Last Year in Collapse: Environment, 2023

It was a year of burning, and of constant record-breaking.

Last Year in Collapse: Environment, 2023

This is a special (free) edition of Last Week in Collapse, normally a post compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, stunning, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse. Hey, the subreddit finally reached 500,000 members!

This edition is a retrospective on our dying environment, including everything from air pollution, sea currents, agriculture, glaciers, climate, droughts, extinction, and other catastrophes that were observed or experienced in the year 2023.

——————————

Over 45M acres burned in wildfires in Canada this year. That’s almost the size of the island of Great Britain. This broke Canada’s previous record by almost 3x. Most of the wildfires scorched boreal forests in Quebec, the Northwest Territory, and the far north Canadian Prairies. In Hawai’i, the Lahaina wildfires killed 100+ in a few days, making thousands more homeless. Wildfires are increasing on the eastern coast of the U.S. too.

Greece conducted its largest evacuation in modern history because of wildfires on Rhodes. Another, larger wildfires that raged in Greece near the Turkish land border became the EU’s single biggest wildfire ever. Outside Athens other wildfires burnt. At least 18 people died across the country. At least 24 died in Chilean wildfires, blamed on a lasting megadrought. Wildfires roasted Siberia again, and Mexico. Everyone knows wildfires will get worse in the future.

Flooding wrought damage across the planet. In Latvia, and in Florida, and in the DRC, and in East Africa, and in Northern Italy, almost at the Taj Mahal, in Nova Scotia, in Chile, in Pakistan, and in Taiwan, and beyond.

The 6th IPCC Assessment came out early this year, and its recommendations were largely not followed. Sea ice is melting faster than predicted by the IPCC.

Denmark experienced its wettest year ever, with 907+ mm of rain and snowfall combined. Europe is the 2nd fastest heating continent, after Antarctica. India’s population (1.43B) surpassed China’s (1.425B) this year. Although the UN predicted that Earth reached 8 billion humans in November 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau predicted the milestone was achieved on 26 September, 2023.

The German village of Lützerath was evicted by police so that coal mining operations can begin. Germany shut down 3 nuclear power plants in April. China built countless coal plants this year; India too.

2023 was the hottest year on record—until next year, anyway. No surprise, considering January 1, 2023 was Europe’s warmest January day ever. Greenland hit warmest temps in over 1,000 years. Mt. Washington hit an all-time low. Parts of Mallorca got one meter of sno within 24 hours. People are taking climate change cases to the European Court of Human Rights; judgments are expected next year.

Maricopa County recorded a record number of human heat deaths this year: 569. About half those fatalities were among the homeless. Phoenix had over 30 days of 110 °F (43.3 °C) weather. Heat waves in China resulted in all-time highs for power generation. Parts of Asia felt their worst April heat wave of all time. 2024 is expected to be even hotter than 2023. Dhaka, Bangladesh had its hottest day in 58 years. Vietnam had its all-time hottest day ever. Montevideo’s water reserves ran out for a month, until miracle rainstorms fell in July & August. Türkiye hit its all-time hottest temp.

Microplastics continue to litter the sea floor in growing quantities. The leaching potential of many plastics is adversely affecting the health of humans everything. Algae are absorbing microplastics, complicating ecosystems across the planet. The so-called green economy continues to be co-opted by business and political interests. “Natural capital” is predicted to drop 9% by 2100—a rather optimistic forecast. And climate change functions as a “threat exacerbator” in conflicts around the globe.

Geoengineering is becoming a more mainstream idea—slower than expected. Fears remain that efforts could go terribly wrong and disrupt the climate even more. There are also those who fear that geoengineering could go totally right, paving the way for greater consumption & pollution in the belief that we’ll always be able to fix things later. India is embarking upon an ambitious plan to reshape water routes. More and more studies are tweaking our understanding of albedo—the amount of sunlight reflected back. There was at least one large-scale geoengineering attempt this year: Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka Dam reshaped the banks of the Dnipro River, and was labeled “ecocide.”

Glaciers keep melting in Switzerland, in the Himalayas, in Greenland, the Arctic, the Antarctic, the United States, and just about everywhere else that still has these ancient ice giants.

Sea ice his new lows this year. A massive ice shelf broke off Antarctica in January… The gigantic Thwaites Glacier, nicknamed the “Doomsday Glacier” is seeing more and more melting…and it cannot be stopped. A big iceberg trapped next to Thwaites broke loose in April. Another large glacier in Greenland broke loose too. A state of emergency was declared for our cryosphere but I guess we all just shrugged or something. In a rare moment of action, earlier this year the UN-led mission to drain the FSO Safer oil tanker accomplished its mission, averting a catastrophic oil spill off the coast of Yemen.

Rivers are shriveling up. The Colorado River is suffering from tremendous drought, and periodically didn’t reach the US/Mexico border. Tourism and fish are dying out, and the Hoover Dam may never produce electricity again. Ecosystems are being changed or killed—faster than expected. This is only part of the reason why more than one third of species in America are at risk of extinction. Pollution from East Palestine, Ohio, still haunts the region. The U.S. wants to increase global oil extraction; it could be why a massive section of the Gulf drilling rights was put up for auction.

——————————

The Rhine River faced serious lows, along with many other European rivers. Italy’s Po River drought was the worst in 200+ years, and Lake Garda levels sunk. Yet by the year’s end, Germany was worried about flooding rivers after December rains. Drought in Panama is affecting the Canal and the number of ships which can transit it. Parts of China felt drought this year. The Nile River(s) is drying too, and it’s causing tensions. The Helmand River is suffering from intense drought too. Even the Amazon is dying from drought.

Afghanistan emerged from its coldest winter in a decade into a food crisis. A 7.8 earthquake in Türkiye killed 50,000+ people and left colossal damage besides. A slow-moving famine in Somalia is being driven by equal parts Drought and Flooding. Iraq is seeing a grim water shortage without end. Scientists are worried about fungus destroying future crops—we already lose 30% every year to fungi. Flood or drought destroyed millions of tons of other crops too. Devastating hunger will lead to War.

Heat stroke caused cattle to die off. Blistering heat and the fear of a typhoon canceled the World Scouts Jamboree. Experts are warning about future famines. Ireland’s largest lake got infected with algae. Livestock accounted for 30% of methane emissions this year. Toxic sandstorms came to Tajikistan. Permafrost continues melting slowly…and then suddenly. Global fish stocks are fully exploited, and wine production has plunged to a 62-year low.

Hurricane Otis blasted Acapulco, wreaking devastation that the city of 1M residents is unlikely to ever bounce back from. Thousands were killed by flooding in Libya; it is easier to leave than to recover. Australia saw its strongest storm in 14 years make landfall, though it spared populous areas. Cyclone Freddy struck southeast Africa, killing 400+ and flooding many more. Cyclone Mocha killed at least another 400. Satellite images tell the stories of many of these deadly storms. Scientists also fear underwater landslides causing typhoons in the Southern Ocean as Antarctica melts.

The AMOC is weakening, and scientists think a Collapse of Arctic sea ice may be the trigger for its breakdown, alongside heat and salt moving ever northwards. The upcoming Collapse of our ecosystems hinge on protecting biodiversity... and yet we’ve outstripped our sustainable limits decades ago. Phytoplankton are changing the ocean’s color—and ecosystems. And marine heat waves emerged as an underappreciated threat.

El Niño, projected to last until at least April, is forecast to bring a warmer, drier winter to northern North America—and more rainfall in the southern regions. California had a rough year of “atmospheric rivers,” and they’re not over yet. Water off the coast of Florida got so hot that it equalled the average human body temperature. A number of climate conferences and summits happened in 2023 but they were practically all just theater, and not worth mentioning.

Private jet use hit new highs in 2023, a fairly slow recovery from the COVID drop. A colossal methane leak was discovered in Turkmenistan. Countless species went extinct—including probably several we never knew existed. We know at least these have passed out of existence. And bee colony deaths are up in the U.S. A mass stranding event in Australia resulted in 51 whales being shot and “euthanized.”

The Horn of Africa is experiencing its longest Megadrought on record, inflicting famine conditions on tens of millions. The slow-moving crisis has pushed food insecurity to new heights. Lake Powell and Lake Mead in the U.S. are heading for dead pool levels, probably in 2024 or 2025. A shocking recalibration to the Limits to Growth suggests that we have already passed Peak Oil & Food Production—but Peak Population still lies ahead of us.

1.5 °C is a joke, and 2 °C is a pipe dream. How hot it will get is anyone’s guess. France is preparing for 4 °C by 2100. This planet has trespassed beyond its sustainability boundaries into a fiery future. Somewhere between 3M and 6M people will live in precarious environmental conditions by 2100……if that many of us are still living. Looks like we’re going to end the year with 422 ppm CO2.

I know this wasn’t easy to read—and I can assure you it was a challenge to write. Our planet has been sentenced to death. Apparently our species would rather have next-day Amazon delivery than the Amazon rainforest. We prefer beef over leaf, and plane rides over plain rice. Although Collapse may feel like it’s everywhere, it is also remarkable how resilient humanity, and a few other species, can be. Much of the world did not experience a serious climate disaster this year—and many of those who did have begun, slowly, to put their lives back together. We cannot master Collapse, but we can master ourselves in Collapse. What did I forget this time?

——————————

Things to watch next year include:

↠ El Niño is probably going to peak in spring or summer in the Northern Hemisphere. How hot will it get?

↠ Some scientists think the Gulf Stream may Collapse by 2025. Does anyone here think it might go……faster than expected?

↠ Is there anyone else who think the “Blue Ocean Event” (BOE) will strike next year? I’ve got it on my bingo card…

Click here if you want to read the Reddit comments on this edition…