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Australia to import wheat for first time in over a decade after the "Worst drought in 116 years"

Cap Allon
Electroverse.net
Mon, 20 May 2019 12:42 UTC
drought
Solar Minimum of Cycle 13 (116 years ago) was the last time Australian wheatbelts had it this tough, as a severe drought shaves more that 20% off domestic grain production.

Australia is normally the biggest wheat exporter in the Southern Hemisphere, but the prolonged drought has fried its grain crop in recent years. In 2018, output tumbled 20% to just over 17 million tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

On May 9, 2019 the Australian government had no choice but to import 60,000 tons of wheat from Canada.

The cargo is expected to arrive in the next 6 to 8 weeks and will be processed at Manildra Group's Shoalhaven Starches plant in NSW.

Comment: From across the world some recent articles exploring similar themes of how increasingly extreme weather events are impacting crop production:

Persistent cold weather slows planting in France

Floods, hail and bad weather affect fruits and vegetables in Italy

Devastating drought in the state of Yucatan, Mexico - much of the harvest lost

North Korea drought: Lowest rainfall in 100 years leaves millions at risk of starvation

Total catastrophe for U.S. corn production: Only 30% of U.S. corn fields have been planted - 5 year average is 66%

      Read More...
Cloud Grey

Persistent cold weather slows planting in France

Cap Allon
Electroverse.net
Fri, 17 May 2019 12:31 UTC
plants
Corn sowing in France slowed again this week, losing its lead to last year, after persistent cold weather continues to hamper the central European nation's planting efforts.

France was battered by a brutal cold front during the second half of April and first half of May — the key planting window — with the mercury hitting all-time lows and effectively slamming the brakes on sowing efforts.

France is the third largest corn exporter in the world, meaning a delayed or poor harvest will have a pronounced impact on global markets.

Severe frosts have been widespread these last four-or-so-weeks, from the lowlands to Brittany to South Ouest, with farmers regularly lighting frost-fires in an attempt to protect fragile crops.

      Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

At least 14 dead after flash floods in Bamako, Mali


Floodlist
Mon, 20 May 2019 12:15 UTC
floods
The Red Cross in Mali reported that at least 14 people have died in flash flooding that hit the country's capital, Bamako, on 16 May, 2019.

According to the Red Cross report, the flooding struck after a sudden torrential downpour that lasted several hours. Six communes in the city were affected, in particular Niamakoro where 10 fatalities were reported. Flood water was up to 2.5 metres deep in some locations.

      Read More...
Apple Red

Floods, hail and bad weather affect fruits and vegetables in Italy

Maria Luigia Brusco
Fresh Plaza
Tue, 14 May 2019 18:35 UTC
Heavy rain, flooding in Puglia, Emilia-Romagna

Heavy rain, flooding in Puglia, Emilia-Romagna
After the strong hailstorm recorded on Sunday May 12 in the Italian regions Basilicata and Apulia, new 'water bombs' mixed with hail affected the same areas. The situation is worrying for stone fruit, watermelon and table grapes. It was a very wet awakening, Monday May 13, in the provinces of Forlì-Cesena and Ravenna (Emilia Romagna). The plentiful rains have swollen all the rivers and some have overflowed. The most difficult situation is in the territory of Cesena with flooded orchards and closed bridges and roads.

"The damages on peaches, apricots, nectarines and some goji plants are enormous, with damaged fields and fruits that will rot in a few days. We had just finished with the thinning of the apricots and waited for them to be completely ripe to proceed with the harvest", says Anna Camarda, a farmer from Basilicata who has her crops in Metaponto. "The varieties of apricots affected are Vitillo and Thirintos (early apricot), while for peaches it is Sagittaria. The citrus orchards in bloom are also affected."
      Read More...
Cloud Lightning

The Guardian Officially Goes Full Climate Alarmist Language


Wuwt.com
Sun, 19 May 2019 15:01 UTC
Climate change terms
The Guardian's editor has just issued this new guidance to all staff on language to use when writing about climate change and the environment...and it is full-on alarmism. No holding back punches now, because it's a crisis, so let's start writing like one! Josh helps us understand the real message.

Guardian new language on climate change
      Read More...
Sun

Devastating drought in the state of Yucatan, Mexico - much of the harvest lost


Fresh Plaza
Fri, 17 May 2019 18:29 UTC
Producers have already taken action before the possible threat

Producers have already taken action before the possible threat
Much of the harvest has been lost due to the lack of water

The drought in the Mexican state of Yucatan has put the agrarian sector up against the ropes. More than three thousand producers have been unable to save their crops due to the lack of irrigation infrastructure.

The situation has been made worse by the lack of official support from the State Secretariat of Rural Development, which, to date, has not provided producers with any economic subsidies or material means, such as inputs, fertilizers, seeds, chemicals, or electrical resources to be able to implement irrigation systems in the fields.
      Read More...
Attention

Virus has killed 2,290 seals since July 2018 in U.S. Northeast

Bill Trotter
Maine Public
Sun, 19 May 2019 17:34 UTC
SEAL
© MARINE MAMMALS OF MAINE
As harbor seal pupping season picks up along the Maine coast, researchers continue to keep an eye out for signs of an ongoing outbreak of phocine distemper virus that has been killing seals.

So far this year, seal watchers in the Northeast have noticed an elevated number of grey seals stranded on beaches — which, for baby seals that have not been weaned, could be a sign that their mothers are sick — but they have not noticed the virus yet in seal pups.

Since July 2018, 2,290 grey and harbor seals have been reported sick or dead along the East Coast between Maine and Virginia, according to federal statistics that were updated last week. That is at least three times the number of any previous outbreak affecting seals that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has documented since 1991.

Of those strandings, 1,179 — more than half — have been reported in Maine. Massachusetts, the state with the second-highest total, has had 627.
      Read More...
Seismograph

Magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits east of New Caledonia, says USGS


Malay Mail
Sun, 19 May 2019 11:03 UTC
graph
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 was recorded in the South Pacific east of New Caledonia, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said today, but there were no immediate reports of damage or tsunami warnings.

The quake was recorded 179 km (111 miles) east of Tadine in the Loyalty Islands at a depth of 14 km (9 miles), the USGS said.

Source: Reuters
      Read More...
Cow

Signs and Portents: One-eyed calf with no nose born in India


Sputnik
Sat, 18 May 2019 21:42 UTC
The animal has been hailed as a miracle from God
© News Fiesta /SWNS.COM
The animal has been hailed as a miracle from God
The calf's owner says that people from neighbouring villages have been arriving at his place to worship the one-eyed creature. However, vets say that calves born with such an abnormality may only survive for a couple of weeks.

A one-eyed calf with no nose was born earlier this month in the Ranaghat area of West Bengal, India.

The Daily Star quotes a villager who said that everything was fine with the calf except its 'bizarre' head.

      Read More...
Snowflake

Ski season ain't over: Lake Tahoe resorts report up to 18 inches of new snow in 2 days


Tahoe Daily Tribune
Fri, 17 May 2019 19:21 UTC
Fresh snow falls at Heavenly Mountain Resort early Thursday morning.
© Heavenly Mountain Resort
Fresh snow falls at Heavenly Mountain Resort early Thursday morning.
The calendar says mid-May but for skiers and riders at Lake Tahoe the season just does not want to end.

A blast of winter weather delivered a fresh coat of Sierra powder to the few resorts that are still operating for the season.

Heavenly Mountain Resort, which will continue Friday-through-Sunday operations until Memorial Day, reported 8 inches of new snow in 48 hours Friday morning.

      Read More...
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