The heatwave in the central Chilean Andes is melting the snow below 3,000 metres (9,840ft), which will have knock-on effects for people living in downstream valleys who depend on meltwater during the spring and summer.
Tuesday was probably the warmest winter day in northern Chile in 72 years, according to Raul Cordero, a climate scientist at the University of Groningen, who said the 37C recorded at the Vicuña Los Pimientos station in the Coquimbo region was caused by a combination of global heating, El Niño and easterly gusts, known by locals as Terral winds that bring hot, dry weather.
Dozens of meteorological monitoring stations at more than 1,000 metres altitude recorded temperatures above 35C in winter, according to the Extreme Temperatures Around The World blog.
South America is living one of the extreme events the world has ever seen Unbelievable temperatures up to 38.9C in the Chilean Andine areas in mid winter ! Much more than what Southern Europe just had in mid summer at the same elevation: This event is rewriting all climatic books pic.twitter.com/QiiUKllWWP
— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) August 1, 2023
“The U.K. government is blatantly in denial about climate breakdown.”
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Monday that his government will approve hundreds of new licenses for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, drawing anger from climate advocates who say he’s doing the bidding of the fossil fuel industry amid a nightmarish wave of extreme weather.
Paying lip service to the nation’s net-zero emissions target, the Tory leader also laid out plans for two new carbon capture and storage facilities in Northeast Scotland and the Humber, lining up behind an oil industry-backed approach to reining in pollution that critics say is a false solution to the global climate crisis.
“Burning oil and gas is driving extreme weather and killing people on every continent, yet Rishi Sunak is gleefully encouraging the arsonists to go and put more fuel on the fire,” said Mary Church, a campaigner with Friends of the Earth Scotland. “By committing to future licensing rounds on the same day, it’s clear to see that carbon capture is little more than a greenwashing tactic by Big Oil to try and keep their climate-wrecking industry in business.”
Major fossil fuel giants such as Shell and BP have maintained oil and gas facilities in the North Sea for years. According to a recent analysis by Greenpeace, oil and gas licenses approved by the U.K. government over the past two years are set to generate as much carbon dioxide as Denmark emits annually—roughly the equivalent of 14 million cars.
“History will view this as an act of gross criminality. Our future sacrificed for the profits of a tiny elite.”
Philip Evans of Greenpeace U.K. said Monday that Sunak’s new announcements are “nothing but a cynical political ploy to sow division, and the climate is collateral damage.”
“Just as wildfires and floods wreck homes and lives around the world, Rishi Sunak’s government has decided to row back on key climate policies, attempted to toxify net zero, and recycled old myths about North Sea drilling,” said Evans. “Relying on fossil fuels is terrible for our energy security, the cost of living, and the climate. Our sky-high bills and recent extreme weather have demonstrated that.”
“Rishi Sunak knows that any oil and gas from the North Sea will just be sold on the international market, making oil companies even richer at the expense of the rest of us. How will this help our bills exactly?” Evans asked, countering the prime minister’s claims that new drilling will enhance the U.K.’s “energy security.”
“If Sunak were serious about boosting our energy security while keeping energy bills down,” Evans continued, “he’d remove the absurd barriers holding back cheap, homegrown renewables and launch a nationwide insulation program to tackle energy waste in our homes.”
Nick Dearden, director of the U.K.-based advocacy group Global Justice Now, wrote that “history will view this as an act of gross criminality. Our future sacrificed for the profits of a tiny elite.”
“The talk of securing our independence couldn’t be further from the truth,” Dearden added. “This leaves us on the hook for £billions, even if the next govt rescinds these contracts, as they must, the fossil fuel elite will pocket a fortune at our expense.”
In addition to the new drilling license commitments, the Financial Times reported Sunday that the U.K. government has “made it cheaper for industry to pollute in Britain compared with the E.U. by watering down reforms to the carbon market.”
“The U.K. government is blatantly in denial about climate breakdown,” said Church.
Just Stop Oil are demanding that the UK government halt any new licensing or consents for oil, gas and coal extraction in the UK.
In an escalation of resistance from previous weeks, 180 Just Stop Oil supporters, in fourteen groups, began marching on key roads in central London. They marched in groups of between 5 and 25 supporters, carrying placards reading “new oil = murder”, “ hottest June ever” and “can’t eat oil”.
Police followed numerous groups before marches began and stopped and searched dozens of people. Police began issuing Public Order Act (Section 12) notices at 8:10am, just minutes after the first march set off. Three Just Stop Oil supporters were arrested after 15 minutes of marching on Liverpool Street. Around twenty Just Stop Oil supporters were arrested as they attempted to leave Lambeth bridge, however 11 of these were de-arrested. The team in Victoria was removed by 8:35. Police were seen following marchers on the tube at 9:00am. Another two were arrested on Liverpool Street at 9:45. At 10:30 two were arrested on Victoria Street.
Frances Davis, 20, from Norwich spoke to the camera as she was held in handcuffs:
“I’ve been marching for just under 15 minutes and I’m under arrest for demanding the same thing as the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the United Nations and the government’s own scientific advisors have been demanding- and we’ve just been ignored. We’ve tried everything else and now I’m in handcuffs, just for going on a march.”
This morning’s marches come as extreme heat continues to ravage Europe and now 110 million people have been issued extreme heat warnings in the US, as a heat dome over the US south-west has translated into coast to coast alerts. Temperature records could be broken in as many as 38 cities. In Las Vegas security guards can be seen guarding the fountains of upscale casinos and hotels to prevent people from jumping in, whilst mobile clinics are reporting treating homeless people suffering from third-degree burns.
Since the Just Stop Oil campaign launched on 14th February 2022, there have been over 2,200 arrests and 138 people have spent time in prison, many without trial. Just Stop Oil supporters Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker are serving three-year prison sentences for resisting new oil, gas and coal in the longest sentences for peaceful climate action in British history.
Extreme temperatures have hit Europe this year as the world swelters through the El Niño weather pattern, and greenhouse gas emissions warm our climate.
But the latest highs have been made worse by an anticyclone dubbed ‘Cerberus’. This area of high pressure started in the Sahara before moving across northern Africa and into the Mediterranean.
The heatwave was named by the Italian Meteorological Society after the fiery-eyed, three-headed dog that guards the gates of the underworld in Greek mythology.
How hot will Europe get?
The Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily could simmer in 48°C in the coming days, potentially reaching “the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe,” according to the European Space Agency (ESA).
In August 2021, Sicily hit 48.8°C – the current record.
Rome, Bologna and Florence are among the 10 Italian cities currently under red alert for extreme heat.
Spain’s weather service said thermometers could potentially hit 45°C southeastern areas of the Iberian Peninsula, which are also under an alert for extreme heat. The temperature of the ground in parts of the country has hit more than 60°C.
Over a third of Americans under extreme heat warnings as Vermont, still recovering from historic flooding, prepares for more storms
The US is bracing for more extreme weather from coast to coast, with a heatwave hitting California, tornadoes in the midwest and the east expecting more rain as it continues to reel from historic flooding.
Residents of Vermont, still suffering from an onslaught of dangerous weather in recent days, are preparing for another round of severe storms in the area beginning as early as Thursday night.
Historic flooding in the state has damaged thousands of homes, businesses and roads, and has left some residents stranded. One death was confirmed by the state department of health, a 63-year-old man who drowned in his home. More than 200 rescues and 100 evacuations have taken place as a result of the extreme storms.
Across the US, more than a third of Americans were under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings as the heatwave baking the nation spread further into California. The sweltering conditions were expected to build on Friday and through the weekend in central and southern California, where many residents were told to prepare for the hottest weather of the year by the National Weather Service.
