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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Anchorage sees one of wettest summers on record
An additional half an inch of rain could fall through the end of the week as Anchorage is seeing one of its wettest summers on record.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Dozens of heat-related emergency calls in B.C. as more temperature records fall and wildfire risk rises
British Columbia faces a surge in heat-related emergencies and wildfire risks as temperatures soar, breaking records and prompting heat warnings and a campfire ban.
British Columbia, Canada
CBC

The fastest warming of the Russian Arctic was detected in spring
Earlier this year, the spring of 2024 in the Russian North was registered as the warmest in the history of weather observations, the Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia reported.
Russian Arctic
The Independent Barents Observer

City of Port Alberni to ban all outdoor fires amid heat wave
Port Alberni bans all outdoor fires due to a heatwave and high fire risk, with fines for non-compliance until October 31, 2024.
Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
Alberni Valley News

Extreme heat grips much of Western Canada
Western Canada is experiencing extreme heat, prompting health warnings and wildfire concerns, with measures in place to protect vulnerable populations.
Alberta, Canada
CBC

Anchorage stretch of sub-60 degree days was third longest
Anchorage experienced its third-longest streak of sub-60 degree days, despite Alaska's spring temperatures being normal by recent standards but cooler than historical averages.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

WA declares statewide drought emergency following poor snowpack
Washington State declares a statewide drought emergency due to significantly low snowpack levels, with expectations of less than 75% of the normal water supply.
Washington, United States
The Seattle Times

Schools closed, safe rooms open for severe weather
Ahead of Wednesday’s anticipated severe weather, county officials are making some important announcements.
McLain, Mississippi, United States

1 dead, 126 homes damaged or destroyed due to severe weather in Mississippi
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has issued an updated damage report from Tuesday and Wednesday’s severe weather. According to MEMA, one person in Grenada County died. Six were injured, two of which were in Scott County. Details regarding where the other four injuries took place have not been released...
Grenada, Mississippi, United States
SuperTalk Mississippi Media

Nine water lines and six sewer lines remain frozen after Swan lake Loop failed last month
Emergency measures are in place in Kotzebue after a failure in the Swan Lake Loop left 74 households without water, prompting local and state officials to declare an emergency and take action to provide services and repair infrastructure.
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Chugach forecasters warn of dangerous avalanche conditions after 1 death, 2 close calls
Chugach forecasters issue warnings of high avalanche danger following a fatal incident and two non-fatal close calls in the mountains.
Girdwood, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media
Chris Klint, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

Kotzebue residents report heat loss and issues with Vitus fuel amid frigid temps
Kotzebue residents face heating challenges as Vitus fuel thickens in extreme cold, leading to clogged filters and system failures, prompting some to switch suppliers.
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Panhandle snowpack near record low
Idaho's Panhandle is experiencing near record-low snowpack levels, with persistent dry conditions and forecasts suggesting a continued negative impact on snowpack development.
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States
Coeur d'Alene Press

Noticing less snow in New England? Researchers are too
A Dartmouth study reveals a significant decline in New England's snowpack, with many river basins losing over 10% per decade due to human-caused climate change.
Saint-Léonard, New Brunswick, Canada

Juneau’s deadliest landslide tore through downtown like a ‘mighty grinder.’ Now it’s a fading memory.
Juneau's history of deadly landslides, particularly the 1936 disaster that killed multiple residents, is a testament to the region's susceptibility to such events, which may increase with changing weather patterns.
Juneau, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

US in deep freeze while much of the world is extra toasty? Yet again, it's climate change
The U.S. experiences extreme cold as the rest of the world faces unusual warmth, a pattern scientists attribute to climate change.
United States
AP News

Alaska beekeepers kill their colonies every fall, but an Anchorage man has another way
An Anchorage beekeeper has learned how to help his honeybee colonies survive to see spring, and he’s teaching others to do the same.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

With Anchorage’s record-setting snow, officials say it’s not a bad idea to shovel roofs
Officials in Anchorage suggest residents consider shoveling their roofs due to record snowfall and the potential for more, along with concerns about ice dams and roof stress.

‘We’re always going to be surprised’: Wrangell’s tragedy highlights Alaska’s lack of landslide monitoring
The Wrangell landslide tragedy underscores Alaska's challenge in landslide prediction due to insufficient monitoring and data collection.
Wrangell, Alaska, United States

Annual Arctic Report Card focuses on Indigenous knowledge and resilience after warmest summer on record
The 2023 Arctic Report Card highlights unprecedented summer warmth, ecological shifts, and the integration of Indigenous knowledge in understanding and adapting to climate change impacts.
The Arctic
Anchorage Daily News

El Niño heads north: how tropical weather impacts the Arctic
El Nino is causing warmer and drier conditions in the Arctic, leading to record warm falls in Northern communities and challenging traditional hunting and trapping due to delayed ice formation.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC

Inuit group, citing dramatic effects in the Arctic, calls for bigger role in international climate action
The Inuit Circumpolar Council is advocating for a greater role in international climate discussions, highlighting the severe climate impacts in the Arctic and seeking access to global climate funds.
ArcticToday

Reindeer herders and scientists collaborate to understand Arctic warming
Siberian reindeer herders and scientists are working together to figure out how to predict rain-on-snow events that turn tundra into deadly ice.
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia
Science News

Climate change will deliver more heavy precipitation events to Southcentral. Is Anchorage prepared?
Anchorage faces record snowfalls and plowing challenges, raising concerns about its preparedness for future extreme precipitation events linked to climate change.

The world briefly smashed through the 2-degree warming limit for the first time ever
The world surpassed the 2-degree warming threshold for the first time, signaling an urgent need to address greenhouse gas emissions as climate impacts worsen.
Earth
CNN

4 unsheltered people died outside in Anchorage in the past week. 2 of them were in wheelchairs.
Four unsheltered people, two of whom were in wheelchairs, have died outdoors in Anchorage over the past week as winter weather hits the city, highlighting the ongoing issue of homelessness and the need for preventative measures.

Snowstorm leaves aftermath of power outages; JBER Veterans Day ceremony canceled
A snowstorm in Southcentral Alaska causes power outages and leads to the cancellation of a Veterans Day ceremony, while crews work to clear roads and restore electricity.
Chris Klint, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

Western Arctic Caribou Herd keeps shrinking, 2023 census shows
The Western Arctic Caribou Herd in Alaska has continued to decline, with a 7% decrease in population from the previous year, prompting concerns about the need for harvest reduction to preserve the herd.
Kobuk, Alaska, United States

‘Without water, there is no life’: Drought in Brazil’s Amazon is sharpening fears for the future
The extreme drought sweeping across Brazil’s Amazon rainforest is already impacting hundreds of thousands of people and killing local wildlife.
Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
AP News

More than 100 dolphins found dead in Brazilian Amazon as water temperatures soar
More than 100 dolphins have died in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in the past week as the region grapples with a severe drought, and many more could die soon if water temperatures remain high, experts say.
São Paulo, Brazil
CTVNews

Climate change brings cloudberry to Svalbard
After an exceptionally warm summer, ripe cloudberries are for the first time documented at 78° North.
Coal Bay Valley
The Independent Barents Observer

Harsh 2022-2023 winter impacts wood bison population
Most of the 28 yearlings that were released into the herd in during the summer of 2022 didn't survive.
Lower Innoko-Yukon River
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

‘Too hot’ for salmon: How climate change is contributing to the Yukon salmon collapse
Researchers say climate change is playing a big role in the collapse, which has left thousands of people along the river without the salmon they depend on.
Yukon River, Alaska

Road damage after rain
Evacuations due to the risk of landslides were lifted at Seyðisfjörður this morning. Rain in Neskaupstaður yesterday was on a once-in-a-century scale. Some roads have been badly damaged.
Neskaupstaður, East, Iceland
RÚV

The Hokksund family has water in their living room for the second time – probably won't be able to move home until next year
The Hokksund family in Drammen, Norway, has experienced flooding in their living room for the second time and may not be able to return home until next year due to ongoing flooding in the area.
Drammen, Buskerud, Norway
NRK

Bjørn Ole (13) was sucked into pipes in the floodwaters
– Han har hatt helt utrolig flaks, sier mor Cecilie etter at sønnen ble dratt gjennom et over 200 meter langt rør med flomvann.
Knapstad, Viken, Norway
NRK

FEMA officials arrive in Juneau to assess flood damage
Due to recent flooding, FEMA assessors will work with state, local and tribal officials to determine if federal aid is warranted with flood and erosion damage.
Juneau, Alaska, United States
Juneau Empire

How the Maui wildfires devastated Lahaina, hour by hour
Survivors of the Maui fire in Lahaina say they were overwhelmed by the speed of the blaze, the smothering smoke and the lack of escape routes.
Lahaina, Hawaii, United States
Washington Post

Wildfires in the Interior, potential drought in Southeast as record heat drags into August
There are now 140 active Interior wildfires, with Southeast Alaska seeing "abnormally dry" conditions.
Alaska, United States

Alaska geologists dig into Bering Sea’s past storms to understand future ones
Extreme weather events like Typhoon Merbok are becoming more common, and many Alaska communities are wondering about the future.
Bering Sea

Alarming, above-average ice loss in Greenland due to rising temperatures
Satellite images from NASA show the alarming and above-average ice loss in Greenland due to rising temperatures, with significant melting and a transformation of the snow cover observed during the 2023 melting season.
Greenland
Eye on the Arctic

As climate change transforms the Arctic, Homeland Security must adapt, official says
The forces of climate change that are reducing ice cover and opening up the Arctic to more activity are making Alaska more important in regards to Homeland Security. For the Department, which has a combination of public safety, emergency response and law-enforcement functions, climate change is creating new challenges for which old responses are no longer adequate.
The Arctic

As record heat bakes the Lower 48, Anchorage contends with its coolest summer in years
Anchorage is cool and wet this summer as the rest of the world bakes in the sun and heat.

Extreme heat affects some airline flights, workers
Extreme heat around the nation is affecting some flights departing from airports including Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Phoenix, which have had triple-digit temperatures this week.
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
The Brunswick News

Hot, dry N.W.T. weather keeping the mosquitoes down or for now
An entomologist who works with the N.W.T. government said mosquito populations throughout the territory are lower than average. That’s because most types of mosquitoes "love water," and conditions in parts of the territory have been hot and dry instead.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

Southwestern Alaska is having its cloudiest summer in 30 years, climatologists say
A low-pressure front that’s stuck over the southern part of the Bering Sea has formed clouds, which the jet stream carries east into southern Alaska.
Southwest Alaska

'Seeing is believing': VR project immerses viewers in climate change on Yukon's Herschel Island
The virtual reality project Qikiqtaruk: Arctic at Risk is transporting people to Yukon's northernmost point without them ever having to leave home.
Herschel Island, Canada

The Arctic Climatologist Calling Attention to a Looming Data Crisis
Rick Thoman is thinking hard about the cost of climate change and the benefits of better tracking, potentially influencing Alaska’s response to extreme weather and more.
Nome, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

Retreating Arctic glaciers leave bubbling methane in their wake, scientists warn
Scientists found that the glaciers are triggering the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that causes global temperatures to rise.
Svalbard, Svalbard and Jan Mayen

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