North India witnessed the best monsoon in 11 years, reported TOI, adding that the region that mostly faced large monsoon deficits while staring at a worsening groundwater situation, recorded 628mm from June 1 to Sept 29, its highest rainfall since 2013.
The “wettest monsoon” in over a decade had seasonal rainfall just 7.1% above normal — less than the national average of 7.8%. This shows that North India hasn’t had a significantly wet June-September period in recent years, the newspaper reported.
The 2024 monsoon season officially ended on Monday, during which India received the highest rainfall since 2020 and recorded the lowest number of subdivisions with deficient rains — three out of 36 — since 2019, explained TOI, adding that overall, the monsoon is set to be 7-8% higher than the long period average (LPA), in the ‘above-normal’ category.
Monsoon started retreating a week ago, which, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD), was nearly a week later than normal, Reuters reported, adding that India’s annual monsoon provides almost 70% of the rain it needs to water farms and replenish reservoirs and aquifers and is the lifeblood of a nearly $3.5-trillion economy. Without irrigation, nearly half of Indian farmland depends on the rains that usually run from June to September.
Heat dome effect, unusual for September, kills 7 in Assam
In an extreme weather event, unusual for the month of September, the northeastern state of Assam burned at 40°C, triggering “health complications arising out of the heat dome effect,” killing seven people over the past few days, reported DTE.
The heat dome effect is a type of high-pressure system (also known as anticyclone) that forms over a large area in the atmosphere, causing extreme heat and dry weather conditions, DTE explained, adding that mobile phone applications flag the 40°C heat as ‘feels like 50 degrees’.
Experts told the outlet that the weakening monsoon circulation (attributed to the weakening of the Gulf Stream), poor soil moisture, heavy exposure to sunlight, heavy deforestation and expanding industrial activity have all contributed towards the heat dome effect now prevalent over a week in Assam.
Himalayas, Western Ghats losing forests, facing ‘outrageous increase’ in urbanisation
The biodiversity hotspots of Himalayas and the Western Ghats are rapidly losing forest cover because of an intensifying urban expansion and changes in land use and land cover, new research, based on remote sensing data by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun found. Scientists mapped land use and land cover changes (LULCC) in the western Himalayas from 1975 to 2015. They reported a massive upsurge in urban areas in the ecologically fragile mountain systems, alongside a parallel forest decline.
Citing the study, Mongabay reported that the Western Himalayan Region (WHR) is under constant threat from LULCC due to urbanisation, agricultural expansion, and population growth. The study’s results, according to the outlet, highlight “an outrageous 184% increase in regional urbanisation,” the authors reported. The expansion of urban and cropland, about 12%, led to deforestation, which reduced the area of natural habitats, specifically forests by 11%, water bodies by 8%, and scrubland by 6%.
The study also found a “significant rise” in barren land by 30%, while there was a decrease of 20% in glacier/snow melt. Based on this data, the researchers predict that the current trend could continue till 2055, with intensified urban expansion of 63% and an approximate 9% reduction in overall forest coverage.
The findings are highly significant in the context of the speedy urban growth in the Himalayas and its environmental implications, particularly forest loss, Prakash Chandra Tiwari, professor of geography at Kumaun University, Nainital, who is not associated with this study, told Mongabay India.
Extreme rains and landslides leave at least 193 dead across Nepal
Floods and landslides killed at least 193 people in Nepal, the Associated Press reported. The worst hit Kathmandu Valley saw “half its average rainfall in less than two days,” reported Nepali Times. Reuters said: “Haphazard development amplifies climate change risks in Nepal, say climate scientists at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).”
Most deaths were reported from Kathmandu valley, Kathmandu Post reported. In Dhadhing’s Jhyaple Khola, 35 bodies were recovered after landslides buried four passenger vehicles.
Koshi Province reported 17 deaths and Bagmati Province recorded 56 fatalities. The heavy downpours have left 60 individuals injured, while more than 3,661 people have been rescued by teams from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and the Nepali Army, reported the outlet.
Toll rises to 130, as Category 4 hurricane Helene tears through southeast US
Hurricane Helene, one of the worst in US history, caused widespread devastation revealing flattened houses, crushed cargo containers and mud-covered highways, reported PA News Agency, adding that the death toll tops 130.
Deaths have soared across six states after Helene, which made landfall in Florida as a mammoth Category 4 hurricane, tore through the Southeast and left millions without power and communications, reported the CNN.
Climate change has exacerbated conditions that allow such storms to thrive, rapidly intensifying in warming waters and turning into powerful cyclones sometimes in a matter of hours,” AP reported.
According to Axios, Helene knocked @NOAANCEI offline, the top US centre tracking global climate change, including extreme weather events & billion dollar disasters. North Carolina suffered the highest death toll, at least 42 so far. In Henderson County, among the many dead was a sheriff’s deputy in Macon County who was swept away by the storm. The hurricane stretched over 500 miles, from coastal Florida to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the report said, adding that the historic North Carolina mountain community of Asheville is now isolated as hundreds of roads in the Carolinas remain closed, hampering the delivery of badly-needed supplies — and making it difficult to get people out. Over 2 million customers remain without power, according to PowerOutage.us, CNN said.
Canada’s carbon emissions drop for first time since the pandemic
Canada witnessed a drop in emissions since it started its coal phase out in Ontario and Alberta, reported the Star. Figures from the Canadian Climate Institute think-tank suggest that Canada has seen its first drop in greenhouse gas emissions since the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving them 8% lower than the nation’s baseline year of 2005, according to the Toronto Star.
Emissions fell 0.8% between 2022 and 2023, driven largely by the phase-out of coal in Ontario and Alberta and the introduction of renewables in the Maritimes region.
Man-made deaths: Racial minorities more likely to die in extreme heat events in the US
Racial minorities are more likely to die because of the health impacts of heat waves in the US, according to new research, reported by Science Direct. The research used a “new database of linked administrative and census data with precise meteorological information” to analyse how deaths from 1993-2005 were linked to episodes of extreme heat and extreme cold.
The authors said: “Our analysis suggests that recent temperature increases could exacerbate racial disparities in temperature-related deaths, highlighting the need to investigate how climate change affects different population subgroups and exacerbates social inequities.”
‘Anthropocene began around 1952’: The year of unprecedented surge in human role in global climate change data
The “Anthropocene” – a new geological period defined by humans’ impact on Earth – began around 1952, according to data taken from 137 global sites reaching back more than 7,000 years, reported a new study. The study identified an “unprecedented surge” in the fingerprints of human change in the data in 1952, the authors said, adding: “Notably, the period from 1953 to 1958 saw a nearly simultaneous surge in fingerprints across all regions, including Antarctica, the Arctic, East Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. This synchronous upsurge reflects the moment when human impacts led to rapid transformations in various natural processes and cycles, with humans becoming a geological force capable of inscribing abundant and diverse anthropogenic fingerprints in global strata.”
Throwing water on the snow on top of Arctic sea ice can thicken the ice: Study
Pouring sea water onto the snow on top of Arctic sea ice can make the ice thicker, offering a chance to preserve sea ice throughout the summer. The bold plan could offer humanity a final chance to save the region’s vanishing sea ice, reported New Scientist.
The trials in the Canadian Arctic to thicken sea ice using water from the ocean below have proved successful, said UK start-up Real Ice, adding that their technology might help restore rapidly melting Arctic sea ice, which has fallen by half since the 1980s. They are developing a system to create new layers of ice, in the hopes of protecting this vital ecosystem, reported High North News, citing the study.
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