Posted on 27 July 2019 by John Hartz

Editor's Pick

Europe's record heatwave threatens Greenland ice sheet

The hot air moving up from North Africa has not merely broken European temperature records but surpassed them by 2, 3 or 4 degrees Celsius

Shutterstock

The hot air that smashed European weather records this week looks set to move towards Greenland and could cause record melting of the world's second largest ice sheet, the United Nations said on Friday.

Clare Nullis, spokeswoman for the U.N. World Meteorological Organization, said the hot air moving up from North Africa had not merely broken European temperature records on Thursday but surpassed them by 2, 3 or 4 degrees Celsius, which she described as "absolutely incredible".

"According to forecasts, and this is of concern, the atmospheric flow is now going to transport that heat towards Greenland," she told a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva.

"This will result in high temperatures and consequently enhanced melting of the Greenland ice sheet," she said. "We don't know yet whether it will beat the 2012 level, but it's close."

Nullis cited data from Denmark's Polar Portal, which measures the daily gains and losses in surface mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

"In July alone, it lost 160 billion tonnes of ice through surface melting. That's roughly the equivalent of 64 million Olympic-sized swimming pools. Just in July. Just surface melt - it's not including ocean melt as well."

Europe's record heatwave threatens Greenland ice sheet by Tom Miles, Reuters, July 26, 2019

Links posted on Facebook

Sun July 21, 2019

• Brave or naive? Conservative Wagga surprises with climate emergency declaration by Ben Smee, Australia, Guardian, July 19, 2019
• Australia's Orwellian anti-refugee system hints at what's to come for climate refugees, Opinion by Jeff Sparrow, Comment is Free, Guardian, July 16, 2019
• Climate Emergency Declarations: How Cities Are Leading The Charge by James Ellsmoor, Under 30, Forbes, July 20, 2019
• Trump's USDA buried sweeping climate change response plan by Helena Bottemiller Evich, Politico July 18, 2019
• Parts of Asia Are On Their Way to Becoming Unlivable by Meera Navlakha, Vice, July 18, 2019
• Greta Thunberg: ‘They see us as a threat because we’re having an impact’ Observer/Guardian, July 21, 2019 [Greta Thunberg answers questions from famous supporters and Observer readers, with an introduction by Ali Smith.]
• Forget new crewed missions in space. NASA should focus on saving Earth., Opinion by Lori Garver, Washington Post, July 18, 2019
• Ex-Unilever boss seeks 'heroic CEOs' to tackle climate change and inequality by Sarah Butler, Business, Guardian, July 21, 2019

Mon July 22, 2019

• Sky News Australia interview falsely claims that global cooling is coming soon, Edited by Scott Johnson, Claim Reviews, Climate Feedback, July 18, 2019
• Bolsonaro accuses state agency of lying on Brazil deforestation by Lisandra Paraguassu, Reuters, July 19, 2019
• The Mindful Climate Change Writer by Matthew Nisbet, Wealth of Ideas, Medium, July 17, 2019
• July set to smash record as hottest month in temperature history by Mario Picazo, The Weather Network, July 20, 2019
• Trump administration's 'scientific oppression' threatens US safety and innovation, Opinion by Paul Tonko & Brian Schatz, USA Today, July 22, 2019
• EPA’s watchdog is scrutinizing ethics practices of agency’s former air policy chief by Juliet Eilperin, climate & Environment, Washington Post, July 22, 2019
• Record high temperatures far exceed record lows — a trend of the climate crisis by Nash Rhodes & Brandon Miller, CNN, July 22, 2019
• Paris’s all-time high temperature record may fall this week as another heat wave roasts Europe by Andrew Freedman, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, July 22, 2019

Tue July 23, 2019

• Adapting cities to a hotter world: 3 essential reads by Jennifer Weeks, Environment & Energy, The Conversation US, July 8, 2019
• Airplane contrails are changing the climate by Dawn Stover, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July 18, 2019
• Heat Waves in the Age of Climate Change: Longer, More Frequent and More Dangerous by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Climate, New York Times, July 18, 2019
• Does Extinction Rebellion Have the Solution to the Climate Crisis? by Sam Knight, The New Yorker Magazine, July 21, 2019
• 40 years ago, scientists predicted climate change. And hey, they were right by Neville Nicholls, Environment & Energy, The Conversation AU, July 23, 2019
• Funds managing $2 trillion urge cement makers to act on climate impact by Matthew Green, Reuters, July 22, 2019
• Faith in action: Loka Initiative brings faith leaders and scientists together by Karl Knutson, University of Wisconsin-Madison News, July 23, 2019
• Europe heatwave: French city of Bordeaux hits record temperature, BBC News, July 23, 2019

Wed July 24, 2019

• Being sad for the planet: Edmontonians share experiences with ecological grief by Fakiha Baig, CBC News, July 23, 2019
• BHP boss announces $US400m plan to combat 'indisputable' climate crisis, Australian AP, Business, Guardian, July 23, 2019
• The Woman Who Discovered the Cause of Global Warming Was Long Overlooked. Her Story Is a Reminder to Champion All Women Leading on Climate by Katharine Wilkinson, Time Magazine, July 17, 2019
• Nearly 2 Million Cyclone Survivors in Mozambique at Risk of Severe Food Shortages by Lisa Schlein, VOA News, July 20, 2019
• Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months by Matt McGrath, Science & Environment, BBC News, July 24, 2019
• The world is literally on fire – so why is it business as usual for politicians?, Opinion by Arwa Mahdawi, Comment is Free, Guardian, July 23, 2019
• Greta Thunberg to French MPs: you can ignore children, not scientists by Simon Carraud & Geert De Clercq, Reuters, July 23, 2019
• Can we avert a climate change apocalypse by hacking the planet's atmosphere?And should we? by Anna Salleh, Science, ABC News (Australia), July 24, 2019

Thu July 25, 2019

• Why German coal power is falling fast in 2019 Guest Post by Karsten Capion, Carbon Brief, July 18, 2019
• Ireland completely off course regarding climate change targets, watchdog warns by Cormac Fitzgerald & Christina Finn, TheJournal.ie, July 25, 2019
• 'Everyone Should Mobilize': Climate Leaders Urge Massive Turnout for Global Climate Strikes by Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, July 24, 2019
• Climate crisis might be behind the rise of mysterious superbug C. auris, study suggests by Jen Christensen, Health, CNN, July 23, 2019
• Thanks to climate change, parts of the Arctic are on fire. Scientists are concerned by Morgan Hines, USA Today, July 23, 2017
• House Democrats Unveil Climate Goal Short of Ocasio-Cortez’s by Ari Natter, Climate Changed, Bloomberg News, July 23, 2019
• U.S. senators to unveil carbon tax bill to generate $2.5 tln in 10 years by Timothy Gardner, Reuters, July 24, 2019
• Europe heat: Temperature records are shattered in Europe, with Paris hitting all-time mark of 109 degrees by Andrew Freedman, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, July 25, 2019

Fri July 26, 2019

• The worst part of a heat wave is when it doesn’t cool off at night by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, July 19, 2019
• Most YouTube climate change videos 'oppose the consensus view' by Gregory Robinson, Technology, Guardian, July 25, 2019
• Amazon deforestation accelerating towards unrecoverable 'tipping point' by Jonathan Watts, World, Guardian, July 25, 2019
• CNN to host climate crisis town hall with 2020 Democratic candidates by Kyle Blaine, CNN, July 25, 2019
• European Heat Wave July 2019, Events, Climate Signals, Ongoing Post begun on July 22, 2019
• Climate more pressing than Brexit, say 71% of Britons – poll by Harriet Sherwood, Environment, Guardian, July 26, 2019
• Global extent of climate change is ‘unparalleled’ in past 2,000 years by Daisey Dumme, Carbon Brief, July 24, 2019
• Climate Change: A Real Force In The 2020 Campaign? by Andy Stone, Forbes, July 25, 2019

Sat July 27, 2019

• Alaskan glaciers melting 100 times faster than previously thought by Jenny Howard, Environment, National Geographic, July 25, 2019
• Extreme weather caused by climate change has damaged 45% of Australia’s coastal habitat by Russ Babcock, Environment & Energy, The Conversation AU, July 26, 2019
• The European heat wave bears the fingerprint of climate change, Analysis by Matthew Capucci & Andrew Freedman, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, July 26, 2019
• Europe's record heatwave threatens Greenland ice sheet by Tom Miles, Reuters, July 26, 2019
• Would Trump’s Reelection Doom the Planet? by Dave Levitan, The New Republic Magazine, July 26, 2019
• Are (US) progressives working on a climate plan for 2021? You bet. by Zoya Teirstein, Grist, July 18, 2019
• Global Footprint Network promotes real-world solutions that #MoveTheDate, accelerating the transition to one-planet prosperity. Press Release, Global Footprint Network, July 23, 2019
• In Trump World, global warming’s coming disasters are wished away, Opinion by Fred Grimm, South Florida Sun Sentinel, July 26, 2019