Mark Przepiora

Aljazeera.com reports that...

There have been two, maybe three, landmark heat waves in the history of man-made global warming. The first was in 1988 and it put the concept of global warming on the map. Then as now, the eastern two-thirds of the United States broiled beneath ferociously high temperatures, while relentless drought parched soil and withered crops across the Midwestern farm belt.

But in Washington, the underlying problem was being named for the first time. On June 23, NASA scientist James Hansen testified to the US Senate that man-made global warming had begun. The New York Times reported his remarks on page one; the media at home and abroad followed suit. By year’s end, “global warming” had become a common phrase in news bureaux, government ministries and living rooms around the world.

Read more at www.aljazeera.com

Thehindu.com reports that...

The death toll from Typhoon Saola rose on Friday to 44 in the Philippines and Taiwan as storms and Typhoon Damrey made landfall in China, where two died and about 770,000 were evacuated.

Read more at www.thehindu.com

BBC.co.uk rapporte que....

Certains 40 people are now reported to have died in rain and hail storms in north-western China.

En savoir plus sur www.bbc.co.uk

Whereas the USA and Canada saw winter return with a vengeance in mid-to-late February, by the middle of March it experienced far more erratic weather, avec droughts, vagues de chaleur, tempêtes and then, just as suddenly in some areas, more snowfall. Pendant ce temps, the cherry blossom trees of Washington, DC bloomed weeks early due to the unusually warm weather. Indeed, Spring’s early arrival allowed farmers in New Jersey to get into the fields two weeks early but forced them to deal with an increase of crop-eating insects due to the mild winter. Overall, it was a very warm March, with dozens of record temperatures being set.

In other parts of the world, the warm weather had troubling effects. In Morocco, droughts caused the country’s cereal harvests to falter. Northern Mexico experienced its worst drought in 71 ans, causing a severe shortage of food and water across the country. Pendant ce temps, Vietnam braced itself for Tropical Storm Pakhar, et Fiji experienced flash floods. Cependant, just when it had seemed that Spring had come for good, citizens of western Serbia experienced large snowfalls, and in Scotland snow fell just days after record-breaking heat waves.

Thus, to call the weather over the past six weeks “erratic” seems like an understatement. It’s a period that has seen record heat waves and snow storms, and droughts and floods, often in the same places.

Click here to view all weather events during this six-week time period.

La sécheresse. Les feux de forêt. Vent. Grêle. Tornades. Inondations.

Avril 2011 a été un mois défini par des conditions météorologiques extrêmes, en particulier dans les États-Unis. Texas a suivi son plus sec Mars dans plus de 100 ans avec son plus sec cinq avril. La hausse des températures et des précipitations absents ont été blâmés pour des pannes de courant dans les raffineries, un pic dans la rage des rapports, et les pertes de récolte de blé. La fin du mois, 94% de l'Etat a été confrontés à de graves conditions de sécheresse exceptionnelles. Lire la suite.

La nourriture de l'ONU et l'agriculture (FAO) a publié une étude sur la production alimentaire la semaine dernière qui a conclu 1.3 milliards de tonnes d'aliments sont perdus chaque année. C'est un tiers de la production mondiale totale. Cette inefficacité dans la production alimentaire et de la consommation reflète le gaspillage d'énergie et les émissions de GES par conséquent inutiles.[...]Qu'est-ce que les déchets alimentaires signifie en termes de changement climatique? «Quand on jette 40%, 40% des ressources investies va pour rien, pour rien ", a déclaré Bloom. Il estime que "2% de toute l'énergie des États-Unis va à l'alimentation nous jeter." La grande quantité d'eau, l'huile, et d'autres ressources qui entrent dans l'agriculture sont gaspillées, et les engrenages de l'agriculture industrielle spin sans but.Lire la suite.

-04.07.11- There’s a gap in the stately row of trees that line one of the most famous drives in America, the aftermath of thunderstorms that swept through Augusta early Tuesday and damaged other parts of the course, too. Lire la suite

-04.07.11- The drought may be over in California, but large portions of the Southwest, southern Plains, Florida and the Southeast are all still enduring severe to extreme drought conditions. Lire la suite

-04.07.11- The Atlantic basin is facing a busier-than-average hurricane season, in part because of unusually warm water in the ocean, according to a seasonal hurricane forecast released Wednesday. Lire la suite