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A YEAR OF CLIMATE CHANGE
JANUARY
2000 WAS A RECORD YEAR FOR NATURAL DISASTERS
The world's largest insurer Munich Re announced that 2000 was another
record year for natural disasters. A series of devastating forest
fires in the United States caused losses of more than $1 billion.
Dry weather and drought in Europe caused losses of more than $300
million when a severe heat wave in May and June 2000 destroyed crops
in southeast Europe (Reuters December 29, 2000).
CENTRAL ASIA HAD COLDEST WINTER FOR 40 YEARS
The Central Asian state of Kazakhstan had the coldest winter weather
for 40 years. In the Russian region of Siberia temperatures dropped
to minus 57 c. Extreme blizzards affected Mongolia, northern China,
the Korean peninsula and Japan. In China the worst snow and sand
storms in 50 years killed 21 people (BBC News 9 January, 2001).
WORST FLOODING IN VENICE IN A THOUSAND YEARS
Venice suffered the worst spate of sustained flooding in the city's
history with tides more than 1m above the average sea level (BBC
News 9 January 2001).
100,000 TONNES OF CLIFFS FALL INTO SEA
A 160 metre section of the White Cliffs of Dover weighing 100,000
tonnes fell into the English Channel following two landslides (BBC
News 2 February, 2001).
MORE DISASTROUS FLOODS IN EAST AFRICA
Following disastrous floods in 2000 that killed 700 people, further
flooding in Mozambique killed 62 people and made 81,000 people homeless.
The Mozambican Government appealed for $30m in aid to tackle the
disaster. Flooding affected half of neighbouring Malawi leaving
20,000 people homeless (BBC News 4 March 2001) At least 10 people
died in flood-related incidents in Zimbabwe. In Zambia floods displaced
30,000 people (Panafrican News Agency March 15, 2001).
GLOBAL WARMING BLAMED FOR UKRAINIAN FLOODING
Flooding followed winter snow levels in European Russia that were
50 percent above usual. Flooding in the Ukraine, Hungary and Romania
killed seven people and left 50,000 people homeless. Across Russia,
some 52,000 people lost their homes in the floods. The Ukrainian
Environment Minister blamed global warming for the severity of the
flooding in the region (ABC News 15 March, Moscow Times May 17 2001)
UK HAS WETTEST 12 MONTHS SINCE RECORDS BEGAN
The 12 months to March 2001 were confirmed to be the wettest 12
months in the UK since records began in 1766. Further rain, snow
and flooding in January and February threatened to take the cost
of the damage to more than £1 billion (The Times, February
28 2001) .
DROUGHTS IN NORTH AMERICA, BEETLE EPIDEMIC IN CANADA
The Pacific Northwest and Florida suffered severe droughts. The
Pacific Northwest had the second driest winter on record with a
snow pack that was 60 percent below normal. Alaska and British Columbia
had one of its warmest winters on record. After four years of warm
winters, British Columbian forests faced its worst ever epidemic
of mountain pine beetle. By the end of the year the beetles had
infested and killed 8 million hectares of lodgepole pine trees -
a region larger than Ireland (Reuters November 30, 2001). At the
same time the Northeast and Midwest of the USA were hit by record
snowfall (MSNBC 15 March 2001)
BULGARIA RATIONED WATER AFTER DRIEST WINTER IN 20 YEARS
The Bulgarian government rationed water for more than one million
people and banned the use of water supplies for industrial and irrigation
purposes after the levels in dam reservoirs dropped to barely a
quarter of their level in 2000 (Central Europe News 30 March 2001).
APRIL
WORST DROUGHT IN FLORIDA FOR 100 YEARS
Florida's drought, which had cost farmers $574 million over the
last four years continued. By April 2001 Lake Okeechobee, the main
fresh-water reservoir for south Florida's 5 million people, fell
below 10 feet above sea level, its lowest ever level for this time
of year (LA Times April 18, 2001).
200 FOOT SOUTH COAST LANDMARK COLLAPSES
The "Devil's Chimney", a 200ft high chalk tower at Beachy
Head, disintegrated suddenly and fell into the sea. The collapse
was caused by the record amount of rain which had seeped into cracks
in the chalk and then frozen in cold weather, causing it to crack.
(Independent 5th April 2001).
WORST DROUGHT IN KENYA IN LIVING MEMORY
Aid agencies warned that 4.4 million Kenyans were at risk of starvation
in the worst drought that Kenya has faced in living memory (CNN
April 11, 2001).
WORST FLOODING IN NORTHERN FRANCE SINCE 1920
Almost 3,000 households were affected by the floods in Northern
France, the worst since 1920. The President declared 117 communes
to be disaster zones (CNN April 30, 2001)
MAY
DROUGHT IN AFGHANISTAN
3.8 million people were declared at risk of famine in a devastating
drought that had forced over 700,000 people to move to refugee camps
(CNN May 5, 2001).
HIGHEST US POLLEN COUNT ON RECORD
The pollen count across the Northeast and Upper Midwest USA was
more than 2,000 grains per cubic meter, more than ten times what
doctors would normally consider high. The government claimed that
increased amounts of carbon dioxide in the air had made plants grow
faster and produce more pollen.
(CBS News May 12, 2001).
JUNE
HURRICANE ALLISON IS MOST EXPENSIVE STORM IN HISTORY
Tropical storm Allison caused record insurance losses of some $6
billion. It dropped one metre of rain on Houston and led to devastating
floods in Texas and Louisiana which killed sixteen people. President
Bush declared a disaster area that covered 28 counties of south-east
Texas a disaster area. (BBC 11 June, 2001; CNN June 17, 2001).
DROUGHTS AND FLOODS IN CHINA
The level of spring rainfall in parts of south-west and north- east
China was down by up to 90%, the worst drought in over a decade.
Some areas had had no rain for the past three months and water levels
in reservoirs were scarcely half their normal level (BBC News 31
May, 2001). The Songhua River was at its lowest level ever recorded.
Half of the over 4,000 lakes which support the source of China's
second-longest river, the Yellow River have dried out. Meanwhile
Hong Kong and South China received the heaviest rain in decades.
More than 100 people died in landslides and floods affected five
million people and destroyed 15,800 homes. The storms were the worst
on record in Guangdong province where 25 people were killed. (CNN
June 11, 2001; CNN June 17, 2001; BBC News 10 June 2001; the China
Daily 10/07/2001)
KOREA HAS WORST DROUGHT ON RECORD
The Korean peninsula faced the worst drought since records began
nearly a century ago. Rainfall in the North Korea's main rice growing
belt was just 10% of normal levels. In South Korea the government
mobilized 130,000 troops to dig wells (CNN June 12, 2001)
IRAN FACES SEVERE DROUGHT AND FLOODS
Iran's drought, the worst in 30 years, affected half of the country's
60m people. Lake Hamoun, the country's largest body of fresh water,
dried up and the Zayandeh River dried up for the first time in memory.
In neighbouring Iraq, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are flowing
at only half their normal levels. At the same time, north-eastern
Iran suffered torrential rain. The heaviest flooding to hit the
region for 200 years killed 120 people and made 10,000 people homeless.
(ABC News 08/09/2001 The Guardian-UK June 25, 2001 New York Times
September 18, 2001).
AUGUST
CENTRAL AMERICAN FARMERS DEVASTATED BY DROUGHT
Droughts across Central America affected 600,000 small farmers.
Honduras declared a state of emergency in much of the country. By
December the aquifers supplying Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras,
had run dry and the drought had damaged 700,000 hectares of farmland.
Nicaragua also lost 50 percent of its crops and Eastern Guatemala
lost 80 percent of its bean harvest (BBC News 13 August, 2001; ENN
December 11, 2001).
WORST YEAR ON RECORD FOR TYPHOONS IN TAIWAN
Typhoons claimed more than 300 lives in Taiwan, the worst death
toll recorded. In July, Typhoon Toraji killed about 200 people and
caused more than $173 million in damage. In September Typhoon Nari
killed 94 people and caused a further US$84 million of damage (Reuters
September 26, 2001).
UK AND WORLD HAVE HOTTEST OCTOBER ON RECORD
In the UK this was, by a large margin of 2.6 degrees, the warmest
October since records began in 1659. This was also the hottest October
globally, a full degree above the 120 year average (CNN November
22, 2001)
DROUGHT AND WILDFIRES IN EASTERN USA
October 2001 was the third driest October ever for Connecticut and
New Jersey and the fourth driest for Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Delaware and Virginia. The Appalachian mountain region experienced
the worst wildfire season in a decade and across the US 3.5 million
acres of forest burnt. (ENS 14 November 2001).
NOVEMBER
WORST STORMS IN ALGERIA FOR 40 YEARS
Violent storms in Algeria killed 650 people and made 24,000 people
homeless or destitute. BBC News 14 November 2001
DECEMBER
2001 WAS SECOND HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD
According to the World Meteorological Organization, the Earth's
temperature in 2001 was the second highest since 1860. Nine of the
10 warmest years since 1860 have occurred since 1990. The hottest
year was 1998, followed by 2001, 1997, 1995 and 1990. (New York
Times December 19, 2001).
WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED......
2001 WAS ANOTHER RECORD YEAR FOR NATURAL DISASTERS
Munich Re, the world's largest re-insurer announced that natural
disasters in 2001 killed at least 25,000 deaths people worldwide,
more than double the previous year. Storms and floods accounted
for more than two thirds to the 700 major disasters. Munich Re said.
"Forest fires in Australia, floods in Brazil and in Turkey,
snow chaos in central and southern Europe and a typhoon in Singapore,
which was meteorologically seen as impossible, are all indications
for a link between climate changes and a rise in weather catastrophes"
(Reuters January 1, 2002)
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