Drought, Extreme Heat Cripple China, Japan, S. Korea

Drought and extreme heat plague many parts of  China, as heat dome hovers over east Asia

Record temperatures, many of them above 40ºC, are seriously affecting people, killing poultry and livestock and destroying crops across east Asia.

Original caption: A farmer shows the dried-up rice fields in Hejia Village of Yongxin County, east China’s Jiangxi Province, Aug. 9, 2013. Lingering drought has caused severe damage to agricultural products, leaving millions of people short of drinking water in many parts of China. (Xinhua/Zhou Ke). More images…

Up to a staggering 10 percent of the population, an estimated 130 million people, have been affected by drought in the south, southwest, central, east and southeast, and by extreme heat in central and eastern China.

Original caption: An excavator is used for seeking water on a riverbed in Shuangfeng County of Loudi City, central China’s Hunan Province, Aug. 8, 2013. Regions in Hunan Province were hit by a severe drought this summer due to lingering high temperatures and lack of rainfall, leaving about 1.5 million people short of drinking water. (Xinhua/Bai Yu). More images …

More than 10 million people and at least as many livestock are short of drinking water, in the worst affected regions including Jiangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan and Zhejiang Provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

A villager prepares to pump water from a deep cave in Motou Village of Quanzhou County, Guilin City, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 9, 2013. (Xinhua/Lu Bo’an. More images…

  Original caption: Soldiers carry water for local residents in Zhoushan City, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Aug. 11, 2013. A lingering drought has left 417,000 people short of drinking water in the province. The Zhejiang provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters raised the drought emergency response system to level-3 on Sunday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu). More images…

Japan

In western Japan the mercury rose to 40.7ºC causing more heatstroke and heat related illnesses. More than 30,000 people have been hospitalized since May this year, a rise of 10 percent compared with last year.

Weather authorities have issued several alerts, advising people to reduce exposure to the sun and remain well-hydrated.

South Korea

“The entire Korean Peninsula is sweltering with average daily temperature reaching just under 33 degrees in Seoul. The heat has killed tens thousands of chickens and fish, a serious blow to the poultry and fish farming industry,” said a report.

Meantime, the country faces serious power shortages this week as temperatures are forecast to rise pushing up demand for power, while six of the SK’s nuclear plants r4emain off-line.

“If one nuclear reactor stops its operation all of a sudden, we may have to start rolling power blackouts like we did on September 15, 2011,” Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jick told reporters.

SK’s power demand is forecast to peak at about “80,500 megawatts (MW) in the next three days while its power supply capacity is seen at 77,440 MW the energy ministry said in a statement. With all the possible power-saving and supplying measures, the supply surplus could be raised to 1,800 MW but that would still not be enough,” said a report.

The heatwave is forecast to linger in East Asia until at least next week.

Related Links

• Major Catastrophe Unfolding in China
• China’s Latest Drought Disaster Figures
• Shanghai Sets Yet Another Record High Temp August 7, 2013

Heat waves kill at least 100 in Odisha, India

Deadly heat waves kill dozens in eastern India

Two dozen places in the Indian state of Odisha (Orissa) have reported temperature highs of 40 to 46 degrees Celsius in the past few days, with Sambalpur, Orissa’s 2nd most populated city, reaching 46ºC.

Power demand has risen to 2,800 MW in the state, which is much higher than the 2,635 MW approved by Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC), reports said.

Meanwhile, the hydro power production in the state has fallen by more than 50  percent to 210 MW due to low water levels.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Nicaragua.  Flooding in Nicaragua has left at least a dozen people dead, destroying or damaging hundreds of homes and affecting about 4,500 people.
  • The country has been plagued with higher than average seasonal rainfall, prompting the authorities to designate some 1,500 critical points that are prone to flooding, while they prepare shelters for up to 3/4 million people in high risk areas.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

July the Month of Instantaneous Combustion

Coming to a place near you soon!

Forest fires sweep across central Russia

Wildfires caused by soaring temperatures kill at least a dozen people, consume  1,500 homes

Massive blazes force hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their home in Russia’s hottest summer on 130-year record.

A security guard walks near grass, which was lit on fire by severe heat, at Khodynskoe pole aviation museum in Moscow July 29, 2010.  Photo: Reuters/ Xinhua. Image may be subject to copyright.

A heatwave has plagued Central  Russia and Siberia since June, incinerating homes, destroying crops and driving thousands of farmers to the verge of bankruptcy, a report said.

Eastern Siberia on Fire

Fires are still burning in eastern Siberia, north of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The above natural-color image was captured by MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on July 30, 2010.   Source: NASA E/O. Click image to enlarge. Download large image (4 MB, JPEG)

Dominic Point Fire, Montana

Original Caption:  Lightning strikes and human activities in the forested mountains of the western United States can spark wildfires during the summer dry season. The Dominic Point Fire was first reported near 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, July 25, 2010. Approximately one hour later, the International Space Station crew photographed the fire’s large smoke plume—already extending at least 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the east—from orbit as the station passed almost directly overhead. Forest Service fire crews, slurry bombers, and helicopters were on the scene by that evening.

The fire may have been started by a lightning strike, as there are no trails leading into the fire area located approximately 22 kilometers (14 miles) northeast of Hamilton, Montana, according to local reports. As of July 26, 2010, the fire had burned approximately 700 to 1,000 acres (283 to 405 hectares) of the Bitterroot National Forest in western Montana. The fire is thought to have expanded quickly due to high temperatures, low humidity, and favorable winds with an abundance of deadfall—dead trees and logs that provide readily combustible fuels—in the area. The image was taken by the Expedition 24 crew. See the International Space Station Program and the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Click image to enlarge. Download large image (999 KB, JPEG)

Bull Fire in Sequoia National Forest, Calif

The Bull Fire started in the early hours of  Monday, July 26 on the southern edge of California’s ailing Sequoia National Forest. MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image at 2:40 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time on July 27.  Source: NASA E/O. Click image to enlarge. Download large image (3 MB, JPEG)

Fire Headlines

• Wild fire in South France burns forest
• Heat wave causes numerous wild fires in central Mongolia
• Portugal fights against forest fire

Moscow heat breaks 130-year record

Image of the Day:

Heat, Pollution

Smog-covered Moscow swelters in hottest day since records began 130 years ago, as temperatures reach 37.4 ºC (99.3 ºF)

People walk along Red Square, with St. Basil’s Cathedral seen through heavy smog caused by peat fires in out-of-city forests, in Moscow, July 26, 2010.
Credit: REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin. Image may be subject to copyright.

“The all-time record has been broken, we have never recorded a day this hot before,” said Gennady Yeliseyev, deputy head of Russia’s state weather agency. “The previous high of 36.8 degrees Celsius was recorded on August 7, 1920, he said.”  Reuters reported.

“The new record could be broken by Wednesday,” he added.

“Muscovites will have to inhale smoke for another two to two and a half months,” said Alexei Yaroshenko, head of the forest program at Greenpeace Russia. “He said the smoke could eclipse the worst smog registered in Moscow, in 1872 and 1837.”

Some 34 peat fires and 26 forest fires burning in the area surrounding Moscow, covering 59 hectares (145 acres), the emergencies ministry said, Reuters  reported .

As of  July 22, severe drought had destroyed crops over 100,000 square kilometers (38,600 square miles), an area larger than Portugal, the Agriculture Ministry said.

Related Links:

• World Sizzling in Hottest Year to Date
• U.S. Had 8th Warmest June, Wetter
• U.S. Had 8th Warmest June, Wetter
• Earth: Wounded and Feverish
• Collapse Diary

• Kansas heat wave kills 2,000 cattle
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [JULY]
• 2010 Disasters

Kansas heat wave kills 2,000 cattle

The intense heat and humidity that has palled over central Kansas for more than a week have killed at least 2,000 cattle: Report

“It is all cattle in feedlots. It is more the humidity than the heat,” Ken Powell, environmental scientist with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said of the more than 2,000 cattle deaths.

“The cattle deaths have overwhelmed rendering plants and some feedlots are burying the carcasses in accordance with state regulations, said Powell.”

“From the standpoint of dealing with the disposal of animals, this is the worst I have seen in the almost 17 years I’ve been here,” he said.

Monday temperatures rose to 101 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) at Garden City in southwest Kansas, the report said.

“For three or four more days, it’s still pretty stressful,” a meteorologist at Telvent DTN said. “There is a chance you may see a few showers this weekend, which would help ease stress on the livestock.

With about 2 million cattle fattening in its feedlots, Kansas is the third largest cattle state in the U.S. More …

Related Links:

• 2010 Disaster Calendar [JULY]
• 2010 Disasters

• World Sizzling in Hottest Year to Date
• U.S. Had 8th Warmest June, Wetter
• U.S. Had 8th Warmest June, Wetter
• Earth: Wounded and Feverish
• Collapse Diary

Verifiable Impacts of Climate Change Despite Dinosaurs

Climate Change Indicators

Impact of Climate Change Despite the Massive Efforts of Fossil Fuel Industries to Spread Disinformation

The following is a summary of an EPA report titled ‘Climate Change Indicators in the United States’

Two points about the report and the summary:

1. What impacts of Climate Change are evident in the US also apply globally, with little or no exception.
2. Fire-Earth Moderators have selected those ‘Indicators’ that can be verified independently.

[NOTE: An indicator represents the current state of certain environmental conditions over a given area and a specified period of time. For example, temperature, precipitation, sea level, and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.]

Key Findings: Climate Change Indicators in the United States Report

The Greenhouse Effect (All images and captions are sourced from the EPA report)

The Earth receives energy from the sun, then radiates much of this energy back toward space. However, certain gases in the atmosphere, called greenhouse gases, absorb some of the outgoing energy and trap it in the atmosphere. This “greenhouse effect” occurs naturally, but human activities have substantially increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing the Earth to trap more heat. This in turn is changing the Earth’s climate.

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

In the United States, greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities increased by 14 percent from 1990 to 2008. Carbon dioxide accounts for most of the nation’s emissions and most of this increase. Electricity generation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, followed by transportation.

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Worldwide, emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities increased by 26 percent from 1990 to 2005. Emissions of carbon dioxide, which account for nearly three-fourths of the total, increased by 31 percent over this period.

Atmospheric Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases

Concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have risen substantially since the beginning of the industrial era. Almost all of this increase is attributable to human activities.

Climate Forcing

Climate or “radiative” forcing is a way to measure how substances such as greenhouse gases affect the amount of energy that is absorbed by the atmosphere. An increase in radiative forcing leads to warming while a decrease in forcing produces cooling. From 1990 to 2008, the radiative forcing of all the greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere increased by about 26 percent.

U.S. and Global Temperature

Average temperatures have risen across the lower 48 states since 1901, with an increased rate of warming over the past 30 years. Average global temperatures show a similar warming trend, and 2000–2009 was the warmest decade on record worldwide. Within the United States, parts of the North, the West, and Alaska have seen temperatures increase the most.

Heat Waves

The frequency of heat waves in the United States decreased in the 1960s and 1970s, but has risen steadily since then. The percentage of the United States experiencing heat waves has also increased. The most severe heat waves in U.S. history remain those that occurred during the “Dust Bowl” in the 1930s, although average temperatures have increased since then.

Drought

Over the period from 2001 through 2009, between 30 and 60 percent of the United States experienced drought conditions at any given time. However, the data for this indicator have not been collected for long enough to determine whether droughts are increasing or decreasing over time.

U.S. and Global Precipitation

Average precipitation has increased in the United States and worldwide. Since 1901, precipitation has increased at an average rate of more than 6 percent per century in the lower 48 states and nearly 2 percent per century worldwide.

Heavy Precipitation

In recent years, a higher percentage of precipitation in the United States has come in the form of intense single-day events [See Hydrokong.] Eight of the top 10 years for extreme one-day precipitation events have occurred since 1990. The occurrence of abnormally high annual precipitation totals has also increased.

Tropical Cyclone Intensity

The intensity of tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico did not exhibit a strong long-term trend for much of the 20th century, but has risen noticeably over the past 20 years. Six of the 10 most active hurricane seasons have occurred since the mid-1990s. This increase is closely related to variations in sea surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic.

Ocean Heat

Several studies have shown that the amount of heat stored in the ocean has increased substantially since the 1950s. Ocean heat content not only determines sea surface temperature, but also affects sea level and currents.

Related Links:

• Full Report (PDF 14MB)
  

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