Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Friday July 26 2019, @12:15PM   Printer-friendly
from the mercurial-weather-conditions dept.

Bytram writes in via IRC with two hot stories about the weather:

Records Tumble as Europe Swelters in Heatwave

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Records tumble as Europe swelters in heatwave

Belgium and the Netherlands have recorded their highest ever temperatures, in a heatwave searing Western Europe.

The Belgian town of Kleine Brogel in Limburg province hit 39.9C (102F), the hottest since records began in 1833.

A Eurostar train broke down in the extreme heat, trapping passengers.

The southern Dutch city of Eindhoven saw 39.3C, the highest temperature recorded since the Dutch royal meteorological institute began in 1901.

The highest temperature recorded in Paris - 40.4C in 1947 - is expected to be surpassed on Thursday.

Luxembourg is on red alert for the south and the capital - with top temperatures possibly climbing to 40C on Wednesday and even higher on Thursday.

Europe's Record-setting Heatwave to Spike Even Higher

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Europe's record-setting heatwave to spike even higher

A dangerously intense heatwave across much of Europe is to spike even higher Thursday after already breaking records in several countries, impacting rail traffic and sending people in search of shade and water.

Paris was expected to see the mercury soar to as much as 41 or 42 degrees Celsius, breaking a 70-year-plus record of 40.4C (104.7 Fahrenheit) and turning the UNESCO-listed capital into a baking urban bowl.

Britain's Met Office predicted a chance that the UK record of 38.5C, which was recorded in Faversham, Kent, in August 2004, would also be exceeded on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands all recorded their all-time highest temperatures.

Thursday was forecast to be the peak of Europe's latest heatwave—the second in less than a month and impetus for new focus to be given to climate change. Cooler weather with rain was expected to provide relief from Friday.

The body-sapping, leaden, shrivelling heat was posing difficulties for humans, animals and crops across the continent.

The northern third of France, including Paris, was under a red alert while the rest of the country had a yellow warning and water-use restrictions were in force.

Cyclists in the Tour de France in southern France had to puff their way over the course in well over 30C.

In the Netherlands, farmers have been leaving their cows outside to sleep, rather than bringing them in at night, while Dutch media said hundreds of pigs died when a ventilator failed at Middelharnis.

On Wednesday, the southern Dutch town of Gilze-Rijen experienced 38.8C heat, surpassing a record dating back 75 years.

Belgium registered an all-time high of 39.9C at the Kleine-Brogel military base, beating a record that dated back to June 1947.

And Germany's western town of Geilenkirche sweltered through 40.5C.


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by pe1rxq on Friday July 26 2019, @04:19PM (16 children)

    by pe1rxq (844) on Friday July 26 2019, @04:19PM (#871537) Homepage

    And a few billion years ago everything was molten lava......

    Reminding people of geological timescales in order to downplay climate change just makes you look stupid....
    Nowhere in the geological timescales you mentioned has the climate been this dynamic. It is now changing on human timescales (whether you like to remember or not) instead of geological timescales.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Informative=3, Overrated=1, Touché=1, Total=5
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @04:31PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @04:31PM (#871539)

    Nowhere in the geological timescales you mentioned has the climate been this dynamic.

    The climate is relatively stable right now. Look up the Maunder Minimum, the Younger Dryas Event, etc.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @04:50PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @04:50PM (#871550)

      The climate is relatively stable right now. Look up the Maunder Minimum, the Younger Dryas Event, etc.

      Really?? A 20 year blip few hundred years ago you call "geological time scales"? These events don't even register on geological timescales!! And Younger Dryas took thousand of years .... not few decades like now ...

      GP is right. Nowhere in geological timescales, has the climate changed so quickly.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @05:52PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @05:52PM (#871563)

        If you are looking at averages over tens of thousands of years you wouldnt see the last 100 either... you make no sense.

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 26 2019, @11:25PM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 26 2019, @11:25PM (#871661) Journal

        GP is right. Nowhere in geological timescales, has the climate changed so quickly.

        Some dinos impacted by meteorites might disagree, would they not be extincted.

        What saves the comment you reference is "Nowhere in the geological timescales you mentioned..." where mention is "I'm fond of reminding people that it was only 500,000 years ago".
        Get rid of the qualification and you are nowhere.

        <pedantic hat="off" />

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Friday July 26 2019, @10:27PM (10 children)

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Friday July 26 2019, @10:27PM (#871644) Journal

    Don't waste time arguing with climate change denying trolls. A discussion of our options would be much more interesting and pertinent. From what I read, it sounds bad.

    First, I'm guessing we are stuck. We can't stop the ice sheets from melting. If we could somehow magically reduce the CO2 level to 180 ppm, the lowest point it has reached in the past several million years, and do that instantly, it would not be enough to stop the melt. I'd still like to try. Maybe we can delay things, gain a few decades to work on the massive problem of relocating to higher ground. I fear moving to higher ground will be the only option we will have. We need places for the displaced to go. We need to work on our farming.

    I keep asking myself, what more can I do about it, now?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @10:38PM (5 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @10:38PM (#871650)

      the massive problem of relocating to higher ground. I fear moving to higher ground will be the only option we will have... I keep asking myself, what more can I do about it, now?

      It isn't that hard to move to higher ground. It does not take decades. So perhaps what you should do is move to higher ground?

      And the Chinese know that a grand solar minimum is coming which has always lead to regime change throughout their long history. That is why they are building ghost cities in Africa and elsewhere where they expect food production will move: https://www.iceagenow.info/chinese-dynasties-collapsed-solar-minimum/ [iceagenow.info]

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 26 2019, @11:29PM (4 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 26 2019, @11:29PM (#871662) Journal

        It isn't that hard to move to higher ground.

        It is, if you don't have a higher ground. Remind me: Pays-bas is which country?

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @11:38PM (3 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @11:38PM (#871666)

          There is plenty of higher ground available at the moment...

          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 26 2019, @11:58PM (2 children)

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 26 2019, @11:58PM (#871673) Journal
            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 27 2019, @11:47AM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 27 2019, @11:47AM (#871865)

              The Netherlands literally means "the low country". You are looking in the wrong place. I mean it does seem likely that area will be inundated eventually just like what happened to dogeland. Perhaps the grand minimum will save them.

              • (Score: 2) by SparkyGSX on Saturday July 27 2019, @07:27PM

                by SparkyGSX (4041) on Saturday July 27 2019, @07:27PM (#872063)

                More than half the country is below sealevel already, and has been for hundreds of years. If anyone anywhere in the world has serious problems with an excess of water, who do they call? The Dutch! Don't worry about us, we'll be fine.

                I think the problem is much bigger for small islands and developing countries that don't have the resources to build huge water defences.

                --
                If you do what you did, you'll get what you got
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @11:33PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @11:33PM (#871664)

      Same here. I do not believe that there is any room left to avoid >2C global temperature rises. The efforts we put in now are to prevent a 5-degree rise instead. And I do not believe that any change I make to my personal life makes the slightest hint of a dent in that process.

      So what can you do, personally? Vote green, advocate for the strictest emission controls possible. Make sure the efforts are global. Failing that, prepare for a population loss of about 5 billion in the second half of this century.

      What we can do, coordinated? We could trigger a Tambora-like volcanic eruption perhaps. That single event caused a .5-degree drop in global temperatures for 2 years. But I hesitate to propose a solution that requires us to detonate 800 megaton of energy every few years. We will quickly run out of sites to blow up.

      Then again, we could all just vote nationalistic and go MAD. That will help with both the population count and the required megatons.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @11:40PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @11:40PM (#871668)

        So what can you do, personally? Vote green, advocate for the strictest emission controls possible. Make sure the efforts are global.

        Your plan is to wait for the government to do something? The same government that is still paying people to move to flood plains?

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Flood_Insurance_Program [wikipedia.org]

        By every indication the thing you are waiting for is NEVER going to happen. So you better come up with something else if this is really what you are so concerned about.

        • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Saturday July 27 2019, @04:42AM (1 child)

          by bzipitidoo (4388) on Saturday July 27 2019, @04:42AM (#871770) Journal

          Yes, another illusion. Government does not lead. The people lead.

          Now there are some more local things to be done. Like, get local governments to ease up on lawn care ordinances. Make it legal to allow grass to get 18" high. There would be less mowing, and more carbon storage in all that extra height.

          Another one is more walkways. It would also be a great help if there weren't so damned many fences. It's ridiculous how far around one has to walk thanks to a fence put up by people who think only poor delinquents get about on foot. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 27 2019, @11:52AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 27 2019, @11:52AM (#871868)

            Yea, turn off the lights when you leave the room.

  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday July 27 2019, @03:36AM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 27 2019, @03:36AM (#871744) Journal

    Nowhere in the geological timescales you mentioned has the climate been this dynamic.

    Why should you expect to see such dynamics at geological time scales? For example, let's measure how many times someone has jumped a rope over a million year period. Jump that rope 100 times a day from birth to death at 100, and you still won't make 4 jumps a year on the geological time scale.

    Even attempts at the more interesting parts of the geological past, such as the mass extinctions often yield data sampling over tens of thousands of years. You can miss a vast amount of short term dynamics with sampling rates that slow.