Catastrophe Chronicle

“We are on the deathbed. Humanity cannot survive – the way it has been behaving with nature – for more than fifty years, sixty years, or, at the most, one hundred years, which is nothing. If the Third World War does not happen, then we will be committing a slow suicide. Within a hundred years, we will be gone. Not even a trace will be left.”¹ Osho

And: Priests & Politicians: The Mafia of the Soul

It is becoming increasingly clear that humanity just doesn’t have the consciousness to prevent the inexorable destruction of the only home it has.

The Unfolding Story – 2025 – Updated Regularly:

Read 2025 Edition HERE

February 17, 2026
The grim message in the ‘rusting’ Arctic rivers
The bright orange waterways are a sign that permafrost is thawing rapidly, with potentially hazardous consequences
“In Alaska’s Brooks Range, a wilderness of rugged peaks and crystalline rivers just north of the Arctic Circle, a strange new force is blighting the landscape.
“Bright orange water is flowing through rivers in quantities visible from outer space. As with wastewater from mines, the rust-orange colour comes from iron that dissolves after exposure to acidic water. But in this case, mining isn’t the culprit, it’s global warming.
“‘I’ve been most startled by the spatial extent,’ says Brett Poulin, a scientist at the University of California, Davis who studies ‘rusting’ rivers. ‘And there’s no way to stop it,’ he adds. ‘Once it starts, it just starts.'” – Financial Times

February 12, 2026
Trump’s EPA repeals landmark climate finding in gift to ‘billionaire polluters’
Rollback of government’s ability to limit climate-heating pollution will make families ‘sicker and less safe’, environmental advocate says
“The Trump administration has revoked the bedrock scientific determination that gives the government the ability to regulate climate-heating pollution. The move was described as a gift to “billionaire polluters” at the expense of Americans’ health.
“The endangerment finding, which states that the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endangers public health and welfare, has since 2009 allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit heat-trapping pollution from vehicles, power plants and other industrial sources….
“The former secretary of state John Kerry called the new rule ‘un-American.’
“‘Repealing the Endangerment Finding takes Orwellian governance to new heights and invites enormous damage to people and property around the world,’ said Kerry, who also served as Joe Biden’s climate envoy. “Ignoring warning signs will not stop the storm. It puts more Americans directly in its path.’” – The Guardian

February 11, 2026
Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say
Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unaware
“Continued global heating could trigger climate tipping points, leading to a cascade of further tipping points and feedback loops, they said. This would lock the world into a new and hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ climate far worse than the 2-3C temperature rise the world is on track to reach. The climate would also be very different to the benign conditions of the past 11,000 years, during which the whole of human civilisation developed.
“At just 1.3C of global heating in recent years, extreme weather is already taking lives and destroying livelihoods across the globe. At 3-4C, ‘the economy and society will cease to function as we know it,’ scientists said last week, but a hothouse Earth would be even more fiery.” – The Guardian

February 9, 2026
Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster, warns UN chief
Exclusive: António Guterres says world’s accounting systems should place true value on the environment
“The global economy must be radically transformed to stop it rewarding pollution and waste, UN secretary general António Guterres has warned.
“Speaking to the Guardian after the UN hosted a meeting of leading global economists, Guterres said humanity’s future required the urgent overhaul of the world’s ‘existing accounting systems’ he said were driving the planet to the brink of disaster.
‘We must place true value on the environment and go beyond gross domestic product as a measure of human progress and wellbeing. Let us not forget that when we destroy a forest, we are creating GDP. When we overfish, we are creating GDP.’” – The Guardian

February 9, 2026
Economic growth is still heating the planet. Is there any way out?
Rising GDP continues to mean more carbon emissions and wider damage to the planet. Can the two be decoupled?
‘This week, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, called for economies to ‘move beyond GDP’ as a measure of progress, warning that the world’s ‘existing accounting systems’ were driving the planet towards disaster.
His remarks echo an increasingly influential school of economics, known broadly as ‘post-growth,’ that asks what was once unthinkable: will solving the climate crisis mean learning to live without constant expansion?
“Post-growth economists often reject GDP in favour of new frameworks that account for environmental damage – such as the ‘doughnut economics’ adopted recently by Amsterdam, or New Zealand’s attempt at a ‘wellbeing budget.’” – The Guardian

February 9, 2026
Forests are changing fast and scientists are deeply concerned
Forests may be growing faster—but they’re also becoming weaker, simpler, and far more vulnerable.
“Forests around the world are quietly transforming, and not for the better. A massive global analysis of more than 31,000 tree species reveals that forests are becoming more uniform, increasingly dominated by fast-growing ‘sprinter’ trees, while slow-growing, long-lived species are disappearing. These slower species act as the backbone of forest ecosystems, storing carbon, stabilizing environments, and supporting rich webs of life—especially in tropical regions where biodiversity is highest.” – ScienceDaily

February 6, 2026
An invisible chemical rain is falling across the planet
The chemicals that helped save the ozone layer are now coating the planet with a pollutant that may never go away.
“A new study reveals that chemicals used to replace ozone-damaging CFCs are now driving a surge in a persistent ‘forever chemical’ worldwide. The pollutant, called trifluoroacetic acid, is falling out of the atmosphere into water, land, and ice, including in remote regions like the Arctic. Even as older chemicals are phased out, their long lifetimes mean pollution is still rising.” – ScienceDaily

February 5, 2026
Climate crisis could cause global financial crash as economic models fail to capture risk
Researchers say governments and financial institutions underestimating threat because they rely on models that assume climate crisis impacts will be gradual
“The climate crisis could trigger a global financial crash as temperatures rise beyond 2C, but governments and investors are relying on economic models that fail to account for the scale and severity of the damage, new research warns.
“Researchers warn that governments and financial institutions are underestimating the threat because they rely on models that assume the impacts of the climate crisis will be gradual.
“The analysis finds that as global heating increases, climate damage is more likely to arrive through extreme weather, cascading disruptions and tipping points, rather than through slow, manageable changes to economic growth. These risks, the researchers say, are largely missing from the tools used to guide public policy and investment decisions.” – The Independent

January 30, 2026
Something Dark Is Growing on Greenland’s Ice. And Melting It Faster.
New studies show how algae grows on ice and snow, creating “dark zones” that exacerbate melting in the consequential region.
“On snow it’s green or red. On ice it’s a brownish gray. And it’s melting the frozen mass that encases Greenland faster and faster.
“As a warming climate eats away at the ice that covers most of the world’s largest island, algae blooms are speeding up that process, according to two new studies. Greenland is shedding hundreds of billions of tons of ice every year and raising sea levels as it does.” – New York Times

January 29, 2026
A breakthrough that turns exhaust CO2 into useful materials
“Scientists have created a device that captures carbon dioxide and transforms it into a useful chemical in a single step. The new electrode works with realistic exhaust gases rather than requiring purified CO2. It converts the captured gas into formic acid, which is used in energy and manufacturing. The system even functions at CO2 levels found in normal air.” – ScienceDaily

January 29, 2026
US leads record global surge in gas-fired power driven by AI demands, with big costs for the climate
Projects in development expected to grow global capacity by nearly 50% amid growing concern over impact on planet
“The US is leading a huge global surge in new gas-fired power generation that will cause a major leap in planet-heating emissions, with this record boom driven by the expansion of energy-hungry datacenters to service artificial intelligence, according to a new forecast.
“This year is set to shatter the annual record for new gas power additions around the world, with projects in development expected to grow existing global gas capacity by nearly 50%, a report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found.
“The US is at the forefront of a global push for gas that is set to escalate over the next five years, after tripling its planned gas-fired capacity in 2025. Much of this new capacity will be devoted to the vast electricity needs of AI, with a third of the 252 gigawatts of gas power in development set to be situated on site at datacenters.
“All of this new gas energy is set to come at a significant cost to the climate, amid ongoing warnings from scientists that fossil fuels must be rapidly phased out to avoid disastrous global heating.” – The Guardian

January 21, 2026
The world’s mountains are warming faster than anyone expected
The world’s mountains are changing fast—and the water, weather, and ecosystems billions rely on are changing with them.
“Mountain regions around the world are heating up faster than the lands below them, triggering dramatic shifts in snow, rain, and water supply that could affect over a billion people. A major global review finds that rising temperatures are turning snowfall into rain, shrinking glaciers, and making mountain weather more extreme and unpredictable. These changes threaten water sources for huge populations, including those in China and India, while also increasing risks of floods, ecosystem collapse, and deadly weather events.” – ScienceDaily

January 20, 2026
Era of ‘global water bankruptcy’ is here, UN report says
Overuse and pollution must end urgently as no one knows when whole system might collapse, says expert
“The world has entered an era of ‘global water bankruptcy’ that is harming billions of people, a UN report has declared.
“The overuse and pollution of water must be tackled urgently, the report’s lead author said, because no one knew when the whole system could collapse, with implications for peace and social cohesion.
“All life depends on water but the report found many societies had long been using water faster than it could be replenished annually in rivers and soils, as well as over-exploiting or destroying long-term stores of water in aquifers and wetlands.
“This had led to water bankruptcy, the report said, with many human water systems past the point at which they could be restored to former levels. The climate crisis was exacerbating the problem by melting glaciers, which store water, and causing whiplashes between extremely dry and wet weather.” – The Guardian

January 17, 2026
Microplastics are undermining the ocean’s power to absorb carbon
“Tiny plastic particles drifting through the oceans may be quietly weakening one of Earth’s most powerful climate defenses. New research suggests microplastics are disrupting marine life that helps oceans absorb carbon dioxide, while also releasing greenhouse gases as they break down. By interfering with plankton, microbes, and natural carbon cycles, these pollutants reduce the ocean’s ability to regulate global temperatures.” – ScienceDaily

January 14, 2026
The ocean absorbed a stunning amount of heat in 2025
“Earth’s oceans reached their highest heat levels on record in 2025, absorbing vast amounts of excess energy from the atmosphere. This steady buildup has accelerated since the 1990s and is now driving stronger storms, heavier rainfall, and rising sea levels. While surface temperatures fluctuate year to year, the ocean’s long-term warming trend shows no sign of slowing.” – ScienceDaily

January 14, 2026
The World Is in the Midst of an ‘Extreme’ Temperature Spike
“Last year was the third hottest on record, according to an analysis of temperature data released Wednesday by three independent agencies. That puts 2025 just behind the second-hottest year, 2023, and the hottest, 2024.
“What makes this result extraordinary, scientists say, is that 2025 saw a cooling phase in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, or La Niña, that suppresses global temperatures. In other words: Heat from greenhouse gases countered that cooling influence enough that the year still landed among the very warmest.” – Bloomberg

January 14, 2026
Earth to breach 1.5C warming a decade early, scientists say
EU’s Copernicus observation service sees temperatures passing Paris goal by 2030
“Scientists believe irreversible changes to the planet will begin if temperatures over 1.5C are sustained over decades, endangering human health, food security, water supplies and economic growth.
“’To all intents and purposes, the 1.5C limit is now dead in the water,’ said Bill McGuire, professor of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London. ‘Whichever way you look at it, dangerous climate breakdown has arrived, but with little sign that the world is prepared, or even paying serious attention.’ – The Financial Times

January 9, 2026
Oceans are storing record heat, intensifying climate disasters
“The world’s oceans absorbed unprecedented amounts of heat in 2025, setting a new record and intensifying extreme weather events. Scientists report that oceans take up more than 90% of the heat trapped by human-caused carbon pollution, making ocean warming one of the clearest indicators of the accelerating climate crisis. This excess heat is fueling stronger hurricanes and typhoons, heavier rainfall and flooding, prolonged marine heatwaves that devastate ocean life, and rising sea levels through thermal expansion—threatening billions of people worldwide. Researchers warn that the oceans are likely hotter than at any point in at least 1,000 years and are warming faster than at any time in the past 2,000 years. Because the atmosphere is more affected by natural climate variability, scientists emphasize that “global warming is ocean warming”, and that ocean heat content provides the most reliable measure of how rapidly the planet is heating—until emissions fall to zero.” – The Guardian

January 8, 2026
India arrests prominent climate activist for campaigning against fossil fuels
Financial crimes agency raids Harjeet Singh’s home and office after accusing him of using foreign funds to promote an international green initiative
“Indian authorities raided a prominent climate activist’s home and office, accusing him of using foreign funding to campaign against fossil fuels in ways that could undermine the country’s energy security.
“Investigators searched properties linked to Harjeet Singh, a long-time climate campaigner, and his wife Jyoti Awasthi earlier this week. The couple are co-founders of Satat Sampada, an organisation that works on climate action, sustainable development, and organic farming….
“The initiative is an international campaign calling for a binding agreement to stop the expansion of new coal, oil and gas projects and to manage a gradual phaseout of fossil fuels. It is backed by several nations, including small island states, as well as the World Health Organisation and the European parliament.” – Independent

The Unfolding Story – 2025 – Updated Regularly:

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