The Big Wobble - Really not good

Map the weather channel
It's been a common theme throughout this summer in the Northern Hemisphere, killer heatwaves with temperatures humans should not have to endure and every summer recently appears to get worse, with this year especially oppressing from California to Japan.
In Italy, the latest heatwave, nick-named 'Lucifer' by locals, has caused a 15 per cent spike in admissions to hospital emergency units and forecasters see no respite coming before early next week.
It's brought wildfires to Spain, Italy, France, The Balkans and Romania, destroyed millions of Euro's of crops and killing thousands of cattle.
Flash foods and lightning strikes are also increasing at an unprecedented level.

But now The Lancet Planetary Health journal has written a new report claiming extreme weather could kill up to 152,000 people each year in Europe by 2100 if nothing is done to curb the effects of climate change, scientists say.

The bleak pictured they paint could see such deaths rise from 3,000 each year between 1981 and 2010 to 152,000 a year between 2071 and 2100 and that's just Europe, the south western US has endured temperatures around 50 deg C or 122 deg F this year and Asian countries especially, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have lost thousands of people to heat and floods.
By 2100, weather-related disasters could affect two thirds of Europe's population per year, It comes amid a number of high profile heat waves which have hit the headlines recently, with tourists today warned to expect highs of 43°C in Croatia and Spain.

Whatever your stance on climate change it is undeniable the weather is becoming more extreme year on year.

Read the Lancet report here

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Photo urdogs.com
Earlier this week the Colorado Department of Agriculture Animal Health Division sent out a release indicating that the number of reported rabies cases in Colorado was on the rise in 2017.
So far in 2017, 93 animals have tested positive.
Sixty of those animals are known to have exposed domestic pets, livestock, and humans.
Early in the summer (March, April, and May), skunks were the primary source of positive labs tests. Since that time (May, June, and July) bats have taken the lead in positive test results.
Other wildlife (coyotes, foxes, etc.) are scattered throughout the year.
As would probably be expected the domestic animals, specifically dogs, show a spike in positive test that correlates with the spike in skunk positive test results.
The majority of the tested cases have been along the Front Range, however there have also been some from Southeast Colorado, especially with skunks, coyotes, and foxes.
All species of livestock are susceptible to rabies, with cattle and horses being the most often reported. Vaccines are species specific and are currently available for dogs, cats, horses, sheep, cattle, ferrets, raccoons, and coyotes.
Extra label use is allowed by veterinarians only, but if given to food animals, a substantially extended withdrawal period is recommended and must be adhered to.
As with all vaccination programs that require an annual booster, many re-vaccination programs have been inconsistent in following the booster protocol.
Residents are reminded that any change in animal behavior should be noted.
Animals exposed to rabies may present as either more aggressive or tamer than usual.
Nocturnal animals (skunks, foxes, etc.) may be seen out during the day staggering, trembling, or weak.
Rabies or suspicion of rabies is a reportable disease in Colorado.
Normal behavior for wildlife is to avoid human contact.
If you find wildlife that do not attempt to flee or otherwise appear injured - DO NOT approach the animal and try to help it.
Contact your local animal control officer or Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife. The brain of the animal must be tested to confirm rabies.

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(photo by Carl Auer)
The Apache County Health Department recently notified the public about a new prairie dog die-off in Concho.
A previous die-off was reported in early July.
A notice posted on the Apache County website on July 24 states: "The Health Department has received an additional report of another prairie dog die-off in Old Concho."
The notice bluntly states that "Old Concho is now considered a plague-positive area."
The die-off occurred earlier in July.
Fleas, and the rodents they commonly live on and feed off of, act as hosts for the life cycle of the bubonic plague bacteria, Yersinia pestis.
Prairie dogs are quite susceptible to the disease and die quickly.
Since their hosts are dead and the fleas can no longer get a meal of blood from them, the insects abandon their hosts who die deep in their burrows.
They climb up and hang out near the entrance of the burrow, hoping to catch a ride and a meal on another passing animal, usually another rodent.
The new area of infestation is on the opposite side of Highway 61 northwest from the original infestation.
A map of the affected area has been posted on the Apache County website.
"They both happened during the same time period.
If it was the same mode of transmission, I don't know," said Apache County Public Health Director Chris Sexton.
Sexton said he could not be sure if rodents or some other type of animal is moving the fleas around Concho.
The most recent die-off occurred on vacant land in an area with a smaller number of prairie dog burrows.
Sexton said it was about 300 feet to the nearest residence.
He did not say who reported the die-off.
The area where the previous prairie dog die-off occurred, at the Jim and Marilyn Mineer property, was recently treated for fleas.
A crew from Coconino County Public Health dusted the affected burrows with an insecticide to kill any fleas that were still alive.
Mineer said in a telephone message that she was satisfied with the work done by the crew, calling it "very thorough."
On July 13, Dr. Joe Busch, a staff scientist with the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at Northern Arizona University, took samples of fleas from burrows where the die-off occurred at the Mineer property.
Ten percent of the fleas sampled tested positive for the bubonic plague bacteria.
Sexton said that the burrows in the area of the most recent die-off will not be dusted because the property owners cannot be reached.
He said the dusting crew must have the owner's permission before entering their property.
Apache County does not conduct insecticide dusting of prairie dog burrows - they contract with Coconino County for that work.
Sexton said Coconino County staffers were unable to reach the property owners.
No one from Apache County has attempted to contact them, he said.
Sexton was not concerned about the bacteria spreading from the untreated burrows, noting that no die-offs had been reported in Concho Valley.
"If this was something highly transmissible, like measles or flu, we would take more precautions," he said.

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Photo earthobservatory.nasa.gov
A wide swathe of southwest Japan, including areas devastated by torrential rains last month, on Friday braced for more rain as Typhoon Noru, at one point the world's strongest storm this year, churned closer to the country's main islands.
The Amami island chain, located just south of the southwest main island of Kyushu and some 1,350 km (840 miles) from Tokyo, will be hit by high winds and heavy rains from noon on Friday, with as much as 800 mm (31 inches) possible in the next 48 hours, the Meteorological Agency said.
Noru - which is a Korean word for a type of deer - is then likely to turn north and drench Kyushu, although the northern parts of the island, which last month were hit with torrential rains and flooding that killed 36 and left four missing, are likely to be spared the worst, an agency spokesman said. "This is an extremely slow-moving storm," he added, noting this means there is a higher danger of floods due to extended heavy rains in one area.
Noru, at one point a Category 5 typhoon and an unusually long-lived storm, first formed two weeks ago and wandered in a circle around the northern Pacific before heading northwest and aiming for Japan, weakening as it approached.
Depending on how its course changes, Noru could also rake straight across Kyushu and then along Japan's main island of Honshu, but longer-term movements are still hard to pin down, the spokesman added.

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