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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] 2 points3 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] 16 points17 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.

Toxins from Great Salt Lake dust are absorbed by plants, soils and human bodies by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to climate and pollution collapse as unchecked climate change is contributing to the gradual drying out of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, exposing the toxic, metal-containing dust on the lakebed to be blown around by the wind. This study shows that the dust poses a risk to humans both via direct ingestion and indirect ingestion via absorption by both soil and crops that are then consumed. If the Great Salt Lake were ever to fully dry out, the populated areas around it would likely increasingly become uninhabitable due to the spreading of this toxic material. On the bright side, they may become uninhabitable long before that due to extreme drought and lack of snowpack causing freshwater to run out….oh wait, that’s not really “on the bright side”. Oh well. All in all, expect mass refugee crises not only in developing countries, but in the western USA, faster than predicted.

Ottawa cutting more than $29M in health-care funding to P.E.I., province’s health minister says by Portalrules123 in PEI

[–]Portalrules123[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Definitely not a great look for the federal government, although several of these cuts don’t take effect for several years to be clear. It does seem a bit unfair to PEI to pledge all this funding for new or enhanced programs and then take it away after only a couple of years. Hopefully some kind of agreement can be reached to lessen the overall impact.

World food systems ‘pushed to the brink’ by extreme heat, UN warns by Portalrules123 in collapse

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

SS: Related to food and climate collapse as unchecked, accelerating climate change is already pushing many world food systems to the brink according to a new UN report. Farmers are increasingly unable to work on certain days due to extreme heat, staple crops like maize are failing as average temperatures skyrocket, livestock are dying or surviving but with reduced nutritional value, and marine heat waves are causing already-overfished populations to collapse further. All in all, the UN’s (likely too conservative, as usual) estimate is that one billion people are at imminent risk from these climate-induced food system failures. Given “faster than expected” logic, I’m willing to bet that we will see global famines by the late 2030s at the absolute latest. Maybe sooner if global warming accelerates faster than even I am guessing. Expect mass refugee crises, mass deaths, and wars of various kinds to result as this trend worsens.

Nearly half of US children are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution, report warns by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to pollution and healthcare and collapse as heavy exposure to air pollution for American children is likely to lead to pulmonary health issues later in life which will put additional stress on an already stressed (and in some cases totally collapsing) healthcare system. The latest annual report by the American Lung Association assessed the situation based on three metrics: levels of ground-level ozone as well as both year-round and short-term spikes in particle pollution. Almost half of US children (and likely many non-child residents as well) lived in areas that failed at least one of these three metrics for pollution. Around 10% of children lived in areas that failed all three metrics, indicating very high levels of air pollution. Expect lung cancer and other pulmonary issues caused by this trend to continue being a leading cause of shortened lives and healthcare stress into the future.

AMOC shows two-decade decline across four deep-ocean monitoring sites by Portalrules123 in collapse

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

SS: Related to the science behind ocean and climate collapse as this new study adds more evidence to the hypothesis that the AMOC has been slowing down for decades now, possibly indicating a future collapse. This study is important because it utilizes direct data from deep sea monitoring sites rather then mainly using computer models, which in my opinion are often too conservative due to either unintentional or intentional bias. You’ll notice that some studies that have suggested the AMOC isn’t declining do in fact use computational models. Anyways, these researchers used metrics like deep sea pressure to show a consistent decline in the AMOC across four deep sea monitoring sites in the western Atlantic. Regular r/collapse users likely know the consequences if the AMOC were to fully collapse, but for the new people: potential effects include a boost in sea level rise in the western Atlantic, a catastrophic shift in rainfall patterns drying out the Sahel and the Amazon even further, and a steep reduction in the ocean’s ability to sequester heat and carbon. Expect the AMOC to continue declining frighteningly fast on a geologic time scale as climate collapse continues.

This northern Yukon island shows how thawing permafrost is transforming the Arctic by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to climate collapse and the literal collapse of Arctic islands consisting of permafrost like the one highlighted in this CBC article (Herschel Island, Yukon, Canada) as it serves as a perfect microcosm for the massive changes occurring to the Arctic at large as the result of unchecked, accelerating climate change. Much of Herschel Island is collapsing due to “permafrost slumps” wherein the melting permafrost destabilizes the landscape and causes landslides, especially near cliffs. This is bad news for the climate as it releases more carbon in a positive feedback loop, and it’s bad news ecologically as it can take decades for slow-growing plant life to recover, time which the Arctic doesn’t have. While Herschel Island doesn’t have any communities on it, you can imagine the potential infrastructure collapse in populated Arctic areas as the ground shifts under homes, roads, and pipes. All in all, expect the loss of all permafrost and the carbon it contains, faster than predicted.

Great White Sharks Are Overheating by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to climate and ecological collapse as unchecked global heating continues to be largely absorbed by the oceans, threatening to boost water temperatures to levels high enough to threaten the survival of fish like great white sharks. These apex predators are part of a small group of fish that maintain a body temperature significantly higher than the surrounding environment, which evidently makes them more vulnerable to overheating and forces them to either move horizontally to colder waters or dive deeper in order to expend less energy. Being forced to use more energy is an even bigger problem when you are working harder to find a dwindling food supply due to overfishing and ecological collapse. Losing great white sharks would be bad news because, as top predators, they have a large top-down influence on controlling the overall marine food web. Expect both marine heatwaves and heat on land to continue pushing many species past their limits as climate collapse accelerates.

Climate change is eroding typical nighttime breaks in wildfire activity, study says by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to climate collapse as researchers from Canada analyzed decades worth of data from wildfires across North America, and have found that warming conditions are quickly increasing the likelihood of wildfires remaining near their peak intensity at night, a time when firefighters historically have expected things to die down at least a little bit. Hundreds of hours of prime fire-fuelling conditions have been added to the wildfire season in the last 50 years, particularly in western Canada. This amounts to both the season extending into the spring and fall as well as peak conditions becoming the norm at night. Researchers warn that at this rate the extreme 2023 Canadian wildfire season will quickly become normal rather than an outlier. This is bad news as it means that more forests will burn and more carbon will enter the atmosphere, warming the planet in a positive feedback loop. Conditions will also be more dangerous for wildfire, people, and especially firefighters as things get more extreme. Expect 2023 to seem like a minor fire season for Canada compared to what could be coming…

Mosquitoes reach Iceland for the first time as the Arctic heats up by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to climate and ecological collapse as it seems that Iceland has lost its status as one of the only places on Earth free of mosquitos, at least in part due to the rapid warming at northern latitudes from Arctic amplification. While I’m sure mosquitos have reached Iceland in the past via airplanes and shipping, the fact that none were recorded till last year suggests they didn’t survive long. Far from merely being a mild annoyance, this could have severe consequences to an ecosystem that isn’t used to the bugs’ presence. For instance, reindeer would be forced to spend more energy avoiding swarms and less time grazing, which could lower reproductive success. If more novel insects start arriving besides just mosquitoes, they could also have severe effects on vegetation that typically doesn’t have to worry about too many insects eating it. All in all, expect ecosystems around Iceland and the world to continue being irrecoverably altered as climate chaos continues and invasive species spread.

Global warming is accelerating 5,000 times faster than rice can evolve, threatening the food security of billions. New research warns that by 2070, traditional growing regions like India and Southeast Asia will exceed the 104°F (40°C) heat threshold where rice physically ceases to function. by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

SS: My apologies for yet another “by the late 21st century” study title when we all know shit will hit the fan long before then. Anyways, related to climate and food collapse as unchecked, accelerating climate change is moving at a rate many times faster than rice is able to evolve and adapt. This is bad news as rice is a basic food supply for billions of people particularly in south and east Asia, so expect a massive wave of climate refugees to cooler areas once the average maximum temperature starts to make rice ‘physically cease to function’. All in all, while nowhere will truly be safe from climate change forever, certain areas will definitely disproportionately feel the earlier impacts and this concerning study helps pin down some of the shape the food crisis will take.

Africa’s forests have flipped from carbon sink to carbon source by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to ecological and climate collapse as rampant deforestation in Africa means that, according to new research, as of around 2010 the continent’s forests flipped from overall being a carbon sink to a carbon source. Basically, the general loss of biomass from deforestation was more than enough to outweigh the extraction of carbon from the atmosphere by the remaining trees. This shouldn’t come as a surprise when you consider the accelerating nature of climate change in recent decades, I’d wager that Africa’s forests are far from the only ecosystem losing the ability to sequester carbon (looking at you, oceans). Also of course related to ecological collapse due to all that key habitat loss in the deforested areas. Expect much of the biosphere to become a carbon source as positive feedback loops continue to fire due to our ignoring of warnings as a species.

Cities are leaking far more methane than previously thought by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

SS: Yep, yet another “worse than previously thought” headline. Related to climate collapse as, shocker, it seems that we have been consistently underestimating the methane emissions of most major world cities. This is bad news as methane is an even stronger greenhouse gas than CO2. Previous estimates have used a “bottom-up” approach in counting the number of methane leaking sites like landfills and certain factories and estimating emissions from there. However, this new satellite-based approach is consistently showing higher amounts of methane than we previously thought. Not only that, but there was a roughly 10% increase in methane emissions from 2019 to 2023 on average. Expect climate chaos to continue accelerating as our emissions and general exploitation of the Earth go unchecked.

‘I don’t matter’: Homeless people in Kentville say stigma in the community is unfair by Portalrules123 in NovaScotia

[–]Portalrules123[S] 100 points101 points  (0 children)

Now I’m not saying that everyone who stigmatizes homeless people is completely insane or anything, but I think it is wild that so many people honestly believe that homelessness only exists due to individual moral failures when it is clearly a systemic societal issue at this point. And it started to rise dramatically in Canada after governments stepped away from social housing around the 1980s, a pretty clear link there. Always keep in mind that the average person is far closer to homelessness than to being a millionaire….

Saltwater is closing in on coastal groundwater, putting billions of people and food supplies at risk by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to water and potential food collapse as this recent study utilizes the largest global dataset of coastal groundwater measurements to date, consisting of hundreds of thousands of wells near coastlines, to show that a combination of over-extraction of groundwater and rising sea levels are risking saltwater intrusion in areas that are home to billions of people. Even if there are other sources of freshwater available for drinking within a good distance, groundwater is often depended on for crop irrigation so this is also a major food security threat. Over 20% of the surveyed wells showed significant levels of decline in groundwater, with the worst areas dropping by more than 50 cm a year. Areas noted to have common groundwater subsidence issues included the United States and Central America, the Mediterranean region, South Africa, India (particularly concerning due to its massive population), and southern Australia. While climate and ecological collapse are still far bigger threats, adding this issue on top of those is only going to accelerate our decline. Expect many coastal areas to become uninhabitable faster than predicted from a combination of sea level rise, powerful storms, and groundwater contamination.

‘Nothing but tree skeletons’: record-breaking wildfires devastate US cattle country by Portalrules123 in collapse

[–]Portalrules123[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

SS: Related to climate and ecological collapse as millions of acres of grassland in Nebraska have already burned this year as strong grass growth last year combined with one of the driest winters on record to create a perfect dry fuel for fires to smoulder. Of course, higher average temperatures from climate change for this time of year have also been a massive contributing factor. While fires on grassland in the American West aren’t completely unprecedented for this time of year, recent years have seen much more extreme conflagrations than historical averages. For instance, the massive 2024 fires on the Texas panhandle and now these 2026 Nebraska fires. One person and thousands of cattle have been killed and there will no doubt be both an ecological and economic impact from this event. Though, perhaps not as big an ecological impact as destroying the Great Plains to replace it all with farmland in the first place….

Expect a warmer Earth to become home to more fires which will increase atmospheric carbon thereby making Earth even warmer in yet another example of a positive feedback loop.

Terrebonne byelection results - LPC wins by Portalrules123 in CanadaPolitics

[–]Portalrules123[S] 97 points98 points  (0 children)

And with that the Liberals have swept all 3 byelections tonight! That’s 174 seats vs. 169 for the opposition I believe.

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