XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   The NOAA has updated its gridded SST dataset ERSSTv5 to end Feb 2021.   
      
   No official regional averages or trends are released with the update.   
   But my reasonably accurate crunch on the dataset finds most regions   
   have again scored in the top 10 of warmest Febs since the mid 19th cent.   
      
   While the global SST for the globe came in around +.26C and ranked 9th   
   out of the 168 Febs since the data series began, the super El Nino   
   year 1998 is only just ahead of Feb 2021 at +.31C and #8/168.   
      
      
   The top10 for Feb's ERSSTv5 are now:   
      
   Year      anom deg C rel baseline   
    2016     0.5369   
    2020     0.4825   
    2017     0.4619   
    2019     0.4309   
    2010     0.3448   
    2018     0.3230   
    2015     0.3186   
    1998     0.3086   
    2021     0.2603        <-- #9/168 -- just behind strongest El Nino of the C20!   
    2004     0.2539   
      
   This puts into sharp perspective what a gear-change happened in the   
   climate system over the past 20y. A La Nina today is comparable to the   
   warmest El Nino of the 20th Cent with conditions only expected to get   
   overall warmer (mileage may vary at the location of your double-wide)   
   from here-on out.   
      
   There was no particular stand out region for Feb but the N Hem led the   
   charge at +.40C -- more than 1/4 deg above the S Hem anom.  For once   
   the No Po was not at earth shattering anomalies -- only comparable to   
   the S Hem temperate zone. The equatorial SST was around 0C --   
   i.e. around 1980s avgs and seemingly "chilly" by 21st cent standards.   
      
   Region  Rank    Anom   
           (/168)   
   nhem    8       0.4024   
   Globe   9       0.2603   
   shem    21      0.1339   
   npole   22      0.1953   
   equat   48      -0.0003   
   spole   58      -0.2782   
      
   --   
   A 'space hurricane' hovered above the North Pole for about 8 hours, study says   
   USA TODAY, 03 Mar 2021 0:37Z   
   For the first time, scientists have spotted what they're calling a "space   
   hurricane" spinning above the North Pole, according to a new study.   
      
     Space hurricane spotted above the North pole   
     BBC, 3 May 2021   
     The space hurricane was spotted by scientists from China's Shandong   
     University, where they saw a swirling mass of plasma that behaved a lot like   
     the hurricanes here on Earth - except these space hurricanes rain electrons   
     instead of water!   
     The space hurricane was spotted across 1,000km, above the North Pole.   
     Similar to hurricanes found inside Earth's atmosphere, it turned in an anti-   
     clockwise direction and lasted for almost 8 hours.   
     Prof Mike Lockwood, a space scientist at the university of Reading said:   
     "Until now, it was uncertain that space plasma hurricanes even existed, so   
     to prove this with such a striking observation is incredible".   
      
   Construction set to start on Australia's first lithium-ion battery   
   manufacturing plant   
   ABC Newcastle, 04 Mar 2021 06:41Z   
   Prime Minister Scott Morrison tours the site of what will soon be   
   Australia's first advanced manufacturing facility of lithium-ion batteries.   
      
   Thai sailors rescue abandoned cats from a burning, sinking ship   
   ABC News, 04 Mar 2021 07:40Z   
   Thai navy sailors brave choppy waters to perform a dramatic rescue after   
   discovering 4 cats abandoned on a sinking ship that caught fire off a   
   paradise island.   
      
   Australia's share of extinct animals rises as list of the lost updated   
   Sydney Morning Herald, 03 Mar 2021   
   Twelve more mammals, some of which disappeared more than 70 years ago,   
   have been added to Australia's official extinction ...   
   [Australia now has officially lost 100 species since 1788.  This is 10x   
   more than the 2nd-place].   
      
   NSW tenants will have 6 months to pay off rental arrears   
   ABC New England, 04 Mar 2021 01:42Z   
   Amid warnings of a looming wave of rental stress, the NSW govt   
   confirms tenants in arrears will not have to pay them down straight away   
   when an evictions moratorium expires at the end of March.   
      
   Concerns passengers onboard Qatar flight to Brisbane contracted COVID-19 via   
   'superspreader'   
   ABC News, 04 Mar 2021 04:40Z   
   Queensland's Chief Health Officer says she holds concerns for 6 people who   
   travelled on a Qatar Airways flight who may have contracted COVID-19 from a   
   "superspreader" with 3 travellers now confirmed to have the Russian variant.   
      
   Fake COVID-19 vaccine distribution networks uncovered in China, South Africa   
   ABC News, 04 Mar 2021 05:19Z   
   Police in China and South Africa seize 1000s of fake doses of COVID-19   
   jabs, global police organisation Interpol says, warning this represented   
   only the "tip of the iceberg" in vaccine-related crime.   
      
   More than 250,000 Utahns are now fully vaccinated   
   Salt Lake Tribune, 04 Mar 2021 02:20Z   
   Utah's latest coronavirus data released from the state Dept of   
   Health.   
      
   Wave Power Could Be Energy's Next Big Leap   
   Bloomberg Quicktake, 03 Mar 2021 22:18Z   
   Brazil is facing a spike in Covid-19 deaths and an overwhelmed health care   
   system. A more contagious variant of the virus may be part of the problem.   
      
   Why Blood Type May Matter for COVID Infection   
   WebMD, 03 Mar 2021 20:53Z   
   A new study provides further evidence that people with certain blood types   
   may be more likely to contract COVID-19.   
      
   Scientists find source of dangerous, high energy solar particles that could   
   threaten Earth   
   The Independent, 03 Mar 2021 19:53Z   
   Scientists have found the exact source of dangerous rays that are fired from   
   the Sun and threaten activities on the Earth.   
      
   One of the largest ecosystems on Earth lives beneath the seafloor and eats   
   radiation byproducts   
   ZME Science, 03 Mar 2021 17:51Z   
   Researchers at the University of Rhode Island's (URI) Graduate School of   
   Oceanography report that a whole ecosystem of microbes below the sea dines   
   not on ...   
      
   President Joe Biden slams governors for lifting mask mandates, calls it   
   'Neanderthal thinking'   
   CNBC, 04 Mar 2021 00:13Z   
   TX Gov. Greg Abbott and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, both Republicans,   
   announced Tue they would allow businesses to reopen at 100% capacity ...   
      
   Dutch Covid test centre hit by suspected bomb attack   
   The Guardian, 03 Mar 2021 11:42Z   
   Police have said they are working on the assumption that an explosion that   
   damaged a Dutch coronavirus test centre early on Wed was a deliberate ...   
      
   Myanmar: 18 People Killed During Anti-Government Protests   
   NPR, 03 Mar 2021 16:42Z   
   A crackdown on anti-junta protests in Myanmar showed no signs of letting up,   
   a day after after Southeast Asian foreign ministers issued a tepid call to   
   end to the ...   
   [Other reports say at least 33 killed].   
      
   House Oversight Committee reissues subpoena for Trump financial records   
   CNBC, 03 Mar 2021 16:41Z   
   Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., argues it remains vital for   
   Congress to see Trump's finances and other records in order to craft   
   legislative reforms.   
      
   Ice Age Testing Reveals Challenges in Climate Model Sensitivity   
   Eos, 02 Mar 2021   
   Increased reflection of incoming sunlight by clouds led one   
   current-generation climate model to predict unrealistically cold   
   temperatures during the last ice age.   
      
   Canadian 'incel' killer found guilty of murder over Toronto van attack   
   The Guardian, 03 Mar 2021 18:39Z   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)