Current conditions: Torrential rain from Typhoon Gaemi brought the Philippines’ capital to a standstill • California’s Santa Barbara County is dealing with an infestation of aggressive red fire ants • Monsoonal thunderstorms could bring flash flooding to the Great Basin region this week.
THE TOP FIVE
1. Daily temperature record broken for 2 days in a row
Sunday was the hottest day ever recorded, and Monday was even hotter. Data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service shows the global average surface air temperature reached 62.87 degrees Fahrenheit Monday, which is just a touch higher than the all-time high of 62.76 degrees Fahrenheit recorded 24 hours earlier. And both days broke the new heat record set just last year. Before that, the previous hottest day was recorded in 2016. The trend is particularly worrying since the El Niño weather pattern, which tends to overlap with the warmest years on record, has now receded.
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“What is truly staggering is how large the difference is between the temperature of the last 13 months and the previous temperature records,” said Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo. “We are now in truly uncharted territory and as the climate keeps warming, we are bound to see new records being broken in future months and years.” The records could well keep falling this week – last year’s stretch of new highs lasted for four days.
2. Company behind damaged Vineyard Wind blade reports earnings today
GE Vernova will likely face some tough questions in a call with analysts today after it reports Q2 results. The company is the manufacturer behind a broken blade that fell from a Vineyard Wind turbine on July 13 and scattered debris across Nantucket beaches. Its shares have fallen by about 5% since the incident, which is still under investigation. Investors will want to know what happened – and whether it’s likely to happen again. As Heatmap’s Emily Pontecorvo explained, wind turbine blades can break for a variety of reasons, including factors like poor quality control and defects during manufacturing. In May, a blade on the same model of turbine sustained damage at a wind farm being installed off the coast of England called Dogger Bank.
An initial environmental assessment of the accident, commissioned by GE Vernova and released last night, concluded that the blade materials are non-toxic and do not contain any PFAS, but could pose an injury risk for beachgoers.
3. Canada wildfires force 25,000 to evacuate
About 25,000 people have been evacuated from Canada’s Jasper National Park as wildfires rage. There are 170 blazes in the Alberta province, and 375 in British Columbia. Officials warn that more than half are burning out of control, and the hot weather conditions have only made things worse. Fires are also burning near oil sands in Alberta that produce two-thirds of Canada’s oil, according to Reuters. Last year’s fire season was the worst on record, scorching some 37 million acres. Here is a look at the regional wildfire map as of this morning:
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4. Musk denies pledging $45 million in monthly donations to Trump
Tesla CEO Elon Musk yesterday denied reports that he planned to donate $45 million a month to support Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid. “What’s been reported in the media is simply not true,” he told Jordan Peterson. Musk, who endorsed Trump, established a Super PAC called the America PAC, which he said will “promote the principles that made America great in the first place.” Trump and Musk have reportedly been speaking by phone, with Musk trying to persuade Trump on the merits of EVs. Trump has said he will end the EV “mandate” if he’s elected in November and gut EV tax credits. But he has adjusted his tone as of late. Over the weekend he said he was “totally for” EVs.
In related news, Tesla reported Q2 earnings yesterday, with net profits down 45% year-over-year. Musk sought to calm investors’ nerves by focusing on the company’s ambitions for self-driving technology, and promised to unveil the robotaxi in October.
5. White House to focus on curbing U.S. nitrous oxide emissions
The Biden administration announced a new effort to “tackle climate super pollutants” like nitrous oxide, or N2O. This gas is far more potent than carbon dioxide but doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere. The White House said the new initiative would seek to reduce N2O emissions from industry by 50% next year compared to 2020 levels as companies work to curb their own pollution. The U.S. will also try to work with China to reduce these emissions from chemical plants across both countries. Together, the U.S. and China produce about 80% of industrial N2O pollution. “If successful, the two countries could reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking approximately 50 million automobiles off the road at a fraction of the cost of other emission reduction efforts,” Inside Climate News reported.
THE KICKER
The British royal family’s Crown Estate saw profits more than double over the last year, thanks largely to six offshore wind leasing deals.
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