DROUGHT, HEAT, WATER SHORTAGES, WILDFIRES

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"Dig the well before you are thirsty." - Chinese proverb

Photos, before and after, showing how the earth has changed and heated up.

"Scientists, especially astronomers, do not agree that human beings are causing global warming. The ice caps on the planet Mars are melting and there is other warming going on throughout the solar system."
New images of Mars suggest the red planet's surface is more active than previously thought. Deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near the planet's south pole have shrunk for three summers in a row. These changes suggest climate change is in progress. "To see new gullies and other changes in Mars surface features on a time span of a few years presents us with a more active, dynamic planet than many suspected." The newly released images also show boulder tracks at another site, which were not there two years ago.

U.S. Drought Monitor.

Crop failures, food shortages and fish die-off page.

2007 Climate change, drought, wildfires

2006 -
12/31/06 -
MINNESOTA - Much of northeastern Minnesota will finish 2006 in the grip of extreme drought, as a combination of a decade-long moisture deficit and an acute dry spell that began last May have sent water levels across the region to near record lows. The drought conditions have dropped Lake Superior’s level to a degree NOT SEEN SINCE THE 1920s. And without an increase in precipitation soon, the lake could break even that 80-year old record. Climatologists in the state are beginning to watch water levels on inland lakes and streams as well, since many are also experiencing LEVELS NOT SEEN IN DECADES. The region’s acute dry spell began in May, at a time when the area typically receives the bulk of its rainfall. Climate watchers dubbed the dry spell a “flash drought,” a term that suggests its sudden and intense onset. The conditions are reminiscent of 1976, the last time the area was hit with extreme and extended drought. “If we continue with little or no snow, we’re going to really have to watch things.” Winters in Minnesota are typically very dry, with less than an inch of precipitation per month on average. And this winter has been particularly dry and warm so far, which hasn’t helped the situation.

UNUSUAL WEATHER SEASON -
12/31 -
U.S. - This year of weather extremes, from incessant rain in the Northwest to chronic drought in the heartland and wildfires in the West, could go down as the second-warmest on record when it ends. The first 11 months of 2006 already were the second-warmest January-to-November since national record-keeping began in 1895. "The warmth has been incredible." Last January was so warm that North America had the second-lowest amount of snow on the ground for that month. Only January 1981 had less. Several major cities broke records this year: •Seattle had the most rainfall in a single month in November, topping its 73-year-old record with 15.63 inches — about three times the city's average for the month. •New York broke a 59-year-old record when 26.9 inches of snow blanketed the city Feb. 11-12. •Phoenix had a record 143 straight days without measurable rain before a March 11 downpour. The wet weather in Washington and Oregon is UNUSUAL because an El Niño climate pattern now in place normally would make it drier. "This El Niño we've got going right now is ONE OF THE WEIRDEST ONES THAT I'VE SEEN. We should not be having the weather we're having."

OREGON - the year truly belonged to Mother Nature, from the long, hot summer that saw a rash of drownings, to the late fall storms that claimed the lives of families, fishermen and mountain climbers alike. The year was punctuated by flooding and mudslides, and high snowpack levels across the Cascade mountains - trouble for low-lying valley and coastal counties where rivers spilled over their natural borders. As December arrived, so did the winter weather, whipping up ocean waves that killed four crabbers trying to cross the bar at Gold Beach. The same storms trapped a San Francisco family for days in the mountains of Southern Oregon, where they kept their two young daughters alive on berries, crackers and breast milk, and burned their tires for precious warmth. Days later, three adventurous climbers were stranded atop Mount Hood, setting off a rescue operation that made international headlines. Both those stories ended tragically. The dead zone reappeared off the Oregon Coast last summer, spreading over an area larger than Rhode Island, lasting 17 weeks and leaving the ocean bottom littered with dead crabs, sea stars and sea anemones. The commercial salmon season was drastically curtailed in order to protect shrinking returns of wild chinook to the Klamath River in Northern California.

WISCONSIN - Between mild temperatures and next to no snow, it hasn't seemed like a typical Wisconsin winter. There was the first - and only - snowfall on Dec. 1 that dropped about four inches in Monroe and more than a foot in southeastern Wisconsin, but that snow was nearly gone a week later. And with the sun shining brightly, even the area's plants are confused. "Some plants may be fooled into thinking it's spring because of the abnormally warm weather." Some flowering plants have already begun blooming, which could pose problems come spring. "The arctic cold remains far away to the north of our state. Following a short, dramatic cold period to start the month, we have returned to the warm patterns of this past November. The outlook is for a warming trend and likelihood of above normal temperatures for the season," which, in meteorological terms, begins in December and runs through February. "A slight tendency for less precipitation is also predicted." Wisconsin isn't alone in having an abnormally warm winter this year. "The Netherlands is having the same problem." Over 400 species of plants have flowered there during the month of December.

NETHERLANDS - Weather records tumbled all over the world in 2006, and the Netherlands was no exception. But the difference lies in the fact that the Dutch have been keeping records longer than most, since 1706. 'A very unusual year,' the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute summed up on Friday as the year drew to a close. The first 300-YEAR RECORD was surpassed in July, when the average daily temperature hit 22.3 degrees Celsius, by comparison with the 17.4 degrees regarded as normal. The measuring station Westdorpe recorded a scorching - for the Netherlands - maximum of 37.1 degrees on July 19, BREAKING ALL PREVIOUS RECORDS. July was also extremely sunny, with 310 hours of sun recorded nationally, against a long-term average for the month of 201 hours. At the De Bilt national measuring station in the province of Utrecht, it was the SUNNIEST JULY SINCE 1904. A RECORD AMOUNT OF RAIN fell in August - although this time it was only of around 100 years' standing, as accurate measurements do not reach as far back as with temperature. The average of 184 millimetres that fell in the month smashed the previous record of 152 millimetres set in 1969. Farmers were unable to get harvesting machinery into waterlogged fields. September saw ANOTHER 300-year TEMPERATURE RECORD fall by the wayside. The average daily temperature came in at 17.9 degrees, compared with the normal 14.2 degrees. The ensuing autumn was the warmest - or 'softest' as the Dutch like to say - since 1706. The average daily temperature for September, October and November came in at 13.6 degrees, SMASHING THE PREVIOUS RECORD by more than one degree. The last 10 days of November were the WARMEST EVER RECORDED for that period. The year as a whole had been the WARMEST IN 300 YEARS, with an average of 11.2 degrees. The record was particularly noteworthy, as the first three months of the year had been colder than usual. And it pointed to perhaps the most alarming record of all. On November 1, as the worst storm of the year passed, a water level of 4.83 metres above Normal Amsterdam Level, was measured at Delfzijl on the far northern coast. 'A water level as high as this HAS NEVER BEFORE BEEN RECORDED."

12/29 -
An enormous ice shelf snapped off in the Arctic 16 months ago - An ancient ice shelf has cracked off northern Ellesmere Island, creating an enormous, 66-square-kilometre ice island and leaving a trail of icy blocks in its wake. In 10 years of working in the Arctic, one scientist said he had never seen such a dramatic collapse. "It really is incredible. It's like a cruise missile has come down and hit the ice shelf." The breakup was so powerful, earthquake monitors 250 kilometres away picked up the tremors as the 3,000 to 4,500 year-old shelf tore away from its fjord on Ellesmere. The scientists say they are only now releasing details after piecing together what occurred using seismic monitors and Canadian and U.S. satellites. They say the ice shelf collapse is THE BIGGEST IN CANADA IN 30 YEARS and is indicative of the transformation underway on Ellesmere, Canada's most northern landmass. It took less than an hour for the ice shelf to calve off in the early afternoon of Aug. 13, 2005. The ice island is about 37 metres thick and measures roughly 15 kilometres by five kilometres. That's the size of a small city, or larger than 11,000 football fields. The island is now stuck in the winter ice, but the researchers believe it is just a matter of time before it is freed and floats away. They say the ice island could become a potential hazard to navigation and oil and gas extraction if it sails south towards the Beaufort Sea."We're seeing incredible changes." In 2002, Ellesmere's Ward Hunt Ice Shelf had cracked in half. The researchers have also seen the sudden collapse of ice dams and the draining of 30-kilometre-long lakes into the sea. (map / photo)

MISSOURI - This year's shipping season on the Missouri River was the WEAKEST IN 55 YEARS as low water levels forced companies to find other avenues for freight. The corps this year ended the shipping season 48 days early, missing the fall harvest. "This has been discouraging. It has been several years since we had an eight-month season." For years, rain and snow have been scarce in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, depleting northern reservoirs along the Missouri and preventing the corps from releasing more water downstream. In Kansas City, the river has hit RECORD LOWS, barely covering the city's drinking water intakes.

UNUSUAL WEATHER SEASON -
12/29 -
RUSSIA - This year Russia has registered the HIGHEST NUMBER OF UNFAVORABLE AND DANGEROUS NATURAL PHENOMENA IN THE HISTORY OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATION. Between January and November, 371 dangerous natural phenomena - including extreme cold, heat waves, strong winds and driving rains - were registered throughout Russia. "The year also ends unusually with the abnormally warm weather in late November and early December, when plants even began to bloom in some areas." Extreme deviations in weather patterns were observed before, but over the past decade they have become more and more frequent. Following near-record low temperatures during last winter's cold spell, which saw the mercury plummet to -31°C (-23.8°F) January 19 - one degree above the all-time low for Moscow - European Russia experienced RECORD WARM temperatures this month. But they said this year's unusually warm start of winter in Russia should not be associated with global warming. Rather, the reason for this year's UNUSUAL weather was a strong anticyclone over Greenland, which 'orchestrated' the weather over European Russia.

CHINA - Typhoons, floods and droughts have claimed 2,704 lives and inflicted economic losses of 212 billion yuan this year. "The losses China suffered this year were second only to those inflicted in 1998 when an extremely severe flood ravaged the country." This year, seven typhoons and seven strong tropical storms have hit the Chinese mainland, including Typhoon Saomai, the strongest typhoon to hit China since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, that claimed at least 460 lives. Both the intensity of the disaster weather and the damages caused were "RARE" in the country's history. This spring saw 18 sandstorms in northern China, a RECORD high since 2000 while in summer, the worst drought in a century ravaged Chongqing Municipality of northwestern China, leaving more than 17 million people with drinking water shortages. Sichuan Province was also stricken by its most severe drought since 1951. Northern China experienced its worst acid rain in 14 years this summer. In August, 80 percent of the rainy days in Beijing were "acid rain days". Since December, most parts of central and eastern China have been cloaked in thick fog which has triggered frequent road accidents and postponed flights.

CANADA - British Columbia suffered — and suffered and suffered — from the weather in 2006. "It was almost as if Nature had this area in its crosshairs." B.C. was very wet, excessively dry, battered by storms, snowed on and frozen, and in Vancouver, approached a record for the most consecutive rainy days. The consequences were dire, from a widespread and lengthy boil-water alert, to hundreds of thousands left without power, damage to hundreds of homes, trees down in Vancouver's Stanley Park, extensive wildfires and the depression that comes from 27 wet days in a row. In parts of the Prairies, hail events set a record, with 221 in total, compared to the 179 record set last year. Early November storms in B.C. brought so much rain, "every river in the Lower Mainland, the South Coast and the southern half of Vancouver Island rose close to or above flood stage." Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland residents suffered three storms in five days in mid-December, with violent winds leaving a record 250,000 without power.

12/28/06 -
Wildfires in California and other parts of the West may be linked to the surface temperature of the Atlantic Ocean, 3,000 or more miles to the east, according to a new tree-ring study. The conclusions indicate the wildfires may be getting worse. The new study links episodic fire outbreaks in the past five centuries with periods of warming sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic. "If the trend continues for the next 60 years or so as it has in the past, the degree of fire occurrence in the West could be UNPRECEDENTED compared to anything in recent memory."

AUSTRALIA - Fish species on the Great Barrier Reef are starving to death because climate change is killing off their food source, an environmental study has found.

SCOTLAND - Ski resorts have been forced to delay opening for the season after low snowfall and unseasonally high temperatures. Just as in Europe, many slopes in Scotland are still green, with mild temperatures set to continue into the new year. A decade ago, December was marked as the traditional start of the snow season for Highland skiers, but now it seems that mid-January, or even February, is set to be the new start date. "The winter season has essentially moved a month - autumn is going on a month longer than it was 10 years ago." "Many places in the Alps traditionally covered in snow at the moment are still green, with plants flowering."

AFGHANISTAN - While the eyes of the world are focused on the international military coalition's continuing struggle with the Taliban, Afghan children are dying because of a little reported drought which has hit huge areas of the country. The U.N. says 1.9 million people are at risk. Farmers lost between 80 and 100 percent of their crops in the worst affected areas and water sources in many villages had dried up. Not only is food scarce, but each day children as young as six are sent to collect water from taps or wells up to three hours away. Village elders say that droughts used to occur every 15 to 20 years, but the last drought finished just two years ago. They also say that winters are not as cold as they used to be and summers are hotter. Some experts attribute these changing weather patterns to climate change.

As much as half of Russia`s natural gas reserves are in danger because of climate change, experts say. Russia, the world`s largest natural gas exporter with some 30 percent of proven global reserves, handles the majority of imports to Europe. Russia`s gas fields lie below a several-hundred-feet deep layer of permanently frozen ground - permafrost. In western Siberia, entire pipeline systems are relying on the solidity of the year-round ice. Over the past 30 years, however, the mean temperature in western Siberia rose by 5.4 degrees, resulting in gradual melting of the ground. As that process is releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases (such as methane), the melting even speeds up climate change. The existing pipeline infrastructure would sink in the marsh, and even worse could happen: "The high-pressure oil and gas pipelines can explode. Roughly half of all Russian fields are affected."'

12/27 -
NEW ZEALAND - There's no doubt the crazy weather patterns had an impact on most New Zealanders in 2006. While the South Island's massive mid-winter snowstorm left a legacy, a seemingly relentless cycle of downpours, landslides and gales battered the rest of the country. This year it rained, and then it rained some more. Summer for some brought wind and rain in January and thunder in February. Then came the autumn, and more storms. Rainfall was at least 150% of normal in the far north and in the east. Winter in the Wairarapa saw roads turned into rivers and paddocks became ponds. In July, over 300 millimetres of rain fell there in 24 hours, closing more than 50 local roads. It kept on falling further north as well, as a winter of rain meant a season for slips. While houses fell off hillsides in the Hutt Valley, millions of tonnes of earth plunged into the valleys of Rangitikai, Manawatu, southern Taranaki. Bridges were out and communities cut off. Auckland and Christchurch had slips too, and so did the East Coast. In Wellington, big winds meant big swells in Cook Strait where some ferry crossings were rough and a couple atrocious. The summer has been a long time coming. For the first half of December, temperatures across the country were two degrees below average - and in Wellington, three degrees lower. And that makes it the COLDEST START TO CHRISTMAS IN THE CAPITAL SINCE RECORDS BEGAN.

CANADA - 2006 was a comfortable, although UNUSUAL weather year for Greater Sudbury. January was the warmest January on record, going back to 1952-53, a full 6 Celsius above the normals, especially when you look at night time lows. “Greater Sudbury got double its normal snow load in February but got only 10 centimetres of snow in March." Summer was hotter with nine days with above 30 C temperatures versus the normal six days. A devastating windstorm hit on Monday, July 17 and there were RECORD-SETTING warm temperatures this December.

12/26 -
CANADA - Ottawa's winters are becoming more unpredictable and dangerous, with warmer weather and more rain creating increasingly icy conditions in which "all hell can break loose." "Often it's not just rain or snow anymore. One single storm can bring it all - start as rain move to freezing rain, then ice pellets and then follow with snow. This creates difficult situations and dangerous conditions." "We're experiencing more and more ice storms as the years go by - trees falling, flooding, hydro wires falling." Between 2000 and 2006, the city has received an average of 173 millimetres of rain versus 204 centimetres of snow from Nov. 1 to March 31. Overall, that marks a nine-per-cent increase in rainfall and a 19-per-cent decrease in snowfall since the 1970s.

AUSTRALIA - Parts of Australia are in the grip of the worst drought in memory. Rainfall in many eastern and southern regions has been at near record lows. On top of that, the weather has been exceptionally warm. The parched conditions have sparked an emotional debate about global warming. Conservationists insist the "big dry" is almost certainly the result of climate change and warn that Australia is on the brink of environmental disaster. Other experts believe such hysteria is wildly misplaced and that the country shouldn't panic. The drought in Australia has lasted for more than five years. The worry for some is that this could be the start of a protracted period of low rainfall that could go on for decades. "The really scary thing is, last time we had a drought of this intensity that lasted about five years - it continued for about 50 years." "The politicians truly believe this is a five-year or six-year drought that will break sometime in 2007 or 2008. But it might not break until 2050." "We're in a state of emergency. We need to treat this as a war-like scenario. The people are really worried that we are going to run out of water. I can imagine Australia being a desert in a few decades' time in some of these agricultural areas. The soil is blowing away, the rivers are drying up. I think there will be plots of land abandoned and perhaps whole agricultural practices abandoned."

12/22/06 -
CANADA - Thursday marked the official beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, at precisely 7:22 p.m. ET. But for much of the country, it feels like spring, not winter. No big storm fronts are in sight, so if they don't have snow now, they're not going to get a white Christmas. Places like Quebec City and Thunder Bay, Ontario, "are going to see, for THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, a green Christmas." So will most of British Columbia, most of Central Canada and the Atlantic region. Montreal, which used to have a white Christmas four out of five years (80 per cent of the time), now gets snow two out of three years (65 per cent).
It’s the same story all across Europe - lack of snow. Many countries much more accustomed to snow at Christmas are basking in unseasonal temperatures. Terrified villagers in Chukotka, Russia, have reported worrying invasions of polar bears. The warm temperatures have moved ice drifts too far from the coast, preventing the animals from migrating further north. Even Siberia is milder than usual. Belarus has also started the Christmas season with unusually warm weather. Children are still able to pick daisies there. Lapland has only had rain and light snow this year. Iceland is struggling to live up to its name. The capital, Reykjavik, is forecast to be 10°C (50°F) over Christmas. And the ski slopes of Austria, Germany & Sweden are green. Skiing is off and snowboarders have become grassboarders in Sondrio, northern Italy, and it’s the same story at Chamrousse in France. You wouldn’t normally expect snow in Nice - but it is unusual to see bikini-clad locals on the beach. The sea water is warm at 17°C (62°F). Even across the Atlantic in New York, temperatures are expected to climb to 14°C (57°F) on Saturday — that’s ten degrees above the average. Bookies are so sceptical that a single snowflake will fall on London's weather centre on December 25 that they were offering odds at a whopping 16-1, the LONGEST THEY HAVE EVER OFFERED.
SPAIN - Bears in Spain have stopped hibernating for the winter — and the cause could be climate change. Many of the 130 bears in Spain's northern mountains who usually sleep through the cold season are still active because milder weather means they have enough nuts and berries to survive. "It's an indication of what's to come. Climate change is impacting on the natural world. Hitherto the warming seemed to be happening fastest at the Poles — now we're getting examples of it happening further south."
Animals that hibernate in winter are abandoning hibernation in yet another signal that something momentous is happening to the rhythms of the natural world. Hibernation has evolved for the same reason most animal behaviour has evolved - as a strategy to maximise survival. Some creatures that need a lot of energy to get around have learned to shut themselves down in winter, when the food to provide that energy is simply not available, or too much energy would be expended in searching for it. European brown bears in northern Spain are abandoning a survival strategy that has been successful. What if they give up hibernation because of rising winter temperatures, but then when they are active in winter, are unable to find enough food?
BRITAIN - They could hardly believe it when the first lamb of the season arrived this week. It was not what farmers expect in the middle of December. Usually the lambing season does not kick off until spring and the owner, who owns a farm near Hambledon, is convinced the climate is responsible for playing havoc with her sheep's hormones. 'Last year we had one on New Year's Eve but WE'VE NEVER HAD ONE AS EARLY AS THIS BEFORE. We've called her Tinsel...I think it's all to do with the climate changing. So much happened that we noticed was different last year. All the animals are confused.' She said her geese and turkeys have started laying eggs – whereas usually they start laying at Easter.
12/21 -
AUSTRALIA - Communities in Gippsland and Victoria's northeast are preparing for horror bushfire conditions tomorrow as a massive fire front rages towards them.
HEAT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
12/20 -
RUSSIA - is having its WARMEST DECEMBER IN 136 YEARS, since 1870, raising fears of serious economic consequences. At the end of last week, the mercury hovered just below nine degrees — 14 degrees above average for December. The weather has led to predictions of a dearth of grain, and psychiatrists are worried about people's fragile emotional states. "The current phenomenon we are experiencing is VERY RARE."
CANADA - Quebec City, for the FIRST TIME IN RECORDED WEATHER HISTORY, will not have any snow on the ground for Christmas. Overall winter in general is getting warmer with fewer snow-filled days. Average temperatures are breaking all the time. This week in Kenora the first day of winter is looking as though it might break a warm weather record. The warmest past temperature was recorded Dec. 21, 2003 with an average of 1.7C. This Thursday, the forecast is calling for a high of 3C, which will make it almost double that record, if what’s predicted comes through Kenora. Temperatures have been fairly normal to just above normal until this heat wave prediction, but said it’s a little UNUSUAL to jump almost 20C in a few days during normally chilly weather.
DELAWARE - RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES hit Downstate Monday. The National Weather Service reported record high temperatures of 71 degrees in Georgetown and 70 in Wilmington. The previous records for the date were 64 in Georgetown in 1992 and 66 in Wilmington in 1990. Experts attributed the recent unseasonably warm temperatures to warm, moist air from the Southeast. “That usually isn’t the case this time of year.”
SPAIN - This year is on track to be the WARMEST ON RECORD in Spain, a country which was already hot before global warming set in. So far this year, temperatures have been 1.46 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average as a searing summer gave way to mild autumn and winter. Experts warn global warming will be especially painful for Spain, and some have even forecast its southern beaches could become too hot for tourists later this century. Last year the country logged its driest year since records began and this December started with a few hardy daisies still to be found growing in Madrid parks where many trees have still to lose their leaves.
HEAT / WILDFIRES -
12/19 -
AUSTRALIA - There has been an upsurge in the number of animals killed wandering central Victoria roads looking for food and water. The RSPCA says road kill is spiralling out of control in the drought. Some wildlife hit by vehicles stay on the roadside for weeks and other animals are drawn to feed on the carcasses.
A blaze is on the doorstep of towns in Victoria's Gippsland region, while residents in the state's north-east are also on fire alert. The Gippsland bushfire is within one kilometre of properties in Walhalla and Maidentown, after slowly moving towards Maidentown over the past 24 hours. Helicopters have been brought in as back-up to crews on the ground. Embers are also falling at Rawson, to the south-west, but the fire is yet to cross the Thompson River. In north-east Victoria, fire is closing in on the Mount Buller area from the south, north and east. There is no end in sight to Victoria's fire crisis. "We don't anticipate getting a lot of rain in the change that comes through later this week, so we've got to continue putting in the containment lines to put this fire out and that may take us weeks." The fires have already burnt more than 688,000 hectares.
Fire photo gallery.
CANADA - 'This weather isn't normal'- Mercury hits 10C - again. That was the temperature recorded at 1 p.m. Sunday - about 13 degrees above normal for this time of year. Environment Canada meteorologists were poring over data to determine if the temperature in Montreal had, at some point, topped 10.5C - the record for a Dec. 17, which was set in 1984. On Thursday and Friday, TWO RECORDS WERE BROKEN when the temperature reached 10C and 11.8C, respectively. "It is UNUSUAL. Since the beginning of December, we've only had four or five days with temperatures below freezing." Weather conditions are more suited to Easter than Christmas.
12/18 -
AUSTRALIA - Campers have been evacuated from a national park in Western Australia's south today as fire crews battled a massive bushfire that threatens to double in size if it jumps containment lines. Lightning strikes yesterday ignited at least six fires in the Fitzgerald River National Park.
WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
12/15 -
AUSTRALIA - A volunteer firefighter has died and at least 20 homes have been destroyed as bush fires raged in southern Australia. In the island state of Tasmania, four homes were destroyed in the coastal resort of Four Mile Creek. Residents fled to the beach to escape what was described as a "large fireball". Firefighters are battling to save the small town, which has been completely cut off with fires burning right up to the sea, cutting off evacuation routes. Some 4,000 firefighters have been tackling at least a dozen wildfires, which have scorched vast areas of Victoria in south-east Australia recent days. Firefighters have also been tackling blazes in the neighbouring state of New South Wales. Fire officers say they hope the coming days of cooler weather will give them time to build containment lines around the blazes. "But there is a lot of work to be done as it will get hotter and more dangerous next week."
The world's top meteorologists have released their annual weather assessment, and it paints a dismal picture. The globe's sixth warmest year on record has produced widespread drought (Australia, US, China, Brazil and southern Africa.), interspersed with what they call 'radical variability', the October snowfall in southern Australia, for example. Europe had its warmest summer on record. Australia had its warmest spring on record. Canada experienced its warmest winter and warmest spring since its national records began in 1948. But despite the world getting hotter and dryer, there's concern that Australians are taking refuge in the notion that the drought is short-term. There's concern Australia is in denial. And critics say that governments are failing in their efforts to address water problems. Global mean temperatures are climbing. Rainfall is declining and Australia has had its hottest decade.
NORTH DAKOTA - Drought has taken a toll on the Souris River, affecting golf courses and area wildlife refuges. As of Dec. 11, Minot had recorded just 11 inches of precipitation for the year, compared to 18 inches on average. "The flow is zero right now. I don't think there's anything coming down at all. We really haven't had any flow all year." Officials say the river in Minot could freeze solid this winter, and that heavy snows are needed throughout the region to recharge reservoirs in the basin next spring and bring river levels up to normal. "We probably can't afford another spring without sufficient runoff, or we'll be in trouble next summer." Wildlife officials say the possibility exists for an extensive fish kill throughout the entire Souris River below Lake Darling this winter.
12/14 -
Experts puzzled by December weather anomaly in Russia - Weather forecasters have so far been unable to explain December's UNUSUAL warm spell, the head of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring said Wednesday. "Extreme deviations in weather patterns have been observed before, but over the past decade they have been more and more frequent," he said, adding it will take about 30 years to understand the anomalies. Four ALL-TIME HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORDS have been registered in Russia since the start of December. The number of weather phenomena dangerous both to humans and to the economy has been rising since the mid-1990s, at a rate of approximately 6% a year. The weather temperature has risen 1 degree Celsius (33 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past 10 years. "Our forecast for 2005-15 predicts that temperatures will continue to rise."
AUSTRALIA, TASMANIA - Thousands of Australian firefighters were on Wednesday battling to save three small towns from bushfires that have ravaged an area larger than Luxembourg and destroyed 18 homes. Australia is suffering its worst drought in recorded history which is drying out bushland, making vast tracts of the dry continent a tinder box. The country's annual fire season usually starts early in the new year but this year the flames have come really early, an ominous omen for the months ahead. A thick pall of brown smoke from the fires hung over Melbourne, cutting visibility to four times worse than normal and sparking a poor air quality alert from the Environmental Protection Authority.
WEIRD WEATHER - Scientists say 2006 may have been the year when the public at large finally embraced the idea that the Earth's climate is, indeed, warming. In the end, it may not have been the pronouncements of scientists and policymakers that ultimately proved convincing, but something more tangible and immediate: the weird weather. "Climate change is this slow, gradual change in the climate, and people [behave] much like a frog who is put in warm water that is slowly turned up and doesn't jump out in time before it gets too hot...we believe that we have probably already put enough increased greenhouse-gas concentrations into the atmosphere to sort of lock in several more decades of climate change, several more decades of global warming, several more decades - in fact, at least a century or more - of increases in sea level." Driving the sense of urgency among some scientists is the fact that climate changes can be observed taking place much more quickly today than had been predicted. "Some of us believe that we are seeing now a change that the [scientific] models told us should not happen for another 50 years." Scientists predict that if the Greenland ice sheet were to melt, sea levels would rise by about 5-6 meters globally, inundating several of the world's largest cities. Climate change will not create winners and losers - just "big losers and smaller losers."
EUROPE - the average temperature for 2006 was almost certainly the HIGHEST EVER SEEN IN 347 YEARS of measurements. The average temperature for the year up to 13 December stands at 10.84C. In the 1950s, the CET showed an average of about 9.4C. "This year sees the highest average temperature recorded since the CET series began in 1659, and the rise above the average is significantly higher than that for the two hottest years we have experienced." Among the OTHER RECORDS set were:
the warmest ever April to October growing season, with a mean temperature of 14.6C
the warmest month on record - July, which saw a mean temperature of 19.7C
the warmest ever September, with an average of 16.8C
the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK during July - 36.5C, at Wisley
the warmest ever autumn, with a mean temperature of 12.6C
the highest July temperature ever recorded in Wales - 34.6C at Gogerddan
even though temperatures were cooled in the first half of the year by La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean. The top 10 warmest years recorded globally have all occurred during the last 12 years.
12/13 -
AUSTRALIA - Dozens of wildfires burning Tuesday across southern Australia destroyed more than a dozen homes and a popular ski lodge, while residents in the western city of Perth were urged to flee an approaching blaze. More than 3,000 firefighters were working to contain the fires in four states, with the worst centred in Victoria and the island state of Tasmania.
Drought-stricken Australia should heed a warning from a new study that shows a series of massive droughts killed giant kangaroos and other "megafauna" in south-east Queensland 40,000 years ago. Understanding how the prehistoric big dry caused extinctions could help predict how and if animals battling current climate change will survive.
Shoppers are being warned that vegetable prices could rise by 30 per cent before Christmas, and even double in January, as the drought continues to hurt production. And it is not just the drought that is set to hurt prices. Fruit and vegetable growers in southern Queensland are counting the cost of devastating hail storms which swept through the region late yesterday. While up to 90 millimetres of rain was recorded in gauges on the Darling Downs, the hail has left a multi-million dollar damage bill. Growers have reported damage to crops of cabbages, strawberries, plums, table grapes, tomatoes, mangoes and avocadoes and lettuce.
TASMANIA - Conditions continue to deteriorate in Tasmania after RECORD LOW RAINFALL AND RIVER FLOWS. The State is experiencing ONE OF ITS WORST SEASONS IN 100 YEARS. While pockets of the State are having a reasonable year, the extended dry and heavy frosts are making the season tough. "We're looking at the ground now almost as if it is February here in Tasmania. We've had no spring, the winter was very dry and I don't think we can do anything else but call it a drought now."
TEXAS - Drought Having Major Impact On Lake Water Levels - it's been 42 years, since 1964, since Lake Travis has been this low in a December. Huge chunks of land have been exposed by water levels that just keep dropping. The lake's just below 644 feet right now. It's REALLY UNUSUAL to have it like this in a December, and it shows how tough this drought is. This is not the lowest Lake Travis has been in recent memory - in October 2000, it was about three feet lower than this, but it rose much higher in a couple of months after heavy rains. "It shows us that we have really missed out on our fall rain, not only this year, but last year as well, and that we're in the middle of a two-year drought that could go on even longer." And what hurts even more is that we are in an El Nino weather pattern, but we missed out on its usually heavy fall rain. "It's not only our area of the country. The whole country has sort of been flip-flopped in what we see in El Nino."
SWEDEN - One of the WARMEST DECEMBERS SINCE RECORDS STARTED being taken here has meant lots of rain in the south, rather than the usual snow.
12/12 -
The Arctic may be close to a tipping point that sees all-year-round ice disappear very rapidly in the next few decades, US scientists have warned. The latest data suggests the ice is no longer showing a robust recovery from the summer melt. Last month, the sea that was frozen covered an area that was two million sq km less than the historical average. "That's an area the size of Alaska." The sea ice reached its minimum extent this year on September 14, making 2006 the FOURTH LOWEST ON RECORD in 29 years of satellite record-keeping and just shy of the all time minimum of 2005. The Arctic may be free of all summer ice by as early as 2040. The ice system could be being weakened to such a degree by global warming that it soon accelerates its own decline.
CANADA - Environment Canada is warning people along New Brunswick's southeast coast to prepare for rising sea levels during the next few decades, thanks in part to climate change. A major report studying the last three years of storms along the Northumberland coast suggests flooding is becoming more frequent and episodes of high water will continue during the next several decades. During the past few years, major storm surges have hit communities including Barachois, Bouctouche and Cocagne. In the past, major flooding occurred every 50 to 100 years.
EUROPE - Alpine ski resorts are churning out artificial snow, daisies are flowering by the Kremlin in Moscow and retailers are fretting that Europeans are simply too warm to go Christmas shopping with a RECORD mild winter. Butterflies have been seen in Denmark, some Nordic golf courses - usually frozen for the winter - have reopened and many farmers worry that crops are sprouting far too early and could be killed by frost. One historian says that Europe has just had its warmest autumn in 500 years. In Russia, record December temperatures have kept bears from hibernating and flowers such as daisies and purple violets have been seen in and around the capital. Usually gripped by ice, Moscow basked at a record 7.7 Celsius (45.86F) on Dec. 7. In the Netherlands, the Dutch meteorological institute said 2006 was likely to be the warmest year in three centuries, and linked the record with global warming that many scientists fear will bring more floods, droughts and higher seas. German asthma sufferers are complaining of pollen and Sweden has suffered rare December floods. A report in science journal Nature this month said 2006 had the WARMEST AUTUMN SINCE COLUMBUS sailed the Atlantic, about 2C (3.6F) warmer than the long-term average. The autumn beat the record-warm autumns of 1772, 1938 and 2000.
MEGA-FIRES - Some scientists fear global warming could stoke ferocious wildland fires in parts of the world, disrupting fragile ecosystems and hampering efforts to protect communities. Recent studies linked rising temperatures to an upswing in widespread forest fires, particularly in the western United States, which has experienced an unusually high number of severe wildfires in recent decades. Future fires could drastically alter the land and convert vegetation from one type to another. That, in turn, could put native animals and plants at risk of extinction. Increased wildfires could also adversely affect the environment. When fires burn, they emit tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, contributing to planet-warming greenhouse gases. This past wildfire season in the U.S. was the most severe and expensive on record.
Climate change may be affecting space - In a signal of the wide-ranging impact of climate change, carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming are cooling and shrinking the outermost atmosphere, where the international space station and other satellites orbit, scientists reported Monday. The thinning of the thermosphere, which begins about 60 miles above Earth and extends up to 400 miles, reduces the drag on orbiting spacecraft, keeping them airborne longer. The downside is that the lifetime of space junk is also extended, which can pose a threat to satellites. The air density of the outer atmosphere declined about 5 percent during the past three decades and could decrease 40 percent by the end of the century.
HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT-
12/10 -
AUSTRALIA - Melbourne has endured its HOTTEST DECEMBER DAY FOR 53 YEARS. The mercury soared to 42.1 degrees Celsius in Melbourne at 2.45pm (AEDT) today as bushfires raged across much of the state. That made it Melbourne's hottest December day since December 20, 1953, when the temperature also hit 42.1.
Erratic winds are wreaking havoc for firefighters south-west of Melbourne as they work to save homes threatened by fire.
The EPA, has RECORDED ONE IF ITS HIGHEST LEVELS OF SMOKE over Melbourne, higher than the levels caused by the infamous 2003 bushfires that burned out much of the state's north-east. "Clearly those in regional centres across the state are being inundated by high particle levels ... these levels are AMONG THE HIGHEST WE'VE RECORDED and thus far have certainly gone above those observed in the 2003 fires." Raging for 59 days, the 2003 fires burned more than 1.3 million hectares of land and 41 homes. This weekend's bushfires have so far burned out 214,000 hectares.
Smoky skies disrupted flights through the main airport in Australia's Victoria state Saturday, as firefighters battled what many fear will become the state's worst wildfires in almost 60 years. More than 20 towns were warned they could soon be threatened by the blazes, though no injuries or property damage had been reported. Heavy smoke across much of the eastern part of the southern state reduced visibility and triggered fire alarms in the airport's baggage handling area and control tower. More than 170,000 hectares (420,000 acres) of drought-stricken farmland and forests in mountainous terrain have been incinerated by 18 major fires, which threatened on Saturday to merge into a single super fire covering more than 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres). If the fires link up, they could produce a 60-mile wall of flames. "Given the scale of the fires we're looking at now and the severe drought we've had" conditions over the weekend could become Victoria's most dangerous since the "Black Friday" blazes that killed 71 people in 1939. "It's the WORST DROUGHT ON RECORD for Victoria."
Householders in New South Wales will face a sharp increase in meat prices if, as expected, the drought continues.
Wild camels are invading remote communities in the Australian deserts, demolishing buildings in a desperate attempt to find water amid the country’s severe drought. More than 200 camels invaded an Aboriginal community on the edge of the Gibson Desert, in Western Australia. The rampaging animals tore at air-conditioning units and smashed taps and lavatories to drink from fractured water pipes. More than one million camels are estimated to range across the central Australian arid zone.
HEAT / WILDFIRES -
12/6 -
AUSTRALIA - Firefighters in Victoria are readying themselves for what the Premier says will be ONE OF THEIR WORST WEEKENDS EVER FOR BUSHFIRES. Northly winds are expected to bring together smaller fires in the state's northeast and Gippsland regions at the weekend, creating a huge 600,000ha blaze. "The fires we're now facing will be threatening towns. The threats will escalate over the weekend. It's going to be one of our most difficult fire weekends ever in the history of this state. We're already fronting a very, very difficult fire but it's going to be made worse." Up to 50 fires have been burning in the northeast and Gippsland regions since lightning strikes last Friday. In a single weekend, the fire ground could expand to 600,000ha of forest and cleared land - half the devastation caused by the ENTIRE 2002-03 summer bushfires.
EUROPE - It is WARMER in Europe's Alpine region now THAN AT ANY TIME IN THE PAST 1,300 YEARS. From Ottawa, Canada to Moscow, Russia, temperatures generally have been way above average at the start of winter in the northern hemisphere, with flowers blooming on snow-starved slopes of Alpine ski resorts and bears struggling to hibernate.
12/5 -
AUSTRALIA'S drought will continue at least until March, the World Meteorological Organisation predicted yesterday as it revealed UNUSUALLY high sea temperatures in the Pacific. The tropical Pacific basin is in the grip of a drought-inducing El Nino climate event, with ocean temperatures already 1C to 1.5C higher than usual - and set to rise over summer. While the UN's weather bureau predicted an increase in oceanic temperatures, its computer modelling suggested they were not likely to rise much higher than 1.5C above normal temperatures between December and February. UNUSUAL and sometimes severe climate patterns are known to have occurred during El Nino events of the current magnitude. The WMO said the duration of this El Nino would depend on climatic developments in the Pacific between March and May next year. The worst-case scenario of El Nino conditions stretching 12-18 months, as happened in 1986-87, is unusual but cannot be ruled out. The drought in Australia has taken a distinct turn for the worst since August, with a near-total failure of the late-winter and spring rains. South Australia, southwest Queensland, southern Western Australia, and the tablelands and western slopes between the ACT and Dubbo, in central NSW, are in the grip of the WORST SPRING DROUGHT ON RECORD. It has also been remarkably warm over this period, with mean maximum temperatures being the HIGHEST ON RECORD (for the post-1950 era) averaged over Australia in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Murray-Darling Basin The water supply has been continuing to get more and more dire.
HEAT / DROUGHT -
12/4 -
MINNESOTA - Lake Superior's late-autumn water levels are at their LOWEST IN 80 YEARS, sparking concerns that the rapid fall of the world's largest freshwater lake could hurt shipping, shorelines and fish populations. The drop in levels is due mainly to six months of regional drought, experts say. But the affects could last years, and continued dry conditions could exacerbate problems further. Along the North Shore, the combination of receding lake water and lack of runoff has let sandbars form in the mouths of small feeder streams. That cuts off trout and salmons from their spawning beds and potentially reducing future populations. In the shipping business, a major economic force in Duluth and the region, lower water levels mean the freighters that carry iron ore, coal and limestone must take on lighter loads in order to navigate through locks, channels and harbors. At the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, some docks are now so high above water that they'll be fitted with extra guards next spring to keep boats from sliding under them. Lake Superior normally oscillates 1 foot in a normal year, and has varied 4 feet in more than a century of record-keeping. But this year, instead of rising through the spring and summer as has been customary, the lake plummeted from near normal levels last spring to almost a foot below normal in the fall - hitting its lowest level since November 1925. And it may not be done dropping. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicts the lake will drop another 3 inches in the next three weeks, and the Minnesota state climatologist thinks it will drop 5 inches or more by the end of February. The main cause is an extreme shortage of rainfall across the Lake Superior basin since May. "For it to go down that fast on Superior is a strong indicator that this is a very extreme drought." If the drought continues into next year, Lake Superior could drop to its lowest recorded level ever.

GLOBAL WARMING - Flowers are blooming on the slopes of Alpine ski resorts and bears are having trouble hibernating in Siberia amid a late start to winter that may be a portent of global warming. RARE December pollen is troubling asthma sufferers as far north as Scandinavia. From Ottawa to Moscow, temperatures have been way above average at the start of the winter in the northern hemisphere - with exceptions including a RARE snowstorm in Dallas, Texas. Like many places, Austria has had the MILDEST AUTUMN SINCE RECORDS BEGAN and many ski resorts have delayed the season's start. From Siberia to Estonia, bears have had trouble going to sleep for their winter hibernation because their hideaways are uncomfortably warm, soggy and damp. Renowned for frosty winters, Moscow started the calendar winter on Dec. 1 with the WARMEST DECEMBER DAY SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1879 - 4.5 degrees Celsius (40.1 Fahrenheit). Snows are also late in Rovaniemi near the Arctic Circle in Finland. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute said it would start measuring pollen - mainly from hazel trees - on Monday for the first time before the New Year.
HEAT / WILDFIRES -
12/3 -
AUSTRALIA - VICTORIANS are bracing for ONE OF THE WORST SUMMERS OF FIRES, as about 120 blazes ripped through bushland across the state. Most of the fires started from lightning strikes. There is grave concern about weather forecasted for Tuesday, which is expected to be hot, dry and windy.
HEAT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
12/1 -
GLOBAL WARMING - Canadian skiing star Thomas Grandi says snow-making equipment was barely used when he began skiing 15 years ago on the World Cup tour. In this era of global warming, he now wonders if the famous skiing tour known as the White Circus would still exist without it. It's a tenuous existence regardless, as races scheduled for next weekend in France and Switzerland have been cancelled due to lack of snow. The events planned for the following weekend are also in danger. After this week's races in North America, it's possible there won't be another World Cup alpine event before Christmas. The International Ski Federation has called the situation "critical," while American ski star Ted Ligety voiced fears this week that greenhouse gas emissions will eventually wipe out skiing. All the cross-country ski teams are training in the same place in Italy now because they couldn't find snow elsewhere in central Europe. At the only World Cup cross-country race held so far, at a town in Finland 300 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, it rained throughout the competition. A United Nations report released three years ago warned that downhill skiing could disappear completely at some resorts as early as 2030.
11/27 -
CHINA - November has been THE WARMEST ON RECORD FOR THE PAST 120 YEARS, with an average record high temperature of 23.6 degrees Celsius so far this month - 2.2 degrees higher than in November last year. The UNUSUAL WEATHER was attributed to the adverse effects of global warming.

UNITED KINGDOM - The nation's trees are facing a battering this weekend thanks to a combination of some of the hottest ever weather and 75mph winds. An unseasonably warm November could help make this year ONE OF THE HOTTEST SINCE RECORDS BEGAN, with temperatures in the south east due to peak at 13 degrees Friday. But UK trees have kept their foliage for longer than usual because of the heat - meaning they are particularly vulnerable to damage when predicted 75 mph gales hit the shores on Saturday. "This summer was one of the warmest on record, certainly in the top two or three, and we had a record breaking September and July. It's a continuation of winds coming from the south and south-west off a warm Atlantic that is keeping temperatures above average."
ARCTIC - Scientists are peering into the clouds near the top of the world, trying to solve the mystery is the droplets of water in the clouds. With the North Pole just 685 miles away, they should be frozen, yet more of them are liquid than anyone expected. Liquid water has even been detected in clouds at temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 F). Water clouds are more likely to warm the Arctic atmosphere than ice clouds, since the liquid clouds retain more heat radiated by the Earth's surface. "In the old days, we used to have 10 months of winter; now it's six. Every year we're getting winter later and later." Studies show that average winter temperatures have increased as much as 7 degrees in the Arctic over the last 50 years. The permafrost - ground that is continually frozen for at least two years - is thawing, imperiling polar bears and forcing other animals to migrate farther north. Climate change is cyclical - the planet's vegetation, over millions of years, sucks in and spits out carbon dioxide. "All the carbon dioxide in the coal and oil was once in the air. The plants took it and it went into the oceans or into the ground - and now we're taking it back out. The cycle is the same today, only you're taking something that took 100,000 years and doing it in one hundred years."
"Climate change threatens to intensify water insecurity on an unparalleled scale." Glaciers are often a crucial store of fresh water. During the dry season they are often the only source of water. A study in 2002 showed Kilimanjaro to have lost more than 80 percent of its ice cap in the past 100 years, reducing water supplies to people living around it. Climate change is melting a legendary ice field in equatorial Africa and may soon thaw it out completely, threatening fresh water supplies to hundreds of thousands of people. The fabled, snow-capped Rwenzori mountains - dubbed the "Mountains of the Moon" - form part of the Uganda/Democratic Republic of the Congo border. They have already decreased by 60 percent since 1910.
11/18 -
AUSTRALIA - Queensland is experiencing an UNUSUALLY LATE fire season. "Normally by now, the fire season is pretty much over because you start getting the humidity and the storms." But UNUSUAL WEATHER PATTERNS across the east coast have contributed to the atypical fire season.
The fires, however, were only one story in a day of harsh extremes Thursday – with thermometers hitting 40deg in the far north while snow-like sleet fell in the south. The snow, which fell on the Granite Belt district near the Queensland-NSW border, was described by forecasters as a ONCE IN 50 YEARS PHENOMENON FOR NOVEMBER. The last time snow or sleet was reported there was in 1941. The "VERY UNUSUAL" weather had been caused by a cold front which had travelled from Victoria. It was the same front which caused violent hail and thunderstorms in Queensland's southeast and snow in Victoria and Tasmania on Wednesday. "The storms formed ahead of the cold front and now the cold front's coming through with very, very cold air. It happens, but not very frequently. The atmosphere keeps on repeating itself for extreme events every 50 or 100 years or so." Sydney, meanwhile, recorded its LOWEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE IN NOVEMBER FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS – with the mercury dropping as low as 8C.
CLIMATE CHANGE-
11/15 -
The estimated cost of droughts, storm surges, hurricanes and floods reached a record $US 210 billion in 2005. Such losses linked to global warming are expected to double every 12 years. "This is an unequivocal statement by 15 of the largest financial institutions: Climate change is now certain." Losses from extreme weather could top $US 1 trillion in a single year by 2040. "Since so much development is taking place in coastal zones the figure may arrive considerably before 2040."
Climate change is to blame for health problems such as increasing epidemics of malaria and water-borne diseases in Africa, heat wave-related deaths in Europe, and the high incidence of cerebral-cardiovascular conditions in China. "The resurgence of disease outbreaks calls for better climate surveillance and response and better health planning in coping with natural disasters." Malaria has become a major health problem in the highlands of western Kenya where the disease had been rare, a phenomenon blamed on rising temperatures in the region. In the Americas, there has been a return of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, responsible for the transmission of yellow fever and Dengue fever. That type of mosquito had been almost wiped out in control programmes in the 1970s. New cases of malaria have also been reported in Turkey and Azerbaijan. There is also an increase of between five to 10 percent in the occurrence of the salmonella bacteria, the germ that causes typhoid fever and other foodborne illnesses, for every one-degree rise in weekly temperatures in Europe.
11/14 -
Rainwater harvesting could prove a cheap, easy solution to Africa's water woes, according to a UN report. Scientists found enough rain falls in some countries to supply six or seven times the current need, and provide security against future droughts. A pilot project in a Kenyan Maasai community has improved supplies and done away with the daily trek to collect river water. Last week, the Kenyan government announced plans to make all new buildings include capacity for rainwater collection and storage. Africa is seen as a dry continent, but overall, it actually has more water resources per capita than Europe. "However, much of Africa's rain comes in bursts, and is rapidly swept away or is never collected."
Nearly three quarters of all bird species in northeast Australia and more than a third in Europe could become extinct unless efforts to stop global warming are stepped up, according to a report by international environmental group WWF.
11/13 -
KENYA - Slow death by climate change for Kenya. The entire way of life of 3 million poor Kenyan livestock herders is now under threat due to climate change. In Northern Kenya droughts have increased in number fourfold in the past 25 years. So many animals have died that pastoralist families no longer have the means to support themselves. Already, half a million herders have been forced to settle around towns and villages – abandoning their centuries old way of life and dependent on aid handouts for survival. "Their plight illustrates what will happen to countless million other poor people...Governments and non-governmental organisations have hugely underestimated the seriousness of the threat facing people living on marginal lands like northern Kenya. Piecemeal measures are no longer enough to tackle the profound challenges posed by climate change. Alternative livelihoods must be developed to allow these people to support themselves instead of subsisting on handouts."
If current trends continue one-third of the planet will be desert by the end of 2100. The system of nomadic pastoralism has, over the centuries, been able to cope with unpredictable weather patterns and regular drought but now has been brought by climate change to the point of utter extinction. While rain did come to the region for the first time in more than a year last month, it was too late for the makeshift roadside communities who no longer have animals to put out to pasture. The periods of rain have got shorter and the dry spells longer - changing the pattern of four seasons on which the pastoral communities depended. And while there were always droughts: 'Decade after decade it has been getting more severe. It has only been getting harder and harder and more and more serious.'
THAILAND - Landslides are certainly not a new phenomenon to Thailand, but they are becoming increasingly common and widespread here. There were reports of about 90 landslide incidents this year - ranging from small-scale physical events to large, devastating ones like in Uttaradit in May. 1,261 rain gauges and 1,504 warning sirens have been set up. The Ministry reports that there are 7,246 landslide risk areas, with somewhere between 4,077 and 2,283 of those considered to be high-risk. An awareness of changes in the environment can be critical in preventing landslide tragedy. In the past, natural indicators like unusually low-placed beehives (apparently, the bees' natural caution against a blustery rainy season), a sudden increase in the number of ants seen above ground (a natural reaction to saturated, landslide-primed soil) or the browning of water sources (an indication of debris from upstream) have been linked to landslides. Additionally villagers will often report, in hindsight, having heard strange noises of rock, soil and debris movement - or what was the slow-start of the landscape - coming from mountains. Because a landslide is a slow-starting phenomena, it is important to clue villagers in on these early warning signs. There is also a greater trend towards wacky and unpredictable weather patterns that in recent years has led to devastating drought in some places, and devastating floods in others.
HEAT / DROUGHT -
11/12 -
AUSTRALIA - Victoria is facing a sporting crisis, with drought threatening to kill weekend sport. Several amateur cricket and football competitions are under threat, while water sports clubs in country areas are on the decline. Lawn bowls and croquet, which need lush greens, face hurdles as drought conditions limit water use. Yachting, waterskiing and angling clubs in the region are also facing a rough patch. Melbourne's sporting grounds are experiencing a similar plight. "Rain is not falling anywhere in Melbourne." Rain-starved sports fields is a state-wide issue. "It is starting to have a significant impact."
11/10 -
CHINA - Visitors to the Shanghai Botanical Garden can currently glimpse chrysanthemums, orchids and osmanthus flowers in full bloom at the same time, which gardeners say is a VERY RARE event. The osmanthus flowers in the garden on Monday went into bloom for the third time this year. "The normal flowering season for osmanthus is early and middle October, but this year's warm weather gives them more time to show up. Early November is the normal flowering season for orchids and chrysanthemums, thus the scene of three flowers blooming together is formed. "As far as I can remember, this is the first time for such a rare scene to appear in our garden."
11/9 -
COLORADO - RECORD HEAT across eastern Colorado on Wednesday. Denver set an ALL-TIME NOVEMBER HIGH of 80 degrees at 1:23 pm. Other locations with new record highs for the date include Pueblo at 85 degrees, which also set a new all-time record high. Colorado Springs reached 78 degrees Wednesday afternoon, tying the November all-time high temperature. The bubble of unseasonably warm air over eastern Colorado also extended into portions of the central plains, with widespread 80s over Kansas.
CALIFORNIA - Long Beach highs reached 92 degrees, SHATTERING THE RECORD of 87 degrees set in 1961. Several records were broken across Southern California on Tuesday, thanks to an offshore flow that created unseasonably warm weather. And Los Angeles reached 97 degrees, breaking 1956's record high of 91. Ten sites in Los Angeles County set temperature records on Tuesday, including Woodland Hills, which was the hottest spot in the nation at 101 degrees. The previous record in Woodland Hills for Nov. 7 was 94 degrees, set in 1956.
ICEBERGS -
11/8 -
NEW ZEALAND - The armada of more than 100 icebergs heading toward New Zealand would have come from an iceberg more than 100 kilometres wide and 1500 metres deep, scientists say. Experts believe a mammoth piece of ice broke off the Ross or Amery ice shelves in Antarctica. Crevasses within that piece then broke into smaller icebergs. The largest iceberg stretched two kilometres wide and about 130 metres high, and would extend 1000 metres beneath the sea. Icebergs have been breaking from the ice shelves for thousands of years, caused by stresses within the ice shelf. This could not be linked to global warming. "We've only been in Antarctica for the last 100 years, so it's very hard to say there's been any change." But it was RARE for them to reach this far north without melting. "It must have been a very large iceberg. I think it would have to be ONE OF THE LARGEST ICEBERGS THAT CARVED OFF AN ICE SHELF IN RECENT YEARS." At the moment, the icebergs are of such a size they could not drift close to the coast. If they broke up so they did not extend so deep in the water, they might drift to within 100 kilometres, and then could be seen from the mainland.

HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT -
11/8 -
AUSTRALIA suffering WORST DROUGHT IN A THOUSAND YEARS. Australia's blistering summer has only just begun but reservoir levels are dropping fast, crop forecasts have been slashed, and great swaths of the continent are entering "one in a thousand years drought". Many regions in their fifth year of drought. More than half of Australia's farmland is experiencing drought. The Murray-Darling river system, which receives 4% of Australia's water, but provides three-quarters of the water consumed nationally, was already 54% BELOW THE PREVIOUS RECORD MINIMUM. Last month it recorded its LOWEST EVER OCTOBER FLOWS. Many small rural towns in east Australia face shortages within a month. Last week, the government forecast its lowest wheat crop for 12 years, a 62% decrease on last year. "When the drought breaks we will not return to cooler, wetter conditions. It is the worst type of drought because we are not expecting to return back to the old regime. The last half of last century was much wetter. What we seem to have done is ... built Australia on the assumption that it was going to be wetter, and we haven't been prepared to make the change back to a much drier regime."
Water trading will begin between NSW and Victoria by the end of the week and all the eastern States by January of next year. "Water trading means we can assemble the small bits of water in the system into useful parcels. So people have to decide whether they can stay in irrigation or not in the short term and we can assemble those bits together. This is part of changing water use right across the River Murray system so that Australia can adjust. It's critical and it has to be done quickly."
11/6 -
Tsunami horror hits Britain - "This is the sort of headline we will all be reading in reality if nothing is done to prevent climate change." International attempts to cut the pollution that causes global warming have gone into reverse just as evidence mounts that it is putting the planet in grave danger, a startling official report will reveal. The findings by the United Nations will be presented to the world's governments today at the start of crucial negotiations about whether to tackle climate change seriously. They show that after reducing emissions during the 1990s, the world's richest countries have in fact increased by 2.4 percent since the start of the millennium. Even the reduction in the 1990s was overwhelmingly due to the economic collapse of the former Soviet bloc rather than deliberate anti-pollution measures in the West. The most optimistic possibility expected to come from the climate change conference is that slow but steady progress will continue to be made towards adopting new targets by 2008 (or perhaps 2009 to give a chance for a more sympathetic US president) so that they can be ratified worldwide by 2012. "Almost a year ago, at the last meeting of the parties to the treaty in Montreal, the U.S. tried to stop any negotiations on future targets. It was only when it was isolated and widely ridiculed that it gave way, eventually agreeing that talks should begin, if a year late. Everyone expects it to resume its obstructive tactics in Nairobi; it is sending no fewer than 27 negotiators to the meetings to try to disrupt things."
Likely future headlines -
2030: RIP - The Arctic polar bear breathes its last. Efforts at resettlement in the green bush of the former Canadian tundra have all failed. In any case, as the melting Greenland ice-sheet has flooded coastal areas, there is no spare land for them to settle on.
2040: Burned to death: How man reduced the mighty Amazon to ashes. The Amazon rainforest is dead. The fires that have raged for weeks in what was once the largest rainforest on Earth have all but consumed its last remnants. It is now extinct, and with it the stability it brought to the planet's climate.
2050: The last drops of rain fall to earth. World hunt for food as India faces starvation after monsoon fails and harvests are doomed. Global grain stocks are at less than two weeks, after persistent droughts in North America, and epidemics of disease that developed in the world's main genetically modified crops of rice and wheat.
2060: Tsunami horror hits Britain. Methane 'bubble' blamed for catastrophic seabed slide as wave wipes east coast off map. A vast landslip beneath the North Sea last night unleashed a tsunami that submerged much of eastern Scotland and sent a tidal wave down the east coast of England. Tens of thousands are missing, presumed dead. There are fears that when water recedes, wide areas will be buried in up to 18 feet of silt and rock. The death toll could be greater than the Boxing Day tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean 56 years ago. Current conditions are disturbingly similar to those in which the great methane releases of the past happened. Warming will cause more blowouts and more craters and more releases around the world.
11/6 -
NEW ZEALAND - A helicopter pilot who's spotted one of a group of about 100 icebergs drifting from Antarctica, says it's the FIRST TIME HE'S SEEN ONE SO FAR NORTH. The iceberg was seen several hundred kilometres south east of Invercargill on Saturday. He estimates it was 120 high and over half a kilometre long. It was drifting north. The location of the icebergs is less than 300km from the New Zealand coastline. The last reported iceberg sighting so close to New Zealand was off Dunedin in 1931. A marine navigation hazard warning has been issued because of their proximty to a shipping lane.

AUSTRALIA - Temperatures in NSW could jump more than 6C by 2070 and rain levels could fall by 40 per cent, according to climate-change research. Under a worst-case scenario, spring and summer days would be 7.1C warmer, while the spring rains would be down 60 per cent. There is already anecdotal evidence some ground crops, as well as apples and grapes, were ripening earlier as temperatures rose. There have been climate change-related reductions in rainfall in southwest Western Australia, "in the order of 10 to 20 per cent" since 1970. Southern Victoria is experiencing a 10-YEAR RECORD LOW RAINFALL. "Those are the only two regions where we are really in unknown territory. Most of the rest of the dry area in eastern Australia has seen similar conditions previously, although in a lot of cases not since the 1940s."
Ethiopia caught in dangerous cycle of drought and floods. Ethiopia, which was hit again by deadly floods this week, is caught in a devastating cycle of drought and heavy rains that threatens the survival of millions of people, experts say. Around 1.5 million farmers "require urgent humanitarian assistance as large numbers of livestock died, wells and boreholes dried up, malnutrition rates increased and disease became rampant." The latest flooding has been caused by a sudden rise in the level of the river Wabe Shebelle, swollen by heavy rains, whose depth had doubled at the end of last week. Flooding from the river had practically cut off the worst-affected towns of Kelafo and Musthail.
Climate change is a race against time. Many countries in the world are experiencing unusual weather events with temperate zones reporting heat wave conditions and the usually warmer nations suffering from more frequent (and hotter) heat waves. Not only floods but also droughts often accompany more rainfall in some other parts of the same country. More people are dying due to floods and droughts while food production conditions are undergoing big changes even as the toll from water-borne diseases continues to go up. The danger extends to the animal world also as climate changes will impact the natural habitat of many species. At present nearly 2 per cent of the land in the world faces extreme drought conditions; this area will increase five times by 2050. Sea levels in India, world’s seventh largest country, have registered an increase of about one centimetre every decade, raising the spectacle of most of the low-lying areas being inundated in less than 45 years from now. It will affect the wetlands and the beaches and increase the salinity in river waters. A worrying fact is that even if some drastic measures are taken now to control the gas emissions quickly, the ill effects of the emissions would remain for years, because part of the climate change system that includes large water and ice bodies will take hundreds of years to respond. Besides, greenhouse gases in the atmosphere do not dissolve at a fast pace. It is a race against time.
11/3 -
AZERBAIJAN - ABNORMAL warmer weather is forecasted to predominate in Azerbaijan till November 5. A north cyclone, which caused the death of a couple of people in some European countries and Turkey, will enter Azerbaijan’s territory beginning from November 5. Unstable weather is forecasted in the country after it.
AUSTRALIA'S water problems could become at least seven times worse unless climate change is tackled. If temperatures were allowed to continue rising at the current rate, Australia's water problems would become more severe and coastal cities would be threatened by large sea level rises. Global warming risks forcing the world into another depression on the scale of that of the 1930s.
HEAT / DROUGHT -
10/31 -
AUSTRALIA - Sydney has experienced its DRIEST OCTOBER IN FOUR YEARS because of the El Nino phenomenon, experts say.
A major dam supplying Melbourne has dipped to its LOWEST LEVEL EVER.
CLIMATE CHANGE -
Doomsday scenario paints a grim picture of what the world will look like only 50 years from now if politicians, industries and citizens alike across the world do not take action now to reverse the trend of climate change. According to a report, business as usual will in the worst case scenario cost the world up to 20 percent of the global economy, it will make at least 200 million people "climate change refugees" and will make around 40 percent of the globe's animals extinct. "Unless we act now the consequences – disastrous as they are – will be irreversible. It will not happen in "some science fiction future, but in our lifetime."
INDIA - For the past two decades, Arjun Jana has lived the life of an “environmental refugee” in Sagar island. He was forced to leave home in Lohachara island, one of the many islets on the Sundarban delta, when the surging sea waters swamped his farmland. Now 75, Jana’s migration to Sagar brought him to safer land. But it also made him poorer for the rest of his life. There’s no old-age allowance from the local administration for either Jana or his wife. And apart from a piece of land allotted to him years ago, and his thatched hut, the couple has nothing that they can call “ours”. “The sea had been eating away our island with every passing day. And then, one day, it engulfed everything that had remained untouched till then — our home, fields, the cattle… everything.” Sagar Colony, Bankim Nagar, Chakhaldubi — these are now home to most of these migrants. Farmers once, they are now petty labours, devoid of any civic amenity. Even drinking water is precious in these refugee colonies. Lack of opportunities, growing population and a consistent encroachment of the island by outsiders to set up hotels has meant further pressure. But what’s even more worrying is the unseen threat — ingression of salt waters that is slowly breaking down a dozen islands in the region. Sagar is one of them. “Their islands have vanished. There are many more, thousands of people, who will turn into environmental refugees in the next decade. Where will they all go when more islands go under water? To Sagar? To Kolkata? Nobody seems to have a solution.”
10/30 -
Reports predict a global warming deluge - The Netherlands, Bangladesh and several Pacific Islands could be underwater within 50 years and the environment of many countries, particularly Australia with the Great Barrier Reef, will simply be wrecked. "If you go ahead say 50 years, and we continue to emit CO2 at 2.5 to three parts per million, then essentially it's all over. When we hit 550 parts per million, that's when Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Pacific islands and large parts of large countries and many countries in the region are simply devastated...If we take the window of opportunity in the next 10 years, we can have a substantial impact and we can avoid the scientific outcome that is coming down the track."
A new report warns global warming will cost more than either world wars or the Great Depression. Leaked portions of the report warn that global warming could cost trillions of dollars to address. The report concluded that early action would be far cheaper than waiting until the full effects of climate change were felt. "Perhaps five, 10 or 20 times cheaper."
HEAT / WILDFIRES -
10/29 -
AUSTRALIA - Sydney's drinking water is under threat from a bushfire burning out of control close to Warragamba Dam. The fire in the Blue Mountains is expected to worsen in the next few days with the possibility of hot, windy weather set to hamper firefighting efforts. About 100 firefighters today were winched into a remote area five kilometres from Lake Burragorang, part of the Warragamba Dam catchment which supplies 80 per cent of the city's drinking water. The NSW Rural Fire Service says it fears debris and ash from the fire could clog the filtration system at the dam. The blaze started on Wednesday with a lightning strike and has burnt 3,000 hectares of bushland.
CLIMATE CHANGE -
Africa is the continent probably most vulnerable to climate change and the one that faces the greatest challenges to adapt to those changes. For millions of people in the Horn of Africa and the east of the continent, the success or failure of rains due over the next two months will be critical. The rains – or lack of them – will determine if 2007 will offer the prospect of recovery from the serious drought of 2005-06 or if it will be another year of desperately struggling to survive. Whatever happens to the rains, Africa is already undergoing big environmental changes. Although the climates of Africa have always been erratic, the latest scientific research, together with the on-the-ground experience of non-governmental agencies, indicates new and dangerous extremes, continual warming and more unpredictable weather patterns. “A huge gap is emerging between awareness of global warming and action to deal with it. We’re behaving like a group of people agreed that the building around us is on fire, but unwilling to reach for the alarm or the fire extinguisher. Africa’s precarious position on the front line of climate change reveals the complacency of rich countries whose greenhouse gas emissions keep rising and who have failed to deliver on even their current pitifully small promises of financial help. Waking up may be hard to do, but the alternative is having the house burn around us as we sleep.”
Mass movements of peoples across the world are likely to be one of the most dramatic effects of climate change in the coming century, a new study suggests. The spectre of hundreds of millions of environmental refugees is raised by the study, which says that the main cause will be climate-induced threats from water, or the lack of it – from droughts and water shortages, from flooding and storm surges, and from sea-level rise. There are already an estimated 25mn million environmental refugees around the world. Poor crop yields are forcing more and more Mexicans to risk death by illegally fleeing to the USA. One in five Brazilians born in the arid north-east of the country are moving to avoid drought. The spread of the Gobi desert, at a rate of 4,000 square miles a year, is forcing the populations of three provinces in China to abandon their homes. In Nigeria, 1,350 square miles of land are turning to desert each year. Farmers and herdsmen are being forced to move to the cities.
HEAT / WILDFIRES -
10/27 -
CALIFORNIA - A wind-driven wildfirenear Palm Springs engulfed a fire engine Thursday, killing four firefighters, and up to 400 people were trapped in a recreational vehicle park when flames blocked the only road out, officials said. The firefighters were trying to protect a house as hot Santa Ana winds drove flames through the desert hills northwest of Palm Springs and forced hundreds of people from their homes.
AUSTRALIA is unlikely to receive drought-breaking rain before autumn next year, according to the National Water Commission's latest outlook.
10/26 -
AUSTRIA - The temperature in Austria in general and Vienna in particular has been the WARMEST FOR THE PAST 35 YEARS. The temperature in Vienna is still above 20 degrees Celsius, which is ABNORMAL this time of the year. People are still sitting in open air cafes and public parks to make the best of this UNUSUALLY WARM weather. Meanwhile, the meteorological bureau predicted a continuation of this weather pattern and forecast temperatures close to 26 degrees Celsius by the end of the current month. "The usual temperature for this time of the year is around 10 degrees Celsius." Weather experts blame this unusually warm weather on warm wind blowing from South Western Europe, specifically from North Africa. Austria's weather was almost never above 30 degrees. But this year it broke the rule and went above 30 for quite some time, specifically in the village of Villach, where it reached 34 degrees on Sept 4. The weather for September was sometimes hotter than in August. Last year's weather also displayed some UNUSUAL thunder and lightning patterns, and devastating floods.
ENGLAND - Plants and flowers across Oxfordshire have been tricked into a second bloom as summery weather extends into the autumn months. Gardeners across the county are just as confused as the flora, with trees sprouting spring blossom and flowers such as roses and dahlias continuing to appear well beyond their expected season. "Normally everything's gone by now. The begonias have probably lasted six weeks longer this year." This is Oxfordshire's LONGEST SUMMER SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1689, with record temperatures nationally in July and September. Meteorologists warned that fears about FREAK weather conditions caused by global warming could soon outstrip gardeners' delight at late-blooming plants.
10/25 -
AUSTRALIA - A fire that has raged for almost seven weeks is one of 30 burning throughout the Top End, making this year's BUSHFIRE SEASON ONE OF THE WORST ON RECORD. A senior fire control officer has not seen anything like it during his 17 years on the job, and says 2006 has been tough on the Northern Territory. "The fire weather has been especially extreme this season, the winds and the dry nature of the vegetation have created most of the problem. In the last five years we've had 12 to 15 extreme fire danger days and this year there has been 31."
10/19 -
CHINA - Shanghai citizens still waiting for autumn - As the middle of October passes, residents in China's biggest metropolis are still wearing sleeveless shirts as if it was August. And they are likely to continue for the time being, with meteorologists forecasting that Shanghai's temperature will remain UNUSUALLY high. "This year's weather is really VERY UNUSUAL." Normally autumn hits the city between the end of September and the beginning of October, but this year Shanghai has not yet entered the autumn season. Autumn comes only after the average highest temperature falls below 22 C for five consecutive days. But for the past week, the city's average daily highest temperature has stood at about 28 C. The average monthly temperature between June and August reached 28.7 C, the HIGHEST RECORDED since 1873, and a whole 2.7 degrees hotter than any other summer in the past 100 years. Due to the strong influence of subtropical high-pressure, cold air from North China was unable to reach Shanghai. The delayed autumn seems to be becoming more common, with the duration of autumn shrinking more and more because of the ever-growing impact of global warming. However experts believe that a sudden shift from summer to winter is not possible as the weather needs to go through a changing process. In addition to the high temperature, the city's summer was also marked by limited rainfall and arid conditions. In August, Shanghai received only 27.8mm of rain, 136.6mm less than the average for that time of year. September's rainfall of 86.1mm was 50 mm lower than the normal level. Shanghai is not unique in encountering the UNUSUAL autumn. Meteorologists said UNUSUALLY warm weather persisted throughout the country, with temperatures an average of 0.9 degrees higher.
10/18 -
CANADA - In most of British Columbia rivers throughout the province, except for the Kootenays and the Columbia basin, are showing low to extremely low levels. "We're having RECORD LOWS all the way down the Fraser. We have a long record for the both the Thompson and Fraser, and this is the lowest they've been since 1912." Poor snow conditions last winter led to the low water levels. The problem has a number of implications. "Fisheries is an obvious one. The sockeye run on the North Coast in August was expected to have 8 million fish. The last I head from DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) was they were having trouble finding any fish."The record lows could lead to well problems. Communities which take their water directly from a river before treatment are probably having trouble already. Agricultural operations have already been impacted by the low water levels.
AUSTRALIA - "On any measure, this is an extreme drought. Climate change has hit in a much more dramatic manner that what we ever anticipated." What we're actually experiencing now was predicted to happen in about 2050. Around the country the picture's the same - dams which historically provided nearly 99 per cent of the country's urban water have fallen to RECORD LOW LEVELS and there's less water coming in, prompting alarm in cities both big and small. We have about 16 months supply in our dams if we didn't get any further run-off. Even in good times Australian dams must capture roughly six times as much water as dams in Europe need for the same yield because of erratic rainfall and high evaporation. But these days the rain's hardly falling and virtually every urban centre has been experiencing a RECORD WATER SHORTAGE. There's a growing belief among scientists that rainfall across the south of the continent has moved south, leaving mainland dams dry while more rain falls on the ocean and Tasmania. And there's been a similar rainfall movement along the eastern seaboard. In the nation's fastest growing region, from Sydney to south east Queensland, rain is falling on the cities but not within the dam catchments.
10/17 -
AUSTRALIA - Livestock prices across NSW are in freefall, with farmers selling off RECORD numbers of sheep and cattle as the drought worsens.
Farmers are in despair as the drought sears the land - In some places the creeks have not flowed in a decade. The crippling effect of the fifth straight year of drought has some farmers shooting their animals. For others, the plight has become even more desperate and every four days officials record the suicide of another farmer. Food prices are set to rise because of plummeting production. Some farmers are asking whether farming across vast tracts of Australia has been wiped out for good by global warming. The country’s most productive grain growing belt — southern Western Australia — is drying out faster than any other place on Earth. “Everyone says it will turn around, but these dry years have been the norm for us for such a long time now." “The worst thing is that you start to wonder if it’s ever going to rain again. It’s going to affect every dinner table over summer. This is because for the first time in many generations we have a drought that’s virtually across the southern half of the continent.” Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent; only Antarctica has less rainfall.
CHINA - More than 400 cites in China are suffering from acute water shortages and 110 of those have reached a crisis point.
UNITED KINGDOM - Britain now seems to have a fifth season bridging the gap between summer and autumn. The new season, created by global warming, has been dubbed “sort-of-autumn” or summertumn. All across Britain, temperatures continue to be much more like summer than the colder months before winter. The idyllic unseasonal weather is likely to be repeated in years to come, according to the Met Office. The Met Office considers autumn to start on September 1 rather than on the autumn equinox — which fell on the 23rd this year. But this September was the HOTTEST SINCE RECORDS BEGAN 234 years ago. “Maximum temperatures this month have been three to four degrees above average in places.” There have also been longer than average hours of sunshine. Last month the UK average was 170 hours — 17 per cent above normal.
10/13 -
AUSTRALIA - Hundreds of firefighters have battled blistering heat and strong winds as more than 250 fires broke out across Victoria today. By 4pm, 258 fires were burning as the mercury hit 36.5 degrees celsius in Melbourne - the HOTTEST OCTOBER DAY IN ALMOST 100 YEARS. The most severe fires are at Gippsland in the state's east, the only part of the state where a total fire ban has not been declared. "There's been very extreme fire behaviour today with fire height going to 10 metres and crowning (reaching tree tops)." "It's really unseasonal weather and is causing us considerable difficulty."
10/12 -
TASMANIA - Tasmania's south has been hit by sweltering temperatures and strong winds and there is a "NEAR-RECORD fire danger ... (and) conditions have not peaked".
EL NINO -
10/6 -
NASA satellite data indicates El Nino has returned to the tropical Pacific Ocean, although in a relatively weak condition that may not persist. NASA scientists say oceanographic data suggest this year's El Nino is much less intense than the last major El Nino episode that occurred in 1997-1998. During the past several weeks, satellites have observed a general warming of ocean temperatures and a rise in sea surface heights in the central and eastern Pacific along the equator - both indicators of El Nino development. "The present conditions indicate the intensity of this El Nino is too weak to have a major influence on current weather patterns."
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wEEK OF 10/10 -

DROUGHT -
AUSTRALIA - Melbourne's water storages are continuing to decline, with total levels falling in September for the FIRST TIME IN 36 YEARS.

HEAT -
This week scientists from the Hadley Centre, where a supercomputer is used to create future climate models, predicted that drought threatening the lives of millions will spread across half the Earth's surface by the year 2100 because of global warming. Extreme drought, in which agriculture is impossible, would affect about a third of the planet and devastate most of all those parts of the world already stricken by drought. By 2100 a third of the Earth may be devastated by hunger, thirst, war, migration and death.
SCOTLAND was put on red alert over climate change, with experts saying it was already responsible for placing endangered species at greater risk, for rising sea levels, major floods and landslides. And environmental watchdog the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency warned the situation was likely to worsen. The weather is expected to become more erratic, with increasing numbers of "extreme event" storms.
Changing climate - From floods to fires, drought to disease - Drought in British Columbia’s rain forest. Prairie rivers running dry. Storms leaving trails of multi-million-dollar damage in Eastern Canada.
Arctic saw near-record melt in 2006.
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Week of 10/2 -
WILDFIRES -
Mega-fires of the future - Australia - With a dry winter, high sea temperatures on the west and east coasts, less moisture in the soil and in the air, Australia's fire season came early. The prediction was for mid-November, six weeks before the normal fire season in southwest Western Australia. Fires started at the end of September. The critical factor in Tasmania is when they see fires burning overnight. Once they see that they know they are on the cusp of the fire season. "Fires for the past month have continued to burn overnight: that's UNUSUAL for this time of year. Bad bushfire seasons have been more frequent in recent years. It used to be that any given area in Australia would experience a particularly bad fire season every seven years; that has now become every three to four years. And every fire chief now fears the possibility of what has been dubbed the mega-fire. These are fires no human efforts can control.
"
DROUGHT -
INDONESIA - there is a prolonged dry in Indonesia - "Extremely dry, unbelievably dry. We have a wet and dry season, but we have not had rain here now for two months, which is VERY UNUSUAL for the wet season."
Drought becoming norm, experts say. The drought that's squeezing Arizona and the Colorado River - it could be the new normal. The warming temperatures that seem to start earlier and linger later - a shift in climate that already has stolen runoff in some parts of the Northwest. The natural snow pack reservoir is getting smaller and smaller. In the winter of 2005, we had the smallest snow pack on record. That's a real wake-up call for us that something is changing." An Australian scientist urged Americans to treat drought as constant rather than an emergency: In her country, "drought is no longer considered a disaster. We have one "of the most variable climates on earth. We really don't have a 'normal' climate. Therefore it's absurd to treat every drought as an emergency."

HEAT -
"People say there should be a debate about global warming. But I tell you the debate is over; the reckoning has begun. The truth is staring us in the face. Climate change is here, in our country; it is an issue for our generation as well as future generations; and those who deny it are the flat-earthers of the 21st century."
Climate change 'terror'in Australia - A new "terrifying" climate change report shows temperature change predictions for the state's coast have already grown by 0.3C in just three years. "No nation in the world will be more affected by global warming than Australia". A report predicts average temperatures in the south will increase up to 4.7C by 2070, up from the prediction of 4.4C as outlined in the 2003 report. Meanwhile, rainfall will decline by up to 35 per cent, up from predictions of 30 per cent in 2003. "This report demonstrates that the dry spells we are currently experiencing may become more frequent in the future, but that there may also be wet spells and an increase of flood and bushfires."
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Week of 9/26 -
The Earth's rapid warming has pushed temperatures to their HOTTEST LEVEL IN NEARLY 12,000 YEARS and within a hair's breadth of a million years. "Further global warming of 1 degree Celsius defines a critical level. If warming is kept less than that, effects of global warming may be relatively manageable. During the warmest interglacial periods the Earth was reasonably similar to today. But if further global warming reaches 2 or 3 degrees Celsius, we will likely see changes that make Earth a different planet than the one we know." The last time it was that warm was in the middle Pliocene, about three million years ago, when the sea level was estimated to have been about 25m higher than today.
CALIFORNIA is experiencing ONE OF ITS WORST WILDFIRE SEASONS IN A DECADE, and the most brutal part of the season - fall - has only just begun. Already, some 172,333 acres of land within CDF's jurisdiction have gone up in flame - more than triple the amount at this time last year. More than 386,768 acres in California's national forests have burned this year. "That's more than any other year in the past decade, with the exception of 1999, when 513,700 acres were lost in national forests - many of them in October. "The potential is there for more big fires in California this year."
SOUTH AUSTRALIA is coming out of THE DRIEST WINTER ON RECORD, leaving firefighters worried about the potential for wild scrub and forest blazes.
WILDFIRES -
Wildfires burn RECORD AMOUNT of US land - US acreage scorched by wildfires this year has reached a modern record of 8.8 million acres.
Tropical storm-force winds complicated firefighters' efforts to control two wildfires in Northern California.
RECORD WILDFIRES Ravage Mojave Desert - The deserts of Pike's Canyon in southern California's Mojave National Preserve had never had a recorded fire until this year.
Wildfires release 15 times more toxic mercury - New data suggest wildfires release 15 times more of the poisonous element into the air than previously thought, more than every US coal-fired power plant.

DROUGHT -
INDIA - Drought stalks Assam - The state has been hit hard by drought as a result of the MOST ERRATIC MONSOON IN OVER 100 YEARS.
Boulder scientist has grim drought forecast for Western U.S.
Investing in Water as World Shortage Approaches - Experts confirm a world water shortage is imminent.
World water shortages growing 20 years ahead of predictions.
Chinese capital facing water shortage - BEIJING, China's drought-prone capital, must curb its rapid population growth or risk running out of water.

HEAT -
Scientists say volcano gas could offset global warming for 20 years - Pumping volcanic gases into the stratosphere could offset global warming for 20 years, scientists have found.
US - SUMMER HEAT WAVE MAKES 2006 THE WARMEST ON RECORD.
UNITED KINGDOM - Why next summer could well be even longer and hotter- CO2 levels will continue to rise. This month is on track to become one of the hottest Septembers on record, July was the warmest month yet recorded in the UK, and the summer was the second hottest in England and Wales.
Dinosaurs survived rapid climate change - New research suggests the existence of periods of dramatic climate change during the Mesozoic Era, a time when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
HEAT / WILDFIRES -
9/24 -
AUSTRALIA - A man died, homes were destroyed and residents evacuated as bushfires fuelled by strong winds and high temperatures broke out across NSW today. Recent warnings by authorities that the fire season would start early and be severe were vindicated when blazes fanned by hot winds up 100kph spread quickly.
9/20 -
European scientists voiced shock yesterday as they viewed pictures which showed Arctic ice cover had disappeared so much last month that a ship could sail unhindered from Europe's most northerly outpost to the North Pole. Perennial sea ice – thick ice that is normally present year-round and is not affected by the Arctic summer – had disappeared in a huge area. "This situation is unlike anything observed in previous record low-ice seasons." In the last weeks since the pictures were taken, what was open water has begun to freeze, as the autumn air temperatures over the Arctic begin to fall.
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Week of 9/18 -
WILDFIRES -
CANADA - Hundreds of people have left their homes in "bone-dry" northwestern Ontario, where fire crews are struggling to control more than 300 fires burning in the region.
AUSTRALIA - 140 blazes which have been reported across Victoria. The state's bushfire season has arrived six weeks earlier than expected and the drought has not helped matters.

DROUGHT -
CHINA - Beijing is again facing drought despite two months of rainfall, and the situation is expected to get worse. Drought has returned to 44 per cent of the municipality, and the meteorologists say south-eastern Fangshan District and part of Daxing District are already experiencing serious drought. "The parched capital had largely escaped the worst drought in 50 years that has hit some areas. However, it returned immediately to drought conditions as rainfall over the past month is down by 80 per cent from the same period last year." Merely 50 to 90 millimetres of rain is forecast from September to November, less than the previous year.
Where is the food going to come from? - With drought in the US in North Dakota, South Dakota, all the way down to Oklahoma, and Texas, it's the worst drought since 1936 - record heat - stock dams that have never been dry before, a lot of them were dredged in the 30's and haven't been dry since then. Crops with zero bushels. This isn't just about money - after years of disasters it's about the future. If farmers go belly up where will our food come from?

HEAT -
Study clears Sun of climate change - The Sun's energy output has barely varied over the past 1000 years, according to a study that weakens claims that climate change is due to natural sunspot cycles.
Hungary to be hit hard by climate change - Global climate change will impact Hungary more than other countries of the European Union because it lies in a basin.
Starving seabirds hit by climate change? Reports of hundreds of dead or starving young seabirds around Scotland - including some many miles from the coast - and Northern Ireland are leading to speculation among experts that these incidents may be linked to climate change. Most of the casualties are guillemots – a type of seabird. Many of the birds are underweight and have empty stomachs, suggesting they are suffering from a chronic shortage of food. “Able to dive 300 feet for fish prey, guillemots are massively buffered against scarcity, so evidence of starvation signals a desperate lack of food. Food shortage has reared its ugly head in a number of guillemot colonies in recent years, but the breadth and scale of these reports of starving birds is more troubling.” Several guillemots have also been reported from HIGHLY UNUSUAL inland locations, presumably in a desperate attempt to find food.
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Week of 9/12 -
WILDFIRES -
The Association of Fire Ecology said climate change will limit humans' ability to manage wildland fire. “Under future drought and high heat scenarios fires may become larger more quickly and be more difficult to manage. Fire suppression costs may continue to increase, with decreasing effectiveness under extreme fire weather and fuel conditions. Extreme fire events are likely to occur more frequently.”
2006 fires already rate among Montana's most destructive - "We are seeing fire behavior in the past week that no one has ever seen before." Fires in Montana have burned more than 800,000 acres, destroyed more than 30 homes, racked up millions of dollars in bills and left portions of the state shaken by a reminder of one nature's most powerful forces. What's particularly UNUSUAL is that the largest fires have been east of the Continental Divide. The fire season has barely let up since the big blazes started in early July. This fire season has seen a ferocious combination of factors: seven years of drought, record-low moisture in trees and grasses, above-normal temperatures, plenty of lightning and blustery winds. "This is not a normal year by every measure." Large fires that once seemed abnormal are becoming more common in the West. "At one time, we had large fires going on in 10 of 11 geographic areas (in the West), which is unheard of." "It used to be we'd have a summer like this ... they called them one in 100-year events. Now we've had about five or six of these events in the last 20 years."
U.S. West on track for worst wildfire season in decades - There's no sign of a letup to the 2006 wildfire season — almost certain to claim more acres than any season in a half-century — and firefighters are stretched so thin that help has been flown in from New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Nearly 8.7 million acres already have burned, and an UNUSUAL string of late-season major fires still are charring land in Nevada, Idaho, Washington and Montana. "Our biggest season was last year (8.7 million acres) and I think we're going to surpass that in the next few days."
Growing Number of Wildfires May Pump Mercury Into Air - As wildfires grow in number and strength worldwide, they are unleashing mercury that has polluted wetlands in the north.
New wildfires in Spain and Portugal - New wildfires were raging Friday in northern Spain and Portugal, where hundreds of firefighters were battling flames.

DROUGHT -
Researchers say water shortage to hit 4 billion people by 2075. More than 4 billion people will face water shortages, with the current water shortage areas as core areas.
ALABAMA - this year's drought is "probably the WORST DROUGHT ON RECORD IN THE LAST 30-40 YEARS."
OKLAHOMA - Drought conditions WORST IN 50 YEARS. Despite some much-needed rain in recent days, Oklahoma remains locked in what climatologists say is the worst drought in a half-century.
MISSISSIPPI - Drought - Wildfires not the only problem - This year's drought has quite a grip on the state and its flora - the WORST MANY HAVE SEEN IN SIX YEARS.
MINNESOTA - Northern fire danger increases with continued drought - - Many trees and bushes already are turning color and dropping leaves in parts of northern Minnesota, and officials are thinking about drought and fire danger.
TURKEY - Power Outages to Follow if Drought Continues.
Uganda - Water Shortage Imminent - will experience severe water shortage due to continuous pressure on the water resources and the general degradation of the environment.
SPAIN - A drought could force rationing of water supplies to up to 2 million people in the southeastern region of Murcia if rains don't replenish reserves.
SPAIN suffering WORST DROUGHT FOR A DECADE. Spain’s flourishing agriculture sector is contributing to the country’s worst drought in a decade.
Portugal facing water shortage, It is not just the wealthier southern European countries that are beginning to enter into the grips of a water shortage.
China Faces Growing Water Shortage - The central authorities say China will face a critical water shortage in 2030 when the population is forecast to have grown by 300 million, to 1.6 billion.
JAMAICA - Drought conditions persist despite heavy rains. Many are now without water due to severe drought.
Cost of water shortage: civil unrest, mass migration and economic collapse. By 2010, the water shortage in many developing countries will be recognised as one of the most serious political and social issues of the time.

HEAT -
Thawing Siberian bogs are releasing more of the greenhouse gas methane than previously believed, according to new scientific research. The methane release is hastened by warmer temperatures, positively feeding back into global warming. Methane's contribution to present-day global warming is second only to CO2. "We show that methane flux from thaw lakes in our study region may be five times greater than previously estimated." Boreholes in permafrost in Svalbard, Norway, indicate that ground temperatures rose 0.4C over the past decade, four times faster than they did in the previous century.
Permafrost gases may worsen climate change - greenhouse gases in the soil are bubbling out of the thawing permafrost in amounts far higher than previously thought and may trigger what researchers warn is a climate time bomb.
THE first mass exodus of people fleeing the disastrous effects of climate change is not happening in low-lying Pacific islands but in the world's richest country. "The first massive movement of climate refugees has been that of people away from the Gulf Coast of the United States." About a quarter of a million people who fled the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina a year ago must now be classed as "refugees". The study also warned: "The experience with more destructive storms in recent years is only the beginning."
New insights into the links between El Niño warming in the Pacific Ocean and failure of the Indian monsoon could help forecasters more accurately predict severe droughts on the subcontinent. In India, every severe drought over the past 132 years has occurred during an El Niño. Droughts there strangle the summer monsoon rains critical to Indian agriculture. But not all El Niños produce severe Indian droughts. The researchers determined that the key to accurate Indian drought prediction depends more on where the El Niño warming occurs than on the strength of the warming. When El Niño warming occurs near the central Pacific, the Indian monsoon fails to produce sufficient rains, the researchers found. When the warming develops closer to the eastern rim of the equatorial Pacific, the chances of a failed monsoon are reduced.
Climate change shifting European seasons - Spring is arriving sooner and autumn is starting later because of climate change, according to a study of more than 500 plants and animals across Europe.
Climate change brings taste of tropics to UK - It is just amazing how strong the signature of climate change is. 'In some areas, we see new vegetation with a mixture of native species.'
9/15 -
Nasa satellite has documented startling changes in Arctic sea ice cover between 2004 and 2005. The extent of "perennial" ice - thick ice which remains all year round - declined by 14%, losing an area the size of Pakistan or Turkey. The last few decades have seen summer ice shrink by about 0.7% per year. The drastic shrinkage may relate partly to UNUSUAL wind patterns found in 2005, though rising temperatures in the Arctic could also be a factor. The Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the global average; and recent studies have shown that the area of the Arctic covered by ice each summer, and the ice thickness, have been shrinking. September 2005 saw the lowest recorded area of ice cover since 1978, when satellite records became available. If the pace of Arctic melting is quickening, the implications for the future are not reassuring. Ice reflects the Sun's energy back into space; open water absorbs it. So a planet with less ice warms faster, potentially turning the projected impacts of global warming into reality sooner than anticipated.
EL NINO-
9/15 -
The periodic phenomenon known as El Nino has developed in the Pacific Ocean threatening extreme weather in many parts of the world. El Ninos begin with a warming of waters in the eastern Pacific, and there has been a steep rise in water temperature in recent weeks. This El Nino is likely to strengthen towards the end of the year and early into 2007. However it is not expected to reach the strength of the 1997 phenomenon. In that year El Nino brought drought to parts of Asia and Australia, and heavy rains and floods to Latin America. This latest phenomenon may explain why this year's Atlantic hurricane season has so far been weaker than expected - winds associated with El Nino events disrupt and weaken storm formation. The researchers are predicting a milder-than-average winter for much of North America, and wetter weather for the US Gulf Coast and Florida.
CHANGING WEATHER SEASON -
9/6 -
CANADA - Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada's Pacific rain forest, usually receives about three metres of rain a year. It has had no serious rainfall since June and last month was the DRIEST AUGUST ON RECORD. "We've set a record for the driest August ever... we've always had rain in Tofino. It is a rain forest but the weather patterns are changing...It's certainly something that I think we're going to have to look at in the future in terms of global warming... this was definitely the biggest wake-up call."
CHANGING WEATHER SEASON -
9/5 -
BRITAIN - New research suggests the kind of extreme downpour usually associated with India and the tropics will become a familiar part of autumn in Britain as a result of global warming and climate change. To make matters worse, separate research from Britain's Met Office suggests that European heatwaves are likely to become much hotter and more frequent. And the changes are occurring even sooner than anticipated. From 1961-2000 extreme cloudbursts have become much more frequent and intense. The length of periods of storms and heavy rain have doubled over parts of the UK since the 1960s and where they once occurred every 25 years they now come around in six-year intervals. There has also been a change in the arrival of extreme rainfall with the majority now occurring in autumn. Scotland and Northern England have begun to get many more five-or 10-day periods of heavy rain. The south, on the other hand, got fewer periods of protracted rain - but many more heavy cloud bursts. "We are looking at an UNHEARD-OF RATE OF CHANGE in weather patterns which usually take place over tens of thousands of years."
AUSTRALIA'S rapid climate change had caught scientists by surprise, a leading water expert said. Experts had expected the changes, which have left much of the country suffering drought conditions, but thought they would take much longer to take effect. "I don't think any of us expected the climate change we have experienced over the last five years. I was expecting climate change but I was expecting it to take 30 years." Australia was drying out quickly and with water restrictions already in place in many areas, governments needed to consider all available options, such as recycling and desalination, to prevent an impending water crisis. "I wouldn't be surprised to see water prices double in Australia in the next couple of years, we are paying about $1 a kilolitre, in most Australian cities. In Germany they are paying $11 a kilolitre so we are very underpriced in terms of some other communities." "I think panic has set in with the bureaucrats, government and water engineers and they are jumping to big dams, big pipelines without doing the hard work and seeing how far they can push recycling. What's the point in building big dams if they remain half full? It's much smarter to move to recycling."
AUSTRALIA has recorded its DRIEST AUGUST ON RECORD since accurate record-keeping began in 1900, increasing the chance of severe bushfires and giving little hope of an end to the crippling drought. It was also the WARMEST AUGUST since detailed monthly temperature data came on line in 1950. RECORD LOW WINTER RAINFALL was recorded over a large area of southern Western Australia and in parts of the eastern states. Rainfall deficits had also intensified across the nation's south east, including Tasmania, since the start of autumn. Large areas of eastern Australia have been in drought since 2002. Whether an El Nino develops or not, there is not much hope of decent rainfall in the months ahead. “The current warm ocean temperatures in the Pacific mean that the odds of good rainfall over Australia in late winter/spring are reduced, and that the above-average temperatures already being observed are likely to continue.”
9/1 -
CHINA - The major drought affecting millions of people in southwestern China is now being called "the WORST IN A CENTURY", and searing temperatures have set off uncontrollable fires. 21 million people have found themselves affected, with more than seven million of them without adequate drinking water.

AUSTRALIA - LOWEST RAINFALL ON RECORD, DRIEST WINTER EVER RECORDED in the city of Ballarat. Just 87mm of rain fell this winter - the lowest level since weather records began almost a century ago in 1908. The grim winter rainfall count has caused Central Highlands Water to move restrictions up from stage two to stage three. August is traditionally Ballarat's wettest month, but the city only received 27mm, well below the monthly rainfall average of 75.4mm. A large number of high pressure systems had brought Ballarat frosty winter conditions but drier than average, clear skies. And Ballarat should brace itself for a drier than usual spring and a possible El Nino this year. "The surface temperatures are beginning to warm up in the eastern Pacific, which might suggest the risk of an El Nino. We should know in the next month."
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font color="green">HEAT / WILDFIRES -
8/31 -
AUSTRALIA - The Rural Fire Service is preparing for a "worse than normal" fire season in NSW with experts warning that the chance of extreme fire danger days is set to double over the summer and there will be above average temperatures on these days. The official fire danger period will come into force a month early on September 1. Recent wet conditions along the coast had ironically had a huge impact on the state's ability to prepare for the season, preventing about 70% of the planned controlled burns.
NETHERLANDS - A heatwave in the Netherlands in July caused about 1000 more deaths than a normal July. The statistics office said an average of 2730 people died each week in July – the HOTTEST MONTH SINCE DUTCH RECORDS STARTED IN 1706 – compared to a normal figure of about 2500. Average temperatures in July were 6.6C above the long-term average. As temperatures fell in the first week of August, the number of deaths decreased. Each increase in the average temperature of 1C resulted in an estimated extra 22 deaths of women and nine deaths of men a week.
Week of 8/29 -

DROUGHT -
Water shortage 'a global problem' - The WWF warns that even the most developed countries face increasing water shortages. Some of the world's wealthiest cities - such as Houston or Sydney - are using more water than can be replenished. Wealthy countries continue to use up the water of the developing world.
World demand for water will double by 2050, with a third of the globe's population already facing shortages of the precious resource, an international expert has warned.
BANGLADESH - an UNUSUAL dry spell that has left farmers in the mainly agricultural nation desperate for irrigation water. The continuous dry spell had dried up rivers as water levels of the three major rivers — Padma, Meghna and Brahmaputra — hit their LOWEST IN 14 YEARS. Monsoon rains normally sweep Bangladesh from June to September and the country gets more than 75 per cent of its annual rainfall during this period. But this year, rainfall between June and August 25 has been nearly 25 per cent below average. “This is a RARE phenonemon in our climatic history. It’s very UNUSUAL.”
U.S. - The US National Weather Service's outlook through October saw persistent drought from eastern Montana to Minnesota and on down through Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas - the main spring-wheat and winter-wheat growing areas of the United States as well as its main cattle and beef production region.
With parts of South Dakota at its epicenter, a severe drought has slowly sizzled a large swath of the Plains States, leaving farmers and ranchers with conditions that they compare to those of the Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Scientists deemed the weather conditions and its effects in the areas of the worst drought A ONCE-IN-50-YEARS EXPERIENCE. CANADA - There's a severe water shortage in Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island, generally one of the wettest communities in B.C, because of the dry summer. The municipality has issued a public notice asking all hotels, restaurants and other food service businesses to shut down by Friday to preserve what water supply remains. The tourist industry will take a big hit on the eve of one of the busiest weekends of the year.

HEAT -
Latin America and the Caribbean face a greater risk of more natural disasters because of environmental degradation and climate change, campaigners warn. The region's weather is becoming less predictable and often more extreme. Evidence showed many areas were more vulnerable because depleted ecosystems were struggling to adapt and efforts to end poverty are being undermined as a result. "The region has had to deal with highly variable climates for many centuries. It has developed very resilient forms of agriculture based upon high levels of diversity of crops, which are adapted to grow in a wide range of microclimates. The danger that now seems to be facing people in the region is that those conditions could become more permanent and more extreme."
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WILDFIRES -
SPAIN, PORTUGAL - Hot and dry conditions settling in across the Iberian Peninsula fanned devastating wildfires in Spain and Portugal in early August.
US blazes - A team of 47 Australian and New Zealand firefighters have flown to the United States to help battle SOME OF THE WORST SUMMER WILDFIRES IN MORE THAN A DECADE.
CANADA - British Columbia - It’s been the WORST SEASON FOR WILDFIRES SINCE 2003, when wildfires razed Interior BC towns, burned parts of Kelowna and threatened other communities.

DROUGHT -
TEXAS - The current drought could go down as THE WORST EVER by the end of the year. The drought has cost Texas $4.1 billion.
UNITED KINGDOM - Algae choking drought-hit ponds and streams Algae, some of which can kill dogs within half an hour, are now blanketing many ponds, canals and other shallow water courses as the drought expands.
UNITED KINGDOM - Countryside suffers in drought's deadly grip - The WORST DROUGHT IN 30 YEARS is having a devastating impact on the environment.
CHINA - 35,000 cloud seeders are using ground-based rocket-launchers and aircraft to create rain in areas facing their WORST DROUGHT IN 55 YEARS.
CHINA - About 17 million people in southwest China don't have access to clean drinking water due to sustained drought.Crops on large tracts of farmland in Sichuan province and the nearby Chongqing municipality have withered due to the month-long drought, causing economic losses of 9.23 billion yuan ($1.15 billion). The water level in the Chongqing section of the Yangtze river - China's longest river - hit 3.5 metres (11.5 feet), its LOWEST LEVEL IN 100 YEARS.

HEAT -
Polar snow not helping curb climate change, expert says - The higher snowfall on Antarctica that researchers had predicted would help by locking up the increased moisture created by global warming has not materialized. Sea-level rises are likely to be above previous predictions because more snow has not been falling in Antarctica in response to global warming. 'The big surprise is that if there isn't an increase in snowfall accumulation that's going to lead to less water being locked up in Antarctica and consequently a more rapid increase in sea level than has been projected.'
The meltdown of Greenland's ice sheet is speeding up, satellite measurements show. Greenland's ice sheet is melting three times faster than two years ago, according to satellite data. If the ice cap were to completely disappear, global sea levels would rise by 6.5m (21 feet)[Or more - see item above].
ARCTIC - the Arctic is once again hurtling toward a record-shattering year, as an unusually mild spring melted into a sweltering summer that arrived in many northern hamlets a full month before normal. "When you look at the Arctic, it was the WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD. I mean, you had rain in Iqaluit in February they've never had that before. And they were anywhere from four to seven degrees warmer than normal. There was no winter in the North." Satellite images show less Arctic sea ice in July than ever for that month. Normally, the Arctic is covered in 10.1 million sq. km of sea ice in July. This year, it was down to 8.7 million sq. km a loss of area larger than Peru. "Right now things are not looking good as far as the sea ice is concerned. From January 2005 to July of 2006, the sea ice has been essentially at a RECORD MINIMUM."
Researchers: Climate change natural - not human caused - "If you put pollutants in the air, you will heat the Earth. Yes, it impacts temperatures. But melt glaciers - no.” Glaciers come and go naturally and have for 20 billion years. The Earth couldn't care less. If humans were extinct, the glaciers would still be melting today. “Are we going to fix things by creating less greenhouse gases? No. And if you think so, you don't know how the Earth works - you're a politician.” The real problem everyone is ignoring is the unchecked world population, and that problem is still growing.
HEAT / WILDFIRES -
8/22 -
GREECE - Hundreds of tourists and residents have been forced to flee onto beaches in northern Greece by a forest fire that raged out of control, say reports. The fire is said to have burned on several fronts on the Halkidiki peninsula, south of Thessaloniki. The fire comes at the hottest time of year and during a prolonged dry spell. The temperature on Monday was about 42C (107F) and the flames were fanned by a seasonal northern wind called the Meltemi. The beach is said to be packed with thousands of people, many preparing to sleep out on sunbeds. (photos)
GREENLAND's glaciers have been shrinking for the past century, according to a Danish study, suggesting that the ice melt is not a recent phenomenon caused by global warming. Using maps from the 19th century and current satellite observations, the scientists were able to conclude that "70 per cent of the glaciers have been shrinking regularly since the end of the 1880s at a rate of around eight metres per year". The biggest reduction was observed between 1964 and 1985. The effect of the rising temperatures in the 1920s and 1930s was "visible dozens of years later, and that of the 1990s will be (visible) in 10 or 20 years." They expect Greenland's glaciers to melt even faster in the future.
UNUSUAL WEATHER SEASON -
8/21 -
AUSTRALIA - Winter's sprung a leak, or is it spring? Sydney's cherry blossoms are already dripping with bright pink blooms, the May bush is in bud, and trees are pushing out their new shoots. It could all be the devious work of global warming, or just one of those tricks that unpredictable nature likes to play. Whatever the cause, spring has escaped from its box well ahead of schedule. "Everything is two weeks, if not three weeks, early." The city's flowering plants and trees had been provoked into an early show of colour by winter's spell of warm weather and unusually heavy rain. Sydney in July was 0.8 degrees warmer than average, while August has, so far, been 0.3 degrees hotter. And 140.2 millimetres of rain fell over Observatory Hill in July, compared with the long-term average of just 97.5 millimetres. By Thursday, the 17th, almost as much rain had fallen this month as would be expected in all of August. Spring season officially starts September 1.
WILDFIRES -
8/18 -
IDAHO - Thousands of lightning strikes across Idaho sparked several new wildfires Wednesday, boosting the state's total of large, major active fires to 15, the most in the country. The situation was compounded by hot temperatures and gusty winds that fanned flames, scorching more than 215 square miles of rangeland and forest statewide. On the eastern Idaho ranges, brushfires were prompting ranchers to prepare for emergency cattle drives to move stock.
HEAT -
8/13 -
BRITAIN - Village left with no water for FIRST TIME IN 300 YEARS - Residents in a tiny hamlet are praying for rain after the hot weather dried up their only running water supply for the first time in 300 years. Fed-up householders in the hamlet of Ryecroft, near Bingley, have been washing in buckets and taking laundry to their friends after being left without running water for three weeks. Villagers had been well-served by an underground spring which had provided free, high-grade water since the early 1700s. But a combination of a dry winter and record-breaking summer heatwave has dried out the spring for the first time in centuries. "When there has been a severe drought in the past there has been a reduction in the water available – but the spring has never run dry...It's strange to be praying for rain in the middle of the summer, usually everyone complains when it rains."
EL NINO - There is a 50 percent chance a weak El Nino will develop this year, U.S. government weather forecasters said on Thursday, but if the weather abnormality reappears it will be too late to affect the Atlantic hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a return of El Nino would bring wetter-than-average weather to portions of the Gulf Coast and southeastern U.S., and warmer-than-average temperatures to the West, northern Great Plains and upper Midwest between January and March 2007. El Nino is an abnormal warming of water in the Pacific Ocean every three or so years that can wreak havoc with global weather patterns.
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Weeks through 8/8 -
UNUSUAL WEATHER SEASON -
8/7 -
VERMONT - Last summer was the hottest on record in Vermont – and worldwide. In the fall, Vermont had such a late frost that the leaves didn't begin to drop until mid-October, and the weight of an Oct. 25 snowfall caused thousands of trees to topple. "I think everybody noticed a kind of weird winter." The great increase in temperatures occurred in the winter months. In the second week of January, heavy rains melted away the snow. This last year in New Hampshire, sap flowed at the end of December and in early January. "It was flowing before people had their trees tapped. The weather they call sugaring weather is just not reliable anymore." There was a time when 80 percent of the maple syrup produced in the world came from New England and 80 percent of that came from Vermont. These days 80 percent comes from Canada and only 20 percent from New England. This spring and summer have been particularly wet. At the height of planting season at the end of May, corn rotted in rain-drenched fields and farmers had to replant. While some crops recovered from record-heavy rainfall, many did not. And for the second time ever, dairy farmers received emergency funding from the state after the wet weather ruined feed crops. Twenty-three days out of 30 in June had measurable rainfall. Total rainfall for June 2006 compared to June 2005 was almost double in most weather recording locations in Vermont.
"What I would like to see, and would be good for everybody, is just to take a look at their surroundings and just take note." Write down a new plant or bug or bird and mark on a calendar when things bloom, or when the weather changes. If people start doing this, they will notice climate changes that have been talked about. "It's very slow ... methodically slow" but all these little changes "start to add up and connect the dots."

DROUGHT -
AUSTRALIA - Statistics reveal that south east Queensland is now experiencing the WORST DROUGHT ON RECORD. The situation is now even more dire than the 'Federation' drought from 1898 to 1903. "We are now in uncharted waters. The 2005/06 summer to winter rainy season has ended without producing significant inflows to any of our major dams in the region. We are entering the August/September 'dry season' and face a critical situation if the low rainfall patterns of the past seasons are repeated." Rainfall in the region has been well below average for the past six years and in fact, it is the WORST 10-YEAR PERIOD IN HISTORY. "It is estimated that we would need the equivalent of a low pressure rain system, storm or cyclone to sit over our dams for at least three days straight and drop more than 500 millimetres just to get us back to a sustainable level." "We are in a new environment never experienced before."
BRAZIL - The government declared a state of emergency which affected over 253 towns in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Parana and Santa Catarina, in the south of the nation, due to a major drought. The main problem caused by the drought is the major threat to the generation of electricity, as the reservoirs supporting hydroelectric plants are 75 percent below their maximum level. Rio Grande do Sul is the least affected state but it still has 16 towns endangered, three of which have serious problems concerning drinking water supplies. The drought has also caused social problems, as many peasants have had to leave for urban centers because of a lack of resources in their hometowns.
TEXAS - Almost 200 cities are limiting how much water residents can use as Texas continues to struggle with a massive drought.
CHINA - 2.39 million people and 3.04 million heads of livestock are facing a shortage of drinking water due to drought. Most parts of Sichuan Basin have reported relative higher temperatures and less precipitation since the beginning of this year. By the end of last month, 61.2 percent of small-scale water works in drought-stricken areas have dried up, resulting in total crop failure on some 120,000 hectares of farmland. Nearly 1.1 million hectares of farmland have been affected.
CHINA - As provinces in eastern and southern China battle floods triggered by typhoons, more than five million people across rest of the country are facing drought.
NEPAL - Even as heavy downpours have caused floods in China and parts of India, Nepal, lying between the two giants, has been smitten by drought and food scarcity in the western regions.

HEAT -
NEW YORK - A heat emergency was in place in New York City (8/3), as high temperatures grip the east of the United States for a second day. The heatwave, which has been moving across the US from California, is also affecting Philadelphia and Washington. Philadelphia, New York City and Washington DC saw maximum temperatures of 38C (100F) on Wednesday. Similar temperatures are predicted for today, after which they will drop to mid-30C. New York City has not seen such a string of hot temperatures since July 1999. Temperatures have cooled in California, where the record 15-day heat wave was blamed for 136 deaths and widespread power cuts.
The continental United States suffered through its second-hottest July on record because of a blistering heat wave from California to Washington, D.C. The heat wave broke more than 2,300 DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORDS FOR THE MONTH and eclipsed more than 50 RECORDS FOR THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURES IN ANY JULY. The first seven months of 2006 was the WARMEST JANUARY-JULY OF ANY YEAR in the United States since records began in 1895. And, the scorching temperatures, combined with a shortage of rainfall, expanded moderate-to-extreme drought conditions in areas already hard hit.
U.S. - MORE THAN 60% OF THE U.S. NOW HAS ABNORMALLY DRY OR DROUGHT CONDITIONS, stretching from Georgia to Arizona and across the north through the Dakotas, Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin. An area stretching from south central North Dakota to central South Dakota is the most drought-stricken region in the nation. "It's the epicenter. It's just like a wasteland in north central South Dakota." Farm ponds and other small bodies of water have dried out from the heat, leaving the residual alkali dust to be whipped up by the wind. The blowing, dirt-and-salt mixture is a phenomenon that hasn't been seen in south central North Dakota since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. North Dakota last year led the nation in production of 15 different commodity classes, including spring wheat, durum wheat, barley, oats, canola, pinto beans, dry edible peas, lentils, flaxseed, sunflower and honey.
GLOBAL HEATWAVE - Hot, arid weather is afflicting millions in America and in dozens of countries across Europe and parts of east Asia. The phenomenon has surprised meteorologists who are used to seeing drought as a regional, not global, problem. Most of the US is 3-7C above the average for the time of year and several western states have been more than 9C higher. In South America, mid-winter temperatures in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Brazil are up to 7C higher than average. Temperatures are averaging 7C higher than usual across southern England and Scotland, France and Spain. Pakistan, Bangladesh and southern India hit 3C above normal and much of central China was up by 5C. “By 2040 this will be just an average summer and by 2060 it will be a relatively cool one.” The most comfortable places, at least in terms of temperature, were western Russia, North Korea, Siberia and Japan, which were 3C cooler than usual.
EUROPE - LETHAL HEATWAVE HAS ENGULFED EUROPE FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS - France and Italy today reported new victims, bringing the total death toll to more than 80 people. High temperatures persisted in northern Italy, Germany and southeast Europe, but forecasters predicted that spreading storms and rain would bring respite to many areas of the baking continent. Rain would come as welcome relief to farmers, who in many countries have reported withering crops, and it would also help boost perilously low water levels. The Italian Agriculture Minister called the heatwave "dramatic" , with estimates of the damage to the country's agricultural sector at about E500 million ($837.17 million). In France, groundwater levels in the Paris region were at their LOWEST LEVEL IN 20 YEARS and water restrictions were in place for nearly half of the country. In Germany, temperatures were back above 30 degC today, and a motorway was closed after concrete sections cracked and lifted in the heat.
UNITED KINGDOM - The scorching hot weather is thought to be behind the first flowering in more than 25 years of a plant most botanists didn't even know was in the UK. "It could be that conditions here now are as they would be in the Himalayas where this plant comes from. And the dry winters and incredibly hot summers are causing this climbing plant [clematis] to produce the delicate, white flowers."
CALIFORNIA - UNPRECEDENTED 12 DAY HEATWAVE KILLING THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS - The record heat has caused the deaths of thousands of cows, chickens and turkeys in California, the number one milk-producing state in the country. More than a million pounds of dead livestock is rotting in the sun, as many of the rendering plants normally tasked with disposing of dead livestock have shut down or are overloaded. Several counties have passed emergency measures allowing carcasses to be dumped in local landfills, creating a risk of contamination to ground water.
THE WEATHER PATTERNS THAT CAUSED THE SCORCHING TEMPERATURES WERE 'POSITIVELY FREAKISH'. The Great Heat Wave of 2006 was not just an epic meteorological event - it was an epochal one, unprecedented in northern California's weather annals, meteorologists agree. It has been HOTTER FOR LONGER THAN EVER BEFORE. The region's last significant heat wave - in 1972 - lasted just two days, and never in the past has the Bay Area suffered through as many consecutive days of temperatures above 110. "It has been truly extraordinary." By any account, the last two weeks have been truly Saharan. At least one city has hit 100 degrees or above since July 16. It's not just the scorching days that made this heat wave remarkable. It's also the hot, sticky nights. In Sacramento, nighttime temperatures typically fall to 65 degrees or lower during even the most torrid heat waves. Not this time. The current heat wave broke Sacramento's RECORD FOR HIGHEST OVERNIGHT TMPERATURE with 79 degrees. If the heat wave is unprecedented, so is the weather pattern that has caused it. Typically, the Central Valley's heat is mitigated by intrusions of cool marine air penetrating the Golden Gate and adjacent low-lying areas. That's what shut down the 1972 heat wave and virtually every other coastal California hot spell on record. But offshore water temperatures recently have been 2 to 4 degrees above normal. That temperature difference could be preventing the thermal barrier that's required to usher cool marine air into the Central Valley. Additionally, the Bay Area was visited by SOMETHING TRULY ALIEN during this hot spell: huge quantities of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of California. An anomalous high-pressure flow swept humid air from those areas into Northern California. There the high pressure remained stationary. Such a strange concatenation of meteorological phenomena is unheard of for the Bay Area and delta. But that doesn't necessarily mean it won't happen again.
SWITZERLAND - MOUNTAINS CRUMBLING - Following the spectacular fall of half a million cubic metres of rock from the Eiger peak earlier this month, the consequence of a 200m lowering of the glacier which supported it over the past century and a half, the Swiss government’s Environment Office has drawn up a list of towns and villages most at threat from Switzerland's crumbling mountains. The list includes Zermatt, which environment agency spokesman Adrian Aeschlimann pointed out is surrounded on three sides by permafrost-covered peaks. Saas Balen near Saas Fee, Kandersteg and St Moritz also make the list. Besides rockslides, caused by rising temperatures melting the glaciers and the permafrost which holds land together above 2300m, other risks include meltwater floods, and rock falls into reservoirs sending mini-tsunamis over the tops of dams and onto the valleys below.
CALIFORNIA - 11TH DAY OF HEAT WAVE - Firefighters are battling to contain raging wildfires in California on the 11th day of a heat wave that has been blamed for at least 56 deaths amid temperatures of 45 C.
CALIFORNIA has sweltered under RECORD-BREAKING, 50-plus temperatures again, pushing up the heat-related death toll and straining the state's power grid. With temperatures soaring as high as 51.6C in parts of the state since Sunday, about 50 deaths have been blamed on the heat, but the actual death toll remained uncertain. Most victims were elderly people living in California's central valley, which was under its fifth straight day of excessive heat warnings. "This is a historic heat wave." This was the FIRST TIME IN 57 YEARS THAT BOTH NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HAD ENDURED RECORD-BREAKING HEAT at the same time. In the 600km long central valley – one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world – farmers were spraying walnuts with organic sunscreen to protect their shells from burning.
It was ONE OF THE HOTTEST WEEKENDS IN MORE THAN A DECADE in Orange County because of three factors: hot air flowing seaward from the desert; monsoonal moisture from Baja California; and virtually no cooling sea breeze. And an UNUSUALLY powerful and RARE series of thunderstorms swept through Orange County and elsewhere Sunday, sparking lightning that set off a flurry of tree fires and toppled power lines. Lightning struck the ground in the county at least 300 times by 10 a.m.
The World Meteorological Organisation estimates that the number of heat-related deaths across the globe will double in the next 20 years. Heatwaves claim thousands of lives, killing more people each year than floods, tornadoes and hurricanes combined. And it is going to get worse. Scientists calculate that, as global warming bites and average temperatures around the world get higher, the risk of extreme heatwaves will also increase. The 2003 heatwave in Europe was "the greatest such event the world has ever seen". The latest climate models paint a very bleak picture, suggesting that the summer of 2003 will be the norm, will be happening every year in Europe, by the 2040s.
UNITED KINGDOM - Houses could crack under the strain of this summer's heatwave, home-owners were warned today. Building experts said that continuing hot and dry weather could see houses collapsing due to subsidence as July's intense heat following a winter of drought has left soil bone dry. Heavy rainfall could now cause parts of the soil to expand and move the buildings above them, they warned.
NETHERLANDS - July 2006 is on track to be the HOTTEST MONTH IN 300 YEARS in the Netherlands, since temperatures were first measured in 1706. Average daily temperatures in the first 24 days of July were a record of 22.3 degrees Celsius (72.14F) compared with the previous record of 21.4 degrees in July 1994 and normal average temperatures of 17.4.
7/25 -
BRAZIL - THE WORST DROUGHT IN 20 YEARS has reduced South America's Iguazu falls to a trickle and tourists may have to wait until October to see water gushing over the cliffs again. The huge thundering Iguazu Falls dwarf North America's Niagara Falls and rival in size Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River in southern Africa.
EUROPE the searing heatwave claimed more lives in Europe today and high temperatures were forecast to continue until storms bring relief to some areas late this week. Hotspots of more than 35 degrees Celsius were noted in southern Spain, southwest France and northwest Italy and a vast swathe of the continent from the west coast of France into Poland sweltered in temperatures of 30-35 degrees. The death toll also rose with news that the heat had claimed the lives of "about 40" people in France. An estimated 10 people have died elsewhere in Europe. Temperatures were expected to peak Thursday or on Friday in France, Britain and Germany before cooling off around the weekend with stormy conditions expected in some areas. In Germany, navigation on the river Elbe in the north of the country was disrupted after water levels dropped below navigable levels. The water was just 90cm deep in parts, four months after the river flooding its banks. Farmers in France, the Netherlands and Poland have already warned that the heat is set to reduce their harvests this year. In Britain the heatwave has already lasted 10 days in many parts of the country and it expected to produce higher temperatures mid-week.
U.S. - the first half of the year was the WARMEST ON RECORD for the United States. The average temperature for the 48 contiguous states from January through June recorded at 51.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 3.4 degrees above average for the 20th century. This makes it the WARMEST SUCH PERIOD SINCE RECORD-KEEPING BEGAN at the National Climatic Data Center. Worldwide, it was the sixth warmest year-to-date since record keeping began in 1880.
7/24 -
EUROPE - Much of Europe enjoyed a respite from the heatwave which has killed more than 30 people in recent days, but forecasters warned that scorching temperatures are set for a comeback in the week ahead. In France, which has been the worst hit country, accounting for 22 of Europe's 31 dead so far, most areas experienced a slight cooling. However, close to half the country's departments were placed on high alert for the coming week. The heatwave was spreading slowly towards the centre, the Paris region and eastwards of the capital, and also in the southwest, and France's biggest cities like Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux were starting to wilt again. French forecasters said the heat would be worst on Tuesday and Wednesday. No cooling off is expected before Thursday. Peak temperatures will be up to 38 to 39C, and 36 to 37C in the southwest.
CALIFORNIA - sweltered again in a heat wave that has set records across the state and caused scattered power outages while St Louis and New York City struggled with outages that began last week. As of yesterday afternoon (local time), 100,000 homes and businesses were without power in California. Even in usual havens from the heat such as San Francisco, TEMPERATURES SOARED TO RECORDS on the weekend with the Bay City hitting 30c yesterday. In Woodland Hills in the Valley, the temperature today hit at least 37.7c for the 18th straight day. Temperatures were as high as 50C in Palm Springs.
TENNESSEE - Too hot to fish? It's rare here, but this past week, according to a fishing guide, the surface water temperature on Kentucky Lake pushed into the low 90s this week. It's the first time in 30 years of guiding he can remember the water temps being so high in mid-July.
CANADA - British Columbia baked on Saturday, and the sweltering temperatures are expected to return Sunday. Temperatures in parts of southern B.C. hit 42 C Saturday in THE MOST INTENSE HEAT WAVE IN ALMOST A DECADE.
EUROPE - A heatwave in France has probably killed more than 20 people, including a 15-month-old baby and the rest of Europe also sweltered with no sign of temperatures dropping. In the Netherlands, two people died of heatstroke earlier this week. Germany and Spain have each reported two deaths blamed on the punishing heat. Temperatures of well above 30C (86F) have been registered across Europe, prompting a series of health warnings. Italy's central regions of Liguria and parts of Umbria have been placed on the highest level of alert, with temperatures expected to reach 40C (104F) over the weekend. In Britain, a severe drought, said to be the WORST IN A CENTURY in the south of England, is making itself felt and temperatures hit a JULY RECORD of 36.3 Celsius (97.3 Fahrenheit) earlier this week. British farmers have begun harvesting wheat fields early because of the dry weather. Forecasters have predicted another heatwave next week. In Croatia, the hot weather has been blamed for a series of fires that have destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest and woodland. Southern and western Bosnia have been hit by a series of fires as temperatures reached as high as 41 degrees.
U.S. - Severe heat across much of the US has claimed at least 22 lives around the country. At least 10 states have suffered heat-related deaths as a swathe of the US has sweltered above 38C (100F).
CALIFORNIA - The heat wave gripping Southern California intensified Saturday, with reports of power outages, RECORD-HIGH TEMPERATURES and surging energy demands. Temperatures in downtown Los Angeles hit 99 degrees Saturday - the HIGHEST EVER FOR THIS DAY - beating the high of 96 degrees set July 22, 1960. Burbank was sweltering by 3 p.m. with temperatures of 111 degrees, beating the July 22, 1980, record for this day of 100 degrees. In Woodland Hills, the high Saturday hit a crippling 116 degrees, matching the Aug. 24, 1985, record for the hottest day ever recorded there. Saturday marks the 17th day in a row that highs have exceeded 100 degrees in Woodland Hills and they are still looking at a very, very warm air mass. Last month was the second-hottest June ever recorded in downtown Los Angeles. It was hotter in 1981.
With San Jose extending its string of scorchers with a sixth consecutive day above 90 degrees Friday, the city needs only three more days to tie the steamiest streak of 90s in its history. And forecasters say it's an easy bet, with highs in the mid-90s expected through Monday. The RECORD HEAT WAVE comes two months after San Jose suffered through one of its coldest and rainiest Aprils ever. Friday, Moffett Field in Mountain View hit 90, breaking a decade-old record for that day. San Francisco International Airport also eclipsed a 52-year-old record with a high of 83. The UNUSUAL spike in humidity has made the heat index several degrees hotter than the actual temperature. The region is experiencing the high humidity because of the southeastern air flow. The monsoonal flow - which normally travels up from Mexico into the southwest's Four Corners region - has hammered the West.
SACRAMENTO - the "surge of monsoonal moisture" is hitting them from Mexico. That weather pattern usually strikes Arizona this time of year, leading to thunderstorms, but it has made its way north, resulting in frequent storms in the higher elevations east of Sacramento. It is "VERY RARE" for the monsoonal surge to reach them. The moisture in the air has led to humidity readings in Sacramento as high as 60 percent this week, an abnormality for a place known for its dry heat. The Sacramento heat wave seems tolerable compared to what's happening in other parts of the country: 570,000 homes and businesses in St. Louis were without power after destructive storms, a highway buckled from the heat near Oklahoma City, 28 deaths were blamed on the heat nationwide in the past week. While one heat wave does not prove the global warming argument, trends like this are "clearly an indication of climate change... It's the change in the long-term trends to watch. Certainly it's UNUSUAL to have high temperatures like this and it's certainly UNUSUAL for the whole country to be experiencing this."

OREGON - an "excessive heat warning" from the National Weather Service remains in effect for most of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. Temperatures are nearing record levels - the all-time high for July 21 is 104, in 1938; and the record for July 22 is 100, in 1978. Friday afternoon the Govenor declared a state of emergency because RECORD HEAT LEVELS, RECORD LOW HUMIDITY and the forecast of dry lightning posed an imminent danger of wildfires. "An upper-level ridge of high pressure - a really strong one - has built up over us, moving basically from the southeast Nevada desert." The most UNUSUAL thing about the current hot snap is that it seems to be affecting almost the entire country - from the Northwest to New England, and all points south. "Usually someone's left out. And usually, that's us."
7/20 -
EUROPE - governments scrambled to save lives in RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES to avoid a repeat of the catastrophic heatwave of 2003 that killed thousands of people. In Britain, temperatures hit an ALL-TIME HIGH FOR THE MONTH OF JULY, touching 36.3 deg C (96.6F) south of London to edge out the previous record set in 1911. The average temperature in southeastern England in July is 70 degrees. Germany's national meteorological service said July was on the way to being THE HOTTEST SINCE RECORDS BEGAN in many parts of the country. In France, an 85-year-old man admitted to hospital and an 81-year-old woman found dead in her home were the first people believed to have died there because of the heat. The searing heat and expected storms later in the week threatened to damage northern Europe's wheat crop just days before the harvest, especially hitting Germany and France. Electricity grids are straining. In Ireland, firefighters battled a gorse blaze close to a beach south of Dublin yesterday after temperatures pushed above 30C for THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN A DECADE.
U.S. - The temperature was expected to top 100 in Arkansas, Nebraska and other parts of the Midwest and southern Plains each day through the end of the week. The soaring heat has already been blamed for 10 deaths from Oklahoma City to the Philadelphia area. "For it to be 100 degrees on the East Coast and 100 degrees in Salt Lake City, the widespread heat is what makes this particular hot spell UNUSUAL." Blasting air conditioners sent power consumption surging. Records were set all over the country.
7/19 -
EUROPE - Much of Europe baked in tropical temperatures that climbed as high as 40C, in an increasingly dangerous heatwave blamed for at least four deaths since Sunday. Britain was braced for its HOTTEST DAY ON RECORD as forecasters predicted temperatures could reach 39C in parts of England. One death occurred in Spain, the other two deaths blamed on the oppressive heat were recorded in France.
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Week through 7/17 -
WILDFIRES -
Forest fires remobilize fallout from bomb tests - A sensor installed to monitor fallout from modern nuclear tests has detected small amounts of radioactive cesium produced by bomb tests decades ago and sent skyward by forest fires.
CALIFORNIA - With thunderstorms brewing that could bring helpful rain or dangerous lightining, firefighters are concentrating on bulldozing miles of line to protect mountain hamlets in front of an 84,000-acre wildfire cluster that had destroyed nearly 60 homes.
Canadian fires generated carbon monoxide that lingered in the air over Canada in late June and early July. COLUMBIA - has asked for international help to tackle a huge forest fire that has been burning since the weekend in a national park. Environmentalists say the destruction in the park, in Colombia's centre-west region, is disastrous. It is thought the fire, which began on the 8th, has so far destroyed up to 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres).

DROUGHT -
AFGHANISTAN - The United Nations in Afghanistan says that millions are facing hunger this year because of drought and that it does not have the resources to help. The drought situation is worst in the south where the Taleban insurgency is at its strongest. The UN's World Food Programme estimates that 2.5m people will need extra assistance this year. Many communities have only just recovered from the catastrophic drought that ended last year. Much of the country's wheat crop has failed this year because of lower than expected snowfall during the winter and poor spring rains.
AUSTRALIA - SOUTH-east Queensland dams remain at alarmingly low levels after forecast heavy rain failed to materialise. The region has been forced to introduce tough water saving measures due to a six-year long drought. Further water restrictions are set to be implemented as early as October, when the dams are expected to fall to 25 per cent capacity.

HEAT -
French President Jacques Chirac warned that mankind faced an inferno unless the world tackles climate change seriously. "We cannot talk about energy security while there is no progress on climate change. Mankind is dancing on the edge of a volcano. Emergency signs are going up right across our planet. Such phenomena are the first pre-cursory signs of even bigger disasters which could lead to millions of refugees fleeing hostile environmental conditions."

Trees, bushes and grass could be growing in Antarctica in the next century, a leading scientific expert says. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere would at least double in the next 100 to 250 years, leading to an Antarctic landscape similar to that on the continent 40 million years ago.
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Week through 7/10 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
The increase in the number of large western U.S. wildfires in recent years may be a result of global warming, researchers say. An analysis of data going back to 1970 indicates the fires increased "suddenly and dramatically" in the 1980s and the wildfire season grew longer.
Last year was the worst wildfire season on record in the western U.S., with more than 8.53 million acres burned nationwide by the end of December. So far this year, more than 60,000 wildfires have charred almost 3.9 million acres - twice the number of fires during the same period last year. They expect one unusual hotspot this year: Western Washington. On the damp side of the Cascades, wildfires are rare, and a true conflagration comes around only once every few hundred years. But several weeks of hot, dry weather have increased the chances for fire west of the mountain passes. Researchers reported that almost seven times more forested federal land burned between 1987 and 2003 than during the previous 17 years. During the same period, the length of the wildfire season increased by 78 days.
PORTUGAL - Six firefighters have been killed while battling a forest fire in central Portugal. The fire, one of six raging throughout the country in soaring temperatures, began on Sunday afternoon in the Famalicao area near the town of Guarda. The men were trapped when the wind suddenly changed direction.

DROUGHT -
NEW MEXICO - drought is putting native fish in danger. Record drought is taking its toll on northern New Mexico's high country waterways, some of which are "drying up like mad."

HEAT -
An expert panel has concluded that climate change is "real and dangerous". Temperatures are likely to rise by 3C to 5C by the end of the century, with impacts likely to be "severe" but not "catastrophic Temperatures will rise, reliable supplies of water will be disrupted, life in the oceans will be compromised, food production will decline, and there will be mass migrations to areas of the planet's surface which remain habitable. The panel did not believe that governments were hearing alarm bells as loudly as they should, with only one of the seven members feeling that carbon emissions would be cut sufficiently to avoid "dangerous" warming.
7/9 -
PAKISTAN - At least eleven persons have died due to an intense heat wave in the Cholistan desert. There has also been less than expected rainfall this season.
CLIMATE CHANGE -
7/5 -
Expect glacial meltdowns to trigger volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, geologists are predicting. The forecasts from some quarters are dramatic - not only will the earth shake, it will spit fire. A number of geologists say glacial melting due to climate change will unleash pent-up pressures in the Earth's crust, causing extreme geological events such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. "When you melt glacial ice... you've decreased the load on the crust and so you've decreased the pressure holding the volcanic conduits closed." Climate warming will bring "lots of earthquakes." No one has claimed that the Christmas tsunami of 2004 was triggered by rising sea levels. But that event seems to have sparked new interest in the links between climate and geology. "All over the world, evidence is stacking up that changes in global climate can and do affect the frequencies of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and catastrophic sea-floor landslides. Not only has this happened several times throughout Earth's history, (but) the evidence suggests it is happening again."
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Week through 7/3 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
CANADA - 'Extreme burning conditions' continue in northern Saskatchewan. "We're seeing an event that doesn't happen every year but more in the five-to-10 year range." Sunday, about 800 residents of northern Saskatchewan have been forced to leave their homes because of forest fires, and the forecast holds little hope of relief.

The hot and windy weather in Manitoba has createds ideal conditions for wildfires, and so far, 226 wildfires have been recorded across the province this summer.

DROUGHT -
U.S. - the entire Mississippi Coast is experiencing "extreme drought conditions" with rainfall totals 16 inches to two feet below normal.
SIERRA LEONE - Residents of the city of Freetown and its immediate environs are now finding life extremely difficult as they have been compelled to live without water. For four days running, Freetown residents have been forced to drink impure water or are forced to buy distilled water which to most people is a matter of luxury because of its cost which they cannot afford especially when it is becoming a daily routine. For the past weeks, water pumped from the Guma Valley Water Supply system has been impure. It is coloured, has stench and has taste. Last week, people started scrambling for distilled water . The concern by most people now is that if this situation is allowed to continue unabated, it will have devastating social consequences on the people. The sanitary situation in the city is going to be life threatening. Guma Valley is attributing the present water situation to the low level of water in the reservoir, but the people are still of the opinion that it should have foreseen such a situation and put remedial measures in place.

HEAT -
CANADA - Capping an UNUSUAL June heat wave, the temperature reached 101 degrees at Vancouver's Pearson Field on Monday. That temperature SCORCHED THE PREVIOUS JUNE 26 RECORD of 90 degrees set in 2000. It was the hottest day in two years. The heat wave is being caused by a flow of hot air from the Southwest. That air is taking the place of cool air that usually comes in from the Pacific Ocean.
WASHINGTON - For the second consecutive day, Seattle saw RECORD HEAT, along with ONE OF THE EARLIEST SMOG ALERTS ON RECORD, too. It is RARE for a smog advisory this early in the summer; they typically appear in July and August.
CALIFORNIA - A heat wave sweeping through California is bringing 115 degree weather to many cities over the 4th of July weekend. The heat in the West this weekend is expected to get so bad that the Weather Service is advising people to stay indoors.
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Week through 6/26 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
WORLDWIDE - Today's wildfires are part of a worsening pattern most everywhere. Since 1970, the number of major wildfires has soared not only in North America but around the world. "The snow is melting earlier in the year at very regular intervals now, and we're getting much longer fire seasons. It dries out much more than before." This year, wildfires in the western U.S. have already burned more than 3 million acres — more than three times the average at this time of year. Many scientists say that these fires fit exactly into the pattern predicted for global warming and that it's likely to get, on average, even drier and hotter. The size and ferocity of these wildfires plaguing the West right now — many growing in size every hour — astonishes even experienced fire chiefs. Fires the last several years "have produced fire behavior, flame links, intensities that we HAD NEVER REALLY EXPERIENCED BEFORE. And everything we had to throw at it, we did. And it just seemed to burn right through us."

DROUGHT -
NEPAL - The United Nations World Food Programme has started distributing emergency food to more than 225,000 people in central and western Nepal hit by the WORST DROUGHT IN DECADES.

HEAT -
BRITAIN - What is believed to be the UK's first olive grove has been planted on a "climate change farm" started by an environmental consultant. He has planted 120 of the trees on his 17 acre smallholding near Honiton in east Devon. He began the venture 18 months ago, and is also growing almonds, apricots and persimmon, and even plans to experiment with exotic paw paw. To be on the safe side he has planted a species of olive tree which has been reared in conditions which are found in UK, including frost and snow. He hopes to bring in his first olive oil in between five and seven years time. Nepalese peppers and unusual spices are also part of his "climate change" growing programme. The average UK temperature has risen by about 1C since 1900 - extending the growing season by about a month. It has been forecast that by the 2020s, the climate will be nearly another full degree warmer than the average of 1961-1990.
CHINA - SHANGHAI suffered through the HOTTEST JUNE 21 SINCE RECORD-KEEPING BEGAN more than 130 years ago as the mercury topped 37.3 degrees. The previous record for a June 21 was 36.9 degrees, in 1951.
CHINA - Scorching weather has come to many parts of China three weeks earlier than it should according to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. The temperature in downtown Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, reached 42 C on the 17th, 1.1 C HIGHER THAN THE CITY'S PREVIOUS RECORD TEMPERATURE. The average temperature in Beijing was 35 C on the 18th, but it exceeded 39 C in some parts of the city. The southwestern city of Chongqing was also hit by a similar heatwave over the past couple of days. Scorching weather now starts earlier and lasts longer in many parts of the country, particularly in northern China. It was quite rare for temperatures to surpass 40 C two or three decades ago, but this is now a frequent occurrence.
The Earth is WARMER TODAY THAN AT ANY POINT THE LAST 400 YEARS, and LIKELY THE LAST 1000 YEARS, a committee convened by the National Academy of Sciences concluded in a report released Thursday.
6/22 -
NEBRASKA - A RARE weather phenomenon that saw temperatures shoot up more than 20 degrees in less than a hour early Tuesday morning was recorded in south Central Nebraska. The conditions that set up a heat burst are dry air directly beneath a weakening elevated thunderstorm. (site requires registration)
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Week through 6/19 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
NEW MEXICO - Evacuations of hundreds from the many wildfires.
TEXAS - numerous wildfires and high winds.
COLORADO - Evacuated 1000 homes. A red-flag warning for a huge swath of southern Colorado. It means conditions are favorable for big, fast-moving fires.
Alaska, Utah, Arizona also had wildfires burning.

DROUGHT -
ALABAMA - The nine and a half month period from Sept. 1 through June 17 - with a rain total of 22.26 inches - has been THE DRIEST SUCH PERIOD EVER EXPERIENCED in Mobile, according to records that go back to 1930.
LOUISIANA - the eight months since Oct. 1 have been THE DRIEST SOUTHERN LOUSIANA HAS BEEN DURING THE 111 YEARS THAT RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT. Southern Louisiana had been abnormally dry for about five months before Hurricane Katrina made landfall Aug. 29, 2005. "The drought was interrupted, if you will, by Katrina, and we went back into the drought pattern. Then we got that deluge from Rita. And as soon as that storm left, we went right back into the drought pattern." Normally, humidity rises into the sky, forming a cloud and then rain. But a stable structure of atmosphere is hanging over the region, preventing the moisture from rising, similar to the atmospheric conditions in normally arid states. "For whatever reason, this dome of upper pressure in the atmosphere seems displaced east by a few hundred miles."
NEW MEXICO - Drought still grips New Mexico. The National Weather Service says precipitation statewide last month was 36 percent of normal. May was the seventh consecutive excessively dry month. The last seven months have been the DRIEST ON RECORD in some areas. Albuquerque received 0.41 inches of precipitation - the DRIEST IN 114 YEARS of data. The previous record low for November-through-May was 0.6 inches in 1995-1996. May was also the DRIEST ON RECORD in Santa Fe, which received 1.2 inches. The previous record was 1.65 inches. Santa Fe records date back 133 years.

HEAT -
TEXAS - It's been THE WARMEST YEAR IN MORE THAN A CENTURY in north Texas. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has gone 38 consecutive days without measurable rainfall. Forecasters say the 16-month drought is unlikely to be broken for months. This is before summer officially begins. "It's not a good combination," - the drought and heat, which represents the area's warmest average temperature since local record keeping began in 1898. The drought since Feb. 1, 2005, has left the region with rainfall deficits ranging from 21.49 inches at D/FW Airport to more than 29 inches at the Denton and McKinney airports. A high-pressure weather system formed earlier than normal this year over the Southwestern U.S., hung around and blocked the typical flows of moisture-rich, storm-producing air away from North Texas.
COLORADO - Early June temps are UNPRECEDENTED IN DENVER RECORDS. Climate scientists say this month's shockingly early heat wave may provide a glimpse into Denver's future. The temperature at Denver International Airport reached or surpassed 90 degrees on 12 of the first 14 days in June. The hot spell included seven straight days of 90-or-higher temperatures, marking the EARLIEST SUCH STREAK SINCE RECORDKEEPING BEGAN in 1872. The mercury hit 102 last Wednesday, the 14th, a RECORD FOR THE DATE and the EARLIEST TRIPLE-DIGIT TEMPERATURE EVER for Denver. Before Wednesday the earliest it had ever hit 100 degrees in Denver was June 23, 1955. "It's not ridiculously uncommon for late June to early July, but it is VERY UNUSUAL at the beginning of June." Springs and summers have warmed in Denver over the past decade, with the biggest temperature increases in March and July.
ARMENIA - The first 10 days of June were hotter than normal, by 3-7 degrees Celsius. (Normal June temperature averages 30-32C.) Already by noon June 15, the Celsius reading had reached 30C (86F) on its way to a high of 35C (98F) in Yerevan. According to records, THIS IS THE HOTTEST JUNE SINCE 1966 (and drastically distant from 1968, when a bizarre cold snap put the temperature at 6.3 C – 43.3F). The highest temperature for the month of June was observed in Meghri – 43.3 degrees Celsius (109.9F), again in 1966. “Usually in May Armenia is under the influence of western currents, and in June, of southern currents. Beginning in late May of this year south-western currents already began to penetrate Armenia, which conditioned the climb in temperature. Irregular weather patterns have become common in Armenia since 2000, when there was a 20-day period of rain, followed by extreme heat, causing serious damage to vegetation and crops.
CANADA - Experts are urging the federal government to act quickly to enhance Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic before melting ice encourages more foreign vessels to use the Northwest Passage. Some scientists predict that within 25 years, climate change could melt ice in Arctic waters, leaving them ice-free during summer months and thin enough to be kept open in the winter. Ships travelling from Asia to Europe could trim 5,000 kilometres by taking the Northwest Passage, as opposed to the current route through the Panama Canal. The United States doesn't recognize Canada's right to control who travels through the Northwest Passage. Washington believes many Arctic waterways are an international strait that any ship should be free to transit.
FRANCE declared a drought in 15 departments on the 13th as temperatures climbed above seasonal norms and officials took early steps to protect the elderly who were vulnerable during a 2003 heat wave that killed thousands. Temperatures in Paris and other regions topped an above-average 30 degrees centigrade (86 degrees Fahrenheit) for the fourth day. Rainfall in a large part of the country was below the seasonal average between October 2005 and March 31, 2006.
BRITAIN - had their HOTTEST JUNE 12 ON RECORD. Heathrow Airport enjoyed the highest temperature of 87f (30.7c), beating a previous high that had stood for more than a century.
CLIMATE CHANGE -
will have a massive impact on business and the bottom line of insurers, according to a report from Lloyds of London. The report warns that the insurance industry has not taken the shifting weather patterns seriously enough and that it will need to start reacting quicker. The report warns the industry to expect more extreme storms over a broader area, rising seas and flooding in almost every coastal city in the world. Changing rain and snow patterns were also becoming less predictable and there was a risk of more landslides, the report said. Last year Switzerland, Austria and Germany experienced RECORD WATER LEVELS AND FLOODS, and insured losses ran to $US 1.7 billion. With the evidence suggesting that climate change is now taking place faster than first thought — the study warns that the industry can no longer base decisions on historical patterns. The report also warns that some areas, such as those deemed to be flood-prone, might be seen as uninsurable. It said that the trend of rising seas driven by shrinking glaciers was probably irreversible, unpredictable and "likely to result in sudden periods of catastrophic melting". "Even small rises in sea levels are likely to create severe economic and demographic problems, since large populations are concentrated near present sea level." The report warns that extreme windstorms will continue, and with higher temperatures creating the right conditions for strong formation, the industry would be "on risk" for longer each year. For example, cyclone Monica swept across the coast of northern Australia in April, when the season is usually all but over. The problem for insurers is that they are facing a future that is more unpredictable and difficult to model their assessments of risk. "Climate change is likely to bring us all an even more uncertain future. If we do not take action now to understand the risks and their impact, the changing climate could kill us."

AUSTRALIA - Parts of the coastal strip may be uninhabitable over the next century, with some councils already taking action to avoid the predicted impact of climate change. Experts say flooding of low-lying coastal areas, damage to seaside shacks and increased erosion are among the likely impacts of rising sea levels in South Australia in the next 100 years. In the worst case climate change predictions, parts of the state's coastal strip may even become uninhabitable. The damage is expected to occur when king tides coincide with major storms. Victor Harbor, Port Adelaide, Alexandrina and Port Augusta councils are most vulnerable, with rising sea levels forcing immediate preparation. Under generally accepted predictions, the world sea level will rise by an average 48cm between 1990 and 2100, two to three times the rate of rise in the 1900s. The impact is already being felt at Victor Harbor.

Strange days have reached Ny-Alesund, Europe's most northerly research station. Perched at the very edge of the continent, in Svalbard, Norway, a mere 1,000km from the North Pole, the center's international scientists have been experiencing weather that is becoming increasingly unpredictable. The archipelago was balmy and calm at the end of April, when it should should still have been gripped by ice and screaming winds. In May, waters in the Kongsfjorden - the long strip of water that pokes eastwards into mainland Svalbard at Ny-Alesund - were now 2 degrees C warmer than they used to be a few years ago. Two degrees may seem a modest rise, but the effects are profound - "Normally, the temperature in the fjord would be close to freezing. This winter the cooling of the water has probably never been close enough to produce an ice cover." All the other fjords on this normally ice-locked coastline have remained open, thanks to the startling warming of their waters. "Now the whole [food] chain is changing and we have no idea what the consequences will be." In the case of Greenland, previous estimates of the rate of melting of Greenland's glaciers have been too low and too optimistic in assuming it would take centuries to heat and melt its massive ice shield. The marches to the sea of these great glaciers are being accelerated, raising the amount of ice dumped in the Atlantic each year from 100km3 in 1996 to 220km3 last year. The Antarctic continent is now losing similar amounts of ice, about 150km3 a year. Places will become increasingly vulnerable to massive sea surges sweeping over their strained ocean defenses. Already the world's coral reefs and islands are suffering: swamped by rising waters, battered by storms and bleached by seas becoming increasingly acidic from the carbon dioxide they are absorbing. This is the danger Earth now faces: the overturning of our climate system, from its relatively stable, moderate status to one in which we have recreated the climate of the Cretaceous era, when there were crocodiles at the poles and the planet cooked.
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Week through 6/12 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
CANADA - Forest fires in northern Quebec have forced more than 3,500 people from their homes.
NEW MEXICO - Lightning strikes caused an estimated 20 new fires across New Mexico in 24 hours. There have been 720 wildfires this year so far across the state.
UTAH - Lightning sparked at least nine wildfires in Central Utah. 32 fires were burning throughout the state. So far, the blazes have scorched more than 2300 acres.
GEORGIA - In three days Forestry Commission rangers responded to 87 wildfires statewide.

HEAT -
AUSTRALIA - Perth is in the throes of ITS DRIEST START TO WINTER ON RECORD with little relief in sight. "We have had no rain for the first 11 days of June which has never happened before." Perth would normally receive around 50mm of rainfall in the first 11 days of June. "Last June was our wettest on record and we received 250mms for the month. The average is 179mms. But that wet June was followed by one of the driest Julys on record."
Evidence is piling up that climate change has led to genetic modifications in a diverse range of animals including birds, squirrels and mosquitoes, scientists said on Thursday. These genetic changes are a result of altered seasonal events, not from the expected direct effects of increasing temperatures. Global warming is proceeding fastest at the most northern latitudes, resulting in longer growing seasons while simultaneously alleviating winter cold stress without imposing summer heat stress. In short, northern climates are becoming more like those in the south. Because of this, animal species are extending their range toward the poles and populations have been migrating, developing or reproducing earlier. These expansions and changes have often been attributed to the ability of individuals to modify their behavior, morphology or physiology in response to altered environmental conditions. However, that is not the whole story. Over the past several decades, rapid climate change has led to heritable, genetic changes in animal populations. No studies have found genetic changes in animal populations due to the generally expected direct effects of increasing temperature, but over evolutionary time such changes should appear, following the genetic shifts in the timing of seasonal events. Small animals with short life cycles and large population sizes will probably adapt to longer growing seasons and be able to persist, but many large animals with longer life cycles and smaller population sizes will decline in population or be replaced by more southern species.

Extreme climates, like the Colorado Rockies, are more susceptible to climate change, because dates like the first frost or the beginning of spring, which greatly effect a species’ population, are changing. Likewise, because of their rapid life cycle, insects – especially pests – are adapting to climate change more quickly than other species.

"The likely speed and magnitude of climate change in the 21st century will be UNPRECEDENTED in human experience, posing daunting challenges of adaptation and mitigation for all life forms on the planet. It is the most significant issue confronting us because of its global dimensions and because it is almost certain to happen. In probability and magnitude it's well ahead of terrorism and just about anything else I can think of - short of a global war or a nuclear exchange." The wider security implications of climate change have been largely ignored and seriously underestimated in public policy, academia and the media.
The number of severe heat waves across the U.S. lasting four days or longer has tripled in the last 50 years, experts say. The number of 90 degree days in Montana already has increased from a handful every summer a couple of generations ago to nearly 30 - or equal to a full months' worth - today. At the same time, meteorologists have witnessed a reduction in the number of days where the temperature falls below 0 degrees F. In Holland, the once-normal and predictable staging of long-distance skating competitions along that nation's canal system has become rare as the waterways seldom freeze over long enough in winter. As sea levels rise from melting glaciers and ice caps, millions living along low-lying coastal areas will be forced to flee inland, abandoning their former way of life. Civilization as we know it is going to change. A 4.5 degree spike in temperature — computer models actually anticipate a higher rise — would negatively harm as much as a third of the fish habitat in the U.S.
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Week through 6/6 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
U.S. - As firefighters brace for the WORST WILDFIRE SEASON IN SIX YEARS, they're hoping satellites and digital technology will keep them ahead of the blazes. A drought in the Southwest and a dry spell from the Plains to the East could mean some of the worst destruction since 2000's landmark wildfire season, when more than 8 million acres burned nationwide. Already this year, wildfires have scorched 2.5 million acres — four times the average by this date most years and more than double by this date in 2000.

DROUGHT -
SPAIN - water reserves are at a 10-year low amid an ongoing drought, and still shrinking.
COLORADO - drought is parching Southern Colorado. There are no spring wildflowers along the roads where usually there are many in early June, whatever snow-fed runoff was due this season from the Wet Mountains finished running long ago, the "big snows they get in March and April" skipped them this year. Hardscrabble Creek - which used to be an important tributary to the Arkansas River - dwindles by the day to a quiet trickle. What will the coming 90- and 100-degree days do to wells and the ground water that supports them. "Is 2006 already worse than 2002 and we just don't realize it?" The plants seem more distressed. Trees died this winter and others are getting suspiciously brown. The prairie grass never really got green this spring, and it's headed toward brown, too.

HEAT -
MICHIGAN - the month of May will become the 12th straight with above-average temperatures at Sault Ste. Marie. A retired meteorologist said he has seen nothing like the year-long warm trend in his 44 years of monitoring the weather at Sault Ste. Marie. With the monthly run of above-average readings now certain to include May, the string of warmer-than-average months runs back to May, 2005. The sweltering 29th brought uniformly torrid temperatures across the Eastern Upper Peninsula including a tie for the all-time record at Sault Ste. Marie at 89 degrees. The 89-degree reading, taken at City Airport at 2:52 p.m., TIES A 19TH CENTURY RECORD set in 1895. On the 29th, the high of 92 in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti BROKE A RECORD high of 91 set back in 1942.
6/2 -
INDIA - abnormally hot and humid weather conditions, which HAVE NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE IN MAY, have made life hell for city folks in Lucknow. The situation was worse in other parts of the state with Jhansi recording maximum temperature of 45.4 degrees celsius, Allahabad 44.5 degrees celsius and Varanasi 43.8 degrees celsius. Similar reports were received from all over the state. Mercury and humidity levels were high all over, making climate hot as well as sultry. If maximum temperatures hovered between 38-45 degrees, minimum humidity levels were between 35-40 per cent. Maximum humidity levels were also high — between 80-85 per cent. This made people perspire heavily even during the night. Humidity levels are high because of cyclonic circulations hovering over the state. Moisture has also been added into the state atmosphere by winds preceding monsoon. When asked about the UNUSUAL summer this year, the state met director said that he has never seen such a long humid spell in May. Barring a few days in April, summer has been humid this year. There will be no change in the weather conditions in coming days. There is no possibility of revival of hot westerly winds, one of the basic characteristics of the summer season.
ARIZONA - over the past seven-plus years, about three-fourths of normal rainfall has been recorded at Tucson International Airport. In the last nine months, precipitation has seemingly been limited to a RARE sinister dust/moisture concoction that benefits only car washes.
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WEEK through 5/29 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
ALASKA - Wildfires are blooming in southcentral Alaska. A wildfire near Sutton shut down the Glenn Highway for hours.
NEW MEXICO - Wildfires have consumed nearly five times the acreage this year compared to a year ago. Fires have blackened more than 323,000 acres so far in 2006. By comparison 67,000 acres burned last year.

DROUGHT -
TANZANIA - Life has changed for the Maasai cattle herders in Tanzania, changed in ways they’ve never seen. Even the weather seems to be different, with droughts more intense than ever. Now, those erratic weather patterns have triggered a food crisis affecting millions of people across East Africa. The crisis has gnawed its way into Ololosokwan, a Maasai village near Tanzania’s northern border, where people are selling their prized, but emaciated animals for a fraction of their former value and using the slim earnings to buy sacks of corn to feed their families for a few days more. The drought has been so severe that methods of coping villagers have used in the past no longer work. ’All the animals have struggled. Even the hippos are affected because the river has dried up and the gazelles are dying.’
UNITED KINGDOM - slashing May rains continued to pummel England on Saturday during what commentators are calling the "WETTEST DROUGHT IN HISTORY." "`I know it's strange to look out the window and see rain in a drought. But the problem is with the groundwater, and you can't see groundwater." The crux of the matter is that Britain has had 18 months of below-average rainfall, which has brought underground aquifers to dangerous lows. Worse, rainfall has been lowest during what are known as the winter ``recharging'' months - rain that falls in December largely seeps into the ground.
RUSSIA - Drought stressed major agricultural areas in the southeastern corner of the Russian Federation and throughout Ukraine.
SOUTH DAKOTA - conditions are abnormally dry to severe drought. The far western counties are abnormally dry or in a moderate drought, but "the farther east you go toward the Missouri River, the worse it gets."

HEAT -
President Bush in a backhand way has admitted that climate change is here, but said we shouldn't get caught up in discussion about what is causing it and instead focus on solutions: "And in my judgment we need to set aside whether or not greenhouse gases have been caused by mankind or because of natural effects and focus on the technologies that will enable us to live better lives and at the same time protect the environment." Scientists are saying that none of the solutions we're yet considering are even vaguely on a par with the magnitude of the threat we face.
Poison ivy vines grew larger and more potent when carbon dioxide levels are increased, a finding that points to an itchier side of climate change.
Climate change is an increasing threat for wild plants and animals in Europe.
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WEEK through 5/22 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
KUWAIT - With early summer temperatures soaring this year, wildfires have become a daily event.
CANADA - More firefighters have been brought in to fight a forest fire raging out of control in central Alberta amid warnings to hundreds of people that they may have to leave their homes at a moment's notice.
CANADA - Forest-fire season arrived with a vengeance in Alberta – the result of a combination of above average temperatures and strong winds, along with UNUSUALLY low humidity. Approximately 70 per cent of the province is under these low- humidity, high-temperature kind of conditions. It's just not common at all and we're not at the point where green-up has happened yet. So [we have] a lot of flashy fuels, a lot of dry grass, very dry. And once fire catches a hold in there, it just takes off." A high-pressure system this week pushed humidity in the forested part of the province to as low as six per cent. Dry grasses and the low snowfall left over from winter have contributed to 268 fires, compared to the five-year average of 79.
RUSSIA - At the southern end of the West Siberia Plain, several large and smoky fires were burning in the area around Novosibirsk on May 19. According to news reports, May 2006 has been hot and dry, with accompanying high fire danger. The West Siberia Plain is a wet region, and it has large amounts of peat. Peat fires can be long-lived and can produce vast amounts of smoke. It is possible that some of the large, smoky fires seen in this satellite image are peat fires.

U.S. -
UTAH, ARIZONA - Lightning strikes ignited a dozen wildfires in southwestern Utah and northern Arizona.
SOUTH CAROLINA - wildfires have taken a toll in South Carolina, burning thousands of acres.
FLORIDA - Two Wildfires are burning in Northeast Florida.

DROUGHT -
AUSTRALIA - ONE OF THE DRIEST AUTUMNS ON RECORD has pushed much of NSW back into drought.
COLORADO - There are troubling signs that drought is swiftly returning to the South Platte River Basin, even as farmers and cities battle over irrigation water.

HEAT -
WASHINGTON - Temperatures in the 90s since Tuesday the 16th have SHATTERED RECORDS across Eastern Washington, and are more than 20 degrees above normal for mid-May in some places. The Spokane area recorded record highs of 90 on Tuesday and 92 on Wednesday. The mercury hit 90 on Thursday, breaking the record for the dtate of 89 set in 1954. The Spokane area has recorded three straight days of 90-degree temperatures in May on only three occasions, the last in 1986. Temperatures 25 degrees above normal, as they were Wednesday in Spokane, "is huge."
WASHINGTON - Eastern Washington is in the grip of an UNUSUAL heat wave that has temperatures in some places nearly 30 degrees above normal. Temperatures in the 90s also raised fears that rapidly melting snow in the mountains will cause flooding. Flood warnings have been issued for the Naches River near Yakima. Spokane is forecast to reach a record 93 degrees today, while the average high for this time of year is the mid-60s. "It's QUITE UNUSUAL." This heat is UNUSUALLY EARLY. Temperatures of 90 degrees or more before May 17 have only been recorded seven times in Spokane history, the last in 1993. A strong high pressure ridge is bringing the record or near-record highs to much of Eastern Washington and northern Idaho, and is expected to last until Thursday. The hot weather is part of the same pattern that is bringing cool, wet weather to the East Coast. [SITE NOTE - This is one big system that stretches across the entire country.]
Greenhouse gases are known to spur global warming, but scientists said on Monday that global warming in turn spurs greenhouse gas emissions - which means Earth could get hotter faster than climate models predict. When Earth has warmed up in the past due to the sun's natural cycles, more greenhouse gases have been spewed into the atmosphere. As greenhouse gas levels rose, so did Earth's temperature. Earth has not endlessly warmed up, though, because these natural solar cycles ended, letting the planet cool down. But these previous periods of heating and cooling were not influenced by the burning of fossil fuels. Global warming in the next century may be 15 percent to 78 percent higher than current estimates because these predictions fail to take into account the feedback mechanism involving carbon dioxide emissions.
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WEEK through 5/15 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
FLORIDA - Part of Interstate 95 in east-central Florida was closed Monday as wildfires raced across tinder-dry grass.
NEVADA - The southern Nevada wildfire season is off to an early start - with 60 acres of public land burning northeast of Las Vegas.

DROUGHT -
PAKISTAN - A severe drought is likely in Pakistan in the coming months with no signs of any significant rainfall over the next two months.
THAILAND - The Thai public is urged to conserve water in preparation for a drought which will occur this summer.
KANSAS - The deepening spring drought in parts of Kansas is turning wetlands dry, grassland to dirt, and threatening wildlife that depend on spring rains.
AUSTRALIA - The Mayor of the Bulloo Shire in south-western Queensland says mulga and other trees are dying in the shire due to years of severe drought.
CHINA'S capital is suffering its WORST DROUGHT IN 50 YEARS, prompting the government to monitor rainfall at sites to be used during the 2008 Olympics.

HEAT -
PAKISTAN - A blazing heat wave is being blamed for the deaths of at least 50 people across Pakistan in the past two weeks. As temperatures soar past 50 C, water levels in reservoirs and canals have fallen dangerously low and seasonal monsoon rains aren't due to begin until July. But the heat is also causing glaciers in the country's northern mountains to melt more quickly than usual, replenishing some reservoirs. Forecasters aren't predicting an end to the heat wave in the next few weeks.
INDIA - At least 27 people have died of sunstroke in India's eastern Orissa state, taking the heat-related death toll in India to 33 as temperatures soared Saturday. The actual death toll could be as high as 38 since the onset of the hot weather mid-April, with daytime temperatures in the state hovering at 42 degrees Celsius. Sunstroke killed five people overnight in northern Uttar Pradesh state, where the temperature in the crowded city of Jhansi hit 46 degrees Celsius. Temperatures hovered above normal in states such as Bihar, Haryana and Punjab, the weather office reported, warning the sweltering conditions could continue until the onset of the annual monsoon rains due at the end of June. Scores of cities and towns are also facing water shortages and prolonged power cuts, triggering a spate of attacks on those running the overwhelmed state-run utilities. For the last couple of weeks some of the areas in Delhi have had to go without power for as much as five to six hours at a stretch.
ENGLAND - Swindon enjoyed an UNUSUALLY hot day for this time of year. Although it is still only early May, the temperature touched 26 degrees in the town on the 4th. "Twenty six degrees is way above normal. Normal would be about 16 so it's 10 above what you would expect." But in spite of the unusual hot weather Swindon did not quite make it into the record books. The record for May comes from 1944 and is 33 degrees.
WALES - May's average temperature for Wales usually hovers at about 15 to 16C (59 to 61F). But the 4th had a mini-heatwave as temperatures peaked at 25C (77F).
Norwegian scientists have discovered European smog in the Arctic. Scientists on Svalbard recorded pollution levels high enough to exceed European Union air quality directives. Svalbard is traditionally seen as one of the most unpolluted inhabited places on earth. The nearest major city, St Petersburg, is more than 1,300 miles to the south across the Arctic Ocean. The Institute blamed an UNUSUAL WEATHER SYSTEM dumping eastern European pollution within the Arctic circle, and said that a temperature spike could be expected. "The present air pollution is more than 2.5-fold higher than values measured in spring 2000. As a result, we expect significantly increased warming." Further data would be needed to know whether this incident is an anomaly or the start of a long-term trend.

RUSSIAN FAR EAST - Occupying the far northeastern corner of Eurasia, Russia’s Chukotka Peninsula juts into the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, approaching North America. Across the region, there are changing seasonal weather patterns and increased unpredictability and instability of the weather. Residents noted shorter winters, observing that the fall–winter transition is occurring later and spring weather arriving earlier. Many pinpointed the deviation as being approximately a full month on both ends of the winter period. One hunter from the village of Vankarem on the peninsula’s arctic coast noted that winter was beginning a full two months later. He said that while the winter frosts had previously begun in September, they were now really only taking hold in November. Many survey participants also noted the frequent occurrence of weather phenomena that either did not occur previously, or occurred only very rarely. They cited frequent thunderstorms. They noted the uncharacteristic occurrence of very strong snow storms and blizzards, as well as wintertime rains. “In years past, the winter was cold, but calm. Now, easterly winds carrying blizzards are more prominent, and for several days at a time. Snow is more abundant. There were never such snow banks in the village before. Only in December do we head to the ice edge to hunt, while previously we left in November. Sometimes there are periods of thaw and rains in the winter.” With increased temperatures, frozen ground and snow fields have begun to melt. Rivers and lagoons have also begun to melt earlier than they did before, but by far of greatest concern to many were observed changes in sea ice. The extent of sea ice has declined and its quality and timing are changing. Many survey respondents noted having encountered animals that had not been observed in their region previously, such as moose, lynx, badger and beaver. Some also noted the appearance of uncharacteristic birds like swallows and a species resembling sparrows or swifts. Birds are arriving earlier and departing later. People region-wide also noted changes in berry growth. Even along the arctic coast, where previously berries sometimes did not ripen at all, they have begun ripening very quickly, before people are able to gather them.

Studies have shown that over the last 40 years, a warming climate has been accompanied by fewer rain- and snow-producing storms in mid-latitudes around the world, but the storms that are happening are a little stronger with more precipitation. These storm changes are strongly affecting the Earth’s water cycle and air temperatures and creating contrasting cooling and warming effects in the atmosphere. Having fewer storms means less cloud cover to reflect sunlight and that adds heat to the Earth. However, more intense storms tend to produce thicker clouds which cool the atmosphere. The study looked at both of those factors, and calculated that the cooling effect is larger than the warming in all months except June, July and August, when the two effects cancel each other. The strengthening of the storms produces a 3-4% precipitation increase that comes in the form of more intense rain and snow events.
ECUADOR - Global warming is vanquishing ancient glaciers throughout South America, killing crops, and threatening the water source for millions. "It doesn't snow much anymore, and that the soil is drier every day. Many people say they have no water in their irrigation ditches. When the corn harvest begins in the summer, it is like a desert here. Everything is ugly." Scientists predict that most small glaciers in the mountain range will disappear in the next two decades; 80 percent of glaciers in nearby Bolivia will likely be gone by 2015. The glaciers' retreat could contribute to water shortages and flash floods across the continent.
The vast loop of winds that drives climate and ocean behavior across the tropical Pacific has weakened by 3.5% since the mid-1800s, and it may weaken another 10% by 2100. This means the steering of ocean flow by trade winds could decrease by close to 20%. The Walker circulation, which spans almost half the circumference of Earth, pushes the Pacific Ocean’s trade winds from east to west, generates massive rains near Indonesia, and nourishes marine life across the equatorial Pacific and off the South American coast. Changes in the circulation, which varies in tandem with El Niño and La Niña events, can have far-reaching effects. “The Walker circulation is fundamental to climate across the globe."
Climate change already is claiming more than 150,000 lives each year, with causes ranging from heat waves to respiratory illness. It is fueling the spread of epidemics in areas unprepared for the diseases, say many health experts worldwide. Mosquitoes, ticks, mice and other carriers are surviving warmer winters and expanding their range, bringing health threats with them. The World Health Organization has identified more than 30 new or resurgent diseases in the last three decades, the sort of explosion some experts say has not happened since the Industrial Revolution brought masses of people together in cities. "Things we projected to occur in 2080 are happening in 2006. What we didn't get is how fast and how big it is, and the degree to which the biological systems would respond."
Climate shifts, not over-hunting, killed off the woolly mammoth and wild horse, a carbon-dating study suggests.
184 million people in Africa alone could die as a result of climate change before the end of the century. Climate-induced floods, famine, drought and conflict could reverse recent gains in reducing poverty.
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WEEK through 4/30 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
U.S. - The wildfires for the 2006 season may become the worst ever to be recorded. Over 2 million acres have already burned.
FLORIDA - Weekend brush fires burned 1,500 acres and destroyed or damaged more than two dozen homes in southwest Florida. With only a trace of rain in Sarasota and Manatee counties and none in Charlotte, this month has been UNUSUALLY dry, even by April standards. May traditionally sees a slight increase in rainfall over April, but they don't expect to be seeing much green until the rainy season begins in June. Legend holds that the rainy season begins after the full moon in June, which this year is June 11. Nothing seems normal about the weather lately, though. And a La Niña weather pattern could complicate matters even further - making the rest of the spring even drier and the hurricane season even wetter.
LOUISIANA - Despite the recent rains, south Louisiana is still challenged by drought. The drought has slowed that greening process, increasing the risk of fire.
MISSOURI - “This spring, we’ve had some of the biggest wildfires we’ve ever experienced.”
CANADA - With the threat of spring flooding barely past in Manitoba, officials are expressing concern about the threat of wildfires. Wildfires are already burning in Manitoba.

DROUGHT -
CHINA - China's northern province of Hebei is suffering its WORST DROUGHT IN 55 YEARS with hundreds of thousands of people lacking drinking water. China has 21 percent of the global population and only 7 percent of the world's total water resources. China is suffering sustained drought as over 10 million people have been facing drinking water shortages since mid-April.
AUSTRALIA - The undulating green pastures of Conondale mask the grim reality facing farmers of a winter without water. The area’s dams are barely half full, creek beds are dry, the Mary River is well below its usual height at this time of year and farmers are nervously watching the skies. They haven’t had any good rain since mid-October, leaving Conondale in the throes of what they term a “green drought”. “There’s been plenty of light rain – enough to green up the area." But they've got no water. “In the winter, without decent rain we’ll be in trouble."

HEAT -
CHINA - Global warming is melting glaciers in China's Tibetan region at a rate of 7.0 per cent yearly, triggering drought, desertification and increasing sandstorms in other regions. Data collected in four decades has shown that glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, known as the "roof of the world", were shrinking at an UNPRECEDENTED pace. Northern China, including Beijing, has suffered from 13 dust storms this year.
GERMANY - New weather models predict arid summers and less time for winter sports in Germany if climate changed isn't turned around, according to a study released this week. In the winter, computer models predicted up to a third more precipitation for some mountain ranges in southern Germany - but not in alpine regions, where only a sixth of the current average amount of snow is expected. Summers are forecast to be up to 30 percent drier in much of the country, increasing the danger of forest fires and hampering river transportation. Researchers said they expected the average annual temperature to increase by up 2.5 to 3.5 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in some German regions by 2100 when compared to the second half of the 20th century. "This is a jump in temperature we have not had for thousands of years." Extreme weather conditions in the last 10 years have cost Germany about 16.5 billion euros ($20.5 billion) and could jump to 27 billion euros by 2050. Floods, like those recently experienced in eastern Germany and eastern Europe would become more common.
CANADA - It was a strange winter. Almost no snow in the Thousand Islands area, but lots of rain and freezing rain. It had been so mild, we wondered if there'd be much Maple sap, but at the last moment it turned colder, and the sap flowed nicely. Not as nicely as some years, but about 60% of normal. A study had just been completed on the maple syrup industry. Climate change, it says, is going to rearrange things. Preliminary research shows that within 20 years, not much of an industry will be left in the United States. In Canada, the industry will remain viable during those 20 years, but over 90 years the range for sugar maple trees will shift northward by up to two degrees latitude. "The sugar maple industry is one of the most sensitive (in the world) to climate. There is a narrow period for tapping, generally lasting for about three weeks, with the ideal temperature being minus 5C at night and plus 5C during the day."
PAKISTAN - New data from millennium-long tree-ring analyses are indicating that mountains in northern Pakistan have grown significantly wetter over the past century than they have been over the last millennium — quite possibly due to human-induced global warming. Over the last 1,100 years, the hydrologic cycle there intensified at an UNPRECEDENTED rate. The team suggests that the precipitation increases aren't just temporary changes, and the increases may be too great to be due to natural variability. The 20th century was the wettest century of the past millennium.
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WEEK through 4/18 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
U.S. - Wildfires have scorched 2.15 million acres across the nation so far. So far this year, 18 people have been killed in wildfires, and more than 1,126 buildings destroyed.

DROUGHT -
PENNSYLVANIA - residents are being asked to voluntarily cut their water use by 5 percent. March was THE DRIEST SINCE 1966. Rainfall, groundwater levels and stream flows are all below normal, and the numbers are "particularly troubling and UNUSUAL." This time of year the "resources are usually robust instead of depleted. A year ago thousands of people were evacuated from their homes along the Delaware in the worst flooding in 50 years. Now, the Delaware River at Trenton is flowing at about a third of the norm for April. Upriver though, one of the three water-storage reservoirs in Upstate New York at the headwaters of the Delaware River was actually spilling over, it was so full.
AUSTRALIA - The Southern Highlands, the Illawarra and the Shoalhaven are looking at returning to marginal or even drought-declared status over winter.
BRITAIN - Thames Water has warned that the capital's water supplies are close to crisis point, after a 16-month drought in southern England.

HEAT -
Oklahomans sweltered through RECORD-BREAKING hot weather on the 17th as temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. At 4 PM Monday, it was 97 degrees in Oklahoma City - five degrees above the record high. Record temperatures also were set in Ponca City, Tulsa and Gage. It was 102 degrees in Stillwater and 100 in Ada. The normal highs for this time of year are in the 70s.
INDIA - Meteorologists in Jharkhand have sought research on the unusually hot climate in the state at this time of the year, with no sign of rain anywhere. After having failed to come out with accurate predictions on the weather conditions in the state, the experts said they felt the need of an investigation into the global climate, especially Jharkhand. At present, heat in Jharkhand has crossed 40°C and there is no sign of rainfall. “We are shocked by the prevailing weather conditions in the state. In Jharkhand, very high temperatures are normally followed by rain. But despite the conditions at present showing symptoms of an imminent rainfall, the state has got no relief from the scorching heat.” The state has never faced such unusually high temperature during March-end or the beginning of April. This is also the first time there is no rain in the state in the past 40 years of records. “We had a discussion with scientists in New Delhi yesterday about the change in the weather conditions in several parts of India, especially Jharkhand. Even they said they were surprised at the startling weather conditions in the country. We think scientists from around the globe should investigate and find out what geographical and ecological changes are responsible for the unusually high temperature in Jharkhand at this time of the year.” The weather experts also said it was unpredictable as to what turn the future weather conditions would take.
TEXAS - on the 18th, for the third straight day, RECORD temperatures hit Central Texas. It has some worried about what the summer has in store. “It’s pretty ridiculous right now. I figure if its going to get to 100 degrees this early in the year, we’re going to hit 115 in the summer. It’s like the Sahara Desert.”
TEXAS - Rolling blackouts swept across the State and Central Texas on Monday night, the 17th, as RECORD-BREAKING heat gripped the state. State energy officials say the unusual April heat was to blame along with a lack of energy production in Texas. Roughly 15 percent of State power is off line before the summer season while repairs are being done to the system.
Britain's chief government scientist has given us a new warning. He said that the world is likely to suffer a temperature rise of more than 3° Centigrade which can cause havoc worldwide. Basing his warning on computer predictions, the predicted 3°C temperature rise would lead to:
* a drop worldwide of between 20 and 400 million tonnes in cereal crops;
* about 400 million people at risk of hunger;
* between 1.2 billion and three billion more people at risk of water shortages and scarcity.
The professor's report claimed that at the predicted temperature rise, few ecosystems (like natural forests) could adapt; half of the nature reserves would cease to be worthwhile and a fifth of coastal wetlands would be lost. Already the signs are there that the weather is no longer following any "traditional" pattern. Much "unseasonal" weather is being experienced all over the world.
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WEEK through 4/10 -
WILDFIRES THIS WEEK -
ARKANSAS
NORTH CAROLINA
TEXAS

DROUGHT -
JAMAICA - Scores of residents in communities across western Jamaica are now reeling from a severe water shortage as a result of extended islandwide drought conditions. "The water condition is very bad. The pressure is very low and sometimes we have no water and we have to resort to using the untreated river water."
CANADA - water levels in some rivers in Alberta have declined by 20 to 84 per cent in the past 100 years. The biggest declines were measured in rivers and lakes in the central and southern part of the province, where Albertans draw most of their water. But findings show the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also vulnerable to drought. Alberta's Environment Minister says people in the province will have to reduce their use of water by a third within the next seven years. He predicts that if people don't do that, it could lead to disputes among Prairie provinces as the resource dries up. Eevidence suggests the 20th century's relatively moist conditions were a fluke and the past 2,000 years have generally been drier. Previous dry periods occurred several times a century, and usually lasted for several decades. If the climate reverts back to drier conditions and global warming continues, parts of the Prairies that are already dry will probably begin to experience the near-desert conditions seen in parts of the U.S. West.
CHINA - "According to climate forecasts, weather conditions will be relatively poor this year. The flood and drought scenario is also relatively severe." Some regions had experienced abnormal weather since the beginning of last winter. North China, the western part of Northeast China, the eastern part of Northwest China, the Yellow River-Huaihe River plain and some southwestern regions, in particular, suffered sustained droughts. Rainfall in these regions since the beginning of spring was 20 to 50 percent less than normal. Months of drought had strained the supply of water for spring plowing, industrial production and domestic use in the north and south. 13.9 million hectares of arable land had been hit by drought and 6.95 million people and 5.46 million head of livestock had faced temporary shortages of drinking water this year. Forecasts of imminent temperature rises and windy weather mean the drought situation could deteriorate and seriously affect spring plowing and sowing.

HEAT -
The southwest of Australia has been named as one of 25 hospots for future species extinction because of global warming. A new study says global warming will become a top cause of extinction from the tropical Andes to South Africa, with thousands of species of plants and animals likely to be wiped out in coming decades. "This study provides even stronger scientific evidence that global warming will result in catastrophic species loss across the planet." "Areas particularly vulnerable to climate change include the tropical Andes, the Cape Floristic region (on the tip of South Africa), southwest Australia, and the Atlantic forests of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina." Species in many of these regions have limited escape routes. Rare plants, antelopes, tortoises or birds found only on the southern tip of Africa, for instance, cannot move south because the nearest land is thousands of miles away in Antarctica.
Vast swaths of coral reefs in the Caribbean sea and South Pacific Ocean are dying, while the recently-discovered cold-water corals in northern waters will not survive the century - all due to climate change. The loss of reefs will have a catastrophic impact on all marine life. One-third of the coral at official monitoring sites in the area of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have recently perished in what scientists call an "UNPRECEDENTED" die-off. Extremely high sea temperatures in the summer and fall of 2005 have caused extensive coral bleaching extending from the Florida Keys to Tobago and Barbados in the south and Panama and Costa Rica. High sea temperatures are also killing parts of Australia's 2,000-kilometre-long Great Barrier Reef. "Twenty percent of Earth's reefs have been lost and 50 percent face moderate to severe threats." Coral reefs are uncommon, found in less than one percent of the world's oceans. However, they are considered the tropical rainforests of the oceans because they provide home and habitat to 25 to 33 percent of all marine life. "By the year 2050, the oceans will be very different than they are now."
Beaches, islands and even continents are shrinking as ocean levels rise ever higher due to the accelerating meltdown of the world's glaciers and polar ice due to climate change. Many of the world's major cities, including Bangkok, London, Miami and New York, could be flooded by the end of the century. By then, global temperatures will be an average of three degrees C. higher than now - or about as hot as it was nearly 130,000 years ago, when ocean levels were four to six metres higher. "Probably our estimates of sea-level rise even five years ago were too small."
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WEEK through 4/3 -
WILDFIRES -
ICELAND - In western Iceland in late March, a large fire broke out in the grasses of a wetland area, which had been dried out by a period of persistent north winds. Some farmers in the area had to evacuate their livestock to protect them from the fast-moving, wind-driven blaze.
MISSISSIPPI - The fire danger in South Mississippi is much greater this year with nine of the 10 counties in the Southeast District of the Mississippi Forestry Commission under a burn ban. Since the beginning of March, forestry personnel have fought 523 fires that burned more than 30,860 acres in the Southeast District. That is an average of 60 acres per fire, more than four times the normal average of 14. "Not only are there more fires, but the fires are burning off larger areas."
VIRGINIA - has experienced more wildfires in three months this year than in all of 2005. Some communities, including Gloucester, York and Mathews counties, have been inundated in recent weeks by blazes that have charred hundreds of acres and threatened homes. "This has been an incredible year. It's a RARE occurrence - the lack of rain, the wind and low humidity." Wildfires in the state this year have increased by 328 percent, resulting in a 1,166 percent increase in acreage burned.
FLORIDA has already seen more than 1,100 wildfires since the first of the year. Those fires have burned more than 15,000 acres. Pensacola is facing its DRIEST MARCH ON RECORD, and the deficit is setting a dangerous recipe for wildfires.
TEXAS - The dry Texas Panhandle plains flared up again as fast-moving wildfires invaded northeastern Amarillo and burned 14 homes.
COLORADO - A 1,300-acre grass fire near the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant spread quickly amid wind gusts. One home burned in Teller County and an entire subdivision in Jefferson County was evacuated Sunday afternoon when fierce winds sent wildfires out of control.
INDIA - South Sikkim is going up in flames, literally as six forest areas in various parts of the district are reeling under simultaneous cases of wildfire during the past few days. With this, forest fire has raised its ugly head again in Sikkim after lying low since the beginning of the year. A forest fire that took place between two villages, Tek and Turung from a private holding below Namthang, South Sikkim and earlier almost completely doused on 27 March, conflagrated and fireballed into a menacing inferno as it raged again, threatening to go out of control.

DROUGHT -
BRITAIN - The drought in south-east England is disastrous for the region's wading birds. Rare wetland birds such as lapwing, redshank and snipe are facing their worst ever breeding season. The drought, after 18 months of below average rainfall in the region, has left the birds' few remaining breeding grounds parched and they are struggling to find suitable pools and marshes where they can nest and raise chicks. Unless there was heavy rain in the next few weeks there could be almost no fledglings hatched this year, and any that were hatched could starve.
NORTH CAROLINA - This is the DRIEST MARCH ON RECORD in nearly 80 years. The drought in the Triangle has been upgraded to severe.
TEXAS - Wildfires and drought are taking a heavy toll on Texas Ranchers, forcing many of them to weigh their options when it comes to the cost of cattle.
MARYLAND - rainfall totals are almost 7 inches below normal for 2006. Many farmers, especially those growing sod and strawberries, have already resorted to irrigation. "We started irrigating much earlier than usual." Starting early is causing extra expense and extra work. Running the irrigation system when temperatures are still reaching freezing rarely happens. "It's a little UNUSUAL. We're trying to irrigate and keep the system from freezing at night."
NORTHEASTERN U.S. - March was RECORD-SETTINGLY DRY along a swath of parched cities from Baltimore to Boston that had the driest March since 1927. "We have seen departures from normal rainfall over 3 inches." "There is no way to predict what might happen in April because there is no large-scale event going on to guide the weather patterns to anything unusual."
JAMAICA - The National Water Commission says that the present drought is continuing to affect a number of its facilities across the island.
ETHIOPIA - two failed rainy seasons back-to-back in the parched and remote lowland region on the border with Kenya. Long-range weather forecasters have been warning for the past months that the seasonal April rains are expected to fail this year also. If this happens, the current acute emergency situation across the Horn of Africa will turn into a true humanitarian disaster.
SOMALIA - More than 10,000 people could soon die from famine every month in Somalia if a severe drought persists. 10 million people face the threat of starvation.

HEAT -
The quality of wines world-wide is being affected by climate change and critics and judges are already noticing the changes. That is the consensus from a world conference on climate change and wine in Europe. Industry leaders are already planning for big shifts in varieties grown in established wine regions. "You've got a situation where a region that's developed a reputation, let's say Coonawarra, over a hundred years or so, or some of the European regions over many hundred years, will potentially lose that reputation."
AUSTRALIA - Ballarat had a hot, dry start to autumn despite receiving more rain this March than last year. The city recorded 9.2mm compared to 6.2mm last year, with an average maximum temperature well above the overall March average. The mean March rainfall for Ballarat since 1908 is 43.2mm. The mean temperature this March was 25.5C, more than 3C hotter than the overall mean of 22.1C. Temperatures in Ballarat soared throughout the month, with the mercury peaking at 36.9C on March 12. It was RARE to receive such minor rainfall during March in consecutive years. "It's a once-in-a-decade or once-every-15-year figure."
Winter air temperatures over Antarctica have risen by more than 2C in the last 30 years, a new study shows. The warming is seen across the whole of the continent and much of the Southern Ocean. The study questions the reliability of current climate models that fail to simulate the temperature rise. In addition, the scientists from the British Antarctic Survey say the cause of the warming is not clear. It could be linked to increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere or natural variations in Antarctica's climate system. Scientists are keen to understand the change in temperatures over the continent as the region holds enough water in its ice to raise sea levels by 60 metres.
While scientists and conservationists worry about the potentially dire consequences of global warming, politicians and businessmen are already battling over how to reap the economic benefits from the Arctic thaw. At stake are the sovereign rights to enormous reserves of natural resources, as well the control of seafaring routes which have until now been blocked by ice.
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WEEK through 3/27 -
WILDFIRES -
OKLAHOMA - Wildfires wreaked havoc across parts of Oklahoma on Sunday and into early Monday. Crews were called to blazes in at least nine Oklahoma towns.

DROUGHT -
BANGLADESH - For the first time in nine years, Bangladesh is going through a drought-like situation as in the rest of South Asia. "The country is experiencing almost 98 to 100 per cent shortfall of rain over the last four months." Such a situation would greatly hamper production of fruits including mango, lichee and other berries. This month there was only 52.4 millimetre (ml) rainfall against the normal 1,780 ml, leaving a shortfall of 1,727.6 ml. Last month, the country had 78ml rainfall while the normal for the month is 868 ml, according to Met office. In January, there was no rain in the country while normal rainfall for the month is 308 ml. In December last, the shortfall of rain was 137 ml as it rained only 191 ml against the usual 328 ml. Rain occurs during this period when easterly and westerly low-pressure conjunction occurs. But there has been a lack of those phenomena in the weather this time. "The westerly low is blowing by the far northern side of the country's latitude. We don't see any strong westerly now."

HEAT -
Global warming is already causing death and disease across the world through flooding, environmental destruction, heatwaves and other extreme weather events, scientists said. And it is likely to get worse. Climate change would bring changes in temperature, sea levels, rainfall, humidity and winds. This would lead to an increase in death rates from heatwaves, infectious diseases, allergies, cholera as well as starvation due to failing crops.
The amount of sunshine reaching earth is increasing, accelerating the pace of climate change, scientists have found. A series of independent studies around the world show a significant rise in the amount of sunshine penetrating the atmosphere to be absorbed by the earth’s surface and turned into heat. “The enhanced warming we have seen since the 1990s along with phenomena such as the widespread melting of glaciers could well be due to this increased intensity of sunlight compounding the effect of greenhouse gases.” Measurements of sunshine levels between 1960 and 1990 had shown a decrease in the amount of sunshine reaching the earth, a phenomenon known as global dimming. This was thought to have been caused by dust, smog and other pollutants, mainly from industrialised western countries. In the last two decades, however, there have been significant decreases in such pollutants, partly due to industry becoming cleaner but largely because of the collapse of the Soviet Union and much of its heavy industry. “A widespread brightening has been observed since the 1980s. This may substantially affect surface climate, the water cycle, glaciers and ecosystems.”
NEW ZEALAND - Rainfall records show New Zealand's weather is changing in line with forecasts for climate change. Analysis of rainfall over the past 100 years shows western New Zealand is getting wetter. The figures also confirm expectations that climate change will mean more droughts on the country's east coast. Another trend is stronger westerly winds over the south of the country. While New Zealand's climate is highly variable, an increase in average temperatures has also been recorded. There are also more extreme events, with more episodes of very heavy rain.
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WEEK through 3/23 -
WILDFIRES -
U.S. - Nearly unprecedented dry weather, unseasonably high temperatures and gusty winds have already contributed to more than 13,000 wildfires nationwide since Jan.
U.S. - The central and lower half of the United States from California to Florida will be at a greater risk this spring for wildfires.
TEXAS - Stiff winds pushed wildfires deeper into the parched Texas Panhandle on Wednesday, threatening six small towns. The devastation is of historic proportions. Wildfires have consumed more than 840,000 acres since Sunday, and still they burn. 700,000 acres is the equivalent of two-thirds of Rhode Island.
OKLAHOMA - Multiple wildfires are burning across Oklahoma, fueled by a windy Wednesday afternoon.

MARYLAND & VIRGINIA - Conditions are perfect for large wildfires - gusty winds combined with dry weather conditions and low humidity.
NEW YORK - It's was very windy Wednesday. What's UNUSUAL is that the sources of the wind was far away. A high pressure system is building up in the Midwest. As that gains strength the pressure gradient between it and a stationary low pressure system over Nova Scotia increases. The steeper the pressure gradient the faster the wind as the atmosphere tries to level out the pressure differences. Winds will be blowing at a steady 20-30 miles an hour, with gusts up to 50 mph. The wind is bringing very dry air into the region. The dew point temperature dropped ten degrees over a few hours. Add winds and very dry air and the chance of brush fires goes way up. The busy National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning, meaning there is a high fire danger. Even the slightest spark could start a fire, and once started a fire is going to spread rapidly. Staten Island has already seen a couple of fires break out this week. (satellite photo)

DROUGHT -
MEXICO - With a population of more than 20 million people, and dwindling water supplies, the Mexican capital is a stark example of the severe water supply issues facing many of the world's rapidly-developing mega cities. The parched ground crunches beneath your feet as you walk through the Texcoco area on the outskirts of the city. The bleached, cracked terrain stretches out in all directions. Nothing can grow here. It is very difficult to imagine, that just 70 years ago, this area was filled with water. This was one of five lakes that used to enrich the Mexico City valley. Many of Mexico City's inhabitants get by on just one hour of running water per week - and many say that it is undrinkable. Less than 10% of Mexico City's waste water is recycled, compared to London, where that figure is more than 90%. Most rain water is also lost.
JAMAICA is currently experiencing drought conditions, with some areas being severely affected.
VIETNAM - unseasonable winds and prolonged drought have been increasing salinity in rivers in the Mekong River Delta provinces. Salt water has infiltrated the rivers in more than half of the delta provinces. Hotter-than-usual temperatures and drought have also increased the likelihood of forest fires.
SOUTH DAKOTA - A prolonged drought in western South Dakota has prompted the state to shut off water to irrigators upstream from Angostura Reservoir.
CANADA - Drought threatens spring planting in the Canadian west.
The Horn of Africa is facing its WORST DROUGHT IN TWO DECADES, and nearly 6 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Kenya are at risk of dying.
The severe drought in East Africa is also disrupting the social structure as people no longer are able to offer cattle as dowry for marriages. Eligible men call the drought - the worst in a generation that has turned grazing fields into vast expanses of dust - as 'the drought that killed the dowry.' Humanitarian groups estimate 3.5 million people, mostly nomadic herders, are facing food shortages in Kenya alone. Herders are driving their remaining cattle into Kenya`s capital Nairobi to let the animals feed on grassy traffic circles. 'The drought and changes of weather patterns are disrupting a whole way of life.'
North-eastern Kenya could take 15 years to recover from the effects of drought, aid agency Oxfam has warned.
AUSTRALIA - Drought conditions in the western division, Nyngan and Coonamble areas have worsened over the last month.
CHINA - North China's Hebei Province has been experiencing a drought since last November.
NEPAL - There has been no rainfall in Nepal in winter over the past few years. This strange phenomenon has been noticed for the first time by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Although there was normal snowfall in far western region of Nepal this winter, most parts of the country experienced a dry spell during this season which has affected the winter crop. During the day, the temperature has been found rising abruptly while filling the atmosphere with smog and pollutants. Earlier, there used to be at least sporadic rainfall in dry places of country at this season causing the ground to get cooler. Most of parts of the country except for far western region of the country remained dry this winter. The day time temperature this winter has been found to have increased by 3.2 Celsius centigrade as compared to last year. The increment in temperature has been attributed to gross lack of snowfall in the high mountain region this time which brings cold wind.
INDIA - Farmers in Uttaranchal are reeling under a drought-like situation following a dry winter spell in their region. While parts of the western, central and northern India have been affected by unseasonal rainfall, vast tracts of Uttaranchal have reportedly dried up due to lack of rains. Farmers say though there has been a decline in rainfall in the region for the past 5-7 years, this dry winter spell is UNUSUAL. “This is the first time I am seeing such a dry spell in winter season, even though there has been a decline in the rainfall in the past 5-7 years. Our crops have damaged. We had sown wheat crop but it's all damaged." India's annual monsoon rains, crucial for a farm dependent economy, are forecast to be normal this year due to favourable wet weather patterns. The four-month monsoon is the main source of water for most farmers in India, and reached 99 percent of the long-term average between June and September in 2005.

HEAT -
Climate change is expected to shrink many African rivers dramatically, triggering massive refugee movements and even war.
MINNESOTA - Across Minnesota, many say warmer weather is beginning to change the state's identity. Snow emergencies and snowmobile rentals are giving way to fast-thawing lakes. "We keep thinking every year when something like that happens, it's an anomaly. But it's been getting stranger and stranger every year." "We don't have that old-fashioned winter anymore, when things really got cold."Something has turned." Minnesota's annual average temperatures have been rising faster than the rest of the globe's. In the Twin Cities, social service and health agencies have developed a hot weather emergency response plan out of concerns over climate change in the summer. "I've lived here since 1982, and when the trees start re-budding in November and the winters are lame like they have been, and each summer it seems the heat comes earlier and stays longer. ... I just think it's unfortunate we have to think extreme heat could have devastating consequences on people's health in Minnesota. But it's creeping north."
The north Bering Sea, one of the world's richest feeding grounds for whales, walruses, and sea birds, is warming to the point where animals are being forced to adapt or suffer the consequences. The Bering Sea sits between Siberia and Alaska above the Aleutian Islands. Its northern half was typically covered in solid ice for seven months of the year. But now there is less ice in general, and the seasonal melt is starting earlier in the spring.
MARYLAND - The temperature Monday peaked at 80 degrees, but it was not high enough to break a record. "It was very warm and UNUSUAL for March, but not a record-breaker." The average high temperature for March 13 is 51 degrees. The average low is 30 degrees. Monday's high is the average high temperature for June 6. "To say it was like spring would be an understatement. It was actually summer. But since this is March and not June, it will not last and we're going to have colder weather coming up."
PENNSYLVANIA - Temperatures were anything but typical for early March. Monday's high of 75 TIED THE RECORD DAILY TEMPERATURE set in 1990. The average temperatures for March start out with a high of 40 and progress to a high of 52 by the end of the month.
ALABAMA - the current decade has been the worst for snow lovers since weather measurements began in Birmingham in 1895. The city has now gone 6 years and 2 months since the last measured snow on Jan. 28, 2000, the LONGEST TIME WITHOUT SNOW EVER RECORDED. The high of 85 on March 12 was the SECOND HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR THE DATE IN 111 YEARS, exceeded only by the record high of 87 on March 12, 1967.
NEW ZEALAND - An UNUSUALLY PROLONGED and prolific flowering period of cabbage trees has been linked to global climate change. Though some cabbage trees had flowered profusely during their normal flowering time in November, others had flowered in late summer, which had never been seen before. "Normally cabbage trees flower at the beginning of summer, and the density of the flowering is regarded by some as an indication as to how dry the summer will be. This year, as well as some flowering profusely in November, others flowered in late January-early February." "Kahikatea also experienced a flush season, producing a huge amount of fruit." The weather had been unusually dry and sunny on the Kapiti Coast in January – it was the DRIEST JANUARY ON RECORD. This month was also proving to be unusually dry and sunny, though temperatures had been a lot cooler than normal. A biologist who had studied cabbage trees for about 20 years, had never heard of them flowering in late summer. Some pohutukawa trees north of Waikanae had flowered in late summer as well, which he regarded as QUITE ODD. Some cabbage trees in Otaki had not stopped flowering all summer, which was HIGHLY UNUSUAL. The very dry and cool weather on the coast had prompted early autumn leaf coloring. "Extremely dry weather can cause trees to produce huge amounts of flowers and seeds to ensure the species will continue. This season the abundance of fruit has been spectacular – extremely high yields compared with last season when there was virtually no fruit at all."
Sea ice in the Arctic has failed to re-form for the second consecutive winter, raising fears that global warming may have tipped the polar regions in to irreversible climate change far sooner than predicted. Satellite measurements of the area of the Arctic covered by sea ice show that for every month this winter, the ice failed to return even to its long-term average rate of decline. It is the second consecutive winter that the sea ice has not managed to re-form enough to compensate for the unprecedented melting seen during the past few summers. The greatest fear is that an environmental "positive feedback" has kicked in, where global warming melts ice which in itself causes the seas to warm still further as more sunlight is absorbed by a dark ocean rather than being reflected by white ice. The Arctic ice cover is thought to be a key moderator of the northern hemisphere's climate. "One of the big changes this winter is that a large area of the Barents Sea has remained ice-free for the first time. This is part of Europe's 'back yard'. Climate models did predict a retreat of sea ice in the Barents Sea but not for a few decades yet, so it is a sign that the changes that were predicted are indeed happening, but much faster than predicted."
In recent months, a cascade of new scientific evidence on climate change has made even mainstream scientists increasingly concerned about what lies ahead. Now the most urgent question is not whether climate change is real, but how serious and rapid it will be, and whether it will soon be too late to do anything to stop it. Scientists have not been frank enough about the fact the outlook on climate change now includes the possibility of calamitous change. "I think sea-level rise is going to be the big issue soon, more even than warming itself." New evidence supports the growing scientific proof that predictions about climate change have been underplayed.
A controversial new theory attributes climate change not to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels but water vapor. The apparent rise in average global temperature recorded by scientists over the past hundred years could be due to atmospheric changes resulting from the Tunguska Event, a massive explosion over Siberia on the June 30th, 1908 that is thought to have resulted from an asteroid or comet entering the earth's atmosphere and exploding. The event could have caused "considerable stirring of the high layers of atmosphere" and triggered the subsequent rise in global temperatures. According to Shaidurov's theory, "small changes in the atmospheric levels of water, in the form of vapour and ice crystals can contribute to significant changes to the temperature of the earth's surface, which far outweighs the effects of carbon dioxide and other gases released by human activities." Shaidurov claims that a 1 percent rise of water vapour could raise the global average temperature of Earth's surface by more than 4 degrees Celsius.
A century of data shows intensification of the water cycle but no increase in storms or floods. Although many aspects of the global water cycle have intensified, including precipitation and evaporation, this trend has not consistently resulted in an increase in the frequency or intensity of tropical storms or floods over the past century. "A key question in the global climate debate is if the climate warms in the future, will the water cycle intensify and what will be the nature of that intensification." The weight of evidence from past studies shows on a global scale that precipitation, runoff, atmospheric water vapor, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, growing season length, and wintertime mountain glacier mass are all increasing. The key point with the glaciers is that there is more snowfall resulting in more wintertime mass accumulation – another indication of intensification. "This intensification has been proposed and would logically seem to result in more flooding and more intense tropical storm seasons. But over the observational period, those effects are just not borne out by the data in a consistent way."
A prominent University of Ottawa science professor says what we know about global warming is wrong - that stars, not greenhouse gases, are heating up the Earth. High-energy rays from distant parts of space are smashing into our atmosphere in ways that make our planet go through warm and cool cycles. "Empirical observations on all time scales point to celestial phenomena as the principal driver of climate, with greenhouse gases acting only as potential amplifiers." The majority of climate scientists still firmly believe that greenhouse gases are to blame.
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WEEK through 3/14 -
WILDFIRES -
TEXAS - Raging wildfires that scorched more than 300,000 acres Sunday across Texas were blamed for six deaths, including two victims who were trying to escape their burning home. Dense smoke from a raging 300,000-acre wildfire reduced visibility on a Texas Panhandle interstate, leading to a multi-vehicle crash that killed four people and injured six. The wildfires - which rival in size the fires that blackened thousands of acres of grassland and killed three people in late December and early January - forced the evacuation of eight towns. "This is probably ONE OF THE BIGGEST FIRE DAYS IN TEXAS HISTORY." Cooler temperatures today should help firefighters, but winds around 15 mph will still make battling the blazes difficult.
A separate 70,000-acre grass fire burned Sunday in nearby southeastern New Mexico, prompting evacuation orders for up to 200 people and injuring one man. Several smaller wildfires also burned in Oklahoma, where several people were evacuated from the central Oklahoma town of Carney.
MISSISSIPPI - Firefighters across Mississippi have been busy battling wildfires.
VIRGINIA - An alarming number of wildfires (370) have scorched nearly 2,000 acres across the commonwealth since the start of the year.

DROUGHT -
3/10 -
OHIO - Since 1978, which had only 0.65 inch of precipitation, NO FEBRUARY HAS BEEN DRIER THAN 2006. Rainfall during the month typically averages 2.9 inches with an additional 5 inches of snowfall. This year’s weather didn’t come close to that with only 0.62 inch of rain and 2.3 inches of snow. “I’m hoping that we make up some (precipitation) in March otherwise the farmers in this county are going to have a rough time. We need almost three-fourths of an inch every single week to make up for water usage.” Lack of precipitation wasn’t the only UNUSUAL aspect for February this year. It’s also only the fifth time since 1976 that the month of February has been colder than January. The previous years were 1980, 1989, 1993 and 2002. Averages are somewhat distorted by a series of temperature swings of more than 10 degrees on several occasions. On Feb. 16 the high was 69 but by Feb. 17 the high was only 39 and 26 one day later. The area will experience those major temperature swings about every five years or so when warm fronts move through and are then quickly followed by a cold front. The high temperature this year was UNUSUAL, though, since the area hasn’t hit 70 in February in several years.
About 75 African migrants trying to get to Spain's Canary Islands have been rescued after being lost at sea for three days. Two boats were picked up after trying to cross a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean from Mauritania. The rescue came as the Canary Islands' governor warned that up to 20,000 Africans were trying to reach Europe from the coasts of West Africa. Around 2,000 sub-Saharan African migrants had arrived in the Canaries since the beginning of the year, but hundreds of others may have drowned at sea. The phenomenon "has become catastrophic" as a result of the movement of masses of people from areas such as Mali and Senegal where droughts have devastated harvests.
3/1 -
ARIZONA - The Valley’s RECORDBREAKING DRY SPELL may soon come to an end, as forecasts call for a 30-40 percent chance of rain into this morning. If rain fell at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport yesterday, it will snap a run of precipitation-free days at 132 - 31 days longer than the previous record. While this rain won’t do much to alleviate the drought’s fire hazards and fill shrinking reservoirs, the precipitation would tamp down the billowing dust plaguing the Valley.
WATER WARS? - Climate change may spark conflict between nations. Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan rely on the River Jordan but Israel controls it and has cut supplies during times of scarcity. The Brahmaputra River has caused tension between India and China and could be a flashpoint for two of the world's biggest armies. Floods in the Ganges caused by melting glaciers in the Himalayas are wreaking havoc in Bangladesh leading to a rise in illegal migration to India. Tensions have flared between Botswana, Namibia and Angola around the vast Okavango basin. Population growth in Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia is threatening conflict along the world's longest river, The Nile.

HEAT -
US climate scientists have recorded a significant rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, pushing it to a NEW RECORD LEVEL. The latest data shows CO2 levels now stand at 381 parts per million (ppm) - 100ppm above the pre-industrial average. The research indicates that 2005 saw ONE OF THE LARGEST INCREASES ON RECORD - a rise of 2.6ppm. The figures are seen as a benchmark for climate scientists around the globe. The latest data confirms a worrying trend that recent years have, on average, recorded double the rate of increase from just 30 years ago. The precise level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is of global concern because climate scientists fear certain thresholds may be "tipping points" that trigger sudden changes. "Today we're over 380 ppm. That's higher than we've been for over a million years, possibly 30 million years."
CANADA - this has been the WARMEST CANADIAN WINTER SINCE 1948 when nationwide record-keeping began.
3/9 -
OKLAHOMA - Pear trees, peach trees, even azaleas already are blooming across Muskogee. They have even seen tiny peaches on the trees. Azaleas are already blooming, even though the bushes normally don’t bloom until late March. But underneath the beautiful blossoms is concern that the blooms and the fruit that follows might not survive a March freeze. The last freeze of winter usually hits around March 29. Also a concern is the drought that has dried the ponds. “It’s going to be bad news if it doesn’t rain. The ponds are as low as I have seen them and I was living during the Dust Bowl.” “This has been such a strange year. I’m not sure how the blossoms are going to be affected. Even with irrigation, we still go out and dig in the beds and they’re dry. We have never dealt with this kind of weather in the history of the azalea festival.”
3/2 -
The global scientific body on climate change will report soon that only greenhouse gas emissions can explain the current freak weather patterns. Simultaneous changes in sea ice, glaciers, droughts, floods, ecosystems, ocean acidification and wildlife migration are taking place. The panel had previously said gases such as CO2 were "probably" to blame. "The measurements from the natural world on all parts of the globe have been anomalous over the past decade. If a few were out of kilter we wouldn't be too worried, because the Earth changes naturally. But the fact that they are virtually all out of kilter makes us very concerned." The report will forecast that a doubling of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere would bring a temperature rise of 2 - 4.5C, or maybe higher.
3/1 -
INDIA - The HIGHEST EVER MAXIMUM DAY TEMPERATURE IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY of 38.4 degree celsius was recorded on Monday, the 27th. On Tuesday they expected the heat to continue for the next 48 hours. “The rise is due to the sudden flow pattern change. January and February are generally considered winter months, where the temperature is usually governed by western disturbances. However, this year the number of active western disturbances affecting Gangetic West Bengal is remarkably low. This is resulting in less number of moisture disturbances like rain and thunder showers.” Consequently, the cool air has stopped flowing over the Gangetic West Bengal.
IOWA - on the last day of February parts of Iowa may have seen high temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s. For some areas, that's 30-degrees above normal, and is capping off ONE OF THE WARMEST WINTERS ON RECORD FOR THE REGION. While it's unusual, it's not unheard-of, especially as March approaches and 60s become more common in the forecast.
On Monday Britain's Defence Secretary issued a bleak forecast that violence and political conflict would become more likely in the next 20 to 30 years as climate change turned land into desert, melted ice fields and poisoned water supplies. Military planners have already started considering the potential impact of global warming for Britain's armed forces over the next 20 to 30 years. They accept some climate change is inevitable, and warn Britain must be prepared for humanitarian disaster relief, peacekeeping and warfare to deal with the dramatic social and political consequences of climate change. "As we look beyond the next decade, we see uncertainty growing; uncertainty about the geopolitical and human consequences of climate change."
UNUSUAL WEATHER SEASONS /YO-YO WEATHER -
3/6 -
COLORADO - La Niña pushes the jet stream north so it cuts right through Colorado, leaving part of the state wet and the other dry. Up in Leadville, "it seems like it's been snowing a foot every three days since Christmas." Meanwhile, down in Trinidad, it has been so dry that ranchers have had to haul water for their cattle. Leadville and Trinidad are a microcosm of what's happening across Colorado, where heavy spring runoff in the north may portend floods, while a parched south promises early-spring wildfires. Fire danger is high for this time of year, with no relief in sight, and a lot of wind is compounding the problem. The snowpack in Leadville is 150 percent of average, while just 214 miles away, Trinidad's snowpack is 30 percent of average. The weather bedeviling Colorado is caused by a mass of Pacific Ocean cold water, about the size of the United States, stretching for 5,000 miles off the South American coast - called La Niña. "We've had some real strange weather going on - with extended dry periods in Denver and crazy snow in the mountains." Scientists disagree how long La Niña will last. It could be a year. It could be less. "This event had an UNUSUAL start in the late fall and was poorly predicted, so it could fade away this spring."
AUSTRALIA - could be in for much needed above-average rainfall after the World Meteorological Organisation said it saw UNPRECEDENTED SIGNS pointing to a looming La Nina, a phenomenon that can disrupt weather patterns in many parts of the globe. Temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific have been between 0.5C and 1C below normal since the start of the year. "Combined with broader tropical Pacific ocean and atmosphere conditions, this is consistent with the early stages of a basin-wide La Nina event. It is UNPRECEDENTED in the historical record for a La Nina of substantial intensity or duration to develop so early in the year." This typically brings far drier weather to the south-western US, Florida and western Latin America and above-average rainfall to Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. But there can also be a knock-on much further afield, with an increase to monsoon rainfall in South Asia, unusual coolness in tropical West Africa, South-east Africa, Japan and the Korean peninsula. La Nina usually lasts nine to 12 months, although "some episodes may persist for as long as two years." The buildup of this La Nina was so EXCEPTIONALLY SWIFT AND INTENSE that it was impossible at the moment to infer what the impact would be and how long the phenomenon would last. There is much speculation among climate scientists that man-made global warming may make El Nino and La Nina more frequent and more vicious and this trend may have already started.
NEW ENGLAND - scientists say recent extremes - record floods that washed away roads and homes, a rainy fall that dulled the foliage and turned apple season soggy, and a more-than-mild winter - prove that change isn't decades away. "Climate is changing in New Hampshire and New England, and the evidence is already here." Sea temperatures have gone up. So has annual precipitation. The growing season has increased by 8 days and the date of ice-out throughout New England has crept earlier. Between 1970 and 2000, the number of days per year when there was snow on the ground dropped by 16. "It's possible to look down the road and say, maybe in some way, this will be a good thing. But between here and there, there's a huge period of disruption and uncertainty."
3/2 -
FRANCE - It has been a very strange winter around Paris, with long stretches of frost alternating with unseasonably pleasant temperatures. "We used to have four seasons. Now we have four seasons in one day." For race horses, it has been a struggle to adapt: They grow a winter coat, start to lose it, then grow it again.
"Five minutes of research on Google reveals more data about calamitous shifts in climate than you can possibly absorb... Two clicks in and you can find out that the world's polar ice caps are melting twice as fast as scientists thought just a few years ago. You learn that, in the past 30 years, nearly half a million miles of sea ice have melted - an unprecedented pace. You discover that 2005 was the hottest year on record, and that by 2030, Glacier National Park in northern Montana will be entirely devoid of glaciers. You also find a plethora of maps of the world, each with little symbols stuck all over them... of environmental nasties: record droughts, epic floods, dire storms of all shapes and sizes, unusual animal migrations, ecosystem breakdowns, unprecedented heat waves, malaria outbreaks in regions previously immune. There are disappearing lakes, coral reefs bleaching (from algae die-offs), massive snowfalls and huge fires. And that's just the warm-up. So to speak."
2/28 -
TASMANIA - a weather expert has labeled this past summer season as "weird". There has definitely been "lots of weird stuff" happening during summer. December kicked off wet and windy, but with plenty of warm nights - Hobart's mean minimum overnight temperature was 12.8C, 2.1 degrees above normal and the HIGHEST FOR ANY DECEMBER IN 124 YEARS OF RECORDS. Much of Tasmania had more rain than normal during December, winds gusted in excess of 100km/h and Hobart reached 98km/h on Christmas Day - its SECOND-STRONGEST FESTIVE GUST ON RECORD. January wasn't much better, with wind gusts of up to 106km/h lashing the state over the new year. Late January brought scorching temperatures up to 40.6C - the SECOND-HIGHEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED in Tasmania. But, in a bizarre twist, by the first week of February snow fell to 900m. Then, in the final weeks of summer, hailstones the size of apples pelted Bruny Island during a wild storm. Overly humid summer weather triggered more disease at the Botanical Gardens than usual and caused some confused plants to change colour early.
---------------------------
WEEK through 3/6 -
WILDFIRES -
NORTH CAROLINA - Droughtlike conditions expected to stretch through spring should make this a busy season of fires in North Carolina forests and fields. State foresters are nervously noting the dryness of forest floor fuels like pine needles and weather models that predict a substantial rainfall shortage by late spring. March to May is the peak wildfire season in North Carolina. By late Thursday, state forestry officials counted 45 wildfires statewide for the day. "It's a little early to be working as many fires as we are. And if this is any sign, this is going to be a real busy spring." Rain has been rare since early January, and with the presence of a mass of cold Pacific Ocean water off the coast of South America - the La Nina phenomenon - the rain shortage in central North Carolina could hit 7 inches by the end of spring. "This season is going to be much worse than other seasons for wildfires because we're already working our way into a drought."
KENTUCKY - just a few weeks into the spring forest fire hazard season, and firefighters are already very busy.
OKLAHOMA - More than 500 people were forced to evacuate Wednesday after a spate of grassland wildfires sprang up and spread on the prairie in the south-central US state.
SW U.S. - The statistics in the Southwest read like a laundry list of bad news: Phoenix has been without rain for four months. Tucson is suffering through its DRIEST WINTER ON RECORD, as is Albuquerque, N.M. Some Tucson homeowners have actually watered cactus plants to keep them alive. And that's raising a serious worry: The Southwest's spring wildfire season could come early. “The conditions right now are about the worst we've seen.” Arizona and New Mexico, along with parts of Alaska, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and California, are at above-normal risk for wildfires. Already the Forest Service has imposed the EARLIEST FIRE RESTRICTIONS EVER in Arizona and New Mexico. the Southwest's fire season, which usually begins slowly in April and in earnest in May and June, never really ended from last year, with big range fires burning in November and December in New Mexico.

DROUGHT -
KENYA's food situation has deteriorated further as the five year drought continues to create the WORST SITUATION IN THE REGION FOR FOUR DECADES. The risk has spread across much of the Horn of Africa, threatening 11 million people. "This is a crisis on the verge of becoming a catastrophe. There are dead cattle everywhere and people have sold everything they have to buy food. These are the last few weeks that many people are going to be able to survive without help."
ARIZONA's - DRIEST WINTER IN AT LEAST 65 YEARS is causing alarm among scientists and government agencies, who say it HAS NO PRECEDENT. Twenty-nine of 34 snow measuring sites have no snow — THE BAREST THE SITES HAVE EVER BEEN, going back to the earliest records in the late 1930s. ‘‘Arizona is off the bottom of the charts.’’ In the San Francisco Peaks outside Flagstaff there is just 4 inches of snow where there should have been more than 50.
Arizona's RECORD DRY WINTER combined with a low snowpack could lead to potentially disastrous drought conditions.
MISSOURI - Springfield could face UNPRECEDENTED water rationing if a persistent drought continues to drain two lakes that supply the city's drinking water.
ILLINOIS - A dry February and parched outlook for spring rains is seeding fears that Illinois' lingering drought could worsen.
ILLINOIS - When February came to an end, the month's cumulative rainfall total at Lock and Dam 21 stood at an inauspicious level: Zero. That marked the FIRST TIME IN 90 YEARS that Quincy went AN ENTIRE MONTH WITHOUT A MEASURABLE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION — at least at one location. It's "VERY RARE" for a location anywhere in Illinois to have no precipitation whatsoever in a given month. Quincy hasn't had a month with zero precipitation since July 1916. The entire Tri-State region around Quincy was uncommonly dry last month. "Western Illinois and on into Missouri, and even parts of Iowa, were very dry in February." This dry trend comes on the heels of an extraordinarily dry 2005, which turned out to be the DRIEST YEAR LOCALLY IN 16 YEARS. "It's basically been running dry since last March. Stream flows have really dropped in the last couple of weeks. And normally this time of year you've got water standing in the fields and the creeks are full and the ponds are bank-full. It's not happening this year." The dry spell does not bode well for local farming operations, which will need more ground moisture once the growing season begins in a couple of months.

HEAT -
NEW ZEALAND - There appears to be little relief in sight for the South Island's hydro lakes as climate scientists predict continuing low rainfalls. The central and eastern parts of the South Island are in for a dry Autumn with below average rainfall likely to impact on the water levels. The outlook for the next three months is for normal rainfall in other parts of the country with above average temperatures predicted for most areas. The La Nina state should ease by winter this year decreasing the risk of unpredictable weather patterns and cyclones.
--------------------------
WEEK through 2/27 -
WILDFIRES -
NEW ZEALAND - Firefighters are on high alert in the Far North as the drought index continues to soar.
TEXAS - Since the first of the year, wildfires in Texas have burned more than 455,000 acres, destroyed more than 340 homes and killed three people.
OKLAHOMA - the 16th was another disasterous day of wildfires in Southern Oklahoma. Several highways are shut down, and many were forced to evacuate their homes.

DROUGHT -
TEXAS - The consensus among wildlife observers, outdoor-events planners, fisheries officials and others is that if the drought continues through spring and summer its effects are going to be the worst in at least a half-century. April through December 2005 was the third-driest period on record, surpassing only the same periods in 1917 and 1956. If the drought continues, heightened concerns will include dangerously low lake levels, poor fish and wildlife reproduction and fish kills. Fish kills caused by low oxygen levels already have occurred on many private East Texas lakes and ponds.
ILLINOIS - Areas of Central Illinois continue to be classified as being in a "moderate" drought or "abnormally dry." Total precipitation so far in February is below normal in the region, and Bloomington-Normal is about 15 inches of precipitation below normal since March, which scientists consider the start of drought. Storms that drop moisture on Illinois often develop in the southwest where "persistent and strengthening drought conditions" exist from Mexico to Missouri. A cooler-than-normal area of water known as a La Nina is developing in the Pacific Ocean. La Nina generally causes a shift in the jet stream that alters normal weather patterns. It's impact in Illinois is generally to cause drier-than-normal weather.
Drought in northern Kenya and neighbouring Somalia has triggered a large-scale migration of people into south-eastern Ethiopia.
The drought that threatens much of western and southern Europe this summer is already creating problems in France, Spain and the UK.
2/24 -
BRITAIN - must use less water or face rationing as the country suffered its WORST DROUGHT IN A CENTURY, the head of the country's Environment Agency said. In some parts of the southeast, reservoirs are at less than half their capacity at a time when they should be at or near full as the country emerges from the winter. "We are in a serious situation now, where both the environment and our water supplies are at risk. Groundwater levels in some areas are the LOWEST ON RECORD." Rainfall in the winter months has been the LOWEST SINCE THE DROUGHT OF 1920-21. Even if it returned to normal over coming months there would still be serious problems in some areas. The country has suffered seven big droughts in the past century, with the most recent 10 years ago.
AUSTRALIA - Dry weather has plunged Melbourne's water storages to 54.2 per cent capacity. The city's reservoirs dropped 0.6 per cent this week to 960,410 million litres, five per cent less than the same time last year. Melbourne's four major catchments recorded zero rainfall this week.
AFRICA - a seemingly endless procession of natural disasters is devastating Africa. The latest drought to hit Africa comes less than a year after poor rains brought hunger to the west and south. "There is nothing you can do but wait for death." Climate change may bring longer dry spells and unpredictable rains but societies should be able to cope better, experts say. "There are all sorts of things you could do to make sure less rain does not mean more dead." Environmentalists say African countries must also halt and reverse decades of deforestation to stop soil erosion. Forests cover less than two percent of Kenya compared with over 30 percent when it won independence from Britain in 1963. "There's a general culture in this country to cut all the trees...It is among the stupid things we do, then when there's drought we cry and wonder why."
2/22 -
AUSTRALIA - Scientists and historians are only now coming to realise that in 1788 when Australia was settled, and for some time after that, they were in the middle of an unusual weather pattern, one that gave adequate rain and turned normally arid zones into useable land. Australia is one of the driest countries on earth. Much of Australia is desert, and most of the population clings to the narrow coastal zones. Weather patterns in Australia tend to show that out of every 10 years, they have 3 bad years, 3 good years and 4 average years. Many of their droughts are brought on by the El Nino effect. This usually only affects the eastern & northern areas of Australia. Brisbane is currently in the grip of a very severe drought, so severe that water restrictions have, for the first time in many years, been brought to bear in major cities. Their water supply is, at the time of writing, 34%. This gives them about 2 years of water – if they’re lucky. Queensland state government has made it mandatory for all houses built after 2005 to have a rainwater tank as part of the construction. The plan is that the water in these tanks will be used for flushing toilets, in the laundry and watering the garden.

HEAT -
RUSSIA - warm cyclone waves that have affected the Sakhalin Island have helped local energy specialists to remove a major breakdown on the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk city heat supply main on Monday. The repair had been started specially with the onset of the cyclone on Monday, because it brought warmer weather. The cyclone affected the Sakhalin Island for about a day and then moved on to the Kamchatka Peninsula.
MICHIGAN - the winter to date has been warmer than average. There was an absence of a February deep freeze with temperatures of minus 10 to minus 20 that normally make the month the coldest of the year. It is UNUSUAL not to have at least a few days of -10 to -20-degree temperatures in February. While the thermometer has dipped below zero on a few occasions, those colder nights have fallen some short of a “normal” February.
2/24 -
INDIA - The week has been unseasonably warm in Calcutta and its adjoining areas, and the weatherman has said that the spell is likely to continue for the next 48 hours. The maximum temperature in the city was pegged at 36.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday, seven degrees above normal. “Normally, around this time, the maximum temperature is below 30 degrees and the minimum temperature hovers around 17 degrees, ensuring comfortable days and cool nights. But the sudden change in the wind direction has pushed up the temperature since mid-February.” Officers admitted it was difficult to predict the next change in wind pattern. "The unseasonal rise in temperature can cause dehydration, fever and flu.”
Unable to adjust to the fast changing weather conditions, a large number of children are falling victim to viral infection, abdominal pain and high fever. In the last 15 days, an alarming number of children suffering from viral infection, fever, jaundice and upper respiratory tract infection have been reported at city clinics and district hospitals. In the age group of two to 12 years many of them were also found suffering from vomiting, loss of appetite and abdominal pain. "Of the total cases getting reported daily at least 50-70 per cent children are suffering from jaundice, abdominal pain and high fever, which is QUITE RARE in February. At least 10 per cent children are also suffering from measles. Whereas in normal weather conditions, the measles cases are generally reported after Holi...With temperature getting as high as 35 degrees in February we are receiving a barrage of allergy, cough, cold and abdominal pain patients. A large number of people are also complaining of skin diseases, including rashes and dry skin. The people are also falling sick due to consumption of cold drinks, curd and ice creams. The body is yet to acclimatise to the fast changing weather conditions."
Weather officials are studying the unusually warm February weather in northern India and elsewhere in the country. "From Feb 1 till Feb 22 the temperature has been five to six degrees above normal at minimum and maximum levels. One day it went even nine degrees above normal in Delhi." Such a prolonged spell of above normal temperatures is not observed at this time of the year. The data of the last 50 years is being checked to look for similar weather patterns in the month. "We admit it is an UNUSUAL PHENOMENA and we are studying the reasons."
2/23 -
INDIA - Summer has made an early appearance in Uttaranchal with the RARE sight of flowers in full bloom in February. The state's wheat farmers are far from happy, as the crop in the hills is dependent on rain for irrigation. Farmers say streams have dried up without rain and crops have failed. In the dry hills of Uttaranchal the out of season flowering and withering crops is a warning that WEATHER PATTERNS ARE INCREASINGLY ABNORMAL.
NEW YORK - This has been an atypical winter for Tompkins County. Maple syrup makers were tapping trees in January, almost a month earlier than usual. At Cornell Plantations, the lack of snow cover and temperature swings have left horticulturists fretting over the health of trees and shrubs. Around the county, casual observers and those who depend on the weather for their livelihood are all watching weather developments closely. But none can say with certainty what the unusual weather means for animals, plants or people. For reasons unbeknownst to forecasters, the jet stream, which serves as the dividing line between cold and warm weather, has settled further north than usual this year. With warmer weather occurring to the south of the jet stream, Ithaca and the surrounding area has been caught in weather patterns that are uncharacteristically warm for this time of year. Bare fields are putting area alfalfa crops at risk. The lack of snow has exposed fields, allowing for a cycle of thawing and freezing that can bring seeds up to the surface only to have them dry out. “This is just not the way things are supposed to happen. [Trees are] not biologically made to deal with this.”
LA NINA - not every La Nina is the same, so weather that may be considered typical for a La Nina doesn't always happen. This La Nina is already UNUSUAL because of its late start. "Typically, La Nina does have a tendency for producing some severe weather in the springtime conditions. There is a tendency with La Nina to have more tornadoes, more hurricanes."
YO-YO WEATHER -
2/23 -
TEXAS - The temperature plunges last week and in early December are the two largest swings recorded at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport since the winter of 1995-96. Back then, like this winter, the high temperatures fell more than 30 degrees over two days on two occasions. Those swings are also AMONG THE GREATEST WHEN COMPARING ONE DAY'S HIGH WITH THE NEXT DAY'S LOW. Bone-dry ground then and now is the most likely explanation for the temperature swings. Arid weather makes the parched ground absorb more heat from the air and release it faster. Without some luck, such topsy-turvy conditions could have happened more often. Without significant spring rain, something similar could happen this summer. The region could have more nights in the 60s - rare during North Texas summers - but also more 100-degree-plus days.
2/20 -
CANADA - Lack of snow has forced organizers to change the route of the Yukon Quest sled dog race and end it in Dawson City for the first time in the 23-year-old competition's history.
2/19 -
U.S. - Even by the inflated standards of recent record-warm years, January was a freakish standout, steamrolling the record book with a national average temperature that was nearly 9 degrees above normal. All 48 mainland states, from Maine to California, had warmer-than-average weather, and 41 posted temperatures that were either much higher than average or broke records. “It wasn’t even close - it was the warmest by far. Pretty much the whole country shattered records.” The bizarre January weather is wreaking havoc on many economic indicators, making it a bit hard to tell how strongly the economy is bouncing back from a fourth quarter that was itself dragged down by Hurricane Katrina’s devastation.
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WEEK through 2/19 -
WILDFIRES -
OKLAHOMA - the 16th was another disasterous day of wildfires in Southern Oklahoma. Several highways are shut down, and many were forced to evacuate their homes.

DROUGHT -
SOMALIA - The WORST DROUGHT IN A DECADE has hit Somalia.
SOMALIA - communities in southern and central Somalia are living in searing 40C heat with only three glasses a day per person for drinking, washing and cooking. "The situation is as bad as I can remember. Some people are dying and children are drinking their own urine because there is simply no water available for them to drink." The tiny amount of water available, for which many families have to walk up to 70km to get, is one-twentieth of the daily supply recommended by minimum humanitarian standards.
FRANCE, SPAIN - Scarce rains are stirring fears of a repeat of 2005's severe drought in France and Spain this year, with water reserves already low and falling. The water deficit in much of France was more than 70 percent at the end of January, up from 50 percent at the start of the month. While drought mostly hit southwest France last year, it was now expected to extend to the centre and the north, where some of the largest grain producing regions are located. Spain has had rain in January and February, but not enough to raise water levels significantly. Reserves are at 48 percent of their total capacity. Portugal, by contrast, had heavy rains in the autumn. 83 percent of Portugal was in a state of "weak drought" and 9 percent in "moderate drought".

HEAT -
U.S. - Even by the inflated standards of recent record-warm years, January was a freakish standout, steamrolling the record book with a national average temperature that was nearly 9 degrees above normal. All 48 mainland states, from Maine to California, had warmer-than-average weather, and 41 posted temperatures that were either much higher than average or broke records. “It wasn’t even close - it was the warmest by far. Pretty much the whole country shattered records.” The bizarre January weather is wreaking havoc on many economic indicators, making it a bit hard to tell how strongly the economy is bouncing back from a fourth quarter that was itself dragged down by Hurricane Katrina’s devastation.
GREENLAND'S glaciers are dumping more than twice as much ice into the Atlantic Ocean now as 10 years ago because glaciers are sliding off the land more quickly. This could mean oceans will rise even faster than forecast, and rising surface air temperatures appear to be to blame. Experts agreed this could mean scientists have underestimated how much the sea level will rise in the future as the planet warms.
CALIFORNIA - Farmers are saying that the unseasonably high temperatures are causing a strawberry surplus in fields all over California. Workers are not due for a couple of weeks to pick all the strawberries popping up. Strawberries that arrived in markets this week were not cheap, and finding a ripe one was rare. But that's not going to be a problem anymore. The unusually warm Winter is causing berries to blossom earlier than expected, creating a surplus that is good for consumers, but bad for farmers. A surplus drives down prices, and makes it harder for farmers to sell during a time when strawberries are not in high demand. And too many berries in the stores mean that they are rotting at the packing plant. Only real Winter weather can stop the strawberry surplus. Farmers are hoping for rain and cold weather in the next couple weeks to extend the harvest. This season is a stark difference from last year's, when strawberries were stalled for a few weeks from heavy rain storms drenching the Central Coast.
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WEEK through 2/13 -
WILDFIRES -
2/7 -
AUSTRALIA - Hundreds of firefighters battling a large bushfire burning out of control in southern New South Wales are bracing for a wind change that will endanger a large number of properties. One of Australia's busiest interstate highways, the Hume running between Sydney and Melbourne, is expected to be cut all day. The fire has already destroyed 8500ha of bush and will threaten crops if the expected wind change arrives.
WESTERN U.S. - Wildfires are burning in Colorado, Arizona, California and South Dakota.

DROUGHT -
AUSTRALIA - in parts of western Queensland many kangaroos and native parrots have died from heat stress during the past month. The drought has reduced food and water for animals. "A lot of areas which have never been known to have dried up or not dried up in the last 100 years, have dried up."

THERE IS CRITICAL DROUGHT IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES:
HORN OF AFRICA
BURUNDI
KENYA
DJIBOUTI - 150,000 people [out of a population of 700,000] are seriously affected by the drought. Almost all regions are affected, but the hardest hit areas are the coastal regions, the north and the northwest.
TANZANIA - Tanzania's power company said drought was forcing new power cuts after the water level at one of its main hydroelectric dams fell to its LOWEST LEVEL EVER. "The situation is absolutely critical ... The dams have never been so empty since their construction years ago." Neighbouring Kenya, the region's biggest economy, said on that it could face "massive power rationing" by June if water levels at its crucial Masinga power dam kept falling at their current rate.
WEST AFRICA - Some arid pockets in Niger, Mali, Chad, Mauritania and the Central African Republic are believed to have only just a few months remaining before their crops run out.

HEAT -
Climate change - The surprisingly strong El Niño of 1982-83 showed us what climate change could be like: global, devastating and stealthy. Climate has been changing since the beginning of time, and life adapts by evolution, migration and, recently, technology. There is nothing to fear as long as change happens slowly relative to other changes within human societies. It takes maybe a decade to build and grow a stable business, two decades to raise children. Within just three decades, computers and globalization have transformed the way we work. So, it is safe to assume that any dramatic climate change that happens within 30 years is threatening to individuals as well as societies. The ocean is the prime agent providing short-term variability to the climate system, because of its large mass and thermal inertia.
CALIFORNIA - downtown Sacramento experienced RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES of 72 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday and 73 degrees Thursday, 2/12, burning past the old record of 70 degrees, set on those dates in 1987, 1988 and 1988 again. The warm weather is expected to continue at least into Wednesday. “This is very rare. I remember I was wearing a sweater and a thick jacket at this time last year. It's bizarre.” Plants started blooming ahead of schedule due to a lack of freezing temperatures this winter. Although it's impossible to predict, there are rarely any freezes after the second week of February. A strong high-pressure ridge over the West Coast, pushing storms to the north and “keeping us nice and dry.” A little offshore airflow (opposite of onshore flows like the summertime Delta breeze) is keeping away the fog that usually settles into the Central Valley this time of year. The annual rain total, tallied from July 1 to June 30, is 13.9 inches so far - 112 percent of normal in the Sacramento area. Although the rain total is above normal now, precipitation in the next month or so will determine whether that remains so.
CLIMATE CHANGE - A rebellion at NASA is highlighting a shift in the debate over climate change, "a shift which leaves the Bush administration looking like religious obscurantists and indigenous prophets looking like the best scientists". This debate has been running for at least a generation, and it might be the most important issue of the generation; but the latest round came to light at the end of January with charges that NASA officials had tried to silence their most prominent expert on climate change. This revelation has been followed by a flood of other NASA employees charging political interference with scientific information.
2/9 -
Scientists have known for a very long time that moose are quite sensitive to temperature. The animal will actually pant when the temperature gets above 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Minnesota has two herds: the northeast and the northwest. The northwest herd is in serious trouble. "It used to be probably the largest, most productive herd in the state." But the population just "crashed." There were four-thousand moose here in the late eighties. Today there are 250. The rate of pregnancy here is low - half of what's normal. And moose are dying here - faster - than normal. Increased temperatures cause a lot of extra stress on the animal. Specifically, these moose are dying from parasites: brain worms and liver flukes. It appears the parasites "caused those individual moose to starve to death." That's "really contrary to what parasites are supposed to do." Parasites are not supposed to kill the animal. The moose are dying in greatest numbers within a year of a very hot summer. In Northwest Minnesota, where the moose are dying, the growing season has increased 39 days in the last 41 years. Record dew-points make it feel even hotter. "In the summer of 2005 we had dew points in the 80's. This is like Bombay, India. It's not like Minneapolis/St Paul!" Precipitation is up here 20 percent in the last century. Even Minnesota's great pine forest is at risk because of the kinds of trees scientists see coming up underneath it. They are the type of trees usually found growing much farther south. The mating season of the grouse is now earlier, and the range of wild turkeys, raccoons, opossums and skunks is expanding. They are animals that could not survive so far north before. Warmer water is causing larger walleye to grow more slowly. It is also believed to be impacting reproduction. Major scientific organizations around the world believe the planet will warm another 4-10 degrees by the end of the century. Minnesota would be at the high end of that range. Ten degrees would be stunning. Minnesota would "feel" more like Illinois in the wintertime with temperatures on average, 6-12 degrees warmer. And summer here would average about four to eight degrees warmer.
CALIFORNIA - global warming is likely to change river flows in ways that may result in both increased winter flood risk and summer water shortages — even within the same year.
2/8 -
VERMONT - Nature is topsy-turvy in Vermont after six weeks of springtime in the heart of winter. All the warm weather since late December has been disconcerting: Lake Champlain water is at a high level commonly seen during and after the spring thaw, but never before in February. Severe spring lake flooding is not likely because mountain snowpack is well below normal, limiting the amount of water that will flow into the lake. Day lilies are coming up; red-winged blackbirds and great blue herons patrol Vermont's wetlands; and the ground is mostly unfrozen, all typical of early April, not early February. A measure of how bizarre this winter has been was the report of a loon on Lake Willoughby in Vermont's cold Northeast Kingdom. "That blew me away." Loons are spotted from time to time on Lake Champlain during January, but not on inland lakes like Willoughby, which tend to freeze over. Loons need open water. Weather extremes, hot and cold, dry and wet, seem much more frequent. "The weather has always been weird, but look at the frequency of record setting events. Every species is going to get hammered if you keep getting this unpredictable series of weather extremes."
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WEEK through 2/6 -
WILDFIRES -
ARIZONA - This has been the MOST FIRE-PRONE JANUARY IN THE PAST 10 YEARS OF DROUGHT.
SOUTH AFRICA - A big bushfire was burning out of control in the Gansbaai area on January 31. The blaze was threatening several towns including De Kelders and Baardskeerdersbos. "Several farm houses and holiday resorts are also threatened."
AUSTRALIA - Hundreds of firefighters battling a large bushfire burning out of control in southern New South Wales are bracing for a wind change that will endanger a large number of properties. One of Australia's busiest interstate highways, the Hume running between Sydney and Melbourne, is expected to be cut all day. The fire has already destroyed 8500ha of bush and will threaten crops if the expected wind change arrives.

DROUGHT -
UNITED KINGDOM - the incredible drought threatens millions and COULD BE THE WORST IN OVER 80 YEARS. Bewl Reservoir is at its LOWEST SINCE IT WAS BUILT IN 1976, when Britain’s rivers and reservoirs went thirsty in the driest 16 months on record. January was ONE OF THE DRIEST ON RECORD, especially in central and southern England. November 2004 to January 2006 has been the driest 15-month period including two winters since 1920/1922 — and the second driest on record going back to 1914.
KANSAS - The development of La Nina is forecasting a drought developing in Kansas through at least April. The forecast for continued dry weather is not good news for Kansas farmers, who have battled very dry conditions since 1999 in parts of the state. Already this year, the dry winter has taken a toll on the winter wheat crop and forced ranchers to provide supplemental feed for cattle. "Unfortunately for Kansas, it looks like this is going to continue for a while. We're already pushing extreme drought in southeast Kansas and conditions are getting worse by the day in central Kansas."
TEXAS - Lubbock has gone 96 days without measurable rainfall, the LONGEST STREAK SINCE RECORD-KEEPING BEGAN IN 1911. January's average high temperature of 68.3 degrees BROKE AN 83-YEAR-OLD RECORD, well above the normal high of 54.1 degrees. January was above normal in precipitation, including a RECORD RAIN for the 28th of January when 1.59 inches fell at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Before the rains came January 22, North Texas experienced ONE OF ITS DRIEST 12-MONTH PERIODS EVER. They haven't had a drought of this severity SINCE THE 1950s. Phoenix, Arizona has gone 106 days without rain, ALSO A RECORD.

HEAT -
U.S. - This year, we saw January average temperatures of 5-16 degrees warmer than average over most of America. This is a RARE PATTERN INDEED. Usually when one part of the United States, such as the East Coast, experiences unusually warm weather, some other region, such as the Rocky Mountain states, encounters unusually cold temperatures. This has to do with the natural “wiggles” of the jet stream that change from one month to the next. The pattern we’re seeing so far this year, however, where the entire nation is unusually warm, occurs only when the entire jet stream has migrated far north from its usual position. The unusual temperature pattern we’ve seen this January is similar to the kind of pattern that models predict will be normal in just a few decades, given the current trend.
Scientists fear UNUSUAL WEATHER behind massive seabird die-off. Last year's freak weather, together with changes in ocean current behavior, may have been an advance signal of climate change with decidedly unpretty results for coastal ecosystems, particularly for birds. By summer of 2005, food was so scare that murres starved to death by the thousands on the Olympic Coast, while Washington's colonies of glaucous-winged gulls produced less than 1 percent of their annual chick numbers. Up and down the West Coast, from Vancouver Island to central California, researchers reported bizarre ocean conditions, bird die-offs (WITH NO COMPARABLE EVENT IN HISTORICAL RECORDS), and extremely low stocks of some key fish. It's possible that last summer's ecological catastrophe was just a freak alignment of several weather factors, but there's increasing evidence that it bears the fingerprints of climate change.
CANADA - Lack of snow has forced organizers to change the route of the Yukon Quest sled dog race and end it in Dawson City for the first time in the 23-year-old competition's history.
2/5 -
Scientists said on Monday the world had to halt greenhouse gas emissions and reverse them within two decades or watch the planet spiralling towards destruction. Even a rise of three degrees in average global temperature could result in cataclysmic species loss, melting polar icecaps raising sea levels by many meters, and wholesale famine and disease. Two major glaciers in Greenland have recently begun to flow and break up more quickly under the onslaught of global warming, according to a new study which has raised the spectre of millions drowning from rising sea levels. The glaciers have doubled their rate of flow to the ocean over the past two years after steady movement during the 1990s. This spurt meant that current environmental models of the rate of retreat of Greenland's giant ice sheet – which could add seven metres to the height of the world's oceans if it disappears – had underestimated the problem. "It seems likely that other Greenland outlets will undergo similar changes, which would impact the mass balance of the ice sheet more rapidly than predicted." The fact that the two major outflow glaciers have shown the same sudden acceleration despite being more than 300km apart suggested the cause was not local but more likely climatic or oceanic in origin. Greenland is only part of the picture, and there is also evidence of local warming and melting on the giant Western Antarctic ice sheet.
2/3 -
U.S. - Buttercups have been blooming in Montana. In Ohio, an ice-free Lake Erie allowed an early start to seasonal ferry service. And the sap started running early in Vermont. The current warmth is caused by the UNUSUAL POSITION of the jet stream, the high-altitude river of air that flows west-to-east across North America. It divides warm air from cold, with colder temperatures to its north and warmer temperatures to its south. Usually in the winter, it follows a lazy zigzag across the United States and Canada, allowing cold air into the U.S. where it dips south. But for the past month or so, it has instead flowed east in almost a straight line across the northern part of the country, basically forming a fence that has kept cold air out and allowed in milder air masses from the Pacific Ocean instead. Over the coming week the jet stream is expected to return to its usual wavy pattern, bringing cold air to the eastern U.S. once again.
INDIA - Barring extreme south peninsular India, most parts have been experiencing warmer than normal day and night temperatures. The sheer scale and extent of the warming anomaly is UNPRECEDENTED FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. The daytime maximums have been above normal by one to six degrees Celsius. Both day and night temperatures have risen in tandem. The anomaly is being attributed to the strange behaviour of the extra-tropical westerly systems (western disturbances) heading into northwest India. The last such system impacted the region around January 27 but was followed by a large westerly trough that has refused to leave the scene till date. This, in association with the seasonal anti-cyclone, has since affected the prevailing wind pattern in north and central India. Dry west-southwesterly winds from Rajasthan have been sweeping Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, while warm winds from the east and the northeast have been walloping central and north peninsular India. The trend may start changing today as a northwesterly wind flow will bring down both day and night temperatures by three to five degrees Celsius over northwest and central India. A fresh western disturbance may start affecting the northwest by Tuesday.
2/2 -
PENNSYLVANIA - Philadelphia basked in its ninth warmest January, with temperatures averaging 40.7, about eight degrees above normal. Some private forecasters see signs of winter returning to exact its price before the end of February. But the federal government and history argue otherwise. None of the other Januaries in the hot top 10 was followed by an unusually cold February. Last month's warmth was surprising, given the cold that characterized most of December. Only seven times in the 135-year record has an unusually warm January followed an abnormally cold December. Bismarck, N.D., set a January record with temperatures 17 degrees above average. Not once did the temperature there dip to 0, which "HAS NEVER HAPPENED" BEFORE IN JANUARY. The planet's average temperature remains nearly constant. So if it is unusually warm in one part of the world, it has to be unusually cold somewhere else. It has been - as nearby as Canada and as far away as New Delhi, which had its first frost in 70 years. In China, a snowstorm killed thousands of livestock. Snows of 13 feet were reported in Japan. And in Moscow, the winter has been brutal, even by Russian standards. "Moscow looks very strange these days. The sun shines brightly, and just a handful of passers-by and cars can be seen in the streets." Some forecasters say it's just a matter of time before cold air in Siberia and Canada breaks loose and ices the Northeast. That could happen within two weeks. A cold spell could last up to five weeks. All last month, mild winds from the Pacific blew across the country. Theories are that those west-to-east winds have been tied to a lull in sunspots and an equatorial wind pattern high in the atmosphere known as the quasi-biennial oscillation. The winds change direction in roughly 26-month cycles. They have been in the easterly phase, and still are. That phase, in turn, is correlated with a sudden warming of the stratosphere over the Arctic that took hold in mid-January.
2/1 -
CANADA - Several islands off Nova Scotia are being inundated by thousands of pregnant seals forced to give birth on shore by unusually mild weather that has prevented the Gulf of St. Lawrence from freezing. The warm weather has persisted across the Maritimes for months, reflecting a trend that has left a string of broken weather records across the country. "From time to time we see seals coming onshore to give birth, but the ice conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are EXTREMELY UNUSUAL this year. There's been no cold weather and no ice formed in the gulf." Officials say they haven't seen so many seals onshore since the early 1980s, when mild weather also hindered the formation of the floes. There have been weather anomalies across the country, with ice roads not forming in northern Saskatchewan, Winnipeg getting rain in January, ski hills being idled by a lack of snow and rain drenching Vancouver. "No question about it, this is ONE OF THE WARMEST JANUARYS ON RECORD." "When you have this incredibly anomalous weather conditions, there are winners and losers. It's unnatural in a way - nature is confused and there are probably some tragedies unfolding because of that."
TORONTO - this has been the WARMEST JANUARY in Toronto since record-keeping began in 1937.
NEW YORK - January 30th the temperature zoomed to a springlike high of 64 degrees, ECLIPSING A 59-YEAR-OLD RECORD for the day, as one of the warmest Januarys on record winds down. New Yorkers may like the wacky weather, but elsewhere in the country, the strange climate is causing serious problems. Phoenix has gone 103 consecutive days without rain, Seattle has had rain daily for weeks on end, and the South is still recovering from four deadly hurricanes. The warm stretch has local meteorologists baffled, especially after three winters of more than 40 inches of snow. "Most of the storm tracks have been staying north and most of the cold air is staying in Canada." The New York area finished the month with an average temperature of 40 degrees and change, the fourth warmest January on record.
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1/31 -
The huge west Antarctic ice sheet may be starting to disintegrate according to a new report by the British Antarctica Survey. If that is the case, sea levels could go up by several metres. The government-commissioned report warns that over the next century, global warming may raise ocean levels, intensify storms, and spread disease. The report comes as most parts of Canada are experiencing ONE OF THE WARMEST WINTERS ON RECORD, with average temperatures above seasonal norms, in some cases by as much as 10 degrees.
UNITED KINGDOM - BRITAIN is facing its WORST DROUGHT FOR 75 YEARS after ONE OF THE DRIEST JANUARIES ON RECORD. Scientists say that it will be worse than the great drought of 1976. Most of England and Wales has had less than half the normal rainfall so far this month, after 15 months of meagre rains in southern and eastern regions. Several rivers are approaching their LOWEST EVER FLOWS and groundwater levels in Southeast England are so low that several boreholes are near or at THEIR LOWEST RECORDED LEVEL. In the South East, rivers in the region are running below half their normal levels for January, and reservoir levels are below 40 per cent of capacity.
NORTH DAKOTA & MINNESOTA - WARMEST JANUARY EVER RECORDED IN 115 YEARS. January will go down in the record books as the WARMEST in the Fargo-Moorhead area SINCE RECORD-KEEPING BEGAN IN 1881. The same goes for Grand Forks and Bismarck in North Dakota and St. Cloud and the Twin Cities in Minnesota. As of Monday, January’s average daily temperature in Fargo was 23.3 degrees – 16.6 degrees above the 30-year average and nearly two degrees above the record 21.8 degrees set in 1990. During the entire month of January, North Dakota’s Lisbon never saw the temperature fall below zero, and that hasn’t happened in the history of record keeping there. And yet the month was extremely cloudy.
PORTUGAL will be one of the hardest hit by global warming in Europe in coming decades. Portugal's south risks turning into a desert as temperatures rise, its coasts will erode and droughts will become more frequent. Freak weather has already hit west Europe's poorest country. Last year Portugal recorded its WORST DROUGHT SINCE 1931 while this weekend snow fell in Lisbon for the FIRST TIME IN DECADES. Last year's forest fires destroyed 325,226 hectares (803,600 acres), the SECOND WORST IN HISTORY. Rainfall could decrease between 20 and 40 percent over the next 100 years, mostly because of increased concentration of rainfall during the winter months, which could cause floods. Predictions are of an increase in storms, including the possibility of storm surges of up to one meter at some points along Portugal's coast. That could raise the rate of coastal erosion by between 15 and 25 percent by the end of the century. Apart from increased risk of forest fires, forests in dry areas such as the central Alentejo region could disappear altogether.
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WILDFIRES -
1/27 -
SOUTH AFRICA - An elderly woman has been killed in South Africa in a bush fire raging out of control on Cape Town's landmark Table Mountain. The flames are being fanned by strong winds. Thick smoke has engulfed the centre of the city as the fire spreads rapidly across the lower slopes. Firefighters are struggling to contain the blaze and a number of hikers are trapped on nearby Signal Hill. Helicopters dropping water are hampered by the winds and poor visibility. People living nearby have been fleeing their homes as the flames advance. This is the latest in a series of bush fires caused by dry conditions in the Cape Town area in recent weeks. More photos.
INDIA - Kolkata: The Army has been called in to assist the Sikkim's forest authorities to fight wildfires that have ravaged wide swathes of grassland at altitudes over 8,000 feet in the North District. Similar fires had broken out in the three other districts of Sikkim - West, South and East Districts - early this month. "The State is undergoing an unprecedented drought this winter and the inflammatory potentials of the forest floor have increased several folds with the grasslands becoming virtual tinder-boxes."
AUSTRALIA - Lightning strikes are blamed for two spot fires burning alongside the massive Grampians bushfire, which has now claimed more than 125,000 hectares in Victoria's west. The blaze continues to burn out of control despite intense efforts. "Thunderstorms in the area have made weather conditions unpredictable as well as increasing the likelihood of new fires through lightning strikes." The perimeter of the fire spans 350km, and has claimed 24 homes while 67 farms have lost stock including more than 60,000 sheep and 500 cattle. Meanwhile, in Victoria's east, the Erica-Moondarra fire is also entering into an unpredictable phase. "If thunderstorms develop then erratic wind behaviour is also likely." The fire has blacked out more than 14,500 hectares of bushland and it continues to threaten eight communities.
1/25 -
AUSTRALIA - Firefighters are trying to secure several Victorian towns from raging bushfires before extreme weather grips the state again later this week. North-westerly winds are expected today with temperatures reaching 40C by Thursday. "We're very worried about it when the wind comes in from the north on Thursday, we're worried about the [water] catchments. If the Melbourne catchments burn, Melbourne will have a water shortage problem." Mud and silt left by a fire would clog water filtration systems.
1/23 -
AUSTRALIA - Firefighters are battling bushfires across four states this morning, with at least seven homes lost in Victoria as flames razed thousands of hectares in 40C conditions over the weekend. Police have found two bodies in a burnt-out area of the Grampians. A wind drop and cooler temperatures will aid firefighting efforts today.
1/17 -
OKLAHOMA - Extremely dry and windy conditions have the the entire state under a red flag fire warning. Since Nov. 1, more than 363,000 acres, 220 structures and four deaths in Oklahoma have been attributed to wildfires.
COLORADO - Colorado weather has been locked into a storm track for three weeks now. The same system that has led to 23 straight days of rain in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest has dropped down to the northern Colorado mountains, where it has dumped snow. But instead of continuing south, as such storms normally progress, these have taken an eastward track. "The southern mountains are very below average for snow." In the northern mountains, snow has been falling steadily, piling up into an above-average snowpack. But to the south, it's been nothing but "blow winds blow" over a tinder dry landscape that has resulted in an UNUSUAL SERIES of winter wildfires. January has also been a bit windier than usual. The average wind speed has been 11 to 12 miles per hour, compared to the usual average of 9 mph.

DROUGHT -
TEXAS - Drought is a slow motion disaster — it's a slow and creeping death for plant and animal life and potentially for the agricultural industry. Each day without rainfall deepens the crisis for the farm and ranch families of Texas. The killer drought is squeezing the life out of Texas agriculture. The fires have been graphic evidence of the drought, but the burning countryside is only one symptom of this growing catastrophe. Here in the Lone Star State, the economic impact of the drought will more than match the effects of Hurricane Rita, the category five storm that hit the Gulf Coast.
TEXAS - Texas remains in the grips of a drought, the wildfire danger remains high, and the conditions are having an effect on local wildlife. The dry conditions could affect reproduction rates and could totally displace some species if they continue. "I don't know if we are in a super-crisis right now, but I think if we go into a second year on this, we could see some wide-ranging effects." Some residents may already have noticed the displacement of some species. "I'd worry most about the organisms that are moisture dependant in their habitats, things like salamanders and some amphibians if ponds are drying up. It could be a very bad reproductive year." Some species thrive in the dry conditions, however, including some insects. "When you have a few years of very below average rainfall, the trees get stressed and dry up. They become much more prone to insect outbreaks." The need for food and water may cause some species to become more aggressive. "I think we will see more animals coming into the rural communities, searching for water sources, like when people water their lawns."
TEXAS - the drought conditions that have led to the wildfires aren't likely to go away at least until spring. And there's little hope of a dramatic change anytime soon. "I think the weather you're seeing in Texas is VERY UNUSUAL. You would have to go back to the '50s to see the kind of dryness you're seeing. I don't think we've seen anything like this in a generation." The dry weather that has fueled wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma stretches all the way to Southern California, but Texas and Oklahoma have got the winds that can really make these fires go. Forecasters can't predict how long these conditions will continue or even say why they're happening. "This is just the way Mother Nature works. Right now, we're just stuck in this pattern." The unusual weather has prompted some strange events in other states too. Wildfires have been reported as far east as Mississippi and as far north as Colorado. "Once we get into mid-February, the problem will probably widen into southern New Mexico and Arizona, but until then the focus will be concentrated on almost all of Oklahoma and most of Texas."

ARIZONA - A year after storm-swollen rivers filled reservoirs and sent water gushing down the lower Salt and Gila rivers for the first time in decades, Arizona is drying up again. The state's mountains are virtually bare, with snowpack conditions worse than they were at the same time in 2002, a year that set records as one of the driest in five centuries. There is no snow at most measuring stations. "It's pretty significant. We're usually building snowpack by Thanksgiving, and now here we are in January." So far, snowpack on the Salt and Verde watersheds is the SMALLEST SINCE 1966. Warm weather is sucking moisture from forests and ranges, ratcheting up the risk of wildfire. Rural areas are bracing for water shortages by early summer if rains don't come. What the experts don't know yet is if winter is just late - very, very late - or if last year was a wet blip on a long-term drought entering its 11th year. But if winter is late, it will have a lot of catching up to do: January and February typically bring much of the snow needed to refill reservoirs and keep rivers and forests healthy. The culprit so far is a stubborn weather pattern that steers every storm north of Arizona. Some experts are already predicting one of the worst wildfire seasons in years, fearing a lethal combination of drying trees and dried-out grass and shrubs. The warm weather is actually stimulating some trees to start the photosynthesis process during a time they should be dormant. Forecasters are predicting warm, dry conditions for the next two or three months, but climate experts admit they can't explain what's causing the dry-up. Cooler ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific suggest a La Niña pattern, which almost always means less rain and snow in Arizona. Other climatologists are looking at temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, which has emerged in some studies as a new influence on weather in the West. "This winter is a bit of a puzzle. What's happening so far is pretty astonishing. We're watching this movie to see how it turns out like everyone else."
MISSOURI - Springfield is on course to record the city's second warmest January in the past century as much of the Ozarks sinks deeper into drought.
ARIZONA - No precipitation has fallen in Phoenix since Oct. 18 — a RECORDBREAKING 102 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITHOUT A TRACE OF RAIN. “We’re re-entering this long-term drought we’ve been in the last seven years.” The Valley’s precipitation total of 46 inches since the beginning of 1999 is about 20 percent below normal.
1/17 -
ARKANSAS - the low lake levels for the Twin Lakes Area are a matter of concern. Areas generally threatened by rising lake levels this time of year and in early spring now are yards from the shoreline. At Robinson Point on Norfork Lake, you almost can wade to the island out from the swim area, which now has much more beach than it's ever had. In fact, there are other islands — or sandbars, if you prefer — popping up as these former hilltops rise above the lake for the first time in years. There are a few spots where it's now not hard to imagine lake points joining together to form a barrier across the lake. Today, what used to be several feet under water is now the shoreline. The lakes have fallen before, but for most people living here now these are THE LOWEST LEVELS THEY'VE EVER SEEN, and naturally there are questions. "Is this a more extreme part of a regular cycle in which the lakes rise and fall? Remember, a few years ago the lakes inundated many of the parks along their shores for most of the year. Is this just a year when we've gotten the opposite side of the coin? Or is this a preview of things to come, maybe a new, harsher cycle? Could this be part of a climatic change? It's enough to make one wonder if this is an indication of the effects of global warming. Notice all the unusual weather across the country, the warmer-than-usual temperatures, and the drier conditions through much of America while other areas have been soaked more than normal."

AFRICA - Following years of unpredictable weather patterns, the 14-member Southern African Development Community has now raised the role of information sharing and knowledge management to a higher pedestal. Climatic conditions have not been sympathetic to the SADC region. The past few years have seen countries going through sustained dry periods followed by one or two seasons with too much rain and flooding in low-lying areas.
KENYA - Rare zebras are being killed by anthrax amid the WORST DROUGHT IN 22 YEARS.

HEAT -
AUSTRALIA - South Australia's WORST HEATWAVE IN SIX DECADES blacked out 63,000 households.
Carbon dioxide levels are now 27 percent higher than at any point in the last 650,000 years.
WISCONSIN - Appleton - Friday temperatures soared to a RECORD 51 DEGREES for Jan. 27, a full 27 degrees higher than normal. The previous record for the day was 43 degrees set in 1947. "We tied that by 8 a.m."
CANADA - BRITISH COLUMBIA - Wednesday's temperature has set a RECORD HIGH, climbing to 8 degrees Celsius. That breaks the record of 6.9 degrees set 13 years ago in 1996. The record low for January 25th in Prince George was -45.6 degrees Celsius, recorded back in 1950.
ALBERTA was Canada's hot spot for Jan. 25. The thermometer climbed past the forecast temperature to BREAK THE 1938 RECORD HIGH of 7.7 degrees C.
CANADA - Folklore may record 2006 as the year spring arrived in January in Nova Scotia. Just don’t count on it lasting into April. For days now, people have been choosing sneakers over boots and raincoats over parkas. Umbrellas, rather than scarves and gloves, are the key accessory as temperatures pass the normal high of 0C and keep going. The unseasonal-like season has people talking. "Something’s going on." The Arctic air is staying firmly north and mild air spreading east, from British Columbia - where 29 consecutive days of rain is reaching record-breaking levels — to Newfoundland. "This is going from coast to coast. What you’re seeing out there is not Atlantic air, it’s Pacific air." The temperatures are not record-breaking, just RARE. Some are wondering whether there’s a price to pay for these mild days. "It’s great, but it makes me wonder what July’s going to bring. It could snow."
AUSTRALIA More than 4,000 homes across South Australia were without power yesterday as the state's electricity supply struggles to cope with soaring temperatures.
EXTREME WEATHER is playing havoc with sporting events around Australia. Horse races in Victoria were cancelled following a RECORD HEATWAVE – and the Gold Coast races were called off because it was too wet. Play was also suspended on the outer courts of the Australian Open. Adelaide races were cancelled as the city endured a HEATWAVE NOT EXPERIENCED IN ALMOST 100 YEARS. The city has recorded four continuous days of temperatures over 40. A similar phenomenon was last experienced in 1908.
1/24 -
INDIANA - Although the unusually warm weather has been pleasant this winter, the reason for its cause is unknown to most scientists. Despite the weather's unusual and unpredictable patterns, a graduate teaching assistant for the Indiana State University's science department, has a theory on why this strange weather has been occurring. "Since around Dec. 20, we've had an atypical wind pattern. Most of the time, the wind comes from the northwest in Canada. Now the wind is coming from the Southwest, causing a big difference in temperature." The wind patterns are unique this season. "We sit at the bottom of a trough in the atmosphere. Pressure goes south, and cold air is pulled down with it. "Waves from the atmosphere bring cold weather down to the trough, but this year waves have flattened, flowing parallel to lines of latitude. Therefore, no cold air was pulled down, keeping the air about 10-15 degrees above average." Although scientists know HOW the wind patterns are affecting the weather, there are many theories on WHY it is being affected. "The Pacific Ocean could be influencing wave patterns through persistent high pressure which alters waves in the upper atmosphere affecting the whole world's weather." The whole world is affected by the same weather causing different effects in many parts of the world, despite the connection. Although the weather has been almost spring-like this month, it may not last much longer. "The rest of January's weather won't change. It will stay 10-15 degrees above average. However, February is unpredictable." Despite the constantly changing weather patterns, spring may have a clear outlook. "Just because you have an abnormal season, doesn't mean it will affect other seasons." According to the National Weather Service, the spring and summer forecasts have an equal chance, meaning the weather could be equally above or below average temperatures. [SITE NOTE: The Southwest Wind has historically been known as the 'Plague Wind'. Pazuzu, the demon of the southwest wind is also the Sumero-Assyrian Demon of epidemics.]
MINNESOTA - “It’s been 18 to 20 degrees above average for much of Minnesota.” It has been MINNESOTA'S WARMEST JANUARY SINCE 1944. “This feels like a Kansas January. It’s UTTERLY BIZARRE.” “It’s crazy; there just hasn’t been any precipitation.” Last January, Winona received 12 inches of snow compared with the 0.1 inch received so far this month. The weather is more like what one would expect during late March or early April.
1/22 -
NORTH DAKOTA - "I think we're being lulled in to a false sense of warmer-than-usual weather security. If you haven't had a conversation about the strange weather we've been having this winter, you either don't get out much or you aren't from around here. This is crazy, and for paranoid people like me, a little scary. I keep thinking that we're being lulled into a false sense of warm-winter-weather security and that Mother Nature is going to give us a firm reminder that we still live in the frigid north. And when she does, chances are we won't be prepared."
UNITED KINGDOM - Spring looks set to arrive early in Greater Manchester as Mother Nature gets confused by the changing weather. Daffodils are starting to peep through in some parks and groundsmen in Oldham have already begun mowing the grass. The news comes as experts in phenology, the study of the natural phenomena and climate change, say there have been unseasonal sightings of seven-spot ladybirds across the country. Ladybirds are now waking-up from winter up to two weeks earlier than they did 20 years ago. "Nature's calendar is rapidly changing. With ladybirds emerging already, they are vulnerable to a cold snap that could decimate them and have a knock-on effect on other species later on in the year." There have also been nearly 50 sightings of frogspawn, another indicator of the arrival of spring. Staff had had to cut the grass for the first time ever in the first week of January. " I never would have believed it. It shows how much the climate has changed in 30 years." Temperatures reached an unseasonal 11.9 degrees centigrade in Manchester this week instead of the usual seven degrees.
1/19 -
DELAWARE, NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA - Wild windy weather made its way across the Delaware Valley early Wednesday. The powerful gusts knocked down dozens of trees and powerlines throughout the tri-state area. The blustery weather also brought an UNUSUAL rise in temperatures, with a temperatures as high as 64 degrees recorded early Wednesday.
Global warming - A three-week experiment to resolve the biggest riddle in climate science begins in Australia today. Scientists will use radar, aeroplanes, weather balloons and a ship to study the life cycle of tropical clouds. They are searching for details of how clouds form and carry heat high in the atmosphere. A better understanding of these crucial processes should lead to computer models which can predict the extent of global climate warming more accurately.

1/18 -
CANADA - the recent warm weather has been atypical because it has spanned the country, with weather patterns flowing west to east. "It's almost like it's a national chinook." The weather's rapid see-saw motion in recent days has made even more apparent how irregular this winter has seemed. It started with spring-like temperatures late last week, before the mercury quickly plunged to a more Nordic winter cold on Saturday. Early Monday morning the low in Brockville was -20 C, while the normal value for this time of year is -14 C. There have been no record highs or lows set in this area, but the consistency of the colder and warmer temperatures has been UNUSUAL. The first three weeks of December were colder than usual in southern and eastern Ontario. "People were really beside themselves. We had just come through the warmest fall on record (in Ontario), the warmest summer on record." The irony is that, with the actual start of winter, that Arctic air gave way to warmer weather. Since December 21, temperatures in southern and eastern Ontario have generally been four or five degrees warmer than normal. The Arctic air was "penned up" in the north, spinning around and hitting Europe. A northern weather system known as the Aleutian Low, has been more intense and extensive this year and has helped to keep the Arctic weather up north. Meanwhile, the jet stream that normally occurs south of here has been more or less in their latitude. Environment Canada is now calling for warmer than normal weather in southern and eastern Ontario for the next 30 days. The experts aren't predicting any more of the sustained warm weather, but rather, on the whole, more milder days than cold days.
WINNIPEG - The recent three-week spell of balmy weather has SHATTERED WINNIPEG RECORDS, with night temperatures averaging 16.9 C warmer than usual for this time of winter. The 21 days of warm weather since Dec. 22 are the WARMEST SUCH INTERVAL RECORDED FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR SINCE RECORDS BEGAN 134 years ago. "I was quite amazed at the level of warmth in the last three weeks. It’s really remarkable. What we’ve seen is EXCEPTIONALLY UNUSUAL.”
"STRANGE GOINGS ON METEOROLOGICALLY SPEAKING" - Amongst these strange happenings: unseasonably warm temperatures in New York (the trees are so confused they have already started budding), record rainfall in the Northwest, the extreme heat and drought that has led to hundreds of wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma, and freak ocean tornados forming off the Florida Coast. Not to mention the extreme snowfalls in Japan and China. An NBC weather expert offered this head-scratching assessment: "I wouldn't say that this is a long-term pattern that we're stuck in. It's just - it's Mother Nature, and it's just how it's working in the beginning of January."
By as early as the mid-21st Century, the tourism industry could be changed forever by global warming. The World Tourism Organisation has issued a wake-up call to the tourism industry to start long-term planning, and in the meantime travel exhibitions are staging debates on recovering from disasters and starting to look at the wider picture.
YIKES! -
Climate change will kill billions of people this century as the Earth warms, passing into a "fever" phase from which it may take 100,000 years to recover. James Lovelock's Gaia theory, advanced in the 1970s, sees the Earth behaving like a self-sustaining organism, with a control system that keeps the environment fit for life. "We but it took more than 100,000 years. We are responsible and will suffer the consequences...Before this century is over billions of us will die and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the Arctic where the climate remains tolerable."
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WILDFIRES -
AUSTRALIA - More than 10,000 firefighters in southern Australia are battling wildfires that have been blamed for the deaths of thousands of livestock as well as three people.
Wildfires raged across southern Australia on Monday, and a firefighter was killed as a fire truck overturned speeding to a blaze.

DROUGHT -
TEXAS - Some are calling the state's drought worse than in the 1950s. "We're even drier than those records you're hearing about," describing the worst drought he has witnessed in his 43 years in the cattle business.
TEXAS - The levels of some North Texas lakes have dropped by as much as 15 feet as the drought continues to tighten its grip on the state.
THAILAND - More than 100 villages in three sub-districts of Phichit province are officially suffering from drought.
UGANDA - Meteorologists say the current drought in Uganda is likely to worsen. The drought, which is caused by the convergence of dry winds from the Sahara and the Arabian peninsula, could have a major impact on the country’s agricultural sector. "We expect the temperatures to keep rising upto March, wwen we expect some rains in Kampala." The country recorded near normal to below normal rainfall, but the rainy season ended earlier than normal in mid-November. The rains normally end in mid-December.
ETHIOPIA - Southeastern region ravaged by drought. "We are starting to see more patients come in with drought-related illnesses and signs of severe malnutrition."
SOMALIA - A severe drought in Somalia's western and southern region has pushed 1.7 million people in the anarchic African country deeper into poverty.
Germany's water authorities have measured unusually low water levels in the Rhine during the first weeks of 2006, a period when traditionally the river often bursts its banks. Global warming is the likely cause of chronic water shortages in the river Elbe, and thatthreaten to bring shipping to a standstill along one of the continent's main inland waterways. Rainwater was not filling the Elbe as reliably as it did in the period 1950-1980, and mean temperatures had increased in the region by 1C over the past 50 years. Over the past 30 years there had been an average of 123 days when no rain fell in the Elbe region, whereas during the preceding 30 years, there had been only 85 days without rain.
CYPRUS - Water warning as drought fears rise. The weather year has not kicked off to a good start, with conditions drier and warmer than the norm. In fact during the period October 1 to December 31 the island has suffered a drought, painting a very different picture from a Europe plagued by sub zero temperatures and heavy snowfall during the same period. “The average temperature for December was 2°C higher than normal and rainfall barely reached 21 per cent of the monthly norm; the LOWEST AMOUNT IN THE LAST 10 YEARS."

HEAT -
CANADA - The last time it was close to this warm in Toronto on January 20th was two centuries ago. The mercury downtown hit 12-degrees, BREAKING THE FORMER RECORD of 11.7 degrees set in the year 1840. this January is on pace to go down in history as Toronto's warmest ever.
WISCONSIN - on the 19th the high for Beloit was 53, BREAKING THE RECORD of 51 previously set in 1921. South of the state line also saw record-breaking highs Thursday. Rockford passed its record high of 52, set in 1933, by one degree.
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WEEK through 1/16 -
WILDFIRES -
TEXAS - Even though it is January, drought conditions contributed to several wildfires attacking North Texas fields late Friday afternoon. The fires this season have been SO EXTREME that firefighters from all over the country are saying they’ve NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
TEXAS - the Director of the Texas Forest Service says this winter's fire season is the worst he's seen in nearly 10 years since he became state forester in 1996. In the first five days of 2006, 191,806 acres have burned in Texas, which are more acres than all of 2005. “Current fire threat conditions are so extreme that almost any wildfire has the potential to exceed local control at this point.”
OKLAHOMA - is still under a threat of more wildfires and officials are asking for more help.
AUSTRALIA - landowners are on high alert as a large bushfire continues to burn out of control in a rugged national park in New South Wale's central-west. Firefighters were preparing for possible flare-ups as gusty winds looked set to fan the blaze in the Weddin Mountains National Park.
AUSTRALIA - Dozens of residents were forced to flee their homes as wildfires raged out of control in sweltering Australia on Sunday. Bushfires have destroyed more than a dozen homes in south-eastern Australia, and threaten hundreds more. Strong winds and very high temperatures have conspired to push giant walls of flames towards some communities. An ambulance worker died after helping residents escape to an evacuation centre, as temperatures soared to 47C. Many roads became impassable, and for some families the only means of escape was by boat. A cold front has brought relief from the scorching conditions, and, with it, some much needed rain. But fires continue to burn across Australia's south-eastern corner - one of the world's most fire-prone regions. Forecasters have predicted that more hot and windy weather is likely in the days ahead.

DROUGHT -
TEXAS - A drought in Texas and Oklahoma, ONE OF THE WORST IN NEARLY 100 YEARS, has dried up creeks and ponds, depleted pastures, and fueled wildfires. An "unusual" weather pattern is keeping Enid and northwest Oklahoma locked in a cycle of little or no precipitation, and no relief is in the forecast.
SW MISSOURI - drought leaves waterways dry. Creeks, rivers and streams in southwest Missouri are drying up as drought continues, causing problems for paddlers and fish.
AUSTRALIA - Cobar district entered Year 2006 with scorching temperatures, a power outage and a continuation of the worst drought since Federation. Maximum temperatures prior to and on New Year's Day soared to nearly 45 degrees celsius with cloudless skies providing no relief for the parched town and district. The late December-early January heatwave followed nearly four months without any useful rain and a RECORD DECEMBER EVAPORTAION RATE of 451mm (equivalent to the loss of more than 20 inches of rainfall). The overall situation is very dry with hot winds accompanied by extreme temperatures ranging from mid to upper forty degrees celsius. Less than 5mm of rain was recorded for the month of December which followed a very dry October and November. Pastures were rapidly deteriorating due to the hot and windy conditions while surface water storages varied throughout the district.
FRANCE could face a record drought in 2006 after a 50 percent drop in autumn rainfall in some areas and three consecutive dry years.
FRANCE AND SPAIN are ringing alarm bells over the climate, fearing a repeat of last year's drought that sparked deadly forest fires, costly crop failures and widespread water rationing in southern Europe. France's environment minister has said three dry years in a row have left the country facing POSSIBLY RECORD WATER SHORTAAGES this year. Autumn 2005 rainfall was 50 percent of the average in some parts of the country. Water shortages and soaring temperatures in southern Europe are becoming the norm, and its climate models suggest much of the continent may start to become drier as deserts advance. Fires were a particular problem in Portugal last year, claiming the life of 18 people and destroying 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres) of forest. In Spain, fires also raged last year, special wells had to be dug in the south of the country and crops were decimated.
VIETNAM - forecasters warned of abnormally hot weather and serious droughts for the first half of 2005. The southeastern provinces suffered unusual high temperatures.
BURUNDI - More than 2,500 people have fled Burundi for neighbouring Tanzania since December to escape a drought in the eastern province.

HEAT -
SCOTLAND had its third-warmest year in 2005 since records began and experts believe the effects of climate change are getting more severe.
AUSTRALIA - last month was not only the HOTTEST DECEMBER QUEENSLAND HAS EVER RECORDED – in one town it was the hottest month for 110 years. St George, in the state's far southwest on the border with NSW, sweltered through the month with an average maximum temperature of 40.3C. You would have to go back to the late 19th century to find a sweatier month in the town, whose average December maximum is 36.
AUSTRALIA - the recent Queensland hot spell has been blamed for the mass death of fish on the Gold Coast. Thousands of dead fish were discovered in Robina Lakes and a Clear Island waterway on the 5th. It is believed that UNUSUALLY HIGH WATER TEMPERATURES caused by hot weather during the past few days led to the death of eels, mullet, bream and bass. Many of the dead fish have washed ashore and more fish deaths are expected this weekend.
AUSTRALIA - Melbourne topped off its WARMEST EVER DECEMBER with a RECORD HOT NEW YEAR'S EVE. The temperature peaked at a scorching 42.9 degrees in Melbourne at 5.15pm (AEDT) yesterday, the city's previous hottest December 31 was back in 1862 when the mercury topped 41.7 degrees. Ballarat and Ararat both recorded their highest December temperatures of 41 and 42 degrees respectively. Victoria also set a new RECORD AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR DECEMBER of 27.7 degrees. The previous record was 27.3 in 1873. "It was in fact the WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD."
MELBOURNE'S WEATHER left forecasters in a spin with unexpected northerly winds counteracting a cool southerly change and sending temperatures soaring. The Melbourne weather bureau had predicted a maximum temperature of 42 degrees Celsius but downgraded the forecast earlier to 33 degrees when a southerly sea breeze hit the city shortly after 10am. But conditions changed rapidly in the afternoon when the winds swung 180 degrees and the temperatures soared to 43.5 degrees by 4.55pm (AEDT). "It's relatively UNUSUAL to be as complicated as this around the Melbourne area."
LOUISIANA - Is it irony or simply an interesting coincidence that in a year when two hurricanes washed away much of south Louisiana, northwest Louisiana is logging its 14th driest year ever? The National Weather Service expects low rainfall to continue through the first quarter of 2006.
PENNSYLVANIA - Western Pennsylvania natives were treated to extremely unseasonal weather on Friday as temperatures soared into the 60s.
NEBRASKA - Friday was the 25th-straight day of above-normal temperatures in Omaha. The last time Nebraska experienced a longer streak was in November 2000. In December 1999, there was a 42-day streak of warmer-than-normal weather. The unseasonable weather isn't concentrated in Nebraska and Iowa. Nearly the entire nation is seeing weather that is odd for January. New Yorkers stripped down to shirtsleeves Friday as temperatures flirted with 50 degrees. Northern Colorado is receiving massive snowfall, while the southern portion of the state has wildfires due to dry conditions. Arizona is also worried about wildfires. Phoenix hasn't had a single drop of rain since Oct. 18.
INDIANA - Thursday, the high temperatures recorded in Marion was 54 degrees, far above typical January temperatures, which usually top out in the 30s. The unusual weather pattern is attributed to the fact that the low-pressure system that in December allowed cold Canadian air to dip south into Indiana has since moved out of the area. "There's been a strong westerly flow that's developed across North America, and what that does is it keeps the cold (air) up in Canada and allows the Pacific air to flow across the country."
Weeks into winter, storms more typical of spring and near record daytime highs have replaced the typical signs of the season. Across parts of Central Indiana, Friday got underway with heavy rain, thunder, lightning and pea-sized hail. "It's unusual that we get thunderstorms in January, but not that unusual. What's a little bit unusual is how long this warm temperature pattern has lasted." Forecasters say it's the subtropical jet stream pushing the polar jet stream to the north that's responsible. So far this season January has come in at some 15 degrees above normal.
CANADA - Yellowknife is basking in their WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. Warmer than usual temperatures have created road closures, ferry delays and flooding dangers throughout the Northwest Territories.
CANADA - Manitoba weather has been nowhere near normal for late December and early January. It's as if southern Manitoba has shifted across the country to either the British Columbia coast or to Toronto. Where normally there are sunny, clear, blue skies over the province, for weeks they have been replaced with cloudy and grey skies. Albeit, the changes have also seen their normally frigid winter weather tossed out in favour of above normal, unseasonal temperatures for close to a month. On Friday, Winnipeg's temperature reached a balmy high of 1.2 C and a low of -6.6 C, well above the normal high of -13 C and low of -23 C. Last month was the 15th warmest December on record in the province since statistics began being kept in 1872. The weather has turned snowmobile trails to mush and left community clubs unable to keep their outdoor rinks frozen."It's because we're getting a westerly flow instead of getting a really strong push from the north." Across the country, Canadians are shaking their heads at the weather. Vancouverites are used to pulling out their umbrellas, but not for 21 straight days of rain. While November to February is that area's rainy season, that many days is not normal. "Day after day after day of rain for three weeks in a row is UNUSUAL, even for here. It's an UNUSUAL STRETCH and it looks like it's going to continue." In the mountains "the freezing level is usually around 1,000 metres, but now it's as high as 1,800 to 2,000 metres." That means the water runs right down, instead of contributing to the snow pack that's important for maintaining high water levels throughout the summer. In Alberta, at a time when many areas should be under snow, officials are already worrying about grass and forest fires before summer. Some rural municipalities are banning burning on farms and acreages in parts of southern Alberta. Ontario and Quebec are getting unusual weather too - residents in those two provinces will be shovelling snow this week in temperatures between -12 C and -5 C.
An Alaskan permafrost expert is casting doubt on predictions from a new computer climate model, which foresees rapid melting in the north over the next century. "Because permafrost is a very inertial system and it will keep lots of cold which has to be removed before it starts to thaw." He says that the scenarios of climate change the researchers used are too extreme. His own research indicates permafrost changes will not be that dramatic.
--------------------------------
WEEK through 1/2/06-

WILDFIRES
AUSTRALIA - Dozens of residents were forced to flee their homes as wildfires raged out of control in sweltering Australia on Sunday. Bushfires have destroyed more than a dozen homes in south-eastern Australia, and threaten hundreds more. Strong winds and very high temperatures have conspired to push giant walls of flames towards some communities. An ambulance worker died after helping residents escape to an evacuation centre, as temperatures soared to 47C. Many roads became impassable, and for some families the only means of escape was by boat. A cold front has brought relief from the scorching conditions, and, with it, some much needed rain. But fires continue to burn across Australia's south-eastern corner - one of the world's most fire-prone regions. Forecasters have predicted that more hot and windy weather is likely in the days ahead.
OKLAHOMA - is still under a threat of more wildfires and officials are asking for more help.
U.S. - Firefighters are searching for bodies after dozens of wildfires raced through Texas and Oklahoma, torching more than 150 buildings and killing at least five people. Wildfires erupted across North Texas Tuesday afternoon as unseasonably high temperatures combined with low humidity and gusty winds.
FLORIDA - Weather increases threat of wildfires. The combination of drought and colder weather is about to usher in a new period: fire season in Southwest Florida.

DROUGHT -
TEXAS - is experiencing the WORST DROUGHT CONDITIONS IN YEARS.
ARIZONA - 2005 closes as another drought year in a dry southwest. Southern Arizona is finishing out 2005 on a dry note, the latest in a string of drought years that has seen below-average rainfall for eight of the past 10 years.
Drought chokes Amazon life - The Amazon River basin, the world's largest rain forest, is grappling with a devastating drought.
SPAIN - braces for second year of drought. Spanish farmers are preparing for losses and the government is taking emergency measures as meteorologists say a drought has entered its second year.
CHINA - Drought shrinks water level of the Yangtze River.
U.S. Drought Monitor: Above Normal Temperatures Expected. Great Lakes Region, and Upper South: Below-normal precipitation was observed across a vast majority of the region, keeping areas of dryness and drought intact.
ARKANSAS - The drought fueling deadly wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma last week has also hit most of Arkansas, prompting burn bans in 48 counties.
LOUISIANA - Is it irony or simply an interesting coincidence that in a year when two hurricanes washed away much of south Louisiana, northwest Louisiana is logging its 14th driest year ever? The National Weather Service expects low rainfall to continue through the first quarter of 2006.

HEAT -
An Alaskan permafrost expert is casting doubt on predictions from a new computer climate model, which foresees rapid melting in the north over the next century. "Because permafrost is a very inertial system and it will keep lots of cold which has to be removed before it starts to thaw." He says that the scenarios of climate change the researchers used are too extreme. His own research indicates permafrost changes will not be that dramatic.
12/30 -
CANADA - About 1,000 people in northern Alberta communities have been cut off from the world after UNUSUALLY WARM weather prompted officials to close the only road through the area. The winter road is usually open from mid-December to mid-March. Temperatures in late December have hovered at or above 0 C, which is 20 to 30 degrees warmer than normal. That is causing some previously frozen sections to melt. Officials couldn't remember a time when the winter road melted so early and so extensively, forcing officials to take the EXTREMELY UNUSUAL step of closing the road at this time of year. "We have had a couple winters where we would have a day or two of above zero, and then it would cool right down. But this stretch has been well over a week now."
AUSTRALIA - Melbourne topped off its WARMEST EVER DECEMBER with a RECORD HOT NEW YEAR'S EVE. The temperature peaked at a scorching 42.9 degrees in Melbourne at 5.15pm (AEDT) yesterday, the city's previous hottest December 31 was back in 1862 when the mercury topped 41.7 degrees. Ballarat and Ararat both recorded their highest December temperatures of 41 and 42 degrees respectively. Victoria also set a new RECORD AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR DECEMBER of 27.7 degrees. The previous record was 27.3 in 1873. "It was in fact the WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD."
MELBOURNE'S WEATHER left forecasters in a spin with unexpected northerly winds counteracting a cool southerly change and sending temperatures soaring. The Melbourne weather bureau had predicted a maximum temperature of 42 degrees Celsius but downgraded the forecast earlier to 33 degrees when a southerly sea breeze hit the city shortly after 10am. But conditions changed rapidly in the afternoon when the winds swung 180 degrees and the temperatures soared to 43.5 degrees by 4.55pm (AEDT). "It's relatively UNUSUAL to be as complicated as this around the Melbourne area."
CANADA - Yellowknife is basking in their WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. Warmer than usual temperatures have created road closures, ferry delays and flooding dangers throughout the Northwest Territories.
KANSAS - Calendar says winter; temperatures say spring But this kind of roller-coaster December weather is not unusual for Kansas.
ARKANSAS - mercury hits 76 in Little Rock. Such dry conditions as they are having are UNUSUAL this time of year.
CANADA - the UNUSUAL warming and unpredictable weather recently witnessed around Cumberland Sound. “We are not in control of the Earth. We don’t know if it’s going to get cold or not.” Inuit have a different way of looking at tides than western science does, based on another understanding of cycles of the moon. In many Pacific island states, rising sea levels are causing chaos. Tides are becoming powerful, swamping large areas, causing beach erosion, and flooding fields and homes. Due to the increasing saltiness of the water, crops die and families go hungry. “Where can we move the people? Climate change has an impact on almost all aspects of our lives. Most of our rural communities are still very dependent on natural resources, such as fisheries, agriculture and forestry. But because of climate change, these resources are becoming scarce.” This year has been the WARMEST ON RECORD IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE. It is the SECOND WARMEST GLOBALLY SINCE THE 1860s, when reliable records began. The warmest was 1998, though the 1998 figure was inflated by strong El Nino conditions. Ocean temperatures recorded in the Northern Hemisphere Atlantic Ocean have also been the HOTTEST ON RECORD. The Northern Hemisphere is warming faster than the south, scientists believe, because a greater proportion of it is land, which responds faster to atmospheric conditions than the ocean. Eight of the 10 warmest years since 1860 have occurred within the last decade.
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WEEK through 12/28/05 -

WILDFIRES
AUSTRALIA - Hundreds of firefighters worked to extinguish more than 20 fires across New South Wales with the Rural Fire Service on high alert as the mercury skyrocketed.
TEXAS - wildfires have ignited throughout North Texas.
OKLAHOMA - wildfires spreading. Dry weather across the state have made conditions excellent for wildfires, with much of the state in a severe drought.

DROUGHT -
SPAIN - Serious drought conditions continue across Spain despite the rain falling recently in parts of the country, and the forecast of snow in many regions.
OKLAHOMA - Near Muskogee, many folks say it's the WORST DROUGHT THEY'VE EVER SEEN IN THEIR LIFETIMES.

HEAT -
Climate change tactic could damage environment - Planting trees to absorb carbon and reduce the threat of climate change could cause a range of new environmental problems, researchers warn.
CALIFORNIA - LA gets white-hot Christmas Eve as temps soar. Many found the weather HIGHLY UNUSUAL for early winter.
CALIFORNIA - Pacific storms are bringing STRANGE WEATHER to San Diego, including a warm holiday weekend.
UTAH - UNUSUAL HIGHS to linger through holiday. Temperatures will be in the low- to mid-50s on Sunday, which has happened only five times since 1897.
UTAH - With just three days to go before Christmas, Utah County experienced RECORD-BREAKING HEAT on the 22nd.
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WEEK through 12/20 -

WILDFIRES
AUSTRALIA - Residents in two areas of South Australia are being urged to seek shelter as firefighters try to control two bushfires they say are threatening public safety. One fire is travelling toward the town of Curramulka, on the state's Yorke Peninsula, and the second is west of Cockaleechie on the Eyre Peninsula.
U.S. - Lack of rain and drought in the Midwest set up conditions for wildfires to scorch 8.5 million acres, mostly in Alaska.
TEXAS - More than 600 acres in Milam County have burned over the last two weeks as dry brush and high winds have provided a haven for grass fires.
South of the Sahara, the annual fire season is underway in northern Africa.

DROUGHT -
ECUADOR - A state of emergency was declared last Friday for different zones in the country that have been affected by drought and frost. Water shortages in Peru, Spain, Mexico.
ISRAEL - an impending drought may force farmers to plough and seed again.
AUSTRALIA - New South Wales may be slowly slipping from the grips of drought but the western areas are still feeling the pinch of one of the worst natural disasters in history.
NEW ZEALAND - Farmers in drought-prone regions on the east coast of the South Island are starting to worry about prolonged dry conditions.

TEXAS - laid claim to the first homegrown US case of mad cow disease this year and faces potentially disastrous drought conditions next year.
When salt marshes are stressed by drought, snails graze by the millions in a feeding frenzy that mows down the living plants.
ARIZONA - Drought conditions concern environmental and health officials in Arizona.
This autumn is ONE OF THE FIVE DRIEST in central Arizona IN ABOUT FOUR DECADES. "It is UNUSUAL that we're still so dry. December is supposed to be one of our wetter months."
IOWA - possible drought in 2006. Dry weather is likely to reduce crop yields in 2006.

HEAT -
UNITED KINGDOM - Scientists predict climate change, largely blamed on global warming, will lead to hotter summers, wetter winters and more freak weather. A warmer Britain will grow sunflowers, sweetcorn and tea.
Polar bears are living on thin ice after record temperatures.
Global warming to persist until 2050 , scientists predict.
Climate, storms hit extremes in 2005.
2005 hottest year ever in Australia.
Ocean gas hydrates could trigger catastrophic climate change. Rapid climate change is of particular concern to scientists because it could significantly impact human agriculture, cause changes in sea levels and flood low areas.
Climate change shock unearthed - Present forecasts of climate change could be seriously underestimated because of huge amounts of carbon pouring out of the earth.
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WEEK through 12/12 -

WILDFIRES
OKLAHOMA - A second person has died as a result of wildfires that recently ravaged the state last month.

DROUGHT -
NEW ZEALAND - South Island rivers are flowing at their LOWEST LEVELS ON RECORD, heightening fears of a summer drought.
AUSTRALIA - Their greatest river is running dry because of a prolonged drought. Scientists fear that years of below-average rainfall in south-east Australia is turning the once mighty Murray river - known as the Australian Mississippi - from a gushing torrent to a trickling stream.
TEXAS - about two-thirds of the state is in drought, with the worst region being Northeast Texas.
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WEEK of 11/30 - 12/7:
WILDFIRES
TEXAS - firefighters have responded to 74 fires burning across more than 17-thousand acres since November 23rd. Ten are large fires affecting nearly eleven-thousand acres.
OKLAHOMA - wildfires, driven by high winds and fueled by drought, raced through eastern Oklahoma Sunday and Monday. With their help, the wildfires were contained, but not extinguished, by Tuesday, the 6th. The fires were reported to have destroyed at least 60 houses and numerous outbuildings, including hay and hay barns, and thousands of acres. And firemen warned that the fire danger is still high. "It is VERY UNUSUAL for this area of the state to have that much wind over such a long time (Saturday through Monday)." The lack of rain is making the fire danger much worse. "I have never seen these creeks this low."

DROUGHT -
U. S. Seasonal Drought Outlook .
US - Southwest.
OKLAHOMA.
VIETNAM - is likely to face a very serious drought in the 2005-06 dry season, which is predicted to be more severe than last season.
AFRICA - "If we compare it against the drought in the 1970s and '80s, the late 21st century looks even drier - a 30-percent reduction in rainfall from the average."
NEW ZEALAND - South Island farmers fear a drought is looming. Crops are wilting, fires have been breaking out and soil moisture is at a level "never seen before".

HEAT -
NEW ZEALAND.
AUSTRALIA - The Queensland government 12/5 issued a heatwave alert for the greater Brisbane area on advice from the weather bureau, which predicted temperatures would reach almost 37 degrees until mid-week.
NEW YORK - An unprecedented array of unpredictable weather has been barraging Binghamton. At 9 degrees Fahrenheit, last Friday was Binghamton’s COLDEST Nov. 25 ON RECORD. Just four days later the temperature rebounded to a RECORD HIGH 63 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the hottest Nov. 29. “Within a span of four days we went from a record low to a record high, which is interesting to say the least."But the entire season has been “topsy-turvey,” with the mercury hitting 70 degrees Fahrenheit in early November - just days after the season’s first bout of snow.
ARCTIC - Heating up and drying out.
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WEEK OF 11/22 -
FIRES -
UTAH - Wildfires burned more acres in Utah this year than during any of the previous five years. Although the amount of scorched acreage increased, the number of wildfires in Utah was lower. And the fires largely were contained to the southwest corner, meaning firefighters did not have to spread their resources far.
OKLAHOMA - High winds on the 28th hampered crews who for a second day battled wildfires that destroyed homes, forced hundreds to evacuate and injured firefighters in parts of Oklahoma and Texas. The strong northwesterly wind, with gusts up to 30 mph, was part of a huge storm system that also produced blizzard conditions on the central and northern Plains. "I've seen winds like this before but not when the fuel conditions were as dry as they are right now." Oklahoma is well below its average rainfall for this time of year and the southeastern portion of the state is experiencing a record-setting drought. Fires burned across 50,000 acres in 15 counties. Most of the grass fires began Sunday as winds gusting to more than 60 mph raked the state.

DROUGHT -
MALAWI - This year's drought is destroying much of what was growing in the fields and last year's harvest too meagre for a surplus. The rainy season starts in November and usually runs to about April, but last year's rains stopped in early February. This year's season has begun, but rainfall has been spotty, and a drought has already been declared in Botswana.

HEAT -
YOSEMITE - Five small mammals have expanded their turf in the park, increasing the upper limits of their ranges by an average of 2,000 vertical feet over the last 70 years. At least two species of small mammals, a chipmunk and a wood rat, have dramatically shrunk the overall size of their ranges, and are now extremely rare in the park. Forests and meadows looked almost the same as they do today. Snow is melting earlier in the spring, and Lyell Glacier, like other glaciers throughout the Sierra, is disappearing. Weather records from Yosemite Valley show a 9 degree Fahrenheit increase in mean minimum temperatures over the past century. Researchers have now collected good data on the effects of climate change on more than 1,500 animal and plant species worldwide. Half those species have clearly shifted upward or northward in recent decades, and two-thirds are breeding earlier in the year. Only a handful are moving to warmer climates, or breeding later.
AUSTRALIA - A climate change expert has warned Australia will be particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change over the next 15 years. "You're seeing a beginning of a redistribution of the way, of the places in which rain falls and where it's drought. A redistribution of where it's hot and where it's cold, more extreme events like the Katrina episode in the United States and other hurricanes as well, and of course a rise in sea levels."
AUSTRALIA - The Great Barrier Reef could be wiped out by global warming in less than 50 years, an expert has warned.
In CANADA the winter season is getting shorter and there are fewer cold days in a row. Many of Europe's lower altitude ski resorts face hard times or even ruin because of rising temperatures. In the Swiss alps, the ski season is nearly two weeks shorter than it was two decades ago. The World Resources Institute, warned in 2002 that the future of the Winter Olympic Games was under threat because of global warming.
Ice probes from the Antarctic show greenhouse gas levels much higher than at any time in the last 650,000 years. "CO2 is about 30% higher than at any time, and methane 130% higher than at any time; and the rates of increase are ABSOLUTELY EXCEPTIONAL: for CO2, 200 times faster than at any time in the last 650,000 years." Other research suggests that sea levels may be rising twice as fast now as in previous centuries.
ALASKA - Several highways have been closed and motorists are being cautioned about driving on others because of the UNUSUAL WEATHER sweeping across the southern Yukon. Freezing rain is causing slippery conditions, even though the temperature is above normal. Even when rain is accompanied by above-average 6-degree temperatures, problems are still caused when the moisture hits the frozen ground and roadways, and then freezes. As unusual as it may be, the current warm trend across the south has not broken any records of consecutive days above zero in the Whitehorse area but has knocked off RECORDS FOR DAYTIME HIGHS. Last Wednesday’s beginning of the warm spell began with a Whitehorse daytime high of 3.8. That edged out the previous record for Nov. 16 of 3.5 set in 1979. Last Thursday’s high of 7.4 shattered the 1957 record of 3.3 and last Friday’s 6.1 tied the record set in 1971. November’s record daytime high for Whitehorse is 11.7, set in 1970. The warm weather is being brought into the Yukon on a system blowing in from the southwest and crossing over to the southeast. Temperatures in Ketza River have reached a high of 14.5 during the current warm front. The high for Thursday is forecast to hit 4. Friday will see a return to normal seasonal temperatures with the onset of a cold front.
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WEEK OF 11/15 -
FIRES -
U.S. - Fire crews are battling two wildfires near Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado. And they're bracing for the possibility that lightning could spark new fires. The trees are so dry that the probability of lightning starting a fire is 100 percent - and any new fires were likely to spread quickly. The news is better in southern Arizona, where heavy rain helped firefighters get a 22-thousand-acre fire about 70 percent contained. In Southern California, a 37-hundred-acre in the hills above Ventura is more than 70 percent contained. But the Santa Ana winds are blowing again, and that could cause new problems for firefighters. 36 large fires were active this past week in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
CALIFORNIA - A wildfire in the windy, hilly and rocky area of Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, had covered about 1,600 hectares of brush by late afternoon on the 18th.

DROUGHT -
Global warming could bring water shortages to one in six people around the world, scientists have warned.
Climate Warming To Shrink Key Water Supplies Around The World.
ZIMBABWE - 100 animals die in drought-stricken Zimbabwe, including elephants which have died due to dehydration.
S.W. U.S. - There were more piñon nuts, but fewer piñon trees this fall - a strange and ill omen for the tough, gnarled pine trees that dominate parts of the Southwest. The recent drought and a beetle epidemic have killed trees across 60,000 square miles, leaving dark and dead piñon pines looming over green junipers. "I don't want to sound too melodramatic, but we're talking about the LOSS OF AN ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM." The piñon trees have survived droughts that were drier than this one. But this drought was hotter (by 3 degrees) , and that seems to have pushed the trees over the edge. Whatever you care about - nuts, animals, using piñon for fuel wood, grazing ...it's going to be impacted for decades."
ALASKA - half of interior Alaska's permafrost could be gone by the end of the century. In some places, the tundra is already crumbling into itself because of the thawing. In other places, suddenly unstable trees are tilting over in "drunken forests" and coastal villages on eroding land are being relocated. "WE THINK THE SYSTEM IS FALLING APART." In the Arctic, climate change - in the form of melting sea ice, shifting vegetation and thawing permafrost - is arriving sooner and more intensely than anywhere else on the planet. But it isn't just the Arctic that's apt to change. An upward shift in global temperatures could have real effects in Montana, Wyoming and the rest of North America, including less water for irrigation, more wildfires, more insect outbreaks, warmer winters, poorer ski conditions, better growing conditions father north, disappearing glaciers and more heat waves.

HEAT -
SWEDEN - Researchers say climate change is affecting Swedish agriculture. Not only is the growing season here longer, many crops can be grown farther north. For example, corn and oilseed rape (canola) can now be cultivated much farther north than previously. But researchers stress that they don’t know the long-term consequences of the changes.
UNITED KINGDOM - DAFFODILS blooming well out of season is an early warning sign climate change is playing havoc with our seasons. In a scene that normally heralds the first signs of spring, these bright golden daffs were photographed near Saundersfoot despite the fact severe frosts have hit many parts of Wales over the past three nights. Usually few daffodils in Wales will flower about March 1. An abnormally warm autumn has also encouraged the trees to keep their leaves. Other phenomena include the later onset of autumn and earlier arrival of spring, the break-up of ice cover in Greenland and the Arctic and rising sea temperatures. Scientists report glaciers receding that have been unchanged since the last ice age 12,000 years ago. One key difference between today's warming and past climatic change is the amount of CO in the atmosphere.
CALIFORNIA - A strong high-pressure system parked over the state brought RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES 11/15 to the the Bay Area and gusts up to 80 mph in the hills. San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Rosa and San Jose all saw records tumble Tuesday, with San Francisco's 79 degrees topping by one degree a record for that date that had stood since Prohibition. San Rafael's 75 tied a record that has been unbroken since Grover Cleveland was president — 1895. And with the heat came wind. Seventy-seven mph atop Mt. Diablo. And power outages after trees toppled into wires. "This is a REALLY STRANGE PATTERN. It's almost like we have our October-type weather here now in the middle of November." They don't expect winter back anytime soon. High pressure will keep even the most resolute rain cloud at bay for at least a week. "This high doesn't even budge."
NEW YORK - It was a day of extremes on the 16th. A record high of 70 degrees was set in the morning. Then temperatures were expected to slide dramatically, hitting the upper 40s by the afternoon and 33 degrees overnight. The thermometer hit 70 degrees at 6 a.m. at the Greater Rochester International Airport. It BROKE A RECORD of 69 degrees set in 1933. The normal high for this time of year is 47 degrees.
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WEEK OF 11/8 -
FIRES -
ALABAMA - is facing a severe risk of wildfires. Since Oct. 1, 460 wildfires have burned 3,340 acres of forest and agricultural land in Alabama.
OHIO - Firefighters are still battling wildfires in the Wayne National Forest.
CALIFORNIA - A red-flag warning, signifying high fire danger, was issued for three Bay Area counties in the unusually dry hills of Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara Monday, the same day that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced the official end of fire season. The warnings were just another quirk in what has been a VERY STRANGE YEAR FOR WEATHER, beginning with the second-rainiest year on record in Southern California. Recent rains that drenched much of the Bay Area missed the East Bay hills and Santa Clara County, where the department's firefighters will remain on high alert at least for the rest of the week. Even during dry years, it is UNUSUAL for fire season to continue in Northern California this late in the fall. It is PARTICULARLY ODD odd this year because mild summer weather and a lack of wind combined to reduce the number of fires. "This weather situation is not unusual, but it is about two to three weeks later than we would normally experience. We would usually see this in October."
TENNESSEE - Local firefighters had their hands full over Veterans Day weekend as falling leaves and dry conditions fueled at least 25 wildfires in the Knoxville area.

DROUGHT -
CHINA - Due to a four-month long ravage of Autumn drought, six big wells, the main sources of drinking water for more than 1,000 villagers of Dahu and Wenchong villages are almost devoid of water.
ENGLAND - Another warning has been made that the South East of England still needs many more months of rainfall before the current drought situation is reversed.
DROUGHT TOLERANT CROPS - Monsanto is identifying and developing genes that enable crops to grow even when water is scarce. The implications for areas with severe drought are obvious, but the technology also would reduce the need for irrigation and conserve fresh water. "Of all the fresh water that's used around the world today, 70% of it goes into farming. The value of water is only going to escalate." "It's a big deal" and would be "a huge competitive advantage."

HEAT -
Climate Change Website - Greenhouse Gas Online.
Dangerous levels of climate change could be reached in just over 20 years if nothing is done to stop global warming, a WWF-UK study claims. At current rates, the Earth will be 2C above pre-industrial levels some time between 2026 and 2060.
MINNESOTA - During the month of October, the average daily temperature in Willmar was 3.3 degrees above normal. The high temperature in October in Willmar was 85 degrees. In the first week of November, the average daily temperature in Willmar was 6.2 degrees above normal. It’s typical to have highs in the 40s and lows around 25 degrees in November, but “not the balmy 50s and 60s we have had.” “Just weird” is how a forecaster in Chanhassen described the long stretch of warm weather. Day lillies have been re-blooming and petunias and mums are still doing well. “I’ve heard of things that are blooming again that shouldn’t be at this time of year.”
NORTH CAROLINA - It seems the area is in the middle of an "Indian Summer," as temperatures are still in the mid-70s as at the midway mark of November. The normal temperatures for this time of year in this area are in the low 60s and in the 50s in places as close as Roanoke, Va. The temperature over the past few weeks has been in the low to mid-70s.
KANSAS - An UNUSUAL WEATHER PATTERN has caused Lawrence and the rest of Kansas to experience a warmer and drier November start. It’s all because west winds have dominated the atmosphere, especially during the first part of this week. “It happens, but more commonly we see it in the winter when it is known as Chinook winds.” In Kansas, southern winds bringing in moist tropical air are more common than western winds. Both southern and western winds bring warm air, but the west winds are drier. The movement of air masses, commonly called the “jet stream,” also has been out of kilter for this time of year. The jet stream has set up farther to the north. “It’s just one of those unusual weather patterns that happens every once in a while.” That is expected to change in a few days. “As we move to the middle of the month, it should move back to normal patterns where there is more of a kink in the jet stream.”
SOUTH CAROLINA - Their weather this fall has been strange. 11/14 the temperatures felt more like early-September than mid-November, with temperatures about 15 degrees above average.
ANTARCTIC ICEBERG SPLITS INTO THREE MORE -
An iceberg about the size of the Hawaiian island of Maui has split into three pieces in the frigid Antarctic waters. The new icebergs mark the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth times that a portion of B-15 has calved, since the first calving event observed on May 30, 2000.
CANADA - is more vulnerable to climate change than any other industrialized country, but is unprepared to deal with the impacts.
AUSTRALIA may be experiencing ITS HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD. The Bureau of Meteorology says the 10 months from January to October were the warmest since monthly records began in 1950 and would probably make it the hottest year since annual records began in 1910. In the first 10 months this year, temperatures were 1.03 degrees celsius above the 30-year average. This year's was the WARMEST SEPTEMBER FOR 125 YEARS.
FRANCE - The tail–end of Hurricane Wilma is the cause of steady offshore 60 kph winds from the south, and temperatures for Friday, Saturday and Sunday of 21, 20 and 22 degrees are expected, a whole six degrees above normal. "This season's weather in Paris is not being normal. One of my elderly neighbors guessed that the last fall when it was similar was in 1985 – so, scientifically, it only happens once every 20 years."
UNITED KINGDOM - October 27 was the hottest day ever recorded there. The temperature at Aultbea, on the banks of Loch Ewe, peaked at 21.2C. It beat the British record of 20.3C for the previously hottest 27 October, which was recorded in London in 1888. Similar soaring temperatures were seen throughout Scotland, with Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, the Moray coast and the Scottish Borders all exceeding 20C - HIGHLY UNUSUAL for the second half of October. In central London, the mercury rose to 21.5C in the afternoon. There has been a wind but even the wind is very warm. The average temperature in Scotland for this time of year is normally as low as 12C, but throughout the country that figure has been significantly beaten. Edinburgh's temperature hit 21C - the HIGHEST IN THE LAST TEN DAYS OF OCTOBER SINCE RECORDS BEGAN. "For late October it is unusual to have had such a hot day. There has been an ideal wind trajectory, with the wind coming from north Africa, Spain, northern France and through England, so there's not been much of a sea tract to cool it down."
11/2 PENNSYLVANIA - Some Pennsylvanians, including tree experts, suggest the leaf-changing/falling pattern in 2005 is LATER THAN IN ANY AUTUMN IN DECADES, as late as some people can remember in their lifetimes, running up to 4 weeks behind schedule. People talk about how trick-or-treaters usually crunch through rustling leaves, a sound barely heard this year because so many leaves were still clinging to branches. City parks and country roads reveal as many green leaves as not. "It's been very strange. This is not normal weather." Fall foliage typically peaks by mid-October in much of Pennsylvania, but temperatures in the first half of the month averaged 5.8 degrees above normal, which is considered substantial. That came after a warmer-than-normal September and unusually dry summer which also slows autumn's color transformation. This year not only is the color change later, it's over a more extended period of weeks as different trees react in their distinct ways to the unusual rhythms. The late season here, while unusual historically, is not peculiar to Pennsylvania. The delay of color has been noted in newspapers from Lafayette, Ind., to Bangor, Maine. The Midwest and Northeast have been dryer and warmer than usual for months, so that even New England's trees haven't all turned.
10/31 SCOTLAND - Last week's record-breaking heatwave fooled numerous species into believing winter had already passed. Bizarre and wildly fluctuating weather patterns have confused - and could yet kill - plants and animals across the area. Scientists now fear animals and plants will perish in their tens of thousands if, as predicted by some experts, the UK suffers its coldest winter for years with temperatures as low as minus 27°C. Wildlife experts fear hibernating animals may be caught out by the dramatic change in the weather after halting their preparations for the winter because of the late warm spell. Plants are already showing signs of bursting into bloom too early at a time when there are no insects around to pollinate their flowers. At the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, some trees have already started flowering as much as four months early. "For some of the plants spring has come in autumn, it seems." "We have a hazel bush here that normally flowers in February but is already starting to produce flowers in October... The previously mild winters in the past few years has meant the plant has been flowering progressively earlier, but this time it has advanced 32 days on the last year. It is possible weather has reset the plant's internal rhythms." A number of other species have also shown unusual activity this year. Wych hazel bushes, which normally flower in early winter, are already bursting with catkins several weeks early. Rhododendron bushes are also still blooming in the unseasonably warm autumn, nearly two months after they should have lost their flowers at the end of summer. Some plants will be hit hard in the coming winter freeze. Other species have been displaying baffling behaviour that even scientists are struggling to understand. Bird-watchers have spotted strange behaviour in migrating geese arriving in Scotland after flying south from Iceland for the winter. The pink-footed geese have been leaving their roosts beside estuaries in south-east Scotland much later in the day than usual, even going out to search for food at night. "This is the first season we have had reports of the pink-footed geese moving in such a strange way. They are leaving their roosts in the evening and going inland, which is completely the opposite to what they usually do as they return to their roosts in the evening. They normally only do this when there is a full moon but there hasn't been one, so it is difficult to understand what is causing this."
A dramatic rise in the ocean temperature led to unprecedented deaths of birds and fish this summer all along the coast from central California to British Columbia in Canada. The population of seabirds, such as cormorants, auklets and murres, and fish, including salmon and rockfish, fell to record lows. This ecological meltdown mirrors a similar development taking place thousands of miles away in the North Sea, which was first reported two years ago.
Climate change 55 million years ago caused significant changes in forest composition and the distribution of mammals according to a new study. Climate change brought tropical forest to Wyoming.
Water vapour rather than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the main reason why Europe's climate is warming, according to a new study. The scientists say that rising temperatures caused by greenhouse gases are increasing humidity, which in turn amplifies the temperature rise. This is potentially a positive feedback mechanism which could increase the impact of greenhouse gases such as CO2. "We observed that between 1995 and 2002, the amount of longwave radiation coming downwards to the Earth in Europe increased significantly, whereas solar radiation did not."
Climate change could upset the balance between insect crop pests and the 'natural enemies' that control their numbers.
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WEEK OF 11/1 -
FIRES -
OKLAHOMA - High winds and dry vegetation have fueled a recent rash of wildfires across the state, but firefighters said humans provided the spark.
ARKANSAS - The Arkansas Forestry Commission has placed Craighead County and most of northeast Arkansas in a "high danger area" for wildfires.

DROUGHT -
WASHINGTON - This past summer, they were bemoaning a drought so bad that it led to one of the worst episodes of irrigation water rationing on record. Since Halloween, Central Washington has welcomed one of the wettest starts to fall and winter that we've seen in some time. And now we should fret about how quickly we can forget how real a drought can be.

ILLINOIS- The skies dried up over Illinois again in October, raising fears that a drought gripping the northern third of the state could linger and leave farmland, lakes and rivers parched next spring. Statewide, October's 1.2 inches of rain fell nearly 60 percent short of normal. The drought is the worst since 1988. That dashed drought-busting hopes buoyed in September as hurricane remnants helped yield the state's first wetter-than-usual month since last winter. The Illinois River is running at about half its normal flow, while flows on the Spoon River in western Illinois are about 80 percent below normal.
AMAZON - Droughts are nothing new to the backlands of the Amazon basin, but when the butterflies flock to river banks in huge numbers, they knew from experience it would be bad. "It's been a gigantic drought. There's no way back home, all the rivers have dried up." House after house lies abandoned along the riverside. "If you compare the rainfall averages over the last five years, you see that there have been growing rain deficits each year." Rains have begun to fall. "Now we know the floods will be big this year as well. That's how it works when there's a big drought ... And after that we'll just have to wait for next June's drought."
ALBANIA - Albanian authorities imposed electricity cuts for up to 13 hours a day across the country because of a severe shortage of water for power stations. The rationing would also affect hospitals and industrial bakeries for at least five hours a day. The measure would additionally hit Albania's water pumping stations, which were already in such a bad state that households could only receive water for about three hours a day.
CHINA - Large parts of Sichuan, a southwest Chinese province known as the country's breadbasket, may be covered in sand in a few years' time because of the rapidly expanding desert. Under particular threat is the Chengdu plain, a source of grain since ancient times. More than a quarter of China's total land area has been classified as desert and the degradation is adversely affecting the lives of more than 400 million people, or 30 percent of its population.
SPAIN - The widespread rain in Spain during October has eased the drought conditions in some areas of the country with the national average for reservoir levels now increasing to 40.6% capacity. The recovery has been more pronounced in the north. October was wetter than normal with an average of 90.9 litres per square metre compared to the average since 1930 of 68.8 litres. However the critical conditions remain in some areas, such as parts of Andalucia, Murcia and the Levante.

HEAT -
NEW YORK - This year has been a difficult one for plants. First, a dry summer, followed by a deluge in the early autumn, a cold snap, and now, unseasonably warm temperatures with plenty of sunshine. Irises are reblooming. "It's pretty UNUSUAL, but plants that are under stress do some pretty strange things. This has been a stressful year." Temperatures over the past two weeks have been unseasonably warm, prompting some perennial herbs to crop up again, as well as bringing out swarms of ladybugs and box elder bugs looking for a warm place to hide once the weather cools down again. 11/4's peak temperature of 76 degrees was 25 degrees higher than average early November high temperature of 51 degrees.
GEORGIA - In Rome, 11/7's high temperature of 84 degrees broke the record for the date of 78 degrees set in 1934.
MINNESOTA - one of the LONGEST WARM SEASONS ON RECORD continues in the Twin Cities. aS OF 11/3, it has been 222 days since a widespread killer frost. On average, the warmth spans 185 days. To the north, Duluth also has seen an unusually warm early autumn. Although Lake Superior has a noted warming effect on its shores during the cool months, Duluth Harbor, on average, sees a 32-degree air temperature by Oct. 18. This year it hasn't dropped below 37 yet. The water temperature in Lake Superior is running about 5 degrees above average for this time of year.
MINNESOTA - The temperature this year has remained above 28 degrees — the National Weather Service’s threshold for a killing frost — since March 26, a record 226-day span.
TENNESSEE - October 2005 was the second driest October since 1890.
AUSTRALIA - With a forecast 11/2 of 32 degrees following on from yesterday's 30.7, it's the HOTTEST COUPLE OF EARLY NOVEMBER DAYS SINCE 1987, when the first two days of the month saw temperatures of 35 and 36. While temperatures often hit the 30s in November, it's not so common to get two consecutive days above 30 in the first half of the month. "It's certainly not unusual to get in the 30s in November. The last two years, in the first week of November, there hasn't been a day above 30. It's certainly every three or four years you get a day above 30 in the first week. In the first week of November there was a 33 in 2002, but it doesn't happen too much. It's more likely in the second half of the month." Rainfall for October - normally Melbourne's wettest month - was 41.8 millimetres, well down on the average of 67 millimetres. For the year to date, there have been 446.6 millimetres, compared to the average of 535 millimetres.
AUSTRALIA - two days of hot weather are UNUSUAL for the start of November. "Generally Warrnambool has one or two days in November where the temperature gets over 30 degrees but to have these temperatures at the start of November is a little unusual, usually it is at the end of the month. It looks like summer has come early." Summer is looking like it is going to be warm with above-average temperatures and average rainfall.
AUSTRALIA - More Australians will die in heatwaves than from all other natural disasters put together in the coming decades because of global warming, an international report warns. About 500 Queenslanders alone would die in a single two-week heatwave, based on data contained in a study. Australia also faced a surge in catastrophic bushfires, cyclones, asthma cases and the death of large sections of the Great Barrier Reef.
CARIBBEAN - Unusually warm waters are bleaching 95% of coral reefs throughout the Caribbean, raising fears of a die-off of the important organisms, scientists and environmentalists said. Ocean temperatures have been slowly rising, threatening sea coral that can only live within a narrow temperature band. Since March, the northeast Caribbean has had higher than normal sea surface temperatures. The trade winds, which usually help cool the sea, were also not as strong as they have been in the past. Prior to the 1980s, coral bleaching events were isolated and appeared to be the result of short-term events such as storms or pollution. But in the past 20 years bleaching has become more common. "This is probably the most severe bleaching event that Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands has ever recorded."
ASIA - increasing trends in temperature, sea level rise and extreme climate events in the Philippines are consistent with global trends. Climate change has been manifested in the Philippines by extreme climate occurrence such as, floods, droughts, forest fires, and an increase in tropical cyclones in tropical Asia. The severity of climate change is already bringing the world's mightiest rivers at the brink of collapse. Environmental damage in China linked to climate change is pushing the Yellow River source into an ecological breakdown, threatening the lifeblood of 120 million people who rely on it for domestic as well as agricultural and industrial uses.
ALBERTA, CANADA - "Unique" and "dramatic" changes are occurring in lakes near Clyde River. These changes have to do with an increase in the concentrations of chlorophyll, a group of green pigments found in organisms, which use sunlight to make food. "What's important about chlorophyll is that it's an indicator of warming, and production [of chlorophyll] and climate are really intimately linked." There are "dramatic increases" in the concentrations of chlorophyll, starting around the year 1850, when in industrialization started in the South. "These events appear synchronized with the record of recent climate change." An increase in chlorophyll means the ice-free growing season is becoming longer and can support more and different forms of aquatic life: algae, plankton and insects.
ALASKA - is a much warmer place than it used to be, even if warm in winter means 30 below zero and not 60 below zero, and that change in weather is affecting everything from Alaskan vegetation to the health of the salmon. River temperatures have risen so much that the salmon appear vulnerable to a parasite that, research suggests, once was kept in check by colder water temperatures. River temperatures in the Yukon have been rising steadily since the 1970s, now hitting the upper 60s in June. 10 or 15 years ago, the highest temperature you would get in the summertime would be 63, sometimes 64 degrees. In the last couple of years it's gotten as high as 67. What is happening on the Yukon is a more dramatic example of what is happening in many other parts of the country, where more subtle shifts in climate already are discernible. "It used to be with winter you could depend on a certain length to it. There was a certain stability to it. But it seems like all stability is gone now. You just don't know what will happen.''
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WEEK OF 10/25 -
FIRES -
MISSISSIPPI - could soon be in the middle of another weather crisis. This time, it's lack of rain. State forestry officials are worried that wildfires are about to get out of control. It's getting more explosive every day. "There are parts of the state that haven't had rain in 60 days, like when Katrina came." Some fires are already beginning to get dangerously close to houses and other buildings in some areas.
LOUISIANA - More than 300 acres burned during a forest fire in the Folsom area 10/25 as wildfires continued to plague the Florida Parishes in southeastern Louisiana.

DROUGHT -
TEXAS - Barring a huge cloudburst before the end of the month, this October will go down as the driest since the Athens Daily Review began keeping records 48 years ago.
Southeastern OKLAHOMA is now in a RECORD DROUGHT.
MISSOURI - The struggle for survival at Jackson County's Sandhill Crane Refuge is becoming more difficult. Hurricane Katrina's wind and rain did their share of damage. Now, the post-storm drought poses a new threat to the cranes. Hurricane Katrina left piles of debris on the refuge and since the storm there has been very little rain. That can become a dangerous combination. "We recorded the humidity to be only about 20 percent, which is extremely rare for this time of year on the Gulf Coast. The fire danger is very high."

PARAQUAY - A period of prolonged drought is once again affecting 4,900 families in the department of Boquerón in Paraguay this year, where little ot no rain has falle.
SOMALIA - A serious drought has taken hold in parts of southern Somalia and thousands of people are facing significant water and food shortages.
Drought in the Amazon has been blamed for the deaths of six children, who succumbed to illnesses related to the lack of drinkable water.
Spain's worst drought in at least 50 years is pitting the water-rich central provinces against tomato and flower growers in the south.
Fiji - The northern division has been told it would not receive any significant rainfall for another month. Water taps started running dry almost two months ago.

HEAT -
U. S. - The most comprehensive climate model to date of the continental US has forecast extreme temperatures and precipitation throughout the country. The desert Southwest will experience more heat waves of greater intensity, combined with less summer precipitation. As years pass, even less water will be available for the region's burgeoning populations, with extreme hot events increasing in frequency by as much as 500 percent.
The Gulf Coast will be hotter and will receive its precipitation in greater volumes over shorter time periods. "We project more dry spells punctuated by heavier rainfalls. "
In the northeastern United States - roughly the region east of Illinois and north of Kentucky - summers will be longer and hotter. "Imagine the weather during the hottest two weeks of the year. The area could experience temperatures in that range lasting for periods of up to two months by century's end."
The continental United States will experience an overall warming trend: Temperatures now experienced during the coldest two weeks of the year will be a past memory, and winter's length will diminish as well, according to the model, which assumes that greenhouse gases will attain a concentration more than twice their current levels.
U.S. in 2105 - During the late 20th century the U.S. experienced "more hot events, more heavy precipitation events, and fewer cold events." "Summer is likely to be more severely hot everywhere in the U.S...Winter as we know it likely will disappear in the Northeast."
U.S. NW - The Northwest is expected to warm faster than the rest of the planet. In fact, according o climate scientists, the Puget Sound region has already been warming at a "substantially greater" rate than the earth as a whole, bringing shrinking snowpack, screwed up streamflows, rising sea levels.
U.S. NW - The good news about climate change for Northwest forests is that carbon dioxide is like a fertilizer for trees, increasing growth in some species by up to 50 percent. But then again, there's plenty of bad news. Like the fact that bark beetles reproduce more quickly and devastate huge swaths of trees. Or that forest fires will be more severe as the ecosystem dries out.

10/27 was the WARMEST OCTOBER October 27 IN BRITAIN ON RECORD. Temperatures are set to soar to 21 degrees centigrade as a mini-heatwave hits the whole of the UK. The current record for October 27 is 20.3 degrees centigrade, which was measured in 1888 in London. With clear skies coming up from France, there will be plenty of sun and temperatures will soar." This month is set to be one of the five warmest Octobers on record.
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WEEK OF 10/18 -
FIRES -
RUSSIA - A river of smoke flowed eastward from a cluster of fires burning in Russia's Far East in the second week of October.
SOUTHERN UNITED STATES - Dozens of fires were burning across the South in mid-October.

DROUGHT -
CHINA - Billions of dollars are to be pumped into desalinating seawater to tackle increasingly severe water shortages in coastal regions.
ILLINOIS - The severe drought in Illinois may have killed crops and dried up rivers, but it also has kept the tornadoes at bay.

HEAT -
WEST VIRGINIA - The leaf color this year is nothing like most West Virginians are accustomed to in the autumn. In many areas, leaves have begun to fall without first changing. “Leaf colors begin to change because chlorophyll — a substance that makes them green — begins to diminish as a result of shorter days and cooler weather.” Although the days are definitely shorter, temperatures have remained unseasonably warm and, as a result, the change in leaf color is two weeks behind where it normally is. Forestry officials expected leaf colors to appear earlier this year because of the dry summer. But the warmer temperatures led to an opposite result.
MISSOURI Temperatures have been at record or near-record levels and skies virtually cloudless, unusual weather for this time of year. Area temperatures have been in the 80s, even reaching 90 in some places on the 18th. Temperatures have been swinging wildly in October. Daily high temperatures were in the high 80s in the first five days of October and even 90 degrees on Oct. 3. They plunged to 59 degrees on Oct. 6, followed by three days in the 60s and two more in the low 70s. The past seven days have seen a steady increase in temperatures back to the high 80s. "For the most part, we've had a fairly mild October that has also been drier than normal. Fall is typically one of our driest periods, because the jet stream is normally north of us and it carries the storms well to our north." "The ponds are way dry compared to where they should be. Since the end of July, we just haven't had very much rainfall here in Barton County."
Even in the most remote, pristine parts of the earth- far from the direct influence of human activities - changes are occurring in entire ecosystems. Major ecological changes are occurring in remote arctic lakes at an alarming rate. "For the last several thousand years, chlorophyll a concentrations in our study lakes were very low and showed little variability - until approximately 150 years ago when chlorophyll a increased rapidly and reached unprecedented levels. The timing of these changes corresponds to the start of the Industrial Revolution and when humans first started having a major impact on global atmospheric chemistry."
The worst drought in 40 years now impacting parts of the Amazon rainforest, has led scientists to warn that this vast region could ultimately turn from a carbon sink into a carbon emitter, speeding rather than slowing climate change. Rising surface temperatures in the North Atlantic could be the culprit. The waters have been unusually warm this year - as shown to devastating effect by this year's unusually destructive tropical hurricane season. The warm waters tend to encourage evaporation, leading to low pressure systems over the Atlantic. This creates storm conditions that carry water and energy towards the United States. But it also sets up high pressure systems over neighbouring regions further south, such as the Amazon. High pressure systems tend to carry less cloud and provide less rainwater. The wet season is not due to begin until December.
Alaska simmered through one of its warmest summers ever in 2005. Wildfires burned an area larger than the state of Hawaii, many triggered by some of the 100,000 lightning strikes, double the seasonal average. At least 624 fires burned about 4.6 million acres, the third highest since 1955. Some Anchorage backyard raspberries and pumpkins ripened into early October, weeks past the normal killing frost. A 300-pound ocean sunfish was caught off Kodiak in July, maybe 1,000 miles north of its regular range. Arctic sea ice shrank to its smallest area on record last month, while NASA reported recently that 2005 might beat 1998 as the Earth's warmest year ever.

NETHERLANDS - WINDMILLS, one of the Netherlands' trademarks, may go idle because of less wind as a result of climate change, Dutch scientists predict. New research shows scientists could have been wrong when they forecast years ago that global warming would cause more storms and wind in northwestern Europe. "We said that 10-15 years ago and what we see in the observations is that the climate is warming but the number of storms is actually decreasing. We don't have a good explanation for that." The traditional windy climate of northwestern Europe has spurred a rapid growth in windmills, mainly in the Netherlands and Germany, to provide alternative energy. Dutch windmills, however, saw declining energy production in the past decade because of less wind. New scenarios about the Dutch climate predict a change in atmospheric flows which means more moisture coming from the North Sea in winter and more frequent droughts in summer. Summer rainfall is also likely to become heavier because of rising temperatures, threatening an increase in river levels and floods in the low-lying Netherlands.
AFRICA - The ice cap is receding on Africa's highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. Desertification is spreading in the northwestern Sahel region. Droughts, flooding and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. Numerous plant and animal species are in decline. Hotter, drier weather in the semiarid west of South Africa could reduce production of maize by up to 20 percent and generate a proliferation of pests. With weather becoming more erratic, communities are finding themselves with little time to recover from one disaster before being hit by the next.While the United States may be able to recover from Hurricane Katrina in a year or two, it could take Mozambique 10 years to recover from the catastrophic floods of 2000.
In Texas pear trees are sporting spring-like flowers and fruit. Southeast Texas satsumas and plums are acting strange, as well as the tulip trees. "What is going on? Why is this doing this? Is this a natural phenomenon after the hurricane?" Actually, it's not uncommon for plants to get befuddled in unusual weather and throw out blooms. Experts aren't sure how the plants were fooled, but they offered a few possibilities. Maybe the summer drought lulled the trees into dormancy and when Hurricane Rita dropped rain, they sort of "woke up" and flowered. It also could be related to a molecule some trees produce that inhibits flowering. Trees that flower when the days are getting longer (in the spring) makes the molecule, which lives in the leaves, in the fall. Now that trees have been stripped of their leaves, they are without that molecule and can flower. Or maybe the trees, which lost limbs and leaves, went into survivalist mode and flowered to pass on their genes. Southeast Texas trees are not the only ones to get it wrong this year. After Hurricane Katrina hit Miami as a Category 1 storm, many of the trees there started flowering. Too much disturbance, like Category 5 Hurricane Andrew in 1992, killed trees instead of causing them to put on fruit. The trees likely will bloom again in the spring, but the fruit should be expected to be smaller and less abundant.
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WEEK OF 10/11 -
FIRES -
The Russian capital remained shrouded in a blanket of smog for a second day Thursday, 10/13. Moscow officials said forecast rain showers would bring little relief as winds continued to blow in smoke from peat fires in the surrounding region. According to official forecasts, southwestern winds will keep on blowing over Moscow for the upcoming 5 days, and they are expected to bring more smoke and polluted air into Russia’s capital. The source of acrid smog, covering Moscow and much of its region, is in the southwestern part of Moscow’s suburbs, where forest fires started burning recently.
A Duke University scientist says the retreat of coastlines due to rising sea levels might be accelerated by wildfires.

DROUGHT -
From March through September, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport got about 13 inches of precipitation - 12 inches below normal. That's the driest stretch on record for the seven-month period in northeastern Illinois. As a result, the area's fall foliage lacks the luster of past years.
Unprecedented heat and drought may have killed millions Of pines in Colorado - 40-80% of the pinon trees in the areas of the Four Corners studied during the height of the drought in 2002 and 2003.
The effects of the drought in Niger linger, but international donations have dried up in the wake of the recent hurricanes.
A drought that has crippled some of the Amazon River tributaries, leaving thousands of people without food, water or medicine, has moved east.

HEAT -
In Vermont, things are running a bit behind schedule this year: Thermometers stayed pinned in the warmer ranges until late in the summer, the leaves stayed green through most of September and now nearly two full weeks into October, the first killing frost of the year has yet to descend, much to the delight of area farmers. The tardiness of the ice man is unusual. The average date of the first frost in the Capital City area is Sept. 25. In 2004, the center recorded the first frost at the airport on Oct. 4, Vreeland said. For the three years before that, the first frosty temperatures were recorded on Oct. 3, Oct. 8 and Sept. 15.
Climate change, which the scientific community links to the increased intensity of tropical storms and other extreme weather phenomena, is also making itself felt in Antarctica, where the "hole" in the ozone layer continues to grow and the increasing break-up of the ice shelves could have played a role in the recent deaths of Argentine and Chilean scientists and members of the military. The ice shelves are increasingly breaking up due to the higher temperatures associated with global warming.
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WEEK OF 10/4 -

FIRES -
In California, the wildfire season, now in full swing, often brings with it diminished air quality in the form of a smoky haze, which can cause reduced visibility and respiratory problems.
On the 4th, firefighters scrambled to mop up hot spots from three Southern California wildfires before the expected return of high winds that could fan new blazes or rekindle smoldering embers.
Bush fires are threatening suburbs in Southern California. Thursday morning several homes in Los Angeles and Ventura counties were evacuated. Seven-hundred fire-fighters battled the blazes, the largest covered 2,800 hectares. The fires were whipped by high Santa Ana winds of up to 70 km/h. Some homes were destroyed and flames and smoke were visible for several kilometres. The largest blaze burned to the edge of a number of multimillion-dollar homes in the San Fernando Valley.
Louisiana's next natural disaster may be wildfires. Hurricane Katrina flattened nearly 75 percent of the loblolly and slash pine trees that covered about a half million acres in three parishes north of Lake Pontchartrain. "So what they have out there is similar to what we had here in Florida after four hurricanes last year - a lot of fuel for wildfires and drought conditions." "This destruction was on such a grand scale that there has not been any salvage arrangements yet and there may never be." The situation in Louisiana, with impassable roads, demolished infrastructure and a half million acres of trees, makes salvaging timber nearly impossible. Homeowners who returned to their property have already stacked forest debris 6 to 8 feet high along roadways creating additional fuel for any fires that break out.

Fire tore through a massive eucalypt plantation north of Brisbane, Australaia 10/9 as authorities battled to control bushfires ravaging Queensland's southeast corner.
Residents chose to evacuate homes on the 5th as hot, dry and gusty winds fuelled a string of ferocious fires in southeast Queensland, Australia.

DROUGHT -
Only in recent years have meteorologists, climatologists and oceanographers begun to unravel the causes of persistent droughts in the west, placing the blame on subtle but recurrent changes in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical Pacific that arise as part of the ocean-atmosphere phenomenon known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation. During periods of persistently cool waters in the eastern equatorial Pacific, atmospheric temperatures and circulation changes in a manner that, over North America, effectively suppresses precipitation. Droughts over North America are, however, not isolated events, but arise as part of a global reorganization of the Earth's rain belts. When drought strikes the American West it also strikes southern South America, parts of Europe and central Asia. At the same time, land areas in the Tropics see consistently more rainfall.
A drought summary issued Oct. 5th by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Weather Service and National Drought Mitigation Center said dryness worsened in the eastern U.S. last week, although drought retreated in parts of the Great Lakes, Midwest and Pacific Northwest. Record low rainfall totals were reported in several other areas of the U.S.
Along the East Coast of the U.S, the Baltimore reporting station, recorded negligible rainfall for September and the first few days of October. The average rainfall for that period is 3.98 inches, while the amount received this year was 0.22 inches. Pastures are shrivelling under effects of the drought. September was the 10th-driest September in Baltimore in the past 135 years.
It's been more than five weeks since the last significant rainfall in Maryland, and the state has slipped into the worst drought since 2002.
Texas crop and weather report.
September is traditionally the end of the four-month rainy season in Southwest Florida, but a persistent high-pressure ridge over the state made this year different. While plants have withered, the Bermuda high that has thwarted thunderstorm development for more than a month also steered Hurricane Rita away from the Sunshine State and pushed Katrina away from the west coast. Hurricane Ophelia, which lingered off the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida for nearly 10 days earlier this month, also helped funnel dry air into the South. The 1.04 inches of rain this month is more than 6 inches below normal. Combined with the nearly 4-inch August deficit, the final two months of the traditional rainy season could also rank as the driest on record. “We’re having a very rare situation indeed.” The prolonged hot and dry weather could increase the wildfire threat this winter and next spring. The shortest rainy season until now was in 1984, when 6.29 inches fell in August and September at Sarasota-Bradenton's airport. This year, only 6.08 inches have fallen since Aug. 1. Southwest Florida typically receives 16.7 inches during the two months. This summer also will mark Tampa's driest July through September in 115 years of weather records, shattering the previous record of 11.9 inches in 1944. Only 8.26 inches of rain have fallen at Tampa International Airport since July 1. Above-normal precipitation in Southwest Florida from February through June has kept this year's rainfall within 10 percent of the norm of 46.4 inches through September.
In the state of Washington the federal government was asked to designate 14 Washington counties as farm disaster areas as a result of the severe drought conditions this year.

Persistent water shortages in Zimbabwe's second Bulawayo, have forced local authorities to deploy bowsers in several high-density townships to ease the situation. Water rationing has also intensified, with each household being allowed only 60 litres a day. An average bath takes 50 to 150 litres. Parts of Bulawayo have been without water for the past two months, mainly because two of its major dams have dried up.
Drought continues to afflict thousands of Kenya’s children, leaving more than 20,000 malnourished or at serious risk of malnutrition while the risk of polio has risen sharply in drought-affected districts bordering Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia.
About 500,000 people have been displaced in Afar, Ethiopia and are migrating to neighboring regions as an imminent drought is just around the corner due to the failure of rains for the past two years.

More than two million people in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are facing an acute shortage of drinking water due to a prolonged drought this year.
The Yellow River, China's second-longest and the cradle of its civilization, has seriously deteriorated at its source because of climate change, and reduced flow will undermine social and economic development, said a major environmental report. In the past five decades, the average temperature of the river source region has risen by 0.88 degree Celsius. As a result, the region's glacier coverage has been reduced by 17 percent, causing a 2.39-billion-cubic-meter loss in water resources.
The WORST DROUGHT IN MORE THAN 40 YEARS is damaging the world's biggest rainforest, plaguing the Amazon basin with wildfires.
The Amazon River has hit its LOWEST LEVEL IN THE 36 YEARS SINCE RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT near its source in Peru. The level at Iquitos was reported to be 106.5m above sea level, below the previous, 1995 record of 106.6m. Low levels have been more frequent in the past 10 years. Low levels could bring economic havoc in areas of Peru that depend on the Amazon for shipping, by denying boats a navigable river as well as usable ports and harbours. "This year we have had adverse weather conditions that are rarely seen along the Amazon, which have resulted in less rainfall."
Each year of the 1990s, an average 211 million people were hit by natural catastrophes - seven times the number of those killed or adversely affected by conflict, according to the International Red Cross. Extreme weather has intensified its role in current crises: in southern Africa, drought is the prime cause of hunger, which is now threatening an estimated 14.4 million people. At the same time, another serious drought is looming over the Horn of Africa where the figure of those at risk in Ethiopia alone has unexpectedly jumped to between 10-14 million - confronting the international community with a new and enormous challenge. In Mauritania, drought is already causing serious hardship and is spreading to five neighboring countries, affecting up to 1.5 million people. In Central America, over 1.5 million people have seen their food supplies wither because of drought. Across the ocean, Asia is battling with floods. In Afghanistan, four years of drought and conflict are still wreaking havoc on the lives of almost 10 million people. "The combined needs of roughly 50 million people cannot be shrugged off. Nor can the needs of 300 million hungry children, who either go to school and don't get a meal or don't go to school at all."
Thanks to above-average rainfall, New South Wales, Australia's drought-declared areas have dropped from 77 per cent to 38 per cent in just one month.

HEAT -
In New Hampshire, September 2005 did not follow the typical first-month-of-fall routine and instead followed summer weather patterns most of the month. Nearly every day from Sept. 1-14 was mostly sunny, a rather unusual feat for these parts. Afternoon temperatures reached the mid-70s to mid-80s nearly each day during the first two weeks. Normally, the subtropical ridge begins to weaken at times, allowing increasingly stronger polar air masses to invade. This year, the subtropical ridge maintained a stronghold on the central and eastern U.S. through much of September. More mild weather came Sept. 18-23, with temperatures averaging 6-10 degrees above normal. Several of the days featured nearly cloudless skies, a feature that has been common all month long. Ninety degrees is only achieved about every three or four years during September. The season total for 90 degree days totaled 16 for 2005, six more than normal. The September mean for Nashua, as taken at the Pennichuck Water Works, was 65.2 degrees. This value is 4.7 degrees above normal and ranks as the FOURTH WARMEST SEPTEMBER SINCE 1885. Nashua’s rain total of 2.14 inches was 1.49 inches below normal and ranked as the 42nd driest September since 1884.
Pennsylvania temperatures typically range in the mid-60s this time of year. Last week saw highs in the 80s. So what happens when summer weather occurs in October? While it's the lack of sun that actually causes leaves to change, cool evenings and warm days enhance the display. "I noticed just this last week an acceleration of colors because of the chilly mornings."
In central Pennsylvania, it was the HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD AND THE WARMEST FOUR-MONTH PERIOD ON RECORD. September concluded with a monthly average nearly 6 degrees above normal, THE GREATEST DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL OF ANY SEPTEMBER ON RECORD. September also strung together 23 straight days of the mercury reaching at least 80 degrees. That’s NEVER HAPPENED SINCE LOCAL WEATHER RECORDS BEGAN. Temperatures in June, July and August also were well above normal. On top of the autumn heat, only 1 inch of rain fell in Lancaster County during September, increasing Lancaster County’s rainfall deficit to 8 inches below normal for 2005.
Summer is hanging tough, as evidenced by a RECORD-BREAKING HIGH TEMPERATURE in Michigan on the 2nd. The old record high of 73 degrees, set in 1997, was shattered by Monday's high temperature of 78. "It's in the top five of hottest summers for most of the regions in the Upper Peninsula." The unusual heat can be explained by a strong high pressure system over the southern states which is drawing warm air into the upper Great Lakes region. The high temperature on THE 3rd was 83 degrees, which is 20 degrees warmer than normal. This weather is certainly unusual, as 80 degrees in October has only happened once in the last seven years.
In Maine, temperatures should be about 10 degrees colder. The leaves should be a lot more colorful by now. Where's the frost they should have had two weeks ago? They still have tomatoes on the vine in October.

The genesis of two category-five hurricanes (Katrina and Rita) in a row over the Gulf of Mexico is an unprecedented and troubling occurrence. But for most tropical meteorologists the truly astonishing 'storm of the decade' took place in March 2004. Hurricane Catarina - so named because it made landfall in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina - was the first recorded south Atlantic hurricane in history. Was Catarina a 'threshold' event, signaling some fundamental and abrupt change of state in the climate system? All the major components of global climate - air, water, ice and vegetation - are nonlinear: at certain thresholds they switch from one state of organization to another, with catastrophic consequences for species too finely-tuned to the old norms. Until the early 1990s, however, it was generally believed that these major climate transitions took centuries if not millennia to accomplish. Now, thanks to the decoding of subtle signatures in ice cores and sea-bottom sediments, we know that global temperature and ocean circulation can change abruptly - in a decade or even less. Dramatic new evidence has emerged recently that we may be headed, if not back to the dread and almost inconceivable PETM (runaway warming of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, 55 million years ago, when extreme and rapid heating of the oceans led to massive extinctions) then at least toward a much harder landing than envisioned by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "The demon in me wants to say: party and make merry. No need now to worry about Kyoto, recycling your aluminum cans or using too much toilet paper, when we'll soon be debating how many hunter-gathers can survive in the scorching deserts of New England or the tropical forests of the Yukon. The good parent in me, however, screams: how is it possible that we can now contemplate with scientific seriousness whether our childrens' children will themselves have children?"

Climate change would be beneficial for some species but would force others into extinction. Species found in arctic and mountain habitats, like polar bears, are under the greatest threat as they are already at the limit of available habitats. Unlike animals that can move to cooler climates, these creatures have nowhere else to go. Warming could produce all-female turtle colonies, reduced birth rates among whales and dolphins and marked changes in the migratory habits of birds.
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WEEK OF 9/28 -
FIRES -
A severe wildfire season is expected this fall in Kentucky, likely requiring help from outside of the state to battle the fires. The fall forest-fire season in Kentucky runs from Oct. 1 to Dec. 15. Three light forest-fire seasons in a row have created dangerous conditions this season by allowing the buildup of brush and vegetation. Worsening the danger is the forecast for a drier-than-normal fall.
10/3 - Eleven wildfires burned out of control Monday in northern and central Portugal amid the country's worst drought on record.
Firefighters gained ground against three wildfires burning across Southern California, but worried that hot winds forecast over the next few days will undo their efforts. A 1,091-acre fire in Burbank was 67 percent contained Sunday after firefighters aided by cooler breezes made significant progress. Elsewhere, more than 1,000 emergency personnel were on the lines during the day fighting a fire in steep, rugged terrain in and around San Bernardino National Forest, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles.
Extreme weather conditions were expected to continue on Monday in South Africa in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal with high temperatures, wind and the very dry condition of the veld conducive to runaway veld fires. 22 fires are burning in conservation lands, commercial forests, grasslands, orchards and at a sawmill.
Wildfires began claiming lives in South Africa – 3 humans plus animals – on Monday as they ran unabated across the hot, dry countryside, fanned by heavy winds. Hundreds of families were left homeless when their houses were destroyed by fire and bad weather over the weekend.
On average the DNR Forest Service responds to 29 wildfires in Maryland during the entire month of September; in the past wee