Canada is experiencing extreme weather events, suffering record-breaking heat
Climate change means more dangerous weather events, more often.
The small mountain village of Lytton, Canada, has exceeded its previous temperature record. The temperatures hit 49.6 degrees celsius, for three days straight. This is a new Canadian heat record.
The United States is also being impacted by extreme droughts and heatwaves. With the North West and North Central regions dealing with unprecedented weather events. The extreme temperatures in both Canada and the United States are breaking all of the worst-case climate scenario models.
Heat exceeds worst-case climate models
Johan Rockstrom is the Director at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact and is studying the rapid heating in the Arctic and the decline in sea ice. This is trapping high and low-pressure weather systems over certain areas, in the northern hemisphere.
This (heat dome/ jet stream) theory remains contested but the evidence continues to suggest the world is experiencing dangerous climate change.
“Scientists are finding more extreme and freakish weather events which means the old climate models need to be reconfigured and reconsidered.”
Scott Hamilton
High-pressure circulation in the atmosphere acts like a dome or cap, trapping heat at the surface and favoring the formation of a heatwave
What were once rare heatwaves are becoming more common. Michael Mann is the Director of the Earth System Science Centre at Pennsylvania State University and says climate change is to blame.
“ We should take this event very seriously…there is something else going on with this heatwave.”
Michael Mann
Current attribution studies don't capture some critical processes involved in weather extremes. They are ONE tool but NOT the exclusive tool for diagnosing the impact of climate change on heat extremes. Discussed in my @NYTimes op-ed w/ @ClimateComms: https://t.co/o5LcLWVD0p
Friederike Otto is the Associate Director at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford. He says the unexpected and fierce heatwave in Lytton, is one of many to come.
“If the world does not rapidly eliminate the fossil fuel use and other greenhouse gas emissions like deforestation, global temperatures will continue to rise and deadly heatwaves such as these will become even more common.”
Friederike Otto
UN confirms record temperature in Antarctica
The United Nations has recorded a new record high temperature for the Antarctic continent, confirming a reading of 18.3 degrees Celsius. The World Meteorological Organisation says this is another climate change wake-up call.
“Verification of this maximum temperature record is important because it helps us to build up a picture of the weather and climate in one of Earth’s final frontiers,”
“The Antarctic Peninsula is among the fastest-warming regions of the planet—almost 3C over the last 50 years.
“This new temperature record is therefore consistent with the climate change we are observing.”
The World Meteorological Organisation secretary-general Petteri Taalas
The ranking is based on four indicators: per capita emissions from fossil fuel combustion, per capita CO2 emissions embodied in imports, per capita CO2 emissions embodied in exports, and carbon pricing score.
“On UN Sustainable Development Goal number 13, Climate Action, Australia ranks dead last out of 166 countries.”
Scott Hamilton
Australia ranked dead last in world for climate action in latest UN reporthttps://t.co/GQa9MhwZ0T Is it possible that Australia is the worst on Climate Change action across the entire planet? Out of all the 193 countries?
A recently leaked draft report written by some of the world’s top climate scientists has blamed disinformation and lobbying campaigns, for undermining Government efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes those done by Exxon Mobile.
Last week, Exxon lobbyist Keith McCoy told Greenpeace UK activists, that the big oil company would “aggressively fight against some of the science,” including by using third-party “shadow groups.”
THE DAWN OF DOOM?
A gas pipeline leak in the Gulf of Mexico saw fire erupting to the water’s surface. Mexico’s state-owned oil company’s gas pipeline ruptured, sending huge flames boiling to the surface in the Gulf waters. Authorities dispatched fire control boats to pump more water over the flames. Pemex, as the company is known, says nobody was injured in the incident.
The company says it brought the gas leak under control about five hours later. However, the accident lit up the ocean with balls of flame boiling up from below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.
“This is not caused by climate change, it is what is causing climate change”
Holly is an anchor and reporter at Ticker. She's experienced in live reporting, and has previously covered the Covid-19 pandemic on-location. She's passionate about telling stories in business, climate and health.
We’ve been waiting years to go on holiday, but wow it’s expensive to fly. Here are the five reasons it’s so expensive to travel right now
Remember the good old days of competition in the travel industry? Those were the days. Now every time you look to book a flight, the prices are soaring. Even if you want to use your points.
The airline industry is complex, so a total shut down of the industry was always going to have long term effects. The long hangover from the shutdowns and lockdowns are with us.
So let’s break down the five key reasons your flight is so expensive.
“Revenge travel”
It’s not just you who wants to go overseas and change up the scenery. Everyone else is thinking the same thing.
And as the northern hemisphere enjoys its first lockdown free summer in years, everyone is clamouring to use all that saved up cash, topped up with government assistance, to spend on flights.
The simple supply versus demand philosophy means it’s become an airline’s dream to push up prices while often pushing down the value of the ticket. How bad are those airline meals at the moment?
Big planes are grounded
Remember the good old 747 and A380s? Well you’re doing well to find a 747 in the skies these days. The last remaining airlines that were operating them used the cover of COVID to either reduce their fleet of the ageing Queen of the Skies, or retire them altogether.
Then there’s the A380, which is integral to huge airline flees like Emirates.
They were first to go into storage in the desert in 2020 as the pandemic hit. Airlines noticed its often cheaper to fly two 787s on the same route as an A380. So they are begrudgingly bringing the super jumbo back, but only once all their 787s are back in service first.
Don’t you just long for the days of extra space on a plane?
Rocketing fuel prices
In some cases, spot prices for aviation fuel has soared to 80 per cent! Airlines usually rely on hedging fuel prices (as in locking the price in in advance). But not many carriers in Asia do that, meaning they are at risk of fluctuating oil prices.
Airlines have a simple strategy for dealing with rising fuel prices – passing the cost on to consumers. Some passengers flying out of Asia are finding that a flight to London in economy is now $5000, five times the price.
The war in Ukraine hasn’t helped matters either, with Russian oil now missing from the global supply chain. That’s pushing up the cost of resources everywhere, and there’s no sign that’s about to end.
Lack of staff
Airline staff get COVID too, and in some (hilarious) cases, front line staff are returning to stop working from home!
Airlines have rules in place regarding how many flight attendants and pilots need to be on board an aircraft. And with so many different types of planes in service, some flight attendants can only work on certain aircraft types.
That severely limits the capability of airlines to quickly man aircraft in an emergency. And one cancellation snowballs into a travel nightmare.
Airports are struggling too. Lack of maintenance at baggage carousels and airport equipment means some airports are relying on just one vehicle to help every plane back out of a gate.
Remember when the pandemic hit and airlines sacked thousands of workers? The airlines didn’t think they would need them all back so quickly, and highly skilled pilots went on to find other, perhaps more stable jobs.
Accountants taking over
Airlines are big businesses with gigantic overheads. Think of the cost of a plane, which often reaches over $300 million.
Then add the cost of airports, fuel and staff.
Qantas had a debt bomb of $6.5 billion at the height of the pandemic, and while governments have been throwing money at airlines to stay in business, they still are a business.
Airlines need to make a profit, they need to return value to shareholders, and they need to pay down debt to stay financial. Not to mention cashflow.
So regardless of the airport queue, or the soggy sandwich you’re eating in business class, think of the balding accountants praying for good news.
And keep your eye out for some bargains. It’s not all doom and gloom. Some airlines are even allowing you to burn your points on upgrades. So why fly economy?
And if you can hang on a few months longer, you might enjoy cheaper fares. But no promises.
Netflix and Disney shares fall as the streaming companies fight to stay on top of their game
Investors to evaluate Walt Disney’s shift from cable television to subscription service as the company’s shares fall by 31 percent.
This comes after Netflix announced its first ever decrease in subscribers last month. The company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers in its first quarter while predicting more losses ahead.
Netflix’s decision to suspend its services in Russia also led to a loss of 700,000 subscribers. It’s shares have also fallen by a staggering 71 percent this year, a bigger loss than its competitor Disney.
While Netflix struggles with its subscriber count, FactSet Estimates predicts Disney+ to have attracted 5.3 million new subscribers through march leading to a total of about 135.1 million subscribers.
Disney also predicts it will have amassed more than 230 million subscribers by September 2024.
Netflix is reportedly considering adding an advertisement-based subscription option by the end of the year as the company looks at how to stay competitive in the increasingly saturated streaming market.
In a previous statement, Netflix’s chief executive said they were looking to introduce advertisements in a year or two but a leaked internal note to the employees has revealed the company is introducing it as early as October 2022.
The note also says Netflix will begin cracking down on password sharing by monetizing it.
All of this has resulted in Netflix being sued by shareholders who argue they have been mislead about the state of the company and future prospects.