<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/19/summer-of-truth-will-political-leaders-act-as-climate-chaos-comes-knocking>
"It was, according to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen,
the “summer of truth”. Climate chaos ripped through Europe and the northern
hemisphere, sending heat records tumbling, scorching crops in the fields,
burning forests, emptying rivers and reservoirs, warping train tracks, melting
roads and killing about 35,000 people in Europe alone.
The EU has estimated the damage at about €180bn, and the full bill is yet to
arrive: harvests have been depleted, which will probably raise food price
inflation, and expensive repairs to infrastructure have only just begun.
“All of this is a mere preview,” said von der Leyen in her state of the EU
address on Wednesday. “These were the hottest summer months ever – but probably
the coolest of the years to come. Science is clear. Europe is warming at double
the global rate. Europe can, must and will stay the course on its climate
targets.”
But while Europe has heated faster than any other continent, no region of the
world is being spared. In the US, this summer’s heat eclipsed that of the “dust
bowl” years of the 1930s, and drought gripped 60% of the country from spring, a
record for the time of year. Extreme rainfall across Asia brought flash floods
and typhoons, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and causing severe
damage to crops.
So what has the political response been? Tepid at best from centrist and
leftwing politicians, say campaigners, with few rays of hope to brighten the
gloom; denial and dangerous, provocative incoherence from the right and far
right."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
