Collapse Catch-Up: May 28-June 2, 2023

Welcome to the 16th edition of Collapse Catch-Up, a weekly newsletter that catches you up on the latest signs that we are living through the collapse of global industrial civilization. You can find the 15th edition here.

This week I have news about unprecedented wildfires, cities running out of water, accelerated global warming, skyrocketing potato prices, the first-ever plastic rain forecast, fears that AI will destroy us all, the crossing of planetary boundaries, food insecurity in the Middle East, escalation of the war in Ukraine, and much more.

Extreme Weather

Last week, Shanghai, China recorded its highest May temperature in over 100 years. The temperature reached 36.1°C, beating the previous record of 35.7°C, which was set back in 1876. Asia has been hit with several heatwaves recently, and they’re going to get worse.

Heat isn’t the only thing plaguing China. Prolonged rainfall has slammed China’s wheat fields, infecting crops with blight and causing pre-harvest sprouting. Millions of tons of wheat have been lost, enough to affect global wheat prices during a time when food insecurity is already on the rise.

Livestock in China has also been affected by extreme weather. The searing heat has been killing farm animals like pigs, rabbits, and fish. And now…