Extreme weather

[Alan Klein]

A new study of the common coronaviruses (prior to Covid-19) - HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-229E - was published last week by scientists at University College London. By analysing samples from multiple years they found high rates of coronavirus infections in winter, while in summer they were very low. Other studies have also shown coronaviruses are seasonal in behaviour in temperate climates. However, they also found that the virus affected also the human immune system. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/05/scientists-ask-could-summer-heat-help-beat-covid-19

So how much is Covid-19 affected by season?  There are cases in the Southern as well as the Northern Hemisphere where season are opposite one another.
https://www.google.com/covid19-map/

[LesPalenik]

Polluted air causes more Covid-19 deaths. Harvard study, which is still in the peer review process, shows a clear link between pollution and deaths from Covid-19.
The study hypothesises that “because long-term exposure to PM2.5 (atmospheric particulate matter that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers) adversely affects the respiratory and cardiovascular system, it can also exacerbate the severity of the COVID-19.

Long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to significantly higher rates of death from Covid-19 according to a new study.

Researchers from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health looked at 3,080 counties in the US and found a 15 per cent increase in the death rate from Covid-19 from an extra 1 microgram per cubic metre of fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5.

It suggests that 248 deaths from the disease in Manhattan in the period until April 4 could have been avoided by a decrease in pollution.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/08/air-pollution-linked-higher-rates-death-covid-19/

[Alan Klein]

Polluted air causes more Covid-19 deaths. Harvard study, which is still in the peer review process, shows a clear link between pollution and deaths from Covid-19.
The study hypothesises that “because long-term exposure to PM2.5 (atmospheric particulate matter that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers) adversely affects the respiratory and cardiovascular system, it can also exacerbate the severity of the COVID-19.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/08/air-pollution-linked-higher-rates-death-covid-19/

So does smoking pot or cigarettes.  Emphysema, COPD etc are bad things to have if you get this disease. It's why they need ventilators to help people breathe.  But even with them, people die from asphyxiation, I guess.

[chez]

Polluted air causes more Covid-19 deaths. Harvard study, which is still in the peer review process, shows a clear link between pollution and deaths from Covid-19.
The study hypothesises that “because long-term exposure to PM2.5 (atmospheric particulate matter that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers) adversely affects the respiratory and cardiovascular system, it can also exacerbate the severity of the COVID-19.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/08/air-pollution-linked-higher-rates-death-covid-19/

Yes here in BC they are very concerned with the upcoming wild fire season which blankets the people with thick smoke.

[Craig Lamson]

So does smoking pot or cigarettes.  Emphysema, COPD etc are bad things to have if you get this disease. It's why they need ventilators to help people breathe.  But even with them, people die from asphyxiation, I guess.

Ive been reading that it seems the red blood cells are shedding iron and that diminishes the ability of the blood to move oxygen.  One Dr reported that patients appear more like victims of high altitude sickness, with very low blood ox levels, some as low as 70%, but that the lungs were still dealing with the CO2.  I'm doing this from memory so I most likey screwed something up, but I think thats the gist of it. 

[LesPalenik]

New study by Dutch scientists warns that as the climate continues to warm over the next half-century, up to one-third of the world’s population is likely to live in areas that are considered unsuitably hot for humans. In other words, there will be massive migrations from the hot areas to cooler regions. 


Parched earth in South Africa - credit: Mike Hutchings/ REUTERS

“And it turns out that if climate change remains on the current track, then a lot more will change in the coming 50 years than have changed in the past 6,000.”

“It’s a kind of no-go area to talk about climate migration,” Dr. Scheffer said. But the possibility that hundreds of millions of people may be forced to move to cooler areas means that society “needs to think about how we can accommodate as much as we can.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/climate/heat-temperatures-climate-change.html

[Jim Pascoe]

Did you ever get drunk, black out and have a great time you didn't remember? 

Actually no....... Have I missed out? 

Jim

[Alan Klein]

New study by Dutch scientists warns that as the climate continues to warm over the next half-century, up to one-third of the world’s population is likely to live in areas that are considered unsuitably hot for humans. In other words, there will be massive migrations from the hot areas to cooler regions. 


Parched earth in South Africa - credit: Mike Hutchings/ REUTERS

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/climate/heat-temperatures-climate-change.html

Les, you're going to have a lot of new neighbors.

[Alan Klein]

Actually no....... Have I missed out? 

Jim

I don't recall.

[Alan Klein]

This fantastical sea creature helps remove planet-warming gases from the atmosphere
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-07/deep-sea-mucus-larvacean

[Ray]

This fantastical sea creature helps remove planet-warming gases from the atmosphere
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-07/deep-sea-mucus-larvacean

Thanks for the link, Alan. I guess this is one of the many ways in which our planet continually makes natural adjustments to create a new balance in response to any change, of climate or other factors. For example, Coral Reefs might die off in one area, but new corals spring up in other parts of the oceans. What a surprise!

[Ray]

I've just come across a revealing chart which shows that the rise in atmospheric CO2 levels has not fallen or slowed down during the past few months as a result of the significant reduction in economic activity.

This implies that the rise in CO2 levels might be mostly due to natural factors rather than human induced emissions from fossil fuels.

[LesPalenik]

I've just come across a revealing chart which shows that the rise in atmospheric CO2 levels has not fallen or slowed down during the past few months as a result of the significant reduction in economic activity.

This implies that the rise in CO2 levels might be mostly due to natural factors rather than human induced emissions from fossil fuels.

That's not what I've been reading.

Levels of air pollutants and warming gases over some cities and regions are showing significant drops as coronavirus impacts work and travel.

Researchers in New York told the BBC their early results showed carbon monoxide mainly from cars had been reduced by nearly 50% compared with last year.
Emissions of the planet-heating gas CO2 have also fallen sharply.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51944780

[faberryman]

I've just come across a revealing chart which shows that the rise in atmospheric CO2 levels has not fallen or slowed down during the past few months as a result of the significant reduction in economic activity.

This implies that the rise in CO2 levels might be mostly due to natural factors rather than human induced emissions from fossil fuels.

For balance, I would like to look at data and analysis from someone other than a noted climate change skeptic like Dr. Roy Spencer before drawing a conclusion.

[Manoli]

I've just come across a revealing chart which shows that the rise in atmospheric CO2 levels has not fallen or slowed down during the past few months as a result of the significant reduction in economic activity.

That may or may not be true but the same can’t be said for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2).

[Ray]

That's not what I've been reading.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51944780

Then you've been reading biased publications, Les.   Do you trust NOAA?

Here's their report on the Moana Loa observations.

"Atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa Observatory reached a seasonal peak of 417.1 parts per million for 2020 in May, the highest monthly reading ever recorded, scientists from NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego announced today."

https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2636/Rise-of-carbon-dioxide-unabated

[Ray]

For balance, I would like to look at data and analysis from someone other than a noted climate change skeptic like Dr. Roy Spencer before drawing a conclusion.

Fair enough! Check out the following report from NOAA.

https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2636/Rise-of-carbon-dioxide-unabated

[Ray]

I get a sense from some of the replies, that the confusion still continues about the difference between polluting gases and non-polluting gases.

Densely populated areas tend to have much more pollution than remote areas, mainly due to the huge number of polluting vehicles. As a result of the economic slow down resulting from Covid-19 measures, the air in cities has become noticeably cleaner, especially in highly polluted countries such as India where in some places people for the first time can get a clear view of the near-by Himalayan mountains.

However, CO2 is a perfectly clear and odourless gas; not a pollutant at current levels.

[Manoli]

I get a sense from some of the replies, that the confusion still continues about the difference between polluting gases and non-polluting gases.

Ray - If you’re referring to my post, I made the distinction abundantly clear in my single sentence post.

[Alan Klein]

I've just come across a revealing chart which shows that the rise in atmospheric CO2 levels has not fallen or slowed down during the past few months as a result of the significant reduction in economic activity.

This implies that the rise in CO2 levels might be mostly due to natural factors rather than human induced emissions from fossil fuels.

That's Bart's favorite chart.     Of course, NOAA claims you'd need at least 6 months of lowered CO2 production to see a difference in this measurement.  Very convenient.