At least 92 people have died in India's Bihar as the state remains in the midst of a punishing heatwave that's affecting much of the country, bringing with it droughts and hundreds of cases of heatstroke.
The country is experiencing its lowest rainfall before monsoon season in over six decades and is in its third week of a heatwave, set to become one of the longest on record.
The majority of the recorded deaths in Bihar since June 15 have occurred in Aurangabad, Gaya, and Nawada, where temperatures have been around 45 degrees Celsius. At least 562 patients have been admitted to government hospitals with heatstroke, and officials fear the death toll will continue to rise.
Indeed, the true toll may never be fully known as some heat-related deaths could not be officially confirmed "as the families took the deceased's body before post-mortem," an official of the state emergency operation center told the Hindustan Times.
NASA comes out with a shocking announcement that starting in 2020 we will experience the lowest solar activity in 200 years, and global temperatures will drop. With this jet stream will shift creating new precipitation patterns and volcanic eruptions will cause even more of a feed back loop intensifying cooling and global crop losses.
David DuByne of Adapt 2030 recently had a two part discussion with Laura Knight-Jadczyk and Pierre Lescaudron, editors at SOTT.net and authors of Earth Changes and the Human Cosmic Connection: The Secret History of the World.
The news cycle is largely distraction from increasing food prices and societal changes as Earth shifts to a cooler climate. As the Eddy Grand Solar Minimum intensifies, a 400-year cycle in our Sun is affecting crop production, the economy and everyone on our planet. This is a timeline for what you can expect from now to 2030 as the frequency from our Sun changes.
Farmers irrigating with water from a tank to alleviate the effects of the drought that affects the island this year, and because the irrigation water from Canal Gestión is not guaranteed to all areas of the island.
The most affected crops are onions, potatoes and grapes
The exceptional drought that is ravaging the Canary Islands has taken a toll on most agricultural crops in the region, ruining onion, potato and grape productions. The optimum amount of rainfall to ensure a good harvest is 400 to 450 liters, but this year, barely 150 liters fell in the months of October and November, and it has hardly rained since then. To this we must add the fact that the irrigation water of Canal Gestión doesn't reach all areas of the island.
This lack of rain has caused this year's onion harvestto be non-existent for the first time in history; a dramatic situation, taking into account that in the late 80's, Lanzarote's production reached up to 25 million kilos.
With the worst planting figures ever recorded in the USA and China struggling to get planted I wanted to use historical charts and figures from the USDA to forecast to Dec 2019 prices so that you can see where we are heading with food prices. It doesn't look pretty unless you are corn call long. THIS IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE ONLY A GLIMPSE THROUGH HISTORY TO THINK ABOUT WHERE GLOBAL PRICES ARE MOVING.
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:
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.
North Korea's worst drought in decades is being driven by the lowest rainfall in a century, according to the country's official state newspaper.
The South Korean Yonhap news agency reported that on Friday, North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper—the official publication of Kim Jong Un's ruling party—blamed the ongoing drought on lower than expected levels of precipitation, which the United Nations said has put millions in urgent need of food aid.
The Rodong Sinmun said North Korea received just 56.3 millimeters (2.21 inches) of rain or snow from January to May 15, the lowest amount since 1917.
"We expect rain to fall twice by the end of May due to low pressure in the northern area, but we don't think it will rain enough to overcome drought," a weather expert told the newspaper. "Such weather conditions will likely continue into early June."
The newspaper noted that water was running out in the country's lakes and reservoirs, and explained the lack of rainfall "is causing a significant effect on the cultivation of wheat, barley, corn, potatoes and beans," according to Al Jazeera.
Namibia is facing a "natural disaster" because of poor rains, President Hage Geingob says.
He has declared a state of emergency - the second in three years - over the situation, mobilising all government agencies to respond to the drought.
The lack of rain has already left 500,000 people - one in five Namibians - without access to enough food, the government says.
The sparsely-populated country has seen a succession of droughts since 2013.
The government had set aside $40m (£30m) to buy food and water tanks, and to transport livestock to and from grazing areas.
Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has appealed for international help.
"We... call on all Namibians and development partners to assist in any way possible, so that we provide to our people who are affected, as well as the livestock," she said in the national assembly.
At least 60,000 domestic animals have died in the past six months.
Crop and cattle losses are on the rise everywhere, whether it is due to extensive drought, massive hail, epic flooding, huge dust storms, unexpected frosts, and even epidemics. See also:
Comment: Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Hottest temperatures on the planet but forget the record snow & cold please