Coastal communities across the world already feeling the impacts of climate change.
Coastal communities across the world are already feeling the disastrous
impacts of climate change through variations in extreme sea levels. These
variations reflect the combined effect of sea-level rise and changes in
storm surge activity.
Understanding the relative importance of these two
factors in altering the likelihood of extreme events is crucial to the
success of coastal adaptation measures. Existing analyses of tide gauge
records agree that sea-level rise has been a considerable driver of trends
in sea-level extremes since at least 1960.
However, the contribution from
changes in storminess remains unclear, owing to the difficulty of inferring
this contribution from sparse data and the consequent inconclusive results
that have accumulated in the literature. Here we analyse tide gauge
observations using spatial Bayesian methods to show that, contrary to
current thought, trends in surge extremes and sea-level rise both made
comparable contributions to the overall change in extreme sea levels in
Europe since 1960.
We determine that the trend pattern of surge extremes
reflects the contributions from a dominant north–south dipole associated
with internal climate variability and a single-sign positive pattern
related to anthropogenic forcing. Our results demonstrate that both
external and internal influences can considerably affect the likelihood of
surge extremes over periods as long as 60 years, suggesting that the
current coastal planning practice of assuming stationary surge extremes
might be inadequate.
Nature 30th March 2022
Hotter Antarctic summers posing increasing threat to stability of world’s largest ice sheet
Hotter Antarctic summers posing increasing threat to stability of
world’s largest ice sheet, satellite observations show. The East
Antarctic ice sheet is the biggest land-based piece of frozen water on the
planet. It holds about 80 per cent of all ice in the world, stretching up
to 4,800 metres in thickness in some places, and containing enough water to
raise global sea levels by 52 metres. Humans are generally keen for it to
stay in place. But new research shows that warmer summers due to the
worsening climate crisis are seriously threatening the floating ice shelves
which fringe the ice sheet, helping hold it in place.
Independent 31st March 2022
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/antarctic-heat-ice-sheet-threat-b2048301.html
European Union lawmakers move to reject inclusion of nuclear energy as ‘green’
EU lawmakers move to reject green gas and nuclear investment rules, Reuters, By Kate Abnett and Simon Jessop
- Summary
- Greens, Socialists and Democrats oppose proposed rules
- Parliament vote on taxonomy proposal due by July
- EU advisers launch report on other environmental criteria
BRUSSELS, March 30 (Reuters) – At least two groups of European Union lawmakers have confirmed they will reject an EU proposal to label gas and nuclear energy as sustainable investments, officials said on Wednesday.
Reporting by Kate Abnett, Simon Jessop, editing by Ed Osmond………… (registered readers only) https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/eu-lawmakers-move-reject-green-gas-nuclear-investment-rules-2022-03-30/
7 wildfires in Chernobyl Exclusion zone exceed Ukraine’s emergency classification tenfold.
Seven wildfires have broken out in the exclusion zone surrounding the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear
disaster, according to a statement by Ukraine’s Parliament. The fires,
which were observed via satellite, exceed Ukraine’s emergency
classification criteria tenfold.
Ukrainian officials stated that the fires
were caused by “the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, namely
the shelling or arson,” though this has not been independently verified.
Wildfires risk mobilizing and dispersing radioactive contaminants left over
from the 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl.
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 23rd March 2022
Wildfires break out in Chernobyl amid a non-functioning radiation-monitoring system
Nuclear catastrophe threatened, as fires sweep through forests towards Chernobyl site
Chernobyl radiation fears as 25-acre forest fire burns towards nuclear plant. Fears are growing of a nuclear disaster after Russian troops began shelling the Ukrainian town where staff working at the Chernobyl plant live.
Russian shelling has lead to wildfires breaking out across Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone, it has been claimed. It is believed that 25acres of the forest surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear site – which is under
Russian control – are now ablaze.
Officials are concerned the fire couldsweep through the forest and tear through the power plant, leading to anuclear disaster and “irreparable consequences” for Ukraine and the “whole world”.
Mirror 27th March 2022
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-chernobyl-radiation-fears-forest-2656779
Scientists caught off guard by massive ice shelf collapse in ‘coldest, driest’ part of Antarctica
Scientists caught off guard by massive ice shelf collapse in ‘coldest, driest’ part of Antarctica
A huge ice shelf has collapsed in Antarctica, coinciding with a period of intense and unseasonal heat which may have been “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.
Forest fires erupt around Chernobyl nuclear plant 
Forest fires erupt around Chornobyl nuclear plant, https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3441388-forest-fires-erupt-around-chornobyl-nuclear-plant.html Forest fires have broken out in the exclusion zone around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant because of combat actions. More than 10,000 hectares of forests are burning, which may cause increased levels of radioactive air pollution.
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova wrote this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
Fire control and extinguishing is impossible due to the seizure of the exclusion zone by Russian troops, she wrote.
As a result of combustion, radionuclides are released into the atmosphere, which are transported by wind over long distances, which threatens radiation to Ukraine, Belarus and European countries. Due to windy and dry weather, the severity and area of fires will grow, which can lead to large-scale fires, which are difficult to deal with even in peacetime.
Denisova warned that the flames could engulf spent nuclear fuel storage facilities and nuclear waste storage facilities located in the Chornobyl zone.
She called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to “send experts and firefighting equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible to prevent irreparable consequences not only for Ukraine but for the whole world.”
“Catastrophic consequences can be prevented only by immediate de-occupation of the territory by Russian troops. Therefore, I call on international human rights organizations to take all possible measures to increase pressure on the Russian Federation to end military aggression against Ukraine and de-occupy high-risk areas,” she wrote.
Antarctic heat – a horrifying reminder of the future with global heating
“Shocking,” said the Met Office head; “bonkers,” according to an Antarctic researcher. The heat at both ends of the planet this week has scientists straining for adjectives. 40°C above normal in Antarctica,
30°C hotter than usual in the Arctic.
With temperatures so much above anything on record, scientists had to confirm that, no, it isn’t a typo:
this is really happening.
Last week, the Conger ice shelf, which sits off the East Antarctic coast and is around 1,200 square kilometers across, collapsed completely. Ice sheets hold back the flow of ice into the sea.
“If they collapse, then ice flow from inland accelerates and leads to sea level rise,” said Andrew Mackintosh, a scientist at Monash University in Australia.
A natural reaction to such news is to fear the ice sheets might collapse entirely. If the West Antarctic ice sheet collapsed into theocean, global sea-levels could rise several metres – much faster and
further than expected – swamping coastal cities. That is not likely to happen soon, but the polar heat is a horrifying reminder of the stakes involved.
Independent 25th March 2022
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/opinion/higher-food-prices-climate-crisis-b2043988.html
Very low Arctic sea ice
Arctic sea ice has reached its maximum extent for the year, peaking at
14.88m square kilometres (km2) on 25 February. It is the 10th smallest
winter peak in the 44-year satellite record. The provisional data from the
National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) shows that this year’s Arctic
maximum extent was recorded on 25 February – marking the third earliest
maximum in the satellite record. While the past six months have been fairly
uneventful in the Arctic in general, the Earth’s other pole has seen a
record-breaking melt season.
For the first time since the satellite record
began, the Antarctic extent fell below 2m km2 this year. Unusually, the
Arctic winter peak and the Antarctic summer minimum occurred on exactly the
same day.
Carbon Brief 22nd March 2022
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to discuss climate mitigation efforts, including technology to remove CO2 from the atmosphere
UN scientists are likely to weigh up technology to remove CO2 from the
atmosphere, as they gather to finalise a key report. This idea will be one
of many solutions considered over the next two weeks by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Also in attendance will
be government officials from all over the world, who will need to approve
every line in the summary report. It is due to be published on 4 April. The
kind of carbon removal approaches the report will consider will likely
include tree planting and agriculture, as well as the more advanced
technological approaches that use large machines to remove the carbon from
the air. They will also look at combined approaches, where land is used to
grow crops which can be burned for energy while the carbon is captured and
buried.
BBC 21st March 2022
Temperatures in eastern Antarctica are 70 degrees warmer than usual
Temperatures in eastern Antarctica are 70 degrees warmer than usual https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/e2-wire/598842-temperatures-in-eastern-antarctica-are-70-degrees-warmer BY SARAKSHI RAI – 03/18/22
Eastern Antarctica on Friday recorded temperatures that are 70 degrees higher than normal for this time of the year, The Washington Post reported.
Temperatures in the eastern part of the continent have soared 50 to 90 degrees above normal, raising concern from the scientific community.
The Post reported that instead of temperatures being between minus 50 and minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit, they’ve been closer to zero or 10 degrees Fahrenheit, which is considered to be a massive heat wave by Antarctic standards.
BY SARAKSHI RAI – 03/18/22
Temperatures in eastern Antarctica are 70 degrees warmer than usual
BY SARAKSHI RAI – 03/18/22
© istock
Eastern Antarctica on Friday recorded temperatures that are 70 degrees higher than normal for this time of the year, The Washington Post reported.
Temperatures in the eastern part of the continent have soared 50 to 90 degrees above normal, raising concern from the scientific community.
The Post reported that instead of temperatures being between minus 50 and minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit, they’ve been closer to zero or 10 degrees Fahrenheit, which is considered to be a massive heat wave by Antarctic standards.
“In about 65 record years in Vostok, between March and October, values above -30°C were never observed,” climate journalist Stefano Di Battista told the news outlet in an email.
A researcher studying polar meteorology at the Université Grenoble Alpes Dr. Jonathan Wille also tweeted that this heatwave was “never supposed to happen.”
March marks the beginning of autumn in Antarctica, when temperatures usually tend to fall, The Post noted.
Willie tweeted that the warmer than usual conditions over Antarctica were caused by an extreme weather system.
“[T]his is not something we’ve seen before,” he said. “This moisture is the reason why the temperatures have gotten just so high,” he told The Post.
Exceptional warmth at North Pole, 50 degrees above normal
Record ‘bomb cyclone’ bringing exceptional warmth to North Pole. Arctic temperatures could approach the melting point as they surge nearly 50 degrees above normal. Temperature differences from normal predicted over the Arctic early Wednesday from the American (GFS) model. The difference is
around 50 degrees (28 Celsius) at the North Pole. (ClimateReanalyzer.org).
A record-breaking “bomb cyclone” that began its development over the U.S. East Coast on Friday is bringing an exceptional insurgence of mild air to the Arctic. Temperatures around 50 degrees (28 Celsius) above normal could visit the North Pole on Wednesday, climbing to near the freezing mark.
It’s a highly unusual and extreme bout of circumstances, particularly considering the North Pole is still in a nearly six-month period of darkness known as “polar night.” The sun doesn’t fully rise above the horizon between fall and spring equinoxes, contributing to the bone-chilling temperatures customary to the inhospitable region.
Washington Post 15th March 2022
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/03/15/north-pole-melting-arctic-climate/
Dangerous wildfires in Texas
Wildfires in Texas covering more than 38,000 acres have prompted
evacuation orders to be put in place across several counties in central
parts of the Lone Star State. Strong winds and dry conditions led to
firefighters battling the blaze in dangerous weather late on Thursday.
Independent 19th March 2022
Canada’s green bond program specifically prohibits investments in nuclear energy
Is nuclear energy green or not? Federal government sending conflicting messages, critics say
At the same time the government invests in small modular nuclear reactor projects, its new planned green bond program specifically prohibits investments in nuclear energy
Excerpt from the National Post, Mar 18, 2022 •The Liberal government is being accused of sending conflicting messages about the nuclear industry and how it can help adapt to a green environment.
The week the Liberal government put $27.2 million into a promising new small modular nuclear reactor — but at the same time its green bond program, meant to boost environmentally-friendly programs, specifically excludes investments in nuclear power.
The conflict shows mixed support at best for the industry, say critics………….
The green bond program was announced in last spring’s budget and detailed rules were released earlier this month. The green bonds would be part of Canada’s broader debt program, but the money would be specifically diverted to environmentally-friendly programs, such as climate change adaptation measures, other forms of renewable energy, and energy efficiency……….
Adrienne Vaupshas, a spokesperson for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, said Canada’s green bonds were following international standards.
“Canada’s green bond framework is fully aligned with international green bond standards and market expectations,” she said….
UK’s Nuclear All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) condemned for calling on govt to reclassify nuclear energy as ‘green’
CND condemns Westminster nuclear group’s call for nuclear energy to be re-classified as ‘green’ https://cnduk.org/cnd-criticises-westminster-nuclear-groups-call-for-nuclear-energy-to-be-re-classified-as-green/?fbclid=IwAR3H1WnXXIVuZY0u8smeKP097HzFohe3_Xgonazrwhe1X6sldhOzfhX12T0CND has condemned MPs and Peers from the Nuclear All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for calling on the UK government to reclassify nuclear energy as ‘green’ so it can avail of the Green Finance Initiative.
The informal cross-party group included the demand as part of a five-point plan published this week, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced “big new bets on nuclear” as part of efforts to cut reliance on gas and oil imports from Russia .
The APPG is also urging that the government sets out key targets for nuclear energy ambitions such as 15GW of power generated by 2035, and at least 30GW generated by 2050, as well as fast-tracked decisions on both large-scale nuclear plants and small modular reactors (SMRs).
In addition to opening up nuclear energy to green financing, the group wants unused former nuclear sites to be made available for further nuclear development.
CND has long-pointed out that genuinely sustainable alternatives to nuclear power exist in renewable energy sources and calls on the government to invest in these technologies rather than diverting billions of pounds into subsidising the nuclear industry. By doing so, we could secure enough clean energy sources while creating thousands of new jobs
CND Vice-President and nuclear energy expert, Dr Ian Fairlie, said the APPG’s proposals for a nuclear bonanza were ill-considered: “The idea that nuclear power, in any shape or form, was a ‘green technology’ was absurd. Nuclear wastes last for millennia and the government has nothing but hazy ideas and paper plans for its nuclear waste, so these proposals for yet more nuclear power make rational people shake their heads in disbelief. In our view, nuclear power with all its problems is not just unsustainable, it is a veritable insult to any notion of sustainability. It is for this reason that several EU Member States have objected to current proposals to make nuclear power eligible under the EU’s Green Financing Framework.”
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