Hi Everybody,
This is the start of my Climate Red Alert Board Post. I will do backdated posts too.
Red Alert Board - January 2022
31st December 2021 - 1st January - Colorado Wildfires started by power lines being blown over, destroying over 500 homes. Three people are missing.
2nd January - Obituary Richard Erskine Frere Leakey, paleoanthropologist, conservationist and politician, born 19 December 1944; died 2 January 2022.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jan/03/richard-leakey-obituary
I remember the original amazement at the discovery of fossil number 1470 and the others as they gradually made their appearance on the human tree or rather, as we think of it now, the bush of life.
4th January - The stark truth is that many of our rivers are little more than open sewers or chemical soup, rather than highways of life and beauty. They are also heavily contaminated by fertiliser runoff. Some farms near the rivers have seen the light and are not going to plough the areas close to the rivers, but they do say it will take over ten years to recover.
Update 1st Nov 2022 - A BBC report highlights the problem, pointing the finger at too many poultry farms in the Welsh uplands, which produce fertiliser to be added to fields already saturated with waste, which eventually finds its way into the River Wye. Not enough monitoring occurs of the spreading and the water quality, due to a lack of funds. The report states that Scotland has been doing something about its river problem since the early 2000s, and it is seeing quality improvements in their rivers and beaches. So a solution can be found, but it will take time, the will to do it, and, as always, money.
6th January - China has improved the capability of its prototype Fusion reactor. These create energy by fusing atoms together instead of splitting them in an atomic bomb. . Many countries take part in nuclear fusion research to some extent, led by the European Union, the USA, Russia, and Japan, with vigorous programs also underway in China, Brazil, Canada, and Korea.
8th January - Hundreds of Indians were killed in a blizzard. They were trapped by trees that fell down on the cars and on the road; the trees were snapped by the weight of the snow. Some died of hypothermia, and others died of carbon monoxide poisoning when they ran their heaters to keep warm.
9th January -
Gabriella D'Cruz: Global Youth Champion
This year's BBC Food Chain award-winner and her mission to change lives and revive oceans using seaweed. A new pilot project to harvest seaweed in the Bay of India has begun production. It does not plan to sell its harvest to the big companies that have established supply chains, but to local food outlets and Japanese Sushi bars that will pay a better price for quality items grown locally, instead of having to import it at high prices. Once the demand has been established, it plans to use local environmentalists in the fishing community to expand the project, with a guaranteed market established for its product and at a guaranteed price point.
For the full story, click the link below.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1rgm
5 January - Mercedes-Benz plans to bring out an all-electric car with a range of 600 miles in 2024.
14th January - Wildfires are raging in Argentina.
15th January - Snowstorms, flooding, and tornadoes battered the USA.
26th January - Oil spill in Peru.
30 January - Flooding in Brazil. This is a self-made disaster, the cut-down rainforest ecosystem so brutally would have been able to absorb more water.
14th February - Storm Eunice rips through the UK countryside, leaving devastation in its wake, with 122 miles per hour winds recorded. Power lines were torn down. Roofs ripped off in Runcorn.
A flash flood in the Dominican Republic kills 120.
March - The Indian heatwave season begins earlier than usual. Fish begin to die in Poland. It comes to a head in August, thousands of fish die, due to algal blooms depriving the rivers of oxygen. The same occurs elsewhere in other rivers.
Flooding in Sydney, Australia.
12th April - KwaZulu-Natal - Flooding caused the loss of life of 443 people, with at least 60 more people missing. 4,000 homes were destroyed, and bridges were washed away.
Flooding in the Philippines.
17. May - The worst drought in Somaliland in 40 years.
18 May - 40 injured by a tornado in Germany.
29 May - Brazilian mudslides and landslides cause destruction after intense rainfall.
12 June - The start of another heatwave in the western states of America.
5 different heatwaves all; at once. 3 hottest days on record in the UK - 32.7 C Stanton Downham. Japan records the hottest June on record.
17 June - Record flooding in Bangladesh. China has flooding events, also.
France had the earliest temperatures of 40 degrees C on record.
1 July - Flooding and coastal erosion occurred in Sydney, Australia. This was caused by 8 months' worth of rain falling in two days, causing 60,000 homes to be flooded. Insurance companies urge people to move.
2 July - Marina Lake above Hoover Dam is almost dry. The water levels have dropped 178 feet. Water shortages in Las Vegas are imminent. One houseboat has already been stranded, due to an engine failure. It was finally dragged off the mudflats by a specialist team (documented on YouTube). The water levels have been in decline for 20 years. Power production by the dam has been reduced, and power cuts are expected. Houseboats will soon be stranded; there is no way to get them out of the water. Currently, they are crammed into an ever-shallower area.
November 2022 update. Less water being taken out of the lake results in a rise of 23 feet. A new slipway jetty is being constructed.
A volcanic eruption in Japan will damage the air quality in the area.
Australia's La Niña event is the worst on record. It is now forecasted to occur more often.
3 July - Trentino, Italy. The front of the Marmolada Glacier breaks off and causes an avalanche that kills at least 6 people, with 15 injured and 8 people missing. The area was ten degrees warmer than usual.
6 July - Flooding in Germany and Switzerland. Bern affected.
11 July - Fire burns in Yellowstone National Park. The Sequoias are in danger.
13 July - Fires rage in France and Spain. At least one village has been destroyed. Firefighters lose their lives in a helicopter crash.
19 July - Record hottest day in the UK. 40.3 C - A fire caused by an overheated compost bin causes the destruction of 21 homes. Wales records its hottest temperature too. 102.7 F reached in Charwood. Heathrow Airport then recorded 104.5 F. Average London temperatures were in the 70 degrees or above mark
Dublin in Southern Ireland reached 91.6. France reached over 108 F.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-k-shatters-heat-record-three-times-in-a-matter-of-hours/#:~:text=Before%20now%2C%20the%20highest%20temperature,Charlwood%2C%20officially%20breaking%20the%20record.
24 July - Fires in Greece, close to the archaeological site of the original Olympic Games.
More health fires in the London area.
The Yosemite fire destroyed 22 square miles so far. Still alight in 27 July.
Later, flooding washes out a number of roads and bridges.
27 July - Documents show that research labs inside major oil companies knew what the global effects would be on the climate in the 1970s, but covered up data and discredited researchers, and began a smokescreen that continues today. Source - TV Documentary - "Big Oil and the climate".
30 July - Flooding in Kentucky. 28 dead. 100,000 people were displaced.
05 August - A hosepipe ban comes into force in the southeast UK. It has been the driest July since 1837 in the southern UK.
The Loire River in France is almost dry.
9 August - Seoul, South Korea. Hit by the heaviest rain in 80 years. 3.9 inches of rain per hour. 8 people dead so far. 765 buildings destroyed, 52 roads blocked. 391 people displaced, staying in schools and gyms.
12 August - Sudan. Flooding in the rainy season. 800 properties destroyed.
14 August - Lake Mead, controlled by the Hoover Dam, United States. Water level is at 184.96 feet, its capacity is 12290.0 feet.
Update - November - Water levels have risen 23 feet after reduced water outflow by the dam.
22 August - Flooding in Dallas, Texas. They received 40% of their annual rainfall in 12 hours. 3.1 inches fell at the airport. Several floods across the United States. St.Louis, Kentucky and Illinois. Rescue teams carried out 141 rescues, with another 43 rescues later.
23 August - The Dogong is declared EXTINCT in China. Currently a drought in some places. Fires burn for at least three days. Low river levels. Water is pumped from nearby provinces.
Australia - Rewilding successes, mammals are thriving. The Dogong colony is fine there.
Germany - The first hydrogen train goes into operation.
25 August - United Kingdom The large blue butterfly has made a comeback, it's numbers are the best for 150 years, after going extinct 40 years ago.72 mm of rain fell in the south east, 74.5 mm in Bury St. Edmunds.
27 August - A national emergency was declared as the worst flooding in Pakistan for 30 years. 1130 killed, millions are displaced. 8 times more rainfall fell than normal. Syn and Rajistan are affected. Kabul river river breaks its banks. Bridges destroyed two days ago, 14 dead. Tourists have been evacuated.
Statistic - More that 20% greater area destroyed in wildfires than 20 years ago.
The Grantham Institute Climate Change Tracking Centre - A pre-monsoon study, shows a melting glacier caused flooding and destroyed a massive bridge. A longer-lasting El Niño event (Ocean warming) is occurring to the north of Australia.
The Oceanic Pact - Designed to protect 30% of the world's oceans against overfishing, failed to be agreed by the assembled nations.
18 October - Flooding in Melbourne, Australia. Bridges were destroyed, and levees were built.
4 November - The Sizewell C nuclear reactor funding is in the "Yes, it's going ahead - The Prime Minister" to "We can't afford it - The Treasury" -"Oh, yes, we, CAN- PM" stage at the moment. So much for the PM's "Green Energy" street cred.
7 November - The COP 27 Summit is taking place in Egypt. Methane and CO2 are at higher levels than last year. China and Russia do not attend. More than 600 delegates to the conference are from oil and Gas companies, some want them to be banned.
8 November - "Say no to oil" protesters, including at least one elderly lady wearing a day glow orange jacket and trousers, have been climbing up sign gantries above the M25 Motorway, which loops around London, causing police to have to close off the flow of cars while they are removed. Some protesters have been jailed for a month.
Update - They suspended the protests on the 11th November. The news report did not state a reason why.
10 November - It is the warmest November night on record in Kinloss, Scotland. The temperature did not drop be3low 14.6'C.
Acnegar, on the northern tip of Scotland, had 258 mm of rainfall, a month's worth in a week.
17 - 18 November - Charr - 140 mm of rain. Flooding in Scotland, Nottingham and West Sussex is causing rail and road disruption. Cars and vans were driven into ditches.
23 November - Aboyne, in Scotland, had 190 mm of rainfall, 220% of the monthly average. Shoreham by Sea 176 mm (195%) for the month, with a week still to go.
30 November - UK water storage is at 90%. https://riverlevels.uk/
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-situation-local-area-reports
12 December - Derwent dam is full.
UN Biodiversity Conference - COP 15 is taking place in Canada. For a breakdown of the results - CLICK HERE.
22 December - USA winter snow storms worst in 40 years. 1500 flights cancelled, trains cancelled. Temp -12 C, 23 km per hour winds causing snow drifts in Minnesota. 60 dead so far. 51.5 inches of snow fell per day. In Florida, Iguanas were falling out of trees, as they were frozen and could no longer hang on.
More flooding in the Philippines.
A new weather satellite was launched - Meteosat 12.
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These are only the few that I have heard about; it is not an extensive list.
Keep recycling,
Ivor Cogdell
