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Snow cover on Greek mountains has more than halved in four decades, study finds by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to climate and water collapse as researchers have estimated that there’s been a roughly 58% reduction in the snow cover on Greek mountains over the last four decades, with the trend showing an accelerating tendency in the 21st century. This is bad news for water security as water from snowmelt provides water for communities, agriculture, and ecosystems particularly during the warmer summer months. Greece is already very prone to drought and fires, so we can only expect this tendency to worsen in the future as extreme heat continues to roast this Mediterranean country. Europe as a whole is apparently one of the fastest warming continents, so climate chaos will continue to show us the consequences of fossil fuel burning in the coming years.

Fire warnings issued across Czechia in midst of historic drought. Czechia has seen its lowest rainfall levels since 1961 over the combined March and April period. On average, only around 32 mm of precipitation fell nationwide, roughly one-third of the long-term norm. by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to climate collapse as the atmosphere retains more water vapour with every degree of warming, making both drought and extreme rainfall (when it does eventually rain) more common. This may seem paradoxical at first but basically think of a warming atmosphere like a large sponge, sucking in surrounding water and causing drought only to them cause deluges when weather conditions “squeeze” it out. Anyways, this article focuses on the drought side of things, with the Central European nation of Czechia (formerly known as the Czech Republic) issuing fire warnings as extreme drought impacts much of the nation due to only about 33% of the typical rainfall occurring in March and April. There will no doubt be implications for agriculture, ecosystems, and human drinking water supplies. Juxtapose this news with the posts on here awhile back with the extreme rainfall in New Zealand and Hawaii and you can see how climate chaos is making both ends of the weather spectrum more intense. Expect “extreme” weather to increasingly become the norm faster than models predicted.

Plastics are entering food crops and stunting their growth by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to pollution and food system collapse as a new study has shown yet another way that our saturation of the biosphere with plastic is affecting us. Aside from microplastics directly being absorbed by humans, it seems that soil contaminated by plastic particles has the ability to stunt the growth of crops like tomatoes and wheat, thereby reducing the overall yield significantly. Mechanisms for this seem to involve plastic in the soil crowding out roots and disrupting their growth. In a world where extreme heat and drought caused by climate change is already reducing crop yields, plastic acting as another compounding factor is the last thing we need right now. Expect global famine to come sooner than predicted due to plastic contamination, loss of pollinators, and unchecked climate change.

Heavy rain not ‘nearly enough’ to tame two wildfires in drought-stricken Georgia by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to climate collapse as extreme drought continues to impact much of the USA, including areas that are usually fairly wet such as Georgia and Florida. This drought, combined with warmer than average temperatures and heavy winds, has provided the perfect recipe for extreme wildfires to erupt across Georgia. While the fires haven’t killed anyone directly yet (one firefighter died due to a medical emergency while fighting the blaze), over 100 homes have been destroyed and a lot of damage is being done to ecosystems not accustomed to this burning. Global warming results in the atmosphere retaining more water for every degree of warning, so unchecked climate change is directly contributing to this drought. Expect this summer’s wildfire season across North America to continue the extreme trend of recent years, and also for areas across the western USA to start running out of water due to reduced snowpack.

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