Tag Archives: international

Balmy Weather at the Winter Olympics

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Frigid temperatures and abundant snowfall have been dominating this winter season across most of the continental U.S.  In Sochi, Russia, however, the XXII Olympic Winter Games have had a more spring-like feel.

Russia, famous for cold and snowy winters, has a few relative warm spots.  Sochi is one of them. Situated between the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, it has a subtropical climate that supports palm trees.  While there is usually snow in the mountains, the city’s average temperature for this time of year is about 50°F.

This week, temperatures in Sochi have been running above average.  Today, the mercury hit 59°F and highs are forecast to be in the 60°s for the rest of the week.  Even in the higher elevations of the so called “mountain cluster” venue – site of all the skiing, snowboarding, and sledding events – temperatures have been well above freezing during the day.  This mild weather is turning the hard packed competition snow into slush – creating difficult conditions for many of the athletes.

While the current balmy weather has caused some delays, it has not hindered the Games. With hundreds of snowmaking machines and a stockpile of natural snow stored from previous years, officials say they are prepared to supply as much snow as necessary.  That said, these Winter Olympics are on track to be the warmest in history.

Average minimum temperatures for January and February from 1911-2011 for all the locations that have hosted the Olympic Winter Games. Image Credit: NOAA

Average minimum temperatures for January and February from 1911-2011 for all the locations that have hosted the Olympic Winter Games.    Image Credit: NOAA.

2013: Fourth Warmest Year on Record for Planet Earth

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Temperatures across most of the United States in 2013 were relatively moderate. Globally, however, it was an exceptionally warm year.

According to NOAA, 2013 is now tied with 2003 as the fourth warmest year ever recorded on this planet. Earth’s combined average temperature for the year – over both land and sea surfaces – was 58.12°F.  That is 1.12°F above the 20th century average.  2013 also marked the 37th consecutive year that our global temperature was above its long-term norm.

While heat dominated most of the planet, Australia was particularly warm. With a mean annual temperature of 71.2°F (2.2°F above average), 2013 was their warmest year on record.  Japan and South Korea also experienced their hottest summers ever.

With records going back to 1880, Earth’s top ten warmest years have all occurred since 1998.  To date, our warmest year was 2010.

TopTenTemps

Top 10 Warmest Years (1880–2013). *Note: Tie is based on temperature anomaly in °C.          Chart Credit: NOAA

Image Credit: NOAA

Image Credit: NOAA

Australian Heat Wave 2014

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Oppressive heat has been gripping southeastern Australia for days.  While it is summer there and high temperatures are expected, this heat has been extreme.

In the state of Victoria, temperatures soared above 40°C – that is 104°F – for four consecutive days.  In the neighboring state of South Australia, the mercury hit 44.2°C (112°F) in Adelaide – making it the hottest city in the world on Thursday. Officials say this intense heat has fueled wildfires, sent hundreds of people to the hospital with heat related illnesses, and caused widespread power outages.  In Melbourne, it even caused play to be suspended at the Australian Open – a Grand Slam tennis tournament.

Scorching heat waves seem to be getting more common in Australia.  Last year, the country’s hottest on record, the Bureau of Meteorology had to add two new colors to their weather map to reflect the higher temperatures.

This current heat wave is forecast to break over the weekend and a dramatic cool down is expected to follow.

Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Warmest November Ever Recorded for Planet Earth

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This past November brought unseasonably cool conditions to most of the United States, including here in New York City.  The rest of the globe, however, experienced exceptional warmth.

According to the National Climatic Data Center, November 2013 was the warmest November ever recorded for the entire planet.  Earth’s combined average temperature for the month – over both land and sea surfaces – was 56.6°F.  That is 1.4°F above the 20th century average.  This November was also the 345th consecutive month that our global temperature was above its long-term norm.

While heat dominated most of the planet, Russia was particularly warm.  Some parts of the vast country, including the Urals, Siberia, and the Arctic Islands in the Kara Sea, posted temperatures of more than 14°F above the monthly average. As a whole, it was that nation’s warmest November since record keeping began in 1891.

Year to date, 2013 is now tied with 2002 as the planet’s 4th warmest year on record.

NCDC_Nov2013Image Credit: NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center

What Would Happen if All the Ice on Earth Melted?

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Sea level rise is a significant consequence of global warming.  It poses serious problems for coastal communities around the world.

According to the IPCC, average global sea level has risen 7.5 inches since 1901.  While that may not seem like a lot, every inch counts when a storm surge rushes inland – as we recently saw with Sandy and Haiyan.  As our atmosphere continues to warm, land-based ice, like glaciers and ice sheets, are expected to continue to melt and push sea levels even higher.

Exploring this idea, National Geographic recently published a series of artist renderings that depict what the world map would look like if all the ice on the planet – approximately five million cubic miles – melted.  Producing a sea level rise of 216 feet above current levels, entire cities would be submerged and the familiar outline of the continents would be irreparably altered.

While this dire situation is not expected to happen anytime soon, these images offer an incredible visualization of what could ultimately happen to our coastlines if the atmosphere and oceans continue to warm unabated.

Super Typhoon Haiyan

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Super Typhoon Haiyan hammered the central Philippines late last week.  Locally known as Yolanda, it was the strongest tropical cyclone to ever make landfall.

According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Haiyan came ashore with sustained winds of 195-mph, the equivalent of a category-5 hurricane in the U.S.   Destructive on their own, these powerful winds also helped produce a devastating 20-foot storm surge that washed out numerous coastal towns and villages. Local officials say the storm impacted approximately ten million people across forty-one provinces, with Tacloban City being the hardest hit area. While the full extent of this natural disaster is still unknown, the Philippine Military reports that 942 people are confirmed dead – primarily from drowning and collapsed buildings. Sadly, government officials expect this number to increase as more areas become accessible and communications are restored.  Some fear the death toll could climb as high as 10,000.

The Philippines, a nation of nearly seven thousand islands, is no stranger to serious storms.  Situated in the warm waters of the tropical western Pacific, they are often hit by typhoons, including four this year alone. None, however, have been as powerful as this recent event.  If the government’s staggering death toll projections are realized, Haiyan will become the Philippines’ deadliest storm on record.

typhoon_Haiyan_noaa

Super Typhoon Haiyan approaches the Philippines.

Image Credit: NOAA

Wildfires in Australia

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Wildfires are blazing across southeast Australia. Nearly sixty different fires are currently burning in the state of New South Wales –the country’s most populous region. The largest, nearly 190 miles wide, is burning in the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney.

Since last Thursday, according to local officials, more than two hundred homes have been destroyed and at least one death has been reported. While the exact causes of these intense fires have not yet been identified, recent weather conditions have not been helpful.

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, September 2012 to August 2013 was the country’s warmest twelve-month period on record. On top of that, the past few months have been unusually dry. These extended hot and parched conditions have dried out vegetation, which in turn, is helping to fuel the flames of this massive wildfire outbreak.

While wildfires are common in Australia during the summer, that season does not officially begin until December in the southern hemisphere.  The early start and widespread scope of the current fires are very unusual.

24 Hours of Reality: The Cost of Carbon

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The online event, “24 Hours of Reality” begins tomorrow, October 22nd, at 11am PDT (2pm EDT).  This is the Climate Reality Project’s third annual live-streamed broadcast dedicated to discussing  climate change and encouraging solutions. The theme this year is “The Cost of Carbon”.

Over the course of twenty-four hours, experts from a wide array disciplines will discuss the impacts of carbon pollution – the root cause of climate change – on our planet. Each hour of the broadcast will highlight a different region of the world. The full schedule of topics and speakers can be found on the event’s webpage.

Tune into the broadcast at http://www.24hoursofreality.org

WHO: Air Pollution Causes Cancer

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Air pollution has long been linked to a number of health problems, including respiratory and heart diseases.  Now, it has been shown to cause cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization, released a report on Thursday which concludes prolonged exposure to air pollution and particulate matter can cause lung cancer and increase the risk of bladder cancer.  Unlike some other environmental carcinogens, air pollution is nearly impossible to avoid, as we all need to breathe. Caused by vehicle exhaust, power generation, industrial emissions, and residential heating, its sources are ubiquitous.

While the report did not quantify risk by country, some places are more polluted than others. Here in the United States, the Clean Air Act has helped improve air quality in recent years. Nonetheless, pollution continues to cause health problems for many people across the country.

Globally, according to the IARC, air pollution contributed to 3.2 million pre-mature deaths in 2010 alone.  More than 200,000 of those were from lung cancer.

A Cyclone and Typhoon Batter India and Japan

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Hurricanes can develop all over the world, but they are referred to by different names – cyclones or typhoons – in different regions. This past week, two separate storms slammed India and Japan.

In India, Cyclone Phailin barreled across the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in the state of Orissa on Saturday.  Packing winds of 131-mph, it was the equivalent of a category-4 hurricane. Local officials say the storm’s flooding rains and strong winds destroyed tens of thousands of homes and claimed the lives of at least twenty-seven people.  The government’s pre-storm evacuation of nearly one million people, however, is credited with keeping the number of fatalities from being much higher. Sadly, a cyclone that hit the same area fourteen years ago left approximately ten thousand people dead.

On Wednesday, Typhoon Wipha rumbled along the coast of Japan near Tokyo. With sustained winds of 78-mph, it was the equivalent of a category-1 hurricane.  This storm’s torrential rain caused rivers to overflow and triggered deadly mudslides. One of the hardest hit areas was Izu Oshima, an island about seventy-five miles south of the capital, where a record 32.44 inches of rain fell in one twenty-four period.  Officials say this powerful storm destroyed more than three hundred homes and caused the deaths of at least seventeen people. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Wipha was the eighth typhoon of 2013.

Back in the United States, the Atlantic hurricane season remains fairly quiet.