Global temps exceed 2C above pre-industrial era

ERA5 data from @CopernicusECMWF indicates that 17 November was the first day that the global temperature exceeded 2°C above pre-industrial levels, reaching 2.07°C above the 1850-1900 average and the provisional ERA5 value for 18 November is 2.06°C.

A scorching heat wave hit Brazil this week. A 23-year-old woman died at Taylor Swift's Eras concert in Rio, causing Taylor to postpone her concerts. And it's not even summer there yet. 

The heat index — a combination of temperature and humidity — hit 58.5 degrees Celsius (137 Fahrenheit) Tuesday morning in Rio, the highest index ever recorded there. Actual temperatures dropped slightly on Wednesday, but were forecast to rise again to 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) on Thursday.

Temperatures across South America are affected by the El Niño, a periodic naturally occurring event that warms surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific region. But this year, ocean temperature rose extremely quickly – in a couple of months -- indicating that climate change impacts are accelerating. 

Heat waves are increasing in frequency -- this one is Brazil's eighth this year -- and there is for the first time an area of NE Bahia state that has the characteristics of a desert. 

This is not normal. But perhaps it's the most normal we will see in our lifetimes. 

Warmest October

According to the latest monthly climate update from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), October 2023 was the warmest October globally in the ERA5 data record, going back to 1940, The average surface air temperature reached 15.30°C, 0.85°C above the 1991-2020 average for October. This marks the second-highest global temperature anomaly across all months in the ERA5 dataset, after September 2023 (with an anomaly of 0.93°C). 

October 2023 was 1.7°C above the average for 1850-1900, designated as the pre-industrial reference period. 

From January to October, the year 2023 was 0.1°C warmer than the ten-month average for 2016, currently the warmest calendar year on record, and 1.43°C warmer than the pre-industrial reference period. This was the fifth consecutive month of record temperatures globally. That makes 2023 on track to become the warmest year ever. 

Sea surface temperature for the extrapolar oceans (over 60°S–60°N) was the highest on record for October at 20.79°C. 

Nov. 17 we did it, even if just for one day. It was the first time in recorded history that the global 2m surface temperature breached 2.0°C above the 1850-1900 IPCC baseline.

Now that's a tractor

 A Porche in the vineyards? Naturally! 😎 

Climate change is taking its toll on farmers

The floods in Emilia-Romagna wine region of Northern Italy

The new climate pattern of floods alternating with drought in Europe is taking its toll on the mental health of farmers, an article in EuroNews reveals. I know that I for one am glad that we stopped at a manageable size of grape farm at Daria's Vineyard. We don't need to bring in workers yet, and if the crop fails it's not a disaster for us. 

Italy is seriously affected by the alternating cycles of drought and flood, as seen earlier this year. Farmers are calling for “emotional and economic support” for producers. Vintners in Portugal and Spain have been suffering as well. But it's not just southern Europe. Vineyards in Germany were severely damaged by floods in 2021. 

I'm very glad we are on a hillside leading down to the sea and the water drains off fairly quickly. Although our fields have been very soft and squishy this Autumn. I hope we can survive this dramatic change in climate ourselves. 

I admit to being obsessed with climate weirdness and the daily weather it brings. 

Glyphosate bans

Whereas growers in Napa are forming a society that refuses to use glyphosate (Round-Up), The EC has just approved the continued use of glyphosates for the next ten years. WTF EU?

Winemaking in Albania

Duka Winery and Vineyards

High in the mountains of northern Albania, warmer temperatures and extreme weather have ravaged the unique local grapes that make the region’s popular wine. 

Rising temperatures, hail, and disease have taken their toll on the Shesh, Kallmet, Vlosh and Puls grapes that make the region's delicate red and white wines and floral rakis which are traditionally distilled by women rather than men. Most of the damage has been caused by mildew fueled by a hot and stormy spring followed by excessively high temperatures and drought, killing off most of his grapes.

Albania has some 11,000 hectares of vineyards, producing 190,000 to 195,000 metric tons of wine a year, according to official figures. Most of the vintners are opposed to planting genetically modified grape varieties designed to weather adverse growing conditions. 

Winemakers around the world are grappling with whether to replant their vineyards with different varieties or move their vineyards to more temperate regions. Even France with its appellation controller will have to adapt or fail.  

Ukrainian film about winemaking wins award

 

A Ukrainian film about winemaking -- Wounded Land -- wins the top prize at the Most Festival in Spain. It started out being about vineyards and winemaking in Ukraine, focused on the vineyard named Heart of Wine in Ukrainian. But the Russians invaded before the film was completed and it took on a different character. War and wine -- it's hard to comprehend how the latter can exist in the presence of the former. 

Articles about Ukraine's vineyards:

• How Russia's War on Ukraine threatens decades of winemaking progress
• Inside Ukraine's wartime wine industry
• 10 wineries & vineyards in Ukraine that you shouldn't miss
• Ukraine's wine industry ravaged by war