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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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How far can $25 million go to relocate a community that’s disappearing into Alaska’s melting permafrost?
A recent Interior Department grant aims to help residents in Newtok move to higher ground, but it’s just a sliver of what’s needed.
Newtok, Alaska, United States
High Country News

As support streams in, one village still accounting for what was lost in Western Alaska storm
Golovin was hurt worse than other places in the Norton Sound region by the remnants of typhoon Merbok as it swirled up through Bering Sea last weekend. Repairing the damage is going to take time — and the clock is ticking on winter’s arrival.
Golovin, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Typhoon Merbok pounded Alaska’s vulnerable coastal communities at a critical time
The powerful remnants of Typhoon Merbok pounded Alaska’s western coast on Sept. 17, 2022, pushing homes off their foundations and tearing apart protective berms as water flooded communities. Storms aren’t unusual here, but Merbok built up over unusually warm water. Its waves reached 50 feet over the Bering Sea, and its storm surge sent water levels into communities at near record highs along with near hurricane-force winds.
Bering Sea
ArcticToday

Western Alaska braces for strong storm and possible floods
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States

Project looks into causes, effects of 2016-2019 drought
Hotter weather and less rain drove the three-year drought.
Juneau, Alaska, United States
Juneau Empire

The Great Siberian Thaw
Permafrost contains microbes, mammoths, and twice as much carbon as Earth’s atmosphere. What happens when it starts to melt?
Yakutsk, Sakha, Russia
The New Yorker

I hope people talk about this storm for a long time
If that saying about Jan. 1 setting the tone for the year to come has any truth to it, 2022 is going to be a wild ride.
Cantwell, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Weather year 2021
In 2021, the average temperature in Norway was normal, while precipitation was 10 percent below normal. The year is nevertheless marked by great contrasts. The summary of the weather in 2021 was presented at the Meteorological Institute's annual event Climate Status on 5 January. Here you can see video footage of Climate Status (Vimeo)
Norway
Meteorologisk institutt

A melting glacier could mean a chance for Alaska’s biggest hydroelectric project to expand
The Dixon Glacier, on the other side of Kachemak Bay from Fitz Creek, is rapidly receding. That’s true for glaciers around Alaska, and the world. But what’s special about Dixon is it sits just a few miles from Bradley Lake, a source of hydropower that supplies the railbelt with about 10% of its energy needs.
Fox River, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Northern Quebec opens up to electric vehicles with charging station in Chisasibi
In August, the first electric car charger was installed in the Cree community, located some 1,700 kilometers north of Montreal.
Chisasibi, Quebec, Canada
CBC

Colorado River, Lifeline Of The West, Sees Historic Water Shortage Declaration
The first-ever shortage declaration on the Colorado River forces arid Western states to re-examine their relationship with resources many take for granted, drinking water and cheap hydroelectricity.
Colorado, United States
NPR.org

US communities say dire predictions in UN climate report already unfolding
For many U.S. communities, the bleak predictions laid out in a new United Nations climate change report are more a reflection of the present and not just what’s to come.
United States
The Hill

Trans Mountain tree cutting can continue as stop-work order on pipeline route lifts
A federal regulator has lifted a stop-work order on tree cutting and grass mowing along the route of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada
Global News

Canada: hummingbirds succeed in halting controversial pipeline construction
Work will stop until 21 August after the discovery of an Anna’s hummingbird nest during construction of TransMountain pipeline
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
the Guardian

New federal program to help 5 remote Alaska communities transition to renewable energy
Concerns around energy independence and high costs have led many places in rural Alaska to look for renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. The Department of Energy recently announced the awardees of a new program; the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project, or ETIPP, will help five Alaska towns explore projects from hybrid fishing vessels to reducing reliance on diesel.
Dillingham, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

As climate change increases Alaska’s wildfire risk, power companies say California-style blackouts could arrive in Alaska
The state’s electric companies are seeking a shield for liability from some wildfires started by broken power lines.
Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Uttarakhand glacier avalanche raises alarm for similar devastation for Nepal sooner or later
On Sunday torrents of water, rock and dust hurtled down a mountain valley in the Uttarakhand state of Northern India. A Himalayan glacier broke below 7,816-metre Nanda Devi, India’s second-highest peak, sweeping away a small hydroelectric project and damaging a bigger one further downstream. One hundred to 150 people were feared dead.
Nanda Devi
Katmandu Post

– Me er ein kommune i kneståande som har ein lang veg opp
Barnehage, sjukeheim, rådhus, legesenter, barneskule, vass- og avløpssystem, eit bustadfelt og ei av hovudfartsårene inn til Gjerdrum er sett ut av spel.
Ask, Akershus, Norway
NRK

How Hardanger melted at a record pace from the last ice age
11,500 years ago, Norway experienced one of the fastest meltdowns the world has seen. Now scientists fear the same thing is happening elsewhere.
Folgefonna Hardangerfjorden glacier, Etne, Norway
NRK

Newtok Power Outage Lasts Three Weeks, Spoiling Subsistence Food In Freezers
People in Newtok have been without power for almost three weeks. Families without personal generators have seen their freezers thaw out, and watched a summer’s worth of subsistence harvest go to waste.
Newtok, Alaska, United States
KYUK

Alaska Town Fleeing to Higher Ground
Rising sea levels will threaten three times more people in the next 30 years than previously thought, according to the latest scientific estimates. Among the hundreds of millions of people worldwide facing the threat are the 400 residents of Newtok, Alaska. Rising river and eroding land is pushing the entire community to relocate, despite emotional and logistical hurdles.
Newtok, Alaska, United States
PBS News

Metlakatla, which depends on water, has moved quickly to accommodate the realities of drought
Following a season of drought, the Southeast Alaska community of Metlakatla is navigating a different relationship with water, like a number of other places in the region.
Metlakatla, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Homer's first EV station is now open
The Destination Charger was donated by Tesla Corporation and installed by Mark Haller and his crew from Midnight Sun Solar, along with Tyson Belle from Diamond Ridge Electric.
Homer, Alaska, United States
Homer Tribune
Alaska Media, LLC., Steve Keller designer and application developer

It was the warmest ever Arctic summer
The top of the world saw record-beating average temperatures flashing through all three summer months.
The Independent Barents Observer

Alaska records warmest month ever in July with coastline barren of sea ice
Average temperature for month amid Arctic heatwave was 58.1F (14.5C), nearly 1F above previous high set in July 2004
Alaska, United States
the Guardian

Anchorage usually loves warm weather, but this heat wave is something else
With ice shortages and hardly a fan to be found, the high temperatures this week have pushed some Alaskans to their limit.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Dramatic and hot days
In recent decades, Norway has seen a clear increase in the number of days that are warmer than normal. Here you can check the development 42 locations in the country.
Tromsø, Troms, Norway
NRK Norsk Rikskringkasting

Southeast's rare drought could threaten plants, animals, your power bill
The entirety of Southeast Alaska is in some state of drought.
Juneau, Alaska, United States
Juneau Empire

The Wettest Part of Alaska Is Experiencing Extreme Drought. Is Climate Change to Blame?
The drought has had damaging economic and ecological impacts.
Ketchikan, Alaska, United States
Pacific Standard

Why seaweed is strangling Mexican tourism, and how science could help
Sargassum is infesting Mexico’s coastline. Researchers are scrambling to stop an ecological crisis, and maybe even make something good of it.
Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico
MIT Technology Review

One year of temperature above normal in Norway
The average temperature for the entire country was 1.2 degrees above normal in March. It is thus the twelfth month in a row that the temperature in Norway has been above normal.
Norway
Meteorologisk institutt

Thawing of Earth 3rd pole; could affect 1.9 billion people, study says
At least a third of the ice in the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush will thaw this century as temperatures rise, disrupting river flows vital for growing crops from China to India, scientists say.
Hindu Kush Himalaya
CBC

Under the surface of Russia’s Arctic super-region is a looming disaster
Underneath the ground is a thick layer of permafrost and trillions of cubic meters of natural gas. Development is the main source of concern for the reindeer herders who increasingly are hindered by new pipelines, roads and railway lines.
Labytnangi, Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia
The Independent Barents Observer

PG&E, utility tied to wildfires, will file for bankruptcy
The company, California's largest utility, is facing at least $7 billion in claims from the deadly Camp Fire.
Sacramento, California, United States
CNN

Storms increasing & violent
A new report points to harsher more severe weather incidents happening in our province.
British Columbia
Castanet

With rain in the forecast, Ketchikan switches back to hydroelectric power
Following an extremely dry summer, October started off equally dry. But, the second half of the month has brought enough rain that Ketchikan’s electric utility is finally switching off its diesel generators.
Ketchikan, Alaska, United States

Survived the landslide accident in Svalbard. Now comes the twins' story of living with climate change.
From Longyearbyen to Kiribati, Bangladesh and California. Author Teresa Grøtan has collected young people's everyday life with climate change in the book "Before the Island Sink."
Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Aftenposten

The Kerala Floods
Since 2018, Kerala has faced increasingly severe and frequent floods, a stark contrast to its historical rarity, driven by factors like Indian Ocean warming and local environmental changes, underscoring a global trend of climate-driven extremes and the urgent need for improved flood management and climate adaptation.
Arukutti, Kerala, India

Heat causing Hydro bills to soar, some too much so
If you've gotten an unexpectedly large electric bill in the mail, don't worry Manitoba Hydro knows they have a billing issue and are working to correct it.Hydro says the soaring summer heat is causing the issue.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Winnipeg Sun

Will a Native-led initiative spur an agricultural revolution in rural Alaska?
A grassroots project to build biomass-heated greenhouses aims to alleviate food insecurity in the communities most affected by it.
Nenana, Alaska, United States
High Country News

Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation's solar farm now generating electricity
There will be something noticeably different in Old Crow, Yukon in a few months. The hum of diesel engines will be gone, as the community's solar farm is now generating power. "The symbolism in shutting down those generators will be, we're becoming more sustainable and we're becoming more self-sufficient like our ancestors were," said Brandon Kyikavichik, the First Nation's heritage interpreter.
Old Crow, Yukon, Canada
CBC

The Aleutian Islands could become a hub for zero-emissions shipping
ICCT researcher Elise Georgeff has been investigating hydrogen as a potential replacement fuel. First, her team calculated how many ships could cross the Pacific Ocean using the existing hydrogen technology. "About 43% could be powered by using hydrogen fuel cells," Georgeff said.Unalaska and Adak islands in the Aleutians are in perfect locations to become pit stops in a trans-Pacific green corridor. Most of the international ships crossing from west to east follow the same path, and those two communities are right in the middle: about halfway through one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
Unalaska, Alaska, United States
Bristol Bay Times

Expanding renewable energy in rural Alaska | Alaska Insight
Climate change and global fuel shortages are combining to make energy prices unusually high in rural Alaska. Seeking relief from high energy prices and unreliable supplies are fueling transitioning to renewable energy. ANTHC is developing alternative energy projects in Ambler and has reknewable energy projects in more then 80 communities across the State.
Ambler, Alaska, United States

A new rush arrives on the Seward Peninsula: for graphite, not gold
The need to diversify America's sources of graphite for electric vehicle batteries is driving the exploration of graphite mining projects in the United States, but concerns about the potential environmental impact and disruption to Indigenous communities remain.
Nome, Alaska, United States

A nuclear-powered ship in Murmansk started to burn. Only few locals got to know about the serious incident
A fire broke out on the nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput in Murmansk, but information about the incident was scarcely communicated to the public.
Murmansk, Murmansk, Russia
The Independent Barents Observer

Sea ice, storms and coastal erosion in Nelson Lagoon - Science Q&A with Reyce Bogardus
UAF graduate student Reyce Bogardus talks about sea ice, storms and coastal erosion at Nelson Lagoon, which is on the southernmost edge of the historical max...
Nelson Lagoon, Alaska, United States
YouTube

Norway wind turbines should be torn down, reindeer herders say
Norway should dismantle two large wind farms that were stripped of their licenses for jeopardizing traditional reindeer husbandry, herders from the Indigenous Sámi community said on Friday. Reindeer herders say the sight and sound of giant wind turbines frighten their animals and thus disrupt age-old traditions.
Åfjord, Trøndelag, Norway
Arctic Today

Interior Alaska electric cooperative moves to shutter troubled coal plant and pursue construction of large wind farm
Golden Valley Electric Association voted this week to develop a plan to close one of its two coal plants in Healy.
Healy, Alaska, United States

‘No home to go to’: Hundreds of evacuees need shelter as catastrophic Western Alaska storm empties inundated villages
Troopers said that they have suspended the active search for two men missing from Kwigillingok, one of the hardest-hit communities. The men are related to the storm’s lone confirmed fatality, a 67-year-old woman found Monday.
Kipnuk, Alaska, United States

Why is Canada building a pipeline through a province on fire?
Drivers on the Coquihalla could feel the heat in their cars as they rushed to clear the highway before the July Mountain fire overtook it. Somewhere in the ashes is the route for the Trans Mountain pipeline, a project that would fuel the climate change that’s making these fires worse.
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Wilderness Committee

An Anchorage man spent more than a decade planning and building a micro-hydropower project in his backyard. Now, it can power more than 300 homes.
“This sort of became my purpose in life, to make something for my children and for humanity going forward,” said Dave Brailey, the mastermind behind the Juniper Creek Hydroelectric Project.
Eagle River, Alaska, United States

Trans Mountain Pipeline
Trans Mountain pipeline expansion would effectively triple existing capacity, and in turn increase oil tanker traffic in B.C. coastal waters.
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
The Narwhal

New wind turbine installed on Kluane Lake expected to cut diesel use by nearly 50%
The Kluane First Nation in Yukon is leaning into alternative energy. The nation has a new wind turbine towering over Kluane Lake with biofuel and solar energy projects also in the works. The wind turbine is expected to generate power for the residents of Burwash Landing by spring.
Burwash Landing, Yukon, Canada

How might the world meet its clean energy needs
Sixteen miles (26km) off the windswept coast of northern Scotland, the future of renewable energy is taking shape. Rotating rhythmically in the breeze, the five colossal turbines of the Hywind Scotland wind farm look much like any other off-shore wind project, bar one major difference – they're floating.
BBC

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