People in Bogota cross themselves. A lot. And not only when I was passing by or when they were passing by me.
Continue readingAt the Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Bogota’s Candy Cane Church
Author Archives → Bob Ramsak
I'm a reporter, photographer and researcher driven by passions for travel, culture and justice. I've visited 62 countries and write something and make pictures every day.
Copernicus: August 2026 was the hottest Month on Record.
Records are made to be broken, I guess. Or, at least tied.
The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that August 2026 was the hottest month in recorded history, tying with July 2023. August 2026 was 1.65°C above the estimated pre-industrial 1850-1900 average, marking the first month above 1.5°C since November 2025.
The data visualisation above, produced using C3S data, shows surface air temperature anomalies for August 2026 across Europe, Africa, and parts of the Arctic and Asia.
A few Global superlatives from the monthly report:
- The global-average surface air temperature in August 2026 was 16.96°C, 0.85°C above the 1991–2020 average, making it the warmest August globally in the ERA5 dataset, surpassing the previous joint record set in 2023 and 2024.
- August 2026 was also the joint-warmest month ever recorded globally across all calendar months, on par with July 2023.
- August 2026 was 1.65°C above the estimated pre-industrial 1850-1900 average, marking the first month above 1.5°C since November 2025.
- The period from June to August 2026 was the joint-warmest on record globally, on par with 2024.
And here in Europe:
- The average temperature over European land in August 2026 was 20.26°C, 1.10°C above the 1991-2020 average for the month, making it the fourth-warmest August on record.
- Summer 2026 (June to August) was the third warmest on record for Europe, behind 2024 and 2022.
- Western Europe experienced its warmest summer on record, surpassing the long-standing 2003 record. The 2026 season was marked by a succession of exceptionally early, persistent and intense heatwaves across the region.
And the world’s seas:
- The average sea surface temperature (SST) for extra-polar oceans (60°S–60°N) in August 2026 was the highest on record for the month, at 21.07°C, surpassing the previous August record of 20.98°C set in 2023.
- The average extra-polar SST for August 2026 was also the joint highest on record across all calendar months, on par with March 2024.
- SSTs remained exceptionally high across much of the tropical Pacific, where El Niño conditions are present and forecast to further strengthen in the coming months, potentially into one of the strongest El Niño events on record.
- Around Europe, SSTs reached record highs for August along the Atlantic coast and in the western Mediterranean, associated with widespread strong or severe marine heatwave conditions.
In the report press release, Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), said:
“August 2026 was a remarkable month in the global climate record. It was both the warmest August and the warmest month ever recorded, with global temperatures reaching 1.65°C above pre-industrial levels, marking the return of global temperatures above 1.5°C. Combined with record global sea surface temperatures and the warmest summer on record for Western Europe, these observations show how climate change is driving extremes across both the atmosphere and the oceans. The impacts of these conditions are increasingly being felt by communities, economies and ecosystems across the world.”
A few media reports:
Birding at the Strunjan Landscape Park, Slovenia
Black-winged Stilts, Little Egrets and more in Slovenia’s only marine lagoon – and the northernmost salt pans in the Mediterranean world.
Continue readingMy First Dragonfly Close-up
I was reminded that this post about a visit to the Wahkeena Nature Preserve in southeast Ohio, which sparked a brief reflection on native Americans, was published one year ago, so I just felt compelled to share. Much obliged if you could take a few minutes to give it a read.
Continue readingSahara Dust, in the Northern Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas
Sand from the Sahara painting the skies over the northern Adriatic in hues of milky yellow.
Continue readingEuractiv: Heat deaths in Germany, France, Italy and Spain soar
From the report, published on 20 August:
Europe’s four largest countries have recorded more than 25,000 likely heat-related deaths in 2026 so far, according to latest data compiled nationally.
Summer temperatures across Europe have repeatedly surged past 35°C over the last few months, with record‑breaking heatwaves triggering public health alerts and putting care systems under strain. The four most populous EU countries – Germany, France, Spain and Italy – are among the hardest hit, each reporting sharp increases in heat-related deaths.
Taken together, the countries’ figures amount to more than 25,000 heat-related deaths.
The number is likely to rise in August and September.
Link.
Perito Moreno Glacier’s Rapid Retreat
When I visited the Perito Moreno glacier in 2013, it was one of the few glaciers in the Americas, and in the world, that was not retreating. It was stable and in some years expanding. That’s no longer the case.
53 photos of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Continue readingAugust Moon, Over the Kvarner Gulf
Scientific American: Earth’s oceans just hit their hottest temperature ever
The previous high of 21.09 C (69.96 F) occurred in March 2024. From the report:
Average ocean temperatures hit a record 21.10 degrees Celsius (69.98 degrees Fahrenheit) on August 22, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
That’s not as hot as a warm bath, but it is the hottest the world’s oceans have been since C3S started keeping records in 1979.
“As a climate scientist, this is not surprising to me all,” says Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at Climate Central, a climate research nonprofit. “It’s consistent with decades of research showing how our climate is changing as the planet warms. And without reductions in the burning of fossil fuels, this warming will only continue.”
Link.
Ship Spotting at Sunset, Rijeka
We’re back in Rijeka for the week where I plan to do some ship-spotting from the balcony, like tonight. At left is the Sara Star, a container ship that was parked in this spot for two days before heading onward to the port of Bakar just a few kilometers up the coast. And at right,… Continue reading
Grist: Why Egyptian farmers are growing crops under solar panels
The short answer: agrivoltaics produce shade that reduces evaporation and plant stress – while generating clean electricity. From the story:
Researchers around the world are finding that instead of solar panels stopping plants from flourishing, what with all that shade, they can supercharge growth. Many plants evolved to grow in the dappled light of the forest floor, for instance, and struggle under full sun. The partner groups and farmers in Egypt are experimenting with different arrangements of panels, like a checkerboard. This doesn’t generate as much electricity as a sprawling solar farm, with row after row of solid panels with few gaps, but it lets more sunlight reach the crops.
For now, the power generated is helping to run irrigation equipment at one of the two pilot project communities,
but could also potentially power desalination plants for purifying the region’s brackish water. With that additional H2O, more places could support agriculture and agrivoltaics — a self-reinforcing cycle.
Link.
NYT: What the Newest Research on Wildfire Smoke Tells Us. (It’s not good.) – Gift Link
Research is in the early stages but scientists have found:
That people are being exposed to more toxins than previously known, and beyond damaging lungs, wildfire smoke may affect hearts, brains and other organs. One study in 2025 estimated that smoke could kill as many as 1.9 million people in the United States over three decades.
And
Wildfire pollution is often measured by the concentration of airborne particles known as PM2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs.
But that can understate risk, said Kari Nadeau, a physician and dean of the U.C.L.A. Fielding School of Public Health, who is studying the consequences of the 2025 Los Angeles fires. That’s because PM2.5, a primary pollutant measured by air quality indexes, doesn’t reflect other substances that wildfire smoke can contain, including lead, mercury and formaldehyde.
The NYT story will be updated as new research is published. This gift link expires in 30 days; I’ll try to remember to update it once a month but if you cross paths with the post and find that the link no longer works, let me know and I’ll update it.
Link.
In Transit: Pardubice
The finest mosaic clock/mural combo on the planet – a permanent fixture at the main train station in Pardubice, Czech Republic.
Continue readingHat and Bag Peddler, Quito, May 2015
International “State of the Climate” Report Confirms Record-high Greenhouse Gases, Global Sea Level, and Ocean Heat in 2025
The 36th annual State of the Climate report, led by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was released by the American Meteorological Society on 10 August. The key takeaways: greenhouse gas concentrations, global sea level, and ocean heat content all reached record highs in 2025.
Notable findings:
- Earth’s greenhouse gas concentrations were the highest on record
- Record and near-record temperatures were notable across the globe
- Despite cool ENSO and weak La Niña conditions, sea surface temperatures were at near-record-high levels
- Ocean heat and global sea level were the highest on record
- The Arctic saw near-record warmth
- Antarctica saw record warmth and continued low sea ice; and
- Glaciers around the world continued to melt.
Pied Crow, in Uganda
Kukova Spiča Sunset, Near Kranjska Gora, Slovenia
Sharing a sunset view in four scenes of Kukova Špica (2427m/ 7962ft), a peak at the western end of Slovenia’s Martuljek mountain group in the Julian Alps, with a Eurasian Kestrel.
Continue readingGuardian: Destroyed crops, riverbed cyclists and a ‘Rock of Starvation’: how drought has devastated the Danube
A Guardian reporter and photographer traveled 100 miles (160km) along the banks of the Danube, the EU’s longest river, to document the impacts of its record-low levels. The Danube flows through or forms the border of 10 countries, making it most international river in the world. The describe crop loss and failure, unnavigable areas, and drinking water emergencies. Below, an account by the president of the Hungarian Cyclists Club who embarked on a bike ride on the river.
The water is so low in the capital that on 28 July, at about 4.30pm, Gábor Kürti, president of the Magyar Kerékpárosklub (Hungarian cyclists’ club) and owner of a cargo bike company, left his office in central Budapest, jumped on his bicycle and, in an unprecedented feat, rode for 30km along the exposed bed of the Danube, with his journey quickly going viral on social media.
“I wanted to show that if you can cycle along the bed of the Danube for 30km, it means that, because of this climate emergency, we have literally hit rock bottom,” he told the Guardian.
Riding his KTM X-Strada 20 gravel bike, Kürti set off from the mouth of the Szilas stream (Szilas-patak) and made his way across fine gravel, large pebbles, hard-packed sand and mud, eventually reaching the ferry terminal at Vác about three hours later.
“For many people it was an extraordinary adventure. For me, it was heartbreaking,” he said. “Cycling through parts of the river where, as a child, I used to swim or go kayaking, and which I could now cross on a bicycle, filled me with an indescribable sadness. It was like looking at the scene of a terrible accident. Throughout that journey, the scale of the catastrophe was unfolding before my eyes.”
Link.
Chasing Usain Bolt, Revisited – (Reblog)
From early 2008 when he set his first world record until the end of 2017 when he finally announced his retirement, my summers largely consisted of chasing Usain Bolt, still the world’s fastest man. A couple times I actually caught him.
Like here.
Continue readingEuroNews: A Japanese Inventor is Turning Soil Into a Source of Electricity
Well grounded? Japanese designer Satoshi Nakagawa is using soil, compost and other everyday materials to generate small amounts of electricity that could power sensors, lights, and other low-energy devices in off-grid settings.
EuroNews via AFP reports:
Glinting in the night, halfway up a hill in Japan, the greenhouse-like ‘Ku-An’ test lab is lit by electricity harnessed from 1,500 wooden boxes of soil and compost.
Designer Satoshi Nakagawa has long battled sceptics, but believes that the technology powering the 800 LEDs has a role to play in solving humanity’s energy conundrum. Failing that, it at least looks nice and gets people thinking.
“As the population moves toward 10 billion, energy issues will become just as critical as food issues,” says Nakagawa, chief executive of design firm Tripod Design. “Even if it’s just a small contribution, I want people to be able to produce their own electricity using the soil around them,” the Japanese product designer and engineer told news agency AFP.
Link.