Earthweek: a diary of the planet
For the week ending Friday, Nov. 3.
Shrinking winter
Wintertime’s first frost is arriving in the United States roughly one month later than it did a century ago. Meteorologist Ken Kunkel said the trend toward later first freezes appears to have set in about 1980, as revealed in records going back to 1895. He said the average first freeze over the past decade is a week later than it was between 1971 and 1980, adding that this spring’s last frost occurred nine days earlier than normal. Kunkel and other scientists say global warming is causing the shrinking winter.
Bonus monarchs
Tens of thousands of migrating monarch butterflies are stuck in northern climes this autumn because of unusually warm weather and strong winds that have grounded them. Biologist Elizabeth Howard, director of the monarch tracking group Journey North, says the colorful insects have been seen from far southern Ontario to near Cape May, N.J. Monarchs typically arrive in their central Mexican winter home about Nov. 1.
Salmon crisis
Not a single wild salmon returned to a key breeding river in the Canadian maritime province of New Brunswick to spawn for the first time on record. “Whatever wild salmon that existed there are now extinct,” said the spokesman for the Atlantic Salmon Federation. The federation said the decline in the once-abundant wild salmon from Atlantic Canada to Maine is partly because of an increase in salmon farming in the region. Other factors include the construction of dams, loss of habitat, pollution, climate change and overfishing.
Greenhouse record
Global concentrations of carbon dioxide accumulating in Earth’s atmosphere increased at a record rate in 2016, prompting a pointed warning of the resulting climate change from the World Meteorological Organization. Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 reached 403.3 parts per million — a level not seen for millions of years, the U.N. agency said. The surge came despite global CO2 emissions remaining relatively flat for past three consecutive years — albeit at record amounts.
Volcanic respite
More than 180,000 evacuees from near Bali’s Mount Agung were told they could go home after weeks of volcanic swarms during which geologists warned of an imminent eruption. Indonesian authorities lowered the alert status after a significant decrease in activity over several days. The volcanic alert since August has resulted in huge losses for the resort area as tourists went elsewhere or canceled their visits.