I just want to thank everyone on Bluesky who behaves like a normal human being with compassion, tolerance, humour, intelligence and equanimity. I'm sure I can't be the only one who wants social media to be more like that. I am always very much reassured by your presence.

I expect the plan is to blame DEI when agencies can't respond to extreme weather emergencies because roads and bridges have been trashed

"We can adapt", they say, except we're not - interesting views from two fire experts in California: • neighbourhoods can be designed and hardened to stop embers spreading fires from house to house • building codes failed to address this www.latimes.com/california/s...

In recent decades, wildland fires have been enabled by many factors, including the legacy of fire suppression, human settlement and distribution patterns, other management actions, and even natural climate variability. 1/

I had an email about the LA Fires summarised on BBC Radio 4's "Any Answers?" this afternoon, following discussion on last night's "Any Questions?". This was the full email #bbcqa #bbcaa

TL;DR version: #ClimateChange, while certainly not only relevant factor, has indeed increased risk of extreme CA #wildfires. The main reason is increasing temperatures & atmospheric "thirstiness," but increased precipitation "whiplash"/seasonal shifts is also an emerging factor.

Is there a link between #ClimateChange & increasing risk/severity of #wildfire in California--including the still-unfolding disaster? Yes. Is climate change the only factor at play? No, of course not. So what's really going on? [Thread] #CAfire #CAwx #LAfires iopscience.iop.org/a...

Yet again, as with many other disasters, people stupidly fail to acknowledge that maybe BOTH there have been adaptation failures and climate change has been a factor. Los Angeles didn't used to have wildfires in winter. Grotesque, deliberate, politically-motivated stupidity.

There needs to be a much stronger push for practical things to happen on the ground on climate adaptation from the climate movement. Otherwise it will cede that political space to its right wing critics.

"Hydrants are designed for fighting fires at one or two houses at a time, not hundreds". It is reasonable to ask why expanding the capacity of hydrant systems, given the growing threat from wildfires, has not been on anyone's radar. apnews.com/article/wild...

People casually say we can just adapt to climate change, but the reality is that engineers can foresee a disaster 20 years out, draw up a plan to prevent it, but nothing happens, and 200+ people die

What would you spend £10bn on, if you wanted to improve flood defences in the UK? Andrew's ideas:

A pub, a rugby club and a lido flooded again after extensive refurbishment – are we being honest to at-risk communities about the likelihood of repeat flooding from now on? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Insurers seeking to raise insurance rates by 42% on average in North Carolina; by 20% in areas recently affected by Helene www.thenassauguardian.com/ap/business/...

"Critical situation" in Borno State, Nigeria, one month on from floods which affected 1 million + people: stagnant water, damage to infrastructure including schools; cholera outbreak businessday.ng/life/article...

Global river flows at the lowest levels in the 33-year history of the UN's State of Global Water Resources in 2023 "Overall, 50% of global catchment areas showed abnormal conditions, with most being in deficit & reducing water availability for agriculture and industry" www.scmp.com/news/world/a...

Flooding and landslides in Bosnia apnews.com/article/floo...

Tennessee authorities investigating factory which didn't allow its workers to leave in time to escape danger from Hurricane Helene, resulting in fatalities wpln.org/post/helenes...

China taking scientific approach to making wine industry resilient to climate change www.ibtimes.com.au/china-wine-i...

Fatalities, flooding and collapsed buildings in Acapulco from Hurricane John, less than a year on from Hurricane Otis mexiconewsdaily.com/news/sheinba...

North Carolina election officials say they will do everything in their power to function normally for the presidential election as 12 county election offices remain closed www.theoaklandpress.com/2024/10/01/h...

State of emergency in Dunedin following wettest day in over 100 years www.9news.com.au/world/wettes...

Severe flooding and landslides in Nepal not getting any attention in the Western press: "The physical damage has been simply staggering", says Himalayan Times thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/nation...

Society of Hop Research in Germany figuring out which varieties will be resilient to a changing climate japantoday.com/category/fea...

Spanish farmers turn to pistachios to adapt to drier growing conditions kuwaittimes.com/article/1955...

How Singapore became a role model for water management: • rainwater is collected from an amazing two-thirds of its surface area • wastewater is collected and reused as much as possible • ending water imports from Malaysia is seen as an (eventual) achievable goal www.dw.com/en/how-singa...

Upper Amazon (Solimões) at record low levels leaving communities without transport www.stabroeknews.com/2024/10/01/n...

Massive underground flood diversion facility in Greater Tokyo needs upgrade www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/10...

Hail, excessive rain and fungus hit wine production in Chablis region www.euronews.com/green/2024/0...

Singapore government releases simple practical advice to companies on how to deal with erratic weather: • monitor weather • assess risks • train employees to deal with hazards • prepare recovery plans We could learn from this in the UK. www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ad...

Minerals undergird the modern economy, everything from MRIs to smartphones to the military to the energy transition — and the supply chain is full of surprises www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Want to check how historic the flooding in Asheville NC was? You can’t, because the NOAA data center is in Ashevllie NC and can’t operate due to a lack of water for cooling due to the flooding.

Wildfire and energy crises in Ecuador due to historic drought "The country's energy minister announced nationwide 12-hour power cuts ... and said the country's dry season started two months early." www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Recent flooding contributing to dire humanitarian situation in Sudan, as well as impacting up to 1.5 million people in Chad, says UN OCHA www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/rest-of-...

Extreme weather in NZ and Brazil factors in orange juice shortage in New Zealand www.rnz.co.nz/news/country...

Typhoon Yagi damages space launch centre in Hainan www.scmp.com/news/china/s...

Record low water level on the Paraguay River, an important waterway for transporting commodities, in Asunción www.stabroeknews.com/2024/09/09/n...

Significant damage to factories in Haiphong from Typhoon Yagi www.fijitimes.com.fj/typhoon-yagi...

Record low water levels in the Vistula in Poland, and water levels at Bosnian hydropower plants unusually low www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

100s of millions of students worldwide have experienced school closures due to extreme weather over the past couple of years, says World Bank report www.euronews.com/green/2024/0...

Electricity supply in Zambia down to 3 hours per day due to drought affecting hydropower www.news24.com/fin24/intern...

Namibia experiencing worst drought in decades, with the Government attracting criticism over its plans to cull wild animals to relieve pressure on grazing and water supplies www.thesouthafrican.com/animals/nami...

Flood and landslide damage to Indian hydropower plants push up premiums www.livemint.com/industry/now...

State of emergency declared in Los Angeles County town as pre-existing land movement hazard accelerates due to heavy winter rainfall www.swoknews.com/ap/national/...

Swiss researchers quantify alpine permafrost ice loss in a location for the first time using a technique which combines use of resistivity measurements with seismic sensors www.swissinfo.ch/eng/climate-...

India launches new early warning system for glacial lake outburst floods in the Himalayas, targeting 190 priority lakes www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/india-l...

15% of Australians facing "extreme insurance stress", defined as paying more than four weeks’ gross household income for a policy theconversation.com/wild-weather....

Warning that extreme heat and flooding are causing problems for US bridges "Scientists, engineers and government agencies are only now beginning to develop standards for how to build climate-resilient bridges" www.straitstimes.com/world/united...

Record number of insurance claims in Canada due to Toronto flooding, Jasper wildfire and other disasters this summer, says Insurance Bureau of Canada montreal.citynews.ca/2024/09/04/f...

$5mn hit to the Malawian economy due to loss of tourism revenues linked to rising water levels in Lake Malawi times.mw/rising-lake-...