Climate change made European heatwave up to 4C hotter
Human-caused climate change made the recent European heatwave up to 4C hotter in many cities, scientists said on Wednesday, pushing temperatures into deadly territory for thousands of vulnerable people.
Global warming "amplified this heatwave by approximately 2 to 4 degrees (Celsius) across most of the cities" studied, said Ben Clarke from Imperial College London, which led the research with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
- June was hottest on record in western Europe -
Western Europe recorded its hottest ever June last month, as "extreme" temperatures blasted the region in punishing back-to-back heatwaves, the EU's Copernicus climate monitor said Wednesday.
Globally, June was the third-warmest on record, continuing a blistering heat streak that saw the hottest and second-hottest Junes in 2024 and 2023 respectively, Copernicus said.
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Nahar Net
a day ago
- Nahar Net
Texas floodwaters damaged crops and endangered livestock
by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 July 2025, 16:34 Across a wide swath of Texas, the inundated rivers that ravaged communities also tore through farms and ranches. In the town of Bend, about two hours north of Austin, Boyd Clark waded into rising waters to help one of his stranded ostrich hens. Matthew Ketterman spent several agonizing hours trapped on top of his truck amid coursing rapids after driving out to check the fences on his exotic game ranch outside Burnet, about an hour south of Bend. And the overflowing San Gabriel River knocked Christmas trees sideways and staff had to get petting zoo animals into a temporary pen at Sweet Eats Adventure Farm in Georgetown, about 65 miles east of Ketterman's ranch. As authorities work to understand the extent of the loss of human life—as of Friday at least 120 people were killed more than 160 missing —farmers and ranchers are working to assess damage to their properties, crops and animals. Many are facing the task of caring for livestock while salvaging what crops they can and cleaning up the wreckage. While many farmers lean on a relentless optimism to get through the uncertainty of relying on the weather for a living, extreme weather disasters like catastrophic floods, droughts and wildfires can take a toll. The weather events also pose unique challenges to those who rely on seasonal tourist rushes or who might not have crop insurance. It's a double-edged sword: as some farmers turn to agritourism or niche crops to weather unpredictable markets, climate change is also intensifying many of the natural disasters that can make it more difficult for those experiments to succeed. Even the larger operations are not immune; farmers who produce all kinds of crops must plan for emergencies. "We expect it to happen again. It's never a question of if, but when," said Jon Meredith, co-owner of Sweet Eats, an agritourism outfit that mainly grows Christmas trees. "And so we just continue to try to mitigate our losses and reduce our risk around events like this." Still surveying the damage, starting repairs Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said there has been so much rain so quickly that some farmers are seeing complete loss or severe damage to their crops and infrastructure, in several counties and beyond the banks of overflowing rivers. "We've had farm equipment washed down the river. We've had tractors underwater, so they're totaled, won't be able to use those. Irrigation equipment wadded up like a bowl of spaghetti," Miller told The Associated Press. "We're finding cattle dead on top of trees downriver. So it's pretty devastating." Miller said there are resources available for farmers. Those include the State of Texas Agriculture Relief Fund, which helps farmers access disaster funding, the Hay and Feed Hotline, which donates animal feed and the AgriStress Helpline that provides 24/7 mental health support. Now comes the task of cleanup: repair miles of destroyed fence line, tally lost livestock and move debris from foliage and mud to piled-up picnic tables. After a harrowing night waiting for hours to be rescued, Ketterman, who had gotten stuck on his vehicle, felt lucky to be alive. But he and his team were also grieving the loss of a member who died in the flooding on his way to work. They lost some animals to the churning water, as well. "We're in the hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage, but you know, at the end of the day that's just monetary and we'll recover from that," he said. Disasters like floods can be tough for specialty farmers Small farms that offer experiences to visitors, don't sell to wholesalers or don't have crop insurance are especially vulnerable, said Hannah Burrack, professor and chair of the entomology department at Michigan State University, who has worked with fruit farmers in the aftermath of floods. Clark said ostrich growers can access some U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that cover the loss of grass that birds graze on, but otherwise there isn't much assistance. Ostriches also get too cold in heavy rain. And it cuts down egg production; the hens almost stop laying eggs and mud and water can ruin what few they do. "It does definitely affect our production this year and our profitability," Clark said. Burrack said that other crops for consumption like fruits and vegetables get submerged, they can no longer be sold. Unharvested plants in fields can build up, causing pest issues or creating an unpleasant experience for visitors. And once submerged, "long-term echoes of these short-term stressors" can make trees more vulnerable to disease. Meredith said Sweet Eats was lucky the Christmas season is still months away; they still had a chance to put the trees back up. They would've had a harder time if they were still doing peach trees like they used to. "Because so much of our stuff is pick-your-own, so if we can't be open for customers, then it magnifies the challenges that we face because of cash flow issues," he said. All farms need to plan for emergencies, climate change It's not just floods: farms across the country have taken hits due to extreme weather in recent years. Wildfires have damped farm-based businesses in California including pick-your-own apple orchards in the southern part of the state and wineries in the north. An unusually warm winter had Midwestern maple syrup producers scrambling in 2024, while pinching drought has hit pumpkins, along with many other crops, across the West. It's good business sense to observe how climate change might affect your operation and make adjustments accordingly, said Rob Leeds, an extension educator at Ohio State University who works with farmers, especially those interested in agritourism. He described how after watching a barrage of tornadoes and high winds in recent years, some cattle producers in Ohio have been building tougher barns that more typically would be seen in windswept areas of the West. Some fall-themed agritourism operators have started installing fans and misters, anticipating more hot days later into the fall. It will take a while for Texas farmers to fully recover, but some are already building back stronger. Ketterman said he thinks they're going to put up sturdier fence posts in the coming weeks as they secure the fence line. They'll lean on each other, too. Many farmers described the tight-knit sense of community as they weathered the storm. "We all started calling each other, to make sure we could get our animals out and anything else that we needed to save," said John Meredith, owner of Sweet Eats. "Just because this is a fact of life. When you live on a river, it's beautiful and enjoyable, but there are occasionally times where things can go south very quickly."
Nahar Net
3 days ago
- Nahar Net
More than 160 people still missing after deadly Texas floods
by Naharnet Newsdesk 09 July 2025, 14:32 More than 160 people are still believed to be missing in Texas days after flash floods killed over 100 people during the July Fourth weekend, the state's governor said Tuesday. The huge jump in the number unaccounted for — roughly three times higher than previously said — came after authorities set up a hotline for families to call. Those reported missing are in Kerr County, where most of the victims have been recovered so far, Gov. Greg Abbott said. Many were likely visiting or staying in the state's Hill Country during the holiday but did not register at a camp or hotel, he said during a news conference. The county's lowlands along the Guadalupe River are filled with youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died. Officials said Tuesday that five campers and one counselor have still not been found. Search-and-rescue teams are using heavy equipment to untangle and peel away layers of trees, unearth large rocks in riverbanks and move massive piles of debris that stretch for miles in the search for the missing people. Crews in airboats, helicopters and on horseback along with hundreds of volunteers are part of one of the largest search operations in Texas history. The flash flood is the deadliest from inland flooding in the U.S. since Colorado's Big Thompson Canyon flood on July 31, 1976, killed 144 people, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections. That flood surged through a narrow canyon packed with people on a holiday weekend, Colorado's centennial celebration. Public officials in charge of locating the victims are facing intensifying questions about who was in charge of monitoring the weather and warning that floodwaters were barreling toward camps and homes. The Republican governor, who took a helicopter tour of the disaster zone, dismissed a question about who was to blame for the deaths, saying, "That's the word choice of losers." "Every football team makes mistakes," he said. "The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who's to blame. The championship teams are the ones who say, 'Don't worry about it, man, we got this. We're going to make sure that we go score again and we're going to win this game.' The way winners talk is not to point fingers." Abbott promised that the search for victims will not stop until everyone is found. He also said President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover. Trump plans to visit the state Friday. Scenes of devastation at Camp Mystic Outside the cabins at Camp Mystic where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered on a grassy hill that slopes toward the river. Also in the debris were pink, purple and blue luggage decorated with stickers. Among those who died at the camp were a second grader who loved pink sparkles and bows, a 19-year-old counselor who enjoyed mentoring young girls and the camp's 75-year-old director. The flash floods erupted before daybreak Friday after massive rains sent water speeding down hills into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in less than an hour. The wall of water overwhelmed people in cabins, tents and trailers along the river's edge. Some survivors were found clinging to trees. Some campers had to swim out of cabin windows to safety while others held onto a rope as they made their way to higher ground. Time-lapse videos showed how floodwaters covered roads in a matter of minutes. Although it's difficult to attribute a single weather event to climate change, experts say a warming atmosphere and oceans make catastrophic storms more likely. Where were the warnings? Questions mounted about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who were spending the July Fourth weekend in the scenic area long known to locals as "flash flood alley." Leaders in Kerr county, where searchers have found about 90 bodies, said their first priority is recovering victims, not reviewing what happened in the hours before the flash floods. "Right now, this team up here is focused on bringing people home," Lt. Col. Ben Baker of the Texas Game Wardens, said during a sometimes tense news conference. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's chief elected official, said in the hours after the devastation that the county does not have a warning system. Generations of families in the Hill Country have known the dangers. A 1987 flood forced the evacuation of a youth camp in the town of Comfort and swamped buses and vans. Ten teenagers were killed. Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a warning system. Kerr County sought a nearly $1 million grant eight years ago for such a system, but the request was turned down by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Local residents balked at footing the bill themselves, Kelly said. Recovery and cleanup goes on Four days have passed since anyone was found alive in the aftermath of the floods in Kerr County, officials said Tuesday. The bodies of 30 children were among those that have been recovered in the county, which is home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, the sheriff said. The devastation spread across several hundred miles in central Texas all the way to just outside the capital of Austin. Aidan Duncan escaped just in time after hearing the muffled blare of a megaphone urging residents to evacuate Riverside RV Park in the Hill Country town of Ingram. All his belongings — a mattress, sports cards, his pet parakeet's bird cage — now sit caked in mud in front of his home. "What's going on right now, it hurts," the 17-year-old said. "I literally cried so hard." Along the banks of the Guadalupe, 91-year-old Charles Hanson, a resident at a senior living center, was sweeping up wood and piling pieces of concrete and stone, remnants from a playground structure. He wanted to help clean up on behalf of his neighbors who can't get out. "We'll make do with the best we got," he said.
MTV Lebanon
3 days ago
- MTV Lebanon
European Heat Wave Caused 2,300 Deaths
Around 2,300 people died of heat-related causes across 12 European cities during the severe heat wave that ended last week, according to a rapid scientific analysis published on Wednesday. The study targeted the 10 days, ending July 2, during which large parts of Western Europe were hit by extreme heat, with temperatures breaching 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) in Spain and wildfires breaking out in France. Of the 2,300 people estimated to have died during this period, 1,500 deaths were linked to climate change, which made the heat wave more severe, according to the study conducted by scientists at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 'Climate change has made it significantly hotter than it would have been, which in turn makes it a lot more dangerous,' said Dr Ben Clarke, a researcher at Imperial College London. The study covered 12 cities including Barcelona, Madrid, London and Milan, where the researchers said climate change had increased heatwave temperatures by up to 4 degrees Celsius. The researchers used established epidemiological models and historical mortality data to estimate the death toll, which reflects deaths where heat was the underlying reason for mortality, including if exposure exacerbated pre-existing health conditions. The scientists said they used peer-reviewed methods to quickly produce the estimated death toll, because most heat-related deaths are not officially reported and some governments do not release this data. Last month was the planet's third-hottest June on record, behind the same month in 2024 and 2023, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service said in a monthly bulletin on Wednesday. Western Europe experienced its warmest June on record, with much of the region experiencing 'very strong heat stress' - defined by conditions that feel like a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or more, Copernicus said. 'In a warming world, heatwaves are likely to become more frequent, more intense and impact more people across Europe,' said Samantha Burgess, Copernicus' strategic lead for climate. Researchers from European health institutes reported in 2023 that as many as 61,000 people may have died in Europe's sweltering heatwaves in 2022, according to new research, suggesting countries' heat preparedness efforts are falling fatally short. The build-up of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere - which mostly come from the burning of fossil fuels - means the planet's average temperature has increased over time. This increase in baseline temperatures means that when a heatwave comes, temperatures can surge to higher peaks.
