delta Provinces are taking measures to protect agricultural production from a severe drought that has been drying crops to death since March. The water shortage and exceptionally dry heat have also sparked severe salinisation and forest fires in the delta, where an abnormally long dry season has not let up. Residents, farmers and provincial agencies in several Mekong provinces are dredging canals, wells and rivers to collect water for daily use. Irrigation canals in up-stream districts in Dong Thap Province are completely dry. Small-sized irrigation canals are almost exhausted and people living along the rice field embankments are facing severe water shortages. Around 500km of Dong Thap’s canals have run dry due to heat and dry weather. The dry canals have put 12,000 hectares of forest at risk of forest fires. Another 8,500 hectares of forests in Cao Lanh and Thap Muoi districts have no water and are facing high risks of fire. Some fires broke out in An Giang Province early this month, damaging dozens of hectares of forests. In Tien Giang Province, saline water has entered Cua Tieu River to reach My Tho Town, 50 km inland from the sea. The province has outlined plans to transport fresh water by barges to heavily salinised areas. Salt water has penetrated 45-50 kms inland in Ben Tre Province to Ben Tre Town, threatening thousands of hectares of orchards in Cho Lach District.

U.S. - With so many visible strikes from natural disasters grabbing the headlines, the insidious nature of a drought makes it easy to overlook. Unfortunately, there's no doubt drought conditions can be just as disastrous and they are quietly spreading through much of the nation West of the Mississippi. Persistent drought conditions in the southwest are spreading north and further west. With the greatest areas of "severe" and "extreme" drought conditions confined largely to the U.S. southwest's Arizona-California-Nevada area (and to a lesser extent, areas in the High Plains), moderate drought conditions and abnormally dry areas also now include most of California and an area from New Mexico, Oregon, and the Canadian border at Montana and North Dakota - including all of Hawaii and parts of Alaska. With some portions of even the hurricane-ravaged southeast experiencing drier than normal conditions to extreme drought conditions, some 40% of the nation's land mass is wringing out to some degree. "Water resources are already stressed, independent of climate change, and any additional stress from climate change or increased variability will only intensify the competition for water resources." The "Top 5 Actions" to take to save water.

ARCTIC - UNUSUAL developments in the Arctic (and elsewhere) are suggestive of more climate change to come. For example, Inuit elders are now complaining of the increased exposure to ‘sunburn.’ The largest increases in UV radiation occur in the spring, and this generation of Arctic dwellers may be exposed to 30 percent more UV radiation than their elders. Heat-trapping greenhouse gases may be warming up the North Pole at an accelerated rate.

Ethanol vehicles may have worse effects on human health than conventional petrol, US scientists have warned. A computer model set up to simulate air quality in 2020 found that in some areas ozone levels would increase if all cars were run on bioethanol. Deaths from respiratory problems and asthma attacks would increase with such levels. The European Union has agreed that biofuels should be used in 10% of transport by 2020. "By comparison, converting all vehicles to battery-electric, where the electricity is from wind energy would eliminate 10,000 air pollution deaths per year and 98% of carbon emissions from vehicles." "The question is, if we're not getting any health benefits, then why continue to promote ethanol and other biofuels?" Any foodstuff used for fuel is taken out of the food chain, in a world where many people are starving.

4/16/07 -
BRITAIN - Homes across Britain are in danger of being overrun with fleas because of the unseasonal hot weather. If left untreated just one single female flea would explode into more than 100,000 fleas within 16 weeks. Such an infestation not only causes great discomfort for animals but puts children and adults at risk from flea bites and potentially contracting tape worm. Pet product retailers have reported increased demand for flea-beating products since the mini heatwave began. "Products are flying off the shelves and we are working hard to keep up with demand. This is COMPLETELY UNPRECEDENTED - we have never seen such demand so early in the year."

MINNESOTA - The effects of climate change seem to be showing up in the birds here. Cardinals, which were once rare up here, are now common, and are even seen much farther north. And once-common birds that are accustomed to colder temperatures, such as pine siskins and redpolls, are now seldom seen. "There must be some kinds of changes going on." The threat to forests is a sign that climate change has arrived, and it could have many other effects more directly tied to people, such as more pests and health problems. "All of us have an investment and a stake in all of the kinds of services that a healthy forest will provide us with." If climate change is rapid enough, it could nearly destroy forests or at least radically change them. "Think of that - they're gone in five to 10 years - this is not futuristic stuff."

A recent FOX News poll showed 77 percent of Americans believe climate change is happening and of those, 46 percent think it's caused by humans and 17 percent think it's normal. Another 30 percent say it's a combination. Only 45 percent believe they can do anything to stop the warming, the poll found. But most Americans are already doing something, such as buying energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs. (Go to the site for some other simple ideas that you can do.)

4/15/07 -
EUROPE - Southern Europe will suffer more than the north from climate change, with farmers there struggling to keep crops alive because of lack of rain. Although countries in the north will have milder winters and warmer summers, they will also face much more frequent flooding and erosion of their coasts. Crop productivity, if current trends to global warming continue unabated, “is likely to increase in northern Europe and decrease along the Mediterranean and in south-eastern Europe.” Shortages of water, largely due to much drier summers and disappearance of glaciers feeding south-running rivers, will bedevil southern Europe, with its already semi-arid climate threatening farms and forests.

ALASKA - unexpected storms are already hitting Alaska. Scientists, talking about some unexpected consequences of climate change, said that in recent years, pilots flying over the ocean have become more wary of navigating through clouds. Clouds that posed no danger in the past because they were composed of ice crystals are now composed of cold water. The cold water can freeze on a plane, causing failure. Either the pilot has to find a way to duck the cloud or it's a "no-go" event, meaning that a flight is canceled. On land, the financial costs of climate change could be staggering. Maintaining roads and bridges damaged by melting permafrost or floods is estimated to cost billions over the next 30 years. Engineers can fix the problems as they occur, but the changing climate presents a planning conundrum. Engineers can't predict how the coastline will change due to the increasing storm damage. And they don't know how melting permafrost will affect a specific road or bridge. The engineers need to obtain better information on how changes to the land and water could affect the state's infrastructure. North Slope oil companies have been dealing with climate warming since 2003. The winter oil exploration season was cut in half due to warming temperatures and environmental restrictions that curtailed travel on the tundra. The shrinking of the Arctic Ocean's ice cap could create shipping lanes and make Alaska's natural resources more accessible to Europe. But reduced sea ice is causing massive damage in coastal communities because it no longer provides a buffer to damaging ocean waves. Nowadays, if the wind blows at 30 knots in Barrow, you need a gravel berm to protect the roads. That wasn't the case in the past. Not only are coastal Native villages at risk, but the sea-level rise is causing saltwater intrusion in low-lying rivers in the Yukon-Kuskowkim region. The National Weather Service is also recording more variable and unpredictable weather. Though Anchorage and Fairbanks had near record snow years this winter, the snow is melting very rapidly. Rapid melt off doesn't penetrate the ground but instead flushes into the streams and rivers. Fisheries are another economic engine that could get swamped. Alaska's fisheries provide half of the country's seafood. It appears that some commercially important fish species like flounder, cod and pollock are expanding north, and crab habitat is shrinking. Seals, walruses and birds that forage or use sea ice in specific spots are encountering problems.

U.S. - The western United States has experienced increasing drought conditions in recent years – and conditions may worsen if global climate change models are accurate – yet the country is doing little to prepare for potential catastrophe. The U.S. should consider a national drought policy to help achieve sustainable water for drinking, agriculture and fisheries, said the scientists at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They also pointed out the need to manage water supplies to protect environmental values and to protect urban property from sea level rise and extreme weather events. Most western rivers and streams are more dependent on snowmelt for sustained flows than regular rainfall – and declining snow packs have already become an issue throughout much of the West. "We're already seeing snow packs dwindle and spring runoffs coming earlier and earlier. The dry summers that we've experienced recently may pale in comparison to what could happen in the near future. There is a kind of domino effect as temperatures warm. Precipitation that would have fallen as snow will come as rain and run off more quickly. Spring runoffs begin earlier. Summers lengthen and evaporation increases." "Providing adequate supplies of clean water is a challenge when there is normal precipitation, and extended times of drought and water shortages create further stresses for our water systems. Yet in marked contrast to the myriad federal programs that report, prevent and mitigate the damage of other extreme events – like floods, hurricanes and tornadoes – we accept drought's effects as an unavoidable natural hardship." It is "long past time" to integrate climate change into water planning and management. "Climate change is a reality, and we must begin planning for those impacts that will be unavoidable. We must do a better job of evaluating the potential for water efficiency and conservation in planning for future needs. And new ways of thinking about supply are needed, including water reuse, conjunctive groundwater and surface water management, and smart desalination."
UTAH - Abysmal may be the best description of the spring runoff, with no part of the state retaining more than 50 percent of the typical snowpack for this time of year. For some places, "it's a NEW RECORD-LOW SNOWPACK." In southeastern Utah and on the Sevier River runoff area, the snowpack now is as bad as in 1971. Elsewhere, it's as bad as it was in 1977, "a nasty, nasty year, and we'd rather forget it." Most of Utah's drinking and agricultural water is impounded during the spring runoff. With little runoff, the state goes into drought-like conditions. Reservoirs may not all fill, and farmers may find themselves unable to plant as many crops as they'd like. Already, four weeks early, the runoff has peaked in several places, and without raising streams and rivers by much. "We're tanked, and it's heading south." Not only was the winter snowpack skimpy this year, but warm weather started the snowmelt earlier than usual. During March temperatures were 10 degrees to 15 degrees above normal for "almost all of the month." Luckily, most of the state's major reservoirs are well over half full. The reason is that for the past two years, the runoff has been good, allowing reservoirs to inch up.

AUSTRALIA - In March, a City of Greater Bendigo expert warned that Bendigo's buildings are cracking up under the pressure of the drought. Many local brick and masonry structures are susceptible to cracking because of shrinking soil around their foundation. There is a crack in the landmark Sacred Heart Cathedral - about one metre long and three centimetres wide, it has appeared on the parapet on the western lantern tower. "Inconsistent soil movement under a large structure can cause a building to crack. All large buildings will move and fracture to a certain extent, but the separation on the cathedral has moved beyond what could be considered normal. I will certainly recommend someone with the appropriate building knowledge take a look at the crack. This definitely has the potential to become a safety concern." Soil movement is not only a Bendigo issue, but has affected large buildings worldwide. If ignored, sections of an affected building can collapse.
Insurance claims for vehicles colliding with livestock have risen by 25 per cent in the past year as the Australian drought forces animals near roads in the search for grass. As the number of claims rose, the cost for insurers also rose - increasing by 50 per cent in the past year. "As warm and dry conditions persist across Australia, more animals are moving about to find water or food, and are coming into contact with drivers."
The worst drought in a century in Australia has forced thirsty snakes looking for water to migrate from the parched countryside into urban areas. Many of the snakes are poisonous and pose a threat to people. A 16-year-old boy in Sydney was bitten by an Eastern Brown snake and died of a heart attack. From September 2006 to January 20 this year, there have been more than 60 serious snakebite cases. In the first few weeks of Janaury at least three people had died from snakebites. The snakes are showing up in homes, gardens and even shopping malls.

4/13/07 -
CALIFORNIA - Strong winds have wreaked havoc across Los Angeles, fanning brush fires near one of the city's most exclusive neighbourhoods and knocking out power to 76,000 homes. One multimillion-dollar home was gutted and three more suffered damage, one severely, after a wind-whipped fire erupted near Beverly Hills. The winds also toppled several large trees across Los Angeles and shrouded the city's downtown skyline in clouds of dust. (photo)
Monrovia Fire Department officials recently announced that wildfires are no longer just a seasonal occurrence. In fact, in just the last two weeks firefighters were sent to Hesperia and Orange County wildfires. “These fires occurred outside the normal brush fire season, the L.A. county season does not have a season anymore.” The “normal” fire season traditionally begins April and runs through until December. “These days, wildfires occur throughout the year.” Last month the National Weather Service reported that Los Angeles experienced a RECORD LOW in rainfall, 2.4 inches, during the six month period starting last July.

NEW JERSEY - The world’s quickly changing environment is ominous, even terrifying. The overall increasing warmth throughout the United States is altering horticultural charts and bird-watching regimens. Many migratory birds over-winter in the Southern United States instead of flying farther south. Plants that traditionally sprouted in April are emerging in March. Last year, due to abnormally warm weather, cherry trees throughout Montclair blossomed in January. “Towns like Montclair are being directly affected by global warming. Down to the microbial level, everything is experiencing changes that are impossible to predict” due to increasingly disruptive weather conditions. Based on the evolution of weather patterns during the past century, there will be more intense storms wreaking more damage to greater areas of the world. A microburst, or inverted tornado, struck Montclair in 2006, resulting in much destruction in some neighborhoods and days-long disruption for many residents. “The odds of a freak storm like that are going to increase as we go into the future.” The increasingly disruptive weather might result in heat waves, increased smog or “ground-level ozone” that will worsen New Jersey’s already high asthma rate, and create political and legal consequences such as energy rationing, costly flood preparations and higher healthcare costs. In creating methods to curtail or reverse global warming and global weather disruptions - “There’s a kid in college right now who’s going to come up with new technology we can’t envision now. The personal level is important. The state and local level is where the transformation of our society is going to take place.”

AUSTRALIA - CAMELS - Australia is urgently looking to establish a "wild camel management plan" as the country's severe drought is sending camels stampeding into settlements looking for water. Camels, introduced to Australia in the 19th century, are also a threat to eco-systems as they compete with native species. Culling the animals may be the only option, experts say - a measure made all the more urgent after hundreds of camels charged into the Warakurna aboriginal settlement looking for water.

4/12/07 -
AUSTRALIA -
EELS - Declining water quality at a drought-stricken Victorian lake has resulted in the state's LARGEST EVER EEL KILL, with more than 100,000 of the fish dying over the past two weeks. Falling water levels and rising salinity are behind the significant death toll at Lake Bolac, about 200 kilometres west of Melbourne. "This may well have killed, if not all, the majority of eels in the lake." The latest eel deaths at Lake Bolac follow a spate of die-outs over the past two years at lakes across western Victoria, killing as many as 160,000 eels — including up to 100,000 at Lake Tooliorook, near Lismore, in November. At Lake Bolac, the water level has dropped to less than 20 centimetres from a historical depth of more than two metres. Salt levels have increased over the summer from a third of the level of seawater to double its salinity. The combination of high salinity, increased mud and rises in water temperatures to more than 20 degrees was making it difficult for eels to survive.
KOALAS - Extreme drought, ferocious bushfires, and urban development are killing Australia's koalas and could push the species toward extinction within a decade. "The koala's future is obviously bleak." Southeastern Queensland has the strongest koala populations in the vast country, meaning extinction in this area spells disaster for the future of the species. The biggest threat is the loss of habitat due to road building and development on Australia's eastern coast. Massive bushfires which raged in the country's south for weeks during the Australian summer, burning a million hectares of land, would also have killed thousands of koalas. Meanwhile there is the worst drought in a century, genetic mutations from decades of inbreeding in some populations, and the widespread incidence of chlamydia, a type of venereal disease which affects fertility, to further cut koala numbers. Moreover, the animals are often fatally attacked by pet dogs. The koala is seen as a flagship species, with the health of their populations serving as an indicator of the wider health of the wlidlife of the bush, including bandicoots and wallabies.
HORSES - It's crunch time for horse owners in drought-affected areas of Australia, according to a national veterinary body. Owners needed to assess if they had enough feed and water to keep their animals in reasonable condition over winter. "In many parts of southern Australia that have not yet received significant rains, there is likely to be a long winter with no further pasture growth."

U.S. -
Chicago and Los Angeles will likely face increasing heat waves. Severe storm surges could hit New York and Boston. And cities that rely on melting snow for water may run into serious shortages. When the Earth gets a few degrees hotter, the current inconvenience could give way to danger and even death. "Canada and the United States are, despite being strong economies with the financial power to cope, facing many of the same impacts that are projected for the rest of the world." "Heavily-utilized water systems of the western U.S. and Canada, such as the Columbia River, that rely on capturing snowmelt runoff, will be especially vulnerable." A temperature warming of a few degrees by the 2040s is likely to sharply reduce summer flows, at a time of rising demand. By then, Portland, Oregon, will require over 26 million additional cubic meters of water as a result of climate change and population growth, but the Columbia River's summer supply will have dropped by an estimated 5 million cubic meters. Meanwhile, just over 40 percent of the water supply to southern California is likely to be vulnerable by the 2020s due to losses of the Sierra Nevada and Colorado River basin snow packs. "Lower levels in the Great Lakes are likely to influence many sectors" and exacerbate controversies over diverting water to cities such as Chicago, and the competing demands of water quality, lake-based transport, and drought mitigation. Cities could also be at risk from high tides and storm surges. Near the end of the 21st century, under a strong warming scenario, the New York City area could be hit by increasingly damaging floods from surges, "putting much of the region's infrastructure at risk." Boston's transportation network may also be at risk from a sea level rise and the increased probability of a powerful storm surge. A 25 percent increase in heat waves is projected for Chicago later this century, while the number of heat-wave days in Los Angeles is projected to increase from the current 12 per year to between 44 and nearly 100.

4/10/07 -
In many different ways climate change is already having an impact on human populations across all regions. “Our research has found that, even after changes in wealth, inflation and population are taken into account, the financial costs of extreme weather events has been increasing by an average of two per cent a year since the 1970s. As the summary stresses, these impacts and costs are likely to continue to rise.”

As global temperatures continue to climb, every continent in the world is vulnerable to severe shifts in weather patterns and rising sea levels that could lead to drought, food shortages, heat waves and disease, according to the report adopted Friday by an international body of scientists. "No one of us will escape the impacts of climate change." The wealthiest nations won't be spared. People in cities will suffer from heat waves, flooding and other catastrophes brought about by disruption in climate patterns. "Global warming is coming so rapidly that species can't change their genetics fast enough. They have to vamoose." Species are moving toward the poles and to higher elevations. Sometimes the species have nowhere to go. Spring is coming five days earlier on average, and fall is lasting longer by about two weeks. The report recommends that nations adopt mitigation measures such as building sea walls and irrigation systems to deal with the unavoidable effects of global warming that are already happening. Nations should try to control global warming by controlling emissions through energy efficiency and green power.

AUSTRALIA - Victoria's entire agricultural landmass was drought declared for the FIRST TIME IN THE STATE'S HISTORY.

4/8/07 -
BRITAIN - The Easter weekend is set to BREAK ALL RECORDS after temperatures soared way above their average levels in April. Britain saw the highest temperatures in Europe on Friday, and the scorching conditions in London of up to 22C were hotter than in France, Spain, Portugal and even Marrakech in Morocco. If the hot weather continues, the Met Office has predicted the 1984 high in London of 23.7C could be smashed. The average UK temperature for early April is around 12C.

OREGON - Friday was Portland's warmest day so far in 2007, breaking a 22-year RECORD for the date. The temperature at Portland International Airport broke it with a high of 78 degrees at 4:20 p.m. Vancouver's high of 78 degrees broke the previous record of 76 degrees.

Mountaineers are bringing back first-hand accounts of vanishing glaciers, melting ice routes, crumbling rock formations and flood-prone lakes where glaciers once rose. Alpine climbers are worrying about the loss of classic routes and potential new lines up mountains that are melting, from the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest and the Alps in Europe, to the Andes in South America and the Himalaya in Asia. Their anecdotes often reflect what science is finding, but with stories and pictures from places where most scientists aren't able to reach. "We're going to be in one heck of a mess, I can guarantee that...Everything is changing, minute after minute; nothing is the same."

TEXAS - The trend toward a drier, hotter southwestern U.S., including all of Texas, probably has already begun and could become strikingly noticeable within about 15 years. Drought conditions are expected to resemble the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s and Texas' worst-ever drought of the 1950s. Unlike those droughts, however, the new conditions won't be temporary. "This time, once it's in, it's in for good." Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, are HIGHER THAN AT ANY TIME IN THE PAST 650,000 years, and probably higher than in the past 800,000 years. All of Texas would receive significantly less rain, with conditions generally becoming drier toward West and southwest Texas. Parts of New Mexico, Arizona, western Mexico, the Yucatan peninsula and nearly all of Central America would see extreme drought. Past droughts such as the Dust Bowl and the 1950s drought were driven by identifiable and natural short-term temperature variations in the Pacific Ocean and sometimes in the Atlantic. The perpetual drought conditions foreseen in the Columbia study, by contrast, result from planetary-scale changes driven by higher temperatures around the globe. During 2006-07, a massive switch in Texas from growing cotton to growing corn for ethanol in gasoline is boosting irrigation needs by the equivalent of "a large lake."

NETHERLANDS - Experts now believe the main danger facing the Netherlands from global warming is not rising sea water but the threat of inland flooding. Although the sea level is expected to rise 1.5 metres, the country’s dykes and coastal defences are considered by most experts to be strong enough to cope. But the higher level of the sea means the river Rhine, which flows from Switzerland to Rotterdam, will not be able to release enough water into the sea. Nor will the Rhine be able to cope with surges in water levels caused by melting glaciers and storms. This means Rotterdam and other low-lying areas are particularly vulnerable to flooding. To remove the threat, the Netherlands should divert the Rhine towards the Zealand delta or to the IJsselmeer – the lake that was once an inlet of the North Sea. ‘There is no reason to panic, but we have to think about the future after 2100.’ Some two-thirds of the Dutch population lives below sea level.

4/6/07 -
U.S. - the "dust bowl", a Depression-era environmental disaster that drove 500,000 people from the southwestern American states, may soon return, US scientists have warned. The same area is “expected to dry up notably in this century and could become as arid as the North American dust bowl of the 1930s.” The process may already be under way. “The recent prolonged drought (in that area) is probably the beginning of the climate change.” The more arid climate will be UNLIKE ANY CONDITIONS THAT EXIST ON RECORD FOR THE AREA, which covers the southwest of the US and parts of northern Mexico and will leave the American Southwest in perpetual drought for the next 90 years. Unlike that area's recent droughts, which were caused by sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean know as El Nino, “the new aridity is caused by a poleward expansion of the subtropical dry zones.”

4/5/07 -
Earth's dusty neighbour Mars is grappling with its own form of climate change as fluctuating solar radiation is kicking up dust and winds that may be melting the planet's southern polar ice cap, scientists said on Wednesday. Researchers have been watching the changing face of Mars for years, studying slight differences in the brightness and darkness of its surface. These changes in brightness have been generally attributed to the presence of dust, but until now their effect on wind circulation and climate has not been clear. Variations in radiation from the surface of Mars are fuelling strong winds that stir up giant dust storms, trapping heat and raising the planet's temperature. The red planet has warmed by around 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.65 degree Celsius) from the 1970s to the 1990s, which may in part have caused the recent retreat of the southern polar ice cap. Large swaths of the surface have darkened or brightened over the past three decades. These albedo changes strengthened winds, picking up and circulating dust, creating a vicious cycle that is warming the planet.

4/3/07 -
People around the world have been reporting the odd weather changes they are observing.

4/2/07 -
CALIFORNIA - Nature is pulling a triple whammy on Southern California this year. Whether it's the Sierra, the Southland or the Colorado River Basin, every place that provides water to the region is dry. It's a RARE and troubling pattern that, if it persists, could thrust the region into what researchers have dubbed the perfect Southern California drought - when nature shortchanges every major branch of the far-flung water network that sustains 18 million people. Usually, it's reasonably wet in at least one of those places. But not this year. The mountain snowpack vital to water imports from Northern California is at the LOWEST LEVEL IN NEARLY TWO DECADES. The snowpack in the eastern Sierra is shaping up as ONE OF THE LOWEST SINCE THE START OF RECORDKEEPING in 1940. The Los Angeles area has received RECORD LOW RAINFALL this winter. And the Colorado River system remains in the grip of ONE OF THE WORST BASIN DROUGHTS IN CENTURIES. Ancient tree ring records indicate these droughts can go on for a couple of decades - much longer than anything experienced in modern times. The western mega-droughts that occurred between 900 and 1300 AD took place during a warming period that drove up temperatures in the western Pacific.
Los Angeles is going through its LONGEST DRY SPELL IN AT LEAST 130 YEARS, fueling fears of rampant wildfires which have plagued the US west coast in recent years. "The rain season is currently the driest to date in downtown Los Angeles since records began in 1877." The city had received just 2.47 inches (6.27 centimeters) of rain since July 1, 2006, far from the normal precipitation of 13.94 inches (35.4 centimeters) in the same period. The worst earth-scorching year on record in the United States was last year in 2006, when fires burned nearly 15.5 thousand square miles (39,957 square kilometers) - an area close to the size of Switzerland.

MOZAMBIQUE - Drought is affecting 25 of Mozambique's 128 districts as a result of irregular rainfall during the 2006/07 rainy season. Most of the drought-stricken districts are in the south of the country, and their situation is in dramatic contrast to that of the Zambezi valley which has been suffering from severe flooding.

4/1/07 -
Climate change is causing health problems to spread across every region on the planet, a panel of scientific experts said. "We're looking at impacts that can be sudden and wide scale." Climate change is allowing some insect-borne infectious diseases to creep up into climates where they don't belong, while natural resources, such as western North American forests must cope with new infestations of the Mountain Pine Beetle. Previous estimates global warming could cause up to 150,000 excess deaths do not even take into account the latest research. "This is a very conservative estimate because it doesn't look at forests and air quality and water sheds or corral reefs and marine life and livelihoods and fisheries. These ultimately affect our food and are water and our shelter, and these are more important in terms of life support systems." "The small amount of warming has already driven more than 70 species extinct and already caused the loss of massive amounts of coral reefs worldwide, so if you look into the future, even the most optimistic minimum projections of 1.8 C (rise in temperature) are more than twice what we've already seen." Climate change has also thrown off migratory patterns and growth of birds, plants and other species, because of unpredictable weather patterns in the winter and spring.

Climate change will inflict steadily rising costs that could become astronomical if greenhouse gas emissions rise unabated and countries delay preparations for the likely impacts, UN experts will say next week. Their vast report will shed light on the costs from heightened water stress, tropical storms, floods, droughts, species loss and human disease this century as a result of global warming. "(The) vulnerabilities could be considerable." Climate change can have a knock-on effect in many areas and there are also poorly-understood triggers that scientists fear could dramatically accelerate the warming. Depending on the scenario of CO2 concentrations, "by 2080, it is likely that 1.1 to 3.2 billion people will be experiencing water scarcity; 200 to 600 million hunger; two to seven million more per year, coastal flooding." A very high increase (5.5 Celsius) would widely damage crop and livestock production. Global cereal prices would rise by 30 per cent. The biggest potential costs will come from extreme weather events, such as storms, droughts and floods, which are "very likely" - a 90 per cent certitude - to become more powerful and possibly more frequent too. Up to the middle of the century, a mix of mitigation and adaptation will be effective, "but even a combination of aggressive mitigation and significant investment in adaptive capacity could be overwhelmed by the end of the century."
The number of species going extinct rises with the heat, as does the number of people who may starve, or face water shortages or floods. The degree-by-degree projection is being called a "highway to extinction, but on this highway there are many turnoffs. This is showing you where the road is heading. The road is heading toward extinction." While humanity will survive, hundreds of millions — perhaps billions — of people may not if the worst scenarios happen. Global warming has already degraded conditions for many species, coastal areas and poor people.

MISSISSIPPI - Some farmers are delaying planting water-sensitive crops and frustration is growing in the Mississippi Delta as dry conditions rapidly drain moisture from the soil. With the traditional rainy season a bust so far, drought appears to be taking hold across many areas of the country, including the Southeast. "Everybody is worried about this type of weather. This is VERY UNUSUAL. VERY." Mississippi is quickly falling behind in annual rainfall. The statewide average for the last month has been about half an inch, 5 inches below normal. Rainfall is 10 inches off average in the Delta and this March will likely finish as the second driest on record since 1950. March and April are typically the rainy season in Mississippi and across the Southeast. Soil moisture readings show the water content is more than 50 percent short. "Springtime is a time when we're getting lots of rain and charging up the soil moisture and all that, and that's not happening. So this is a really bad time to be having a drought, if we're having one." Dry and drought conditions are quickly entrenching in parts of the nation that have been suffering dry spells for the last three years or more. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows extreme drought conditions have already taken hold in five points around the country - along the Mississippi-Tennessee border, in southwestern Texas along the Rio Grande, in southern California and Arizona, in most of Wyoming and portions of Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota, and along the Canadian border in northern Minnesota. Dry conditions have accelerated in March and, at least in the Southeast, it looks like they will continue into the summer.

ALABAMA is as dry as it has been in generations. Alabama's drought - in its 27th month --reaches this severity ONLY ONCE EVERY 50 YEARS. The lack of rain has reached every corner of the state. 100 percent of the state is abnormally dry, with almost 78 percent under moderate or worse drought and more than 43 percent under severe or worse drought conditions. Officials from the Tennessee Valley Authority and Alabama Power said reservoirs are far below where they should be at this time of year. With extremely low streamflows, it is unlikely the utilities can fill those lakes by summer. Alabama Power officials said if lake levels don't improve, the company will be looking at hydroelectric generating levels similar to those witnessed in the 1930s. Most rivers and streams across the state are experiencing below-normal streamflow, and many of those waterways are at RECORD-LOW LEVELS. In many Alabama locations, the first three months of 2007 have been the DRIEST ON RECORD.

INDIANA - Spring has sprung early this year in the Tri-State. Maybe as much as six weeks, according to the National Weather Service whose data show consistent 70- and 80-degree temperatures such as the area has experienced over the past couple of weeks shouldn't arrive until early May. "This is QUITE UNUSUAL to be this warm, this long, this early. I'm trying real hard to not turn on my air-conditioning before Easter, but I'm not sure I'm going to make it."

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3/30/07 -
TAIWAN - A warm and dry fohn wind boosted temperatures in southeastern Taitung County to 37.6 degrees Celsius at around noon Tuesday, the HIGHEST LEVEL IN A CENTURY. Officials said it was HIGHLY UNUSUAL for this to take place during the month of March. The temperature for March in the Taitung area averages between 20 to 25 degrees normally. The high temperature of 37.6 degrees is a NEW RECORD WITHIN THE PAST 200 YEARS, breaking the previous record of 37.2 to 37.4 degrees set in 1996. Fohn winds are formed by the compression of air that descends from high elevations, especially from mountain slopes. The sudden high heat can cause certain vegetables and fruits to ripen earlier than anticipated. Many fruits are expected to fall off trees in the next two days. The leaves of some vegetables and fruit trees have already changed color due to dehydration.

WISCONSIN - 100 YEAR RECORD HEAT - On Monday, in Madison, the high of 79 BEAT THE PREVIOUS RECORD for the date (76) set in 1907. A high of 80 at Milwaukee topped the previous record for the date of 75 set in 1998. Even Wausau's high of 77 far exceeded the previous record for the date of 69 set in 1991. Wausau's normal high on March 26 is 44.

ARIZONA - Mount Lemmon — a retreat from the desert heat — is becoming hotter and more vulnerable to environmental disaster. Mount Lemmon is one of the "sky islands" — the high, green spots perched above the desert area — that are experiencing UNPRECEDENTED climate change. Summerhaven, the tiny community near the 9,157-foot summit of Mount Lemmon, was usually 20 degrees cooler than the desert floor. Not anymore. Higher temperatures have put Mount Lemmon at risk for catastrophic fires and they are endangering native species. The American Southwest has been warming for nearly 30 years - Mount Lemmon's winter snows are melting earlier, and "predatory insects have taken to the forest that mantles the upper mountain, killing trees weakened by record heat." "A lot of people think climate change and the ecological repercussions are 50 years away. But it's happening now in the West. The data is telling us that we are in the middle of one of the first big indicators of climate change impacts in the continental United States."

3/29/07 -
ANTARCTICA - A piece of the Antarctic ice sheet the size of Texas is thinning, possibly due to global warming, and could cause the world's oceans to rise significantly, polar ice experts say. They said "surprisingly rapid changes" were occurring in Antarctica's Amundsen Sea Embayment, which faces the southern Pacific Ocean, but that more study was needed to know how fast it was melting and how much it could cause the sea level to rise. It holds enough water to raise world sea levels 6m. The scientists blamed the melting ice on changing winds around Antarctica that they said were causing warmer waters to flow beneath ice shelves. The wind change appeared to be the result of several factors, including global warming, ozone depletion in the atmosphere and natural variability. Other parts of the continent also are losing ice, but generally not as quickly.

3/28/07 -
For the first time, a scientific study has identified the world's low-lying coastal areas that are vulnerable to global warming and sea-level rise, and urged major cities from New York to Tokyo to wake up to the risk of being swamped by flooding and intense storms if nothing is done. 'Migration away from the zone at risk will be necessary, but costly and hard to implement.' In all, 634 million people live within such areas - defined as less than 10m above sea level - and that number is growing. Of the more than 180 countries with populations in the low-elevation coastal zone, about 70 percent have urban areas of more than five million people that extend into it, including: Tokyo; New York; Mumbai, India; Shanghai, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Asia is particularly vulnerable. The five countries with the largest total population living in threatened coastal areas are China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia. Coastlines already are showing the impact of sea-level rise and global warming and it is expected to worsen. An IPCC report is expected to say that about 100 million people each year could be flooded by rising seas by 2080. By the time the location of the coastal settlements at the most risk becomes evident, "most of the easier options for shifting settlement patterns, and modifying them so that they are better adapted to the risks of climate change, will have been foreclosed." Many such areas have long been vulnerable to natural disasters such as flooding and tropical storms, but climate change is likely to increase that risk. In North America, the two biggest cities, Los Angeles and New York, are at risk of a combination of sea-level rise and storms with waters rising "up to several meters deep." By 2090, under a worst-case scenario, megafloods that normally would hit North America once every 100 years "could occur as frequently as every three - four years."

SOUTH AFRICA - Tons of photos & video of the monster wave damage.The first link on the page has the aftermath. The second link also has some photos of the actual waves hitting. [This is the kind of coastal damage the article above is warning about.]

Citing one of the worst cyclone seasons in recent memory in Madagascar as an example, the United Nations body that seeks to mitigate the impact of natural disasters called on the international community to invest more in programs to reduce the effects of extreme weather spawned by global warming. What is currently happening in Madagascar is a good illustration of what can happen in many countries. "The increased severity and frequency of extreme weather events prevents people from recovering before facing the next event, making them more vulnerable to disasters." People in Madagascar are well prepared to face cyclones, and the country has strong national mechanisms in place. But the unusual number of cyclones makes the situation extremely difficult. In November, Madagascar's National Bureau on Disaster Reduction put in place a programme of sand bags that seems to have protected many houses from destruction. The bags were placed on top of the roofs to reduce wind impacts, saving a lot of people. "But we could not avoid the intensity of rains. Soils were completely saturated and many people died because of mud and debris avalanches that could not be stopped." In some parts of the world, climate change will mean more intense and frequent hazards, in others, it will mean facing hazards that communities have not encountered before.

TENNESEE - this month has been one of the WARMEST AND DRIEST MARCHES IN TENNESSEE HISTORY. Normally the wettest month of the year, an average of less than one inch of rain has fallen in the Middle Tennessee region, which sees nearly five inches of precipitation during the period in a typical year. Temperatures in Lafayette reached 86 degrees this Monday, March 26, matching a record set in 1910. Sunday's 86 degree high BROKE THE 100-YEAR RECORD for that date. While February was one of the coldest on record, March temperatures have averaged about six degrees above normal. Many Tennessee municipalities had already ordered a ban on outside burning due to the unseasonal hot and dry conditions, but Monday afternoon the state forestry division announced it will issue no rural burn permits whatsoever until the state receives a significant amount of rainfall.

3/27/07 -
Many of the world's climate zones (48 per cent of the earth's landmass) will vanish entirely by 2100, or be replaced by new, previously unseen ones, if global warming continues as expected, a US study predicts. By that point, close to 40 per cent of the world's land surface area would also have a "novel" or new climate. Rising temperatures will force existing climate zones toward higher latitudes and higher elevations, squeezing out climates at the colder extremes, and leaving room for unfamiliar climes around the equator. The sweeping climatic changes will likely affect huge swaths of land from the Indonesian rainforest to the Peruvian Andes, including many known hotspots of diversity, disrupting local ecological systems and populations. "The warmest areas get warmer and move outside our current range of experience and the colder areas also get warmer and so those climates disappear." Even if emission rates slowed due to mitigation strategies, the changes would still affect up to 20 per cent of the earth's landmass in each scenario.

MINNESOTA - The Twin Cities reached a RECORD HIGH of 81 degrees on Monday and it was still 70 degrees in Minneapolis at 9 p.m. - anything but typical weather for March 26. The former record high for March 26 in the Twin Cities was 74 degrees, set in 1991. It was the second consecutive day that the temperature was over 70. A reading of 70 degrees or higher in March in the Twin Cities is not unheard of, but two consecutive days of 70 degrees-plus is VERY RARE. It has not happened since 1986, when temperatures went above 70 on March 29 and 30. There are 65 days left in the snow season and cold snaps are still possible.

3/26/07 -
TENNESSEE - Lack of precipitation, high winds and population growth are fueling large fires. The area's precipitation totals were about 6 inches below normal as of mid-March. On some days this month, there have been 12-15 separate fires burning simultaneously across the Tennessee Division of Forestry's District 2, a 12-county area. In this area, as of Tuesday, at least 181 wildfires had charred more than 5,000 acres this year. Statewide figures also are up significantly from the 10-year average.

CALIFORNIA - the region's fire season traditionally lasted from June - when temperatures rose and moisture levels plummeted - to late November, when rain tends to fall in the valleys and snow blankets the San Bernardino Mountains. Those days are becoming a memory. "This year... we never really got out of fire season." Normally, this time of year is a favorite for flower enthusiasts. But the lack of any real sustained moisture has left the mountains and deserts devoid of their typical spring blooms - another sign of the region's dryness. It's also a foreboding indication of this year's wildfire season, because the blooms are critical for retaining moisture and holding off the dry season that normally wouldn't start for a month. "We've seen this coming for the past several years."

Melting Arctic sea ice may have reached a tipping point triggering global climate change according to a new study. The climate change could reach into Earth's temperate regions. "When the ice thins to a vulnerable state, the bottom will drop out and we may quickly move into a new, seasonally ice-free state of the Arctic." Melting sea ice, unlike land ice melt, does not increase sea levels. However, it decreases the salinity of oceans and creates a greater surface area of ocean that absorbs rather than reflects solar radiation, both of which reinforce the global warming trend. The Arctic sea-ice extent trend has been negative in every month since 1979, when concerted satellite record keeping efforts began. Because temperatures across the Arctic have risen from 2 degrees to 7 degrees F. in recent decades due to a build-up of atmospheric greenhouse gases, there is no end in sight to the decline in Arctic sea ice extent. "While the Arctic is losing a great deal of ice in the summer months, it now seems that it also is regenerating less ice in the winter. With this increasing vulnerability, a kick to the system just from natural climate fluctuations could send it into a tailspin."

Climate change is sparking an international race to claim Arctic resources - oil, fish, diamonds and shipping routes. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic has as much as 25% of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. Moscow reportedly sees the potential of minerals in its slice of the Arctic sector approaching $2 trillion. All this has pushed governments and businesses into a scramble for sovereignty over these suddenly priceless seas. Just a few years ago, reports said it would take 100 years for the Arctic ice to melt, but recent studies say it could happen in 10-15 years, and the United States, Canada, Russia, Denmark and Norway have been rushing to stake their claims. The Arctic melt has also been intensifying competition over dwindling fishing stocks. Fish stocks essential to some regions appear to be moving to colder waters, and thus into another country's fishing grounds. Russian and Norwegian fishermen already report catching salmon much farther north than is normal. In 2004, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the sovereignty issue "a serious, competitive battle" that "will unfold more and more fiercely." "Everybody is talking about the potential for minerals, diamonds, oil and gas, but we mustn't forget that people live there, all the way across the Arctic. [Indigenous peoples like the Inuits and the Sami] They've always been there and they have a major role to play."

BOLIVIA is entering its fourth month of onslaught from El Niño, the climate phenomenon that has grown stronger, and threatens to return with even greater force in coming years. According to the forecasts of Bolivia's National Weather Service and of the scientific community of international agencies, the end of El Niño was announced earlier this month. But heavy rains, overflowing rivers and hurricane-force winds have not ended in the northeast, while drought, hail and frost persist in the west. Experts agreed that the Andean region should prepare for more frequent and intense visits from El Niño as a result of global climate change. The greatest threat is to the northern department of Pando, which faces heavy flooding from rains in neighbouring Peru. Although this is rainy season across all of Bolivia, the period that began in December is the most severe since 1998. The Ranchers Federation in the north-eastern department of Beni estimates at least 22,000 head of cattle dead. Other losses, not yet quantified, are related to the farming sector there and in Santa Cruz and Pando, where rice and soybean crops were hit. More than 50 people have died and 79,386 families across the country have been affected as a result of the intense weather. Also to be taken into consideration is the disappearance of vegetation and the likely losses of endangered animal species. So far humans have not stepped up to take action on climate change and construction continues in areas where El Niño causes intense rains, and deforestation persists in places where there is intense drought.

BRITAIN - Fewer songbirds visited UK gardens this winter than last year - with the numbers for some species at a FIVE-YEAR LOW. The number of song thrushes spotted in gardens has fallen 65% in a year, while the number of blackbirds fell by 25%. The number of robins spotted has also fallen. The RSPB blamed the mild European winter and a bumper countryside fruit crop, meaning the birds did not have to visit UK gardens for food as often. "A snapshot in winter gives only part of the picture, but the varying birds visiting our gardens is one example of the impact climate change is having on the natural world. Although the mild winter seems to have provided more food for song thrushes in the countryside this year, as changes to our climate become more extreme many birds will struggle to cope with the altered weather patterns."

3/22/07 -
SOUTH EASTERN U.S. - Spring's arrival follows the DRIEST December, January and February SPAN IN 117 YEARS OF RECORD-KEEPING in the Tennessee Valley Authority's seven-state region (Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.) Chattanooga's rainfall is about 8 inches below normal since Jan. 1. Northeast Alabama and the southern Cumberland Plateau counties in Tennessee are even drier and are in a "severe drought." Northwest Georgia and southwest Virginia are also dry. The conditions have doubled the number of wildfires this year. "Since Jan. 1 we've had about 1,200 wildfires. We have had about 840 wildfires for that same time frame for the last five years."

3/18/07 -
Nature running riot after Europe's WARMEST WINTER EVER - Wheat harvested a month early, markets bursting with prematurely ripened produce, animals migrating too soon or not at all - Europe's warmest winter on record has made nature run amok, experts across the continent have reported. With average temperatures in the three winter months of December through February more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above average in most European countries, the environment's biological clock has been thrown off kilter, they say. In Italy, emerging from the mildest winter in more than two centuries, vegetables not normally seen until later in the season - green beans, asparagus, peas, artichokes - are already so abundant that merchants can't sell them. In The Netherlands, where winter wheat has been harvested a month earlier than normal, scientists worry that unseasonably high temperatures will increase the risk of grain plant viruses caused by aphids. In neighbouring Germany, half of barley crops in some regions have been hit with a weather-related blight of yellow dwarf disease, carried by fleas that do not normally survive the winter. The Dutch nature observatory has reported the "chaotic" disruption of normal butterfly lifecycles, with many species emerging from the cocoon far too early. Woodpeckers and swallows have likewise arrived a month ahead of schedule, they observed. In Austria, toads in the region of Styria began their spring migration to summer ponds at least 15 days early, catching environmentalists who last year shepherded thousands of the amphibians across motorways to safety off guard and unprepared. In Sweden - where temperatures at midweek stood at 10 C (50 F) compared to -10 C (14 F) at the same time last year - and elsewhere in Scandinavia, melting snows and pollen in January have heralded an untimely spring. This flurry of alarmed observations from across Europe arrive amid predictions by climatologists and weather forecasters that record warm weather is likely to continue through the spring, and perhaps into the summer as well. "The average temperature for the three months of Spring (March, April, May) will be above normal," though they did not rule out the possibility of a cold snap or two. In Spain, high temperatures and strong winds have already fanned a series of fires around Barcelona in the northeast, and in Valencia further south. And in Greece, agricultural authorities are already forecasting a difficult year due to drought in the bread-basket grain area of Thessaly. This winter was the warmest for the entire Northern Hemisphere of the planet since it began keeping records 128 years ago.

Crazy-sounding ideas for saving the planet are getting a serious look from top scientists, a sign of their fears about global warming and the desire for an insurance policy in case things get worse. There’s the man-made “volcano” that shoots gigatons of sulfur high into the air; the space “sun shade” made of trillions of little reflectors between Earth and the sun, slightly lowering the planet’s temperature; the forest of ugly artificial “trees” that suck carbon dioxide out of the air; and the “Geritol solution” in which iron dust is dumped into the ocean. “Of course it’s desperation. It’s planetary methadone for our planetary heroin addiction. It does come out of the pessimism of any realist that says this planet can’t be trusted to do the right thing.”

The U.S. government’s spring weather outlook raises concerns for flooding in the Midwest and continued drought in the Southwest. The outlook for April through June includes potential flooding in the Ohio Valley and as far west as Colorado. "The soil moisture is high, due to the melting of an above normal snowpack, which resulted from record snowfall in December and January." Warmer than normal temperatures in recent weeks have increased the risk of flooding due to ice jams over portions of eastern South Dakota, eastern Iowa, southeastern Minnesota, southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. In addition, high soil moisture over northeastern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania and extreme southwestern New York state could lead to flooding if additional heavy precipitation occurs. Snow and rainfall in December through February were above average in much of the center of the nation, while large sections of the East, Southeast and West were drier than average. "The outlook for any significant drought improvement from now through spring looks grim for not only southern California but for much of the Southwest as well." Florida also is approaching its dry season and dry winter weather over the southern half of the peninsula has brought fire danger indices to abnormally high conditions. "The Fire Potential Outlook for February through June 2007 calls for the potential for significant wildfire activity to be higher than normal this spring over portions of the southern tier of states and northern Minnesota." The outlook calls for drought to continue or worsen through June over much of the Southwest, potentially spreading into portions of Utah and western Colorado. Drought also is expected to persist across Florida, while improvement is predicted over the extreme northern Plains as well as portions of Texas and Oklahoma.

With climate change making conditions more unpredictable, national weather services from across the European Union have joined forces to create http://www.meteoalarm.eu, a new Web site providing up-to-the-minute information on "extreme weather" across the continent. It is designed to give Europeans a single source for details on flash floods, severe thunderstorms, gale-force winds, heat waves, blizzards and other violent weather that poses a threat to life or property. It also issues 24- and 48-hour warnings for heavy fog, extreme cold, forest fires and "coastal events" such as high waves or severe tides. The Network of European Meteorological Services includes 20 countries and covers land stretching from Portugal to Sweden.

ARIZONA - It was another day of RECORD-BREAKING heat in Phoenix on Friday, the 16th - the high at Sky Harbor was 99 degrees. That's four degrees hotter than the old record of 95 set in 1921. "This is THE EARLIEST DATE IN HISTORY that we've ever seen a 96, 97, 98 and of course, 99. Very early to see this kind of heat, VERY UNUSUAL." They usually get the first 99 degree temperature in Phoenix on May 9.

3/12/07 -
CALIFORNIA - A brushfire fuelled by strong winds and dry vegetation has scorched thousands of acres of land in California's Orange County. At least 500 families were forced to evacuate their homes in the area and some three houses caught fire. The fire broke out in the Anaheim Hills area of California, some 35 miles (56km) southeast of Los Angeles. More than 800 firefighters have been deployed but the high winds, reaching speeds of 35mph (56km/h) were making their task difficult. The fire appears to have been started by a burning car, and quickly got out of control amid record-breaking heat, severe drought, extremely low humidity and steady unseasonal Santa Ana winds.

3/11/07 -
NEW ZEALAND - Fire crews are on high alert as the Waikato bakes in ONE OF THE DRIEST SUMMERS ON RECORD.

AUSTRALIA - the Thomson dam, which provides more than 60 per cent of Melbourne's water supplies, reached the RECORD LOW of 20 per cent on Thursday. Tough stage four water restrictions, which ban outside watering, were expected to be implemented in Melbourne in May. A water authority in Victoria will began carting water to Euroa and Violet Town, north-east of Melbourne, this weekend as the effects of the drought begin to hit hard. The water authority was also planning to cart water from the Goulburn River at Seymour, to Broadford and Kilmore in about three weeks.

3/9/07 -
JAPAN - RECORD EARLY BLOOM for cherry blossoms - Cherry trees are expected to bloom in Shizuoka as early as March 13, and in Takamatsu and Matsuyama four days later, the EARLIEST DATES ON RECORD. An UNUSUALLY WARM winter has led to the early blossoming of Yoshino cherry trees in western and eastern Japan. Of 56 spots, 42 are expected to bloom more than three days earlier than usual. Agency officials expect the cherry trees to come into blossom in central Tokyo on March 18, 10 days earlier than normal and the second earliest date since the agency began keeping records on cherry blossoms in 1953. Cherry trees are expected to blossom in Nagoya and Fukuoka on March 20, and in Osaka on March 25, five to eight days earlier than average. The national average temperature was 1.52 degrees Celsius higher than normal from December to February, TYING PAST RECORDS.

AUSTRALIA - Residents of southeast Queenslanders will be banned from washing cars, filling pools and watering lawns under harsh level five restrictions. The Queensland Water Commission said the limits were aimed at saving 127 megalitres a day, as the southeast corner faces its WORST DROUGHT ON RECORD. Water price rises ranging from 13 to 22 per cent will push costs up an average $71 a year. By 2012-13 a typical household's annual water cost would increase from $355 to $876 - an increase of 147 per cent. It also appears that new home owners would be slugged an extra $5000 per home as an infrastructure user charge under the proposals.

Polar bears, sea ice and global warming are taboo subjects, at least in public, for some US scientists attending meetings abroad, according to environmental groups and a top federal wildlife official. Environmental activists called it scientific censorship, which they said was in line with the Bush administration's history of muzzling dissent over global climate change. "This administration has a long history of censoring speech and science on global warming."

3/8/07 -
HONG KONG - Temperatures plunged to just over 10 degrees Celsius in Hong Kong Wednesday, just days after the city announced it had basked in its WARMEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD. The former British colony shivered through its coldest day of the year with temperatures falling to 10.6 degrees, nine degrees lower than the average temperature for February. Migratory birds that normally winter further south in warmer countries have been spotted in large numbers in the territory this winter. The average February temperature of 19.5 degrees was the HIGHEST EVER RECORDED, and there were 32 hours more sunshine than usual with 129.6 clocked for the month. It was also the DRIEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD. In mid-February, Hong Kong had its HOTTEST LUNAR NEW YEAR with temperatures on the first day of the Year of the Pig climbing above 25 degrees.

Baltic Sea region to warm sharply - the Baltic Sea region is likely to warm faster than the world average this century because of climate change, disrupting fisheries and extending crop growing seasons. The study, by 80 scientists from Baltic nations including Russia and Germany, said temperatures were already rising more quickly than the global average, cutting the number of days when parts of the sea are clogged by winter ice. Warming might disrupt life in the almost land-locked Baltic Sea, where species such as herring and sprat are already struggling from pollution, a legacy of the former Soviet Union to the east. Warmer temperatures might also bring more rains that could decrease the average saltiness of the sea, upsetting marine life adapted to brackish conditions. Scientists say that northern areas may be warming faster than the world average because darker ground and water, once exposed, soak up more heat than reflective ice and snow. But warming could also extend growing seasons in the Baltic region, where 85 million people live in an area from St Petersburg in Russia to Copenhagen in Denmark. A warming of 3 to 5 Celsius "would lead to a lengthening of the growing season by as much as 20 days to 50 days for northern areas and 30 days to 90 days for southern areas by the late 21st century". That could help crops and forest growth. And the period during which parts if the sea are clogged by ice would be cut. "The length of the ice season would decrease by 1 to 2 months in the northern parts of the Baltic Sea and by 2 to 3 months in the central parts."

ITALY should prepare for a drought after an UNUSUALLY warm and dry winter, according to the Prime Minister. There is not enough water in Italy's major reservoirs. Rainfall in the September-February period had been abnormally low but officials stopped short of calling the situation a crisis. Precipitation levels were an average 20-40 percent below normal in the period. Italy's northeastern and central regions were hit hardest with precipitation levels 50-60 percent below normal.

3/7/07 -

CALIFORNIA - Los Angeles on pace for DRIEST RAIN YEAR EVER - With little moisture in usually wet February, meteorologists said Los Angeles is facing its driest year ever with less than 2 1/2 inches of rain so far. Prolonged dry weather, which extended the wildfire season, comes just two years after the region was awash with a near-record 37 inches of rain. Eleven inches fell that February, usually the region's rainiest month. This year the Southern California rain gauge has only measured 2.42 inches — 0.92 inch of it falling in February. Normal annual rainfall in Los Angeles is 11.43 inches and there's no rain in the forecast for the next 10 days. The last time it was this dry was in 1923-1924 season when 2.50 inches of rain was recorded through March 22, 1924. March to early April is about the end of their wet season. "It would take several very intense storms one after the other to get us to normal and that's very unlikely." Weather models suggest that an emerging La Nina pattern of cold water in the tropical Pacific will keep the area dry. "We've had more windstorms than rainstorms. This has been a REALLY UNUSUAL winter." Santa Ana winds that normally die out in February have persisted into March.

3/5/07 -
BRITAIN - England experienced the second warmest winter on record with winds from the south and southwest bringing mild, moist air up from the subtropics. The usually warm spell helped a farmer in Kent grow a crop of strawberries which were picked last week. "This change in temperature is a big problem. Our winters are becoming more topsy-turvy with a particular feature now being very mild periods interspersed with sudden cold snaps." The warm British winter has tricked thousands of young hedgehogs into thinking that spring is well under way. Once awake, they are unable to find enough food because their usual diet of snails and insects do not start appearing until later in the year. Traditionally, the creatures are nocturnal, but increasing numbers are being spotted during the day time in the desperate hunt for food. Since September, 550 hedgehogs have been handed in to the rescue hospital, compared with 300 over the same period last winter. Hedgehogs are not the only animals to be affected by the FREAK weather conditions. Newts, bats and grass snakes, which should all be in hibernation, have been found in distress by members of the public and taken to the rescue hospital. Butterflies and bumblebees that do not usually emerge until spring have been spotted as early as December and frogspawn was first seen in South Wales on December 1, several weeks earlier than usual. The Royal Horticultural Society is recommending for the first time that gardeners prune roses and clematis in January rather than the traditional month of March. With an average temperature of 9.5C for the six months from September to February, up from 7.8C on the previous corresponding period, increasing numbers of householders are now mowing lawns year-round to prevent grass becoming unmanageable by the spring.

Is the world's weather already out of control? Global climate change is happening faster than previously believed and its impact is worse than expected, information from an as-yet unpublished draft of the long-awaited second part of a United Nations report reveals. No region of the planet will be spared and some will be hit especially hard. The main conclusion of the report is that climate change is already having a profound effect on all the continents and on many of the Earth's ecosystems. The draft presents a long list of evidence. Some 20 to 30 percent of all species face a "high risk of extinction" should average global temperatures rise another 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius from their 1990 levels. That could happen by 2050, the report warns. Mankind will not escape these changes unscathed. Rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere will at first help the plant world. Vegetation growth will be stronger and the planet will become greener. The absorption of CO2 by plant life will to a certain extent work against climate change, but not forever. (The second part of the report is to be presented in April after final discussions with government representatives from around the globe. The third part of the IPCC report is expected to be released in May. The climate panel will demand radical changes and massive investment against global warming. Some $16 billion will be required by 2030 and humanity only has until 2020 to turn back the trend. Whether the summary for policymakers will be released in its current form is unclear. Delegates from several countries wrestled with the wording of the first part of the report up until the last minute before its publication.)

CLIMATE CHANGE-
3/4/07 -
A Russian astronomer says that polar ice caps on the planet Mars are melting, and the Red Planet is experiencing a warming trend at the same time as the Earth. He cites this is evidence that solar radiation is the main cause of global warming. Scientists who support the view that human beings are responsible for global warming have dismissed the claims. In their view, the Martian heat wave is caused by changes in the Red Planet's rotation on its axis rather than more solar radiation. In 2005 data from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey missions revealed that the carbon dioxide "ice caps" near Mars's south pole had been diminishing for three summers in a row. Most scientists now fear that the massive amount of carbon dioxide humans are pumping into the air will lead to a catastrophic rise in Earth's temperatures, dramatically raising sea levels as glaciers melt and leading to extreme weather worldwide. The Russian astronomer believes instead that "the solar irradiance began to drop in the 1990s, and a minimum will be reached by approximately 2040. It will cause a steep cooling of the climate on Earth in 15 to 20 years."

3/2/07 -
JAPAN - The Japanese capital has experienced its FIRST WINTER WITHOUT SNOW FOR 131 YEARS. The Japan Meteorological Agency said it had recorded no snow in central Tokyo between December and the end of February, the official winter months. This the first time no snow has fallen in winter since records began in 1876. Officials said the winter had been unusually warm, but added that snow could still fall in the coming weeks. Tokyo is more likely to experience snowfall in early spring than in winter, according to the meteorological agency. Four years ago, a December snowfall was the first to be recorded in the Japanese capital for 15 years. Cold air is expected to move into the Tokyo region in the middle of March.

CALIFORNIA - Less than an inch of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles in February, helping make the current rain season the SECOND DRIEST ON RECORD.

3/1/07 -
VIETNAM - The warm weather this winter could reduce the output of the winter-spring rice crop, agricultural officials warned as they convened in Ha Noi for a meeting on Monday. The country has experienced UNUSUALLY WARM weather since earlier this year. In the first two weeks of this month, the average temperature was at 20-22 degrees Celsius, or about five degrees higher than the same period in previous years. This February was the HOTTEST IN 50 YEARS. The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting forecast that the warming would continue in March and April. If the weather was still warm in the next two months and water sources remained tight for irrigation, winter-spring rice would mature earlier. This could lead to a decrease in output and an increase in insects.

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2/28/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Adelaide has sweltered through its HOTTEST FEBRUARY FOR THE PAST 100 YEARS.

EUROPE - This winter in central Europe has been the WARMEST ON RECORD, as meteorologists around Europe compiled final data for the season. For meteorologists, winter comprises the three months ending at 0600 GMT on March 1. Average temperatures in Germany were 4.1 degrees higher than the long-term average since scientific recordings began in 1901. The unusually warm winter had been general to central Europe: a region including the Alpine nations, Poland and eastern France. Eastern Europe up to the Urals had a very warm December and January, but cold weather in February. Britain's Met Office added that the winter had been the second-warmest in Britain since detailed records began in 1914. This followed a trend of very warm temperatures over the last year, with the 12 months to February 2007 the warmest period in Central England since temperature readings began 348 years ago. The main reason for the warmth has been the remorseless arrival of weather systems from the southwest and west, shutting out polar chill. "Cold air-masses hadn't a chance of winning superiority in central Europe this winter." The current modest El Nino pattern, a southern hemisphere weather cycle which markedly alters rainfall, was quite separate from European trends. Research showed El Nino could slightly affect Europe, making the weather colder, but that had not happened this winter at all.

2/27/07 -
Ancient Australian Aborigines may hold the key to battling huge bushfires which have blackened large parts of Europe, the US and Australia in recent years, fire experts said. Prehistoric Aboriginal people across Australia methodically burnt land to reduce the fierceness of natural bushfires, as well as to hunt and stimulate the growth of plants. They also understood that forest fuels should not go untended, in an early lesson for modern societies threatened by megafires triggered by climate change and rising world temperatures. "We have to figure out what we are reserving our forests for. If we are reserving them for big fires, then that's working well." Megafires occur when large bushfires merge and form super firefronts that burn with hurricane intensity, often levelling hundreds of homes and vast areas of bushland. Megafires in 2003 destroyed thousands of homes in France, Portugal, Spain, the US and Canada, while fires this year swept uncontrolled for more than a month through an area bigger than Lebanon in Australia's rugged southeastern Alps. Steady global temperature rises are leading to longer fire seasons across the world and megafires burn with such intensity that they leave little behind. "There are no refuges for fauna. Our choice is whether we burn frequently at low intensity in mild weather of our choosing, or whether we are subjected to the whims of nature."

CHINA - Falling water levels in China's Yangtze River have left 1 million people short of drinking water. A severe drought has caused the water level in China's longest river to plunge over the last two weeks, severely cutting water-pumping capacity. Water levels in the Yangtze and Jialing rivers have declined sharply because of a lack of rainfall, which followed a severe drought last summer. The problem is expected to continue until the rainy season begins in May. "If the water levels in the Yangtze and its upper tributary Jialing River continue to decline, we'll face a real crisis." Last summer's drought in the southwest was the worst in 50 years, causing more than $1.1 billion in economic losses.

INDIA - For years, tourists have come to India's Keoladeo Ghana National Park to gaze at shimmering, bird-flocked wetlands stretching to the horizon. But where there were once vast lakes, visitors now find puddles nursed by a network of stuttering diesel-fuelled pumps, which suck up groundwater from deep beneath the parched earth. Years of poor monsoon rains have left most of this World Heritage site near Bharatpur in the desert state of Rajasthan dry and cracked. This has forced most of the thousands of migratory birds that would once spectacularly descend on Keoladeo every year for the winter to make alternative arrangements elsewhere. "Before, the skies were so full of birds it was a wonder they didn't collide into each other. Now there is nothing there."

2/26/07 -
INDONESIA is currently running the risk of losing 2,000 small islands by 2030, due to a sea-level increase, caused by the climate change, a study by the Environment Ministry warned. The warning emerged from a report, according to which the water levels will rise from three to 11 inches within 23 years. In that case, the high tide will flood the Indonesian lowest islands. The minister warned that the agriculture in his country has been affected by changes in the climate pattern, and the temperatures have risen. He also predicted a longest rainy season. This country suffered serious floods in December that caused dozens of deaths, and thousands of people in the island of Sumatra had to be evacuated.

THAILAND - drought is likely to hit rubber and rice output. At least 28 of 76 provinces, mostly in the north and northeast, have been hit by an UNUSUALLY long and dry cool season - normally November to January - and are expected to face an extra-hot hot season - normally February to April - when it finally starts. "The cool season has lasted longer than expected." The cool season's persistence to the end of February has already hit the $4-billion-a-year natural rubber industry, as less latex flows from rubber trees during periods of little or no rainfall.
THAILAND - This dry season will be two or three months longer than usual, posing a high risk of drought where irrigation systems are lacking, according to the Royal Irrigation Department. Fifteen provinces are now in the initial stages of drought. 21 per cent of villages (15,698 villages) located in 40 of the country's 76 provinces are facing the problem. The delay of rain during the last wet season had been caused by the El Nino phenomenon and the unseasonable downpours earlier in January have stopped. The rainy season normally runs from July to October, peaking in August. No water for farming is available, and crops on more than 1,000 rai are wasting away. Severe drought has ruined 67,290 rai of farmland and affected nearly 500,000 residents in the four lower northern provinces.

SOUTH AFRICA - Reservoirs running dry in heat wave - The sizzling heat wave is not letting go just yet and, to make matters worse, some of the city's reservoirs are running dry. The hottest February day in Pretoria was measured in 1984 on February 15, when the mercury hit 36.8ºC. They came pretty close to breaking that record this week with a high of 36ºC recorded on Wednesday.

CHINA faces a higher risk of natural disasters including floods and drought this year, according to the Water Resources Vice-Minister, who told local authorities to prepare for torrential floods, typhoons and continued drought. Major Chinese rivers, including the Yangtze and the Yellow rivers, have not seen big floods for several years, with their water levels dropping in 2006. This signals a higher risk of heavy floods this year. Meanwhile, there has been inadequate rainfall in Yangtze River areas since August last year. The river's water level has dropped about 40 percent on average. Two of the biggest lakes along the river, Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, were 60 percent and 10 percent lower than their average level. Inadequate rainfall has also plagued most of the northern part of the country. Coupled with the higher-than-usual temperatures in these areas, drought has already hit several places, some of which do not have a sufficient supply of drinking water for herds, according to the vice-minister. The country has seen more uneven distribution of rainfall in recent years. The "UNUSUAL winter" - warm, dry, with almost no snow - is likely to result in heavy sandstorms in Beijing during the spring of 2007. That will be "even more severe than what happened last year." In the spring of 2006, Beijing was hit by 17 sandstorms. Beijing had an UNUSUALLY low snowfall this winter, and the temperature was unseasonably high. Beijing experienced its HIGHEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN 55 YEARS last year. Temperatures are predicted to be even higher this year. "The greenhouse effect will easily lead to weather extremes, which may result in droughts worse than our imagination." Beijing in 2006 suffered its eighth consecutive year of drought. The total annual rainfall last year was 448 millimeters, 137 millimeters less than the city's recorded average.

2/25/07 -
On Jan. 31, the average Lake Superior water level was only 600 feet above mean sea level. That's more than one foot lower than the level in January 2006, and just two to three inches higher than the record low of 599.8 feet measured in 1926. "Much of northwestern Wisconsin has been classified as in the extreme drought category." Many stations in the northwestern corner of Wisconsin recorded annual precipitation totals for 2006 that were a staggering 10 to 15 inches (or more) below 30-year averages.

2/23/07 -
PERU - Extreme weather conditions throughout Peru left thousands of people stranded on Tuesday. In central Peru, unseasonal snow caused at least 43,000 families to leave their homes. The main roads in the area were blocked, causing heavy traffic throughout the area. In southern Peru severe rain storms in Ica destroyed several homes and forced thousands of residents to evacuate. Meanwhile in Huancavelica, droughts have destroyed hundreds of hectares of crops. "All of the leaves are burnt, even the stems." The region's agriculture director has asked Regional Civil Defence Committee is going to declare a state of emergency in Huancavelica. Many of Peru's primary exports such as asparagus, grapes and cotton are grown in the region.

2/21/07 -
SOUTH AFRICA - a national warning has been issued by the South African Weather Service as Johannesburg is set to have an uncomfortably hot week. Temperatures that are already high are expected to increase for the rest of the week. Tuesday's temperature of 32° Celsius is expected to boil up to a scorching 34° later this week. "This is the result of the little moisture in the air."

2/18/07 -
CHINA - Beijingers will celebrate their WARMEST SPRING FESTIVAL ON RECORD. The highest temperature on the eve of the festival will reach 10 degrees centigrade, making it the warmest festival eve since the station began to keep records in 1951. Experts warned citizens of the possibility of sandstorms owing to a lack of rainfall.

2/16 -
It was by far the HOTTEST JANUARY EVER. The broken record was fueled by a waning El Nino and a gradually warming world. Records on the planet's temperature have been kept since 1880. Spurred on by unusually warm Siberia, Canada, northern Asia and Europe, the world's land areas were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than a normal January. That didn't just nudge past the old record set in 2002, but broke that mark by 0.81 degrees, which meteorologists said is a lot, since such records often are broken by hundredths of a degree at a time. "That's PRETTY UNUSUAL FOR A RECORD TO BE BROKEN BY THAT MUCH." The scientists went beyond their normal doublechecking and took the UNUSUAL step of running computer climate models "just to make sure that what we're seeing was real." From one standpoint it is not unusual to have a new record because we've become accustomed to having records broken." But January was A BIGGER JUMP THAN THE WORLD HAS SEEN IN ABOUT 10 YEARS. The temperature of the world's land and water combined — the most effective measurement — was 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal, breaking the old record by more than one-quarter of a degree. Ocean temperatures alone didn't set a record. In the Northern Hemisphere, land areas were 4.1 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal for January, breaking the old record by about three-quarters of a degree. But the United States was about normal. The nation was 0.94 degrees Fahrenheit above normal for January, ranking only the 49th warmest since 1895. Siberia was on average 9 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal. Eastern Europe had temperatures averaging 8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. Canada on average was more than 5 degrees warmer than normal. Larger increases in temperature farther north, compared to mid-latitudes, is "sort of the global warming signal." It is what climate scientists predict happens, and will happen more frequently, with global warming. Temperature records break regularly with global warming, but "with a little bit of El Nino thrown in, you don't just break records, you smash records." As much of the United States already knows, February doesn't seem as unusually warm as January was. "Even with global warming, you're not going to keep that cold air bottled up in Alaska and Canada forever."

2/13/07 -
BOTSWANA - Farmers in the Kweneng District have been advised to sell some of their cattle to avoid losing them in the impending drought. Drought was looming as the area received little rainfall in the past year. The grass was expected to be dry and eroded this coming winter season, and livestock owners were already experiencing less yields from boreholes, while evaporation in dams and streams was rapid due to the heat. Cattle become strained and weak from travelling long distances in search of grazing during drought periods. Farmers are being advised to vaccinate for botulism (mokokomane) for prevention in May. The disease usually occurs during drought when cattle start chewing objects they come across, especially old bones of dead animals. Most of the farmers in Kweneng south have not ploughed their fields because of poor rainfall. Unlike last year when farmers received good rainfall and harvest, only 545.35 hectares have been ploughed by 263 farmers this year. But those crops are failing due to the intense heat.

GREECE may face power supply problems this summer due to a prolonged drought. An UNUSUALLY WARM AND DRY winter has reduced water reserves in Greece's reservoirs by 41 percent. "And if the drought continues, it will completely deprive the system of the operational availability of the hydroelectric power stations."

2/12/07 -
BULGARIA - RECORD-BREAKING HEAT - Air temperature in the Bulgarian northeastern town of Veliko Tarnovo reached 20 degrees C (68 F) at 2.00 pm local time on Sunday. ‘These are UNSUALLY HIGH temperatures’. The highest temperature in the region for the same date (February 11th )was recorded in 1912 – 19.6 degrees C (67 F). Temperatures along the Bulgarian section of the Danube River varied between 15 – 16 degrees C (59 – 61 F). The usual temperature for February 11th in these regions of Bulgaria is –1 – 0 degrees C (30-32 F).

Are we wrong on climate change? Enthusiasm for global-warming ensures that heatwaves make headlines, while contrary symptoms, such as this winter’s billion-dollar loss of Californian crops to unusual frost, are relegated to the business pages. The early arrival of migrant birds in spring provides colourful evidence for a recent warming of the northern lands. But did anyone tell you that in east Antarctica the Adélie penguins and Cape petrels are turning up at their spring nesting sites around nine days later than they did 50 years ago? While sea-ice has diminished in the Arctic since 1978, it has grown by 8% in the Southern Ocean. So one awkward question you can ask...is “Why is east Antarctica getting colder?” It makes no sense at all if carbon dioxide is driving global warming. The best measurements of global air temperatures come from American weather satellites, and they show wobbles but no overall change since 1999. There is emphatic evidence for an alternation of warm and cold periods, linked to solar activity and going on long before human industry was a possible factor. Compilations of weather satellite data show that cloudiness varies according to how many atomic particles are coming in from exploded stars. More cosmic rays, more clouds. Can we control, or even forecast, a climate ruled by the sun and the stars?

Climate change in the coming decades may be even worse than predicted, according to German scientists, who say the dangers have been "underestimated." German experts warn that the new estimate for how quickly sea level is rising was 25 per cent faster than the rate in any 20-year period over the past 115 years. "The data now available raise concerns that the climate system, in particular sea level, may be responding more quickly than climate models indicate."

2/9/07 -
MINNESOTA - Drought has fire officials preparing for the worst - Minnesota wildfire experts are looking ahead to 2007 with trepidation, hoping for a break from Mother Nature but preparing for the worst. Because of the widespread drought over much of central and northern Minnesota, officials say wildfires could start earlier, burn hotter and last longer than usual. It has the potential to be one of the more severe fire seasons in a while. The fire season typically starts in late April or early May. But if the drought continues, the fires could start in early or mid-March. And firefighters would have a harder time fighting them because the lakes that normally would supply water for quenching the flames are usually frozen through mid-April.

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AUSTRALIA - Firefighters in Western Australia continued battling flames on Wednesday that have been burning across the state for three days. One woman has been killed and 16 homes destroyed. The fire has burnt more than 13-thousand hectares of national park forest and private property, but firefighters are hopeful that favourable weather conditions will help them battle a blaze near Dwellingup, 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Perth. Fire officials were also hopeful of containing a fire in Coolup, which is also in the Western state.

2/7 -
BBC World is investigating the affects of climate change around the globe. They want to hear from you. Have you noticed changes in your environment? Could you benefit from climate change? Send them your observations.

COLUMBIA - Firefighters in Colombia have been trying to extinguish several fires that are destroying hundreds of hectares of forest. Hot and windy weather helped create wildfires in the savannas of central Colombia. No injuries have been reported but residents of Cota started to evacuate their homes because the fire threatened to engulf their houses. There were also fires in southeast and northwestern Colombia, caused by recent high temperatures and parched fields. Meteorologists say the high temperatures were expected to end in March.

CHINA - At least 300,000 people in north-west China are short of drinking water because of unseasonably warm weather, which officials link to climate change. Parts of Shaanxi province face drought after January saw as little as 10% of average rainfall. Frozen lakes are melting and trees are blossoming in the capital Beijing as it experiences its WARMEST WINTER FOR 30 YEARS.

2/6 -
AUSTRALIA - Cool weather won't lessen bushfire danger in Victoria. Extreme fire conditions were still expected in the region today, where a total fire ban has been declared. Weather conditions predicted for the region were UNUSUAL. "The weather is actually a bit strange because the weather is quite warm - mid 30s in Wodonga and Wangaratta - but the winds are basically westerly to southerlies. Normally those conditions would be quite benign but the air is quite dry and it's hot."

AUSTRALIA - The most drought stricken regions will need near-record rainfall if they are to be pulled out of the crippling dry spell any time soon, new data has suggested. Large areas of Queensland and NSW - and virtually all of Victoria - remain in severe drought, including a huge chunk of the parched Murray-Darling basin. Those regions would need rainfall close to historical highs to recover in the next few months. The last year has been the DRIEST ON RECORD in the mountainous regions of northeastern Victoria and southeastern NSW, Tasmania's north coast and some patches of the southwest WA coast.

TURKEY - Drought worries weathermen, farmers - "We haven’t had any real rain in the Istanbul area since late October. Normally, December and January are the rainiest months in the region. Water reservoirs around Istanbul are only half full and if it doesn’t rain by February, the city will face big problems. The authorities should have already begun to warn the population”. Nearly the whole of Turkey has been experiencing ONE OF ITS DRIEST SPELLS IN MEMORY, courtesy of a large anti-cyclone that just won’t go away. On Turkey’s western border with Greece, the flow of the Meric River has dwindled from 730 to 100 cubic meters per second. That of the Manavgat River in the south - whose waters Turkey once planned to sell to Israel - has been reduced by half. In Bursa - called “the Green” for its lushness - the sole reservoir feeding the city of one million, 250 kilometers southeast of Istanbul, is only eight percent full. In December 2006, average rainfall for Turkey was 73 percent below seasonal norms, at 26.1 millimeters instead of the usual 97.2 mm. Farmers in the region are reduced to begging for divine intervention at mass rain prayers in their fields and at local mosques. In the high Anatolian plateau, crops face another threat. “Nights are very cold in this region at this time of year and since there has been no snowfall to protect the earth, the cold and the icy winds are freezing the seedlings.”

MALTA - In view of the exceptionally dry start to the new year, which is having its effects in particular on sectors which depend on precipitation such as agriculture, the Maltese Curia has instructed the local churches to pray for more rainfall. The weather recorded during the beginning of the year is normally witnessed during the Easter period in early to mid-April rather than in January. With only five rainy days, the past month only had 8.6mm of rainfall and was the second driest January recorded since 1922. Since then, only January 1983 has been drier, by a mere 0.1mm. The minimal downpour of rainfall in January this year is even more evident when once considers the average rainfall for the month, which stands at 95.5mm. The past month was also the WARMEST JANUARY ON RECORD.

BRITAIN - Unseasonably warm weather may have tricked the world's smelliest plant into blooming in the middle of the northern hemisphere winter, said botanists at the Eden Project where the native of Sumatra is housed. The warmth of 2006 and mild winter to date have encouraged the Titan Arum or Corpse Flower into a phenomenal growth spurt and into flower - an event that usually happens only once every six to nine years. Its smell "is a cross between rotten cheese, dog poo and something dead." It is HIGHLY ABNORMAL for the plant to flower in winter. "Last year's unprecedented warm temperatures and high sunshine levels and the extremely mild winter we are currently experiencing have to be considered as a factor in this RARE occurrence."

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Higher temperatures and rising sea levels will continue for centuries, regardless of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. But the severity of these change is still in our hands to control. "The public should not sit back and say 'There's nothing we can do'." "We're locked into a temperature increase of about 0.5 degrees by 2025 regardless of what we do, but the increases start to diverge depending on the levels of emissions when you look a hundred years from now. So what we do now can make a difference." "We need to move away from a model where economic growth is the only indicator of success." "I would say that we are in a state of crisis, that it's the equivalent of a hundred Pearl Harbors going off at once in the environment."

2/4 -
FLORIDA - South Florida SET RECORDS Friday for summer-like weather - temperatures hit 89 degree in Ft. Lauderdale, breaking the previous Groundhog Day record by three degrees, and tied the current record of 87 degrees in Miami. The record-breaking heat was credited to a mass of warm air which had moved in from the Gulf of Mexico. A cold front caused the tornados in Central Florida Friday.

AUSTRALIA - Wildfires killed a motorist and destroyed six houses in Australia's drought-stricken southwest. A 26-year-old school teacher died Saturday as she tried to flee a farmhouse threatened by fire near the farming town of Toodyay, 85 kilometers (55 miles) northeast of the Western Australia state capital Perth. Her car left the road in thick smoke, crashing through fences, and her body was flung into the blaze. Another fire near the timber-milling town of Dwellingup, 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Perth, destroyed six houses Saturday and cut the town's water supply, as well as its power and telephone communications. The fire was fanned by winds gusting up to 50 kmh (30 mph), and spread quickly through tinder-dry forest as temperatures reached the high 40s Celsius (113-122 Fahrenheit). Australia's summer wildfire season is ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE ON RECORD, with most of the country gripped by its WORST DROUGHT IN A CENTURY.

CHINA - Two wildfires in Hunan Province in central China killed at least seven people. One fire was set by villagers burning weeds in Hengyang to allow trees to grow back. The fire began burning out of control, injuring one person and killing five in the group, while seven people escaped unscathed. More than 300 people, including 89 police officers, fought the blaze. Two people were killed in another blaze near the provincial capital, Changsha. The head of the Hunan forest police bureau warned residents of the province to be careful about outdoor fires. He said this year is a bad one for wildfires.

CALIFORNIA - Cal Fire has suspended all outdoor burning because dry weather this winter has led to a rise in wildfire danger. The state usually sees a peak in fire danger in summer and fall, but the lack of rain and snow has made this winter different than most. The Sacramento region experienced the driest January on record. Cal Fire crews said in a matter of seconds, a debris fire can quickly get out of control. "All up and down Northern California right now, we're seeing fires that we'd not normally see until June."

PERU - At a time when scientists have emphasised the importance of the Amazon as the vanguard against catastrophic climate change, the government of Peru is selling off its tropical forest to oil companies at an exponential rate. The amount of Peruvian Amazon territory open to exploration has risen from 13% to 70% in two years. This is putting at risk the biodiversity of the Amazon and the lives of indigenous people. In total, an area the size of California is already signed over or up for auction to oil companies.

INDIA - With India's Himalayan glaciers melting, its eastern islands sinking and FREAK RAIN flooding deserts, environmentalists say global warming is already taking its toll on this populous Asian nation. In India, the signs already back up forecasts that as the mercury rises the Indian subcontinent, home to one-sixth of humanity, will be one of the worst-affected regions. Rising temperatures will also hurt the annual June-September monsoon rains, which India is heavily dependent on for its crops. In the Sunderbans, off India's east coast, scientists say two of the 104 islands have disappeared over the past decade partially due to rising sea levels. "Both islands were inhabited and thousands of people were forced to relocate to some of the other islands." In western India, freak torrential rains flooded the desert state of Rajasthan, displacing hundreds of thousands and killing 140 people last year. Barmer district in the state recorded 58 cm (23 inches) of rainfall in just three days - more than double the average it usually receives for the entire year.

SPAIN is suffering its WORST DROUGHT EVER. Its been three years of drought now. Two months of Atlantic storms in October and November have brought only partial relief and the two big reservoirs at the head of the Tagus are only 12 percent full. The Tagus has to supply an urban population of 7 to 8 million people in Madrid and the surrounding area, provide irrigation for 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres) of maize and pasture and cool two nuclear power stations. It then has to deliver a specified quantity and quality of water at the border with Portugal, as set out in a treaty on shared rivers. "The storms and rain were VERY ABNORMAL this year. In the lower parts of the river basin it rained quite a lot but in the upper part it rained very little." The year from October 2004 to September 2005 was the driest at least since records began in the 1940s. Rain in 2005/6 was 11 percent below average and 2006/7 is proving erratic.

2/2 -
CALIFORNIA experienced one of its driest Januarys on RECORD, a worrisome development for a state that relies on winter rain and snow for its water. The state's snowpack is 57 percent below normal levels, and the northern Sierra Nevada only saw about 17 percent of its normal precipitation in January, among the region's driest EVER RECORDED. For Central Valley farmers, the dry spell marks another battle with nature after a spring that brought floods, a summer of triple-digit heat that scorched fields, and a cold snap earlier this month that destroyed much of the state's $1 billion citrus crop. Wheat growers in Riverside County may not even be able to plant this year. The lack of rainfall could also lead to more wildfires, such as one that recently destroyed multimillion dollar homes in Malibu. "It's very atypical to have a January fire." California typically gets about 80 percent of its rainfall during the winter, but cities statewide reported significantly less than that in January. Sacramento recorded its driest January since it began keeping records in the mid-1800s. The city only saw 0.07 inches of rain - less than 2 percent of its 4.15 inches it typically gets in January. "It's weird. Usually January is a wet and cloudy month. It's been clear and dry and cold." Los Angeles recorded 0.19 inches of rain, compared with the 3.33 inches it sees in an average year. The city is on track to having its driest year ever, receiving only about 20 percent of the rainfall expected at this time of year.

OREGON - this January will rank as the driest on RECORD at the Baker City Municipal Airport. This January has, in fact, quite a lot more in common with July than is customary. Precipitation fell on just two days: .08 on Jan. 3, and .03 on Jan. 20.

EUROPE - Many European countries had their WARMEST JANUARY SINCE RECORDS BEGAN, weather offices said on Wednesday, bringing Dutch daffodils out early and triggering grassland fires in Hungary. In the Netherlands, January temperatures were the highest since they were first measured in 1706. January was set to be the warmest on record in Swiss cities and in most parts of Austria. Hungary also said January had been its warmest on record. Britain said this month could be the second warmest, with 1916 holding the record.

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1/31/07 -
AUSTRALIA - A new report on the effects of climate change in Australia paints an alarming picture of life in the city of Sydney. It warns that if residents do not cut water consumption by more than 50% over the next 20 years, the city will become unsustainable. The report also warns that temperatures could rise 5C above the predicted global average. This would leave the city facing an almost permanent state of drought, with severe droughts nine out of every 10 years, a dramatic rise in the number of bush fires, and freak storm surges which could devastate the coastline. Scientists predict that rainfall will fall by 40% by 2070, not only creating a massive water crisis, but producing double the number of bush fires. The government of New South Wales, which commissioned the report, has been alarmed by its findings. The state premier called it a doomsday scenario, but one which the city and country had to confront.

Billions of people will suffer water shortages and the number of hungry will grow by hundreds of millions by 2080 as global temperatures rise, scientists warn in a new report. The report estimates that between 1.1 billion and 3.2 billion people will be suffering from water scarcity problems by 2080 and between 200 million and 600 million more people will be going hungry. Rising sea levels could flood seven million more homes. Average global temperatures have already risen about 0.7 to 0.8 degrees since 1900, which the report says contributed to increased bleaching in coral reefs in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. At 2.0 to 3.0 degrees above 1900 levels, the report predicts the "complete loss" of Australia's alpine zones and the possible collapse of South America's Amazon forest system, causing a "huge loss of biodiversity".

TASMANIA - 2006 was extraordinarily dry across the state, with some sites reporting their DRIEST YEAR FOR 100 YEARS. Tasmania also experienced some record hot and cold temperatures, several extremely windy days and a number of unseasonal bushfires, snow, frost and hail events throughout the year. EVERY MONTH but September saw a long-term monthly rainfall or temperature RECORD BROKEN. May saw the lowest temperature for the month ever recorded. June experienced the lowest total rainfall. October set records for the hottest day, coldest night, warmest night and lowest rainfall. The strongest gust for the year came on 21 September with 174 km/h at Maatsuyker Island - the fourth highest wind gust ever recorded in the state. The next day, the waverider buoy off Cape Sorell registered a huge wave with a peak height of around 15 metres.
On Macquarie Island, 1500 km southeast of Hobart but actually part of Tasmania, the weather was quite different to that in the rest of the state. Although not as wet as the record-breaking 2005, the total rainfall of 1097 mm is well above the 960 mm long-term average. But when most of Tasmania was shivering through a cold and wet April, Macquarie Island had one of its warmest and driest Aprils on record. At the other extreme, Macquarie Island had its coldest November on record.

FIJI - The water situation is so bad for many families that they no longer care who is in power as long as their water supply problems are solved. But, what is equally worrying is the unpredictable weather patterns. The moderate El Nino phenomenon is affecting the region, causing suppressed rainfall over Fiji. "The El Nino emerged as a weak one around September last year (which is rather unusual as it usually emerges in Feb/March) and has gradually developed into a moderate event. It is likely to gradually dissipate in the coming two-three months but its overall effect over Fiji may continue for a couple more months." It would certainly have a substantial impact on rainfall and distribution across Fiji, with gradually more and more sites reporting below average (40-80 per cent of normal) to well below average (under 40 per cent) rainfall. "Recent weeks have shown very little rainfall occurring over much of the country...The country is not in a full drought situation as yet and given that we are going through what is usually the wettest part of the wet season (January-March) there is still hope of reasonable rainfall (as scattered as it may be) to bring about some relief to the water shortage and stress on shallow rooted crops and vegetation being faced in parts of the Western, Northern and Eastern divisions."

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Mountain glaciers are shrinking three times faster than they were in the 1980s. With mountain glaciers typically only tens of metres thick, this means that many will disappear on a timescale of decades if the trend continues. "We can say there were times during the warmer periods of the last 10,000 years when glaciers have been comparable to what they are now. But it is not the past that worries us, it is the future. With the scenarios predicted, we will enter CONDITIONS WHICH WE HAVE NOT SEEN IN THE PAST 10,000 YEARS, and PERHAPS CONDITIONS WHICH MANKIND HAS NEVER EXPERIENCED."

Australia's famous Great Barrier Reef could be dead within two decades because of the effects of global warming, according to a leaked report. The study warns that the organisms which make up the reef's coral could be bleached, because of warmer seas. It takes at least a decade for coral to start recovering from severe bleaching. But the reef may not have the chance to recover, scientists warn, as temperatures continue to rise and the sea becomes more acidic. This raises the risk that the coral will die outright. The Great Barrier Reef is regarded as the world's largest living organism.

People in the Australian state of Queensland will soon have to start drinking water containing recycled sewage, the state premier has warned. The Premier said he had scrapped a referendum on the issue, because there was no longer a choice. He also warned other Australian states might eventually have to do the same because of mounting water shortages. Water is already recycled in places like Singapore and the UK, but the idea is still unpopular in Australia. But the country is currently suffering from a severe drought - the WORST ON RECORD. "We're not getting rain; we've got no choice. These are ugly decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There's no choice. It's liquid gold, it's a matter of life and death."

TORRES ISLAND - there was no real impact on Masig with recent high tides, due to mainly to the absence of the traditional strong, high-velocity winds, usually in the 30 knot range. “It has rained but it’s not monsoonal. The weather pattern has really changed and is now very unpredictable.” The change in weather patterns had been a gradual process over many years, but had accelerated in recent times. “It’s now quite obvious; so obvious it’s unpredictable. It’s interesting to note the local community seems to have forgotten about the high tide issue given the current weather patterns, and if the strong winds fail to emerge, the damage should be minimal. The high tide will shift the sand, but the water shouldn’t invade the Island as was the case last year.” Global warming is impacting on the Island. “It needs to be remembered it’s not just Masig, Iama, Poruma, Boigu, Saibai and Warraber, but also Cairns and the entire South Pacific where some islands already have been abandoned. And what about the 5000 people living along the coastline of PNG? But people seem to have left it to the politicians. The monster of global warming is not going to get smaller, it’s going to grow and grow; it’s a time bomb waiting to happen. Someone needs to educate the people throughout the entire Torres Strait, not just the five or six islands affected.” People in the South Pacific are losing their whole islands.

1/29 -
NIGERIA - The weather is confused - The harmattan haze is blowing across Nigeria in an UNUSUAL manner. There were hardly traces of harmattan in many areas from October to January which were supposed to be the season of harmattan. The type and current level of hammattan being experienced in Lagos is probably the first in seventeen years. In the last two decades, it has become unusual to have the type of harmattan currently being experienced in the south. The carrying of the Sahara dust haze during this season now appears to be unusual. Experts believe that the sea is eroding the shoreline 10 times faster than before. It is believed that more flooding will take place in places such as Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki. Already, some parts of Niger Delta are at risk and Nigeria has even lost some oil rigs to coastal erosion. Experts have predicted that some parts of Lagos might be swept off due to sea level rise. Lagos is below the sea level and very vulnerable to the impact of climate change. The United Nations Environment Programme hinted that the average sea level has globally risen by 10 to 20cm in the past 100 years.

SKIING - Half of the freestyle World Cup events have been cancelled or postponed, as have some 40 per cent of the alpine events, and all for the same reason - poor snow cover. Resort owners have been unable to use the hi-tech snow-making equipment that has saved marginal seasons in the past decade, because of the unseasonably warm temperatures. As climate change becomes one of the key world issues, it raises the possibility that this could be the future for winter sport. If the world is getting warmer, and few doubt it these days, then skiing is the sport that will be most affected. "The west of North America has been fine, but the east, and central Europe have been diabolical. I can remember worse in both places individually, but I can't remember a time when both places have been equally bad, causing so many cancellations." Even places that have long been regarded as year-round skiing venues, like Tignes in the French Alps and Solden in Austria, both with high-altitude glaciers, have had to cancel their traditional early-season events. The skiing fraternity would need three bad seasons in a row to be convinced that this is their new reality rather than just another freak season.

1/28 -
AUSTRALIA - Firefighters are battling three major bushfires amid searing heat and strong winds that have generated extreme fire danger warnings across Western Australia. Lightning sparked a huge blaze that raced through parkland and onto private property near Jurien Bay, north of Perth.

Serious disagreement has broken out among scientists over a United Nations climate report's contention that the world's greatest wilderness - Antarctica - will be largely unaffected by rising world temperatures. By the end of the century, at least a quarter of the sea ice around Antarctica will disappear, though this forecast is not mentioned in the study. The fate of that continent crucially affects the fate of the planet, and it is already being affected by global warming. Antarctica possesses the Earth's greatest mass of ice and acts as an engine that drives the globe's weather systems. Disturbances to Antarctica could have wide repercussions. If all its ice were to melt, sea levels round the world would rise by 70 metres. The greatest temperature rise on Earth over the past five decades has been found on the Antarctic peninsula. In addition, researchers reported last October that in just over a month, an entire Antarctic ice shelf, bigger than Gloucestershire, had disintegrated and disappeared.

Much of the attention devoted recently to global climate change has focused, understandably, on its causes and possible prevention. But a group of international experts gathered on January 24 for a conference on the potential for extremists to use the effects of climate change to their own advantage. Large scale security threats include catastrophic shortages of water, food, and energy resources that might threaten all of mankind. There might also be loss of life and mass human migrations as a result of flooding or drought that climate change threatens to bring. Authorities fear that some of those events could be exploited by terrorists.

BRITAIN - Dramatically changing weather in London has given rise to anxieties for early-bird wildlife. The past seven days have seen the conditions lurch from warm and sunny to gale-force winds and finally sub-zero temperatures and snow. The prolonged mild spell during December and early January saw many frogs, newts and toads out and about instead of in their usual hibernation. They could now be caught out by the plunging temperatures. "Male common newts have been seen in the ponds in their full breeding colours and doing their mating dance since December, which is around two months earlier than usual...The extent to which the population will be affected all depends now on how long it lasts. But it isn't just the amphibians that will be struggling, mammals such as hedgehogs are also likely to be affected." Marsh marigolds have also been in bloom since December, when they normally flower in February. Robins and sparrows have been spotted searching for nesting sites several months too early.

1/26 -
ALASKA - Too warm in Alaska: more polar bears giving birth on land. Pregnant polar bears in Alaska, which spend most of their lives on sea ice, are increasingly giving birth on land, according to researchers who say global warming is probably to blame. Though bears are powerful swimmers, at some point they might have to cross vast stretches of open water to reach habitat on shore suitable for building dens in which to give birth. "The sea ice changes may have reduced the availability or degraded the quality of offshore denning habits." In recent years, Arctic pack ice has formed progressively later and melted earlier each season.

The U.S. and other nations may experience adverse effects of climate change within 10 years. The changing climate is more threatening than previously thought, a U.S. government study will show. "The rate of climate change is much faster than we all think. There will be many extreme large weather events. It is more urgent and catastrophic than we previously thought." Flooding of low-lying countries means the U.S. Navy will have to deal with large numbers of refugees.

“Climate change is overwhelming the situation in Africa...unless we take genuine steps now to reduce our emissions, people in the developed world will be condemning millions to hunger, starvation and death.” One of the challenges faced by humanity is to decide “how to design a new model for human progress and development that is climate proof…and gives everyone a fair share of the natural resources on which we all depend.” Despite an already erratic climate over Africa, scientific research “indicates new and dangerous extremes.” Further droughts in the continent will make it increasingly more difficult for Africans to grow food and rely on food security, making it more difficult to end poverty in the region. The average number of food emergencies in Africa per year almost tripled since the mid 1980s. In the last year alone, 25 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa have faced food crisis. There will be a huge loss in animal habitat on the continent and it will become increasingly difficult for plants to survive. Cities such as Cape Town, Lagos and Alexandria will be at risk of severe flooding by 2080 and the rising sea levels could potentially place 30% of Africa’s coastal settlements under water, displacing millions of peoples and animals, and causing the disappearance of some species of animals altogether.

1/25 -
Human-caused global warming is here — visible in the air, water and melting ice — and is destined to get much worse in the future, an authoritative global scientific report will warn next week. "The smoking gun is definitely lying on the table as we speak. The evidence...is compelling." The February report will have "much stronger evidence now of human actions on the change in climate that's taken place." Global warming is already changing health, species, engineering and food production. The scientists are gloomy about the future and the even hotter weather and higher sea level rises expected. The future is bleak, scientists said. "We have barely started down this path."

Global warming could exacerbate the world's rich-poor divide and help to radicalize populations and fan terrorism in the countries worst affected, security and climate experts said on Wednesday. "Violence within and between communities and between nation states, we must accept, could possibly increase, because the precedents are all around." It is likely that global warming would create huge flows of refugees as people tried to escape areas swamped by rising sea levels or rendered uninhabitable by desertification. Terrorists are likely to seek to exploit the tensions created. "Those who are short of food, those who are short of water, those who can't move to countries where it looks as if everything is marvelous are going to be people who are going to adopt desperate measures to try and make their point." Al Qaeda has already listed environmental damage among its litany of grievances against the United States. "You have destroyed nature with your industrial waste and gases more than any other nation in history. Despite this, you refuse to sign the Kyoto agreement so that you can secure the profit of your greedy companies and industries." Any attempt by countries to build fortress walls to keep out climate change refugees - the "barbarians at the gate" mentality - is doomed to fail.

ICELAND could be looking at a new January heat record Wednesday after the end of the cold wave that hit Iceland in early January and stayed until last week. There is currently very warm air above the country, which could result in temperatures up to 20°C in south and southeast Iceland, which is VERY UNUSUAL at this time of year. Even last summer the temperature never reached 10°C 1,400 meters above ground.

BRAZIL - meteorologists affirm that the amount of rain in the country in November and December is already impressive. In the beginning of December - the first Thursday, it rained 51 mm (the equivalent of 51 liters per square meter) in four hours. Places in Sao Paulo city that had never been flooded were submerged. Meanwhile Guaruja, a famous beach in Sao Paulo is facing some problems with strangely high tides. The sea level has risen so that where they used to have 200 meters of sand between the water and the sidewalk now they have almost none. (photos)

FINLAND - after the very warm year they are having extremely warm winter. "No snow, no ice, instead green grass and buds in bushes - and because there is no snow the darkness is unbelievable!" The changes are just more than enormous. By this time of the year, the temperature in Helsinki normally ranges between -10°C to -22°C, coupled with severe wind. All trees are normally dry and white with snow. The sea and lakes are usually all frozen. But almost all of the above have changed this year around Helsinki. The temperature has ranged between -1 to +11, the trees are unbelievably so green, and no single lake or sea is frozen or appears to show signs of being so at all this year. (photos)

JAPAN - From mid-January to mid-April, the Sea of Okhotsk is choked with ice fragments drifting their way south to oblivion in warmer climates. The Hokkaido coast is the southernmost area in the Northern Hemisphere to experience drift ice. Hokkaido's drift ice has unfortunately become a casualty of global warming. In the last twenty years the amount and thickness of the drift ice has lessened. The season for viewing drift ice has shortened, as well. (photos)

CHILE - In the central region of Chile, where most of the country's population is concentrated, the global warming phenomenon has caused abnormally high temperatures during winter, from May to September, and through mid-November some lower temperatures and cloudier days had been experienced since October, when the temperatures are normally higher. The higher temperatures have caused an increase in the rat population in rural areas. This has provoked the appearance of the hanta virus, which is contracted when humans come into contact with areas infested by rats. The levels of solar radiation for January 2006 were higher than in January 2005, and the color used for this period was violet (extremely dangerous). The estimates are that due to the reduction in the ozone layer, by the age of 18, a Chilean has already been exposed to radiation that normally would have been received in 50 years. Sheep farmers in Patagonia noticed that high levels of exposure to UV rays were blinding many of their animals. In the Southern Patagonia Ice Field, glaciers are constantly melting at an alarmingly fast rate, creating large blocks of ice that increase the level of the seas.

SOUTH AFRICA - in central South Africa, they are experiencing incredibly high temperatures. "At the moment the land is screaming for rain, and the statistics are starting to look ominous. The average rainfall measured over 30 years for January here is about 90mm (3.54 inches). So far we've had 0mm, and it's mid-month. In November we had a month's rainfall in a single day and then no rain after that."

YOUR experiences - Citizen reporters and bloggers should record unusual weather in their regions. The site, OhmyNews, is asking for real time information updates, specifically pertaining to weather, and especially anomalies. The focus does not need to be on catastrophe, just the broad band between what's unusual and new records.

1/23 -
CALIFORNIA - After years of above average rainfall, California is historically overdue for a drought. And after years of state growth, the next dry spell could spell hard times. Some say it's too early to start talking about a serious drought in California, but one water expert has an ominous prediction about a long dry spell. It is now thirty years since the last serious drought, and Bay Area hillsides in late January are brown, not green, due to a lack of rainfall. The same thing that happened during the 1970s drought. "This weather pattern is awful familiar." Reservoirs are at 120 percent of normal, which is more than enough water to last through next summer. But even state water officials are cautious. "It's still too early to be overly concerned, but no rain in January is something to take note of."

BULGARIA - RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES surprised even experts from the National Institute of meteorology and hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Sunday with highs in the mid-twenties in the dead of winter. Temperatures at present are twenty degrees centigrade above average for this time of year. The erratic weather is set to continue into the week with temperature reaching 25'C in some places, meteorologists say. A forecast issued by the Institue of Meteorolgy predicts this week they will be witnessing ONE OF THE WARMEST WINTER DAYS ON RECORD. Bulgaria together with Greece have been experiencing a mid-winter heatwave since the beginning of January and the FREAKISH weather is starting to take its toll. The flu has been particularly vicious this year due to the warm and moist weather across the country; bees are looking for flowers and bears are wide awake searching for food. Primroses are flowering in mid-January in warm, blustery conditions more suited to April than mid-winter. December was unseasonably warm, too, the HOTTEST SINCE 1988. Unsurprisingly, that succession of warm months ensured that 2006 WAS THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD in Bulgaria. And so far this year, if the weather continues as it has been, they will be in for the WARMEST JANUARY SINCE RECORDS BEGAN too.

1/22 -
CYPRUS - The island has experienced 25 per cent less rainfall than is usual for the time of year. The recent lack of rain has caused the Yermasoyia dam to be at its LOWEST LEVEL IN ITS HISTORY. It has a capacity of 13.5 million cubic metres of water, with reserves on Friday at a mere 470,000 cubic metres. Heavy rain fell on the island yesterday. Larnaca Airport recorded 2.8 millimetres of rainfall between midnight and 6am yesterday morning, while all roads in the Troodos region were yesterday closed to vehicles not equipped with four-wheel drive or snow chains.

1/21 -
Parts of the North Atlantic are setting WINTER HEAT RECORDS, allowing species ranging from swordfish to jellyfish to thrive beyond their normal ranges in a shift linked by many scientists to global warming. Temperatures in Arctic waters off northern Europe at the tail end of the Gulf Stream, for example, are about 6.7C, the HIGHEST FOR EARLY JANUARY SINCE RECORDS BEGAN in the 1930s. The world's oceans are already in a warming trend that could alter fish stocks, perhaps damaging coral reefs that are vital nurseries for tropical species while boosting northern stocks of cod or herring. "The global oceans have been warming since the middle 1970s." "There have been MANY RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES in recent months. The climate regimes are changing and moving northwards." The longer-term warming trend is affecting all oceans. In Lista by the North Sea, for example, water temperatures were a RECORD 8.5C, 2-3 degrees above normal for January.

MALAYSIA - Malaysians have always felt sheltered from global disasters in their little corner of the earth. But on Dec 18 climate change – a term previously so foreign – became all too real. More than 100,000 Malaysians in Johor had to be evacuated after the state was inundated with the heaviest rainfall in a century. Even before the umbrellas can be put aside, comes the awful prediction of severe drought that will affect Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in late February. "What on earth is happening to our weather?" “The winds have become forceful over the years, the waves unpredictable. We’ve come across many small, twister-like funnels out at sea. We used to be able to look at the clouds and waves and sense what weather is ahead before we set out to sea. Now, we can’t. We don’t know what’s happening with the weather anymore.” “These days, my house in Kampung Baru feels like it’s air-conditioned every night; it’s so cold!” The three predicted scenarios that will affect Malaysia are: increased severe rainfall, drought and rising sea levels.
Britain’s Environment Agency Sustainable Development Unit paints a bleak picture - “Major floods that have only happened before every 100 years on average, many now start to happen every 10 or 20 years. The flood season may become longer and there will be flooding in places where there has never been any before.” There have been killer heat waves in soggy London; winter drought in northern China; barren ski slopes on the Alps; and North Americans sunbathing in a warm winter while Bangladeshis suffer freezing and flooding. The risks of major disruptions to economic and social activity could “reach a scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic depression of the first half of the 20th century. Climate change will affect the basic elements of life for people around the world – access to water, food production, health and the environment. Hundreds of millions of people could suffer hunger, water shortages and coastal flooding as the world warms."

1/19 -
World faces megafire threat - they burn like 'fire hurricane' on fronts stretching sometimes thousands of kilometres and with a ferocity that explodes trees and makes them impossible to extinguish short of rain or divine intervention. Bushfires like those that had raged through Australia's southeast for two months and struck Europe, Canada and the western US in 2003 were a new type of "megafire" not seen until recently. "They basically burn until there is a substantial break in the weather, or they hit a coastline. These fires can't be controlled by any suppression resources that we have available anywhere in the world." Megafires are created when separate fires link and create one "super-front". Some of Australia's fires this summer have borders stretching thousands of kilometres, although authorities have been fortunate in that most have been in remote mountain ranges. The fires are so fierce they create their own weather and winds, sucking in air from all directions.

1/18 -
Experts assessing the dangers posed to civilisation have added climate change to the prospect of nuclear annihilation as the greatest threats to humankind. As a result, the group has moved the minute hand on its famous "Doomsday Clock" two minutes closer to midnight. The time now stands at five minutes to the hour. Not since the darkest days of the Cold War has the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists felt the need to place the minute hand so close to midnight. Growing global nuclear instability has led humanity to the brink of a "Second Nuclear Age," the group concluded, and the threat posed by climate change is second only to that posed by nuclear weapons. A less immediate threat, but included in the assessment, is the one posed by emerging life science technologies, such as synthetic biology and genetic modification.

AUSTRALIA & INDONESIA - Evidence from fossil corals collected in the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra suggest that Australia and Indonesia may face a future of scorching heat waves and severe long-running droughts. This will be all thanks to the intensification of Asia's monsoon rains. “Rural livelihoods and natural resources will thus be at greater risk as drought undercuts regional food supplies and stokes wildfires that also generate exceedingly poor air quality in the region.” “This is a good example of the big connections through the global climate system.” While past events occurred over a thousand years or so, future changes could be abrupt, making adaptation difficult. “We could see some dramatic changes within a human lifetime. It's astonishing, but it's all connected.”

CALIFORNIA - With rainfall just 25 percent of normal and El Niño unexpectedly weakening this month, weather forecasters say Southern California may face its driest winter on record. Howling winds have pushed into the traditional wet season, wicking moisture from hillside brush to critically dry levels and raising fears of a disastrous fire season. Despite recent frigid temperatures, the National Weather Service has maintained its red-flag warnings. "El Niño was our last hope. The deeper and drier we get into this, the weakening El Niño enhances the probability for one of the driest winters in history." It's a weather pattern that has confounded forecasters, frustrated water departments, worried firefighters and inflamed residents' allergies. For months, it's been the weather repeat of "Groundhog Day." Storms are predicted. Clouds move in. Clouds move out. Gutters remain mostly dry. And then the dry northeast winds - offshore Santa Anas - blow. For days. The arctic storm that arrived last Friday brought nary a drop of rain but ushered in 40 mph gusts that toppled trees and blew off doors. Since July 1.31 inches of rain has fallen on downtown Los Angeles. The brush is so dry that weather forecasters have extended their fire weather desk two months past the end of the normal fire season. "The vegetation acts as if it were dead. ... We should be going the other way this time of year." More northeast winds, generated by additional high-pressure systems expected over the Great Basin, make conditions especially hazardous for Southern California.
This cold spell in California is ONE OF THE MOST SEVERE RECORDED IN THE LAST 57 YEARS. The severity was largely due to the fact that coastal winds and the ocean were unable to moderate the cold-air mass because it was so far inland. An interesting point about the most recent RECORD LOWS is that they come less than a week after Southern California observed RECORD HIGHS. "Climate change, and the radical weather effects it unleashes even during the winter, is going to directly affect the food supply. The immediate threat of climate change is not that rising oceans will sink cities, but that floods, freezes and droughts will devastate the food supply, leading to mass starvation and a population correction."
1/17 -
AUSTRALIA - Bush fires are continuing to threaten property in the Australian state of Victoria, a day after they knocked out power supplies to some 200,000 people. Eight houses were destroyed in two separate blazes, while lightning strikes triggered new fires. High temperatures and winds were escalating the situation. Bush fires have been burning in Victoria since November. On Monday, Australia asked US firefighters to join teams from New Zealand and Canada to help battle the blazes. The powercut came amid soaring demand for electricity, to combat the 39C heat. In Melbourne, trains and trams were affected and more than 1,000 traffic lights failed, causing chaos on roads. Hospitals lost power and shops and offices were forced to close. Temperatures are set to exceed 40C later this week. The fires are UNPRECEDENTED. "This is the WORST BUSHFIRE CONDITIONS WE HAVE EVER HAD in Victoria's history, because it is going to go on and it is going to get worse." Fire crews face several more days of extreme temperatures and strong winds in the state's worst-ever bushfire crisis. The fires burned for the 48th day, consumed their millionth hectare and spread north into NSW, and the state's north-east can expect extreme fire conditions at least until Saturday. The Tolmie fire is posing the biggest risk to property, with spot fires darting ahead of the main fire and heading south towards the outskirts of Mansfield. "I think it's the worst we have faced but it's the best prepared we have been. If this had have been the case in the 1930s, the 1940s, the 1950s, it would have been totally out of control."

RUSSIA - The consistently mild temperatures being registered throughout European Russia this winter are UNLIKE ANYTHING EXPERIENCED BEFORE. The unusually warm winter weather, more typical of fall, began in December and has continued into January, with average temperatures remaining above zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Temperatures throughout December were 6-8° above the average: "Short-term fluctuations have occurred before, but such weather persisting for a whole month is a previously unseen phenomenon." The first two weeks of January, normally the coldest month of the year, were the warmest for those dates in the Russian capital in 130 years. Last year, conversely, most of Russia was gripped by bitter cold as temperatures plummeted to minus 34°C (minus 29.2°F) on the night of January 19-20. The abnormal weather in Russia, as well as in Western Europe, was due to several factors. "The temperature over Greenland is extremely low, while the Gulf Stream, which runs several hundred kilometers from the Arctic island, is warmer than usual this year. So a powerful immovable cyclone has originated." "This year, the [El Nino] phenomenon was noticed in October [rather than December] and shifted warm air currents from the tropics to our latitudes."

NORWAY - Climate change contributed to a building's collapse - Wetter weather and frequent temperature swings put more wear and tear on the bricks and mortar in old buildings, experts say. They suggest that climate change may have contributed to Sunday's collapse of an Oslo apartment house built in the late 1880s. The roof of the building at Trondheimsveien 6 collapsed, along with parts of the facade. A young woman was killed when bricks and rubble from the building crashed down on her as she happened to walk by. More wind, more precipitation and sudden temperature swings can loosen roofing, weaken a building's structure and cause a facade to crack. "In Oslo, there are many buildings of an advanced age that should get extra attention." (photo)

1/16 -
AUSTRALIA - properties north of the Victorian mountain towns of Toombullup and Archerton are under direct threat and "immediate attack" from a huge bushfire front. Temperatures are expected to nudge 40C, with winds gusting to 45km/h, in the area today.
The El Nino driven drought plaguing much of southern Australia is beginning to weaken, new data from the Bureau of Meteorology shows. If the pattern continues, experts say rain is likely around Australia by the end of summer or early autumn. "In the past we have seen the El Nino stop after reaching the weak stage. We expect from typical patterns the El Nino will decay by March. However, there is still a moderate chance for there to be renewed strengthening of the event for a month or two before it decays." El Nino is caused by sustained warming over large parts of the central and eastern tropical Pacific ocean. El Nino events occur about every four to seven years and typically last for around 12 to 18 months. The latest El Nino had been shorter than average as had the intervals between El Ninos in Australia. "The last El Nino felt in Australia occurred in 2002-2003 but we almost had one in 2004."

UNITED KINGDOM - Freezing Januarys may have become a thing of the past as global warming takes hold. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES, the temperature in the region has failed to dip below zero degrees centigrade so far into the month. "We have had no frost at all so far this month. Our average temperature in January is usually about freezing, but at the moment we're reaching over 5C." The unseasonal warmth is being repeated around the globe. Moscow had the mildest December since records began when temperatures topped 8.6C, and last week the overnight temperature failed to drop below 5C. Average overnight temperature for Moscow at this time of year is usually -16C.

1/14 -
NEW ZEALAND - a massive landslide has occurred in the Mount Aspiring National Park. Around 500,000 cubic metres of debris has come tumbling down. The landslide buried an alpine lake and blocked the Joe River near Passchendaele Peak. On Thursday afternoon a helicopter pilot noticed a large plume of thick dust rising into the air and reported it. A reconnaissance flight on Friday showed more than half a million cubic metres of mountain had given way, crashing into the John Englis Valley. The slide was so large it registered 4.5 on the Richter scale.
NEW ZEALAND - Natural causes rather than seismic activity probably triggered the massive landslide in Mt Aspiring National Park. The landslip, about 150m wide and 150m long, sent at least half a million cubic metres of rock and debris crashing into the John Inglis valley floor. Climate change was probably a major factor with a lot of glacier melt in the area making many of the mountain slopes in the area unstable. "This was a progressive landslide. Landslides in this area are not unusual but rapid falls like this are." The rumble from the landslide registered 4.3 on the Richter scale. There is now an enormous hollowed-out cauldron-shaped hole on the mountain face. There are rock piles the size of houses on the valley floor.

UNITED KINGDOM - RARE seabirds are being blown onto Walney because of strong winter winds. Birds which normally spend most of their lives at sea are appearing at South Walney Nature Reserve because gusts of wind are forcing them to find onshore shelter. Walney bird sanctuary got a shock last week when they found a confused guillemot outside the front door. The giant seabird, RARE to the North West, would normally come on land only to breed, but the weather is forcing several UNUSUAL species on to the site. But unfortunately the unseasonably warm weather is putting off some of the reserve’s most treasured winter guests from nesting on the island. The twite, similar to a linnet, is on the “red list”, making it a threatened species. And its population on the island has halved thanks to the warm winter. "The twites are going elsewhere this year."
January 13, traditionally the coldest day of the year, passed yesterday as ONE OF THE WARMEST ON RECORD. Temperatures averaged 12C, above the seasonal average by 9C. More record-breaking warmth is expected this month, confusing plants and animals that should now be dormant. Daffodils, normally in bloom in March, are already out in St Mawes in Cornwall. "The Crocus tomassinianus was in flower on New Year's Day, which is A RECORD. This is nine days earlier than any on our records, which go back to the 1950s. We've also got Narcissus February Gold that's already five inches through the ground, which we shouldn't really be seeing for another month. Quite a number of plants haven't gone to sleep as they usually do. I would describe it as a case of 'no winter'." Flowers are still in bloom that winter frost would normally have killed. Oak trees are still in leaf and rhododendrons in bloom. Frogspawn has also come early in some parts of the country. "We've got dragonflies hovering over our ponds, bumble bees still buzzing and looking for pollen, crab apples still on trees ... It's as if winter never started." "We had winter flowering vibernums flowering back in December - at least a month earlier than they should. The snowdrops are starting to push through the ground already. We don't usually see them for at least another month."

1/12 -
AUSTRALIA - CANBERRA'S inner-southern suburbs and Parliament House suffered a blackout today as demand for electricity surged with temperatures reaching 40 degrees. Today was the national capital's HOTTEST JANUARY DAY IN ALMOST 40 YEARS, with the temperature reaching 40.5C at Canberra Airport. The temperature was the ACT's second highest on record for a January day, and the third hottest temperature ever recorded in Canberra. The hottest day on record was January 31, 1968, when temperatures reached 41.4 degrees.

RUSSIA - Moscow's UNUSUALLY WARM winter weather continued to break records Thursday as temperatures hit 5.3 Celsius, making it the HOTTEST JANUARY 11 IN MORE THAN 50 YEARS. The balmy weather, nearly 9 degrees above average, is likely to continue through the end of the month. February may be just as warm. Moscow is not alone. M