All posts tagged: heatwaves

Heatwaves are surpassing the extremes predicted by climate models

Heatwaves are surpassing the extremes predicted by climate models

Published by skeptic

The UK experienced a record-breaking heatwave in July 2022 DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images We should brace for worse-than-expected heatwaves in the years ahead, as climate models are underestimating the potency of these events in some areas, including the UK and northern France, southern Australia and northern Canada. As the world warms further, these and other areas could see extremes of heat that outpace those climate models are projecting, says Kai Kornhuber at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. “Extreme event projections should be considered as conservative estimates,”… Source link

‘He was choking on his own tongue’: animals suffer as heatwaves increase | Extreme weather

‘He was choking on his own tongue’: animals suffer as heatwaves increase | Extreme weather

Published by skeptic

Solly the sheep had not had an easy start to life, but his prospects seemed to be looking up. Maggot-ridden when found in a field, Solly defied the expectations of a vet and recovered quickly when an animal shelter took him in. He befriended another sheep at the sanctuary, Star, and became a “leaping, happy lamb”, his rescuers said. But Solly, named after the Spanish word for sun, could not cope with the scorching heat in Mallorca, Spain. He contracted a disease from mosquitoes, whose breeding window is widening. His frail body quickly declined. “It was 40C on the day that he died, and he was choking on his own tongue,” said Nicole Eden, who runs the Eden Sanctuary for abandoned animals on the Spanish island. Flies soon swarmed the body. Unable to leave the other animals, who were also baking in the hot sun, Eden dug Solly a shallow grave with her hands and buried him through her tears. “I couldn’t leave the body for even an hour,” said Eden, who had nursed the …

Climate engineering off US coast could increase heatwaves in Europe, study finds | Climate crisis

Climate engineering off US coast could increase heatwaves in Europe, study finds | Climate crisis

Published by skeptic

A geoengineering technique designed to reduce high temperatures in California could inadvertently intensify heatwaves in Europe, according to a study that models the unintended consequences of regional tinkering with a changing climate. The paper shows that targeted interventions to lower temperature in one area for one season might bring temporary benefits to some populations, but this has to be set against potentially negative side-effects in other parts of the world and shifting degrees of effectiveness over time. The authors of the study said the findings were “scary” because the world has few or no regulations in place to prevent regional applications of the technique, marine cloud brightening, which involves spraying reflective aerosols (usually in the form of sea salt or sea spray) into stratocumulus clouds over the ocean to reflect more solar radiation back into space. Experts have said the paucity of controls means there is little to prevent individual countries, cities, companies or even wealthy individuals from trying to modify their local climates, even if it is to the detriment of people living elsewhere, …

Weather tracker: Heatwaves have arrived in the northern hemisphere | Europe weather

Weather tracker: Heatwaves have arrived in the northern hemisphere | Europe weather

Published by skeptic

Summer has arrived with full force across the northern hemisphere, bringing extreme heat to many countries. Northern parts of India have been experiencing a heatwave, and Delhi recorded a minimum night temperature of 35.2C, the warmest night the capital has recorded since June 2010, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. A maximum temperature of 44.7C was recorded on Wednesday in Ganganagar, in the north-west of the country, close to the Pakistan border. The high temperatures have pushed power demands to record highs of 8,647MW for Delhi alone, with the total consumption for northern India rising to almost 90,000MW on Tuesday. A plane was also left stranded on the ground for more than an hour during the heatwave without any air conditioning. Temperatures in Saudi Arabia soared above 50C this week, causing the deaths of at least 550 Muslims travelling to Mecca for their Hajj pilgrimage. The north-east US and eastern Canada have also been experiencing a heatwave, or as some have called it, a “heat dome”, a term that has become popular recently. Like “heatwave”, …

4 Simple, Effective Ways To Cope In Hot Weather During Pregnancy

4 Simple, Effective Ways To Cope In Hot Weather During Pregnancy

Published by Sam

Pregnancy can come with a myriad of symptoms, including nausea and back pain. However, one that’s especially difficult during the summer is feeling that your body is warmer than usual. According to the NHS, this is due to hormonal changes and an increase in blood supply to the skin. It can also cause you to sweat more. This is already difficult enough, but during a heatwave, like the one that’s set to hit the UK later this month, staying cool can seem outright unmanageable. How to cope with hot weather and heatwaves during pregnancy Stay hydrated, especially if you’re prone to sweating According to the National Institute of Health, the current recommendation for water intake is drinking 8–10 glasses of water each day. Perhaps up it a little more if you need to or are prone to sweating. Your pee should be a pale yellow in shade, if it’s darker, you need to drink more water. Adjust your approach to exercise The National Childbirth Trust warned: “You might need to adjust your exercise plan while …

Heatwaves, floods and wildfires – an ‘exceptional year’ of extreme weather in Europe is set to become ‘more intense’ | Climate News

Heatwaves, floods and wildfires – an ‘exceptional year’ of extreme weather in Europe is set to become ‘more intense’ | Climate News

Published by skeptic

The potatoes on Andrew Branton’s farm tell you all you need to know about the weather in 2023: rotten. From late September to January, a year’s worth of rain fell on his Lincolnshire farm. Many of his fields were submerged for weeks, leaving his potato crop unharvestable – the tubers now decomposing in the sodden ground. The water is now receding, but for weeks the sheer weight of water on many of his fields – around 2,400 tonnes per acre – has left the soil too wet and compacted for sowing spring crops. “Even if it was physically possible, it’s not economically viable,” says Mr Branton. He’s far from alone. According to the most comprehensive analysis of Europe’s climate in 2023, it was the fourth wettest year on record across the continent, with December the wettest month ever in places such as the UK. Image: Famer Andrew Branton on a flooded field of his Lincolnshire farm Image: Mr Branton’s crops have been left rotten and unharvestable Extreme weather caused losses of at least €13bn (£11.2bn) …

Heatwaves now last much longer than they did in the 1980s

Heatwaves now last much longer than they did in the 1980s

Published by skeptic

People cool off during a heatwave in Amsterdam Koen van Weel/AFP via Getty Images An analysis of all the heatwaves that occurred around the world between 1979 and 2020 has found that they are now persisting for 12 days on average compared with 8 days at the start of the study. As the planet continues to heat up, they will persist for even longer, says Wei Zhang at Utah State University. “Based on the trend, it could double to 16 days by around 2060,” he says. Zhang’s team found that heatwaves are not only persisting for much longer, they are also becoming more frequent and moving more slowly, meaning that specific places have to endure heatwave conditions more often and for longer. While heatwaves are usually thought of as events affecting one region, the area affected by extreme heat changes over time as the weather systems responsible for the hot conditions move. The speed at which heatwaves move has slowed from around 340 kilometres per day in the 1980s to around 280 kilometres per day …

How Climate Change Is Changing Heatwaves

How Climate Change Is Changing Heatwaves

Published by Sam

When heat waves swept across large parts of the planet last summer, in many places the oppressive temperatures loitered for days or weeks at a time. As climate change warms the planet, heat waves are increasingly moving sluggishly and lasting longer, according to a study published on Friday. Each decade between 1979 and 2020, the rate at which heat waves travel, pushed along by air circulation, slowed by about 5 miles per day, the study found. Heat waves also now last about four days longer on average. “This really has strong impacts on public health,” said Wei Zhang, a climate scientist at Utah State University and one of the authors of the study, which appeared in the journal Science Advances. The longer heat waves stick around in one place, the longer people are exposed to life-threatening temperatures. As workers slow down during extreme heat, so does economic productivity. Heat waves also dry out soil and vegetation, harming crops and raising the risk of wildfires. These changes to heat wave behavior have been more noticeable since …

Melting Arctic ice caps helps predict UK heatwaves, study finds – as scientist reveals this summer’s forecast | Climate News

Melting Arctic ice caps helps predict UK heatwaves, study finds – as scientist reveals this summer’s forecast | Climate News

Published by skeptic

When the UK sizzles during an intense summer heatwave it could well be linked to melting ice caps and glaciers in the frozen North, according to a new analysis. While increased melting due to climate change could make such events even more extreme, the connection may also make heatwaves possible to predict up to a year in advance, the study finds. “We will be able to estimate the exact year of the warm and dry summer in northern Europe more closely in the winter before it occurs,” says Dr Marliena Oltmanns at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton who led the research. Such a forecasting ability could be significant, allowing farmers, hospitals, or power providers time to plan for heatwaves that are already becoming more extreme due to increasing global average temperatures. Researchers have suspected for a while that there is a link between weather extremes in northern Europe and the intense summer melting in the Arctic and subarctic due to climate change – but how they might be connected remained elusive. Image: Bournemouth beach …