Climate Letter #1620

A new warning based on the huge declines of insect populations that have been widely observed (The Guardian).  The report was issued by a team of 25 international scientists representing a variety of specialties.  Climate change was one of six major factors of causation described in their comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge.  “The current [insect] extinction crisis is deeply worrisome. Yet, what we know is only the tip of the iceberg.  We know enough to act immediately. Solutions are now available – we must act upon them.  Insect declines lead to the loss of essential, irreplaceable services to humanity.”
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–The full report is available, written in everyday language:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719317823?via%3Dihub#bb0910
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Researchers have found that greenhouse gasses emitted from most thawing peatlands are fully offset by the growth of new greenery (JGR Biogeo sciences).  “Northern peatlands store a third of the world’s soil carbon…..We found no long‐term net impact of permafrost thaw on carbon stores, as losses of previously frozen carbon were offset by carbon that accumulated at the surface following thaw.”  Increased moss growth provided this highly welcomed outcome.
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JP Morgan economists have warned the firm’s clients about the existential threat of climate change (The Guardian).  “The world’s largest financier of fossil fuels has warned clients that the climate crisis threatens the survival of humanity and that the planet is on an unsustainable trajectory, according to a leaked document…..the paper notes that global heating is on course to hit 3.5C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century…..it is clear that the Earth is on an unsustainable trajectory. Something will have to change at some point if the human race is going to survive.”  The report, which is not public, was issued on January 14th.
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California is showing signs of a return to serious drought conditions (EcoWatch).  “California is headed toward drought conditions as February, typically the state’s wettest month, passes without a drop of rain…..The last time San Francisco did not record a drop of rain in February was in 1864 as the Civil War raged…..Right now, the snowpack is at 53 percent of its normal volume after two warm and dry months to start the year…..persistent high pressure over the North Pacific Ocean is expected to continue, diverting storm systems to the north and south and away from California and parts of the Southwest,”
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Astounding claims made by battery researchers in South Korea (Korea Institute of Science and Technology).  “…announced the development of silicon anode materials that can increase battery capacity four-fold in comparison to graphite anode materials and enable rapid charging to more than 80% capacity in only five minutes. When applied to batteries for electric vehicles, the new materials are expected to more than double their driving range…..We were able to develop carbon-silicon composite materials using common, everyday materials and simple mixing and thermal processes with no reactors…..The simple processes we adopted and the composites with excellent properties that we developed are highly likely to be commercialized and mass-produced. The composites could be applied to lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.”  The report appeared in a journal published by the American Chemical Society.
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Today’s global temperature anomaly map from the Climate Reanalyzer https://climatereanalyzer.org/wx/DailySummary/#t2anom shows several extremes.  The anomalies have a baseline equal to roughly three decades, a period normally characterized by a global average gain of just a bit more than 0.5C.  Today we are getting 0.9C, which is at the very high end of the range for daily reports.  (These dailies will occasionally run as low as 0.2C.)  Almost all of Eurasia is totally out of balance, which is very unusual, along with both polar regions, especially the Arctic.  The ‘NH’ report of 1.7C is another extreme, while the Southern Hemi has been sitting at the low end.  Also note the bright red spot at the top of Siberia, making it a good 20C (or 36F) above average—more than just an ‘ordinary’ extreme.
 

 

 

I’m also adding an image that gives a good portrayal of how much water vapor is finding its way over the entire Eurasian continent, originally transported by the long spike you can see running from the eastern edge of the Pacific through the middle of the Atlantic and then breaking into remnants that spread out across thousands of miles of far north country. The hot zone off Siberia shows up with 7 kilograms of water, which is about four times its normal average at this time of year, and that is enough to account for the 20C temperature gain in the previous chart. It should not last that way for long.

If you don’t mind looking at one more image, that long spike of high volume water vapor has gotten itself embedded in an equally long sequence of strong jet stream pulses that runs all the way from Mexico to the Siberian Arctic., and has stayed like that for several days now, making for very efficient transportation for those on board.

Carl

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