@Thomas you get #Sandstorm made out of #Sandstorms!
Last year, "Meteorological experts say that #ClimateChange has intensified weather patterns." Higher temperatures and less snow cover has contributed to more intense #sandstorms
"Emergency workers are rescuing stranded travellers after a series of #sandstorms blanketed northern China’s #Xinjiang region.
In footage following the storms, visibility is extremely low, and cities are blanketed in thick, yellow dust, as officials attempt to guide people away."
https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/weather-china-sand-storm-dust-b2498315.html
‘The hottest year’: 10 #ExtremeWeather events in 2023
Record-breaking #HeatWaves swept across much of #Asia, #Europe and #NorthAmerica. Scientists confirm that 2023 will be the hottest year in recorded history.
By Raja Aiman
Dec. 27, 2023
It is official: 2023 will be the hottest year in recorded history.
The confirmation comes after an “extraordinary” November which smashed previous records, pushing the year’s global average temperature to 1.46 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to Europe’s climate monitor #Copernicus #ClimateChange Service.
Prior to the COP28 summit held in Dubai early this month, the United Nations had already declared 2023 the warmest year on record. Just based on the first 10 months of the year, global temperatures were around 1.4°C above the pre-industrial average, according to data from the World Meteorological Organisation.
This year, the return of El Niño conditions after three years of the cooling La Niña weather pattern has also sparked a chain reaction of extreme weather events, including bringing supercharged heat to cities across the world.
According to The World Weather Attribution group, an international coalition of climate scientists, the heatwaves experienced in South and Southeast Asia in 2023 was made 30 times more likely due to human-caused climate change.
Eco-Business tracks the impact of the heat waves on Asia and beyond, and looks back at the biggest extreme weather events of the year:
1. Record breaking heat scorches Asia
Beginning in April this year, countries across Asia was hit by brutal heatwaves, setting records as temperatures soared.
Many parts of #Bangladesh, #India, #Thailand and #Laos saw record high temperatures in April. Temperatures were as high as 45.4°C in the city of #TakThailand, for example. Casualties and hospitalisations due to heat stroke were reported in #MaharashtraIndia.
On 6 May, #Vietnam recorded its highest temperature ever at 44.1°C in #ThanhHoa province, south of #Hanoi. The heat wave forced Vietnamese authorities to turn off street lights and ration electricity to avoid overwhelming the power grid, especially as cities saw a surge in the demand for airconditioning.
With the arrival of summer in the Northern hemisphere, large swatches of #China saw blistering temperatures that triggered public health warnings. Temperatures at #Sanbao, a remote township in #Xinjiang’s Turpan Depression reached a national record high of 52.2°C at one point. China’s capital Beijing suffered through 27 consecutive days of temperatures above 35°C, leading to a temporary ban on outdoor work.
Globally, 2023 saw the warmest June, July, August, October and November on record since scientists began keeping track in the mid-19th century.
2. #Floods destroy neighbourhoods in #Libya
On 10 September, #StormDaniel swept across north-eastern Libya, bringing ferocious winds and massive rainfall that led to catastrophic floods that broke dams near the eastern city of #Derna and wiped out entire neighbourhoods in the African country.
More than 4,300 people were killed by the storm. Significant damage was done to buildings, bridges, roads, electricity grids and other infrastructure, affecting thousands of families.
3. Heavy snow blankets #LosAngeles
Los Angeles is synonymous with sunshine, but in February this year, areas around the city were covered in snow after a powerful winter storm descended upon southern California in the United States, bringing icy temperatures, fierce winds, heavy snowfall and causing rivers to swell dangerously. The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued four homeless people stranded in a major flood control basin of the Los Angeles River, and two of them were taken to hospital with hypothermia.
More than 120,000 California utility customers were without electricity due to the storm and multiday measurements saw an astounding 205 centimetres of snow recorded at the Mountain High resort in the northeast of Los Angeles. Snowfall was seen at elevations as low as 305 metres.
4. #CycloneFreddy devastates south-eastern #Africa
After developing off the coast of Australia, Cyclone Freddy travelled more than 8,000 kilometres across the South Indian Ocean before making landfall in Madagascar in February. For over a month, the cyclone tore through #Madagascar, #Malawi, #Mozambique and #Zimbabwe, killing over 1000 people and leaving over half a million displaced. By damaging water and sanitation facilities, it also played a part in the worst outbreak of cholera in Malawi.
Cyclone Freddy holds both records for the most accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) – which is a measurement of a storm’s strength over its lifetime – and for the longest lasting tropical cyclone.
5. Severe #sandstorms strike 3Beijing
On 22 March, the largest sandstorm of the year hit #BeijingChina, engulfing the capital in sand and dust. Particles with density of PM10 – which are particles of pollution that are smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter and can travel to the lungs – reached a peak concentration of 1,667 micrograms per cubic metre according to the Beijing Municipal Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Centre. This far exceeds the daily average guideline of 45 micrograms per cubic metre set by the World Health Organization.
The sandstorm caused the city’s parks to suspend operations of cruise boats and cable cars, while people were urged to stay indoors. Beijing is often hit by sandstorms in the spring, and this has been worsened by industrial activity and rapid #deforestation in northern China.
6. #CycloneMocha ravages #Myanmar
Cyclone Mocha wreaked havoc in Myanmar in May, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The cyclone, characterised by 250-kilometre-per-hour winds, is the strongest cyclone in the #BayOfBengal in the last 10 years.
An estimated 5.4 million people were in the path of the cyclone across the state of #Rakhine and north-western Myanmar, and the cyclone killed 145 people and inflicted severe damage to public infrastructure including hospitals, banks and religious buildings. Approximately 80 per cent of schools and educational infrastructure were damaged ahead of the new school term in Myanmar, affecting the education of many students.
7. #Australia bakes in spring #heatwave
In September, much of Australia’s southeast region, was hit by a spring heatwave. Temperatures in #Sydney reached 34.2°C a staggering 12 degrees higher than the September average.
The Bureau of Meterology called the heat “very uncommon for September”.
Soaring temperatures caused 26 participants at the Sydney marathon to be taken to hospital and another 40 runners treated for heat exhaustion.
8. #TyphoonMawar pummels the #Philippines, #Japan, #Guam and #Taiwan
In May, Typhoon Mawar hit Guam and the Philippines, then lashed Taiwan and southern Japan. The Category 5 Super Typhoon, with winds of up to 180 miles per hour (289 kilometres per hour) is the strongest storm in 2023.
Guam was flooded and most of the island’s residents were left without power and electricity for weeks. The government of Guam estimated the commercial sector of the US territory suffered $112 million of damage.
In the #Philippines, thousands of people in the coastal areas were evacuated, while schools closed and flights were cancelled.
Greenpeace Phillipines campaigner Jefferson Chua said: “The Philippines is in a constant state of emergency. #SuperTyphoons are the Philippines’ new normal, even as we are already experiencing longer-term, slow onset impacts such as drought, sea level rise, and diminishing resources.”
9. #Europe and US swelter under #ExtremeHeat
Europe experienced some of its hottest temperatures in July, bringing with it heat advisories, raging wildfires and massive evacuations.
The Italian island of #Sardinia saw temperatures push to 47°C and the #Palermo airport in Sicily had to close after being encircled by #wildfire.
#Wildfires also caused more than 20,000 people to flee the Greek island of #Rhodes. It was the largest wildfire evacuation in #Greece.
The heat extended to the oceans, with sea temperatures rising to unsafe levels around Greece, #Spain, #Turkey and #Italy.
In America, temperatures in California’s #DeathValley reached 53.3°C, coming close to breaking the global record. The US National Weather Service issued a warning of a “widespread and oppressive” heatwave in the southern and western states. More than 80 million people were affected.
10. Record heat brings deadly wildfires to #Chile
Record summer temperatures soared to more than 40°C in Chile in February, sparking wildfires in the South American country that killed 24 people and burnt 270,000 hectares of land. A state of emergency was declared in three regions in the country.
Chile’s interior minister Carolina Toha said: “The thermometer has reached points that we have never known until now. The evolution of climate change shows us again and again that this has a centrality and a capacity to cause an impact that we have to internalise much more.”
Source:
https://www.eco-business.com/news/the-hottest-year-10-extreme-weather-events-in-2023/
#ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe #Weather2023 #WeatherExtremes #ExtremeHeat
Estimated 2 billion tons of #sand and #dust are entering the atmosphere per year: ‘We are in a vicious circle’
Story by Jeremiah Budin, December 11, 2023
"#Pollution and human activity have ripple effects everywhere that plants grow, and one of those effects is that there is less land for plants to grow than ever before.
"According to the United Nations, the world is losing around 386,000 square miles (by some estimates, more than Texas and New Mexico combined) of productive land per year to sand and #DustStorms — the result of #HumanActivity, as Reuters reports.
What is happening?
"The United Nations Convention to Combat #Desertification (#UNCCD) recently issued a report that called attention to the issue of land loss due to #SandStorms, which have hit large areas of #Africa and #Asia. According to the report, at least 25% of the storms could be attributed to human activity, such as #overmining and #overgrazing.
Why is this concerning?
"According to the UNCCD report, 'with impacts far beyond the source regions, an estimated 2 billion tons of sand and dust now enters the atmosphere every year, an amount equal in weight to 350 Great Pyramids of Giza.' And while sand storms are common in many regions, this new frequency and intensity are not.
“'We are in a vicious circle, where #LandDegradation is fueling #ClimateChange and climate change is exacerbating land loss in the world,' Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD executive secretary, told Reuters.
"Thiaw went on to explain that as the sand storms continue to make an increasing amount of land unfarmable, it affects people’s ability to get food in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.
“'It goes well beyond individuals,' he said. 'It is affecting the entire community.'
What can be done about it?
"The UNCCD had several recommendations for steps that could be taken to prevent further land loss. For one, it said that funding needs to be increased to tackle the problem, which has drawn less attention so far than other issues caused by human-driven pollution.
"Also, new incentives are needed for the private sector to take responsibility for the land that it destroys.
"As Thiaw told Reuters, #China has been successful at combating desertification and controlling dust, by employing a #LandManagement, #restoration, and #reforestation program."
15-Nov-2023
Sand and dust storm frequency increasing in many world regions, UN warns
Two billion tons of #sand and #dust, equal in weight to 350 Great Pyramids of Giza, enter the #atmosphere every year; UNCCD experts attribute over 25% of the problem to human activities; Wreaks havoc from Northern and Central Asia to sub-Saharan Africa
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1007784
#science #ClimateCatastrophe #storms #SandStorms #DustStorms #ExtremeWeather
Yellow dust: Sandstorms bring misery from #China to #SouthKorea. “#Sandstorms in the region have been increasing in frequency since the 1960s due to rising temperatures & lower precipitation in the #Gobi wilderness… As China & South Korea grapple with yellow dust from sandstorms, #Thailand…is dealing with its own #pollution problem as #wildfires & the burning of #sugarcane fields blanket the country's northern region in smog.” | BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65247927.amp
"Sandstorms whipped up from the #GobiDesert have spread from northern China to Thailand and South Korea and as far east as #Japan, causing a reduction in visibility and an increase in #RespiratoryIllness. There have been four sandstorms in the space of a month in China this year"
#Sandstorms cover #China, #SouthKorea and #Thailand in a yellow blanket of dust – in pictures | #Environment | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2023/apr/14/sandstorms-cover-china-south-korea-and-thailand-in-a-yellow-blanket-of-dust-in-pictures
The public should wear masks 😷, gauze, other dust proof gear, Chinese authorities warn as parts of northern #China including Beijing are enveloped in #sandstorms in April. Sandstorm alert issued for Mon/Tue, state media quote #weather bureau. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202304/1288792.shtml https://nitter.hongkongers.net/onlyyoontv/status/1645443705393012737#m
China issues #BlueAlert for #sandstorms
-- Floating sand particles and dust will sweep across parts of #xinjiang #InnerMongolia, #Qinghai and #Gansu from Saturday to Sunday.
-- The public has been advised to take precautions against wind and sandstorms, and #drivers have been asked to prepare for poor visibility.
-- #China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system for sandstorms, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Why @NASA is worried about #sandstorms
https://theweek.com/space/1021219/why-nasa-is-worried-about-sand-storms
The sun's rays, #sandstorms and strong #wind.
#travel #bw #photography #landscape #landcapephotography #hiking #fineart #fineartphotography #texture #erosion #natgeo #nature #life #sedimentary #geology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5B69UUZY8w
#FuturismDailyNews: #Dubai’s #Apple #Store #Changes Shape #According to the #Weather
The new Apple store in Dubai changes shape according to the weather and #temperature outside. In #cool weather, large #windows open allowing #customers to go out onto a #terrace #overlooking the #street below. During #wind, #rain, or #sandstorms, the large windows close.
