🇵🇰 Deadly Floods in Pakistan Linked to Climate Change

🔥 Canadian Wildfire Season Second-Worst on Record

As of last week, there were over 700 active fires in Canada. A total of 18.5 million acres of forested land have been burned since the beginning of the year, making this the second-worst year on record. 2023 was the worst year with 31.1 million acres burned by this point in the summer, and 42.5 million acres burned by the end of the year. Thousands of people are currently under evacuation orders with thousands more on high alert as wildfire season continues through September and October. While wildfires are common in Canada, this season has been particularly bad due to persistent hot temperatures and dry weather. The winter snowpack that typically keeps the landscape moist into spring was meager this year.

Talya Minsberg and Amy Graff, The New York Times

🌊 Ocean Carbon Removal Experiment

While most carbon removal efforts to combat climate change involve land-based strategies such as planting trees, restoring soils, and building machines that capture carbon from the air, researchers are experimenting with new ways that the ocean could help remove and store carbon. Oceans sequester 70 times more CO2 than terrestrial sources. Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution plan to release a non-toxic water tracer die into the Gulf of Maine later this summer in an effort to see if the ocean can be engineered to absorb more carbon and help combat climate change. The experiment involves adding alkaline substances to the ocean to boost its natural ability to neutralize acids produced by greenhouse gases. This method could potentially lock away carbon for tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years.

Teresa Tomassoni, Inside Climate News

🇵🇰 Deadly Floods in Pakistan Linked to Climate Change

Pakistan has experienced torrential rains and flash flooding this summer, killing nearly 400 people since August 14 and more than 700 since June, with 25,000 people rescued. Climate change is causing monsoon rainfall to intensify in the region, resulting in more frequent extreme precipitation events. Rising temperatures are contributing by allowing the atmosphere to hold more moisture, leading to heavier downpours during storms. Higher temperatures are also accelerating glacial melt in northern Pakistan, increasing the likelihood of glacial lake outburst floods. In addition to the effects of climate change, other factors such as urbanization, inadequate infrastructure, and poor river management have contributed significantly to the impacts and loss of life.

Sarah Shamim, Al Jazeera