No. 40 of 108
July 23, 2025
Australia declared a 1,400 square mile algal bloom on its southern shores a natural disaster, allocating funds for mitigation as well as research. Using a reporting app, the public has reported nearly 14,000 dead sea animals since March. Tropical Storm Wipha made landfall in Vietnam, as heavy rains continue in the Philippines. Dozens are missing as “historic” rain falls in Shandong Province, China, also from Wipha. Flood disaster zones were declared in South Korea. In the aftermath of flooding in India, the World Bank estimated $2.4 trillion needed for climate infrastructure by 2050. Greece banned outside labor due to extreme heat. Wildfires have burned 227,000 hectares since the beginning of the year in the European Union. June was England’s warmest on record, though deniers on social media declared otherwise. Kabul, Afghanistan may become the first national capital city in modern history to run out of drinking water. Quito, Ecuador is having its worst water shortage in twenty-five years. See Post #37 for U.S. weather.
In ancient times, societies migrated, vacated, or collapsed in the wake of prolonged extreme weather. In modern times, engineering and aid-at-scale keep populations mostly in place. Or modern day notions of borders prevent people from naturally migrating. When/where there are changing environmental conditions, modern migration is more likely to occur within a country, so-called internal migration. Engineering, mitigation, and aid-at-scale will tax the resources of countries, interrupt economies, and destabilize governments, especially if they are not planned for and built into the responsibilities of civil society. Or we can own it, plan for it, and share the load.