We Want Climate Action Now

Wednesday, 19 August 2020

Rare 'fire tornado' rips through California as heat wave descends on the US: CNN

Aug 17, 2020

the most important action for governments is to cut carbon targets and to pressure other countries to do the same

2020 has reached into its bag of tricks again and tossed out another surprise - this time in the form of a swirling fire.

Or as meteorologists call it, a "firenado" - short for fire tornado.

The rare and fiery tornado was spotted Saturday near a fire in California.

A huge forest fire that prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles flared up around noon Saturday, August 15, sending up a cloud of smoke as it headed toward thick, dry brush in the Angeles National Forest. (AP)

The National Weather Service Office issued a tornado warning for a pyrocumulonimbus cloud that formed by the Loyalton Fire, saying it was "capable of producing a fire-induced tornado and outflow winds in excess of 97km/h," CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.

A pyrocumulonimbus cloud forms above intense rising heat, typically from a fire or volcano.

Fire tornadoes are created when the rising heat from a fire pulls in smoke, fire and dirt, creating a rotation vortex above the blaze, Ms Brink said.

Fire tornadoes can be massive and deadly.

Catastrophic bushfires and catastrophic fire seasons will become a new normal

#wildfire, #bushfires

When the National Weather Service surveyed the damage on that firenado, it determined it was equivalent to an EF-3 tornado with winds in excess of 230km/h.

Officials in California, Oregon and Colorado are battling a series of wildfires that have collectively torched more than 40,000 hectares - and things could get worse with intense heat descending on much of the US.

The Loyalton Fire has burned over 8000 hectares and was five per cent contained by early Sunday.

#wildfire, #bushfires, #California, #heatwaves, #drought, #climatechange, #climateaction, #cambio-climatico, #jailclimatecriminals,

See original 9 story

Sea level rise is so much more than melting ice: Verge Science video

While researching climate change, we heard something confusing: the sea level in New York City is rising about one and a half times faster than the global average. We couldn’t figure out what that meant. Isn’t the sea level...flat? So we called up an expert, Dr. Andrea Dutton, and went down the rabbit hole. And, we did our best to visualize her truly bizarre answers with animations, dioramas, and a lot of melting ice.

Subscribe: http://bit.ly/2FqJZMl

Related:Greenland's melting ice sheet has passed the point of no return, scientists say (excerpt): USA Today

sea level rise, #searise, #climatechange, #cambio-climatico, #icemelting, #jailclimatecriminals,

This is what sea level rise will do to coastal cities: Video

Searise is already redrawing coastlines around the world. What happens when the coast retreats through a major city?

We look at how the world map will change in the year 2100, and what coastal cities can do to defend themselves. Correction: An early version of this video suggested that researchers expect to see four feet of sea level rise by the end of the century. While researchers do expect to see at least that level of sea level rise in the future, the exact timing is difficult to project. We regret the error.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2ZwP5Se

Related: Sea Level Rise Effect on Mumbai of 1.5m rise

#searise, #cambio-climatico, #climateaction, #climatechange, #climateemergency, #jailclimatecriminals,

We need action to prevent further catastophic fires and we need to be prepared for wildfires

America's west coast is set to have its hottest two weeks in 70 years

There is no climate sceptic on the end of a fire hose. #jailclimatecriminals

Governments must prepare for catastrophic fires.

* Establishing services to support those ‘burned out’ and those who cannot insure

* rezoning areas unsuitable for building

* changing building regulations

* employing indigenous people to carry out controlled burning to reduce fuel loads as they have done for thousands of years

* increasing the numbers of professional firefighters, giving more support to volunteer firefighters and purchasing more aviation support are just small steps.

* increasing funding for bushfire research

* the most important action for governments is to cut carbon targets and to pressure other countries to do the same. Tariffs on carbon reckless countries, like the USA, Saudi Arabia, China and Australia are inevitable.

and

Koalas suffered greatly. #jailclimatecriminals

* funding air support.

" The main reason more prescribed burning has not been done is the risk the deliberately lit fires will get out of control and burn down property, or otherwise choke population areas with unhealthy amounts of smoke.

This risk has gone up with the drought, which has meant there are fewer days every year with low-risk fire conditions. It's also gone up with population levels, which has meant more people are affected by prescribed burning.

the most important action for governments is to cut carbon targets

#climatecrisis, heatwaves

"With many prescribed burns now conducted close to the expanding urban fringe and close to essential infrastructure and agriculture, the community tolerance levels are very low to heavy smoke and potential damage to delicate ecosystems," Dr Thornton says."

".... Mr Bradstock described it as a "tired and old conspiracy theory" while Greg Mullins said ex-fire chiefs were annoyed that the fires were being used for political attack."

increasing funding for bushfire research

#bushfire, #wildfire, #jailclimatecriminals

"Greg Mullins (former NSW fire and rescue commissioner Greg Mullins) said climate change means it's often too dangerous to burn: "Extreme drought like this, underpinned by 20 years of reduced rainfall, has meant the window for hazard reduction is very narrow now."

He also said a long-term reduction in forestry and national parks personnel has meant hazard reduction has fallen to volunteers."

The complexities around hazard reduction burning are large and growing

California fires 2020

How effective is hazard reduction?

Many bushfire experts want to see more hazard reduction, but they also say there's a danger in presenting prescribed burning and fuel management measures as a 'silver bullet solution' to the continent's increasing fire risk.

Some areas are suitable for prescribed burning, while others are not.

"The complexities around hazard reduction burning are large and growing," said Dr Richard Thornton, CEO of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre."

https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/is-more-prescribed-burning-the-answer-to-bushfire-threat/11844766

Catastrophic bushfires and catastrophic fire seasons will become a new normal due to the shortening of fuel reduction periods, increasing severe droughts and extreme temperatures.Governments must prepare for catastrophic fires.Establishing services...

#wildfire, #bushfire, #firefighters, #climatecrisis

"Australia faces a "nightmare scenario" of escalating and catastrophic natural disasters without urgent action on climate change, the bushfires royal commission has been told.

A group of 33 former fire and emergency services chiefs wants the royal commission to record as fact that climate change was the main driver of the extreme weather conditions behind Australia's unprecedented bushfire season.

"We think that this is a great opportunity for an authoritative body to spell out loud and clear that if it wasn't for climate change we would not have faced the bushfires that we did," former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins told AAP.

"That the science is very clear that we would not have had weather conditions like we did if it wasn't for a warming climate and the fires were driven by extreme weather."" The Canberra Times, May 24,2020

Catastrophic bushfires and catastrophic fire seasons will become a new normal due to the shortening of fuel reduction periods, increasing severe droughts and extreme temperatures.

Greenland's melting ice sheet has passed the point of no return, scientists say (excerpt): USA Today

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Greenland's ice sheet dumps more than 280 billion metric tons

Even if global warming were to stop today, the ice sheet would continue shrinking.

of melting ice into the ocean each year.

• Even if global warming were to stop today, the ice sheet would continue shrinking.
• Scientists analyzed 40 years of satellite data from more than 200 large glaciers draining into the ocean.

Greenland's melting ice sheet has passed the point of no return.

In fact, glaciers on the island have shrunk so much that even if global warming were to stop today, the ice sheet would continue shrinking, a new study suggests.

"Glacier retreat has knocked the dynamics of the whole ice sheet into a constant state of loss," study co-author Ian Howat, an earth scientist from Ohio State University, said in a statement. "Even if the climate were to stay the same or even get a little colder, the ice sheet would still be losing mass."

This "tipping point" means the snowfall that replenishes the ice sheet each year cannot keep up with the ice that is flowing into the ocean from melting glaciers.

Doyle Rice

USA TODAY

Updated August 18, 2020

Read the original story

Monday, 17 August 2020

California begins rolling blackouts as state faces worst heat in 70 years (excerpt): SMH

Extreme heat has caused Californian fires and blackouts

"As many as 2 million Californians were plunged into darkness over a four-hour span late Friday in the state's first rolling blackouts since the 2001 energy crisis - and that was just day one.

America's west coast is set to have its hottest two weeks in 70 years, putting even more strain on power grids after California imposed its first rolling blackouts since 2001.

Excessive heat warnings and watches stretch from the Pacific Coast inland to Montana, Utah and Arizona, according to the National Weather Service. Sacramento is forecast to be 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) by Tuesday. Pasadena could hit 108."

"The sudden and largely unannounced outages in California are a stark reminder of the fragility of power grids in the face of extreme weather. Searing heat has gripped cities around the globe in recent weeks, including Brussels, Paris and New York."

Read the SMH story

#extremeheat, #cambio-climatico, #气候变化, #California, energy, #jailclimatecriminals,

Climate Change will bring more severe storms.

"Although scientists are uncertain whether climate change will lead to an increase in the number of hurricanes, warmer ocean temperatures and higher sea levels are expected to intensify their impacts."
https://www.c2es.org/content/hurricanes-and-climate-change/

Queensland: Cyclone Debbie caused massive damage to crops.

How can we prepare for more severe storms?

"How to Build Resilience

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one way to reduce the risk of the strongest storms in the future. Communities can also bolster their resilience to the impacts of hurricanes by:

Preserving coastal wetlands, dunes, and reefs to absorb storm surges.
Replenishing beaches and improve infrastructure that affords coastal protection, such as seawalls.
Elevating vulnerable buildings to reduce flood damage.
Designing structures to be resilient to high winds and flying debris.
Enacting policies that discourage development in vulnerable areas.
Preparing prior to a storm’s arrival by boarding windows, clearing property of potential flying debris, and having an evacuation plan." https://www.c2es.org/content/hurricanes-and-climate-change/

For Government::

• strengthen regulations to prevent further development and new infrastructure on susceptible coastlines

• ensure emergency services are well prepared and supported financially

• support people in developing emergency plans

• ensure the vulnerable can access support

• financially support smaller nations unable to prepare sufficiently for storms