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NEWS HEADLINE JULY-AUGUST 2023






How massive groundwater extraction is changing the Earth's axis of rotation.

July 3rd, 2023 BBC World

Synopsis: The Earth's axis of rotation tilted nearly 80 centimeters eastward between 1993 and 2010 thanks to the displacement of large amounts of water from groundwater extraction, which evaporates or runs off into rivers, ending up in the oceans and raising sea levels, according to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, the journal of the American Geophysical Union.

Another 2021 study focused on the impact on the Earth's tilt axis of water loss in the polar regions.


U.S. Geological Survey scientists collected tap water samples from 716 locations, representing a three-tiered range of human-impacted areas.

July 06, 2023 BBC World

Synopsis: The drinking water of at least 45% of U.S. taps contains one or more types of chemical compounds known as perfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS), according to a U.S. Geological Survey study published in the journal Environment International, which found 32 different PFAS compounds:

From the USGS they warn that high concentrations of certain PFASs can generate risks to human health, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In this sense, they point out that their persistence in the environment and their prevalence throughout the North American country make them a "unique concern" about water quality.


The EU states that glyphosate is safe for agriculture and generates controversy among environmentalists.

July 7, 2023 RT

Synopsis: The European Food Safety Authority has affirmed that the use of the herbicide glyphosate is safe for agriculture.

However, it admits that there are a number of issues that could not be concluded, including the assessment of one of glyphosate's impurities, the assessment of the food risk to consumers and the assessment of risks to aquatic plants, detailing that the risks associated with representative uses of that herbicide "are complex and depend on multiple factors."

Depponents of the herbicide point out that many scientists have warned that the substance is genotoxic and probably causes cancer.


U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Sued for Approving Two Toxic Herbicides

July 7, 2023 RT

Synopsis: Three activist groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for lifting a ban on two toxic compounds known to be part of Agent Orange, a chemical weapon used by the U.S. military decades ago to destroy wild vegetation during the Vietnam War.

They contend the agency miscalculated the risks of those agrochemicals on human health, endangered species of butterflies, birds, fish and some mammals, non-GMO crops and vegetation in adjacent fields.


For the third time in a week, the Earth recorded a temperature record: it is the most extreme heat wave in 120,000 years

July 8, 2023 Diario El Universal

Synopsis: The Earth's average temperature set a new unofficial record Thursday, the third in a week that has already been called the hottest on record.

Thursday's global average surpassed the mark of 17.18 degrees Celsius set Tuesday and matched Wednesday, according to data from the University of Maine Climate Reanalyzer.

No day until now, had ever exceeded the 17 degrees Celsius (62.6 Fahrenheit) mark in the tool's 44 years of records.

Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, called the mark "an exceptional outlier" that is nearly 6 degrees warmer than the average of the past 120,000 years.

"It's certainly plausible that the past two days and the past week have been the warmest days globally in 120,000 years," said Michael Mann, a climatologist at the University of Pennsylvania..


"Unprecedented": scientists' alarm at global temperature records recorded in recent weeks

July 10, 2023 BBC World

Synopsis: The first week of July became the hottest in global history, reported Monday the experts of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the UN, who, at a press conference, reported that there is alarm among the scientific community by the record temperatures that are recorded on the planet.

Although the effects of climate change have been predicted for decades, what is happening in 2023 is "unprecedented" and in some parts of the world, such as the North Atlantic, the increase in temperatures goes beyond what "the models had predicted," said Michael Sparrow, director of research at the WMO.


Cerberus heat wave in Europe forces closure of the Acropolis of Athens

July 14, 2023 BBC Mundo

Synopsis: The Acropolis of Athens was closed during the hottest hours of the day to protect visitors from an intense heat wave sweeping Greece. Athens is recording temperatures of more than 40°C.

In recent days, the Greek Red Cross has been deployed to provide water bottles and help people feeling nauseous and dizzy from the heat.




Record: China recorded 52.2 °C temperature

JULY 17, 2023 RT

Synopsis: China recorded a temperature of more than 50 ºC in the northwest of the country, setting a new heat record, Reuters reports citing local media.

An unprecedented heat wave has hit countries across Asia since April. On July 3, the Earth reached the highest temperature in history since records began, according to data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction. The global average temperature was 17.01°C, surpassing the previous record of 16.92°C, highlighting the dangers of carbon emissions generated by burning fossil fuels.


NASA on the heat wave: "It's no surprise and it's going to continue".

July 21, 2023Diario El Universal

Synopsis: At a press conference the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Gavin Schmidt said: "For the last four decades there has been an increase in temperatures every decade.

"Controlling the situation is in our hands: We think it's going to continue because we continue to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and until we stop doing that temperatures will continue to rise."


25 types of toxic chemicals found in breast milk of women in the U.S.

July 21, 2023, The Guardian.

Synopsis: Particles of a total of 25 types of brominated flame retardants-unregulated toxic chemicals-have been found in the breast milk of dozens of women in the U.S., according to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Pollution. It has also found for the first time bromophenols, a subclass of retardants, which can be harmful neurotoxins, especially to developing children.

"Many of these compounds are linked to impaired memory, impaired motor skills, decreased attention, increased impulsivity and low intelligence levels in children. Some of the chemicals may also be carcinogenic. People are exposed to BFRs when the chemicals are released from plastics, turned into dust and inhaled or ingested."


"The Earth is in uncharted territory": what do climate records mean

July 22, 2023 BBC Mundo

Synopsis: "High temperatures in the northern hemisphere set alarm bells ringing. A sequence of climate records of temperatures, ocean heat and Antarctic ice loss has some scientists alarmed, saying their speed and coincidence in time "are unprecedented."

The average global temperature exceeded 17°C this year for the first time, reaching 17.08°C on July 6. "The world experienced its hottest day on record this July," according to the EU's Copernicus climate monitoring system.

Continued emissions from burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal or gas are behind the warming trend on the planet.


More than 5,000 dead animals found on Uruguayan shores

July 22, 2023 RT

Synopsis: The penguins, being the most numerous, were the only ones subjected to a necropsy, which revealed that they were "very weak", with "empty stomachs and intestines". "They are all very skinny animals, with no food in their stomachs, without a single layer of fat," ... "You can see the overexploitation of the fishery resource and that affects the birds as well.


The heat wave under the sea that worries scientists

July 24, 2023 BBC Mundo

Synopsis: "We're having these huge marine heat waves in different parts of the ocean that evolve unexpectedly very early in the year, very strong and over large areas," notes Karina von Schuckmann, an oceanographer with Mercator Ocean.

Marine regions of the U.S., Canada, the Gulf of Alaska, the Western Mediterranean, around Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Baltic Sea, as well as in areas near New Zealand and Australia, southern Greenland, in the Labrador Sea have suffered the rigors of high sea temperatures.


Worrying NASA modeling shows how much CO2 we emit in a year

July 25, 2023 RT

Synopsis: In several 3D animations, the contribution of four main CO2 contributors are shown: fossil fuels, biomass burning, terrestrial ecosystems and oceans. The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere would be even faster without natural terrestrial and oceanic carbon sinks. Which absorb about half of human emissions each year.

"The effect of industrialized countries on CO2 emissions associated with the burning of fossil fuels is very striking," and "Emissions caused by fires in central Africa, which are used to dispose of crop residues," which come with a high risk of altering the natural capacity to absorb CO2 in the future, warning that "the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached its historical maximum."


WHO warns of diseases that can be caused by extreme heat and fires

July 26, 2023 Diario El Universal

Synopsis: The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said extreme temperatures and fires pose a serious health risk and can trigger all kinds of diseases.

"Stress from extreme heat and the fact that the body cannot cool itself can exacerbate the risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and mental diseases."




Unprecedented heat wave: Alarm bells go off for wildfires on four continents.

July 26, 2023 RT

Synopsis: Thanks to the global rise in temperature "A wave of devastating forest fires has ravaged countries in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia", such as in Spain, Italy, Greece, Canada, the United States, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, etc.


Study: Key Atlantic Ocean Circulation Heads Toward Imminent Collapse

July 26, 2023 RT

Synopsis: A new and controversial research predicts that "the definitive shutdown of this crucial system that regulates the planet's climate could occur in a few decades or even in 2025". If this system is irreversibly affected and its "consequences would be catastrophic," "critical thresholds in the Earth's climate system would be crossed, ushering in very severe changes"... "greatly transforming the Earth's climate by accumulating an enormous amount of heat south of the equator" and could trigger extreme cooling in parts of the northern hemisphere. Rainfall patterns around the world would be disrupted and major flooding and storms would increase, leading to higher sea level rise in the North Atlantic basin, among other global effects."


Italy to declare state of emergency in regions affected by fires and storms

July 26, 2023 Diario El Universal

Synopsis: These are Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Friuli Venezia Giulia, affected by extreme events, including storms, cyclones and hailstorms, and in Palermo and Sicily by major forest fires.


UN warning: We are entering the era of "global boiling".

July 27, 2023 HispanTV

Synopsis: "The era of global warming is over, now it is time for the era of global boiling. The air is unbreathable, the heat is unbearable, and the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.


The North Atlantic Ocean breaks temperature records.

July 28, 2023 AFP

Synopsis: The temperature of 24.9°C is "more than one degree warmer" than normal, based on an average calculated between 1982 and 2011, said Xungang Yin, a scientist with the National Centers for Environmental Information (NOAA).


The melting of a glacier in Switzerland reveals a mountaineer missing since 1986.

July 28, 2023 BBC Mundo

Synopsis: Alpine glaciers have "shown a marked retreat in recent years" as "they are particularly sensitive to global warming." Which has caused mountaineers and objects that have been missing for decades to emerge, "even going so far as to move the border between Switzerland and Italy." The decrease in the size of glaciers causes the decrease "in the contribution of winter snow that feeds European rivers, such as the Rhine, causing in the last two years that "their levels were sometimes too low for the navigation of cargo barges carrying supplies from the Netherlands, through Germany, to Switzerland" that is reduced "water to crops or to cool nuclear power plants."


Record sea ice loss in Antarctica equivalent to the size of Argentina recorded

July 31, 2023 Diario El Universal

Synopsis: The extent of Antarctic sea ice has fallen this month to levels "unprecedented" since records began 45 years ago, reports the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

According to the index the taps established between 1981 and 2010, with which the extension of this ice surface is compared, in July of this year were recorded 2.6 million square kilometers less, an area as large as Argentina. The figure is 1.6 million square kilometers below the previous record low of July 2022.

"Antarctica may seem remote, but changes there can affect global climate and melting ice sheets affect coastal communities around the globe," warned Ariaan Purich, a climate scientist at Monash University, Australia.


Extreme drought alert for Lake Titicaca in Bolivia: situation could reach critical levels

July 31, 2023 La República

Synopsis: Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world - located between the borders of Peru and Bolivia - is under threat due to the worrisome loss of water at the lake, specialists warn. For this reason, the National Hydrographic Service of the Bolivian Naval Force declared it on alert due to the decrease in water, warning that water levels could be historically low in the following months. In fact, by December there is a probability that the lake will be 64 centimeters below the drought alert water level.


U.S. heat wave to intensify, temperatures to reach 54 degrees Celsius this weekend

July 14, 2023 Diario El Universal

Synopsis: This weekend the dangerous heat wave will intensify and peak in parts of the western United States.

It's also dangerously hot in Texas, Florida and Arizona, where Phoenix is in the midst of a likely record streak of consecutive days at 43.3 degrees Celsius.

In Las Vegas, the city is forecast to reach its all-time high of 47 degrees Celsius, and in California's so-called Death Valley, it could reach unusually high highs of 54° C.