Weekly Observations: What signs of collapse do you see in your region? [in-depth] May 04

[-]

JunketUpbeat9386@reddit

Location: NYC

We had days in the 90s last month followed by a dip back into the 30s. It killed all the spring flowers that are usually all over Park Ave and Central Park.

All the subway ads are either for AI products (usually something replacing a task or a job a human could do) or for GLP-1s. Occasionally there is an ad to join the corrections department (working at Rikers Jail).

People at my job are tense because we’re reliant on donors to keep the place afloat and everyone is whining that they don’t have money for us (they do, they’re millionaires, but it’s a convenient excuse).

Cops and the military are everywhere.

I’m waiting to hear back to see if I have cancer and if it’s stage 3 or above I’ve already decided I’m not going to get treatment. I cannot fathom being that sick and dying and a burden on my family while food shortages are beginning to ramp up-especially considering how much treatment costs. I cannot imagine dying and leaving my husband and kids with that.

[-]

Consistent-Risk-7802@reddit

Really sorry you are going through this, but your thinking is understandable. When do you hear?

[-]

JunketUpbeat9386@reddit

Should be within the next few weeks. But genuinely, getting a ticket out of here would be a relief. I’m a religious person, and even if I wasn’t, every description of death I’ve read is worlds better than suffocating from ocean acidification (or watching my children have to)

[-]

PrairieFire_withwind@reddit

Location: upper midwest

I won't repeat the weather or wildlife observations, both are out of whack.

This is the tiniest of changes but feels like the undertow on a beach. Packaging. At my work i deal with a lot of packaging. materials sent from one company to ours. b2b. None of this is ever fancy or consumer facing. Nothing like an apple box or any modern unboxing video. Just plastics and paper to protect fragile materials or materials that cannot have water or moisture exposure. Stuff i will later use to make stuff with. So the vast majority of our stuff comes from other businesses in the US. A few things come in bulk, some come in very frequent smaller amounts. And a very very few thinga come directly from overseas. The overseas stuff has very particular cardboard. Obviously lower quality and recycled or pallets that have been pulled apart and turned into a crate.

Here is the change. I am now seeing obviously re-used packaging from us businesses. Again. B2b here. None of this is customer facing and all of it is materials. And it is a change. One i opened the other day looked like they had asked employees to bring in their amazon boxes and had hand cut the cardboard to use as packing. I am also seeing foam cut by hand (people dont use straight edges so you can see the wobble).

So no, this isn't a complaint. This is an observation. Something changed in atleast two suppliers we work with that they are now re-using packaging. That costs employee time to make it fit and work. That is a management choice i think. If so that shows a level of cost cutting i have never seen before, even during covid.

[-]

Ok_Analyst_5640@reddit

Heh, I can relate to this.

I used to work at a company here in England making machinery. The company would crate stuff up or send out on pallets, but anything small / light enough would go in a cardboard box. Anyway, this company just would not spend money on it's own packaging. It was a very old fashioned company and most of the customers were installers or other businesses. So we'd have to save up cardboard boxes we'd received and any useful packaging to reuse again. We weren't the only company to do it, some of the stuff we received would tell the box had been used a few times already.

Despite reusing cardboard and other packaging we'd still end up with a lot of unusable boxes and cardboard to get rid of and crush into bales. This cost the company money to get rid of to the tune of perhaps £500 every 4 weeks. Now at the same time we were buying in styrofoam and bubble wrap to actually protect the goods in. I have no idea how much they paid but it was a semi trailer full, so not cheap.

So myself and another guy suggested the company buy a cardboard shredder as shredded cardboard was ideal to send out the sort of stuff we sent out. Not only useful in cardboard boxes but ideal for in the crates to, we could have probably eliminated buying in styrofoam and bubble wrap and most of the waste stream we got charged to get rid of as well.

Of course this fell on deaf ears because the purchasing didn't want to spend the money and couldn't see beyond their next bonus. When you have a purchasing department rewarded with bonuses for underspending each quarter they act like buying a £2,000 machine is a big outlay to save at least £500 each month (plus whatever buying in packaging cost). Unfortunately they didn't care about future cost savings and lack of waste because they'd have had to have done their job and justified the purchase one quarter / might have not got a bonus. Absolutely infuriating and obviously not the only example of pennypinching leading to false economy there.

[-]

Right-Cause9951@reddit

That zero sum game dial is being turned up. The middle sized fish are having to tighten belts and hunker down. The problem is the game is changing too fast with too many variables.

The wasteful oppulence period we've had is fading away.

[-]

No_Candidate2195@reddit

Location: London the disappearance of bugs in our garden. years ago there were grasshoppers, crickets and butterfly galore in the front and backyard - now even on hotter days they're not anywhere to be found. the increasingly volatile weather - english weather is generally unstable but it's not normal that its 25 degrees with 40% humidity and no clouds or rain one day, and then pouring down rain for the next three days! and those 25 degree weather days feel uncomfortably hotter than i remember them being,, - 'social' collapse (if thats a thing): people just don't seem to care about anything or anyone around them. it's been like this for a while but i've never seen london in such decay. the buses, trains, tube, pavement - filled with rubbish, bad manners and shitty service all the time like never before, lack of spatial awareness, everyone addicted to their phone on the street, general rude behaviour... the growing individualism tells me that the social fabric is decaying but faster than i thought

[-]

MajesticEgg1848@reddit

totally totally agree. Poole, UK, zero insects, Zero, on a warm spring day with loads of food sources around.

What gave we done!!

[-]

Consistent-Risk-7802@reddit

Totally agree with all of this & I am in the south rather than London. People seem to be completely in their own bubbles, glued to their screens. There is an epidemic of lonlieness, a lot of which I believe stems from hyper-individualism. The Epstein/tech class benefits from us being scared, envious, self-focused, dissociated, fearful and dysregulated. The answers are deeper connections with others, our communities, our environments and ourselves (but not in a narcissistic way). I think some gen A & Z are waking up to all of this, but not many, yet

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

That 25c with 40% is good storm fuel wait til it hits 35-40c with 60 on the humidity, in my neck of the woods, summers can get exactly like that, something I’ve noticed when conditions get like that is small scattered storms pop up everywhere, the high wet bulb temps and humidity on the ground is causing strong enough updrafts due to cooler air at higher altitudes. At night you can see strobing lightning from those pop up storms, and look up derechos a particular nasty type of storm that loves those conditions.

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

I found a picture of one of those storm clouds from that day, had to dig in my camera roll. That day was terribly hot.

[-]

False_Raven@reddit

Location: Toronto, Canada

Typically in April we get a large snowstorm blanketing the entire region in a lot of snow, and it lasts 2 days or so. This year however, it did not happen at all. We got some very mild snowfall that melted immediately upon touching the ground, it lasted 3 hours at most.

We had a bunch of cold snaps throughout spring so far, mixed in with some days of +25°c. The temperature would often whiplash, one day it would be winter jacket cold, the next day its shorts weather, this happened many times throughout April.

It is actually kind of satisfying watching all the climate change deniers I am close with, their reactions are mesmerizing, they're completely baffled by how drastically and quickly the temperatures change day by day, even within a single day. And yet they remain negligient and clueless as ever, but sometimes I see a spark of the gears maybe beginning to turn inside their heads, but the next moment its gone...

[-]

Consistent-Risk-7802@reddit

Same in the UK. It rained solidly for the first four months of the year and since then it's been unseasonally hot and sunny, bringing spring plants forward a month. People on the fence about climate breakdown are now openly talking about it, but there are many who are still deep in denial, who seem to be getting more entrenched.

[-]

rematar@reddit

It's a Gulfstream Warbling Whipsaw in the prairies too. We rarely get up to seasonal temperatures though, then back down to 10-15⁰ below normal. We have light snow and nasty wind this morning.

We had frost in early June last year. I'm curious what the start of this growing season will bring.

[-]

kansas_slim@reddit

Location: front range Colorado

We’re one careless cigarette butt out a car window away from the entire state turning to ash.

[-]

anonyngineer@reddit

My wife and I are in Massachusetts this week and things are bone-dry.

[-]

anonyngineer@reddit

Location: Massachusetts

Mid-level hotel with most guests being blue collar workers. I have also noticed this in New York State. An indication of shortage of qualified labor despite being in well-populated areas.

[-]

PhoenixRisingdBanana@reddit

Location: Chicagoland

I'm not sure if covid fried my memory, or if the skies truly are looking different now, but I keep getting the feeling that the weather didn't used to feel like this.

It's windier than I recall it being in the past, with sustained winds and super strong gusts. Not even necessarily with a big storm rolling in, the weather is just bipolar and would rather swing between cold rainy and 40 or sunny and 75. Rain storms have slowed down in the past week, but the local rivers are still super high, higher than I remember seeing. Cruelly, it seems like since last fall, the shittiest days always fall cleanly on Friday/Saturday/Sunday.

Over the weekend, we had a freeze warning. Today it's sunny as can be and is going to get up to 80 degrees. Tomorrow it's expected to be right back to 50's and overcast for the rest of the week.

I'm tired. So tired. My body seems to be forgetting how to sleep. The bills keep getting more expensive, and my job expects more and more out of me without increasing my pay. Even the vague thought of summer in Chicago hardly gets me through the day anymore.

Hope you're all doing well and staying safe.

[-]

Distinguishedflyer@reddit

I was in Chicago in the 1960s and 70s. The weather was clockwork. Hot but bearable summer, fall hitting around October 1, then winter for what felt like a solid four months, then a really nice mellow spring. it didn't go from 40 to 80 ever.

[-]

PhoenixRisingdBanana@reddit

Oh, another thing I've noticed that certainly doesn't bode well. I work in People Operations, so I get a lot of phone calls of people trying to verify employment for an apartment, mortgage, whatever.

All of the calls I've been getting lately are from creditors and lenders, they're looking to garnish wages due to unpaid loans.

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

System really punishes the poor, rising cost of living makes it very hard to pay off debts if not impossible for some. It’s really starting to remind me of the 1952 film noir “Loan Shark” I wonder how long before we have debt collectors beating people up over it (I’m sure it already happens), I mean they already harass over phone, and sue even.

[-]

PhoenixRisingdBanana@reddit

I think before we saw bank enforcers, they'd just criminalize it and use the police state to handle their dirty work. Then the prisons will have labor for $0.15 an hour.

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

That’s another good way to do it

[-]

TeaPrimary1147@reddit

Mislead them 🙏

[-]

Ghostwoods@reddit

That's grim.

[-]

Distinguishedflyer@reddit

Location: PNW

I had to drive into a major Northwest city yesterday due to the fun fact that I probably need a root canal or two - thank you pandemic denial for making dental care almost impossible so I had to wait five years until I found a Covid aware dentist. Now it doesn't matter because I'll probably have to go to a Covid unaware endodontist. The world keeps trying to kill me.

I was driving through what used to be my old funky neighborhood, when I came upon a huge black fully armored van of some type parked in the road, with a police cruiser lights flashing behind it.

Understand, this vehicle looked like it would be very happy during the height of GWOT.

This is in the happy gay district. Used to be coffee shops & small restaurants and mom and pop stores. Also a beautiful old movie theater or two. Now it looks like they're preparing for it to become Fallujah.

It's too warm too early but what else is new. I can't read the news anymore. I fear this is going to be known as the summer of fire. Richard Crim used to talk about global ecosystem turnover. He said that all the forests are going to burn, all of them. I think we're about to see the start of that. I miss his voice here.

as for personal collapse: I spend most of my days trying to sleep whilst popping prescribed opiates that seem impossible to come off on without support, which conveniently cause acid reflux that erodes my teeth and forces me to get root canals. That's a fun, lonely cycle.

When I think about my parents in old age, they had it all and they still had a hell of a time with death. They had stable housing, healthcare, circles of friends… it's hard not to hate them for bringing me here, raising me in an abusive fashion, and dying.

To quote the song 'old man river' from the 1927 musical Showboat: I'm tired of living and scared of dying.

good luck everyone.

[-]

Karma_Iguana88@reddit

I miss Richard Crim too. :(

[-]

Distinguishedflyer@reddit

Smart voices are rare.

[-]

Myth_of_Progress@reddit

Location: Vancouver.

Here's a two-fer published barely within hours of one another, a little concidence that I think perfectly encapsulates the relationship betwern humans and grey whales:

The shot: 7 grey whales have been found dead off Vancouver Island this year Researchers believe dramatic decline in available prey in Arctic feeding grounds may be to blame

The chaser: Video captures grey whale being struck by Jet Ski rider in Vancouver The Department of Fisheries and Oceans confirms investigation after witnesses saw collision on Monday evening

Original video (content warning)Jetski hit grey whale by Siwash Rock

[-]

Physical_Ad5702@reddit

The jet skis will be able to ride as they please soon with nothing to worry about. There won’t be any whales left after too much longer.

[-]

Ok_Main3273@reddit

...until there is no more gas for the jet skis, that is. Blissfully quiet and silent beach, finally. Oh, wait... the oceans will be dead silent too by then 😢

[-]

Dangerous-Soil-3154@reddit

Location: Canada

All time high temps for this early in the year for the last 4 days, 30°c. The soil and forests are parched. We only had 47% of our normal snow pack and it was one of the driest April's on record. Burn bans are already in effect including beach fires because the forest is so dry drifting sparks will catch. We've had several small forest fires already in my area, they are the earliest fire on record. Stream flows are already low due to early melt of what little snowpack we had. We are both literally and figuratively fucked this summer, likely to be one of the hottest in recent memory thanks to the rapidly intensifying super El Nino will also likely be one of the worst forest fire seasons in history if this pattern holds. I wonder if this will be the year I lose my house to a forest fire? Only a matter of time really. The extra fucked thing about all this fuckness is the denialists are out in force locally, local social media is full of those not just denying climate changes role in this but denying the drought conditions and the literal weather outside their window. I just can't anymoore

[-]

Solo_Camping_Girl@reddit

Location: Manila, Philippines

The local weather agency forecasts that the capital city is a extreme caution-level of heat index (33 to 41 Celsius) while the Angat Dam, which supplies water to areas north of the capital city, is at minimum operating level (news video link is in Filipino language, subtitles unavailable). This is related to collapse as on top of the more extreme global temps we are facing, the forecasted super El Nino phenomenon is expected to take effect in our side of the Pacific by the second half of this year. This will worsen water and food security, which will spillover to other aspects of life.

Just to add, we were reminded that we are located in the Pacific Ring of fire when a magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit Northern Samar, yesterday while the Mayon Volcano erupted last May 2, covering large areas with ash.

[-]

RunYouFoulBeast@reddit

That and Mayon is super active since January starting this year. If people spend a moment to look at it's size... Gosh we think too much of ourself.. We are still insignificantly small Infront of planetary chaotic nature.
Now every year a level 8 earthquake and massive volcano are erupting one by one.

[-]

Solo_Camping_Girl@reddit

That's why there's a 6 km permanent danger zone around the volcano and nobody's allowed to enter. There are crazy vids of it on youtube, some people are just caught outside. There's even a vid According to latest local news, the volcanic activity has subsided but the alert level remains at level 3.

It's really concerning how active seismic activity has become recently. I live less than 3km from an active fault line and if it moves, we're cooked. It really puts life into perspective. These things have been happening for thousands of years and a single human lifetime is less than a century long, and a civilization only a couple of centuries long.

We're powerless against these things, and I'll accept that.

[-]

ConcessionStandSteve@reddit

Southeastern US, Georgia:

-Late frosts in 2023, 2025 and 2026 coupled with mild winters in 2023 and 2025 have impacted Georgia agriculture production, particularly blueberries, peaches (reduced by 90% in 2025), strawberries, and other vegetables. This also affected vegetation wildlife depend on like acorns.

-Currently, as of May 2026, the entire state is experiencing extreme drought with several northeastern locations in the state designated exceptional drought, an elevated classification more intense than extreme drought. The drought has caused many local farmers to cease farming and numerous farmer's markets across the state to close as farmers are unable to provide enough produce to justify farmer's market operations.

The drought has caused or contributed to the numerous fires in the southern parts of the state. Though one was caused by welding mishap, the fire spread due to lack of rain in the area. As of this writing, more than 50,000 acres have burned since March and continue to this day.

-The state's economy is allegedly booming, at least according to its political leadership and unemployment has stayed steady at about 3.7-3.9% (excludes those qho have given up searching for employment, those who are underemployed, and those who have been unemployed for longer than six[?] months) for the past three years with a slight increase to 4.1% expected in 2026.

State politicians claim an excess in tax funds collected will result in taxpayers receiving an additional one-time $500 refund -- though I suspect this is part of Kemp's future presidential aspirations, and doesn't address the: statewide meager salaries of teachers; significant hospital closures due to the state's refusal to expand Medicare coupled with federal cuts to health care; widespread working unhoused priced out of their homes; the twice yearly increase of power costs pushed onto consumers approved by the Public Service Commission (with seats that Governor refused to hold elections on until recently) to subsidize data centers and Georgia Power's incompetent handing of nuclear facility construction that doubled its original costs; significant cuts and unnecessary requirements to SNAP benefits that is currently pushing thousands of individuals off the program; the widespread price gouging on groceries (originally claimed to be due to logistical issues caused by COVID, but keep rising as grocers and food manufacturers realize people will pay inflated costs for food) that is illegal in the state but, anecdotally, my complaints have gone without response; insurance rates, with the approval of the Insurance Commission, have increased across the board; and more.

Not to mention, property taxes have grown significantly over the last few years forcing many out of their homes. State legislatures passed, and signed into law by the Governor, voiding property taxes, but we know these will be collected elsewhere when implemented, or will force local services and schools to scale back or shutter altogether.

-Access to public education has already been unconstitutionally, though the crooked state courts have upheld the process but cases are currently in federal district courts, have tampered with by funding religious schools -- not to mention the state's defunding public schools and shifting taxes to private schools, including religious schools. This was implemented via lottery system to Georgia students and has resulted in poorer and racial minority communities having less access to private schools due to lack of student transportation, and reduced test scores of students left behind in public schools.

The longterm impact of religious school funding will potentially cultivate a more conservative populous, feeding the corporate labor cycle -- the cultivation of a populous to supply the labor demands of corporations, even at the expense of the people.

The longterm impact of under funding public schools will potentially feed the "school-to-prison pipeline" -- policies and practices that push schoolchildren, especially at-risk children, out of classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems, into the prison industrial complex. This too will likely affect the state's political representation as marginalized communities tend to vote more liberal, and their voices will be silenced as convicted felons cannot vote in Georgia.

-The state has also illegalized abortion after about four to six weeks once a "heartbeat", literally the equivalent of a vein at this stage in development, is detected. Most women do not know they are pregnant that early, and they are pushing legislation to make seeking one outside the state classified as murder.

Last year, a braindead woman was kept on lofe support for MONTHS to force her body to deliver a baby. The medical staff feared criminal prosecution should the then fetus die. The family wanted to pull the plug and end the woman's suffering. In addition, the family waa straddled with the medical expenses and the child was born premature with expensive health conditions.

These efforts are designed to control women and feed the labor force and/or prison industrial complex.

-Corporations are held above the wellbeing of individual citizens, as illustrated in last year's law passage that caps civil court awards at $1,000,000 -- including those who would require medical treatments from corporate negligence that exceed that cap.

-Democracy in the state is under attack. Kemp culled voter lists in his initial run against Abrams, that likely favored his election. Aggressive voter identification policies are being pushed that would reduce access to voting for women and poorer communities. The state has sided with the Trump Administration's efforts to install conservative pawns to oversee elections, potentially resulting in tampered voter results. Judges have tossed the election interference case against Trump and his allies, even with significant evidence that is publicly available.

Overall, we are seeing the atate decline and collapse seems imminent...at least to me.

[-]

Susanoos_Wife@reddit

Location: United States, Lower 48 States, East of the Mississippi River

Luckily, covid case levels are lower than they've been for the last few months, though it remains to be seen if this dip in cases will hold.

https://www.pmc19.com/data/index.php

https://data.wastewaterscan.org/

For new people, people who want to learn more about covid, and/or people who just like to click on things, here's some basic information about covid for those who aren't up to speed with what's going on and why covid is still a problem even though we're a little over half a decade since the covid pandemic began:

Basic Covid 101 FAQ: https://data.wastewaterscan.org/

More basic info about covid but in a more condensed format: https://covidhelp.org/

Why covid isn't just a problem for vulnerable people: https://johnsnowproject.org/fact/everyone-is-vulnerable/

How covid can impact your immune system: https://whn.global/scientific/covid19-immune-dysregulation/

How covid can impact your brain health: https://www.panaccindex.info/p/answered-does-covid-19-harm-the-brain

Addressing common myths about covid: https://whn.global/scientific/faq-on-common-misinformation/

Basic info about masks and when and where to wear them in ideal circumstances: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Respiratory-Viruses/When-and-Why-to-Wear-a-Mask.aspx

When and where to mask if you can't wear a mask in all indoor public spaces: https://publichealthactionnetwork.org/cant-mask-all-the-time-but-still-want-to-protect-yourself-and-others/

In other covid related news, I've also noticed a lot of people posting and sharing memes about experiencing hair loss in the last few years, with all of these memes making some kind of comparison about having longer, fuller, thicker, and healthier hair before the pandemic began (though the memes usually just list a year before covid and a year after covid started,) though none of the people who post these memes connect the dots between covid and increasing concerns about hair loss (for those who don't know, covid can cause hair loss.)

https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/covid-19/covid-hair-loss?srsltid=AfmBOoo2_I4naymiTu7p5g9PNSmh3DhlK8T9hvE0oTQBSAxT-WwfXF3i

Bird flu continues to circulate among the animal population, though about a dozen people have died of bird flu this year so far (this is just a rough guess and the exact number, but it shows that being exposed to sick animals can be dangerous for people: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/who-reports-h5n1-death-among-variant-zoonotic-flu-cases-seen-year

In other news, there's been a guy hanging out on a bridge in Washington D.C for a few days now, with reports saying that he's doing so as a form of protest against Gen AI and the war in Iran. Speaking of Iran, most Iranian citizens still don't have any access to internet, and those that do manage to get any internet access have to pay exorbitant fees to use Starlink (which is also difficult because the regime in Iran punishes any citizens who try to use the internet there.)

As far as the weather goes, there's been a drought in my area for close to two months at this point, though the weather forecast says that we might get about half an inch of rain or so within the next few days.

I placed an online order for some stuff I needed a few weeks ago and while I received most of the items on time, I've still been waiting on one item (which is something that was already inside the country when I ordered it,) and just got notified that it will be delivered in about a week. I've been trying to stock up on basic things I might need/will probably need for the next few months (albeit slowly, so I don't destroy my budget,) due to the war in Iran fucking up supply chains in all sorts of ways, but delivery times have already become wonky compared to before the war started.

Prices for food continue to creep up and the quality of produce is really hit or miss. I even saw a post on another subreddit about people complaining about the poor quality of produce lately. I like fresh fruits and vegetables when my body can tolerate them (sometimes I find myself unable to eat anything but plain bland carbs with no fiber or unable to eat anything at all due to some long term stomach issues,) but lately I've been buying almost all fruits and vegetables frozen because the fresh stuff goes bad before I can use it, goes bad by the time I get it home from the store (I always head straight home after going to the grocery store, so it's not like the food is sitting there for hours before I get it home,) or is bad when it's already on the shelf. I often see rows and rows of old, wrinkly produce and potatoes with weird scars, marks, or eyes on them and a lot of shelves are stocked in weird way or they get re-arranged a lot more often than they used to.

Overall, I feel like a frayed wire and I find that as time passes, I find myself becoming less tolerant of excess sensory stimulation but I also want to do as many activities as I enjoy while I still have the chance to do them and as impossible as it probably is at this point, I'd like to make friends too so I go out and do stuff that I find interesting whenever I get the chance. One thought that's really been sticking with me lately is "There's less time than you think." and I've been living accordingly as much as my circumstances allow me to.

I've always had the feeling that I would witness some extensive societal changes within my lifetime from as early as I can remember but lately, I really get an instinctual gut feeling that there really isn't much time left and that things are going to change a lot much faster than any of us can really conceptualize, process, and come to terms with. The change I've witnessed in the last few years-covid, AI, Trump being elected for a 2nd time, climate change moving faster than I expected it to, there's a lot out there that gives me the feeling that an end is coming sooner than we think and a new era will take its place. Even more than all of that, though, the way people act and behave lately has really given me pause in a way that I haven't really allowed myself to dwell on a lot before. If I ever find the words to properly describe how this makes me feel, you'll all be the first to know.

I'll end my rambling for now, stay safe, stay healthy, and look out for yourselves and the people, animals, and things you love. I'll never know for sure just how much time we have left but as long as we're here, there's no harm in trying to do what we can to make the world a better place no matter what the future holds in store.

[-]

Jovan_Knight005@reddit

Location: Urban Settlement Ostružnica, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia, Southeastern Europe.

Last week has been all over the place in terms of weather. Today's daily temperature was over 24°C. It feels more like early summer weather rather than late spring weather.

On the political side of things, prices of benzine are continuing to increase in my country (Serbia) at a steady pace. But i know that's not going to last long, however.

On a personal note, i've passed an exam and colloquium last week. And there was a colloqium that i had to do at my college today, as well. Not to mention that my practical exercises are will probably start in early July.

I'll end my observation comment with a narrator quote from the series Code Geass:Lelouch of the Rebellion R1 and the opening to its first episode.

"The date was August 10th in the year 2010 of the Imperial Calendar (IC). The Holy Britannian Empire had just declared war upon Japan. The Far East island nation had held fast to its neutrality, and now Britannia looms as the world’s only superpower. Rights to Japan’s underground resources became a hotly disputed issue straining the already deep-rooted diplomatic tensions between the two sides. In the deciding battle for the mainland, Britannian forces introduced into combat the humanoid autonomous armored knight known as the Knightmare Frame (KMF). The enemy’s forces were far greater than anticipated, and the Knightmares obliterated the Japanese line of defense on the mainland with little effort. Japan became a dominion of the Empire. The country was stripped of its freedom, its rights, and its name. Area 11. The defeated and once proud nation of Japan was rechristened with a mere number."

Stay safe out there r/collapse.

[-]

Lord_Vesuvius2020@reddit

Congratulations on passing your exam and colloquium!

[-]

alloyed39@reddit

Location: Southeast Virginia

Two summers ago, we were both scorched and waterlogged. This year, we're in a drought. It's not as bad as Florida and Georgia, but it's still worrying, as we just planted our garden for the summer.

What's genuinely alarming is a conspicuous decline in bee numbers for this time of year. 😟

[-]

daviddjg0033@reddit

Location: Florida

Casual talk around about how we got the first rain after drought in a while. I mentioned the drought that nobody has heard about - probably because these are not food-producing regions - Arkansas, Georgia and Florida. The north of the state needs some rain - not too much - before the rainy season so that the soil does not just wash away. Parched soil from droughts looks cracked and turns to mud if too much rain hits the ground. My analogy is how parking lots and the new hotel... right on Miami beach that I walk by and the cars splash the pedestrians because where else is the water going to go? Sigh. Barrier islands should be wildlife reserves. You can walk a mile before you see a walkway to the beach which says more about our rights to the literal beach in Florida.

I believe that I am not the only one in the office with a feeling of dread. Climate researchers do not even have to go anywhere but outside any residence anywhere to feel the excess photons from our addiction to photons.

If you thought that a moderate el nino was going to be bad then I guess me screaming the oceans are 21C was just my venting of how bad this looks for the coral reefs:

Climate Reanalyzer

This is the El Nino area of the ocean. Click on the years on the right.

1984 was 24C to 27C a 3C raise of temperatures in the western area of the Pacific . 1997 an El Nino year then click on 1998 and you see it cool down - I do not normally see this trend so clear this data is great.

Look at 2015 when temperatures went from 26C coming going into March then right up to 29C and it peaked at 29.8 which is a huge anomaly but it was starting from 26C appearing on the upper right.

Then look at this year 2026 started colder the previous thirty year periods and it has gone up 3C. I assume this is not the "moderate" El Nino Hansen was talking about earlier in the year looks more like a stronger El Nino while earth is coming to equilibrium with the excess joules it is absorbing from the sun AKA "cooking." A fuckton of Joules. This summer we are going to have to thoughts and prayers for the corals because 22C oceans are not out of the possibility for the next El Nino or earlier. Maybe they will blame the sun tan lotion instead of CO2.

Texas phoenix palm decline - Wikipedia

Lethal bronzing disease as it is known in Florida is the one that I am seeing or it is from the ground freezing (a rare Florida event) last winter? I went outside one day and could just push over trees. I see palms that have brittle dry bases, green mossy-like hues, and the trees look like they will topple over all by themselves. Law says if you topple the tree on purpose you are responsible or can face fines. Do I report all these trees to whom? Will a tree just fall and hit a kid before something is done?

ahhh the oceans are 21C - me trying to make fun of myself. Whenever I get too excited I tell people, "I feel very passionate about it. "but you cannot do anything about it" - OK then I change the subject because - well - nobody wants to confront mortality. I had to with no choice after my circle had thirty die. So I talk very matter-of-fact telling people how much rain will pour when 1C rise means 7% more H20.

I wish I could communicate better. Not that I would have solved any crisis but at least I would not annoy people because I know what I want to say but how do you tell people that THIS is the golden age - whatever is left of everything - because a global 3C temperature (4C since last interglacial) is piled on top of the food scarcity.

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

Location: Marion, Indiana.
Hello again, reporting from my backwater stretch of Indiana, don’t you just love it when your city makes headlines like this: https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/3-juveniles-charged-in-attack-on-teen-along-mississinewa-riverwalk-in-marion

Yeah, a young autistic kid was jumped by these three other teens along the river walk, one of the little twerps was dumb enough to video the deed as they were doing it and put it on Facebook, from what I heard around the kid told a teacher for being bullied by them prior, and they retaliated, one of them was apparently that kids “friend”, yeah more things that make me think yeah with friends like that who needs enemies. Now the good thing is many people seemed to side with the kid who was jumped, however a handful sided with the attackers. It pisses me off cause I’m autistic, and they beat that kid for it(poor kid was begging them to stop even) and I just know he’s gonna have PTSD from that little stunt of theres. Youth violence has been becoming very widespread everywhere lately, my car has a bullet hole from one such incident last year. Gas is hovering around 4.69 a gallon, food prices are high, the usual. Apart from isolated incidents major violence is low so far, don’t know how long it will stay that way, considering it’s getting warmer.

Severe risk for the area sits at a 2/5, I’m curious to see what effects this potential super El Niño is going to have on the Ohio valley area this summer. It’s seeming to set up to be a hot brutal summer, and corn sweat is gonna make it worse, I’m wondering about a potential wet bulb event this summer. Besides the heat danger associated with these events, I’m also afraid of the storms these could cause, storms get strong in high heat, high humidity environments. Last year I recorded a wet bulb of 85 degrees (29c)hot enough to be potentially dangerous. Something interesting I’ve noticed during it is small brief storm cells would fire up over the countryside, I suspect cooler air aloft and the high wet bulb temp at ground level caused a strong enough updraft for a rainstorm to appear, I’ve also noticed thunderstorms firing off at night, I’ve noticed a few become severe in the past few years. I wonder what effects on storms this will have.

Something else I’ve noticed (as a content creator) is nostalgic/liminal content does very well, I wonder how many people miss the past.

[-]

Ghostwoods@reddit

++HUGS++

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

Many thanks, same for you

[-]

klaschr@reddit

Location: Ecuador

Bit of a weird one this week, but...

I had a friend tell me yesterday that her uncle, who is an oncologist, had to deliver a terminal colon cancer diagnosis to a patient that's 39 years old (first point of surprise for me, given how young that sounded), but then.... she tells me that the patient's reaction to being delivered such a diagnosis was to just say: "Gracias a dios, que alivio... Ya no quiero vivir en este mundo." (Thank god, what a relief... I no longer want to live in this world), which absolutely stunned her uncle the doctor and left me with my mouth hanging wide open.

Obviously, we don't really have any further context as to why the patient would've reacted that way to such a diagnosis, but all I will mention is that Ecuador isn't doing all that great job- and security-wise (there's so much flack to throw at the politicians for the current situation, as always), and so... I gently theorized that this patient's reaction likely had to do with financial reasons and/or future prospects, maybe... But yeah, such an anecdote felt like a sobering slap in the face alongside that "funny feeling..."

To think that death is seen as a relief, for some, in times like these... O_o

One other thing that I personally experienced a few days ago, too, was at a restaurant while eating at a table next to an elderly (read: boomer) group. I wasn't really focusing on their conversation (given I was eating with another friend), but there was a lull in our conversation which randomly gave me a few seconds to eavesdrop on one of the elderlies at the table next to me get frustrated about something they were discussing, and remark: "El Simon ya no quiere trabajar? Es el resentido comun, eso..."

There's a play on words here in Spanish that I'll quickly clarify but basically: common sense in Spanish = "sentido comun," and by adding a "re" before "sentido" it turns into the word resentment. So, basically what would be expressed in english, literally, as "common resentment." And so this elder fellow was basically bashing on whoever this Simon was by basically saying: "Simon doesn't want to work anymore? That's the 'common resentment' at play..." (i.e. "nobody wants to work anymore")

Which was absolutely infuriating because it was just another glaring example of the huge disconnect there currently is (or perhaps, always has been? I hate to generalize) between older/younger generations and the current socioeconomic circumstances. Totally felt like a "fuck you, I got mine" grievance that this person was venting about.

(deep sigh)

[-]

Ghostwoods@reddit

Dark stuff, but I wish I was more surprised. Thank you for sharing.

[-]

HousesRoadsAvenues@reddit

It shows me that this malaise, sadness, over-it feeling is world wide. I understand completely why the 39 year old cancer patient said what she did.

As for the "elderlies" (I like to call them GERIATRICS - but I like "elderlies") just wait until Simon doesn't want to take care of them when they are at that point. I am sure Simon has heard it all from his elderly relative.

[-]

Ghostwoods@reddit

Yes, exactly.

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

When things get bad, oh what is that old saying, the living will envy the dead, that’s it. Normally this is said about nuclear war, but if times get tough enough than no nuclear war is needed.

[-]

nothankeww@reddit

she’s just saying out loud a lot of us are thinking internally already myself included

[-]

AlwaysPissedOff59@reddit

Location: Great Lakes State, US

NOAA has forecast May to be "below normal" for my area, which is more typical of the Old New Weather we've had for years (1996-2020). "Normal", however, has been changed by NOAA since that time to be 3-4F higher than during those years, so who knows how much - if any - colder we'll actually be? I have no faith in NOAA's forecasts anymore anyway, after December 2025 was above normal when their forecast one month out had us at below normal.

Trees and shrubs that should be blooming next week are done blooming already, while perennials that should be blooming in late May to early June (bearded iris, for example) are budding now. I saw a flowering scape (stalk) on a daylily on April 29th. It's an "Early Season" cultivar, but that means it should be blooming no earlier than June 15th in my yard. It'll bloom in 2-3 weeks this year. I have never seen a daylily (other than the dreadful Stella d'Oro cultivar) bloom in May in my state except when "forced" in greenhouses.

Diesel has hit $6/gallon here, although I've seen it as low as $5.40/gallon at a regional station. Yesterday, a girls' softball tournament was wrapping up and I saw at least 21 pickup trucks out of 22 vehicles leaving the ball field (then I lost count of the trucks). So many of those trucks didn't even have hitches to tow anything - "pavement princesses" getting very low gas or diesel mileage. And some of them were large GMCs, F250s and Tundras. The power of marketing, I guess.

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

If I get a truck it’s gonna be an early 2000s gmt 800 half ton (5.3 vortec), that or a s10 with the 4.3, cheap, reliable, and easily worked on. Besides I am having a hard time how all those people can afford to finance those trucks, those things cost as much as a house. Gas is 4.79/gal in my neck of the woods last I checked, I’ll probably swing by after work and take a look. It’s 79 here right now, just about planting time.

[-]

eric_ts@reddit

Those people can’t afford to finance those trucks… but they do anyway. 72 month loans are normal on new vehicles now, and 84 months is not unusual. Consumers also don’t like down payments. They are spending well over a thousand bucks a month, and will have negative equity for at least five years on those loans. And full sized pickups are becoming less reliable. Right now there are records being set for delinquent auto loans—banks could repo double the number of vehicles they are repoing due to a shortage of tow drivers. Stuff is about to get grim in the automotive world in the very near future.

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

It’s setting up to be a fine day to be a repo agent that’s for sure, yeah those newer trucks suck in reliability too, hell the nearly decade old Buick I have is a bitch and a half to work on, and I am almost always working on it. A example I see is a lot of 8th gen corvettes in my area, along with the trucks, 6 figure vehicles, if I got a vette it’s gonna be a 5th gen, much cheaper and has the reliable LS1, ok Ima admit I’ve always been a nerd for late 80s-early 000s GM products, perhaps not too bad a thing these days save for fuel economy

[-]

eric_ts@reddit

I sold G5s when they were new--my fave generation as well.

[-]

rmannyconda78@reddit

That LS1 is a beast, and those pop up headlights, and fairly easy to work on, and actually can get 26-30mpg highway which is great for a v8, about the same fuel economy as that Pontiac Grand Prix I owned.

[-]

rematar@reddit

The trucks rhyme with the 1973 fuel crisis. People pretty much gave high powered muscle cars away. And Dodge had the most powerful muscle cars in the early 70s too.

[-]

PrairieFire_withwind@reddit

Thank you for the continued seasonal baoservations. They line up with mine as everything being 2 or 3 weeks early is not morenin a few cases.

I too dislike the shifting baseline of normal because then people will struggle to grasp how bad the ahoft really is for plants pollinators etc.

[-]

keinezeit44@reddit

Location: Hudson Valley region, NY state, US

NY is the country's second-largest producer of apples. Fruit growers throughout this region are facing a catastrophic loss of all or nearly all of their crop due to a hard freeze after blossoming. It's affecting peaches and other fruits, as well. There are numerous articles about this, including:

https://hudsonvalleycountry.com/dressel-farms-catastrophic-loss-apple-crop/

https://wjffradio.org/after-frost-crop-loss-nys-apple-farmers-say-agriculture-is-a-growing-gamble/

I've read previously that Pennsylvania fruit growers are also facing tough losses due to frost, and farmers in Idaho are concerned about crop failures due to drought. Just to name a few places.

Agriculture on a whole is going through some tough times right now. That doesn't even take into consideration problems from fertilizer shortages.

[-]

HousesRoadsAvenues@reddit

I heard about this on the radio this morning - I live in Orange county. IIRC the segment on the radio was saying a state senator was trying to help the farmers out - the details escape my memory.

[-]

oddflorida@reddit

Location: Southern coastal USA/Northeast Florida

Everyone got used to the idea of nearby wildfires REALLY fast. Everyone notices that we're having summer temperatures right now. In the 1990s, it was too cold (and usually too overcast) to swim comfortably in the Atlantic Ocean in late April (source: I grew up here and always wanted to go to the beach for my late april birthday but it was always too wintery and straight up uncomfortable when I did insist on it). People have been swimming and sunbathing on the beach reliably since mid-april.

Prices for absolutely everything are wild. My clientele are cancelling travel and cancelling services they'd previously booked with me (I work in a vacation/travel-adjacent industry). Earlier this year, several unrelated clients had their schedules upended by flight delays & cancellation. Anecdotally, seems those same clients are scaling back their normal travel.

I see people's ingrained habits surrounding capitalism-focused "convenience" have changed. Fewer options available to buy, unsurprising shortages on shelves, and it's all more expensive. Nobody expects packages to arrive on time. Paradoxically, I see some unexpected people being more patient with these things--which is a reason for hope. At least some fraction of my community are seeing that same-day delivery actually didn't help their lives or minds very much.

[-]

HousesRoadsAvenues@reddit

From your perspective, as someone working in the "vacation/travel-adjacent industry" in NE FL, have you noticed a lack of foreign tourists? And tourists/snowbirds from Canada?

What is the word on the ground, if you know, about the Spirit Airways bankruptcy?

[-]

Schmoova@reddit

Location: Near Phoenix, Arizona (about 30 miles south of Downtown Phoenix).

2024 and 2025 were already the hottest recorded years since its existence.

So far 2026 is feeling super, super dry and extra moody. Weird temperature variations that aren’t sticking like the seasons usually do. We were getting 80 degree days back in January, yet by May we’re still having random “cold” days in the 60s and 70s.

In a 1 week span, we’re seeing days with highs at 70-75 degrees (Fahrenheit) and seeing days with highs at 100-105 degrees (Fahrenheit). Way, way cloudier than normal but no rain to show for it.

Feels like we skipped Winter and have been in a 6 month long moody, cloudy Spring. Even though we’re seeing some days over 100 degrees, it does not feel like a typical AZ summer in the slightest.

[-]

GoblinAirStrike_311@reddit

West valley:

 What started as a controlled burn near the river in Buckeye proliferated into a nearly out of control fire over the past weekend.

  Collapse-wise there was not local coverage for awhile. It was all wild speculation over social media. Local fire deployed multiple engines and closed roads.

Highly unusual for the area.

[-]

GusherBrush@reddit

Location: Inland Northwest, USA

We're starting off May with temperatures +20F/+11C from normal, and it looking to stay that way for the foreseeable future. We had an abysmal winter, and what little remained of our snowpack has melted away. The only thing thats kept us from being in a severe drought has been the parade of atmospheric rivers dumping rain on us the last few months. That seems to have stopped.

With the upcoming super el nino, this fire season eill be devastating for both the Cascades and Rocky Mountain Ranges. Normally, places like Seattle haven't dealt with nearly as many wildfires as we are used to, but that could most certainly change this year.

I still see people watering their grass lawns, and it fills me with shame. I have guilt myself of watering the fruits and vegetables in my backyard, but with inflation in the grocery stores and the effects of the Iran War, I still continue to water my food sources.

With the upcoming midterms, my hope is to oust the current representative, who is a Trump bootlicker, with someone far more competent. However, I am surrounded by rural land that consistently votes against their own interests.

I seriously don't know how people are getting by. Me and my partner work in healthcare in a MCOL area, so we're doing better than most, but still cutting back on all non-essentials. Most of the people I graduated college with are unemployed, employed at a minimum wage job, or are severely underpaid in their field, with almost all living at home with their parents. So much opportunity has been stolen from Millenials and Gen Z, it's heartbreaking.

A lot of my days are spent thankful for my cat and dog and a few other close loved ones in my life. They are what keeps me going.

[-]

Heeler2@reddit

I agree on watering lawns. Please don’t feel guilty about watering your fruits and vegetables!

[-]

GusherBrush@reddit

Thank you! I've noticed that a lot of quail take refuge in the garden to collect down and eat the bugs, especially towards the peak of summer, so it not only helps us fortunately.

[-]

GridDown55@reddit

That's awesome

[-]

Jovan_Knight005@reddit

Never feel guilty about watering fruits and vegetables. My family, aside from my father have been doing so for a decade and haven't felt shame in doing so.

[-]

KingofGrapes7@reddit

Location: Massachusetts

We have finally crossed the line gas wise. I cannot find any gas station below $4.00 anymore. The average is around $4.16 with special assholes like BP and Mobil at $4.49. With no end to the war in sight I am very afraid for summer gas prices. Not that it would help a huge deal with these prices but I regret not getting a hybrid when I had to buy a new car a few years ago. My 2016 Camry sips gas but I can't shake the idea to trade in for a newer hybrid model. Changing cars before 8 or 10 years generally irks me and I have concerns about all the electronics but straight gas isnt looking too good either.

Weather ping pong between 50s and 80s. At least one day of rain a week. Critters and insects are out and about. I still think my dad's plan to grow more grass this year is doomed by summer heat, but much like his refusal to admit to himself or others that anything Trump does is a bad idea he will use up alot of time and water trying.

We had a lot of layoffs maybe two months ago now. Since then nothing. They are moving as many people possible to remote, the rest of us who have to work in office for sensitive information will stay behind. I personally prefer remote, but again personal info. I dont THINK we are in immediate danger, some plans that might have seen us cut loose fell apart. But in this world who knows.

You MUST include Location: Region when sharing observations.