Climate crisis will not be discussed at G7 next year, says Trump official.

Donald Trump.

The climate crisis will not be formally discussed at the G7 summit in June next year, Donald Trump’s acting White House chief of staff said on Thursday.

“Climate change will not be on the agenda,” Mick Mulvaney told reporters, without elaborating.

Mulvaney announced that the 2020 summit of seven of the world’s most powerful industrialised countries will take place at the National Doral Miami, one of the president’s golf resorts in Florida, despite widespread ethics concerns and an ongoing impeachment inquiry into Trump’s conduct.

From weakening regulation on vehicle emissions to blocking warnings about how coastal parks could flood and withdrawing funding for conservation programs, the Trump administration is accused of consistently ignoring, burying and undermining climate science.

Read the story from The Guardian by Emily Holden - “Climate crisis will not be discussed at G7 next year, says Trump official.”

A Heat Wave Bakes Europe, Where Air-Conditioning Is Scarce

LONDON — Never in recorded history has Paris been hotter than it was on Thursday, when the temperature neared 110 degrees. The same was true of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, as a dangerous heat wave scorched Western Europe.

Air conditoning is scarce in Europe.

Parisians could be seen plunging fully clothed into the fountains of the Trocadéro, Viennese cooled themselves in municipal misters, and Amsterdamers dangled their feet in a repurposed kiddie pool at a cafe. But here is what is far less likely to be seen: air-conditioners.

That’s because the technology that transformed American homes and offices over the last century still gets a chilly reception in much of Europe.

Read the story from The New York Times by Iliana Magra, Elian Peltier and Constant Méheut  - “A Heat Wave Bakes Europe, Where Air-Conditioning Is Scarce.”

Big rains forecast

Rainfall levels of between 30 mm and 100 mm have been ‘‘confidently’’ predicted for the region tomorrow and Thursday, potentially breaking one of the driest starts to the year on record.

Michael Efron.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Michael Efron said north and north-eastern Victoria should get the bulk of the state’s falls in coming days.

‘‘Over the next few days we’ll see a deep pressure system forming south of Adelaide and with that we can see a band of rain and imbedded thunderstorms developing across western Victoria during Wednesday and extending into eastern parts of the state during Thursday,’’ Mr Efron said.

‘‘And, with that system, we are looking at some quite healthy totals across northern and north-eastern Victoria over the two days.

‘‘Rainfall totals of around 30 mm to 60 mm and, with some thunderstorms likely, we may see some totals between 60 mm and 100 mm around there as well.’’

Should it eventuate, the rainfall will come at a critical time for many of the region’s farmers.

‘‘It’s certainly a critical time of the year with crops being sown. It has been extremely dry across the state — one of the driest starts to the year and farmers desperately need rainfall,’’ Mr Efron said.

Only 5.6 mm has fallen this month to date. The average April rainfall is 35.3 mm.

January, February and last month did not fair much better with only 18.6 mm in total falling across the first quarter for the year.

This story, “Big rains forecast” from The Shepparton News.

Swedish student leader wins EU pledge to spend billions on climate

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The European Union should spend hundreds of billions of euros combating climate change during the next decade, its chief executive said on Thursday, responding to a Swedish teen who has inspired a global movement of children against global warming.

Teenage Greta Thunberg said she and hundreds of thousands
like her were skipping school each week to focus politicians'
minds on a 2020 deadline for countries to step up planned emissions cuts.

In a speech alongside 16-year-old Greta Thunberg in Brussels, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also criticised U.S. President Donald Trump for suggesting climate change was "invented" and “ideological".

"In the next financial period from 2021 to 2027, every fourth euro spent within the EU budget will go towards action to mitigate climate change," Juncker said of his proposal for the EU budget, which is typically 1 percent of the bloc's economic output, or 1 trillion euros ($1.13 trillion) over seven years.

"Mr. Trump and his friends believe that climate change is something that has just been invented and its an ideological concept, but ... something dangerous is already underway," Juncker said.

Thunberg was in Brussels to join a seventh week of demonstrations by Belgian children skipping school to protest against global warming.

Read the Reuters story by Clare Roth  - “Swedish student leader wins EU pledge to spend billions on climate.”

Warning for extreme heatwave for southern Australia after new year reprieve

Temperatures will climb above 40C in South Australia and Victoria on Thursday and Friday and an ex-tropical cyclone could re-form off the coast of Queensland.

 A man stretches during sunrise over Altona pier in Melbourne,
which is predicted to reach 42C on Friday, when an extreme
heatwave is forecast for southern Australia.

After a couple of milder days in parts of southern Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a resurgence of the high temperatures seen throughout the Christmas period, with possible severe to extreme fire danger over the next two days.

A broad area of the country will have temperatures 10 to 16 degrees above average for January. Adelaide is expected to reach 41C on Thursday and Melbourne 42C on Friday.

Parts of inland Victoria will have temperatures that climb into the mid 40s over the next two days: Mildura in the state’s northwest is forecast to reach 41C on Thursday and 46C on Friday.

Read the story from The Guardian by Lisa Cox - “Warning for extreme heatwave for southern Australia after new year reprieve.”

Melbourne weather: Several deaths from heat, Avalon Airport hits 42 degrees

Extreme heat has caused several deaths across the state, emergency services say.

Not such a bad place to have a snooze the temperature climbs. 

Ambulance Victoria responded to 31 cardiac arrest calls on Thursday, a significant spike, Paul Holman, the agency's state health commander, said on Friday. Several of those people died, he said.

"That will be due to the heat.

"The vulnerable in our community die as a result of this heat. Heat kills.”

Read the story from today’s Melbourne Age - “Melbourne weather: Several deaths from heat, Avalon Airport hits 42 degrees.