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UNICEF marks anniversary of Storm Daniel, highlights aid for children and families
#StormDaniel, #UNICEF

Libya is witnessing on Wednesday a national day of mourning for the victims of the Mediterranean storm "Daniel" that hit the eastern region of the country a year ago.#Derna #StormDaniel
National day of mourning in Libya on the first anniversary of Storm Daniel

The Government of National Unity (GNU) has announced that September 11th will be observed annually as a national day of mourning in memory of the victims of the catastrophic floods that struck Derna and surrounding areas.#Derna #StormDaniel
Libya declares September 11th as national day of mourning for Derna flood victims

Remember Derna, Lybia.

“…a climate and environmental catastrophe that requires $1.8 billion in reconstruction and recovery. “

“the disaster affected approximately 1.5 million people or 22% of Libya's population, and the UN humanitarian agency OCHA reported 4,352 confirmed deaths with 8,000 still missing.”

#stormdaniel #flood #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

https://www.albawaba.com/news/derna-flood-aftermath-requires-18-billion-recovery-funds-1550486

‘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

Floods, fires, heat: The world's worst #weather disasters in 2023

Published on Dec. 27, 2023, 11:01 AM

An unsettling pace of history-bending weather disasters unfolded around the world in 2023, including #Libya’s horrific #flooding and #Hawaii’s tragic blazes

2023 kicked off by churning out the longest-lived tropical cyclone ever recorded, setting a grim tone for the drumbeat of atmospheric upheaval that would soon follow.

The year went on to produce Africa’s deadliest-ever flooding, a tragic wildfire that engulfed an entire Hawaiian community, and unprecedented heat in one of the world’s hottest deserts.

Here’s a look at five of the most impactful weather disasters we saw around the world in 2023.

1. Devastating #floods killed thousands in Libya

Many of the worst natural disasters are a combination of extreme weather clashing with poor infrastructure. The deadly flash floods that swept northern Libya on September 10, 2023, went down as the deadliest ever recorded in Africa, leaving more than 4,000 dead and thousands more reported missing.

#StormDaniel grew into the equivalent of a tropical storm in the southern Mediterranean during the first week of September.

The system made landfall in Libya, drenching drenched the arid region with an overwhelming glut of torrential rains.

Much of the runoff flowed into #WadiDerna, a dry riverbed that only fills up after heavy rains. The onslaught of runoff gushing down the wadi pressed against several aging dams in the port town of #Derna. The dams quickly crumbled under the pressure, unleashing a lethal wall of water into the city.

2. #CycloneFreddy spun for an impossibly long time

Cyclone Freddy was a powerful tropical system in the #IndianOcean that blew away the previous record for longest-lived tropical cyclone ever observed. The storm survived over the Indian Ocean for a whopping five weeks and two days—from February 6 until March 14—trouncing by almost a week the previous record set by Hurricane John in 1994.

The tenacious cyclone helped vault 2023 into the records as the only year we’ve ever observed at least one scale-topping Category 5 storm in every tropical ocean basin.

3. Southwestern U.S. endured historic heat, a rare tropical storm

The summer heat that roasted the U.S. southwest week after week proved to be an outlier even for one of the hottest places on Earth.

Persistent #HeatDomes dominated the region through July, allowing daytime highs to soar as hot as 50°C with nights barely falling below the upper 30s.

#PhoenixArizona, recorded a high of 43.3°C (110°F) on 31 consecutive days between June 30 and July 30, almost doubling the previous streak of such intense and repetitive heat. Even worse, the average nighttime low in Phoenix came in at a steamy 32.6°C, and five days saw a low of 35°C or warmer.

Extremes often beget extremes, and it took an extreme storm to break the unprecedented pattern of sweltering heat.

#HurricaneHilary forged an unusual track as it ran up #Mexico’s #BajaPeninsula in the middle of August. Water temperatures are so cold off the northwest Mexican coast that tropical systems usually dissipate in a hurry long before they can reach California.

Hilary moved at a decent clip and managed to avoid the coldest water, allowing it to reach California as a tropical storm. This marked the first tropical storm warning ever issued for Los Angeles. The storm went on to drop a year’s worth of rain on the state’s deserts.

4. A horrific fire became Hawaii’s worst natural disaster

Deadly wildfires are a recurring theme with our changing climate, and the year’s deadliest wildfire ripped through a community on Hawaii’s Maui.

A long-term drought combined with strong winds allowed numerous fires to rage on the Hawaiian Islands this summer. One of those explosive fires tore through Maui’s Lahaina, catching residents almost entirely off-guard to horrific effect.

Many folks jumped into the ocean to escape the fast-moving flames, which consumed most of the town’s homes and businesses in minutes.

The fire’s official death toll stands at 100, a tragic toll that makes the event Hawaii’s deadliest natural disaster on record. Four residents still remained unaccounted for months after the fire.

5. #SouthAmerica faced unprecedented heat

While the world ran a historic fever for much of 2023, South America likely took the brunt of the year’s most extreme heat.
Temperatures soared into the upper 30s in parts of South America in July and August, which is the heart of the southern hemisphere’s winter season. These temperatures were often more than 20°C hotter than normal—and reportedly broke all-time temperature records in the process.

The unprecedented summer-in-winter heat continued across the continent straight into spring. Thermometers in eastern #Brazil measured temperatures in the lower 40s in the middle of November. One person even died from the #ExtremeHeat in #RioDeJaneiro while waiting for a leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour to begin, prompting the musician to postpone the date.

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/weather/severe/year-in-review-2023-international-weather-disasters-libya-flooding-hawaii-wildfires

#ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe #Weather2023 #WeatherExtremes

#ClimateChange is also increasing the frequency of dangerous storms and more erratic rainfall.

In September, #StormDaniel killed more than 11,000 people in #Libya, and last year’s massive flooding in #Pakistan fueled a 400% increase in #malaria cases across the country, according to the #WorldHealthOrganization.

#COP28 focus on health draws $777 million to fight tropical disease
https://www.rappler.com/world/global-affairs/cop28-focus-health-financing-pledges-fight-tropical-disease/

Virtually certain 2023 will be warmest year on record https://phys.org/news/2023-10-virtually-warmest-year-agency.html

"Not only was it the warmest September on record, it was far and away the most atypically warm month of any in #NOAA's 174 years of #climate keeping... Significant climate anomalies included #StormDaniel, which brought strong winds and unprecedented rainfall to eastern #Libya, triggering widespread destruction including burst dams that killed more than 10,000 people."

#ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather

Aerial view of stranded boats and floating boats at Puraquequara Lake in Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil, taken on October 6, 2023. There is only a small stream of water in the middle of a broad river bottom.

MFA Russia: 💬 #Zakharova: Russian rescuers are finishing their mission in #Libya. For ten days, they have been working around the clock to eliminate the aftermath of #StormDaniel in the most challenging and dangerous areas.

💪 They have cleaned up almost 2,000 m3 of structures and debris.
@libya

https://twitter.com/mfa_russia/status/1706961861722185751?s=12&t=iJXbw8jZfCfkGGwGd85VTw

#Weather Alert: MORE Heavy #Rain & #Floods in Forecast for #Greece after #Devastating Hit from #StormDaniel following #Wildfires, Internal #Migration as #Farmers Forced to Leave Land, #Fields Remain Under #Flood Waters: #Europe #Athens #Rhodes https://bit.ly/3LCbAzc

According to a rapid attribution study, #ClimateChange made the deluge of rainfall in #Lybia 50 times more likely and 50% more intense.

Sadly, the impacts of the #StormDaniel were compounded by the poor maintenance of the dams and the lack of preparedness of the government.

Full Carbon Brief's report: https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-how-are-libyas-medicane-fuelled-floods-linked-to-climate-change/?_thumbnail_id=48049&utm_content=buffer6a657&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

After protests in flood-hit #Derna, Libyan officials order journalists to leave - World Socialist Web Site

#StormDaniel #LibyaFloods #Censorship #NoCensorship!

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/09/20/hpuf-s20.html

"In a region hit by a ferocious Mediterranean cyclone, or “#medicane”, named Ianos, exactly three years ago on Monday, fury is widespread that almost no flood prevention measures had been taken even if most accept that this month’s storms, energised by a summer of unprecedented heat, had not occurred in several hundred years."

An example of #ClimateChange leading to political instability.

#Greece #flooding #StormDaniel
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/16/greece-failed-state-storm-daniel-wildfires-libya-cyclone

"The devastating flooding brought by #StormDaniel was exacerbated by poor infrastructure in #Libya, which was plunged into turmoil after a #NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer #Kadhafi in 2011.

Questions are being asked as to why the disaster was not prevented, when cracks in the dams have been known about since 1998." #LibyaFloods

#UN confirms death toll at least 11,300 in Libya’s flood-hit #Derna
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230917-aid-arrives-as-libya-copes-with-flooding-aftermath