Extreme rain swamped rivers and farmland across southern B.C. and triggered mudslides that blocked every major highway connecting the Lower Mainland to the rest of the country in November 2021. This is a timeline of the first week of the crisis.
Evidence of severe drought is all around us. As of Thursday morning, Clear Lake sat at -1.62 feet Rumsey. Many boat ramps have closed. Water availability has become a matter of significant state…
Community Water System at Risk: Extreme precipitation throughout the summer and sustained high water has resulted in erosion of the location for the water transmission line and Noatak's two water wells.
These prolonged above-normal temperatures required the City of Cranbrook to increase water restrictions to levels not generally experienced by the community. Additionally, during this time (personal experience), the water was discoloured and had an odor, forcing bottled water to ensure safe drinking.
River erosion in Noatak is posing a threat to wells and transmission lines along the bank as the river ebbs closer.
In early April I observed what appears to be widespread disease of Arbutus trees (Arbutus menziesii) on the island. Leaf blight is a known factor affecting Arbutus trees; but I wonder if other factors such as climate change may also be contributing to what is perceived as a general decline of the species.
More rain and a blanket of snow in recent months has helped Sweden's groundwater levels recover significantly after dropping in several parts of the country.
The cold and dry weather continues without relief. At Nordnes in Saltdal, less precipitation has never been recorded. Now more and more people are experiencing both pipes and sewage freezing.
Experts fear the future could be like the record year 2020: Shorter and warmer winters, wetter summers.
Underground, a mighty giant is disintegrating: the permafrost is about to drop its roof. Constantly creeping upwards, the permafrost zone is now 100 meters further up the mountainside than 20 years ago.
The Hemlock Looper Moth outbreak is said to last between 3-4 years and now coincides with an outbreak of Phantom Hemlock Looper which saw its last outbreak more than a decade ago.
Residents note significant changes in the Christiansen Lake ecosystem since 2019. This includes fewer nesting birds, fish, and mammals around the lake, while the leech population has increased along with the occurrence of algal blooms.
In Finnmark and parts of Troms, good and favorite berry bogs have cracked and disappeared. The reason is warmer and more humid climate. "Almost impossible to reverse," says a bog researcher.
Due to excessively wet weather, Leduc County has declared a municipal state of agricultural disaster.
One person was evacuated and brought to safety after the landslide at Kråkneset in Alta municipality. A total of eight buildings were swept to the sea in the 650-metre landslide. Due to a high avalanche risk, police have still not entered the area.
About 60 people from the Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w First Nation have been evacuated to Alert Bay after blue-green algae was found in their well water.
Several rainfall records in Nordland have already been struck. Now a warning has been sent out for even more of the same. - We are in the top tier of what we have measured by rainfall over the last 100 years, says meteorologist Bente Wahl.
The number of boil order advisories issued by Swedish municipalities have more than double this year compared to 2018, Swedish Radio reports.
Low water on the Noatak River may be the reason behind changes in the water quality in community wells. The water quality began to change in the plant as measured (eventually) by the need for twice as much chlorine and Naclo polymer in order to get an acceptable residual of chlorine. The change indicates that the well recharge had been depleted and the that wells began operating on stored water in the aquifer. This water would have been older, likely anaerobic and higher in organics and in inorganics such as iron and manganese.
Nils Thomas discovered "sinkhole" in the middle of Finnmarksvidda. Scientists have long warned against this, and now it happened.
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