Russian heat wave, wildfires and drought signs of global warming
Russia has been the proving grounds this summer that global warming is in fact a major issue and needs to be recognized by world leaders. A rash of drought, wildfires and a massive heatwave have crippled the huge country all summer. Hundreds have died and millions of acres of wheat and forestlands have been destroyed.
Five hundred blazes were still burning in Russia, but the amount of land on fire fell 15% in the last 24 hours, the government said Monday. The area covered by fires around Moscow also has nearly halved in size over the past two days. More than 50 people have died in the wildfires across Russia, and more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed. The blazes and drought also have cost Russia one-third of its wheat crop, prompting the government to ban wheat exports through the end of the year in a move that has sent world grain prices to new highs.
Russia's heat wave, unprecedented in 130 years of record keeping, has sparked thousands of fires, most of them in western Russia. Heat and acrid smog from the fires also blanketed Moscow for a week this month, doubling the number of recorded deaths in the city.
A new study has determined that the release of greenhouse gases jumped by the biggest amount on record. These gases are root cause of global warming.
Arctic Sea ice melted this summer to the second lowest level since record-keeping began more than 50 years ago
The protective ozone layer in the Arctic that keeps out the sun's most damaging rays, ultraviolet radiation, has thinned about 40% percent this winter, a record drop.
A rapidly warming climate is reshaping Denali, Kenai Fjords and other national parks comprising the crown jewels of Alaska's heritage as America's last frontier.
A United Nations program under debate at the climate change conference in Cancun could help millions who live in the world's forests earn more while slowing the deforestation that accounts for 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions