Low Temperature Records Fall In U.S.; Frosts Persist In South America, Impacting Coffee Prices; + Ocean Acidification Exaggerations

As on the land, additional carbon dioxide increases biodiversity in the oceans.

Low Temperature Records Fall In U.S.

Anomalously cool temperatures have been the story for much of the U.S. this past week.

According to unofficial records compiled by coolwx.com, a host of daily cold benchmarks have been toppled in recent days, most notably on August 9 and 10:

This is supported even by NOAA, who for the past 7-days have daily cold records outstripping daily heat records.

Frosts Persist In South America, Impacting Coffee Prices

The second week of August has brought relentless cold to large swaths of South America, and records have been felled.

Polar air has pushed as far north as Brazil, into the state of Rio Grande do Sul among others. Already chilled, these regions are now eyeing a further drop in temperatures with the arrival of harsh frosts, according to Brazil's Institute of Meteorology (Inmet).

A cyclone offshore is exacerbating the issue, diverting fierce Antarctic winds over much of the South American continent. Owing to this, thermometers are further lowering, to -6C (21.2F) in Santa Catarina (thus far).

Inmet has alerts in place for the likes of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and also parts of Paraná, warning of an intensification to the current cold wave that will drop the mercury well-below average—posing health risks.

Already, many regions—including the city of Rio de Janeiro—have observed their coldest lows in over a decade.

GFS 2m Temperature Anomalies, Aug 11 - Aug 14 [tropicaltidbits.com].