The UK has already had more wildfires in 2019 than any year on record. The UK has been hit by nearly a hundred large wildfires in 2019, making it the worst year on record already. The hot spell in February and the recent Easter heatwave have contributed to a total of 96 major wildfires of 25 hectares or larger, eclipsing the previous high of 79 across the whole of 2018. Researchers told New Scientist that the figures, collated by the European Forest Fire Information System, were evidence that climate change had already heightened the risk of wildfires in the UK. More than 100 firefighters battled wildfires over the Easter weekend across Illkley Moor and Marsden Moor in West Yorkshire. Another fire broke out on moorland near Marsden on Tuesday afternoon, requiring ten fire engines to attend.
New Scientist 23rd April 2019 read more »
Extinction Rebellion activists have marched on Parliament to invite MPs to discuss climate change policies. More than 1,000 people have been arrested since the protests began in central London a week ago. Police said a “robust” plan was in place and protesters must leave Parliament Square by midnight. Makeshift camps at Oxford Circus and Waterloo Bridge have now been cleared. So far 71 people have been charged in connection with the protest.
BBC 23rd April 2019 read more »
International scientists are meeting in Orkney to develop a system for assessing the risks to world heritage sites posed by climate change. The Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CVI) would allow sites to be assessed over a few days for issues like rising sea levels and warmer temperatures. It is being tested at the “Heart of Neolithic Orkney” which includes the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae. The findings will be presented to the Unesco world heritage committee.
BBC 24th April 2019 read more »
Researchers warn of ‘feedback loop’ of increased permafrost melting, followed by rising temperatures. Report predicts 280 billion tonnes of CO2 and 3 billion tonnes of methane could be released from Arctic by end of century. The thick layer of ‘permafrost’ covering most Arctic land is melting so fast it will set in motion a “feedback mechanism” that accelerates global warming, an alarming new study finds. The acceleration could amplify the effect of climate change by about 5 per cent, adding as much as £54 trillion to the world’s total climate bill, it says. Thick layers of permanently-frozen ground, known as permafrost, have built up across 23 million square kilometres of Arctic land, much of it several metres deep and hundreds of thousands of years old.
The i News 23rd April 2019 read more »
Guardian 23rd April 2019 read more »
Business Green 24th April 2019 read more »
Global warming has increased global economic inequality. Some countries have profited from climate change while the same rise in average planetary temperatures has dragged down economic growth in the warmer countries. The gap between those groups of nations with the highest and lowest economic output per person is now around 25% larger than it would have been had there been no climate change. “Our results show that most of the poorest countries on Earth are considerably poorer than they would have been without global warming,” said Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate scientist at Stanford University in California. “At the same time the majority of rich countries are richer than they would have been.”
Climate News Network 24th April 2019 read more »
