Climate change: ‘Clear and unequivocal’ emergency, say scientists

A global group of around 11,000 scientists have endorsed research that says the world is facing a climate emergency.

The study, based on 40 years of data on a range of measures, says governments are failing to address the crisis.

Without deep and lasting changes, the world is facing "untold human suffering" the study says.

Climategate: Science of a Scandal

For those in the U.K., a blast from the infamous past on BBC 4 tonight.

Marine heatwaves threatening oyster industry and affecting Great Barrier Reef, scientists warn

Waters off parts of Australia are warming at some of the most rapid rates in the world, threatening the future of some of the country's most important marine industries, scientists say.

According to new research, the warming is being driven by climate change and is creating an increase in the frequency, duration and severity of what are known as marine heatwaves (MHWs).

Scientists say the heatwaves are having a severe impact on oysters — and threaten the future of the industry — as well plants and creatures that rely on the ocean for life, pushing some into new areas, while killing others.

"The oceans are really ringing the alarm bells," said CSIRO biological oceanographer Alistair Hobday, a leading expert on MHWs.

"[The oceans] are telling us we've got big problems and those problems are not going to go away."

If they set it up as BOINC work units, the cloud of boinc users is already here and ready to go, no?

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TED is organising a gathering on 10.10.2020, which will report efforts over the coming year to address key questions raised by climate change — and they want people to get involved.

Here’s the link.

Countdown

Victoria Falls slows to a trickle, fuelling fears of climate change

The Then and Now photos are interesting, and the latter is very depressing.

Indian Ocean Dipole: What is it and why is it linked to floods and bushfires?

Flooding and landslides in East Africa have killed dozens of people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Australia, a period of hot, dry weather has led to a spate of bushfires.

Both weather events have been linked to higher-than-usual temperature differences between the two sides of the Indian Ocean - something meteorologists refer to as the Indian Ocean Dipole.

What exactly is the dipole and how does it work?

Climate change: Oceans running out of oxygen as temperatures rise

Climate change and nutrient pollution are driving the oxygen from our oceans, and threatening many species of fish.

That's the conclusion of the biggest study of its kind, undertaken by conservation group IUCN.

While nutrient run-off has been known for decades, researchers say that climate change is making the lack of oxygen worse.

As a crippling drought and mismanagement have left more than a dozen Australian towns and villages without a reliable source of water, the country is beginning to confront a question that strikes at its very identity: Is life in Australia’s vast interior compatible with the age of climate change?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/08/world/australia/water-drought-climate.html

Climate change: Greenland ice melt 'is accelerating'

More Doom and Gloom. :(

There's a week day news brief on the ABC news in Sydney, and today's starts off with:

Liberal minister speaks out on climate change

NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean has told a national conference that climate change is behind the state's current bushfire crisis and there is no use in "beating around the bush".

Mr Kean began his speech by saying the bushfires had been caused by extreme weather events, high temperatures and the worst drought in living memory.

The Minister went on to say it was what scientists had warned of for decades and politics could not get in the way of winning the "climate wars".

He said renewable energy was an economic opportunity "we would be negligent to miss".

"To those vested interests and ideologues who want to stand in the way of this transition, I say enjoy your Kodak moment because the energy iPhone is on its way."

I like that last sentence. :)

Australia is on track to record its hottest day ever

From a December 13th article...

"We’re likely to see a broad part of the country experiencing temperatures in excess of 45 degrees from Wednesday onwards,” Ms Eadie (BOM) said.

@Les Bayless, how's your air conditioning going to handle this?

Oh, yes. Another item to fix, in this case by replacing.
The old one stopped working a couple of years ago.

It's not going to be good this summer, by the look of things.

And then there's the smoke.
OK at the moment, but at times it's looked like fog or mist.
Been hard to breath.

I wonder why a study was required for this. When I was in high school in the mid 1950s, I learned that the solubility of gasses in water went down with increasing temperature. I cannot imagine this has changed since then. The study may reveal to the ignorant just how bad the situation already is and that, unless we make a dramatic change in energy use, what the future is likely to be.

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I'm not sure if anyone has done a long term study of oxygen levels in sea water. There might be some data out there - its finding it.

Australia recorded its hottest day on record. from a BOM tweet.

Based on preliminary analysis, yesterday, Australia recorded its hottest day on record. The nationally-averaged maximum daytime temp was 41.9 °C exceeding the record set on Tuesday, 40.9 ºC. You can view the top ten highest daily maximum temps here: http://ow.ly/Jg3f50xDRyv

On land, Australia’s rising heat is ‘apocalyptic.’ In the ocean, it’s worse.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/world/climate-environment/climate-change-tasmania/

Why These Australia Fires Are Like Nothing We've Seen Before

“The wildfires decimating Australia, killing people, ravaging wild habitats and pushing communities and firefighters to their absolute limits are growing and coalescing into the country’s worst peacetime catastrophe precisely because of climate change,” said Paul Read, co-director of the National Center for Research in Bushfire and Arson at Monash University in Melbourne.

Here is what the future looks like.

In Australia’s history, most bad fire seasons have coincided with the warming of an El Niño pattern. But that is not the case this time, showing how much this season stands out and the danger the country faces with more unpredictable weather patterns in the future.

While scientists have long predicted that climate change would bring longer and more intense fire seasons, the blazes were not expected to be this bad this soon, Bradstock said. Under his projections, Australia would not have seen this kind of devastation for another 40 to 50 years, he said.

“I guess I’m as shocked as anyone about what’s unfolding and, probably, like everyone else who’s involved and affected, we’ll very quickly recalibrate thinking about what we’re doing,” he said.

https://news.yahoo.com/why-australia-fires-nothing-weve-195913621.html