---------------------------------------------------------------- *Climate Change Impacts in Pictures: 8 Stark IPCC Images*With 30 chapters that cite more than 12,000 scientific papers and reports, there?s a lot of material -- and a lot of words -- in the newly released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report looking at the impacts of global warming. But the report is also chock full of illustrative tables and diagrams that make the effects of global warming clear at a glance (and some not so much). After all, it?s one thing to read a description of the rise in flood risk expected to occur along the world?s coasts because of sea level rise and in urban areas because of their inability to absorb the water from more frequent and intense downpours, and another to see the dramatic uptick in people likely to experience major floods in graph. To help illustrate the stark predictions of the IPCC report, Climate Central has pulled out 8 illuminating graphics that each tell an important global warming story: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/8-ipcc-images-that-illustrate-climate-central-17242
*Threat from global warming heightened in latest U.N. report* Global warming poses a growing threat to the health, economic prospects, and food and water sources of billions of people, top scientists said in a report that urges swift action to counter the effects of carbon emissions. The latest report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says the effects of warming are being felt everywhere, fuelling potential food shortages, natural disasters and raising the risk of wars. "The world, in many cases, is ill-prepared for risks from a changing climate," the IPCC said on Monday, after the final text of the report was agreed. More warming increased the chance of harsh, widespread impacts that could be surprising or irreversible, it added. The report projects global warming may cut world economic output by between 0.2 and 2.0 percent a year should mean temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), estimates that many countries say are too low. "Over the coming decades, climate change will have mostly negative impacts," said Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), citing cities, ecosystems and water supply as being among the areas at risk. http://www.planetark.com/enviro-news/item/71345 (Continuing widespread coverage of IPCC report, including: http://www.ecuavisa.com/articulo/noticias/internacionales/57042-onu-advierte-mayor-riesgo-conflictos-debido-al-cambio http://www.pina.com.fj/?p=pacnews&m=read&o=6218508885339e5f2880c6b9222c8a http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/article/2000108349/un-scientists-chilling-prediction-on-kenya-over-climate http://goo.gl/VqNAsP
*Antarctic Glaciers Speeding Up, Nearing Collapse, Study Concludes*Six big glaciers in West Antarctica are flowing much faster than 40 years ago, a new study finds. The brisk clip may mean this part of Antarctica, which could raise global sea level by 4 feet (1.2 meters) if it completely melts, is nearing full-scale collapse. "This region is out of balance," said Jeremie Mouginot, lead study author and a glaciologist at University of California, Irvine. "We're not seeing anything that could stop the retreat of the grounding line and the acceleration of these glaciers," he told Live Science. (A grounding line is the location where the glacier leaves bedrock and meets the ocean.) http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/antarctic-glaciers-nearing-collapse-20140331
*Monitoring air quality takes next step*With air pollution linked to millions of deaths around the world, it has never been more important to monitor the air we breathe. Today marks a significant step forward as a deal is secured to build a crucial space sensor for tracking the world's air quality. The ?144 million contract for the Sentinel-5 instrument of Europe's Copernicus programme was formally signed today with Airbus Defence and Space in Ottobrunn, Germany. "The Sentinel-5 instrument will be very important to continue the monitoring of our atmosphere by an operational system," noted Volker Liebig, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programme Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-03-air-quality.html#jCp See also http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-conflict-could-threaten-geostationary-satellites/
*Drought salanizes Vietnam rice basketThe salinity in the Mekong Delta has increased this drought season, depriving locals of water for daily use and cultivation.*Figures at hydrometeorology stations around the delta were all higher than the average last year, and the salinization has invaded up to 75 kilometers into land, according to a Tuoi Tre newspaper report Saturday. Le Thi Phenh from the coastal province Ben Tre said sometimes she had to resort to irrigating with salinized water, and had to borrow or buy water to drink. ?Once when I was out of options, I went to the market to buy a bottle of water of 20 liters for VND10,000 (US 47 cents) to drink little by little,? she said. Phenh pointed to a jar of water, which tasted a little salty and looked opaque and said she bought it for VND180,000 ($8.54) a cubic meter. http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/drought-salanizes-vietnam-rice-basket-24964.html
*What Nepal Doesn?t Know About Water* Water is a critical resource in Nepal?s economic development as agriculture, industry, household use and even power generation depends on it. The good news is that the Himalayan nation has plenty of water. The bad news ? water abundance is seasonal, related to the monsoon months from June to September. Nepal?s hydrologists, water experts, meteorologists and climate scientists all call for better management of water. But a vital element of water management ? quality scientific data ? is still missing. ?If the information is lacking or if it is inaccurate, how is a poor farmer supposed to protect himself?? -- Shib Nandan Shah of the Ministry of Agricultural Development Luna Bharati, who heads the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Kathmandu, tells IPS, ?If we don?t know how much water there is, we cannot manage it or carry out good water resources assessment.? http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/04/nepal-doesnt-know-water/
*California drought: Downpours fall far short of ending crisis*Snow surveyors are expected to tromp out into the Sierra powder Tuesday under a soft, steady patter of comforting precipitation, but the spring moisture is a cruel oasis in California's desert of drought, according to leading climate and weather gurus. The pounding rain along the coast and fluffy snow in the mountains this week won't come close to solving the state's mounting water crisis, which has forced the state to turn off the spigot in many communities, a scenario that experts say is threatening farms, fish and homeowners. http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/California-drought-Downpours-fall-far-short-of-5365318.php
*Alberta floods rank third in losses from 2013 world disasters*Southern Alberta?s flood has ranked third in a list of insured losses from disasters around the globe in 2013. The study from Switzerland?s Swiss Re Group pegs economic losses from natural and man-made catastrophes last year at $140-billion US. The report says losses from last June?s flood were around $4.7-billion, $1.9-billion of that covered by insurance. Europe?s flood was the costliest disaster of 2013 with economic losses estimated at $16.5-billion. The group warns action must be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate against future severe extreme weather or these numbers will continue to skyrocket. http://www.news1130.com/2014/03/31/ab-floods-rank-third-in-losses-from-2013-world-disasters/ *Saharan Dust Falls Across Northern Europe
*When soggy, green Northern Ireland gets coated by red, Saharan dust, the locals get slightly perturbed. The dust is being pumped northward into the United Kingdom as winds aloft flow from the south to southeast instead of the normal west-to-east direction, says weather.com senior meteorologist Jon Erdman. An expansive blocking area of high pressure is stretching from eastern Europe to southern Greenland, and that's working in tandem with a strong southward dip in the jet stream centered just west of the Iberian Peninsula. As a result, northern Europe has turned hazy with Saharan dust filling the air in some areas, according to a BBC report. http://www.wunderground.com/news/saharan-dust-ireland-united-kingdom-20140331 http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/met-office-warns-london-south-about-saharan-dust-storm-1442733
*Tropical Cyclone Hellen: Worst Case Scenario Avoided in MadagascarFears of a "worst case scenario" were narrowly avoided in Madagascar as Tropical Cyclone Hellen made landfall Monday, having weakened rapidly just before landfall after undergoing a period of equally rapid intensification over the weekend. Hellen intensified at an extraordinary rate over the Mozambique Channel as it drifted south-southeast over the weekend toward the northwestern coast of Madagascar, an island nation in the southwestern Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa.* http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/tropical-cyclone-hellen-rapid-intensification-madagascar-20140330
*Heavy rain triggers floods in China*Sixteen people were killed in rain and hailstorms that triggered flooding and landslides in southern China, officials said Monday. The severe weather, which began last Friday, has affected seven provinces and municipalities, China's ministry of civil affairs said in a statement. Sixteen people were dead and two others were missing. The storms are the first round of heavy rainfall this spring, the ministry said. In Guangdong province, one of the hardest-hit areas, flights at major airports ground to a halt and classes in some cities were suspended on Monday. http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/heavy-rain-triggers-floods-in-china-1.1668770#.UzrJGigudrU
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