Climate Threat Extreme Weather in Europe

Heat on Heat on Heat Baffles: “Surprising”

No climate scientist is surprised by the extreme weather this summer in France, where heat, drought and forest fires have succeeded each other. That is what climate scientist Valérie Masson-Delmotte tells French newspaper Le Monde.

However, something that baffles scientists is that three heat waves followed each other so closely – in May, June and July.

– It is surprising. There will be a lot of research on this, says climate scientist Christophe Cassou.

It could be a statistical coincidence. Other initial theories are that the climate phenomenon El Niño or a large area of ​​cold sea water in the North Atlantic could have an impact.

Heat warnings for several popular tourist destinations this week

Several popular tourist destinations in southern Europe are facing a new heat wave this week. Warnings have been issued in large parts of Spain, southern France, Corsica, Greece and the Balkans, writes TV4 Nyheterna.

– It's basically all of Southern Europe, says the site's meteorologist Johan Tengholm.

In Mallorca, temperatures are expected to reach 40 degrees – a heat shock for the Swedes who are leaving behind rain and cooler temperatures.

Aftonbladet writes that it is not just heat that may confront Swedes who want to visit Mallorca. For the third summer in a row, further demonstrations are planned against the increasing tourism on the island. 

The heat is coming to Spain – it will be closer to 45 degrees

The third heat wave of the summer is coming to Spain – with temperatures between 40 and 45 degrees.

In a warning, the country's meteorological authority Aemet writes that temperatures are expected to rise towards the 40 mark on Tuesday. The heat will then remain over the country for a few days.

The heat wave is expected to reach its peak on Wednesday or Thursday. Residents of the southeastern parts of the country, especially inland, can expect temperatures of between 42 and 44 degrees.

The agency also warns of an “extreme” fire risk. At the same time, a large forest fire is raging in the central parts of the country. It is now the region’s worst forest fire in history, according to El País.

 

Record low fires in Brazilian Amazon

 

TT-AFP 

Published 08:43

  

Amazon. Archive photo. Photo: Eraldo Peres/AP/TT

Forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon were at a historic low last year, according to a new report.

Using satellite images, the organization Mapbiomas has analyzed fires in the Brazilian rainforest and found that 3.1 million hectares of forest burned last year – the smallest area since measurements began in 1985.

The decrease does not only apply to fires in the Amazon, but the total land area affected by fires in Brazil is the smallest since 2018.

Mapbiomas report coordinator Ane Alencar tells reporters that the decrease is “unusual”, but that a possible contributing factor is that a delayed rainy season between 2024 and 2025 has prevented the “ideal time window for set fires in some areas”. Fire is often used to clear land for agriculture in parts of Brazil.

Heat records at ski resorts

Christina Nordh 

 

Published 21:23

 

Camera over the Falls Creek ski resort in Australia. Photo: Falls Creek

El Niño can stop the slide under the lags.

Right now, Australian ski resorts are up to twelve degrees warmer than normal.

– This shows what problems we will have with future ski seasons in a warmer climate, says meteorologist Angus Hines.

The start of the ski season in Victoria and New South Wales has been shaky. But in early July, snow fell on ski resorts in eastern Australia.

The joy was short-lived.

This weekend, temperatures reached up to twelve degrees above normal for July, writes The Guardian.

Several heat records

The ski resorts of Mount Hotham and Falls Creek had the highest day and night temperatures ever recorded in July. The ski resort of Thredbo also broke the record for the warmest day in July.

At Mount Hotham, which has kept temperature records for 36 years, the previous July record of 8.7 degrees Celsius was set in 1994.

That record has been broken three times this month. On Sunday, the top temperature was twelve degrees Celsius, compared to the normal zero degrees Celsius in July daytime temperatures.

At Falls Creek, the previous July record of 9.8 degrees Celsius has stood since 1992. On Saturday, the temperature reached 11.5 degrees Celsius and on Sunday, 13 degrees Celsius. The average temperature in July is otherwise 1.2 degrees Celsius there.

In Thredbo, 14 degrees Celsius was measured, Cabramurra 14.3 degrees Celsius and in Mount William 15.2 degrees Celsius this weekend. All are new temperature records for July.

El Niño affects

Now, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's long-term forecast, combined with a super El Niño, points to a warmer and drier winter than normal at the ski resorts.

Climate scientists have long warned that climate change will cause major problems for Australian ski resorts.

Angus Hines, meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said the unusually high temperatures were due to a slow-moving high pressure system combined with sinking dry air. This meant it was cooler near sea level than it was at higher altitudes – the opposite of what is normal.

“Temperatures were well above normal and even surpassed previous warm spells in July,” Hines said.

Ski resorts are seeing a drop in temperatures this weekend. But next week temperatures will rise again.

 

Chile declares state of emergency after heavy rain

 

TT-AFP 

Published 05:23

  

Chilean President José Antonio Kast. File photo. Photo: Esteban Felix/AP/TT

The Chilean government has declared a state of emergency after heavy rains in recent days.

At least ten people have died and more than 1,100 homes have been destroyed in the normally dry regions of Coquimbo and Atacama in northern Chile.

“In one hour, as much rain fell as it normally does in a month,” said Deputy Interior Minister Máximo Pavez.

President José Antonio Kast declared the state of emergency on Monday to allow the military to help with rescue efforts. Several communities have been isolated after roads were washed away and blocked by the floodwaters.

Nicaraguan President on Future Elections: “Never”

 

TT-AP

Published 08:15

  

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega does not want the country to hold elections again. Archive photo. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP/TT

There will be no more elections in Nicaragua, declares the country’s President Daniel Ortega.

– Never, never, never, says Ortega.

The announcement means that the planned elections in November 2027 are canceled and underlines Ortega’s efforts to extend his rule.

According to conflict monitor Acled, the announcement shows that the president and his circle “fear that the slightest political opening could create the conditions for dissent to threaten their grip on power.”

Ortega, together with his wife Rosario Murillo, has ruled the country in turns since 1979, but uninterruptedly since 2007.

Since coming to power, he has crushed the country’s political opposition and rewrote the constitution. As recently as January last year, he and Rosario Murillo were given control of the entire state apparatus through an amendment to the constitution. 

 

The change of power in the UK

Andy Burnham starts over – lowers electricity prices for everyone

Andy Burnham starts over as British Prime Minister. During his first morning in office, he announces that VAT on electricity will be abolished from 1 October.

An average household will thus be able to keep 585 kronor more in their wallets each year, according to Sky News. The abolished VAT costs the treasury around 11 billion kronor a year, which is financed by Burnham simultaneously abolishing his predecessor Keir Starmer's criticized proposal to create digital ID cards.

The country's new Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey says that the reduction will give families "a little more financial breathing room" for the winter.

Analysis: The shock election says a lot about Burnham's tactics

The election of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was the big surprise when Prime Minister Andy Burnham presented his new government in the UK, according to several analyses.

The pre-election talk was exclusively about Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood. Instead, the choice fell on the former defense secretary John Healey.

A “shock election” that reveals Burnham’s ambitions, writes David Maddox in an analysis in The Independent. The market disliked the left-wing politician Miliband and the right-wing Mahmood did not go down well with Labour’s left-wing factions. Then “the highly respected Healey” became a compromise candidate.

“A sign that Burnham is not interested in continuing the factional fighting that plagued the Starmer government,” writes Maddox.

The Telegraph’s Gordon Rayner concludes that Burnham himself wants to hold the purse strings. Instead of choosing someone who questions him for personal or ideological reasons, Burnham chose a man who is known to “align himself with the ranks and implement his wishes.”

Politico and The Guardian describe Healey as a stable, confident and experienced politician who knows all the party factions.

 

Prime Minister in storm – denies corruption

 

Kristin Groth/TT

 

Published 06:00

  

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is accused of corruption after a decision on state aid for the construction of an arena in Helsinki. The picture was taken during a visit to Oslo in May. Photo: Amanda Pedersen Giske/NTB/TT

A political crisis has erupted in Finland, where the government is accused of corruption.

Uncertainties in connection with the granting of hundreds of millions of state aid for a large arena project have led the opposition to demand the resignation of the prime minister.

There are no indications of corruption, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo claimed last week.

He has recently been hard hit by the opposition's questioning of the moves regarding state aid for the Garden Helsinki arena construction. On Tuesday, the Riksdag will interrupt its summer recess to hold a vote of confidence in connection with the matter.

The vote comes after Orpo announced on Monday that the entire project in its current form no longer has government support.

“The project has been delayed. The financing is unclear and the competitive situation for arena projects has changed. In addition, a shadow hangs over the support decision,” he said at a press conference.

He has previously said that his biggest mistake in the context was that he had failed to explain himself clearly enough.

The Prime Minister emailed

The scandal became a fact when the newspaper Vantaan Sanomat reviewed the decision to grant Garden Helsinki the 35 million euro support, equivalent to around 385 million Swedish kronor. Another planned arena a few kilometers outside the city center had not received government support.

The Ministry of Finance had previously rejected support for both projects. Yet one of them – Garden Helsinki – ended up on the Coalition Party’s list of projects worth supporting, writes Hufvudstadsbladet.

It has been revealed that the chairman of the project company for Garden Helsinki, Jan Vapaavuori, did not give up and instead emailed the prime minister. Shortly afterwards, the decision on state support was hammered through.

Vapaavuori is a former mayor of Helsinki and has a background in the Coalition Party, which is currently led by Orpo.

The project also has a cooperation agreement with the construction group SRV, whose major owner Ilpo Kokkila is one of the Coalition Party's largest financiers, reports Hufvudstadsbladet. According to Orpo, however, the connection is completely coincidental.

“Humility”

According to several analysts, it is unlikely that Orpo will be defeated in Tuesday's vote of confidence. He himself said on Monday that he is approaching it with humility.

– I want to convey that Finns can trust political decision-making and that lobbying cannot influence the decision-making process. That is the message I want to convey.

The Prime Minister says he trusts the Chancellor of Justice's upcoming review of the entire process.

- Then my own role will also be clarified. That is why the Chancellor of Justice exists, he said last week, writes Yle.

Garden Helsinki

The controversial construction project Garden Helsinki is an arena to be built in Töölö in Helsinki. The arena is intended to accommodate between 18,000 and 22,000 spectators.

Construction will last four years from 2027. The final bill is estimated at around 400 million euros.

Former Helsinki mayor Jan Vapaavuori is the chairman of the project company. He has also represented Petteri Orpo's Coalition Party as a minister in previous governments.

The project has been granted state aid of 35 million euros by the government, equivalent to over 385 million Swedish kronor. The state aid corresponds to approximately 10 percent of Garden Helsinki's total estimated cost.

The decision, and especially the unclear decision-making process, has been questioned by opposition politicians. Among other things, it has been highlighted that Jan Vapaavuori and the Prime Minister are party colleagues.

Source: Yle