Red Alert for Severe Smog in N. China

Severe smog plagues N. China, triggers ‘red alert’ in Beijing, 22 other cities 

The red alert will be activated at 8 p.m. Friday for Beijing and 22 other cities and is expected to last through December 21, according to government media.

Taiyuan, the provincial capital of north China’s coal-rich Shanxi province, has also issued a red alert for severe air pollution, and will activate emergency measures at midnight Friday.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said another 20 cities including Shijiazhuang, Tianjin and Zhengzhou were expected to issue red alerts, with nine others on orange alert.

Smog Plagues N China

China issues yet another smog alert

China’s weather observatory issued a smog alert on Tuesday for the country’s north and northeast, said a report.

“Beijing, Tianjin, parts of the neighboring provinces of Hebei, Henan and Shandong, as well as parts of northeastern Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces will be shrouded in moderate smog from Tuesday to Wednesday, and Liaoning Province will suffer from heavy smog, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast.”

State of Emergency Declared in Sumatra’s Riau Province due to Smoke from Forest Fires

Malaysia closes schools as blanket of smoke covers Kuala Lumpur, adjacent states

Malaysian schools have been ordered closed as a hazardous smog from Indonesian forest fires blankets the capital, multiple states and neighboring Singapore.

At least 34 of Malaysia’s 52 air quality stations were recoding  unhealthy air levels on Tuesday, according to local reports.

Meanwhile, Indonesian authorities declared a State of Emergency in Sumatra’s Riau province as hazardous levels of pollution were reported in multiple regions, including Sumatra and Borneo.

“Tens of thousands of people in smoke-choked regions of Sumatra and Borneo have fallen ill, while air travel there has also been disrupted due to poor visibility,” said a report.

It won’t get any better, before it gets a lot worse!

The Elusive and the Surreal in China

Heavy smog continued to choke northeast China, forcing the closure of schools, highways, rail and bus services, airports…

Harbin city bus terminal 8:00am Tuesday, October 22, 2013. [Original Title: “Heavy smog envelops NE China’s cities for 4th day”] Photo credit: dbw.cn/ via Xinhua. More images…

Related Links

• Major City Shuts Down in China Smog Emergency  October 21, 2013

Major City Shuts Down in China Smog Emergency

Hazardous smog brings Harbin to a halt

Harbin city, the capital of northeastern Heilongjiang province, and one of northeastern China’s largest cities with a population of more than 11 million, came to a standing still amid choking smog for a 2nd consecutive day.

Schools were forced to suspended classes, many bus routes were cancelled, traffic came to a standstill, all highways in Heilongjiang were shut down and and Taiping International Airport was closed due to poor visibility, as the air pollution level zoomed off the chart, topping the 1,000 mark in parts of the city.

A level above 300 for PM2.5 particulate matter is considered hazardous, everyone may experience more serious health effects, and authorities are required to issue a “health alert.” The World Health Organization recommends a daily level of less than 20.

Hazardous smog chokes Harbin city, the capital of northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province for a 2nd consecutive day on Monday, October 21, 2013. Photo credit: Xinhua

Meteorological authorities in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces issued a “red alert” due to dense smog, warning that the smog will worsen in Harbin, Yichun, Daqing, Suihua, Jiamusi and Qitaihe cities in Heilongjiang with visibility forecast at less than 100 meters over the next 24 hours, Xinhua reported.

Severe smog was also reported in Tangshan, east of Beijing, and Changchun, the capital of Jilin province.

• Highways were closed and flights disrupted in Jilin and Liaoning provinces.
• Train services were delayed and most of the highways in Jilin were forced to close.

“The building 50 meters away cannot be seen clearly. I smelt [Nauseous ] coal smoke when I opened the window of my house,” said a resident in Changchun, provincial capital of Jilin.

“With visibility of less than 100 meters, all 22 flights in Changchun Longjia Airport were delayed due to the foggy weather. Visibility was less than 500 meters in most of Jilin.”

The massive temperature difference between day and night was responsible for the fog, and the start of the winter heating season reportedly created the massive smog in NE China, meteorologists said.

Heavy smog plagued most parts of north China on October 7, 2013

BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhuanet) — The coming typhoon isn’t the only weather trouble in China. It’s also not a good day to be out in the country’s north.

Air pollution is through the roof, reaching level five – the most severe in the tiered-system – in central and southern Hebei province. While in neighbouring Shanxi Province, pollutant levels are just one notch down. Weather authorities have issued a yellow warning for the heavy smog, as it also plagues other parts like Beijing, Tianjin and Henan.

This year, the thick and hazardous smog has affected 17 provinces and municipalities. Facing this lingering crisis, China plans to build a nation-wide network within three to five years to monitor the impact of air pollution on health.

Beijing Buried in Smog – Again!

Beijing and other Chinese provinces entombed in dense smog: Round 6

Chinese capital Beijing and many other large cities across the country were enveloped in dense smog Sunday for the 6th time in as many weeks.

Where are you going today? Dense smog chokes Neihuang County of Anyang City in central China’s Henan Province, Feb. 17, 2013. (Xinhua/Liu Xiaokun). Image may be subject to copyright. More images…

Hazardous smog again shrouded Beijing and neighboring provinces today, disrupting flights and halting highway traffic, officials said.

The visibility at Beijing Capital International Airport fell to 5 – 10 meters earlier today,  said a report.

The Beijing municipal traffic authorities were forced to shut down large sections of expressways linking to Kaifeng, Harbin, Shanghai and Tianjin.

Dense smog also enveloped the  provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Tianjin as well as NW China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the south today.

“The air quality index reached 500, or extreme pollution, in five monitoring sites at 8 a.m. in Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei,” said the report.

Recent Smog Links

• Dense Smog Continues Choking Much of China February 1, 2013
• Beijing Buried in Heavy Smog – Take 4 January 29, 2013
• Heavy Smog Entombs Beijing Again   January 23, 2013
• Breathtaking Beijing January 14, 2013
• Hazardous Air Warnings in Beijing as Landslide Kills Dozens in SW China January 12, 2013

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February 17, 2013 – DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,119 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,119 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

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

Beijing Buried in Heavy Smog – Take 4

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,138 Days Left 

[January 29, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,138 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 …

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Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Beijingers choking by ‘worst fog ever’

Round 4 of heavy smog in less than 4 weeks, described by Beijingers as the ‘worst fog ever,’ enveloped the Chinese capital on Monday, worsening on Tuesday, and severely affecting visibility in large portions of the city, Xinhua reported.

The pea soup fog reduced visibility in downtown Beijing to such extent that office workers could no longer see the building tops.

Putrid air has caused a surge in respiratory illnesses, especially among children and the elderly, the report said.

A pediatric hospital in downtown Beijing has treated a record 9,000 children this month, mostly flu, pneumonia, tracheitis, bronchitis and asthma patients.

Air quality in Beijing on Tuesday hit 517 on an index maintained by the U.S. Embassy in the Chinese capital, which described the pollution as “Beyond Index,” said Reuters.

• The choking smog enveloped several cities, covering a total area of 1.3 million square kilometers Tuesday, said the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP).
  

 

 

Related Links

• Heavy Smog Entombs Beijing Again   January 23, 2013
• Breathtaking Beijing January 14, 2013
• Hazardous Air Warnings in Beijing as Landslide Kills Dozens in SW China January 12, 2013

Egypt could collapse if political crisis continues

Egypt’s army chief warned today that the state could collapse should the current political turmoils continue.

• At least 60 people have been killed in the past 4 days as protesters across much of Egypt battle the police.
• “The continuation of the conflict between the different political forces and their differences over how the country should be run could lead to the collapse of the state and threaten future generations,” said the army chief, who is also the country’s defense minister.
• “The military is Egypt’s most powerful institution and was the de facto ruler since a 1952 coup by army officers seized power and later toppled the monarchy,” said a report.

• Hell would freeze over before Egyptians are allowed to have a functioning democracy!

Australian floods force evacuation of thousands in 2 states

• Burnett River burst its banks, flooding at least 2,000 homes in Bundaberg, Queensland.
  • The river was expected to peak above 9.6m, some 1.5m above the 2010 flood level.
  • “Those flood levels will be one of the highest levels recorded for the whole of the Bundaberg and Burnett region,” said Queensland Police Minister.
  • About 8,000 people have been displaced across the flooded city.

• The storm cell moved south triggering extreme rain in parts of New South Wales, prompting the forced evacuation of at least 2,500 residents in the city of Grafton, as rising water threatened the levees.

Related Links

• Final Eviction Notice to Australians? January 28, 2013

Heavy Smog Entombs Beijing Again

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,144 Days Left 

[January 23, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,144 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 …

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Global Disasters/ Significant Events

 ‘Progress’ to absurdity: From the Great Wall to heavy smog

The air pollution in Beijing Municipality rose to hazardous levels again on Wednesday, as heavy smog blanketed the city.

• “At 3 p.m., air quality indices at most monitoring stations in the city proper ranged from 311 to 400, a serious level, according to statistics from the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center.” said a report.

Smog envelopes Beijing, the Chinese capital, January 22, 2013.  (Xinhua/Wang Shen). More images…

Beijing meteorological observatory issued a yellow alert for heavy fog on Tuesday.

Beijing: The Forbidden City was  shrouded on Jan. 23, 2013. “The air quality hit the level of serious pollution in Beijing on Wednesday, as smog blanketed the city. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)”.

Related Links

• Breathtaking Beijing January 14, 2013
• Hazardous Air Warnings in Beijing as Landslide Kills Dozens in SW China January 12, 2013

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

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

Breathtaking Beijing

Earth dwellers fast running out of excuses!

Beijing’s PM2.5 particulate density exceed 900 micrograms per cubic meter over the weekend, nearly 40 times the World Health Organization’s “safe” daily limit, prompting the municipal government to issue a warning for air pollution.

• “Real-time monitoring data shows the air quality index was as high as 500 in most parts of the city, with some above 900. The smog is expected to last another three days, as weather conditions are preventing the pollutants from dispersing. The public are advised to stay indoors and to avoid strenuous exercise.” CNTV said.
  

• Beijing hospitals have reported increases of about 30% in the number of patients with respiratory problems in the past few days.

• Beijing has a minimum population of more than 20 million and at least 5.2 million vehicles.

Heavy smog shrouds Beijing for a 3rd day. Photo shows Central Business District in Beijing on January 13 as dense fog in  China’s east and central regions caused serious air pollution. The smog is expected to last until at least Wednesday. (Xinhua/Liu Changlong)

At least half of 74 Chinese cities monitored for air quality showed severe pollution over the weekend.

Related Links

• Hazardous Air Warnings in Beijing as Landslide Kills Dozens in SW China Posted January 12, 2013

North America Fire and Smoke Hazards – June 20

Fire and Smoke Hazards Maps for June 20, 2011

Smoke from more than 400 wildfires across 11 states, including 37 large fires, is contributing to the poor air quality.

Fire Stats

• Wildfires are burning across the states of Alaska (2), Arizona (3), Colorado (2) , Florida (11), Georgia (4), Mississippi (2), New Mexico (3), North Carolina (1), Tennessee (1) Texas (8) and Virginia (1).
• Nationwide, about 8 million acres [FIRE-EARTH estimate] have  been consumed since the beginning of 2011 (official figure: 4,299,810 acres as of June 17, 2011)
• The 2001 – 2010 ten-year average: 1,387,760 acres burned
• Wildfires in 2011 have so far consumed more than 6 times the ten-year average, and rising.
• National Preparedness Level is currently 3 (On a scale from 1 to 5)
• State of Texas has the 2011 record with 2,950,969 acres burned so far (TFS data as of June 17, 2011; state preparedness Level: 4)
• State of Arizona is in second place with at least 840,000 acres burned (data: InciWeb)
• RED FLAG and Excessive Heat Warnings are currently operating in at least 10 states. (See hazards map below.)
• Critical fire conditions are worsening due to the low humidity, strong winds and high temperatures across most of the southern United States.

Current HMS Fire and Smoke Analysis

Analyzed Fires and Smoke from Satellite on NESDIS ArcIMS server. Map enhanced by FIRE-EARTH. Click images to enlarge.

US Weather Hazards Map – June 20

Click image to enlarge. Click HERE to enter NWS interactive portal.

• MISSOURI: URGENT- Dangerous Heat Expected Through Monday
• TEXAS: Heat Advisory Is In Effect For Portions Of South Central Texas

US weather forecast Map – June 19 – 20

Related Links

• Arizona Wildfires Update – June 19
• Brace for the Worst Ever
• U.S. Wildfire Update – June 17
• Tornado, Flood and Red Flag Warnings
• Who’s Afraid of Wildfires
• U.S. Wildfires – June 16 Update

UPDATE #2 – California Fires

California Inferno Rages On

Wildfires are an indispensable tool in Nature’s cycle-of-life toolbox. But … the fires must not be allowed to burn naturally!! Click Here!

What People Said:

• California is reaching a “tipping point.” We need federal help, including military resources, said the mighty Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declared a state-wide drought in June amid two years of low rainfall.

• Humanoids’ ignorance of Nature’s defense mechanisms hasn’t improved in 12,000 years! Take the California’s wildfires, for example. Tackling the wildfires has become strictly a Freudian affair. ~ A Member of Creating A Sustainable Future (CASF).

A firefighter with the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District talks on his radio as a spot fire burns through trees and brush July 10, 2008 in Concow, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

• About 1,300 square miles (3,366 square kilometers), or 0.8 percent of the entire state, an area larger than Rhode Island, has been consumed in California since June 21, said Cal Fire. [The scorched land area is the largest in size in California’s wildfire history.]

• For first time in 30 years, California National Guard lends hand against wildfires, said abc News.

• “I am ordering 2,000 additional California National Guard personnel to boost our firefighting forces,” said Schwarzenegger.

• Burning embers – pinecones and bark chunks as big as baseballs – were thrown a quarter of a mile ahead of the primary wall of flames, creating spot fires. “You can’t see out a quarter mile,” Brown said. “When you find the new fire, it’s already a big fire.” Said SFGate

• “In my district, about 40 more homes were confirmed destroyed and there has been at least one death where a person refused to evacuate,” said Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly.

• “[The California’s fires] are unprecedented in size and number … [State authorities] have essentially exhausted all of their internal resources; eighty percent of all the federal resources are committed to California right now.” Said Glenn Cannon, assistant administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

A mountain bike is one of the few items recognizable at a home in the Camelot subdivision in Concow, Calif. Chronicle photo by Paul Chinn. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

• The fires have killed two firefighters, injured 262, consumed 752,944 acres and have costs $325.7 million to fight. The fires threaten about 15,500 homes and structures across California, according to the state and federal fire reports.

• Some 19,704 firefighters and support personnel from 41 states are quenching 322 fires across California, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire.

• Mexican and Canadian crews are also helping the US firefighters, said Mark Rey, undersecretary of natural resources and the environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• The Butte blaze threatens 3,800 homes and structures, said Justin Scribner, a spokesman for Cal Fire. “We were trying to conduct a planned burning operation, with crews in place to hold the lines, but the winds picked up, and we weren’t able to stop it.”

• The Butte fire has scorched about 49,000 acres (19,600 hectares), 60 structures, and caused $40.5 million in damages, according to Cal Fire and the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

This image of the combined fires was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on July 10, 2008.

Carbon Dioxide Is a Fire Retardant (!)

• Homeland Security (!) Sec. Michael Chertoff held a conference call with Gov. Schwarzenegger, Sen. Feinstein, a staffer for Sen. Boxer, Interior Sec. Kempthorne and Agriculture Sec. Schafer to discuss California’s needs, said DHS spokeswoman. [She did not specify whether the conference was held in French or in English!]

• It has been decided that to create more CO2, which might help put out the fires, firefighters from Australia, Greece and New Zealand should come to the U.S. </dark humor>

• State officials are trying to get all the fires declared as major disasters, to enable increased access to federal funds, said California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi.

• Forest fires have broken out in nine states, including two in Washington yesterday, which destroyed [thirteen] homes [some were multimillion-dollar homes] in the Spokane Valley [Friday], said Don Smurthwaite, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

Numerous major wildfires continued burning Friday in Eastern Washington, prompting Gov. Chris Gregoire to declare a state of emergency for the entire state. That freed equipment, firefighters and funding for efforts to quench the flames.

Fire crews from across Washington were battling blazes in Chelan, Douglas, Stevens, Adams, Ferry, and Spokane counties. With hot and dry conditions statewide, Gregoire said the proclamation ensured any affected area would have sufficient firefighting resources. (Source)

• “It would do us no good to send everything to California and then see fires ignite in three or four other states,” Smurthwaite said.

• So far, about 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares), [an area roughly the size of Connecticut,] have burned in the U.S. this year, exceeding the 10-year average of 2.5 million [by 20 percent,] Smurthwaite said.

• “Hand crews and bulldozers were (in Concow) all night, posted at individual homes” trying to retard the flames, said Joshpae White, an engineer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

• High temperatures and low humidity have hampered efforts by crews trying to contain another fire advance near Carmel Valley, north of Big Sur. said Susan Zornek, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman on loan from Missouri.

• Because this fire season started so early, the firefighting conditions have been among the worst in memory, even among longtime crews, said Terence McHale, policy director for CDF Firefighters of Cal Fire, the union representing the firefighters.

• “We have firefighters who’ve been working nonstop since mid-May, who haven’t seen their families or homes, who are working 24-hour shifts, 21 days on, sometimes putting in 36 hours in the initial attack of a fire,” said McHale said. “It’s an incredible challenge.”

• “You almost feel like somebody is out to get you,” said Nancy Henphill, 61, a Concow resident.

California Must Decide: Life or “Lifestyle?”

Related News Links:

• Calif. National Guard Joins Firefighting Effort
• California Wildfires Force 10,000 to Evacuate Homes
• Calif. Wildfire Forces More Evacuations

Related Links:

• UPDATE #1: California Fires
• Early Halloween

• Images of the Day: California Fires
• Lightning Safety Awareness Week: June 22-28

• A Few Extreme Events Away

• 2008: Year of the Fire
• Raging Wildfires: Mother Nature ensuring the cycle of life?

• Our Forecast for 2009 California Fires [Aug 14, 2008]

UPDATE: California Fires

submitted by a member

15,000 residents of Paradise, California, ordered to leave their homes!

The problem is they don’t understand the fires in California!

Californians Lack a ‘Life Policy’ and Will Pay Dearly!

A firefighter watches over a backfire set in a redwood forest along Pacific Coast Highway 1 during a massive wildfire in Big Sur, California July 6, 2008. REUTERS/ Robert Galbraith. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Up to 15,000 residents of Paradise, California, were ordered to leave their homes on Wednesday as fire threatened to spread into town where it consumed nearly 80 homes in June.

The ‘Butte Lightning Complex’ fire near Paradise, about 140 km north of Sacramento, is one of nearly 350 lightening-started wildfires still burning across California. The Butte fire has consumed about 20,000 hectares since June, destroying as many as 60 structures including 45 residences and now threatens up to 4,000 residences.

In the Big Sur area 2,300 firefighters and volunteers have contained about a quarter of the Basin Complex fire, which has burned up to 40,000 hectares of land along California’s pacific coast. Further south, about a half of the Gap Fire in Goleta, near Santa Barbara, which has consumed about 4,000 hectares, has been contained.

About a quarter of a million hectares of scenic land have been scorched in California in the past two weeks. Meanwhile California temperatures rise in what is considered to be “the first significant heat wave of the summer,” according to the California Independent System Operator.

In October 2007, California Wildfires left eight people dead, burned about 200,000 hectares and consumed 2,000 homes displacing about 700,000 people.

The National Weather Service has issued the following alerts throughout California:

1. Red Flag Warning
2. Excessive heat warning
3. Air Quality Alert
4. Hazardous Weather Outlook

See Also:

• UPDATE #2 – California Fires [July 12, 2008] AND
• Our Forecast for 2009 California Fires [Aug 14, 2008]

• Gov. Schwarzenegger signs 10 wildfire-related bills, 104 others (September 26, 2008)
  

For more information go to: National Weather Service link

This Is NO Way to Deal With California Fires!