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CO2 levels reach new global monthly record of 400ppm

Yet another greenhouse gas benchmark has been reached globally.

Global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations have reached a new monthly record of 400 parts per million (ppm), the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced.

“We first reported 400 ppm when all of our Arctic sites reached that value in the spring of 2012. In 2013 the record at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory first crossed the 400 ppm threshold. Reaching 400 parts per million as a global average is a significant milestone,” said the lead scientist of NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network.

CO2 has risen about 120 parts per million since preindustrial times, with about 50 percent of the increase occurring since 1980.

On April 3, FIRE-EARTH forecast that the weekly average atmospheric CO₂ at Mauna Loa could hit 400ppm by May 2013.

Last 5 days of preliminary daily average CO₂

May 06 – 404.34
May 05 – 404.13
May 04 – Unavailable
May 03 – 403.63
May 02 – 403.59

Up-to-date weekly average CO₂ at Mauna Loa

Week beginning on April 26, 2015:     403.78 ppm
Weekly value from 1 year ago:     401.73 ppm
Weekly value from 10 years ago:     382.52 ppm
Last updated: May 7, 2015

Recent Monthly Average Mauna Loa CO₂

April 2015:     403.26 ppm
April 2014:     401.29 ppm
Last updated: May 5, 2015

Recent Global CO₂

March 2015:     400.83 ppm
March 2014:     398.10 ppm
Last updated: May 5, 2015

Related Links

• Weekly Average CO2 at Mauna Loa Tops 400ppm June 4, 2013
• CO2 Tops 400ppm at Mauna Loa as Forecast May 11, 2013
• 400 PPM April 3, 2013

Powerful Quake Strikes Solomon Islands

Last Update: 08:38:22

M7.1 Earthquake Shakes Bougainville Island, North Solomons

MINOR SEA LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS OF UP TO 0.3 METERS ABOVE AND
BELOW THE NORMAL TIDE MAY CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS — US Tsunami Center

TSUNAMI WAVES REACHING 0.3 TO 1 METERS ABOVE THE TIDE LEVEL ARE POSSIBLE FOR SOME COASTS OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA — US Tsunami Center

EQ Details

Magnitude: 7.1 Mw [USGS/EHP]
Location: 7.226°S, 154.551°E
Depth: 23.2 km
Time: 2015-05-07 07:10:22 UTC

Nearest Cities:

• 144km (89mi) SW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea
• 156km (97mi) SW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea
• 406km (252mi) SE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea
• 521km (324mi) ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
• 642km (399mi) WNW of Honiara, Solomon Islands

more details will follow…

Disaster Aid for “Kentucky Survivors of April Storms”

Another Major Disaster Declared for Kentucky

Kentucky Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (DR-4217) 

The White House has declared a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the areas affected by  severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides and mudslides during the period of April 2-17, 2015

Nineteen areas worst affected by the severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides, and mudslides include  Bath, Bourbon, Breathitt, Bullitt, Clark, Elliott, Estill, Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Lee, Lewis, Madison, Magoffin, Metcalfe, Morgan, Owsley, and Wolfe counties.

Kentucky Survivors of April Storms Can Register for Disaster Aid
FRANKFORT, KY – Residents of 10 Kentucky counties who suffered damage from the severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides and mudslides of April 2-17, 2015 may be eligible for federal disaster assistance.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM) announced jointly that assistance is available to affected individuals in Bath, Bourbon, Carter, Elliott, Franklin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Madison, Rowan and Scott counties.

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the commonwealth and warranted by the results of further damage assessments, said the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

This is the second Major Disaster Declaration issued for Kentucky in one week.

Related Links

• Major Disaster Declared for Kentucky (DR-4216) May 1, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared for Georgia (DR-4215) April 22, 2015
• Federal Disaster Declarations
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Drought Destroys more Crops in ID, NV, OR, UT

Crop disasters declared for 37 counties in four states

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 37 additional counties across four  states—Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah—as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the drought.

The drought disaster designations are for the following areas:

• Idaho. Ada, Bingham, Blaine, Boise, Butte, Camas, Canyon, Cassia, Clark, Custer, Elmore, Gem, Jefferson, Lemhi, Lincoln, Minidoka, Owyhee, Payette, Power, Valley and Washington counties.
• Nevada. Pine, Elko, Eureka, Lincoln and Nye counties.
• Oregon. Malheur County.
• Utah. Juab (multiple designations), Millard (multiple designations), Tooele, Carbon, Emery, Sanpete, Sevier and Utah counties.

Crop Disasters 2015

Beginning January 7, 2015 USDA has declared crop disasters in at least an 1,135 counties across 20  states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

Majority of the 2015 crop disaster designations so far are due to drought.

Crop Disasters 2014

In 2014, USDA declared crop disasters in at least 2,904 counties across 44 states. Most of the designations were due to drought.

Those states were:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan. Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. [FIRE-EARTH has documented all of the above listings. See blog content.]

Notes:
i. USDA trigger point for a countywide disaster declaration is 30 percent crop loss on at least one crop.

ii. The counties designated as agricultural disaster areas, as listed above, include both primary and contiguous disaster areas.

iii. Some counties may have been designated as crop disaster areas more than once due to multiple disasters.

iv. The U.S. has a total of 3,143 counties and county-equivalents.

v. The disaster designations posted above were approved by USDA on May 6, 2015 and posted on their website as three separate declarations.

Related Links

• Crop Disasters Declared in AZ, ID, NV, OR, UT April 23, 2015
• Federal Disasters
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Dozens of Tornadoes Strike OK, KS, NE

U.S. Tornado Alley Swept by Twisters

At least 36 tornadoes have swept through Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, flipping cars, downing power lines and snapping trees.

The twisters, including a “large tornado,” have caused “substantial” damage to many structures across several regions.

Filtered Tornado Reports. Source Storm Prediction Center/NWS

US Tornado Alley

Source: FIRE-EARTH

At least seven tornadoes touched down in Texas and New Mexico on Tuesday. There were no report of casualties, as of posting.

Tornado Alley is a nickname for an area that consistently experiences a high frequency of tornadoes each year. The area that has the most strong and violent tornadoes includes eastern SD, NE, KS, OK. Northern TX, and eastern Colorado. Source: NSSL/NOAA. Click image to enlarge.

Tornado Probabilities [Monthly] – All Tornadoes

Tornado Probabilities [Monthly] – Significant Tornadoes

Tornado Probabilities [Monthly] – Violent Tornadoes

Other Maps

1. Tornado
2. F2 or greater (significant) tornadoes
3. Wind
4. Hail