World feeling the heat:

2010 is becoming the year of the heatwave, with record highs temperatures set in several countries.Several regions of the world are currently coping with severe weather-related events: flash floods and widespread flooding in large parts of Asia and parts of Central Europe while other regions are also affected: by heatwave and drought in Russian Federation, mudslides in China and severe droughts in sub-Saharan Africa. While a longer time range is required to establish whether an individual event is attributable to climate change,

The Monsoon activity in Pakistan and other countries in South-East Asia is aggravated by the la Niña phenomenon, now well established in the Pacific Ocean.The heatwave in the European part of the Russian Federation is associated with a persistent pressure ridge that appeared in June 2010. Initially, it was associated with the Azores high, but later was reinforced by a strong i

nflow of warm air from the Middle East.

Thousand of hectares of forest burned in the fires, leaving thousands homeless. For days, Moscow was shrouded in smog, and environmentalists raised fears that the blaze could release radioactive particles from areas contaminated in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Wildfires have also swept through northern Portugal, killing two firefighters and destroying 18,000 hectares (44,500 acres) of forests and bushland since late July

The heatwaves have also been occurring in the US, where Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Washington, Baltimore and Trenton all documented their highest ever temperatures in July.

This June was also the hottest ever on record and 2010 is on course to be the warmest year since records began, according to separate data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published last month.

Record highs have occurred in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine – the three nation

s at the centre of the eastern European heatwave which has lasted for more than three weeks –and also in Scandinavian Finland, African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries.

Thanks to Max, from his site,we have a complete detail of The new National highs that made records in the countries,in 2010:

Puerto Salgar (Colombia) max. 42.2 New national record high for Colombia (recorded under standard conditions)

Honiara Henderson (Solomon Islands) max. 36.1 New national record high for Solomon Islands (recorded under standard conditions )

Myinmu (Myanmar) max. 46.5 New national record high for Myanmar

Myinmu (Myanmar) max. 47.2 New national record high for Myanmar

Mohenjo-daro (Pakistan) max. 53.5 New national record high for Pakistan

Abdaly (Kuwait) max. 52.6 New national record high for Kuwait

Basra (Iraq) max. 52 New national record high for Iraq

Jeddah Aiport (Saudi Arabia) max. 52 New national record high for Saudi Arabia

Faya (Chad) max. 47.6 New national record high for Chad (recorded under standard conditions)

Bilma (Niger) max. 48.2 New national record high for Niger

Dongola (Sudan) max. 49.7 New national record high for Sudan

Jaskul (Russia) max. 44 New national record high for Russia (international stations)

Doha Airport (Qatar) max. 50.4 New national record high for Qatar (in official stations)

Joensuu Airport Liperi (Finland) max. 37.2 New national record high for Finland

Lefkoniko (Cyprus) max. 46.6 New national record high for Cyprus

Gorki (Belarus) max. 38.7 New national record high for Belarus

omel (Belarus) max. 38.9 New national record high for Belarus

Lukhansk (Ukraine) max. 42 New national record high for Ukraine

However, there were a few with low records as well.

Havana Jose Marti Airport (Cuba) min. 3.7

Malaybalay (Philippines) min. 10

Hardap (Namibia) min. -8.1

26% below-normal rainfall last week

A weakened monsoon has delivered 26 per cent less rainfall during the week ending Wednesday with the southern peninsula joining East India to post significant deficit.

Marathwada (+73 per cent) and Telangana (+16 per cent) were the two exceptions and counted themselves among the 12 Met subdivisions to post excess or normal rainfall during the period under reference.

J&K in surplus

The Jammu and Kashmir sub-division, which witnessed a killer cloudburst over the Leh region during the week, also ended up with surplus rainfall (+56 per cent). The rest 24 Met sub-divisions, spread along the West Coast, South Peninsula, North-West and East India, recorded deficient of scanty rainfall, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) update said. Central and East-central India and extreme West India (Gujarat and West Rajasthan), too, stood out for moderate to exceptional gains during the period under reference.

Fresh ‘low'

However, a fresh low-pressure area persisting over Northwest and adjoining West-central Bay of Bengal on Thursday and an upper air cyclonic circulation over North Rajasthan and adjoining Haryana and Punjab are promising to bring a material change to the scenario.

While the ‘low' is forecast to take a west-northwest course to enter the coast, the upper circulation will combine with the resident monsoon trough along the Himalayan foothills to set up rains over disparate regions. Southeast, Central and East-central India, Northwest and parts of East India are expected to make significant gains during the six days ending on Monday, according to the International Research Institute (IRI) for Climate and Society at Columbia University.

Southerly wave

The IRI saw wet weather enveloping Southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Southwest Coast (Kerala) and extending into Tamil Nadu, South Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema during this period. It has forecast wet weather for parts of Northwest India also, including over north Madhya Pradesh; northeastern parts of east Rajasthan; Haryana; Punjab; Delhi; West Uttar Pradesh; Uttarakhand; Himachal Pradesh; and southern flanks of Jammu and Kashmir.Meanwhile, the IMD has warned of isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, South Coastal Orissa and North Andhra Pradesh for the next two days.

Widespread rains

In its update on Thursday, it said that the 24 hours ending Thursday afternoon saw widespread rainfall occur over Himachal Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Konkan and Goa. It was fairly widespread over the plains of Northwest India, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, North Coastal Andhra Pradesh and the Northeastern States.

Satellite pictures revealed the presence of convective (rain-bearing) clouds over parts of Central, East and northeast India, Andhra Pradesh, north interior Karnataka, interior Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Central Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

Forecast until Sunday said widespread rain or thundershowers would occur over the western Himalayas and the 

Northeastern States.

Fairly widespread rain or thundershowers would occur over Central India and plains of Northwest India, Konkan, Goa, coastal Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Lakshadweep.

Scattered rain or thundershowers have been forecast over east Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and gangetic West Bengal.

Pakistan : Flooding along the Lower Indus River

acquired August 8, 2010

acquired August 10, 2010

acquired August 12, 2010

A flood surge heading for Pakistan’s coast changed the appearance of the lower Indus River in just four days. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured these images on August 8, 2010 (top), August 10, 2010 (middle), and August 12, 2010 (bottom).
All three images use a combination of infrared and visible light to increase the contrast between water and land. Water appears in varying shades of blue. Vegetation is green, and bare ground is pinkish brown. Clouds range in color from pale blue-green to bright turquoise. A thin veil of clouds hangs over much of the region on August 12.
On August 8, even though the lower Indus has risen far above its typical levels, it still appears as a relatively thin braided stream south of Sukkur. On August 10, the river has widened south of the city, and on August 12, the Indus has risen even more. Compared to the previous two images, the water appears fairly light in color on August 12. This may result from the angle of sunlight or from cloud cover, but might also result from an increased sediment load in the water.
The BBC reported that the Sukkur Barrage was facing a far greater water flow than it was intended to accommodate. Early in the day on August 9, the recorded water flow through was up to 1.4 million cubic feet per second (cusecs), and the barrage is only designed to withstand a maximum of 900,000 cusecs, the BBC said. David Petley of Durham University produced a graph of water flow at Sukkur from late July through early August 2010. Although not showing water levels as high as 1.4 million cusecs, Petley’s graph indicated a rise in the water flow rate beginning August 4, and water flow remaining above 1 million cusecs through August 11.

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