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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

Seattle already set a record high temperature Sunday; Monday’s forecast is ‘unheard of’
For the first time in Seattle’s history, temperatures spiked above 100 degrees two days in a row, with residents scrambling to find relief — and flocking to beaches, parks and...
Seattle, Washington, United States
The Seattle Times

Extreme heat cooks shellfish alive on Puget Sound beaches
A record-shattering heat wave June 26-28 coincided with some of the year's lowest tides on Puget Sound. The combination was lethal for millions of mussels, clams, oysters, sand dollars, barnacles, sea stars, moon snails, and other tideland creatures exposed to three afternoons of intense heat.
Anacortes, Washington, United States
KUOW

Erosion impacting wells and transmission line
River erosion in Noatak is posing a threat to wells and transmission lines along the bank as the river ebbs closer.
Noatak, Alaska, United States
John Monville, Chris Dankmeyer, Joy Britt, Jeffrey Luther, Paul Walton

Coast Guard responds to tar-like substance spill on Utqiagvik beach
Officials are still examining the substance in a lab to determine what it is, but DEC suspects it’s black tar or asphalt.
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States
KTOO
Wesley Early, Alaska's Energy Desk - Kotzebue

Flood Level on Takhini River
"River is running bank full with all gravel bars and low islands underwater."

Halibut fisherman weathers freak storm on trip back from Togiak
Westfall thanked his training with the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association to help him maximize his odds for survival.
KTOO

Flood warning in Carmacks docks the 2021 River Quest
The Yukon River Quest has been cancelled for the second year in a row. When the river is high like that the banks are being eroded, there is no place to pull out so if you do have a problem it's really dangerous indeed.
Carmacks, Yukon, Canada
Yukon News

Thousands of lightning strikes spark more than a dozen wildfires in Northwest Alaska
On Tuesday night, the state of Alaska saw thousands of lightning strikes. “Most of the 3,800 lightning strikes were concentrated in the Northwest Arctic,” said BLM Alaska Fire Service spokeswoman Beth Ipsen. There are several communities in close proximity to new fires.
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States
KTOO
Wesley Early, Alaska's Energy Desk - Kotzebue

UN weather agency affirms 2020 Arctic heat record in Siberia
The agency said it has certified a 100.4-degree reading in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk last year as the highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic.
Verkhoyansk, Sakha, Russia
Anchorage Daily News

Lymantria dispar dispar outbreak
Lymantria dispar dispar also known as spongy moth was observed in Waterloo Ontario to be in unusually large quantities during the summer of 2021.
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Record-setting heat blasts the West: ‘Your skin is almost sizzling’
Fueled by climate change, the heat wave is unprecedented in its timing, intensity and scope. Coupled with a catastrophic drought that has damaged crops and shrunk vital reservoirs to all-time lows, the blazing weather is a trademark of human-caused warming.
Sacramento, California, United States
The Washington Post

Kuskokwim River Chum Run Extremely Low So Far
The Kuskokwim River king salmon run does not look particularly strong this year, but chum numbers look even worse. Historically, around 60% of the salmon in the river at this point in the season would be chum or sockeye, but right now Bethel Test Fishery numbers show that just over 20% of the salmon are.
Bethel, Alaska, United States
KYUK

Burn ban issued for Kenai Peninsula
High-fire danger prompts burn ban this week, A burn suspension is in effect for the Kenai Peninsula due to high fire danger, high fire activity and limited firefighting resources, according to a special notice from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
Homer, Alaska, United States
Homer News

Coldest June night in 43 years
The temperature in Akureyri last night dropped to -1°C, the coldest night this late in June since 1978—or 43 years ago.
Akureyri, Northeast, Iceland
RÚV

Deadly Flash Floods in Department of Sololá, Guatemala
Heavy rainfall caused the Quibá river to overflow in the village of Guineales, municipality of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán in Sololá department.
Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Sololá, Guatemala
FloodList

Red rust on endemic roses
My unprofessional opinion is that climate change is affecting these endemic roses and that they are in peril.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Tiny insects ate the needles off a half million acres of Tongass hemlocks. Most of the trees will be fine.
Dead crowns in the canopy and rusty-colored branches are woven in with the otherwise healthy, green temperate rainforest. About a third of the trees around here were hit by the voracious sawfly. The larvae get mistaken for caterpillars. Adults are a kind of non-stinging wasp, a little smaller than a pinky finger.
Juneau, Alaska, United States

Russia’s largest and coldest region is on fire - again, and this year wildfires strike early
Even school children are in firefighting brigades in some areas of Yakutia.
Srednekolymsk, Sakha, Russia
Siberian Times

Tiny worm comes back to life after 24,000 years in Siberian deep freeze
A microscopic organism has wriggled back to life and reproduced asexually after lying frozen in the vast permafrost lands of northeastern Siberia for 24,000 years. Russian scientists found the tiny, ancient animal called the bdelloid rotifer in soil taken from the Alazeya River basin, in the far north of Russia’s Yakutia region.
ArcticToday

Paralytic Shellfish Toxin Advisory
The Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research program found that all shellfish species in Settler's Cove and Seaport Beach in Ketchikan and Starrigavan North beach in Sitka are affected by high levels of Paralytic Shellfish Toxin, posing the risk of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning for consumers.
Ketchikan, Alaska, United States
Southeast Tribal Ocean Research

Abnormal abundance of ticks
My colleague who has been doing this work for over 35 years indicated that he has never experienced that many ticks.
Scott Road Landfill (near Cardinal)
Chyna Williams, Andrea Sare, David Oswald

Mysterious black substance on Wells Beach turns out to be millions of dead bugs
The black substance was staining the feet of people at the beach, prompting one local resident to alert state officials.
Wells Beach Station, Maine, United States
Press Herald

Rapid permafrost thaw expected in N.W.T., Yukon after heat wave, experts warn
The heat wave sweeping through the N.W.T. and Yukon will have a major impact on permafrost thaw in both territories, experts warn.
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
CBC

Large wildfire breaks out in Cairngorms National Park
The blaze in forestry south of Loch Morlich near Aviemore has now been extinguished.
Kincraigy, Donegal, Ireland
BBC News

Low king counts to close Anchor River, Deep Creek to fishing
“The midpoint of the Anchor River king salmon run was extremely late. These fish are really having some odd, unprecedented run timing and behavior."
Kasilof, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Elephant herd now close to Kunming
A herd of wild Asian elephants that left Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in the south of Yunnan province last year is still moving northward, local media reported on Wednesday. The 15-member herd has traveled nearly 500 kilometers from its original habitat. Experts said the move northward is unusual and they do not know the reason for it.
Kunming, Yunnan, China

Tick found on dog on Anchorage Hillside
An unidentified tick was found on the nose of a dog in the backyard of a home in south Anchorage. Neither the family nor their pet had been traveling recently. The identification of the tick species is pending.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

'This is what we've been waiting for': Calgarians embrace first heat wave of the season
Much of Alberta remained under a heat warning Wednesday but after months cooped up indoors, many Calgarians are embracing the warm weather.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Calgary

Heat records broken in 10 places in B.C. so far this week
Environment Canada says records were broken in 10 places Tuesday - from 29 C in Fort Nelson, just edging a record set in 1961 - to 34.6 C in Trail, and highs ranging from 27 to the low 30s in Sechelt, Gibsons, Clinton, Merritt, Pemberton, Princeton and the Malahat on Vancouver Island.
Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
British Columbia

Karuk Tribe Declares Climate Emergency
The Karuk Tribe has declared a climate emergency as the Klamath River Basin has seen the worst conditions in history with very low precipitation and...
Yreka, California, United States
North Coast Journal

Orca found dead after earlier stranding on island north of Auckland
The whale had earlier been spotted stranded.
Auckland, New Zealand
NZ Herald

State of emergency declared in Aklavik, N.W.T., as flood waters rise
The remote community of roughly 600 people has been on flood watch for about a week and is the latest of several communities in the Northwest Territories to be affected by historic flooding on the Mackenzie River, caused by the spring breakup.
Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC

Blue-green Algae Makes an Early Appearance
Anyone visiting lakes or rivers in the region is being cautioned to look out for blue-green algae after the Blue Lake Rancheria confirmed levels of...
Blue Lake, California, United States
North Coast Journal

Gambell gets distemper outbreak under control
The community of Gambell fought a distemper outbreak among its dog population this spring and managed to squash the epidemic in its early onset. Distemper is a deadly disease that can afflict dogs and wildlife alike and also has been documented in the North Atlantic to jump from dogs to marine mammals like seals.
Gambell, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

Beluga whale found dead south of Anchorage will help scientists better understand the endangered animals
The beluga had a ruptured intestine probably related to parasites, which were found in the whale’s abdomen, lungs and kidneys, Burek said. The parasites likely led to an entanglement within a section of the intestines, leading it to rupture. “Very unusual,” Burek said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Girdwood, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Red bloom in bay isn’t harmful
However, if ingested by oysters and other shellfish, the sudden burst of a ciliate form of zooplankton — or animal plankton — called Mesodinium rubrum could turn their meat pink.
Homer, Alaska, United States
Homer News

Turkey struck by ‘sea snot’ because of global heating
Increasing blanket of mucus-like substance in water threatens coral and fishing industry
Sea of Marmara
the Guardian

Dump burning leads to wildfire
Dry spring conditions and strong winds are allowing a burn at the dump to grow near Pilot Point. Fire crews are dropping suppressant and 12 smokejumpers worry working the fire estimated at 250 acres as of Monday night.
Pilot Point, Alaska, United States

Smokejumpers deployed to wildfire threatening fish camp, allotments on Kuskokwim River near Akiachak
The Alaska Division of Forestry deployed 12 smokejumpers on an estimated 100-acre wildfire burning near the village of Akiachak in southwest Alaska Tuesday afternoon to protect a fish camp and Native allotments surrounding the fire.
Akiachak, Alaska, United States
AK Fire Info

Pilot Point wildfire grows to 500 acres, but village safe from danger
The Alaska Division of Forestry said the wildfire that is burning land near the village of Pilot Point in Southwest Alaska has grown to about 500 acres, but the village is safe from any immediate danger.
Pilot Station, Alaska, United States

Dozens of bear paws, their claws removed, dumped roadside next to Shuswap Lake
Brandi Hansen, a longtime hunter and outdoorswoman, found the paws across the lake from Salmon Arm between Scotch Creek and Anglemont, they were dumped by a culvert, although some had been dragged to the road and scattered, likely by other animals. Hansen suspects poachers are to blame.
Sicamous, British Columbia, Canada
Vancouver Sun

Probably the world's northernmost observed narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth
Tine Aastrøm Lorentzen was on a trip in Rana and noticed what she thought was a bumblebee, but it was suspiciously silent. "It looked like a crossover of a bumblebee and a butterfly. I studied it more closely and found that I had to film this, because I had never seen anything like this before," she tells NRK. The latin name of that insect is *Hemaris tityus.*
Sjona, Rana, Nordland, Norway
NRK

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