Summer 2020 news

Siberia swelters

Siberia has been experiencing a relative heatwave for the best part of six months, a direct consequence of climate change according to scientists. Since the start of the year, the region has experienced unusually warm conditions peaking with a record high temperature of 38°C recorded at Verkhoyansk in north-western Russia.

Siberian heatwave (2020) considered almost impossible without climate change

https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/siberian-heatwave-of-2020-almost-impossible-without-climate-change/#:~:text=Northern%20Asia,and%20an%20invasion%20of%20pests.

Scientists, including some from the Met Office and Oxford University, have been involved with a World Weather Attribution study examining causal links between climate change and extreme weather events. They have concluded that the prolonged heatwave in Siberia - that has led to wildfires and an invasion of pests - has been made x600 more likely due to climate change.

Average temperature (January-June 2020) compared to long term average (1981-2010)

https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/siberian-heatwave-of-2020-almost-impossible-without-climate-change/#:~:text=Northern%20Asia,and%20an%20invasion%20of%20pests.

As a consequence of the heatwave, increased areas of permafrost have melted releasing stored greenhouse gases (particularly methane) in the atmosphere in an example of a positive feedback loop in the carbon cycle. Melting permafrost also leads to surface subsidence, believed to have caused the collapse of a fuel tank and subsequent oil spill (see article below).

Further information

https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/siberian-heatwave-of-2020-almost-impossible-without-climate-change/#:~:text=Northern%20Asia,and%20an%20invasion%20of%20pests.

Fuel tank collapse pollutes Arctic river

In June 2020, the collapse of part of a power plant in the remote city of Norilisk resulted in one of the largest oil spills in Arctic history.

Location of the oil spill, Norilisk, Russia

https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/20374/Massive-Russian-Oil-Spill-Dumps-21000-Tons-of-Diesel-Into-Arctic-Circle.aspx

An estimated 20,000 tons of diesel leaked into the nearby Ambarnaya River threatening fragile aquatic ecosystems, killing fish and wildlife. The co-ordinator of Arctic projects for WWF Russia warned of “catastrophic consequences” for the natural environment.

Red diesel pollution in the Ambarnaya River

https://www.zmescience.com/science/fuel-tank-collapses-in-russia-leaking-20000-tons-of-diesel-in-arctic-river/

The cause of the collapse of the huge diesel fuel tank has been linked to the unusually high temperatures experienced in the area since the start of the year. Melting permafrost (permanently frozen ground) is believed to have caused the tank’s support pillars to have sunk into the waterlogged and unstable ground rupturing the tank.

With temperatures rising by about 1°C per decade, scientists believe that the thawing of permafrost is likely to destabilise infrastructure and buildings right across the region.

Further information

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52915807