[TheClimate.Vote] July 27, 2020 - Daily Global Warming News Digest
Richard Pauli
richard at theclimate.vote
Mon Jul 27 09:48:57 EDT 2020
/*July 27, 2020*/
[Weather Channel]
*Global Warming May Unleash Asian Monsoon Fury: Study*
As the world braces itself for the multitude of impacts of climate
change, a significant amount of research has indicated that global
warming means more rain for Asian monsoon regions, which can be
devastating for countries like India in the form of more floods...
- -
A team led by assistant professor Hiroshi Takahashi sought to address
this by using a high-resolution climate model known as NICAM
(Non-hydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model) to study the detailed
evolution of weather in the Asian monsoon regions.
It is well known that global warming leads to more precipitation in many
parts of the world, driven mostly by more water vapour in the
atmosphere. However, the different features of each region mean that the
changes are far from uniform.
For example, the study found that it was not clear whether "monsoon
westerlies" were enhanced, but it did find more cyclones in the trough,
enough to account for the increased precipitation. Concurrent with the
increased precipitation, they also found distinct trends in water vapour
over the monsoon region...
- -
https://weather.com/en-IN/india/monsoon/news/2020-07-26-global-warming-may-unleash-asian-monsoon-fury-study
[VOA is Voice of America]
*Siberian Heat Wave and Melting Arctic Sea Ice Indicate Climate Change,
Scientists Say*
By Lisa Schlein
July 25, 2020
GENEVA - Scientists warn record Siberian temperatures and the rapid
melting of the Arctic sea ice along the Russian coast indicate that
climate change is occurring and may be irreversible.
Siberia, famous for its bitterly cold weather, has been experiencing a
tropical heat wave, with temperatures reaching a record 38 degrees
Celsius June 20 in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk.
This week alone, the World Meteorological Organization reports some
parts of Siberia have been warmer than the U.S. states of Florida and
California, with temperatures going above 30 degrees Celsius. It says
the exceptional and prolonged heat is fueling devastating Arctic fires
and causing a rapid decrease in the Arctic sea ice coverage.
WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis says the Arctic is heating more than twice
the global average, and that is having a major impact on local
populations and ecosystems.
"We always say what happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic,"
said Nullis. "It does affect our weather in different parts of the world
where hundreds of millions of people live. There was a study last week,
which says that the extreme heat that we are seeing would have been
almost impossible without climate change. So, it does have a clear
fingerprint of climate change on it."
Since January, Scientists estimate total carbon emissions from the fires
raging inside the Arctic Circle are the highest in 18 years of
monitoring the phenomenon. In addition, they warn the melting of ice
and thawing of permafrost will potentially release methane, a very
powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
Nullis tells VOA greenhouse gases are having a major impact on
infrastructure and ecosystems throughout the region.
"It will be very, very hard to reverse because of the law of physics,"
said Nullis. "You know, the levels of carbon dioxide, which we have got
in the atmosphere now, will carry on heating surface temperatures for
generations to come. The lifetime of CO2 in the atmosphere runs into
many, many, many decades."
A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change warns that
the iconic polar bear--a symbol of climate change--may be nearly extinct
by the end of the century because of shrinking sea ice. The article
suggests high greenhouse gas emissions also will likely cause a steep
decline in the reproduction of other Arctic subpopulations by 2100.
https://www.voanews.com/science-health/siberian-heat-wave-and-melting-arctic-sea-ice-indicate-climate-change-scientists-say
[From the World Economic Forum]
*To solve the climate crisis, we need an investment revolution*
The scale of the climate crisis and its potential impacts mean we need a
scientific and investment revolution to tackle it.
There are opportunities for patient investors in areas such as energy
storage and electrification.
It's time to tap into the power of science and innovation. Here's a guide.
It's hard to know its ultimate scale or how long it will take, but over
the coming months the world will be watching the urgent efforts of
scientists to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. At the same time, engineers
and academics will develop technologies and models to help businesses
and our economy adapt to this extended period of social distancing, Zoom
calls and home schooling. And manufacturers will continue to dedicate
some of their factories to the mass production of everything from hand
sanitizer to ventilators. It's clear our capacity for innovation is
being tested...
- -
But of all the lessons we've learned from COVID-19 as we race toward a
solution, perhaps the biggest is that we ignored the warning signals
instead of preparing. With the climate, let's make the most of this
opportunity. Let's start that race now and tap the power that innovation
has to accelerate change and unlock new and surprising possibilities.
And let's look to scientists, enabled by savvy investors, to lead the way.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/to-solve-the-climate-crisis-we-need-an-investment-revolution/
[more from VOA]
*More Than 180 Wildfires Burning in Siberia*
By VOA News
July 25, 2020
Wildfires continue to burn in parts of Siberia this summer as a heatwave
has continued to spread in areas north of the Arctic Circle.
The World Metrological Organization (WMO) has raised the alarm, saying
official figures show record warming in the Arctic.
"In general, the Arctic is heating more than twice the global average,"
said Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson. "It's having a big impact on local
populations and ecosystems, but we always say that what happens in the
Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic, it does affect our weather in
different parts of the world where hundreds of millions of people live."
More than 180 fires are burning in the Siberian region, with many in the
northern Sakha Republic, on the Arctic Ocean.
"Some parts of Siberia this week have again topped 30 degrees Celsius --
so it's been warmer in Siberia than many parts of Florida," said Nullis.
The wildfires are having effects far beyond the Arctic region, the WMO said.
Firefighters are working to stop the fires.
https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/more-180-wildfires-burning-siberia
[It's all the same]
*How Covid-19 Made it Easier to Talk About Climate Change*
Rhiana Gunn-Wright, a climate policy director and architect of the Green
New Deal, explains the connections between the pandemic and the climate
crisis.
[ The conversation has been condensed and edited..]
*You've been sounding the alarm on climate change for some time. Now the
headlines are all about the coronavirus. Has it gotten trickier to focus
public attention on climate amid the spread of Covid-19*?
In some ways, it's easier to talk about climate change than when we
first came out with the Green New Deal resolution. That's because the
connections between the pandemic and climate crisis are clear, starting
with the fact that people of color -- Black and Latino folks -- are
dying at far higher rates from Covid. And there's already at least one
study showing how Covid deaths are correlated with exposure to toxic air
pollution.
During the first wave of Covid, the hot spots were in New York, Detroit
and New Orleans. That lines up exactly with front-line communities
exposed to climate change.
It's never normal to surround people with toxic air pollution and cause
them all sorts of respiratory problems, but before Covid that was the
normal drumbeat of injustice. I think Covid has helped break that
normalization.
*Are you hopeful that some of the positive climate shifts in recent
months, like our decreased reliance on air and car travel, will continue
after the pandemic?*
No, because they're due to reductions in economic activity and not to
policy change. Emissions go down during recessions as a result of
decreased economic activity, but they always rebound. You're going to
see them kick into overdrive.
- -
*Speaking of people on the inside, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic
presidential nominee, hasn't fully endorsed the Green New Deal, but he
did just release a sweeping set of climate policies. You've been
critical of his new platform. Why is that?*
I think it has great elements, but it tries to be transformative while
keeping the power relationships that we have in our economy. I think
returning power to marginalized communities is very important as part of
climate action. For example, if Indigenous communities had the rights
that they deserved, if their treaties were respected, we wouldn't even
be thinking about a Dakota Access Pipeline.
*Some climate experts say there is a connection between women and
environmental action. Why are women more likely to bear the brunt of
climate disasters?*
Actually, gender is a place where we need to strengthen our analysis. We
haven't done enough thinking about the care economy. Care jobs are green
jobs, in the sense that they are low carbon emission jobs. And with
Covid, it has become clear how broken our care economy is. On the child
care side, it could very well be decimated. Family child care providers
are closing and won't have the support to reopen. With the Green New
Deal, we elevated manufacturing jobs and construction, which are
important, but it often feels like it's about saving men's jobs and the
women don't appear. When there was a gender gap in the original Green
New Deal, the Feminist Green New Deal Network stepped in and started
thinking through its impact on women. So I've been in conversation with
them more and learning so much.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/us/climate-change-green-new-deal-covid-coronavirus.html
[Digging back into the internet news archive]
*On this day in the history of global warming - July 27, 2004 *
Illinois state senator and US Senate candidate Barack Obama delivers a
stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston--one
that curiously doesn't mention climate change or the environment, save
for his observation that "[Democratic presidential candidate] John Kerry
believes in energy independence, so we aren't held hostage to the
profits of oil companies or the sabotage of foreign oil fields."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19751-2004Jul27.html
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