A crisis is emerging across three continents as extreme weather conditions and disease are beginning to bite the farming industry leaving world banks warning the 2020s are set to be a decade of dramatic economic and social upheaval as another billion mouths will need to be fed. Meanwhile, Europe is losing 1000 small farms a day, due to a crop decline leading to price rises. Officials are using the word 'disaster' to describe the widespread crop failures happening all over America. In Asia pork prices this year have almost doubled after a quarter of the pig population has been slaughtered due to swine fever.
Western Europe, Ireland and the UK suffering a deluge of torrential rain
The rain started at the end of September and the deluge continues as parts of England expects almost another months rain in the coming two days, Sheffield has received two years rainfall in just one week. In Ireland, Dublin had its entire November average rainfall in the first week of this month.
The army will roll into submerged towns and villages today as 115 areas across the UK are on flood alert while desperate families brace for more misery with worse still to come when another torrential downpour strikes tomorrow. Thirty-five flood warnings are still in place across England. The Met Office is today warning that severe flooding could cut off more areas across the country this week.
The same western Atlantic fronts which have devastated the UK have been dumping torrential amounts of rain on Western Europe too since the end of September
The BBC’s meteorologist Louise Lear warned parts of Northern Europe are experiencing a drastic plunge in temperatures. This drop is far below what it is expected at this time of year, with a freezing -30C recorded in Scandinavia this week. In Norway, 56 cm (almost 2 ft) of snow in fell on Tromsø last Sunday morning. Only once in the last 97 years has there been more snow on November 3 in Tromsø, claimed state meteorologist Sjur Wergeland. The snow amounts are historical for November. In 2006, 67 cm of snow was measured on November 3.
Only a week ago the Region of Murcia was basking in temperatures of 29 degrees during the long holiday weekend but as mid-November approaches the Pyrenees and the Picos de Europa in northern Spain have been inundated with copious amounts of snowfall blocking roads and causing havoc.
The Italian city of Venice has not received tides like this in more than 50 years. The mayor has reacted, blaming climate change, and pleaded for governmental assistance. Venice called a state of emergency after the second-highest tide recorded on Tuesday flooded its historic basilica and left many of its squares and alleyways inundated with water.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro warned of severe damage caused by the "disastrous" tide, which peaked at 187 centimetres (74 inches) at 10:50 p.m. (2150 UTC). The worst the lagoon city had suffered until now was 194 centimetres (76 inches), which occurred in 1966. "Much of Italy has been hit with torrential rains in recent days, causing widespread flooding. In Matera, this year's European Capital of Culture, rainwater inundated the city's famous cave-dwelling district. Italy continues to brace itself as more bad weather is forecast.
The U.S.
In the U.S. the terrible start to November continues, the Weather Channel reports, arctic plunge, then the weekend storm, to lash Southeast Coast with high surf, rip currents.
Strong winds, high surf, rip currents, coastal flooding and beach erosion will be a prolonged nuisance along with parts of the Southeast coast through this weekend. This coastal threat will occur in two rounds. The first round will take place in the wake of a powerful arctic front on track to set hundreds of mid-November cold records in the United States, see below.
Credit NOAA/CIRA
Behind that front, strong northeasterly winds will howl over the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern U.S. coast through Thursday. These onshore winds will whip up waves and push them toward the coast from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to Florida's Atlantic beaches. In addition, the current full moon will make higher tides higher and lower tides lower as the pull of gravity from the sun and moon combine on Earth's oceans. The high tide of peak concern appears to be Wednesday morning, with moderate coastal flooding possible in both downtown Charleston, South Carolina, and near Tybee Island, Georgia.
An unseasonable snowstorm that pounded southeast Michigan with more than a half-foot of snow on Monday will conclude in metro Detroit by Tuesday morning — but only to see temperatures plunge to single-digit wind chills. Whiteout conditions were cited during a pileup involving as many as 85 vehicles on State Route 8 north of Akron, Ohio, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Snowy weather and whiteout conditions were blamed for multiple pileups in Ohio and at least two deaths on Tuesday, a day after at least four people were killed in dangerous travel conditions caused by a snowstorm that swept through the Plains and Midwest.
Officials are using the word 'disaster' to describe the widespread crop failures happening all over America. We are witnessing "unprecedented" crop failures all across the United States, but the big mainstream news networks are not talking too much about this yet. The endless rain and horrific flooding during the early months of this year resulted in tremendous delays in getting crops planted in many areas, and now snow and bitterly cold temperatures are turning harvest season into a complete and utter nightmare all over the country. Full story here
Farming around the world is beginning to suffer drastically across the globe. According to Adapt 2030, Europe loses 1000 small farms a day, due to a crop decline in replanting leading to price rises.
In Asia pork prices this year have almost doubled after a quarter of the pig population has been slaughtered due to swine fever.
US corn and soybean harvest are far behind schedule as a new blizzard rip through the mid-west grow zones.
According to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the 2020s are set to be a decade of dramatic economic and social upheaval, reversing many of the trends of the past 40 years, according to one of the world's largest banks.
Key points: Bank of America Merrill Lynch says the era of globalisation from 1981-2016 has ended and is reversing
The bank's analysts expect inflation and interest rates to increase from their current 5,000-year lows The bank is expecting wealth inequality to fall next decade as voters demand redistribution and taxes rise in what it describes as "the decade of peak". A (BAML) analysts say a range of economic and social challenges are "all heading to a boiling point" next decade.
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