Absolutely inexcusable - "‘Mind-boggling’ #methane#emissions from #Turkmenistan revealed - Leaks of potent greenhouse gas #GHG could be easily fixed, say experts, and would rapidly reduce global heating - Methane leaks alone from Turkmenistan’s two main fossil fuel fields caused more global heating in 2022 than the entire carbon emissions of the UK, satellite data has revealed.
Methane emissions have surged alarmingly since 2007 and this acceleration may be the biggest threat to keeping below 1.5C of global heating, according to scientists. It also seriously risks triggering catastrophic climate tipping points, researchers say.
Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from the oil- and gas-rich country are “mind-boggling”, and an “infuriating” problem that should be easy to fix, experts have told the Guardian.
The data produced by Kayrros for the #Guardian found that the western fossil fuel field in Turkmenistan, on the #Caspian coast, leaked 2.6m tonnes of methane in 2022. The eastern field emitted 1.8m tonnes. Together, the two fields released emissions equivalent to 366m tonnes of #CO2, more than the UK’s annual emissions, which are the 17th-biggest in the world."
Can't help but feel someone is pushing drastic and intense wars, in an effort to make us look away from what big oil and big money are doing to our planet.
"What the Climate Emergency Looks Like: Extreme Heat Busts Records Across Asia"
Hundreds of millions of people throughout Asia are suffering as a deadly heatwave turbocharged by the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis continues to pummel large swaths of the continent, with little relief in sight — reigniting calls for immediate action to slash greenhouse gas pollution.
Record-high temperatures have been observed in several Asian countries this month, including at 109 weather stations across 12 Chinese provinces on Monday. Scorching heat in India, meanwhile, has killed more than a dozen people and forced school closures this week.
Last Friday, Bangkok-based climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera described the ongoing predicament as the "worst April heatwave in Asian history." Since then, additional records have been shattered in Southeast Asia.
Over the weekend, temperatures in Thailand surpassed 45°C (113°F) for the first time in recorded history. The Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka saw its hottest day in decades when temperatures soared past 40°C (104°F) on Saturday, causing road surfaces to melt. On Monday, temperatures in Myanmar surged to 44°C (111°F), a record for April. Laos is among the latest Asian countries to set a new all-time high, reaching 42.7°C (109°F) on Tuesday.
"How many people are dying due to climate change? How does climate cause death, and what are the omissions, deceptions, and confusions about this interaction of climate and death? In the U.S., climate-related deaths are narrowly classified as heat-related, so googling this question came up with 106 deaths for 2022. On the other hand, vector-borne diseases that proliferate due to heat, like malaria, dengue, zika, account for 700,000 deaths/year. Monbiot wrote that the burning of Indonesia’s tropical forests for biofuels (alternative to coal) from sugar cane/palm oil plantations, caused air pollution leading possibly to 15,000 child deaths. And the U.S. oil war for fossil fuels and the UN Iraqi oil-for-food program led to millions of deaths, including ½ million child. In 2021 the Guardian reported that extreme temperatures kill 5 million people/year and that deaths were on the rise. There is the question about accuracy: the World Mortality Database found that the number of people dying in the 2015 Egyptian heat wave was 20,000, not the reported 61, and that in 2022, heat waves in Europe killed more than 61,600 people. “Two decades ago, 71,000 excess deaths were recorded in Europe after intense summer heat” but this was not enough to jar any changes, and this is just about European deaths. [...]" https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/07/27/what-is-the-cost-of-climate-change/
“The Arctic is currently warming at four times the rate experienced by the rest of the planet. But the Antarctic has started to catch up, so that it is already warming twice as quickly as the planet overall.”
When might the world exceed 1.5C and 2C of global warming?🌡️
A Carbon Brief analysis shows that:
The world will likely exceed 1.5C between 2026 and 2042 in scenarios where emissions are not rapidly reduced, with a central estimate of between 2030 and 2032 (In just 6 years)
The 2C threshold will likely be exceeded between 2034 and 2052 in the highest emissions scenario, with a median year of 2043.
“Scientists have won the battle to inform the public about climate change and its causes, which is why those opposed to climate action have cynically switched focus to undermining confidence in solutions and in science itself.”
20 percent of Greenland’s ice cap lost due to climate change
It has been discovered that 20% of Greenland’s ice cap has been lost due to #ClimateChange, which equates to roughly 30m tonnes of ice an hour. #GlobalHeating has been a major cause of ice loss in #Greenland. This #crisis has been closely under survey for decades, with much of the ice cap driving up sea levels.
Animation of annual mean near-surface temperature anomalies in the Arctic for each year from 1950 to 2023. Data is from ERA5. Anomalies are calculated relative to a 1951 to 1980 climate baseline. Graphic was updated on "1/11/2024".
Without ice in the arctic & much gone from Greenland, will average summer temps in the northern hemisphere be 120F+? If so, what will become of all of the forests? Charcoal? Will our homes all turn to ash like in Lahaina and Paradise? People can't live like this. Crops won't grow when ablaze.
Meanwhile we all await the courts to sluggishly deal with a thug standing in the way of significant progress on #GlobalHeating from the United States. The climate never heard our kings. It never will.
The science is clear — people in more-equal societies are more trusting and more likely to protect the environment than are those in unequal, consumer-driven ones.
Bigger gaps between rich and poor are accompanied by higher rates of homicide and imprisonment
Greater equality will reduce unhealthy and excess consumption, and will increase the solidarity and cohesion that are needed to make societies more adaptable in the face of climate and other emergencies.
"If the anomaly does not stabilise by August – a reasonable expectation based on previous El Niño events – then the world will be in uncharted territory. It could imply that a warming planet is already fundamentally altering how the climate system operates, much sooner than scientists had anticipated.”
Gavin Schmidt, NASA
Oof. An extra 0.2W/m^2 doesn't sound like a lot if you don't know what these numbers look like, but if you consider that the total amount of energy hitting the top of the atmosphere from the sun is only about 1,360W/m^2, just this heat source is equivalent to about an extra seventieth of a percent of the total solar input being retained.
Most of the original input doesn't reach the ground anyway. If you take it as a percentage of the amount that reaches the ground (342W/m^2) it's about a seventeenth of one percent.