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12 Jul, 43 tweets, 15 min read
This time it's London. Sloane Square tube station flooding after torrential rain hit the city.
Not a lot of data around, but Roehampton in SW-London received 31 mm of rain in an hour. Image
This from SW London today:
More data, via DM:

Kew Gardens in west London got 43.8mm of rain (23mm fell in 1 hour, 13mm the next hour). The average rainfall for the whole of July at Kew is around 45mm.

There were unconfirmed reports (non Met Office gauges) that 50-70mm of rain fell in an hour in London.
A day later, the disruption to London's public transport isn't over yet. Climate bills are coming in. Image
This was NYC, four days ago.
Up to 200 mm (8 inches) of rain in two days expected in eastern Belgium. That's 1/7 to 1/5 of the average yearly precipitation in the region.
Highway A79 near Heerlen, the Netherlands, today, after up to 70 mm of rain.
211 mm (8.3 inches) of rain fell within 24 hours in Hagen, NRW, Germany, yesterday!
This morning in Hagen. Still raining.
Dutch public broadcaster @NOS asks: "Floods and disruption: how can it go so wrong in (the province of) Limburg?"
The answer starts with a C, dear NOS. And it's not just Limburg. Image
30 people missing after 6 houses collapse in the German Eifel region, due to floods in torrential rain.
Look at the power of the water crashing through the Eifel region at the moment.
Worries about several dams in the state of NRW, western Germany.
Painful set of headlines in Dutch @telegraaf newspaper, spotted by @olofvdgaag today.

"Citizen gets expensive climate bill; homeowners, car drivers, and air passengers the victims"
right above news about people dead and missing in Germany's floods, driven by extreme rainfall. Image
From the same edition of the same newspaper: "Spectacular images from floods in Belgium"
(Verviers, in this case)
telegraaf.nl/nieuws/7300531…
Verviers (near Liège), Belgium, today. River takes over city after torrential rainfall.
Liège, Belgium, city of 200,000, bracing for the river floods.
In Germany alone, 42 people died in the floods of the past few days, so far.
m.bild.de/news/2021/news…
Ongoing flooding in Valkenburg, Limburg, the Netherlands. Normally a busy tourist destination.
Rainwater wave in the Meuse reaching Maastricht, NL, now. "Extreme" water level reached this morning; expected to peak in the evening.
10 homes collapse due to floods in Pepinster, Liège province, Belgium. People being saved from rooftops: vrt.be/vrtnws/fr/2021…
(but "climate action is expensive")
Owner of flooded home in Limburg, the Netherlands: "If this is climate change, I'm very worried."
Yes, it is. And we should all be very worried.
Villages near the river Meuse in Limburg, the Netherlands, get the urgent advice to evacuate in view of the risk of flooding. Decision on formal evacuation order to be taken this evening. trouw.nl/binnenland/lim… Image
Verviers, near Liège, Belgium, today.
m.standaard.be/cnt/dmf2021071… Image
The similarity with that statue in Berlin struck me:
"Politicians discussing global warming" vs
people living the consequences. ImageImage
Source pictures:
statue Berlin: inhabitat.com/isaac-cordals-…
situation Verviers: m.standaard.be/cnt/dmf2021071…
9 people died in Belgium's floods today and yesterday, 4 still missing. standaard.be/cnt/dmf2021071…
59 people died in Germany's floods. Over 1,000 missing, hopefully largely due to the fact that mobile phones in the region aren't reachable. amp.welt.de/vermischtes/ar…
Map of the area in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, hit by extreme rainfall and floods these days. Image
The latest: major flooding in Erftstadt, 20 km SW of Cologne, Germany.
A number of houses collapsed, people are missing. Rescue operations impossible in many cases.

via @Rziepen
Death toll from extreme weather floods in Germany rapidly rising: now already 103, and many people missing. amp.n-tv.de/panorama/Zahl-…
What may have happened in Erftstadt, Germany: flood waters from the little Erft River flowed into a nearby gravel pit. Rapid erosion then pushed its edge over 300 meters and brought it to the village.
The gravel pit, the Erft, and the edge of the village (Erftstadt-Blessem). Probably never seen as a risk, as @Rziepen pointed out. Image
Quite some municipalities in the German flood region received 133-182 mm (5-7 inches of rain) in the 72 hours up to this morning.
@DWD_presse via @TerliWetter Image
Drone video shows how the rapid erosion in Erftstadt undermined and destroyed a number of houses. nos.nl/l/2389589
"Big breach in dike of Juliana canal (parallel to Meuse river). Villages of Bunde, Voulwames, Brommelen, and Geulle (beneden) will flood very soon. Leave your home asap".
This from @VRZuidLimburg, the Netherlands, a little over an hour ago. Image
Situation in Bunde, NL, now:
Hospital in Venlo, NL, being evacuated, in view of possible flooding there.
The four villages, just north of Maastricht, the Netherlands, now evacuated due to a canal dike breach. Meuse rover in the left, Juliana canal in the middle. Image
The devastation in the village of Schuld, in Germany's Eifel region, after the floods.
welt.de/vermischtes/ar… Image
Right now, 10,000 people are being evacuated from the city of Venlo, Limburg, the Netherlands, in view of flood risk from the highwater wave traveling North on the Meuse river.
telegraaf.nl/t/1390512154/
When you thought your house was 40 meters away from a friendly little river (the Ahr). Insul, Eifel, Germany, after the floods.
welt.de/politik/deutsc… ImageImage

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More from @Sustainable2050

Kees van der Leun Profile picture
14 Jul
Reading the EC's #Fitfor55 communication now. Thread.
Good to see biodiversity mentioned in line 1!
"We are at a pivotal moment in the world's response to the climate and biodiversity emergencies and we are the last generation that can still act in time."
.. and multiple benefits in paragraph 2:
"We all share in the benefits of more space for nature, cleaner air, cooler and greener towns and cities, healthier citizens, lower energy use and bills, as well as new jobs, technologies and industrial opportunities."
Read 29 tweets
Kees van der Leun Profile picture
14 Jul
EC press conference on its big Fit for 55 program (to meet the 2030 emissions reduction target) about to start. Follow it live here: audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/ebs/live/1 Image
EVP Frans @TimmermansEU leads the EU Green Deal development.
Commissioners speaking:
Kadri Simson, Energy
Paolo Gentiloni, Economy
Adina Valean, Transport
Virginijus Sinkevicius, Environment
Janusz Wojciechowski, Agriculture
"About to start" was a bit optimistic; EC's #Fitfor55 press conference now scheduled to start at 14:15 CET.
Read 15 tweets
Kees van der Leun Profile picture
24 Jun
The US (+14.2 GW) added 1/3 more new wind capacity than the EU (+10.5 GW) last year.
However, the US uses almost 50% more electricity than the EU (4,100 vs 2,800 TWh), so relative to its total consumption, the EU still added more wind capacity than the US.
Both need to grow capacity additions rapidly to meet their climate targets.
The 2020 wind capacity additions in the US and the EU were roughly enough to take over 1% of their electricity consumption. In the US, wind now provides 8% of all electricity; in the EU, its share is around 15%.
Read 6 tweets
Kees van der Leun Profile picture
22 Jun
First 100 tonnes of steel produced with hydrogen instead of fossil fuels: @ssab, @LKABgroup and @VattenfallGroup first in the world with hydrogen-reduced sponge iron.

lkab.com/en/news-room/p…
I don't think the iron ore cared a lot about the hydrogen's origin, but this is a great step towards renewables-based primary steel production!
For background: the first step in steel production is turning iron ore into iron. That involves removing the oxygen atoms from the iron oxides, aka 'reducing' those. That's the role of cokes (coal) in blast iron furnaces, now taken over by hydrogen. So it's not just a fuel here.
Read 4 tweets
Kees van der Leun Profile picture
4 Jun
Boat docks in Folsom Lake, California. In @trouw today. Image
Background:
This from 100 miles (160 km) to the north, in Northern California:
Read 25 tweets
Kees van der Leun Profile picture
10 May
Published today: the progress report on the North Sea Wind Power Hub consortium": "Towards the first hub-and-spoke project"!
northseawindpowerhub.eu/node/178
In short:
1. The North Sea is an offshore wind energy powerhouse
2. Countries must come together
3. Time for an ambitious next step
4. A solution is at hand
5. Cooperation is the way forward – The NSWPH consortium is helping to pave the way
Kudos to @EnerginetDK , @Gasunie , and @TenneT for showing leadership, developing a great, comprehensive approach to integrating ~180 GW of North Sea offshore wind into the European energy system, and bringing it to the next level!
Read 20 tweets

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