2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

Story of the Week

This heatwave is a climate omen. But it’s not too late to change course 

The warming of the planet – including the most up-to-date data for 2023 – is entirely consistent with what climate modelers warned decades ago

Thirty years ago, the world’s nations agreed to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. But what is “dangerous climate change”? Just turn on the television, read the headlines of the morning paper or view your social media feeds. For we are watching it play out in real time this summer, more profoundly than ever before, in the form of unprecedented floods, heatwaves and wildfires. Now we know what dangerous climate change looks like. As has been said of obscenity, we know it when we see it. We’re seeing it – and it is obscene.

Scorching temperatures persist across Europe, North America and Asia, as wildfires rage from Canada to Greece. The heat is as relentless as it is intense. For example, Phoenix, Arizona, has broken its record of 18 consecutive days above 110F (43.3C). Even the nights, generally relied upon as a chance to recover from the blistering days, now offer little relief: for more than a week, night-time temperatures in Phoenix have exceeded 90F (32.2C). Meanwhile, severe and deadly flooding has stricken South Korea, Japan, and the north-east United States, from Pennsylvania to Vermont.

The climate crisis – and yes, it is now a crisis – is endangering us now, where we live. Whether it’s the recurrent episodes of hazardous air quality in the east coast cities some of us call home from windblown Canadian wildfire smoke or the toll sadly now being measured in human lives from deadly nearby floods, we are witnessing the devastating and dangerous consequences of unabated human-caused warming. That is a fact.

Indeed, as you “doomscroll” on whatever social media platform you prefer these days, you might see selective images and graphs that would lead you to think Earth’s climate is spinning out of control, in a runaway feedback loop of irreversible tipping points leading us down an inescapable planetary death spiral.

But that’s not what’s happening. 

Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on The Guardian website.

This heatwave is a climate omen. But it’s not too late to change course The warming of the planet – including the most up-to-date data for 2023 – is entirely consistent with what climate modelers warned decades ago, Opinion by Michael Mann & Susan Joy Hassol, Environment, The Guardian, July 19, 2023 

Articles posted on Facebook

Sunday, July 16, 2023

• European heat wave sparks multiple warnings, shuts Greece’s Acropolis by Victoria Bisset, Europe, Washington Post, July 15, 2023
• US south-west bakes under potentially deadly record high temperatures Phoenix, Arizona, logged its 16th day above 110F, and California’s Death Valley reached 122F as cities offered cooling centers by AP, The Guardian, July 15, 2023
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #28 2023 by Doug Bostrom & Marc Kodack, Skeptical Science, July 13, 2023
• Big oil quietly walks back on climate pledges as global heat records tumble Energy firms have made record profits by increasing production of oil and gas, far from their promises of rolling back emissions by Dharna Noor, Environment, The Guardian, July 16, 2023

Monday, July 17, 2023

• Italy issues ‘extreme’ health warning for 16 cities as heat wave grips Europe by Sharon Braithwaite, Al Goodman & Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, July 16, 2023
• Even ‘Safe’ Places Are Experiencing Climate Chaos in America by Jonathan Mingle, Opinion, New York Times, July 23, 2023
• ‘Your heart races a bit’: US weather man threatened with death for mentioning climate crisis Chris Gloninger wove the reality of global heating into his forecasts in the conservative heartland of Iowa. Not everyone was receptive, Interview by Oliver Milman, Environment, The Guardian, July 16, 2023
• Death Valley's scalding temperatures draw visitors: what does 128 degrees feel like? by Isabelle Butera, Weather, USA Today, July 17, 2023

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

• Heatwaves: world reels from wildfires, floods as US and China discuss climate crisis by Julia Harte & Charlie Devereux, World, Reuters, July 17,2023
• A  Shipping Rule Backfires, Diverting Sulfur Emissions From the Air to the Ocean When large ships use scrubbers to meet international air pollution limits, the treated fuel exhaust gets dumped into the sea along with other contaminants. Researchers say the discharges are packed with metals and organic compounds that threaten marine environments. by Lydia Larsen, Fossil Fuels, Inside Climate News, July 17, 2023
• At a glance - Empirical evidence that humans are causing global warming by John Mason & Baerbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, July 18, 2023
• The heat index reached 152 degrees in the Middle East — nearly at the limit for human survival by Scott Dance, Weather, Washington Post, Jan 18, 2023

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

• China logs 52.2 Celsius as extreme weather rewrites records by Ryan Woo, China, Reuters, July 17, 2023
• New Data Reveals Climate Change Risks To Corporate Assets In The United States by Michael Sheldrick, Forbes Magazine, July 16, 2023
• South Korea Overwhelmed by a Catastrophic Monsoon Season Over a dozen vehicles were recently trapped in an underpass, and the rain has damaged homes and caused landslides. by Angely Mercado, Earther, Gizmodo, July 17, 2023
• ‘We are damned fools’: scientist who sounded climate alarm in 80s warns of worse to come James Hansen, who testified to Congress on global heating in 1988, says world is approaching a ‘new climate frontier’ by Oliver Milman, Environment, The Guardian, July 19, 2023

Thursday, July 20, 2023

• This heatwave is a climate omen. But it’s not too late to change course The warming of the planet – including the most up-to-date data for 2023 – is entirely consistent with what climate modelers warned decades ago, Opinion by Michael Mann & Susan Joy Hassol, Environment, The Guardian, July 19, 2023
• Summarizing 16 years of Skeptical Science in 20 minutes by Baerbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, July 19, 2023
• Is this extreme weather the ‘new normal?’ There’s no such thing, some scientists say by Laura Paddison, World, CNN, July 19, 2023
• Long-lost Greenland ice core suggests potential for disastrous sea level rise by Laura Paddison, World, CNN, July 20, 2023

Friday July 21, 2023

• How persistent heat can lead to chronic health problems Days and years of exposure to persistent heat can tax the heart and kidneys, disrupt sleep and challenge our mental health by Richard Sima, Wellness, Washington Post, July 20, 2023
• World will miss 1.5C warming limit - top UK expert by Esme Stallard & Justin Rowlatt, Science, BBC News, July 20, 2023
• TCB quick hit: Is El Niño making the U.S. heat wave worse? it depends on where you live, but maybe not by Andrew Dressler, The Climate Brink, July 20, 2023
• There’s a heatwave in the sea and scientists are worried Could warmer ocean temperatures be a sign climate change has progressed further than we thought? by Isabella Kaminski, BBC Future, July 21, 2023

Saturday July 22, 2023

• Rampant heatwaves threaten food security of entire planet, scientists warn After hottest day ever, researchers say global heating may mean future of crop failures on land and ‘silent dying’ in the oceans by Phoebe Weston, Environment, The Guardian, July 21, 2023
• Inside the most extreme heat wave the Southern U.S. has faced The exceptional heat will be remembered for its intensity and duration by Matthew Cappucci & Dylan Moriarty, Weather, Washington Post, July 21, 2023
• Jesse Watters is bringing his egregious brand of climate denial to the 8pm hour by Ilana Berger, Media Matters for America, July 17, 2023
• Why high temperatures can make planes too heavy to take off by Jacopo Prisco, Travel, CNN, July 22, 2023

Posted by John Hartz on Saturday, 22 July, 2023

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