Friday September 13th… Dear Diary. The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track United States extreme or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Anomalous Eastern Hemisphere Heat and Fire
Happy lucky Friday the 13th everyone. It’s been awhile since we looked at “the other side of the planet,” concentrating on climate crisis events here in the United States, in the Atlantic tropics, and across the pond in Europe. Well unfortunately, the Eastern Hemisphere has some hot spots, as well, one in Australia during the start of their spring, and one in Indonesia. Here is the current view of anomalies from the East from:
https://climatereanalyzer.org/wx/DailySummary/#t2anom
From this vantage southern Asia and portions of Australia look warm to hot. Here are two Desdemona Despair stories I noticed today:
Australia rainforest burns as bushfires arrive early – Queensland faces worst fire threat in recorded history – “This isn’t the new normal. We’re going to see much worse. The pace of the change is going to accelerate.”
A bushfire burns in the Gold Coast hinterland on Saturday, 7 September 2019. Photo: Aleksandar Romanov / AAP Image
By Damien Cave
9 September 2019
SYDNEY, Australia (The New York Times) – The conservationists who built the secluded Binna Burra Lodge in Australia’s lush mountains more than 80 years ago hoped to protect and share the natural beauty of the surrounding rainforest.
But over the weekend, a bushfire destroyed the beloved getaway, one of Australia’s oldest nature resorts — drawing tears from neighbors and alarm from officials who warned that climate change and drought threatened to bring Australia its worst fire season on record.
“This is an omen, if you will,” said Andrew Sturgess, who is in charge of fire prediction for the state of Queensland, where the lodge had stood in Lamington National Park. […]
Fire season itself has become nearly a year-round trial, according to fire officials. Independent studies have also shown that the number of hot days in Australia has doubled in the past 50 years, while heat waves have become hotter and longer. Extreme weather events, such as flooding and cyclones, have intensified in frequency and strength, as well.
A bushfire burns in the Gold Coast hinterland on Saturday, 7 September 2019. Photo: Aleksandar Romanov / AAP Image
We’re seeing records breaking left and right,” said Robert Glasser, a visiting fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and the former head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
“This isn’t the new normal,” he added. “We’re going to see much worse — the pace of the change is going to accelerate.”
Joëlle Gergis, a climate scientist and writer at the Australian National University, warned that Australia’s experience “is a sign of things to come.”
She said she was especially alarmed by the losses near the Binna Burra in the Gold Coast hinterland.
“It is devastating to see these usually cool and wet rainforests burn,” she said. “Although these remarkable rainforests have clung on since the age of the dinosaurs, searing heat and lower rainfall is starting to see these wet areas dry out for longer periods of the year, increasing bushfire risk in these precious ecosystems.” [more]
Australia Bushfires Arrive Early, Destroying Historic Lodge in ‘Omen’ of Future
Map of Australia, showing the forecast chance of exceeding the median maximum temperature for September to November 2019. The fire season in Australia in 2019 has been brought forward to August – well before the traditional start date in October – and an above average fire potential has been forecast for the entire country (weather expectations from September to November 2019 pictured). Graphic: Bureau of Meteorology
For a second article on the Australian fires listed by Desdemona Despair read on at:
Next let’s look at Indonesia’s new problems. This reminds me of the climate collapse that occurred at Easter Island from the burning of too many trees. In Indonesia the big problem is the temptation to start more palm oil plantations:
Thousands pray for rain in Indonesia as forests go up in smoke – “We’re doing everything we can, now we pray to Allah for the rain”
A mosque and a church are pictured as smog covers the city due to the forest fire in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia, 10 September 2019. Photo: FB Anggoro / Antara Foto / REUTERS
By Gayatri Suroyo and Jessica Damiana
11 September 2019
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Thousands of Indonesians prayed for rain in haze-hit towns on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo on Wednesday, as forest fires raged at the height of the dry season, the state Antara news agency reported.
Fires have burnt through parts of Sumatra and Borneo island for more than a month and the government has sent 9,000 military, police and disaster agency personnel to fight the flames. […]
Several parts of Southeast Asia have seen unusually dry conditions in recent months including Indonesia, which has seen very little rain because of an El Nino weather pattern, its meteorological department has said.
Some communities have taken to prayer in the hope of ending the dry weather, and the haze it brings.
A mosque and a church are pictured as smog covers the city due to the forest fire in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia, 10 September 2019. Photo: FB Anggoro / Antara Foto / REUTERS
Thousands of people in Pekanbaru, capital of Riau province in Sumatra, held Islamic prayers for rain outside the governor’s office. Many of those taking part wore face masks to protect themselves from the smoke, Antara reported.
“We’re doing everything we can, now we pray to Allah for the rain,” deputy provincial governor Edy Nasution told the news agency.
Similar prayers were held in towns in Kalimantan, the Indonesian side of Borneo, where air quality has been at unhealthy levels and schools have been forced to close, the news agency said.
Mosques in Malaysia have also been encouraged to hold prayers for rain, said the head of Malaysia’s Islamic Development Department, Mohamad Nordin, according to the state news agency Bernama.
Indonesian authorities are using 37 helicopters and 239 million litres of water bombs to attack the blazes, the disaster agency said on its Twitter account, while aircraft were seeding clouds in the hope of generating rain.
The agency said 5,062 fire “hot spots” had been detected in six Indonesian provinces, as of Wednesday morning, 11 September 2019. […]
Police were also taking legal action to deter farmers from illegally using fire to clear land, Antara reported.
Criminal cases have been initiated against 175 people in different places on suspicion of starting fires while four palm oil companies were facing charges of negligence, police told media.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said small-scale farmers were being blamed for fires started by palm oil plantation companies.
“Actions by the central and local governments have not been strong enough against companies in industrial forests or palm plantations on peat lands. They always blame the community,” said Muhammad Ferdhiyadi of the group’s South Sumatra branch. [more]
Thousands pray for rain in Indonesia as forests go up in smoke
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Sorry about today’s “unlucky” news.
Here is more climate and weather news from Friday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article.)
Here are some “ET” reports from Friday:
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Guy Walton- “The Climate Guy”