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LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Exhausted firefighters raced to contain hundreds of wildfires raging across California as forecasters warned on Sunday that a looming heatwave was set to deliver drier, hotter conditions. More than 330 wildfires blazed across the state, as firefighters focused their efforts near the tourist haven of Big Sur and the town of Goleta, near Santa Barbara, 103 miles (165 kilometers) north of Los Angeles. The blazes have burned around 559,000 acres (239,000 hectares) across California since igniting on June 20, when lightning from dry thunderstorms triggered a series of forest infernos. Firefighters reported some progress in their...

This time of year, global warming activists have another way to frighten the public – using steamy weather to suggest human greenhouse gas emissions are worsening a heat wave. Stanford University professor Dr. Stephen Schneider told ABC’s “Good Morning America” June 9 that methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are making hot temperatures even hotter. “While this heat wave like all other heat waves is made by Mother Nature, we've been fooling around by turning the knob and making a little bit hotter,” Schneider said. “[W]e’ve already increased by 35 percent the amount of carbon dioxide which traps heat....

About 2,600 people were without power Saturday as the city's electrical grid strained in the midst of a statewide heat wave, which was expected to bring triple-digit temperatures through the Labor Day weekend. Highs were expected to reach 113 in Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley and well over 100 in many other valley and desert areas of Southern California. At the same time, unstable weather caused by monsoonal moisture from the south prompted concerns of sudden thunderstorms in valleys, mountains and deserts. A flash-flood watch was in effect through Saturday for those areas in San Bernardino, Riverside and...

New fires continue to break out around Greece The European Commission will put forward proposals this autumn for a standing EU force to respond to fires, floods and other major emergencies. The commission says the current system has its limits. In 2007, there has been flooding in the UK, a heat wave in central and southern Europe, and now forest fires in Greece, in which at least 60 people have died. But critics say the EU should release financial aid faster, rather than set up a civil protection force of its own. 'Better way' When Greece appealed for help...

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Authorities in Memphis and Alabama reported 10 more heat-related deaths Saturday, bringing the toll in the Southeast and Midwest to at least 49 since oppressive triple-digit temperatures settled over the region last week. A sign on Thursday tells the story about the heat in Huntsville, Alabama. In Memphis alone, heat has been blamed as a factor in 12 deaths, mostly elderly victims, in nine days. Memphis has had nine straight days of triple-digit temperatures and forecasters say the high could reach 102 on Sunday. The local health department said the city's heat index has broken 100...

ATHENS, Ala. -- The Tennessee Valley Authority shut down one of three units at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant on Thursday because water drawn from a river to cool the reactor was too hot, a spokesman said. The nation's largest public utility shut down Unit 2 about 5:42 p.m. CDT because water drawn from the Tennessee River was exceeding a 90-degree average over 24 hours, amid a blistering heat wave across the Southeast. "We don't believe we've ever shut down a nuclear unit because of river temperature," said John Moulton, spokesman for the Knoxville, Tenn.-based utility. __ TVA: http://www.tva.gov

Heatwave turns southeastern Europe into tinderbox as fires rage Wed Jul 25, 7:18 PM ET ROME (AFP) - Southeastern Europe was a tinderbox Wednesday in the grip of an unrelenting heatwave that has claimed hundreds of lives as wildfires swept Italy and bit into a national park in Slovakia. Italy was sweltering under temperatures close to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in places Wednesday and suffering devastating wildfires in central and southern regions. "We've had 85 calls so far already for airborne intervention against fires," a public safety official told AFP in the afternoon as fires raged in the Abruzzo,...

BUCHAREST, Romania - Southern Europe sizzled under a heat wave Tuesday, with temperatures hitting triple digits for a seventh day in Romania, blazes forcing the evacuation of tourists in Croatia and Italy, and wildfires in Macedonia and Greece exploding shells from long-ago wars. At least 35 heat-related deaths were reported. Romanian authorities warned residents to stay indoors during the midday heat in the capital of Bucharest, one of five counties put on high alert because of the weather. At least 27 people have died in Romania since last week, with 12 deaths reported Monday, said Health Minister Eugen Nicolaescu. The...

NEW YORK - The city opened nearly 300 cooling centers Monday as temperatures across much of the Northeast surpassed 90 degrees — the hottest in the metropolitan area since a heat wave last year that was blamed for 40 deaths. Extra utility crews were on hand in case of power outages, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged residents to help prevent blackouts by conserving power. He urged New Yorkers not to exert themselves in the sweltering conditions. "It is very hot," Bloomberg said. "I don't care how good a runner you are, I don't care how strong you are, you should...

Temps Top 100 in West From Heat WaveJul 5, 7:52 PM (ET)By REBECCA BOONE (AP) Tourists walk in the shade to avoid the sunlight in Las Vegas, Thursday, July 5, 2007. A heat wave...   BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Sweltering residents across the West headed for lakes and rivers on Thursday, seeking relief from triple-digit temperatures expected to set records through at least Friday. (Snip) Around Las Vegas - where temperatures reached 109 degrees before 1 p.m. Thursday - transformers were overheating and causing electrical pole fires because of all the people switching on their air conditioners, said Scott Allison...

A heat wave sizzling across the West showed little sign of letting up Thursday, with Las Vegas forecast to tie a record high and even northern Idaho expected to top 100 degrees. "You can become dehydrated really quick before you know it. You step outside and, 'wow,'" said Charlie Schlott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. Las Vegas was expected to hit 116, which would tie a record for the date set in 1985. Near-record highs were also forecast for Southern California, where the mercury was expected to top 115 in desert. A high of 101...

Metro OG&E Customers Report Outages In Moore, Norman POSTED: 3:54 pm CDT August 9, 2006 UPDATED: 6:31 pm CDT August 9, 2006OKLAHOMA CITY -- Almost 4,000 electricity customers were without power on Wednesday afternoon across central Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Gas & Electric Web site. As of 4 p.m., OG&E's System Watch electric-service outage monitor indicated 3,147 customers were without power in Moore and 658 were without power in Norman. As of 6 p.m., officials at the scene said about 2,400 customers were still without power. Investigators said they believe people trying to steal copper wire could be to...

Do you think the heat wave is related to global warming? Yes No Duh, it's summer I don't know Global warming is a myth

SACRAMENTO, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Some U.S. heat-related deaths will be studied during a five-year project to determine global warming's link with heat-related ailments. California health officials have announced a plan to track heat-related deaths in a $4.5 million study funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported. The study also will estimate how higher temperatures from global warming will boost the rate of deaths and illnesses during coming decades, including asthma emergencies and heart attacks. The research is believed to be the first such state study in the nation. "I...

FRESNO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told farmers Wednesday that he's asked the federal government for loans to farmers who suffered more than $1 billion in losses during California's triple-digit heat wave. "We're going to do everything we can to get you up to speed as soon as we can," he said during a visit to Fresno, the state's top agriculture county. Farmers throughout the state suffered sunburned crops, fruits that cooked in the fields and hundreds of thousands of dead livestock. Milk production was cut by as much as 20 percent when overheated dairy cows stopped producing. Schwarzenegger sent...

Record-breaking heat and oppressive humidity made people across the eastern half of the country miserable Wednesday and sent tourists in the nation's capital scrambling for relief in the cool marble halls of Capitol Hill.

NEW YORK - Commuters up and down the East Coast sweated on their way to work Wednesday and others stayed close to fans and swimming pools as the temperature and humidity climbed back up to heat wave levels after a night of little relief. In the stifling subway tunnels, there was no air conditioning on three cars of the train Sayed Bukhari rode into Manhattan. "People were crying," Bukhari said. The National Weather Service posted heat advisories and warnings from Maine to Oklahoma. Triple-digit temperatures were forecast Wednesday along the East Coast as far north as parts of Maine and...

by Mark Finkelstein August 2, 2006 - 08:17 The uniformed Cuban military officer pictured here barks commands at a smallish crowd in Havana that responds with pro-Fidel chants. Imagine you're an objective journalist. How would you report it? "The Castro regime orchestrates a public show of support," perhaps? Not Andrea Mitchell. Appearing on this morning's Today show, here's how she characterized what you have to imagine was a less-than-spontaneous event: "In Havana, Cubans turn out to show support for their long-time leader." No surprise. I did ask you to imagine how an 'objective' journalist would report it. Andrea managed to...

As sure as the sun rises in the east, when a heat wave engulfs the continental United States, it dawns on the media that “global warming” may be to blame. Such was the case with CBS’s Bob Orr on the July 31 “Evening News,” when the reporter consulted with Pew Center on Global Climate Change’s Jay Gulledge. “The average global temperature is getting hotter due to global warming,” Gulledge told Orr. “Gulledge says there’s no longer any serious debate” on climate change, Orr added. A short time later, Orr’s story was cut short just as Gulledge was explaining his theory...

NYISO now reporting a record system load of 33,250 MW (NYISO covers NY & LI) Current Heat index @ Albany = 104.4F

FRESNO, Calif. - The state appeared to break out of its nearly two-week heat wave Friday, but not before it caused as many as 141 deaths and did untold damage to crops. Authorities raised their toll of possibly heat-related deaths by more than 40 on Friday. The big increase came primarily from Los Angeles County and the Central Valley counties of Merced and Stanislaus, where coroners struggled to keep up. Stanislaus County, which includes Modesto, has reported 29 heat-related deaths. It normally sees just one such death a year, county emergency services spokesman David Jones said. California had been sizzling...

FRESNO, California (AP) -- The death toll from California's record-breaking heat wave rose to 123 Friday as weather forecasters announced that, for the first day in nearly two weeks, the temperature would stay below 100 degrees across most of the state. The vast majority of the deaths have been elderly people whose bodies don't cope as well in the heat, county coroners said. But there have also been younger people. A 38-year-old gardener collapsed on the job and died last week. On Wednesday, two brothers, ages 57 and 68, were found dead in a Bakersfield home without air conditioning. The...

California's growth patterns -- the migration to hot inland regions, construction of big new homes and paving of open space -- are contributing both to increasing temperatures and record demand for electricity. Experts say development choices can play a large role in making hot weather even hotter. "People usually talk of greenhouse gases. What's forgotten is what we've actually done to the surface of the planet,'' said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. "I call it extreme makeover warming.'' The housing boom in places like the Central Valley causes growing electricity demand during heat waves,...

PARIS - Forty people have died in a heat wave that has gripped France for nearly two weeks, health officials said Tuesday. The government-run Health Institute said officials were to provide a detailed report on heat-related deaths Thursday. Temperatures have been in the high 90s across much of the country, reaching the low 100s in some southern areas. The hot weather has revived memories of the deadly summer of 2003, when 15,000 people in France died from the heat. Labor Minister Gerard Larches met with officials in the construction industry where employees often work long hours outdoors.

SACRAMENTO - The suspected death toll from more than a week of searing, triple-digit temperatures in California climbed to more than 50 Tuesday as residents sweated calls to cut power and the rotting carcasses of dairy cows baked in the sun. The stretch of 10 straight 100-plus degree scorchers marks the first time in 57 years that both Northern and Southern California - an area stretching nearly 900 miles - has experienced simultaneous, extended heat waves, Undersecretary for Energy Affairs Joe Desmond said. "This is a historic heat wave," he said, calling conditions "extreme." He also noted the average temperature...

LOS ANGELES California set a record for power use Friday as the state continued to bake in a heat wave that has sent temperatures soaring above 100 degrees from the north to the south and may have been responsible for as many as four deaths. The demand for electricity peaked at 4:28 p.m. when 49,036 megawatts of power was used across the state, the California Independent System Operator said. The previous record of 46,561 megawatts was set Monday. The temperature reached 120 degrees in the desert resort town of Palm Springs, shattering a 54-year-old record for the date of 117...

Normal 101 °F Record 117 °F (1943) Yesterday 112 °F After weeks of overcast and in some cases wet weather, the sun has returned with a vengeance ... and it's still several weeks from the official start of summer. Forecasters say to expect temperatures around the century mark through the weekend in the inland valleys and over 116 in the low desert.

Freezing conditions across parts of northern Europe caused travel chaos today as forecasters warned that more snow and colder temperatures were expected over the next two days. British motoring organisations urged people only to make essential journeys, while hundreds of drivers in France spent the night in their cars after 30cm of snow fell in parts the country. In Austria, a blizzard resulted in power cuts to homes and was blamed for numerous road accidents across eastern parts of the country. In the UK, Kent and eastern England suffered the worst of the freezing conditions, which brought road closures and...

THE NUMBERS ARE IN! - Final New Orleans death count: 964 French summer heatwave death count: 14,802

Government officials are evaluating and revising disaster plans around the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, just as they did after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. While war and automobiles kill more people than nature, find out what natural disasters top scientists’ worry lists. #10 Pacific Northwest Megathrust Earthquake Geologists know it’s just a matter of time before another 9.0 or larger earthquake strikes somewhere between Northern California and Canada. The shaking would be locally catastrophic, but the biggest threat is the tsunami that would ensue from a fault line that’s seismically identical to the one that...

The outrageous coverage of Hurricane Katrina here in Austria and Germany has included many references to “third world” similarities.  See, for example, Ray’s blog posting concerning Stern magazine’s editorial, “Somalia in America’s South.”   The sneering arrogance, the gruesome Schadenfreude and the completely over the top moralizing reminded me of something that occurred two years ago in the United States, which also elicited “third world” references.  You will recall that on August 14, 2003, an enormous power failure occurred across a huge chunk of the United States and parts of Canada.  On September 5, 2003, I made the following blog entry...

In a blockbuster radio segment, Matt Drudge reminded a caller who sounded suspicously like Cinday Sheehan that 795 Americans -- mostly poor, black and elderly-- died in Chicago in 1995 (on Clinton's wacth)during a heatwave because they were to poor to have air conditioning. No one in the media demanded the head of James Lee Witt, nobody in the lib media demanded Bush to apologize. Nobody in the media said Clintoon was too busy hanging out with Barb Streisand to give a crap about the black urban poor. Every right-leaning talk radio station in the country should remind their listeners...

(Review of Book by by Eric Klinenberg) ... postmortem of the {1996} heat-related deaths of a staggering 739 Chicago citizens -- typically lone seniors concealed in brick-oven apartments -- during a blazing July week. Klinenberg, an associate professor of sociology at New York University, and a Chicagoan, moves beyond the customary medical inquiry of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which identified death risks after the stifling weather -- including (not surprisingly) an inaccessibility of air conditioning.[2] postmortem of the heat-related deaths of a staggering 739 Chicago citizens -- typically lone seniors concealed in brick-oven apartments -- during...

PHOENIX ) -- Searing heat blasts through this desert city every summer, leaving its thousands of homeless residents searching for shelter from the torrid temps. In most years, the heat is survivable. But after a run of 110-plus-degree days this month, police say 14 homeless people apparently have died of illnesses brought on by too much sun and not enough water. Seven non-homeless residents have died as well. "Day after day after day, no break in it. It just saps all your energy," said Jerry Rountree, a 69-year-old transient who had a blue jug filled with water and ice hanging...

By Jim Erickson, Rocky Mountain News July 21, 2005 Don't be fooled by the heat wave and Wednesday's record-tying high: Denver summers are not getting hotter, State Climatologist Roger Pielke Sr. said. Wednesday's high temperature of 105 degrees tied the all-time Denver record set Aug. 8, 1878.

Broiling summer brings droughts By John Tagliabue The New York Times TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2005 PARIS - All through a long hot summer, the temperatures in Europe have soared to unusual levels. In central France, three firemen died on Sunday trying to control a fire in a barn. In Spain on Monday, the police discovered the bodies of 11 firemen who died after being trapped by a giant forest fire in the central part of the country. In Switzerland, Alpine rescuers recovered the body of a climber yielded up by a melting glacier more than 20 years after he plunged...

Death Toll Rises to 13 in Phoenix Heat Wave An unrelenting heat wave is being blamed for 11 deaths in Phoenix since Saturday, nearly one-third of the total counted statewide all last year. Phoenix has endured above-average temperatures every day since June 29, with a peak of 111 degrees on Tuesday, and a high of 108 was forecast Wednesday. Even during the coolest part of the day, the mercury descended only to 89 Wednesday morning, and some mornings haven't gone lower than 91. The spike in deaths prompted the mayor on Monday to ask for bottled water donations. Bill Manson,...

Those Killed Were Mostly Poor, Isolated, And Elderly When it's hot, Chicagoans naturally compare the degree of heat to that historic summer of 1995 when a killer heat wave devastated the city. It turns out that heat kills more Americans than all other natural disasters combined. A typical hot spell during a Chicago summer lasts a few days and then rain cools off the city, but July ‘95 was not typical. The temperature hit 106 degrees at Midway on July 13th and the oppressive humidity made it feel like 127. “It’s just so hot, feels like an oven out here,"...

China: Parasol Helmet Might Help Beat the Worst Heatwave in 70 Years [article summary]This was on Chinese Internet news site www.chinanews.com on July 6th. A woman was riding a scooter wearing a colorful mini-parasol instead of a scooter helmet, to suffer less from sweltering heat.The picture was taken at a street in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China on July 4th. It was near 38 degree Celsius (100.4 deg. Fahrenheit,) at the time.Kim Shiun 2005.7.6

Shanghai on blackouts brinkJuly 6, 2005 Shanghai is on the verge of citywide blackouts with the 10th day of a heat wave sending electricity usage soaring to fresh peak records. Loads reached a record 16.4 million kilowatts this week compared with a high of 15 million kilowatts last year, the Shanghai Morning Post reported Tuesday. Although two new generators have come online since last year, raising capacity by 1.32 million kilowatts, there is not enough supply with temperatures hovering around 39 degrees Celsius. With all city generating units running at full tilt and grids outside supplying an extra 4.83 million...

The heatwave that hit much of Europe in 2003 killed almost 20,000 people throughout Italy, more than double the previous official estimate of the toll and taking it above that recorded in neighbouring France. The report by the Istat institute found that 20,000 more people died in the country between July and September 2003 than in the same period of the previous year. The 2003 heatwave killed an estimated 15,000 mostly elderly people in France, causing a political shockwave in a country that prides itself on its public health system. The previous official estimate of the number of deaths in...

Chinese dive into bomb shelters to escape the heatTue Jun 21, 9:26 AM ET China is opening up old bomb shelters in central Chongqing so people can cool off from the summer heat, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday. The municipal government had decided to open 24 cool, underground air-raid shelters, most of which were built in the 1960s and 1970s, this week, a local official was quoted as saying. "A heat wave with high humidity has hit Chongqing since last week, making life unbearable to residents, many of whom only have electric or palm-leaf fans to cool off," Xinhua...

Heatwave takes a turn for the worse By Amy Iggulden (Filed: 31/05/2005) The weekend that began with the hottest May day in 60 years went on to bring gale-force winds and concluded with lightning and thunderstorms. Temperatures reached 89.4F (31.9C) in London on Friday, hotter than any summer day last year and the warmest May day in Britain since 1944. In Birmingham, temperatures of 81F (27.2C) took the city to its hottest in May since 1953. A misty shroud obscures the coast on the pier at Eastbourne yesterday The heat attracted up to 100,000 people to Hyde Park in London...

Paris – Rule No. 1: Don't go out on the street between noon and 4 p.m. Rule No. 2: Take a shower or bath a couple of times a day. Rule No. 3: Drink as much as you can, even if you're not thirsty. No, these are not instructions for soldiers patrolling the baking streets of Baghdad. They are part of an aggressive move by the French government to avoid a repeat of the catastrophic loss of life that occurred during last year's heat wave. Last August, almost 15,000 people died in France after the country was hit by the...

PARIS (Reuters) - French hospitals could not cope with a repeat of the heatwave which killed almost 15,000 people last summer, a prominent doctor said on Thursday. Patrick Pelloux, an emergency doctor who led attacks on the government over its handling of the 2003 heatwave, said there were not enough hospital beds or staff available. A "heatwave alert plan" unveiled by the government in May would not be enough to cope, he said. "The only thing that has incontestably changed compared to last year are prevention measures for a heatwave and the alert system," Pelloux, head of the AMUHF association...

PHOENIX (AP) - Phoenix and its suburbs, where the air conditioning is cranked up so high that office workers and shoppers get goosebumps and have to wear sweaters in the middle of the summer, are being urged to turn down the AC to avoid rolling blackouts. But it's not going to be easy to get people to change their ways. Phoenix-area utilities started asking customers to conserve energy after fires at two transmission stations earlier this month reduced their capacity to deliver electricity. One of the first energy-saving suggestions: Push the thermostat a few degrees higher. "It all starts with...

<p>PARIS, April 27 (Reuters) - President Jacques Chirac on Tuesday urged French authorities to brace for another heatwave, as a leading doctor said hospitals were ill-prepared to cope with a repeat of last summer's searing heat.</p> <p>With temperatures hitting 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of France on Tuesday, Chirac -- whose conservative government was heavily criticised for its handling of last year's crisis -- warned regional officials to be ready.</p>

PARIS - The sun is out and the jonquils are in bloom. But as spring arrives in Paris, the warmer weather has raised questions about whether France is ready for another heat wave like last summer's sizzler that killed 15,000 in this country. Retirement homes are trying to equip themselves with fans and air conditioners, but the costs are out of reach for some. Adehpa, an association of retirement home managers, says the government is all talk and no new money — forcing them to shoulder an average of $18,000 to $24,000 to install cooling systems for individual rooms. "With...

European summers hottest in 500 years By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 05/03/2004) European temperatures over the past few summers have been the highest for more than 500 years, says a survey published today. The summers between 1994 and last year appeared to comprise the hottest series of consecutive summers in half a millennium, says the study, which provides evidence of the extent of climate change across Europe. Noctilucent clouds over Finland: thought to be a tell-tale sign of global warming Dr Jurg Luterbacher and colleagues from the University of Bern also found that last summer was by far the...