Climate Change Blog 58
For 57 Blogs I’ve started with Facts on the Ground and I will get to that because it demonstrates the clear and present danger of climate change. I’ve also written about how we are systematically undermining the four blocks that support human civilization (clean resources from water, clean resources from land, stable climate and stable politics) and that’s what I’m focused on here. The oceans have absorbed so much carbon deposition, and sunlight, that they are becoming acidified and warmer. Changing the chemical composition of the ocean and biological conditions supporting essential services, such as the production of half of the oxygen we breathe and much of the protein for billions of people, is dangerous. Melting polar ice is adding to the changing chemical composition of the oceans as well as affecting oceanic circulations that regulate global weather upon which agriculture depends.
Heating the planet increases evaporation from vegetation and water which adds water vapor to the atmosphere which falls in extreme amounts beyond the ability of the soil and vegetation to absorb. Crop yields plunge in extreme heat, rain/flood and fire. Melting polar ice drives sea level rise which floods coastal zones and low-lying areas.
Extreme heat and diminishing crop yields reduces/eliminates the ability to work outdoors. People forced off their land are compelled to migrate to urban centers and internationally to countries that do not accept them adding to political instability internally and internationally. Reduced crop yield results in price increases for basic foods which causes rioting for people living at the poverty level.
Many natural systems are now working synergistically to undermine all four blocks. Loss of sea ice reduces albedo, the reflection of sunlight back into the atmosphere. Instead, it is absorbed by the darker sea warming and harming the marine environment, adding to SLR and harming both the land and the sea, adversely affecting weather systems and adding to political instability. The same can be said for the burning of the rainforests: heat is drying it out, fire is releasing carbon, instead of being a carbon sink it is a carbon source which adversely affects global weather systems, displaces people and adds to political instability. Similarly, global warming is melting permafrost which is releasing methane which adds to global warming with all of the above-noted adverse impacts to global weather systems and political instability.
Adverse environmental conditions kill over a half million people each year from air pollution, heat stroke, fires, extreme cold, flooding, drought, starvation, the spread of disease vectors and drowning at sea in desperate attempts to migrate. Such extreme weather conditions cost the global economy billions of dollars each year in lost work hours, damaged/destroyed land/property/infrastructure, and lost lives. These impacts are felt in both the developed and developing world. No one is safe. The Facts on the Ground illustrate this fact which is why I note them so extensively.
Scientists fear that we are reaching tipping points regarding damage to the oceans, the land and global weather systems that we will not be able to repair or reverse. If food shortages worsen, if extreme weather continues, if the conditions under which humanity evolved suddenly change faster than natural systems can adopt, then the global economy will collapse, conflict over scarce resources will ensue and a true dystopia will follow. We are rapidly reaching this point. There is growing consensus on such warnings. This Blog is an attempt to report on global conditions without editorializing. There are few, if any, credible voices arguing to the contrary not aligned with the oil and gas industry or extreme right groups.
Please continue to read the Blog with this in mind. And note the remarkable number of climate impacts listed below.
In early October, the Barrier islands on the East and Gulf Coasts were pummeled by Hurricane Milton, with 5 deaths reported in St. Lucie County, Fla., and over three million customers lostpower. Milton was the second-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico, behind only Hurricane Rita in 2005, making landfall less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated North Florida. Milton was the ninth hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and is the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2024 so far. The deluge threw a car the length of a football field, with floodwaters reaching up to doorknobs and flattening homes all along the coast and caused widespread flooding, submerging homes and businesses. Florida’s Governor DeSantis declared a state of emergency, with coastal residents ordered to evacuate, the largest evacuation in the state’s history at over 80,000. About 15 million people across the Florida Peninsular were under flood watches. Businesses, Public schools in over 50 counties were closed, rail and airports closed as well. By late October, the death toll from Hurricane Milton was at least 32 with 6 people missing, and the total cost of the damage from the storm was estimated to be $85 billion.
Scientists at the World Weather Attribution research collaboration estimate that due to climate change, Hurricane Milton was at least 10% more powerful and delivered 10% more rain than a similarly rare storm would have been. Milton caused about twice as much property damage as a hypothetical storm in a cooler world. Warmer air holds more moisture and warmer seawater supplies hurricanes with more energy which allows their winds to strengthen rapidly.
Researchers at Imperial College London, noted that high winds cause destruction during a hurricane and so does flooding, storm surge and tornadoes. Even small increases in a hurricane’s wind speeds, fueled by climate change, can result in big increases in damage, according to Ralf Toumi, a climate scientist at the Imperial College.
Hurricane Helene struck the Southeast in late September causing widespread destruction and fatalities. Georgia Gov. Kemp declared a state of emergency. The storm caused catastrophic flooding in western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia, and spawned numerous tornadoes. Helene also inundated Tampa Bay, breaking storm surge records throughout the area. As of late October, at least 227 deaths, and $88 billion in damage has been attributed to the storm. Western NC experienced a historic disaster with severe winds and torrential rainfalls bringing destruction and flash floods and dangerous landslides to the Asheville area devastating the region, with abandoned vehicles caked with mud and raging water filled with debris and toppled trees, stranding residents desperately searching for cellphone service. “It’s like a mini-apocalypse,” said Gretchen Hogan, a resident of Brevard, NC. The storm caused the closure of more than 400 roads across the state, including multiple parts of Interstates 40 and 26 around Asheville. In Florida, Gov. DeSantis said the storm caused a “complete obliteration of homes” in parts of the state. Cedar Key, a small community along the Gulf of Mexico, was “completely gone,” Michael Bobbitt, a local resident, said. In Keaton Beach, another shoreline community, 90% of the homes were washed away. A record-high storm surge inundated the Tampa Bay region, including areas that were previously rarely flooded including Clearwater Beach at 6.67 feet, surpassing the previous record of 4.02 feet set in 1993. Hurricane Helene also struck communities hundreds of miles from Florida and NC, overwhelming them with heavy rain, muddy water and tornadoes, knocking out power as far as Cincinnati. Helicopters rescued about 60 people surrounded by floodwaters from the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin, Tenn. Severe flooding caused by Helene collapsed the Kisner Bridge in Afton, Tenn., into the roaring Nolichucky River. The water level on the Nolichucky River rose 17 feet. The Pigeon River in Newport, Tenn., rose to an all-time high of 26 feet, surpassing the previous record set in 1902 by almost three feet. More than 4.2 million customers were without power in the Southeastern and Midwestern states in late September. Several neighborhoods in Atlanta were flooded and about 100,000 households in the area were without power. At least 33 storm-related deaths occurred in Georgia in late October, and in Tenn., 13 fatalities were reported with 23 people reported missing. At least 227 people died in Florida, Georgia, NC, SC, Tennessee and Virginia due to rising floodwaters, falling trees, vehicle crashes and a tornado. Helene’s landfall gives the U.S. a record eight Cat 4 or Cat 5 Atlantic hurricane landfalls in the past eight years (2017-2024), seven of them being continental US landfalls, which is as many Cat 4 and 5 landfalls as occurred in the prior 57 years. After coming ashore into Florida in late September, Helene set several records sweeping into Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane, with windspeeds of 140-mile-an-hour. The storm was the strongest on record to strike the Big Bend region, and the third hurricane to hit Big Bend in 13 months. Repeated strikes make recovery virtually impossible.
In late September, the city of Rustaq in the Al Batinah Region, Oman, was hit by severe flooding caused by extreme rainfall, which turned streets into fast-flowing rivers filled with debris, disrupting transportation and posing a serious threat to residents.
In late September, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport hit 113F for the fifth straight daily record in the city, the National Weather Service said. The previous record was 107o set in 2023 and temperatures rose further to 117o which smashed the previous record of 108o set in 1992. The 117o mark was also the hottest for any single day in September history. Phoenix reached 110o on 66 days this year, a full 11 days past the previous mark of 55 set in 2023.
In Nepal in late September, at least 66 people were killed and 79 people were reported missing when unrelenting heavy rainfall caused flooding and landslides closing major roads and disrupting domestic air travel. Up to 12.68” of rain fell within a 24-hour period in some parts of Nepal’s capita City of Kathmandu.
In Mexico’s state of Guerrero, where both Acapulco and Coyuca De Benitez are located, along Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, hurricane John struck the coast once as a hurricane and again as tropical storm in late September leaving behind devastated towns and 17 fatalities. Desperate residents in the town of Coyuca de Benitez, near the resort city of Acapulco, organized to go to outlying areas to burn the bloated bodies of drowned farm animals to reduce the health risk of decomposing carcasses. More than 3 feet of rain fell in the region within a 5 day-period, about 80% of the yearly rainfall.
In mid- September large swaths of Central Europe, including Poland, Czechia, Austria, Romania, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia experienced heavy rainfall, breaking local and national rainfall records over a period of four days. Almost two million people were directly affected by the flooding. Boris, a slow-moving low-pressure system, caused the worst flooding in over two decades from Romania to Poland in September, resulting in at least 24 fatalities with 9 people missing. The floods in central Europe and deadly wildfires in Portugal are joint proof of a “climate breakdown” that will become the norm unless drastic action is taken, EU Crisis Management Commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, said. “Make no mistake. This tragedy is not an anomaly. This is fast becoming the norm for our shared future,” she added. Experts say climate change caused by GHG emissions generated by human activities is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as torrential rains and floods.
In Poland the Morawka River and other rivers overflowed their banks, and some dams collapsed, leading to widespread flooding prompting a declaration of a "state of natural disaster." The region experienced up to 19.7” of rainfall in a few days, with Storm Boris delivering a month's worth of rain within a 24-hour period. Seven people were killed by the floods with 57,000 people adversely impacted and 6,544 residents evacuated. Austria: “I have lived for some 25 years in this area, and I have never before seen such an intensity” of flooding, Thomas Hofbauer, 57, a Vienna resident. In mid-September, the death toll from storm Boris reached four when the body of a man was found floating and a 70-year-old and an 80-year-old were found dead in their flooded homes. Thousands of households were without electricity and potable water in Lower Austria. Czech Republic: Three people were killed by the storm and eight were missing. Rivers rose to dangerously high levels in dozens of areas prompting the authorities to evacuate hundreds of people, including from a hospital in the city of Brno. A 54-year-old man was missing after he fell into a flooded stream in the southeast, and three people were swept away in a car by a swollen river in the northeast. According to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute such “extreme floods” is a once in a century occurrence. Italy: Storm Boris swept through northern Italy causing severe flooding in the Emilia-Romagna region, with more than 1,000 people evacuated overnight and two people reported missing. Schools were shut and travel disrupted due to landslides and the deluge prompted road closures. Romania: Six people were killed by the flash floods in south-east Romania in Galati in the south-east, 5,000 homes were damaged. “We are again facing the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present on the European continent, with dramatic consequences” Klaus Iohannis, Romania’s president, said. Homes in a village were flooded by the Danube River, which had overflowed its banks. “This is a catastrophe of epic proportions,” Emil Dragomir, the mayor of Slobozia Conachi, a village in Galati where 700 homes had been flooded, said. Hungary: The Danube River burst its banks in Budapest, reaching the parliament building as flood waters rose by nearly one meter (about 3’) within a 24-hour period prompting the closure of roads, train stations and ferries along the river. Officials reported that the Danube peaked at nearly 27.88’, the highest level in 10 years. A 472 mile barrier made up of nearly two million sandbags was put in place. A state of emergency was declared due to the floods. In Nagymaros, a local farmer, Laszlo Batki, was close to harvesting his organic crops when the Danube flooded most of his plot. "This means a loss of income ... also, we can't sow new crops as previously planned, and we can't start preparing the soil for next year."
Flash flooding in Thailand’s popular tourist hotspot Chiang Mai killed three people between late September and early October, including a 44-year-old man who was electrocuted and a 33-year-old woman who died in a mudslide. In Mae Tang district, two elephants died in the floods at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai province. Tourists evacuated hotels while shops and the central train station were closed due to the flood. Evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people in northern Thailand in and residents had to wade through waist-high water to dry land, with water levels in other areas rising to 10 feet.
In late September, raging flood waters swept through Cannes sweeping cars through the streets like empty shoe boxes and leaving the French Riviera city known for its film festival on high alert. The deluge in the French southeast region closed off traffic.
Six people were killed in late September in Japan after an unusual amount of rainfall caused flooding and landslides in a coastal region which was still recovering from a devastating earthquake earlier this year. The rain on the Noto Peninsula in western Japan washed away people and homes. In western and southern Japan, evacuations were ordered for more than 100,000 people, and the government issued severe emergency warnings for heavy rain. In Wajima City, about 10.7” of rain fell in a six-hour period, almost twice the previous record of about 5.5” set in 2007. Two people were killed in Wajima City after a landslide hit a tunnel where earthquake recovery work was under way. Two people were reported missing after they were swept away and four others are unaccounted for after their homes were swept away.
In late September, streets were submerged in the UK towns Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire after six weeks’ worth of rain fell in a 12-hour period, with streets in Dunstable and Hitchin looking like canals with cars submerged in floodwaters. The deluge caused travel disruptions and road closures including major highways. Severe weather warnings for heavy rain were in force in parts of Wales, the south of England, the Midlands and Yorkshire. Thunder and lightning, hail and rain struck various parts of the UK including Luton and Cornwall, with heavy downpour in London, and Birmingham.
A low-pressure area formed over the eastern Black Sea brought torrential rains with up to 6.5” falling in the eastern districts of Trabzon Province, Turkey in late September resulting in severe flooding and landslides. Flash floods swept away houses and vehicles causing widespread damage, including damage to agricultural land and crops.
In September, three huge flood disasters on three continents killed over 1,500 and cost over $15 billion. Super Typhoon Yagi struck Asia, Storm Boris battered Europe, while a monsoon drenched Africa. All three storms left a trail of devastation affecting hundreds of millions of people. The torrential rainfalls spawned by Boris may have caused $7 billion in damage. In the US, there have been at least 20 extreme-weather events so far this year each causing over $1 billion in damages.
In September, devastating floods in northeastern Nigeria submerged entire residential areas, displaced tens of thousands of people, and forced zoo animals into the streets, with at least 30 people killed in the floods. The floods struck Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State in mid-September after the swollen Alau dam burst. The heavy surge of water buried half the state capital of Maiduguri, damaging buildings, infrastructure and local markets causing food shortages. About one million people were affected by the floods, with about 400,000 displaced. This was Maiduguri’s worst flood in 30 years. Many bodies were recovered from the floodwaters including a baby, who waited with her family to be rescued for 36 hours on a boat. The boat capsized, causing the baby to drown. Hospitals in the state were also flooded. “I have been in this hospital for the last 37 years and I have never seen something like this,” Ahmed Ahidjo, the chief medical director of the hospital, said. At the Sanda Kyarimi Park Zoo in Maiduguri, the floodwaters killed or washed away 80% of the animals. “Some deadly animals have been washed away into our communities, like crocodiles and snakes,” Zoo officials said.
In mid-September, a fierce storm system brought unprecedented amounts of rain to southeastern North Carolina, flooding businesses and damaging roads in a region struck by Tropical Storm Debby a month earlier. The unnamed storm produced flash flooding and wind speeds of more than 60 mph along the NC coast. Some parts of NC had unexpectedly almost 15” of rain within a 12-hour period and over 18” of rain fell in Carolina Beach within a 12-hour period. The possibility of that amount of rain falling within a 12-hour period was a one-in-a-thousand-year event, the Weather Service said.
Wildfires, induced by extreme heat, moved rapidly across Portugal in mid-September resulting in multiple deaths and disrupted travel. The fires, caused by dry foliage and made worse by heat and strong winds, burned in the central and northern parts of the country. At least four people died due to the fires and residents had to evacuate their homes. Over 5,000 firefighters fought the flames, several of whom were injured and one firefighter was killed.
Unrelenting torrential rainfall caused severe flooding in the city of Coacalco, Mexico in mid-September. Streets were turned into rivers with submerged cars swept away by the fast-moving deluge. Overwhelmed residents struggled to drain floodwaters from their homes and clean up debris from the flood. Significant damage to local infrastructure was also reported.
Typhoon Bebinca, the strongest storm to hit Shanghai, China in 75 years came ashore in mid-September forcing the evacuation of more than 414,000 people and causing major travel disruptions with large flying debris crashing down onto the streets in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The storm felled over 1,800 trees. Over 1,600 flights were canceled with train service suspended and major tourist attractions closed during China’s three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. A red typhoon warning, the highest weather alert, was issued by authorities as wind speeds reached 94 mph. Bebinca is the second major storm to hit China in September after Super Typhoon Yagi, which killed four people, regarded by scientists as one of the world’s most powerful tropical cyclones in 2024.
From July to September, unprecedented flooding in 14 countries in West and Central Africa including Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, and Mali have caused a humanitarian crises. About 4 million people, mostly children, have been impacted by the devastating floods. The flooding swept through parts of West and Central Africa destroying more than 300,000 homes, killing at least 1,000 people, devastating infrastructure and agricultural products, with over 1 million people displaced. CAMEROON: In the far north region, floods destroyed four districts killing 11 people with about 200,000 people displaced, and 44,700 homes destroyed. Over 254,000 acres of farmland were destroyed. CHAD: nearly 1.5 million people were affected by floods caused by torrential rainfall since July, with 145 fatalities and about 70,000 homes destroyed. NIGER: over 137,000 people lost their homes due to flooding since August and about 100 deaths were reported. In the Basra district of Niamey, Niger's capital, homes and properties were flooded. “We nearly lost our lives. All our rooms were flooded with rainwater. We lost all our belongings. The water reached our chests. The children almost drowned," Zouley Adamou, a local resident, said. Schools and other public buildings in Niamey used as emergency shelters were also submerged along with large swathes of farmland. MALI: A state of natural disaster was declared by the government to help strengthen the national food security stock and support families affected by the floods. South-central Segou was hard-hit with more than 13,000 people affected by the floods which also destroyed its infrastructure. In Mali’s capital city, Bamako, floodwaters submerged homes and forced residents to take refuge on the roof of buildings while waiting to be rescued. "When the water submerged us, at nightfall, I put my children and grandchildren on the roof of the house. I held the feet of the smallest of them until early morning. I didn't have time to take any belongings. Suddenly, the waters took everything away, I lost everything, absolutely everything," Boubacar, a local resident said. At least 1,096 people have died due to flooding in five of the countries, including: Chad: 487 killed, 70,000 homes destroyed, 1.6 million affected; Nigeria: 269 killed, 640,000 displaced; Niger: 265 killed, 69,000 homes destroyed, 649,000 affected; Mali: 55 killed, 344,000 affected; Cameroon: 20 killed.
In mid-September, in Kiefersfelden-Gach, Germany a record high of 4oC (39.2F) measured at 518 meters (1,699.44 feet) above sea level was reported, a deeply wintery weather outlook, coming just a week after hundreds of heat records were reported, including records surpassing normal summer temperatures.
In Koh Samui, Thailand, a record high 97.52F was recorded in mid-September breaking the September heat record. Almost all provinces broke September heat records. In consecutive days leading up to mid-September, heat records were broken daily in Thailand. In Indonesia a record high for the season of 82.4F was reported at Tarempa.
A September storm in Central Europe delivered record cold and record early deep snow and heavy rains and flooding. In Obertauern, Austria, nearly 48 consecutive hours of snowfall, coupled with strong winds, created extreme conditions rarely seen even during peak winter months. The relentless snow accumulation resulted in significant disruptions, including blocking roads and increased avalanche risks.
In mid-September, southern California firefighters battled several destructive wildfires. Three major blazes erupted in mountain communities east of Los Angeles during a recent heat wave with temperatures reaching 115F. The rapid-moving fires displaced tens of thousands of people, burned dozens of homes and stretched the state’s firefighting resources. In early September, extremely high temperatures and low humidity levels baked California, setting it up for a disastrous fire season. The Bridge fire, California’s largest actively burning fire at the time, more than 54,000 acres, began in early September in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles. It underwent an alarming explosion from a few thousand acres to 48,000 acres in a matter of hours. It destroyed 49 structures, including 33 homes and six cabins. The Line Fire, erupted in a fire-prone region and fueled by winds, moved toward the populated resort communities around Big Bear Lake, prompting tens of thousands of people to evacuate. The Airport fire began in early September east of Irvine, Calif. It grew rapidly and jumped over a freeway, endangering homes in Orange and Riverside Counties. The fire consumed 23,000 acres and destroyed over 100 homes and structures. As of late September, California had 7,194 wildfires burning 1,014,375 million acres, 1,708 structures were damaged or destroyed, and 1 death was reported.
In the city of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, torrential rainfall caused severe flooding. The fast-moving floodwaters swept away vehicles while some residents were trapped in their homes by the flood with their possessions destroyed in the floodwaters.
In mid-September three people died in extreme flooding in Slovenia, which caused billions of dollars of damage, Robert Golob, the Prime Minister said. The devastating flooding due to persistent heavy rain was the country's 'worst-ever natural disaster' after the Environmental Agency issued a red warning, its highest weather alert. Huge swaths of land, homes, businesses, roads and bridges were submerged by rapidly rising rivers and muddy floodwaters with large debris flowing in them. In the flooded town of Prevalje, Jelka Skufca, a restaurant owner, described the impact of the flood as an apocalypse. “There is nothing we can do. It is very sad.”
East Asia and Southeast Asian countries were hard-hit by Typhoon Yagi in early September leaving a trail of devastation. As of early September, Yagi was the second-strongest tropical cyclone globally in 2024, after Category 5 Hurricane Beryl earlier this summer. Yagi had sustained wind speeds of up to 150 mph, making it a Category 4 super typhoon destroying parts of: Vietnam: Typhoon Yagi forced the evacuation of tens of thousands. In Quang Ninh, vessels were swept away including some with crew members onboard and one sailor died, and more than a dozen others were missing; 29 people were killed, 1,609 were injured and 102,467 houses were damaged or destroyed. The cost of the damage caused by Yagi in Quảng Ninh province is over $1 billion. The cost of agricultural and infrastructural damage caused by the typhoon were estimated to be $3.37 billion. Over eight million people in the northern provinces were without power. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” Nguyen Viet Anh, 32, a resident of Ha Long City, said. “The wind was so strong it blew everything away”, he said. “It’s just like out of a horror movie.” In the capital city of Hanoi, more than 48,000 people were evacuated and schools were closed. “All houses with tin rooftops in my neighborhood have been blown away,” Nguyen Van Bong, a Hanoi resident, said. In Hanoi, floodwaters rose 1 meter (over 3’), four people died, 6,521 buildings were damaged and over 100,000 trees were uprooted, while 1.5 million birds were killed by the floods. In the northern midlands and mountain highlands, some areas received nearly 31”, setting off devastating flooding and landslides. A passenger bus carrying 20 people was swept into a flooded stream by another landslide in the mountainous Cao Bằng province. A landslide buried the village of Làng Nủ killing at least 48 people with 39 others missing. Floodwaters submerged 690,000 acres of crops.
Laos: Yagi brought heavy rainfall that caused flooding across Laos, killing seven people and damaging houses, roads, schools and hospitals, and forced the closure of an airport.
Hainan, China: In China’s Island province of Hainan, super typhoon Yagi, the strongest typhoon in a decade to hit Hainan, made landfall twice, first striking Hainan Province and later Guangdong Province. The storm affected more than one million people in Hainan (where four people were killed and 95 injured), Guangdong and Guangxi, (where two people were killed by the storm and more than 90 people were injured). High-rise buildings swayed in the storm, which shattered windows, overturned trucks, felled trees and collapsed homes. More than 830,000 customers were without power, and about a million people were evacuated in Hainan and Guangdong Provinces. Yagi strengthened rapidly in the South China Sea to a super typhoon, with windspeeds of at least 150 mph. Haikou, Hainan province’s capital city, recording about 20.7” of rain. Economic losses broke the historical record for Haikou. Damage in Hainan is an estimated $12.3 billion.
Philippines: Yagi, combined with the effects of the southwest monsoon, resulted in 21 deaths, 22 injuries and 26 people missing, caused flooding in Metro Manila, and in eight other provinces. 2,828,710 people were impacted by the storm and 80,842 were displaced resulting in power outages in 65 cities and municipalities, with several roads closed.
Thailand: In Thailand, 46 people were killed, including 36 in Chiang Rai province and six in Chiang Mai province, when Yagi struck. Across the country, 34,000 homes were damaged, and in the city of Chiang Rai, 108 people were injured and six landslides occurred, killing six people and injuring three. Chiang Rai International Airport was closed due to flooding and parts of Bueng Khan and Nong Khai provinces were under 2 meters (6’ 7”) of water after the swollen Mekong River burst its banks.
Myanmar: the remnants of Yagi caused extensive flooding and landslides, which were the worst to hit central Myanmar in 60 years, with over 433 people killed, 79 missing, and 48 injured. At least 320,000 people were displaced by the floods and schools, office buildings, infrastructure, religious and historical buildings and more than 308,373 homes were damaged by the floods. About 130,000 animals died in the floods. The torrential rains spawned by Yagi caused a dam to collapse in Soendin Township, submerging 20 villages under up to 8’ of water. In Taungoo District, 200 villages were flooded, with about 400 people killed or missing and in Kalaw, Shan State, 100 people died and 200 others were missing due to floods and landslides. Naypyidaw, the country's capital, was engulfed by the deluge with thousands of houses submerged in up to 7’ of floodwater, which killed 164 people.
Ten Western states were under red flag warnings and fire watches in mid-September, with Oregon having the highest number of active wildfires in the US with 25, and Idaho had 22. The fires left a trail of destruction in the states impacted including: California: a rapidly moving fire that burned 23,000 acres across Orange and Riverside Counties destroyed several homes in the city of Lake Elsinore. Across California, more than 34,000 people were under evacuation orders and an additional 97,000 were under evacuation warnings. The largest fire in the state in mid-September was in the San Gabriel Mountains which grew to 49,000 acres. It destroyed 20 homes in the Mount Baldy area, 13 in the community of Wrightwood and over 10,000 people were evacuated. More than 65 large fires burned across the US in mid-September, burning almost seven million acres, the largest acreage burned by early September since 2018.
Oregon: The Rail Ridge fire in central Oregon burned over 161,000 acres by mid-September. In August, Oregon surpassed its longstanding record for acres burned in a year.
Idaho: A huge fire in the Boise National Forest joined with another fire and burned over 78,000 acres north of Idaho’s capital city in early September. The Wapiti fire, also in the Boise National Forest, which was ignited by a lightning strike on extremely dry vegetation, burned over 120,000 acres. The Wapiti fire, as well as the Middle Fork Complex fires burning near the Wapiti fire burned over 57,000 acres by early September.
In early September, torrential rains caused flooding which killed at least 18 people and left nine missing in Morocco's southern provinces. The deluge destroyed homes, damaged 93 roads, and disrupted electricity, water supply, and phone networks. The flooding was caused by an "exceptional" climate phenomenon in the southern areas of the country and the volume of precipitation recorded in two days was equivalent to that which these regions normally experience during an entire year. In neighboring Algeria, one person was killed in Illizi and two was missing in flooding in the south of the country after the unprecedented rainfall caused flash flooding of homes and submerged roads and cars, turning streets into canals.
In early September unrelenting heavy rains in southwest France's Hautes-Pyrenees department prompted flood alerts. In Lourdes, the city's famed Grotto of Massabielle was flooded 10.66’ deep, with the swollen River Ousse inundating the grotto, which attracts millions of Catholic pilgrims each year, prompting its evacuation. About 5” of rain fell within a 6-hour period in Gavarnie in the commune of Gavarnie-Gèdre in Southwestern France. Several roads were closed due to flooding and landslides and the town of Saint-Lary was without drinking water.
An uncontrolled wildfire, known as the Line Fire in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California threatened thousands of homes and businesses in early September and prompted the evacuation of over 11,000 people. The wildfire had grown four-fold within a 24-hour period. In Highland, Calif., the most densely populated community affected by the fire, ash fell from the sky and smoke shrouded the nearby mountains. The fire burned more than 20,000 acres as temperatures rose above 100, part of a dangerous heat wave. “The fire itself helped spawn its own thunderstorms,” Dave Munyan, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said. “Most of the aviation-based fire tactics had to be suspended yesterday due to the lightning.” The phenomenon is called a pyrocumulonimbus, or fire-generated storm. The blaze roared across the earth’s surface generating heat that rises into the air and can generate a thunderstorm if enough moisture is present. Not only do such storms hamper firefighting, but they can even cause new blazes by producing dry lightning, Mr. Munyan said.
“We know that the warming of the planet leads to more intense and extreme climate events, and what we’ve seen this summer has been no exception,” Julien Nicolas, a climatologist with the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the European Union agency that published a European climate assessment report, said in early September. June and August were the hottest June and August on record, according to the Report. All these records combined to increase the likelihood that 2024 will become the hottest year ever, Copernicus said. That heat increases the likelihood of extreme weather events like heat waves, heavy rainfall and flooding, and wildfires. Last year, Canadian wildfires were so expansive that they released more CO2 into the atmosphere than all but three countries: the US, China and India. “We have extreme heat and record-breaking precipitation events in too many places to list,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said. “In the areas that have been hardest hit this summer, I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of heat-related deaths also increased,” said Jeffrey Howard, an associate professor in public health at the University of Texas at San Antonio, who analyzed data showing heat-related deaths had doubled in the US in recent decades. The Copernicus report also noted that August was the 13th out of 14 months in which global temperatures had climbed 1.5C (2.7F), beyond preindustrial average temperatures for that period, a threshold set by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. “We’re talking about ecosystem change on a global scale that’s going to affect all of us,” Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University, said. “Our energy systems, built environment, and medical services were never built with this type of temperature regime in mind.”
In early September, Indio in Riverside County, California, set a heat record of 121F, making it the hottest September 5th on record, surpassing the previous record high for the day of 120F set in 2020. Palm Springs also recorded a high of 121F, one degree short of equaling its own daily temperature record set in 2020.
Extraordinary weather patterns in Europe produced record high temperatures for both Sweden and Norway for September. Norway recorded 87.08F surpassing the previous national September record of 83.48F (which was recorded in 2021 and 2023). Sweden equaled its national record, set the previous day, with another 87.98F.
Torrential rainfall in early September drenched much of the Tampa Bay area, trapping motorists and prompting a flood advisory. The region had unprecedented rainfall and severe flooding, helped by Hurricane Debby. The storm, which passed by Tampa Bay as a tropical storm, dumped up to 14” of rain in parts of Pinellas County and 10” in Hillsborough County. The floodwaters submerged streets, with several vehicles stranded and partly sub-merged.
In early September, the Shoe Fly fire in Wheeler County Oregon grew to an astonishing 20,247 acres within a 25-hour period, with the Wiley Flat fire in Crook County, Oregon burning up to 30,185 acres.
Severe storms swept across southeastern France in early September producing torrential rains, flooding, and high winds which disrupted travel and prompted evacuations in parts of the Alpes-Maritimes in France’s Region Sud. Region Sud’s largest city, Marseille, experienced its strongest storm in three years, with almost 5.9” rainfall recorded in some areas. The flooding in Marseille severely disrupted the transport network, submerging several roads.
In late August, more than 100 tons of dead fish were scooped out of the port of Volos, in central Greece, following a mass die-off linked to extreme climate fluctuations. The dead freshwater fish filled the bay and nearby rivers. Experts said the problem was caused by historic floods in 2023 that inundated Thessaly plain farther north. The floods refilled the nearby Lake Karla that had been drained in 1962 in a bid to fight malaria, swelling it to three times its normal size. The lake waters had subsequently receded drastically due to months of severe drought, forcing the freshwater fish toward the Volos port that empties into the Pagasetic Gulf and the Aegean Sea, where they could not survive in sea water. The die-off impacted local businesses along the seafront, reducing commercial activity by 80%.
After weeks of drought, farmers in the typically arid agricultural belt in northern China were not prepared for the torrential rains that engulfed fields earlier this summer and decimated their crops. In late August, farmers in the city of Shijiazhuang, reported how days of downpours and an overflowing reservoir turned the soil into sludge unsuitable for growing plants. Across the country, a shift in weather patterns left people stunned, with floods arriving two months earlier than usual in the south and then extending to northern and eastern provinces that are more accustomed to summer drought. The prices of many vegetables nationwide skyrocketed, some up to 40%, reaching their highest level in five years and upsetting consumers. China’s leaders attach great importance to feeding its 1.4 billion population, to ensure social stability. In late July, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, held an emergency meeting of his cabinet on the flooding and its toll on the people. This year, a record number of rivers have flooded more than at any other time since records in China began in 1998, and July 2024 was China’s hottest July since 1961. “Climate change is another motivating factor for China to focus on food security,” Darin Friedrichs, the agriculture market research director at Sitonia Consulting, said. China suffered more than $10 billion in losses from natural disasters in July, some 90% of which was caused by heavy rainfalls and floods, with almost six million acres of crops damaged. “The government is reasonably directing its investments in flood control infrastructure toward areas where floods have occurred historically,” Even Pay, an agriculture analyst at Trivium China, a policy research consultancy, said. “But the problem is that as a result of climate change, those patterns are changing. That means the best infrastructure may be slightly in the wrong place, and some places that are experiencing serious floods now or likely to in the future are underinvested” Ms. Pay said.
In early September, Fort Myers, Florida experienced the wettest summer on record since data began in 1902. The city received 43.87” of rain between June 1st and August 31st. In 2023, Fort Myers only received 20.07” of rainfall all summer. In nearby Naples in Collier County, 40.24” of rainfall was recorded making it the second wettest summer on record.
In mid-August in Russia's Tuva republic in southern Siberia almost 500 schoolchildren were evacuated from summer camps as emergency workers struggled to contain 31 wildfires. A state of emergency was declared in parts of Tuva. About 7,043 acres were burned. The 2021 fire season was Russia's largest ever, setting emissions records and destroying 46.45 million acres of forest. This summer, wildfires have burned about 9.88 million acres of forests in Siberia and the Russian Far East. Wildfires release enormous amounts of CO2 and cause air pollution.
In the month of August alone, the Amazon recorded 38,266 fire hotspots, more than double compared to the same period in 2023. Wildfires in drought-stricken Brazil rose to the highest level since 2010 in August. A staggering 7.4 million acres of Brazil’s Amazon burned in the first half of 2024, a 122% increase for the same period in 2023. In 2023, 26.4 million acres burned. Over 80% of the fires were in the states of Para (36%), Amazonas (29%) and Mato Grosso (16%). In late August, the Brazilian government deployed almost 1,500 firefighters to the Amazon as the most severe drought in decades turned the rainforest’s usually moist vegetation into kindling and flames. There have reportedly been 59,000 fires in the forest since the start of 2024, the highest number since 2008, according to the National Institute for Space Research. The 16-year high comes after a months-long droughts in the region that began last year. The drought was driven by climate change and exacerbated by the return of El Niño, a weather phenomenon associated with the warming of surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific. The drought dried up the Amazon River, the world’s largest river by discharge, upon which more than 2 million Indigenous people depend for food and transportation. In October 2023, the river’s waters were at its lowest ebb since records began in 1902, leaving entire communities without fuel, food, and drinking water. Toxic smoke and dust from the fires had spread across the region, reaching at least 11 states including the cities of Brasília and São Paulo, and forcing school closures and the grounding of flights. Devastating wildfires have also been affecting the Pantanal wetlands, a natural region mostly located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Experts are alarmed by the magnitude of the fires, which are devastating one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. The Pantanal is facing one of the worst wildfire seasons in recent history, driven by adverse climatic conditions such as prolonged droughts and high temperatures. 3,845 fires were recorded between August 1 and 27, 2024 in the region, a 3,707% increase compared to the 101 outbreaks recorded in the same period last year. As of August 2024, fires have burned 3.01 million acres of the Pantanal, a 249% increase compared to the previous five-year average.
Canada’s 2024 wildfire season is one of the most destructive on record, largely due to the devastation caused by a blaze that ripped through a tourist town in the Canadian Rockies. Based on total area scorched, the season ranks among the top six over the last half century. The total cost of wildfire damages this year surged in July when a third of the tourist town of Jasper, Alberta, was destroyed causing $646.73 million in insured damages. About 13.1 million acres were burned as of mid-September, making 2024 the worst season since 1995, with the exception of last year, when a record-breaking 42 million acres burned releasing more carbon than some of the world's largest-carbon emitting countries. Climate scientists say average temperatures will rise in Canada as the world warms, leading to longer and more destructive wildfire seasons. Wildfire agencies also had to contend with scores of “zombie fires” that ignited last summer and burned throughout the long Canadian winter. "I have never seen a year like that where there's been so much fire that was because of a previous year. Some of them were the size of Prince Edward Island, they were just huge," Mike Flannigan, a wildfire expert and research chair at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, said. Flannigan estimated that almost half a million hectares, or nearly 10%, of the land burned in Canada in 2024 was due to overwintering fires from 2023.
In early September, several families were trapped in their homes by rapidly rising floodwaters due to persistent rainfalls which caused the Munneru River in the city of Khammam in India’s state of Telegana, to inundate the city and surrounding areas. Entire homes were submerged by the deluge and floodwaters rose to the second floor of a building in Saikrishna Nagar, Karunagiri, where 10 people, including five children, were trapped for over 5 hours waiting to be rescued. Helicopter rescues were impossible because of the weather conditions.
In late August, one of the worst droughts in living memory swept across southern Africa, leaving close to 70 million people without enough food and water. In the Mudzi district in northern Zimbabwe, a community and their livestock were gathered on a dry riverbed armed with shovels and buckets digging into the riverbed trying to extract the last drops of water. Rivers and dams have dried up in other parts of the district prompting large numbers of people to converge at this specific riverbed in Kurima village, putting pressure on the water source, using the little water drawn for both domestic purposes and for feeding cattle. The drought has led to food supply shortages in Zimbabwe where 7.7 million people face hunger. In Mudzi, the number of families who had access to enough affordable, nutritious food had dropped by more than half compared to previous years. The rains failed in most of southern Africa this year, on a continent where most of the agriculture relies on rainfall for water instead of irrigation. The drought has prompted about a third of the countries in southern African to declare a state of disaster. Some 68 million people across the region need food aid.
In late August in Birdsville, Queensland, Australia, a historic high of 103.46F was recorded making it the hottest winter day ever recorded in northeastern state of Queensland. A temperature high of 99.5F was reported in Delta in the state of New South Wales, making it the third hottest winter day for the state in late August, and 99.14F was reported in late August for the town of Moomba, Southern Australia, tying as the third hottest winter day there.
In Zaragoza province, Spain, severe flooding due to torrential rains was reported in the Herrera de los Navarros municipality in late August. The fast-moving floodwater submerged roads and left many vehicles stranded.
At least 60 people died after torrential rainfall caused a dam to collapse in war-torn Sudan in late August. The Arbat dam had a capacity of 25 million cubic meters and was the main source of drinking water for the coastal city of Port Sudan. The dam’s collapse devastated the region washing away farms and villages downstream including houses and vehicles with people trapped in them. The heavy rainfall damaged a major fiber-optic cable in Sudan, causing wide-spread communication outage. Sudan has been ravaged by war since last April when fighting broke out between the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army, with millions of people forced from their homes and multiple states declaring a famine.
In late August, torrential rainfalls and flooding battered Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, prompting a Yellow Code weather alert from the Meteorological service. Streets in Istanbul were flooded due to the heavy deluge which spread to other districts. One of Istanbul's most popular tourist destinations, the Spice Bazaar, also known as the Egyptian Bazaar, in Eminönü, was flooded.
Typhoon Shanshan, the strongest storm to hit Japan this year, came ashore near Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima prefecture in southern Japan in late August, bringing strong winds and high waves with more than 4.1 million people under evacuation orders nationwide in late August. Along the shore of Kyushu, the southernmost main island of Japan, the storm created waves of almost 30’ with windspeeds up to 100 mph. Emergency warnings were issued for storm surge and high waves in Kagoshima Prefecture and were the highest category of warnings possible in Japan. Emergency landslide warnings were issued in several prefectures. In central Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, a family of five were buried by a landslide which flattened their home, killing the couple and their son. More than 80 people were injured in the storm, and one person was missing. Evacuation orders for about 990,000 people across southern, western and central Japan was issued by authorities. More than 234,000 customers were without power in Kyushu.
Historically, boreal forests have helped to slow climate change by storing carbon as trees grow rather than adding CO2 to the atmosphere. While the hot and dry weather that fueled the fires in Canada last year was extraordinary when compared with historical records, climate projections suggest it will become common in the 2050s if the world continues on the current trajectory of emissions. “This brings up a lot of concerns about whether these fires will happen more frequently,” Brendan Byrne, a carbon cycle scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and one of the authors of a new study, said. “That could potentially have a big impact on the ability of these forests to store carbon.” A separate study in mid-August described how exceptional weather patterns, such as early snow melt and so-called flash droughts, converged to fuel blazes that burned around 37.06 million acres, an area almost the size of Florida, more than seven times the historical average. Canada has been warming at about twice the global rate, and last summer’s extreme temperatures were behind much of the exceptional weather patterns that fueled fires. The average temperature in the country between May and October last year was roughly 4F above what was normal in the previous 30 years. The high temperatures fueled blazes some of which burned from April to October without respite, as well as so-called overwintering fires, those that can burn underground for several years. Though 2023 started with levels of soil moisture that were almost normal for the time of year, extreme temperatures rapidly dried the ground in what researchers are calling a flash drought.
Forests absorb about a quarter of global carbon emissions. But ecosystems are changing in ways scientists are working to understand. Parts of the boreal forests in Canada are not regrowing after fires as they have in the past, partly because blazes burn trees so frequently and intensely. The 2023 fires have the potential to cause extensive regeneration failure in Canada’s boreal forests because blazes engulfed large areas of young forest. Last year, a total area of forest the size of the Netherlands burned for at least the second time in 50 years, according to an analysis by Natural Resources Canada, a federal government department. Some other areas burned for the second time in 10 or 20 years. “That’s really surprising because those young forests don’t burn very frequently because they have very little fuel,” Ellen Whitman, a fire researcher at the Canadian Forest Service and an author of the mid-August study on the causes of the 2023 fires, said. That “is a major concern for me in terms of how that landscape will recover after fire.”
Australia recorded its hottest ever winter temperature, with Yampi Sound in the Kimberley region of Western Australia reaching 106F in late August. The temperature is Australia’s new nationwide maximum temperature record for any winter month.
In late August, several cities in Illinois and Indiana set heat records. The late August heat spread east, producing record highs in Washington DC and Columbus, Ohio. Nashville, Tenn. exceeded 100F for three straight days. South Bend, Ind., set a new record high of 97. Fort Wayne reached a high of 96 which tied the record for that date and shortly thereafter reached a new record high of 98 and the heat index rose to 114. In Chicago, in late August, the temperature at O’Hare airport reached 97 degrees equaling the record high for the date, which was originally set back in 1973, the heat index reached 113. Several other cities equaled previous records, including Dubuque, Illinois, at 94 and St. Louis at 102. In late August, heat advisories remained in place for Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, as well as across several East Coast states, with an excessive heat warning for New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In late August, two record highs were set for the DC Metro area with 101 on August 28. In Va., 99 was the new record set at Dulles, surpassing the old record of 98 set in 1993. The high of 101 at Reagan National was the 6th time this year temperatures hit 100 or hotter. Columbus saw a high of 97 in late August, equaling a 76-year-old record high temperature. The heat index also rose triple digits equaling the record high for Columbus for August 28 set in 1948. Nashville, Tenn. set a record daily high in late August of 102, surpassing the old record for that date of 100 set in 1897. Nashville also had a streak of triple digit temperatures for three days or more.
Excessive heat warnings were in effect in late August for parts of eastern Iowa as the heat index, which measures how hot it really feels outside, rose. More than 13 million people, mostly in the Midwest, were under an excessive heat warning in late August. Several heat waves enveloped parts of the US this summer. Amarillo, Texas, recorded over 100 for the 10th day in a row, its longest streak on record in late August, and in Phoenix, Arizona, a record 100 consecutive days of 100 temperatures or higher was recorded in early September. The previous record was 76 days, set in 1993.
In late August, south America experienced heat waves and record high temperatures for late August with 11 straight days of temperature lows under 104F, a first for the southern hemisphere: Brazil: had a low of 82.22F in Macapa; Bolivia had a low of 103.1F in Cobija (breaking its August record again) and a low of 97.16F was recorded in Concepcion.
In Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, a heat index of 134F was recorded at midnight in late August, a severe test of the upper limit of human endurance.
In late August in Bangladesh at least 13 people died, and millions of people were impacted by floods. Communication lines were affected, with virtually all cellphone towers losing electricity. The floods prompted the suspension of rail services and damaged roads, impeding the delivery of emergency aid. Residents described water levels beyond any they had seen in recent years. “I can recall a flood in 2004, but as I remember the water level wasn’t this high,” Ahmed Farabee, 27, a resident of one of the worst-affected areas, said. “This time, the rainwater couldn’t drain properly because the canals and wetlands are full,” he said.
In August wildfires surged globally, with most of the rise occurring within a one-week period. The global weekly burn rate was 64% higher in mid-August than in early August, according to the Global Wildfire Information System. The sudden rise was largely fueled by severe wildfires in Africa, where approximately 54.36 million acres burned within a one-week period, accounting for about 80% of the global burned area. Two African countries were hard-hit, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 6% and 2.5% respectively of the total land area burned.
Two women were killed in mid-August after they were swept away by floodwaters as a fierce storm pommeled the New York City area and parts of Connecticut, prompting the evacuation of over 100 people. The storm dumped rain at or near rates expected once in a thousand years. It dropped about 10” of rain over 12 hours in parts of Connecticut including Oxford and Southbury, followed by about 6.7” of rain within three hours in Stony Brook, Long Island. The two women who died were trapped in vehicles and had tried to escape but were swept down the Little River. Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut declared a state of emergency. The Weather Service issued a rare flash flood emergency, describing it as a “particularly dangerous situation.” A flash flood emergency is the highest level of flood warning. The heavy rainfall disrupted train services and forced the authorities to ground or cancel flights. Over 900,000 people in Suffolk County on Long Island and other parts of southeast NY were under a flash flood emergency. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine declared a state of emergency. “We are shocked at the amount of damage in Suffolk County,” Mr. Romaine said. “The rain caused major flooding, mudslides, buried cars and damaged houses.” A portion of the Long Island Expressway was closed for a two-mile stretch in both directions. North of the city, the Bronx River Parkway was closed for a two-mile stretch in both directions. Parts of the Harlem River Drive in Manhattan and the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx were flooded. Metro-North trains on the Danbury and Waterbury branches of the New Haven line were suspended due to flooding and a mudslide. The deluge was described as “historic, unprecedented flooding.”
In early August, Hurricane Debby knocked out power to over 23,700 Georgians. In Florida, where Debby made landfall, around 141,000 people lost power. Gov. Roy Cooper of NC declared a state of emergency with mayor William Cogswell of Charleston, SC, issuing a city-wide curfew. Almost all roads were closed in the city of Live Oak, Fla., due to the floods and was under a flash flood emergency issued by the Weather Service. A year after Hurricane Idalia struck Cedar Key, Fla. Hurricane Debby struck the same part of Florida’s Big Bend coast, with high winds and waves. Along the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Helen D’Avanza, 32, a third-generation Floridian, was stranded by the high tide. “I genuinely love living in Florida and being near the coast, but climate change and rising water are the primary reasons why I won’t buy a home here,” she said. The National Weather Service issued an uncommon “flash flood emergency” for northern Florida after local officials reported more thunderstorms and heavy rain falling where 8 to 12” of rain had already fallen. Some residents of Sarasota were evacuated from their homes as the Phillippi Creek rose with rain from Debby. At least four deaths in Florida were attributed to Debby. The storm prompted the closure of airports with hundreds of flights cancelled and delayed. In Savannah, Ga., Mayor Van Johnson issued a curfew for the city and Georgia's governor, Brian Kemp, declared a state of emergency. More than 300,000 customers in northern Florida and Georgia were without power. The Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for about 4.5 million residents in and around the Tampa, Fla., area covering a 170-mile stretch of coast between Suwannee and North Port.
In early August, a bridge collapsed in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia after 10 hours of heavy rainfall, producing massive flooding and power outages in various areas, including the southern governorates in the Jazan region and Ahad Al Masarihah. Torrents of floodwater submerged streets and roads, overturned cars, disrupted travel, swept away vehicles and inundated buildings, trapping their occupants. One death was reported.
The Northwest US experienced an exceptional heat wave in early August with record high temperatures reported for the state of Oregon. Oregon City hit 110F and in Baker City, Ore., an all-time record high of 109 was reported. Rome, Ore., equaled its August record of 107o.
In India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh, at least four people were killed, one injured and 53 were missing after several cloudburst incidents in Himachal Pradesh’s districts in early August, after unrelenting heavy rainfall caused swollen rivers to break their banks and flood the area, with the deluge trapping residents in their homes. In the Shimla district, about 33 people were missing after cloudburst led to a flash flood and a further seven were missing and three died following a cloudburst in Mandi district. Another incident of cloudburst occurred in the Kullu district, where one person was killed and nine were missing, while eleven houses were washed away by rushing water which damaged to two bridges and killed livestock. Cloudbursts are huge amounts of precipitation in a short period of time, sometimes along with hail and thunder, and capable of creating flooding.
Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana in mid-September as a Category 2 hurricane with wind speeds of 100 mph spawning heavy rains and severe flooding to parts of the Gulf Coast. Tropical Storm Francine passed through Southern Louisiana, dumping up to 9” of rain in some parts. Streets were blocked and floodwaters entered homes and businesses including neighborhoods from New Orleans to St. Charles Parish. Kenner and Metairie, parts of Jefferson Parish that are at sea level, struggled with its overwhelmed drainage system trying to pump rainwater through levees into the Mississippi River or Lake Pontchartrain. In the nearby Orleans Parish, the pumps malfunctioned due to power outages. More than 390,000 customers were without power. The storm knocked out power for more than 440,000 customers across Louisiana and Mississippi. Estimates of the damage caused by the storm was $9 billion.
In early August, the Park Fire, the largest wildfire burning in the US at the time, grew rapidly and burned over 426,000 acres in Northern California in weeks and destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures. The fire ignited in late July near Chico, in Butte County. After igniting, the fire grew to more than 120,000 acres within 24 hours and almost doubled in sized the following day. Dense and dry vegetation in Butte County helped the fire spread rapidly. The Park fire was the fourth largest fire in California’s history and burned 429,603 acres.
NY’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) set a goal of 9,000 Megawatts for offshore wind by 2035. NY currently only has a single operational offshore wind farm, South Fork Wind Farm, which began delivering power to the grid in December 2023. It currently is delivering 53 MW but is expected to deliver 130 MW of power annually. To make up the 8,870 MW deficit, on June 4, 2024, Governor Hochul announced the finalization of contracts for Sunrise Wind, the largest US offshore wind farm, and Empire Wind 1, the first offshore wind farm to connect directly to the NYC grid. Sunrise Wind should supply 924 MW of energy, and Empire Wind 1 should supply 810 MW. That’s 1,734 MW of power, enough to power 1 million homes, create 800 jobs, and provide $6 billion in economic benefits during the projects’ 25-year lifespan. The contracts also require community benefits including $32 million for disadvantaged communities and $16.5 million for wildlife and fisheries monitoring.
On June 10, Mayor Eric Adams announced plans for the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to soon have the nation’s largest offshore wind port. The Marine Terminal will house Empire 1, a substation connecting the project to the grid through the Gowanus Substation, and a charger for the first plug-in hybrid vessel to be used in the US offshore wind industry. This project is part of the Mayor’s Harbor of the Future Plan and Green Economy Action Plan, a deliverable of New York City’s 15-year, $191 million Offshore Wind Vision Plan that began in 2021. NY has pledged $77 million to develop an offshore wind workforce and the labor agreement of the Empire Wind project prioritizes hiring of local union workers from the Sunset Park area.
The 2024 offshore solicitation process is underway, with awards expected in Q1 of 2025. On April 23, 2024, NYSERDA released NY’s first solicitation to develop the offshore wind supply chain, looking to award $200 million in grants for port infrastructure and manufacturing facilities.
The costs of renewable energy fell in 2023: The global cost of solar fell by 12%, offshore wind and hydro by 7% and onshore wind by 3%. The global cost of utility-scale solar fell to 4.4 cents/kilowatt-hour and onshore wind to 3.3 cents/kWh. The average price of lithium-ion battery cells dropped from $290 per kWh in 2014 to $103 in 2023. Global electric car sales are on track to grow again this year, reaching about 17 million. With more than 1 in 5 cars sold worldwide in 2024 electric, the rise of EVs is transforming the auto industry and the energy sector. In the world's largest car market, China (25.8 million cars sold in China 2023, 15.4 million in the US, 12.8 million in Europe), EVs are now 51% of all cars sold. In the US, EV sales rose 17.3% in August 2024, compared to August 2023, including 145,027 plug-in vehicles (121,473 Battery Electric Vehicles and 23,554 Plug-in Hybrid EVs) sold during August 2024. EV market share hit a record high of 10.2% in August with a total EV sales of 5.7 million.
China remains the world’s leading emitter of GHGs but it also leads the world in installed wind power with 441,895 MW in 2023 (enough to power over 400 million homes in China). Next was the US with 148,034 MW (powers 148 million US homes), 3d was Germany with 69,377 MW (powers 69 million homes).
The US has ~4 GW of offshore wind under construction across three sites and fifteen agreements for 12,378 GW are finalized. US wind installations are expected to rise ~33% in 2024, compared to 2023. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory forecasts the US will have 42 GW of offshore wind built by 2035, up ~42 times from ~1 GW built in 2024. Global wind capacity is expected to rise 4-5 times by 2035, going from ~90 GW to ~486 GW. About 94.1% of all new US power plants (62.8 GW) in 2024 are expected to be wind, water or solar (including storage): Wind: 11.3%; Solar: 58.9%; Batteries: 23.9%.
Renewables are set to overtake coal in global electricity generation for the first time in 2025. The share of renewables in global electricity supply rose to 30% in 2023 and is projected to climb to 35% in 2025.
While many countries are assiduously pursuing the conversion from fossil fuel energy to renewables, humanity continues to burn more fossil fuel than ever with consumption at record high and increasing. We continue to pour 200 million tons of GHGs into the atmosphere every single day. Atmospheric concentration of GHG is now 419 ppm, from a pre-industrial 280. As a result, as noted above, the lungs of the earth, the Amazonia rainforest, and a crucial carbon sink, is now on fire, releasing carbon. A primary cause of the record-breaking fires in South America is deforestation for cattle ranching. Beef production is responsible for about 80% of Amazon deforestation. Our diets matter. In 2023, an astonishing 26.4 million acres burned. And 2024 will be worse. And a major highway is being built through heart of the Amazon. The Amazon Rainforest dieback is considered to be among the more imminent, likely, and fast-acting of tipping elements with major global consequences. It may add to global warming which is melting the permafrost which is releasing methane gas, a potent GHG, which may be at a tipping point where it too could lead to run-away global warming.
Methane emissions are not from consumption, unlike CO2, but rather from production and transportation of gas. Methane is the main component of natural gas. Methane leaks from storage facilities, pipelines and tankers, and is often deliberately released via flaring. It is also released by livestock and from landfills and occurs naturally in wetlands.
The earth has lost 28 trillion tons of ice in 23 years. Much less ice is reflecting much less sunlight and instead the ocean and the land are absorbing sunlight and warming the planet in another dangerous feed-back loop. The Greenland ice cap is losing around 30 million tons of ice an hour, 20% more than scientists originally thought. Between 2002 and 2023, Antarctica shed an average of 150 billion metric tons of ice per year. The Thwaites Glacier is ‘hanging on by its fingernails.’ Its collapse could cause global sea levels to rise by more than two feet, dooming every coastal city and causing trillions of dollars in lost real estate value and necessary infrastructure construction.
Litigants in the US bringing climate change suits have not fared well as the courts have pointed to the legislature to fix the problems. Courts in other countries have on occasion ordered the government to act to address climate change. Here are a few brief notes on such litigation (for a deep dive, see Michael Gerrard, Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and its website: climate.law.columbia.edu/content/climate-change-litigation).
Oregon officials in early October filed a $50 billion lawsuit against fossil fuel companies and, in a first, added the state’s largest natural gas utility, NW Natural, as a defendant. State officials allege that the utility knew of the dangers of burning fossil fuels and misled its customers. This is an expansion of a lawsuit that was first filed in 2023 by Multnomah County, which includes Portland. Exxon, Shell and other companies, are accused of “rapaciously” selling fossil fuel products and covering up what they knew about the risks to the planet. The suit charges that defendants bear responsibility for the effects of climate change including a heat wave in 2021 that killed at least 69 county residents. The county claimed that it incurred more than $50 million in damages from wildfires and extreme heat and other disasters, and that future economic damage would exceed $1.5 billion. The suit seeks “at least $50 billion,” for adaptation projects. There are about two dozen lawsuits in the US by state and local governments alleging that oil companies covered up the dangers of climate change.
A case in Massachusetts may be the first to go to trial, perhaps next year. It was filed in 2019 by then-Attorney General Maura Healey against Exxon Mobil, alleging that the company had violated consumer protection laws by misleading customers and investors.
In May, Alabama and 18 other states asked the Supreme Court to block climate-related lawsuits by California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and Rhode Island against oil and gas companies. The Supreme Court justices asked the U.S. solicitor general, Elizabeth Prelogar, for her input on the case, which suggests that they may hear the case.
A group of Swiss women, all over the age of 65, sued the Swiss government arguing that they were especially vulnerable to the health impacts of increasing heat waves due to their age. For the first time, an international court agreed and on April 8, it found in their favor, ruling that Switzerland’s failure to tackle climate change by not reducing its GHG emissions was clearly violating the rights of the 2,500 members of the group, KlimaSeniorinnen. “The European Court of Human Rights is saying that protecting the climate is protecting human rights,” said Joana Setzer, head of the Grantham Research Institute’s Climate Change Laws of the World project. “So now, you have to protect people from the threats this will cause to their life and health.”
Setzer says not only is Switzerland now legally obligated to act faster to manage the impact of climate change, but the case has also set a precedent for similar climate lawsuits around the world. “Climate litigation is a transnational issue,” she said. “If the highest human rights court in the E.U. is confirming that this is a human rights issue, then judges will look beyond their jurisdiction to this precedent for climate cases in Australia, Brazil, or Argentina.”
Pursuant to the 2015 Paris Agreement—which aims to limit global warming 1.5C (2.7F), above pre-industrial levels—Switzerland pledged to cut its emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. But Climate Action Tracker, an independent monitor, labeled the country’s climate targets and policies "insufficient,” noting that the government will need to substantially increase its efforts to meet the agreement’s goals.
The European Court of Human Rights, in its 250-page decision, found that Switzerland's policies were inadequate and violated the women’s rights to life and rights to health. The ruling is legally binding on 46 countries in Europe currently dealing with numerous similar cases.
In Norway, six young climate activists sued the Norwegian government to prevent the expansion of fossil fuel extraction in the Arctic. In Austria, a plaintiff suffering from a temperature-dependent form of multiple sclerosis has argued that his condition makes him particularly vulnerable to heat waves. In the U.K., the climate activist group Friends of the Earth, along with two individuals, have brought a case against the “inadequate” climate protection policies by the government. The case is scheduled for a hearing at the High Court in June after judges previously noted that the European convention had not yet been applied to climate change—something that the KlimaSeniorinnen verdict has now changed.
In 2023, Swiss voters backed a climate bill aimed at achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Now, the court has ordered the Swiss government to set targets for carbon neutrality and to establish a timeline. Then it must be approved by Swiss voters in another referendum.
Plaintiffs in the long-running saga of Juliana v. U.S., which was originally filed in 2015 by a group of youths ages 8 to 19, petitioned the Supreme Court in mid-September to vacate the ruling of the appellate court and remand the case to the district court in Oregon for trial. Plaintiffs have accused the federal government of violating their constitutional rights by failing to curb the use of fossil fuels despite voluminous evidence of the dangers of climate change. It was first filed in federal court in Oregon and almost went to trial. But the Justice Department during the Obama administration moved to have the case dismissed and succeeded at an appellate court in 2020.
The plaintiffs are represented by Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit law firm based in Eugene, Ore., that has alleged similar violations of constitutional rights in all 50 states. It was successful in Hawaii in June, when Gov. Josh Green announced a settlement with the plaintiffs, who had sued the state’s Department of Transportation over its use of fossil fuels. The state agreed to decarbonize its transportation system within 20 years, expand bicycle lanes and spend more on EV chargers.
The Trust had an earlier victory in 2023 in Montana, where a judge found that the state violated its Constitution by not considering climate change when approving fossil fuel projects. The MT attorney general vowed to appeal and was supported by numerous business groups.
Those are some of at least 86 lawsuits have been filed globally against the world’s biggest oil, gas and coal producers, according to a report published by the advocacy and research groups Oil Change International and Zero Carbon Analytics. About 40% of the lawsuits sought compensation for climate-related damage to the environment or communities while other suits challenged misleading advertising claims or alleged that the companies had failed to sufficiently reduce their emissions. To date, no oil and gas company has had to pay liability claims exclusively for damage associated with climate change.
Environmentalists won a case in the Netherlands in 2021 where the court ruled that Royal Dutch Shell must reduce its emissions by 45% by 2030. The case was filed by Milieudefensie, the Dutch wing of Friends of the Earth. The victory has led to similar cases being filed elsewhere in Europe. But, on Nov 12, 2024 a court of appeals reversed the decision.
A Peruvian farmer, Saúl Luciano Lliuya, sued the German electricity producer RWE in 2015, alleging that the company’s emissions contributed to the melting of a glacier near his home in Peru and that the company should help pay for a dam to protect against flooding. His case was dismissed, but he has appealed.
More than two dozen suits have been filed in the US against oil companies by state and local governments. Many are following the litigation path set in the tobacco cases after it was discovered that the tobacco companies knew of and suppressed information about the dangers of their product. One such case was filed by the City and County of Honolulu against Sunoco and other companies alleging that they deceived the public about climate change. In June, the Supreme Court asked the solicitor general, who supervises government litigation, to comment, a sign it could hear the case.
This year, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), requested Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate oil companies for a “decades-long disinformation campaign” about the effects of fossil fuels. Also this year, Belgium’s Parliament codified ecocide as a crime, defined as unlawful acts committed with knowledge of a substantial likelihood of serious damage to the environment. At The Hague, ecocide was formally introduced for consideration by member states at the International Criminal Court.
In Paris, in May, environmental groups sued the board of directors and main shareholders of TotalEnergies, arguing they should be held criminally liable for decisions that contributed to climate change including deliberately endangering the lives of others and involuntary manslaughter.
Because the need for electricity continues to grow in the US, and because new energy generation must be carbon-free due to the impacts of climate change, Constellation Energy is developing plans to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. It closed in 2019 following the worst accident in US history when one of the plant’s two reactors partly melted. Microsoft agreed to buy the electricity to supply its growing fleet of data centers. Constellation plans to spend $1.6 billion to refurbish the reactor and restart it by 2028, pending regulatory approval.
Congress recently approved a tax credit aimed at keeping existing nuclear reactors running. In California, lawmakers reversed a decision to shut down the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. And in Michigan, Holtec International plans to restart the Palisades nuclear plant, which closed in 2022.
If TMI is restored, the reactor could generate 835 MW, enough to power more than 700,000 homes. It should not be affected by Unit 2, the reactor that melted down in March 1979, which has yet to be dismantled. In August, about a dozen protesters opposed the potential reopening. They recalled the accident, the forced evacuation and the widespread panic. Edwin Lyman, a physicist and critic of nuclear power at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said that safely reviving a long-dormant reactor could be more technically challenging than expected. “No one’s really done this before,” he said.
In late September, banks and funds totaling $14 trillion in assets signed an unprecedented statement in support of nuclear power. This, even though new nuclear costs 2.3 to 7.4 times more than onshore wind or utility solar per kWh, takes 5-17 years longer between planning and operation, and produces 9-37 times the emissions/kWh as renewables. The International Panel on Climate Change has reported that renewables are now ten times more efficient than nuclear at CO2 mitigation. New renewable electricity provided 507 GW in 2023, accounting for 86% of global additions of generation capacity.
A gigantic wind farm called the SunZia project in New Mexico and a transmission line more than 500 miles long running to Arizona, will generate more power than the Hoover Dam and immediately become the Western Hemisphere’s biggest renewable energy project — powerful enough to, at peak, generate 1% of America’s electricity needs. It’s a major achievement but it demonstrated the problems in attempting big energy projects. It will have taken about twenty years to complete if it comes online in 2026.
Building more power lines is an urgent national need. But building them is a lengthy, expensive endeavor. Developers must get approvals from cities, counties, states, local utility boards and federal agencies to proceed. Then there are numerous environmental reviews and permitting litigation. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was intended to expedite the permitting process but studies are still required and they are time-consuming and then subject to challenge. Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Representative Scott Peters (D-CA) introduced a bill to streamline the process. We’ll see.
Washington:
Trump is the president-elect. He said he intends to appoint Lee Zeldin, a former congressman from Long Island, as administrator of EPA. Zeldin said about climate change, “It would be productive if we could get to what is real and what is not real.” “I’m not sold yet on the whole argument that we have as serious a problem as other people are.”
Mandy Gunasekara served as chief of staff at the EPA during the first Trump administration and called Zeldin “a great pick.” She wrote a section on the EPA for Project 2025, which may or may not be the conservative blueprint for re-engineering the federal government. In it, she recommends slashing EPA’s budget, firing career staff, eliminating scientific advisers that review the agency’s work and discontinuing programs that focus on minority communities overly burdened by polluted air and water.
Much of Project 2025’s nearly 900 pages detail extreme overhauls to the federal government. The plan calls for dispensing with climate protections. It labels the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service, as being “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.” The plan would make DOJ answerable to Trump. DOJ acts as EPA’s lawyers in federal court.
In the week following the election, Trump has acted consistent with Project 2025 by proposing loyalists to head federal agencies and departments. During Trump’s presidency, he issued an executive order known as Schedule F, facilitating the firing of career officials and replacing them with loyalists. Biden rescinded the order but Trump has said he would reissue it.
The US has a presence at COP29 where diplomats and the heads of nearly 200 countries are once again trying to address the climate threat. Neither Biden nor Harris attended. Foreign leaders expect Trump to once again withdraw the US from the Paris Accords and cut back on US emissions reductions pledges and funding promises.
In mid-October, the Supreme Court allowed EPA to move ahead with its plans to limit carbon emissions by power plants. The decision was temporary, and it concerned a major regulation intended to eliminate pollution from coal. More than two dozen states had challenged the regulation, arguing that the federal government had failed to prove the adequacy of the techniques proposed to control emissions. The rule becomes effective in June 2025, and it requires that coal and gas-fired power plants scheduled for long-term operation must capture up to 90% of their emissions by 2032. Other plants would be subject to less strict requirements. EPA argued that it has made public hundreds of pages of analysis showing that 90% carbon capture is feasible using chemical solvents to remove CO2 from the exhaust stream of a power plant and permanently storing it underground.
Vickie Patton, the general counsel of Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement, “People across America are suffering through intensifying storms and other disasters because of climate change.” “EPA, as specifically required by Congress, set reasonable and achievable standards to reduce the pollution that causes climate change from one of its largest sources, fossil fuel-burning power plants.”
Patrick Morrisey, attorney general of West Virginia, one of the states that challenged the rule (with Indiana, Alabama and Alaska), said, “We will continue to fight through the merits phase and prove this rule strips the states of important discretion while forcing plants to use technologies that don’t work in the real world.” “Here, the EPA again is trying to transform the nation’s entire grid, forcing power plants to shutter.”
The challenge is currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In July, a three-judge panel refused a request by the conservative-led states to stop the EPA rule from going into effect while the court case continued, prompting the states and other groups to ask the Supreme Court to step in.
The views expressed above are my own.
Teraine Okpoko assisted with the Facts on the Ground section.
Follow me on X: @HowardCarl
Carl Howard, Co-chair, Global Climate Change Committee