The Elephant
A resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens interested in climate change and the environmental emergency
The ElephantA resource for journalists, politicians, policy makers, activists and citizens interested in climate change and the environmental emergency
On the brink: California’s luxe clifftop mansions in peril after record rain
2024-03-05 in The GuardianHomeowners in wealthy towns watching anxiously in face of heavy storms that have caused flash floods and coastal erosion
Tagged under: Climate Change Impacts | Extreme Rainfall | California
Weather tracker: Flash flooding in Oman and record temperatures in Western Australia
2024-02-16 in The GuardianFour people died after heavy rain in the Middle Eastern country, which is one of the driest in the world
Tagged under: Extreme Heat | Extreme Rainfall | Extreme Weather | Middle East
Storm Henk-hit farmers call for stronger river defences
2024-01-04 (or before) in The BBCThousands of acres of crops and productive farmland are under water thanks to Storm Henk's flooding.
Tagged under: UK | Flooding | Storms. Hurricanes and Tornados | Extreme Rainfall | Farming | Adaptation | Rivers
Amber rain warning extended for north and east of Scotland
2023-10-06 in The BBCIt now goes to 14:00 on Sunday for parts of Angus, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Highland.
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall
Climate Change made Libya's deadly rainfall up to 50 times more likely - study | Reuters
2023-09-19 in ReutersClimate Change made the heavy rainfall that led to deadly floods in Libya up to 50 times more likely, scientists said on Tuesday.
Tagged under: Climate Change | Libya | Flooding | Extreme Rainfall | Africa
FEMA Stretched Beyond Climate Response as Disasters Balloon
2023-07-13 (or before) in news.bloomberglaw.comAtmospheric rivers drenched California and deadly storms crept toward Mississippi as Deanne Criswell sat in her corner office in Washington, D.C., and tackled a loaded question: Is it all too much for FEMA?
Tagged under: Storms. Hurricanes and Tornados | Extreme Rainfall | Flooding | Extreme Weather | Rivers | California
Many Californians report being personally impacted by last year’s unusually heavy precipitation
2023-06-07 (or before) in escholarship.orgAuthor(s): DiCamillo, Mark
Tagged under: California | Extreme Rainfall
Confirmed: Global floods, droughts worsening with warming
2023-03-14 (or before) in Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and TechnologyThe intensity of extreme drought and rainfall has "sharply" increased over the past 20 years, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Water. These aren't merely tough weather events, they are leading to extremes such as crop failure, infrastructure damage, even humanitarian crises and conflict.
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Drought | Conflict
Scientists prove clear link between deforestation and local drop in rainfall
2023-03-01 in The GuardianStudy adds to fears Amazon is approaching tipping point after which it will not be able to generate its own rainfall
Tagged under: Deforestation | Extreme Rainfall | Rainforests | Amazon Rainforest | Brazil | Africa | Trees | Indonesia | Tipping Points
Weather tracker: historic rainfall wreaks havoc in New Zealand
2023-02-03 in The GuardianAuckland has experienced its wettest January since records began, while temperatures plummet in southern US
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall
Rainfall Records Shattered In Auckland, New Zealand - It Wasn’t Even Close
2023-01-29 (or before) by in ForbesHere's why extreme rainfall in Auckland, New Zealand has scientists saying "Wow" and you should be too.
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Climate Change
Climate change exacerbated heavy rainfall leading to large scale flooding in highly vulnerable communities in West Africa – World Weather Attribution
2022-11-17 (or before) in World Weather AttributionTagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Climate Change | Africa
China reports ‘most severe’ heatwave and third driest summer on record
2022-09-07 in The GuardianAverage temperature in August was 1.2C higher than norm, which caused widespread drought
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Heatwaves | Drought | China
Risk of catastrophic megafloods has doubled in California, study finds
2022-08-12 in The GuardianScientists concluded that a series of storms could dump enough rainfall to displace millions, causing over $1tn in losses
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Wildfires | Drought | California
Negative IOD declared
2022-08-02 (or before) in Weather Zone AustraliaA wet spring could be on the cards for large parts of Australia with a negative Indian Ocean Dipole now officially underway in the Indian Ocean. A negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) refers to a pattern of sea surface temperatures in the tropical Indian Ocean that causes more moisture-laden air to flow towards Australia. These negative IOD events, which occur on average once every five years, typically enhance northwest cloudbands over Australia and produce above-average rain over large areas of country's south and southeast during winter and spring. The Bureau of Meteorology has today declared that a negative IOD ev...
Tagged under: Oceans | Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Predictions
404 mm breaks July rainfall record in Sydney
2022-08-01 (or before) in Weather Zone AustraliaSydney has just broken a monthly rainfall record for the second time this year, continuing the city’s prolific run of wet weather in 2022. Sydney’s main rain gauge at Observatory Hill, located next to the Harbour Bridge, collected a whopping 404.0 mm of rain during July. This is more than four times its long-term monthly average and the highest July total in records dating back to 1858, beating 336.1 mm from 1950. Sydney has now registered two record wet months in 2022, with July’s 404.0 mm and March’s 554.0 mm both unrivalled in more than 160 years of observations at the site. The city&rsquo...
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Australia | Predictions
Kentucky: At least 25 dead in worst Appalachia floods for years - BBC News
2022-07-30 (or before) in The BBCRainfall in the region was "virtually unprecedented", a state geologist says.
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall
China official says wheat crop may be ‘worst in history’
2022-06-06 (or before) in World-Grain.com | World GrainHeavy rainfall during planting has reduced acreage by one-third.
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | China
The role of tropical volcanic eruptions in exacerbating Indian droughts - Scientific Reports
2022-05-02 (or before) in NatureThe Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) is vital for the livelihood of millions of people in the Indian region; droughts caused by monsoon failures often resulted in famines. Large volcanic eruptions have been linked with reductions in ISMR, but the responsible mechanisms remain unclear. Here, using 145-year (1871–2016) records of volcanic eruptions and ISMR, we show that ISMR deficits prevail for two years after moderate and large (VEI > 3) tropical volcanic eruptions; this is not the case for extra-tropical eruptions. Moreover, tropical volcanic eruptions strengthen El Niño and weaken La Ni&...
Tagged under: Solar Energy | Extreme Rainfall | Drought | Famine | El Niño
Doubts over Coalition’s net zero target as report finds soil carbon emissions will increase as climate warms
2021-12-13 in The GuardianExclusive: Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns expected to increase losses and make it more difficult to identify net carbon emissions
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Greenhouse Gases | Coal | Net Zero
Climate change: Europe's extreme rains made more likely by humans - BBC News
2021-10-26 (or before) in The BBCHeavy rainfall that led to deadly floods in Germany and Belgium was influenced by human induced warming.
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Climate Change
Increasing precipitation volatility in twenty-first-century California - Nature Climate Change
2021-10-14 (or before) in NatureCalifornia recently experienced a rapid shift from multi-year drought to abundant rainfall. A large ensemble of climate model simulations suggests that the frequency of extreme wet-to-dry precipitation events will increase by 25% to 100% across California due to anthropogenic forcing.
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Drought | Climate Change | California
Increasing heat and rainfall extremes now far outside the historical climate - npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
2021-10-08 (or before) in NatureOver the last decade, the world warmed by 0.25 °C, in-line with the roughly linear trend since the 1970s. Here we present updated analyses showing that this seemingly small shift has led to the emergence of heat extremes that would be virtually impossible without anthropogenic global warming. Also, record rainfall extremes have continued to increase worldwide and, on average, 1 in 4 rainfall records in the last decade can be attributed to climate change. Tropical regions, comprised of vulnerable countries that typically contributed least to anthropogenic climate change, continue to see the strongest increase in extrem...
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Climate Change
Climate change triggering intense drought in Iraq, Syria: Over 12 mn people to lose access to water, food
2021-09-06 (or before) in IndiaTodayThe region has been witnessing a major spike in temperatures amid record low levels of rainfall, and drought due to climate change.
Tagged under: Global Warming | Extreme Rainfall | Drought | Climate Change
The health case for urgent action on climate change
2021-09-06 (or before) in The BMJ: British Medical JournalHealth professionals have a leading role It is about 30 years since warnings first appeared in prominent journals about the potential for large and wide ranging effects on human health from climate and other global environmental changes.123 To date, global action to tackle these burgeoning threats remains inadequate both in scale and in speed. For example, the pledged nationally determined contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions—as enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change—are a first step, but even if fully implemented (and this is by no means certain), global average temperatures are still...
Tagged under: Oceans | Extreme Rainfall | Greenhouse Gases | Climate Change | Health
Heavy rainfall which led to severe flooding in Western Europe made more likely by climate change – World Weather Attribution
2021-08-26 (or before) in World Weather AttributionTagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Climate Change
Extreme rainfall in China: over 25 inches falls in 24 hours, leaving 33 dead » Yale Climate Connections
2021-07-22 in Yale Climate ConnectionsZhengzhou received more than a year’s worth of rain on July 20.
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | China
Death toll rises and thousands flee homes as floods hit China
2021-07-21 in The GuardianTorrential rainfall and burst rivers swamp Henan cities, with commuters trapped on subway trains
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | China | Greenhouse Gases | Rivers | Greenpeace | Trains
Climate change shifting UK’s high-impact weather
2021-07-12 (or before) in Met Office UKA new study has examined how high-impact weather in the UK, such as extremely hot days, heavy rainfall and very cold conditions, could be affected at different levels of global warming.
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Climate Change
Syria: drought puts Assad's 'year of wheat' in peril
2021-06-21 in middleeastmonitor.comThe 'year of wheat' campaign pushed by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is in jeopardy after low rainfall risked leaving an import gap of at least 1.5 million tonnes, Reuters has reported, citing prel...
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Drought
Deforestation reduces rainfall and agricultural revenues in the Brazilian Amazon - Nature Communications
2021-06-05 (or before) in NatureDeforestation in the Amazon region has suggested to influence precipitation in a non-linear way. Here, the authors show that forest loss is associated with decreasing precipitation after a scale-dependent threshold is crossed, which can cause stress on agriculture if deforestation is expanded.
Tagged under: Deforestation | Extreme Rainfall | Amazon Rainforest | Brazil | Trees
Third of global food production at risk from climate crisis
2021-05-14 in The GuardianFood-growing areas will see drastic changes to rainfall and temperatures if global heating continues at current rate
Tagged under: Farming | Extreme Rainfall | Drought | COP26 | Greenhouse Gases | Climate Change | Africa | Food Production and Consumption
California's rainfall is at historic lows. That spells trouble for wildfires and farms
2021-02-11 in The GuardianPrecipitation fills reservoirs, limits fire danger and feeds important crops. But the state has seen only 30% to 70% of what it would expect
Tagged under: Farming | Extreme Rainfall | Wildfires | Drought | California
Extreme weather and climate opinion: evidence from Australia - Climatic Change
2021-01-19 (or before) in Springer VerlagExtreme weather patterns can be linked to the effects of anthropogenic climate change with increasing confidence. Evidence from the USA suggests a weak relationship between individuals’ experiences of many types of weather events and concern about climate change. Using data from Australia, we investigate the effects of experiences of increases in mean temperatures and drought on a range of measures related to individuals’ beliefs in, and concerns about, climate change. Our results show no association between recent experiences of elevated temperature relative to long-term average and views about climate change, thoug...
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Drought | Climate Change
Turkey drought: Istanbul could run out of water in 45 days
2021-01-13 in The GuardianWater at critically low levels across Turkey after lack of rainfall leads to most severe drought in a decade
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Drought
Scientists link record-breaking hurricane season to climate crisis
2020-11-15 in The GuardianEvidence is not so much in the number of tropical storms the Atlantic has seen, but in their strength, intensity and rainfall
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall
Study shows wetter climate is likely to intensify global warming
2020-10-05 (or before) in Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and TechnologyA study in the May 6th issue of Nature indicates the increase in rainfall forecast by global climate models is likely to hasten the release of carbon dioxide from tropical soils, further intensifying global warming by adding to human emissions of this greenhouse gas into Earth's atmosphere.
Tagged under: Global Warming | Extreme Rainfall | Greenhouse Gases
New studies confirm weakening of the Gulf Stream circulation (AMOC)
2020-09-17 in RealClimateMany of the earlier predictions of climate research have now become reality. The world is getting warmer, sea levels are rising faster and faster, and more frequent heat waves, extreme rainfall, devastating wildfires and more severe tropical storms are affecting many millions of people. Now there is growing evidence that another climate forecast is already coming true: the Gulf Stream system in the Atlantic is apparently weakening, with consequences for Europe too. ...
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Wildfires | Predictions | Sea Level
New studies confirm weakening of the Gulf Stream circulation (AMOC)
2020-09-17 in RealClimateMany of the earlier predictions of climate research have now become reality. The world is getting warmer, sea levels are rising faster and faster, and more frequent heat waves, extreme rainfall, devastating wildfires and more severe tropical storms are affecting many millions of people. Now there is growing evidence that another climate forecast is already coming true: the Gulf Stream system in the Atlantic is apparently weakening, with consequences for Europe too. ...
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Wildfires | Predictions | Gulf Stream (AMOC) | Sea Level
UK Hydrological Status Update - May 2020 | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
2020-05-27 (or before) in UK Centre for Ecology & HydrologyFor 2020 so far, the hydrological situation has been extremely mixed. In February we saw record-breaking rainfall and river flows, and one of the most significant flood events of recent years. Just a couple of months later, after a prolonged period of dry weather, records were broken at the other end of the hydrological spectrum. In the latest in a briefing note, this caused widespread and sustained flooding in many parts of the country.An exceptionally dry spring so far?March is often a 'transitional' spring month but the contrast between the UK Water Resources Portal. Figure right: April monthly mean river flows for the UK. Fr...
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Drought | Predictions | Flooding | Rivers | Sea Level | Health | Water Resources
Oroville Dam Spillway Overflow February 2017
2020-05-22 (or before) in Climate SignalsA series of weather systems has delivered record-breaking heavy precipitation to California since early January 2017. On top of heavy precipitation, warm weather systems dropped rainfall in mountain regions where snow pack was forced to melt back to higher elevations and the resulting melt water joined the mountain run-off from the passing storms. Climate change contributes to both heavy precipitation as well as warmer temperatures that prematurely melt snow pack. The combination of heavy precipitation and snow-pack melt has driven the state from drought to flood. Natural climate variability in California is extremely ...
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Drought | Climate Change | California | Collapse
Weatherwatch: thousands in lockdown rescue rainfall records
2020-04-24 in The GuardianClimate scientists asked for volunteers to transcribe millions of UK rainfall measurements from 1820 to 1950. And they volunteered in their thousands!
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall
Help needed to rescue UK's old rainfall records - BBC News
2020-03-26 (or before) in The BBCPre-1960s handwritten rain gauge data can inform drought and flood planning, but only if digitised.
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Drought
Jakarta floods: 'Not ordinary rain', say officials - BBC News
2020-01-02 (or before) in BBCAt least 21 people have died in the Indonesian capital amid record-breaking rainfall.
Tagged under: Extreme Rainfall | Indonesia
Yes, Australia has always had bushfires: but 2019 is like nothing we've seen before
2019-12-24 in The GuardianRecord low rainfall has contributed to a continent-scale emergency that has burned through more than 5m hectares and alarmed scientists, doctors and firefighters
Tagged under: Bushfires | Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Drought
With Greenland's Extreme Melting, a New Risk Grows: Ice Slabs That Worsen Runoff - Inside Climate News
2019-09-18 in Inside Climate NewsScientists have added a new item to the long list of Greenland Ice Sheet woes. Along with snow-darkening algae and increasing rainfall, giant slabs of ice have been thickening and spreading under the Greenland snow at an average rate of two football fields per minute since 2001, new research shows. The slabs prevent surface meltwater […]
Tagged under: Extreme Weather | Extreme Rainfall | Climate Change | Ice Melting | Sea Level
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