Situation Report

Emergency workers among damaged vehicles in a open parking area of northern Athens after a flash flood struck the Greek capital. Photograph: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty Images

Exclusive: Prof Michael Mann declares the impacts of global warming are now ‘playing out in real-time’

theguardian.com - by Damian Carrington - July 27, 2018

The extreme heatwaves and wildfires wreaking havoc around the globe are “the face of climate change,” one of the world’s leading climate scientists has declared, with the impacts of global warming now “playing out in real time.”

Climate change has long been predicted to increase extreme weather incidents, and scientists are now confident these predictions are coming true.  Scientists say the global warming has contributed to the scorching temperatures that have baked the UK and northern Europe for weeks.

The hot spell was made more than twice as likely by climate change, a new analysis found, demonstrating an “unambiguous” link.

CLICK HERE - STUDY - The Lancet - Persistence of Ebola virus after the end of widespread transmission in Liberia: an outbreak report

apnews.com - by Maria Cheng - July 23, 2018

A Liberian woman who probably caught Ebola in 2014 may have infected three relatives a year after she first fell sick, doctors reported in a study published Monday.

There have been previous instances of men spreading Ebola to women via sexual transmission — the virus can survive in semen for more than a year — but the new case is the first time scientists have suggested that Ebola was spread from a woman after such a prolonged period.

The rare possibility of Ebola spreading long after infection highlights the importance of monitoring survivors, especially with the imminent end of the most recent flare-up of the disease in Congo.

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Quebec has had a deadly week-long heat wave - AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A heat wave in the southern part of the Canadian province of Quebec has been linked to 54 deaths, officials say.

bbc.com - July 6, 2018

The sweltering weather began last Friday with temperatures hitting 35C (95F), high humidity and, on the last day, a smog advisory.

The death toll climbed every day this week, with most of the victims between the ages of 50 to 85.

This summer's heat wave was among worst the province has seen in decades, officials say.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - Canada heatwave: more than 30 deaths reported as extreme weather continues

Debris and plastic litter found by Tangaroa Blue, an Australian Marine debris initiative, on Christmas Island, Australia in this undated handout. Tangaroa Blue/Handout via REUTERS

reuters.com - Alison Bevege - June 30, 2018

Australia’s biggest supermarket chains are scrambling to combat “bag rage” as frustrated shoppers vent their anger over the removal of single-use plastic bags . . .

. . . The union conducted a survey earlier this week and of 132 (employee) members who responded, 57 said they suffered abuse due to the plastic bag ban . . .

. . . The U.N. wants to eliminate single-use plastic by 2022 and says more than 60 countries have so far taken steps to ban or reduce plastic consumption.

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