Category Archives: Extreme weather

Climate crisis is ‘not gender neutral’: UN calls for more policy focus on women

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Only a third of countries with climate crisis plans include access to sexual, maternal and newborn health services, UNFPA report finds

Only a third of countries include sexual and reproductive health in their national plans to tackle the climate crisis, the UN has warned.

Of the 119 countries that have published plans, only 38 include access to contraception, maternal and newborn health services and just 15 make any reference to violence against women, according to a report published by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and Queen Mary University of London on Tuesday.

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India floods: 14 killed and 102 missing after lake overflows and highways washed away

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Catastrophic overflow of Lhonak Lake in state of Sikkim caused a dam to partially collapse and submerged army bases

At least 14 people have been killed and 102 are still missing in the north-east Indian state of Sikkim after heavy rain caused a glacial lake to burst its banks, triggering flash floods down a mountain valley.

The disaster, which took place on Wednesday, has affected more than 22,000 people, according to the authorities, and 22 army personnel are among the missing. It has also left over 3,000 tourists stranded after the floods washed away the main highways and bridges.

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Taiwan records world’s third most powerful wind gust ever as Typhoon Koinu hits

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Windspeed measuring device was destroyed as category four cyclone hit, injuring nearly 200 and creating waves up to seven metres high

A category four cyclone has produced one of the strongest wind gusts ever recorded worldwide, and injured almost 200 people as it crossed the southern tip of Taiwan early on Thursday.

Typhoon Koinu brought wind gusts of up to 95.2 metres per second, or 342.7km/h (212.9mph) when it crossed Taiwan’s outer Lanyu (Orchid) island on Wednesday night. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) told the Guardian it was the highest wind gust recorded in Taiwan since the organisation was founded in 1986. The gust destroyed the island’s anemometer, the CWA said.

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How can cities help trees survive extreme heat?

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As our climate warms, urban trees will be needed more than ever. A study looks at how they can be protected


El Niño is officially under way and Australians are preparing for a hot spring and summer. Urban trees play a vital role in keeping cities cool, evaporating water to provide a natural form of air-conditioning, cooling air temperatures and reducing heat-related deaths by more than a third. But trees struggle with extreme heat. A study shows that simply planting trees isn’t enough; urban trees need continuing care.

Researchers investigated the impact of extreme heat on trees during Australia’s last major heatwave, in 2019 and 2020. They found species with large thin leaves, such as red maple, were particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, whereas trees with thicker leaves, such as ash and Chinese elm, were better able to regulate their temperature. The results, published in Global Change Biology, show that access to water is also crucial, with well-watered trees able to open their pores and evaporate water, preventing scorching of leaves.

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Thousands evacuated on Tenerife as wildfire rages amid heatwave

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Firefighters backed by water-dropping helicopters battle blaze that broke out in area of Spanish Canary island ravaged by fire in August

A wildfire raging on Spain’s holiday island of Tenerife amid unseasonably hot temperatures has forced the evacuation of about 3,000 people from their homes, local officials said.

Firefighters backed by six water-dropping helicopters were battling the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday afternoon in an area of steep ravines in the north-east of the island that was badly ravaged by a huge wildfire in August, the regional government of Tenerife said.

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Type of storm that drenched New York is up to 20% wetter due to climate crisis

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Rapid attribution study finds storm 10-20% wetter after city experienced a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours on Friday

The unmistakable influence of the climate crisis helped cause New York City to be inundated by a month’s worth of rain within just a few hours on Friday, scientists have warned, amid concerns over how well the city is prepared for severe climate shocks.

A new rapid attribution study, released by scientists in Europe, has found that the type of storm seen on Friday is now 10-20% wetter than it would have been in the previous century, because of climate change.

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Australia records driest September as fires rage in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania

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The month was also Australia’s third-warmest September on record as El Niño and the climate crisis combined

Australia has recorded its driest September since records began in 1900 with a national rainfall average of just 4.83mm.

The data from the Bureau of Meteorology on Monday came as fires burned out of control in Victoria and New South Wales amid warnings of potential flash flooding later in the week.

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East Libya postpones Derna reconstruction conference amid calls for unity

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Rival governments urged to work together to best manage donations for city after catastrophic flooding

The government in eastern Libya has been forced to postpone a reconstruction conference for the stricken city of Derna amid concerns about how donations will be spent and a lack of coordination with the west of the country.

A large part of Derna was destroyed on the night of 10 September when severe flooding caused two dams above the town to burst. The death toll has been put at more than 10,000, but no official figure is yet deemed accurate.

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Australia news live: two die after reportedly attending music festival; bushfire evacuation warning for campers in eastern Victoria

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The two men in their 20s reportedly attended the Knockout music festival at Sydney Olympic Park. Follow the day’s news live

Reserve Bank not likely to move on interest rates

Australian borrowers are likely to be spared more interest rate pain this week, following the first Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting under its new governor.

Sydney: 594 auctions with a clearance rate of 71.7%

Melbourne: 159 auctions with a clearance rate of 66%

Brisbane: 82 auctions with a clearance rate of 70.7%

Adelaide: 58 auctions with a clearance rate of 79.3%

Canberra: 64 auctions with a clearance rate of 62.5%

Tasmania: No auctions held with two expected this weekend

Perth: Six of 13 auctions have been held

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New York declares state of emergency amid heavy rainfall and flash flooding

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About 8.5 million people under flash flood warnings with 1-2in of rain an hour expected in Brooklyn and Queens

Parts of New York City were swamped with dangerous flash flooding on Friday as intense rainfall continued after pouring all night, and a state of emergency was declared amid warnings from officials that the deluge could turn deadly.

About 8.5 million people were under flash flood warnings in the New York City area, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The city’s concrete and pavement exacerbated flooding, as overwhelmed sewers failed to adequately drain rainwater during the heavy and sustained downpours.

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Penny Wong refuses to release documents related to Qatar Airways decision – as it happened

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The foreign minister claims public interest immunity over Dfat advice. This blog is now closed

Rishworth won’t confirm adoption of any disability royal commission recommendations, ahead of report release

Families and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has refused to confirm if the government will be adopting any of the recommendations made in the disability royal commission report ahead of its public release today.

I’m not going to comment on any specific recommendations.

Obviously, we need to also make sure people with disability have choice and control.

You never change a country for the better through fear, you change it through hope and optimism and compassion and justice.

That’s what this referendum is about.

This is a body that won’t provide funds, that won’t run programs, that will just give advice to the government, and that experience of past bodies, and issues that have arisen has been factored in by Indigenous Australians when they’ve made this request.

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Weather tracker: South Africa floods kill at least 11 people

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Cape Town mayor declares major incident as roads closed and 80,000 people left without electricity

Extreme rain and strong winds across South Africa’s Western Cape province have caused flooding, torn off roofs, destroyed crops and damaged roads this week. It is estimated that the 48-hour rainfall totals between Sunday and Monday were between 100mm to 200mm (4-8in) in this region.

According to the Cape Town Disaster Risk Management Centre, 12,000 people were affected, but a further 80,000 people were left without electricity, according to the national power utility. The mayor of Cape Town signed a major incident declaration for additional resources and relief measures as 80 roads have been closed, 200 farm workers have been stranded and rail services have been suspended in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces.

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Europe’s olive oil supply running out after drought – and the odd hailstorm

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Heatwaves around Mediterranean have damaged harvests and forced producers to import from South America

Europe has almost run out of local olive oil supplies and is set for more shortages, after extreme weather damaged harvests for a second year.

The world’s largest producer has said it is having to import supplies from South America to keep up with demand.

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Storm Agnes brings 70mph gusts and heavy rain to Britain and Ireland

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Danger-to-life warning issued as first named storm of autumn damages buildings and disrupts travel

Gusts of 70mph were recorded as the first named storm of the autumn, Agnes, swept across Britain and Ireland, damaging buildings, causing travel delays and leaving homes without power.

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings covering much of the UK, where strong winds and heavy rain were expected on Wednesday evening and into Thursday.

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‘The least we can do is care for their children’: Libyans rally to protect Derna’s orphans

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Hundreds of traumatised children are thought to have lost their families in disaster

People in western Libya have rallied round to provide care and breastmilk for young children orphaned by the devastating floods that hit the coastal city of Derna on 10 September.

Hundreds of traumatised babies and young children are thought to have lost their parents in Derna, where whole neighbourhoods were wiped out after two dams broke.

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Flood rescue teams in Derna set back by communications outage

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Severed fibre-optic cables hamper search for survivors in eastern Libya where thousands died after dams collapsed

A daylong communication outage in the flood-stricken city of Derna in eastern Libya has further complicated the work of teams searching for bodies under the rubble and at sea.

The country’s chief prosecutor, meanwhile, vowed to take “serious measures” to deliver justice for the victims of the floods, which killed thousands of people and devastated the coastal city more than a week ago.

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Extreme weather shows need for early warning systems, says Spanish minister

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Teresa Ribera calls for alert systems in every country by 2027 after spate of natural disasters across the world

The latest spate of natural disasters – from the floods in Libya, Greece and Spain to the wildfires in Hawaii and Canada – has further underscored the need for early warning systems to help the world cope with the realities of the climate emergency, Spain’s environment minister has said.

Speaking to the Guardian as she prepared to travel to New York to take part in the UN’s climate ambition summit and sign a landmark treaty to protect the high seas, Teresa Ribera said the calamities laid bare the challenges the planet faced.

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Global heating made Greece and Libya floods more likely, study says

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Report says climate change made rainfall heavier but human factors turned extreme weather into humanitarian disaster

Carbon pollution led to heavier rains and stronger floods in Greece and Libya this month but other human factors were responsible for “turning the extreme weather into a humanitarian disaster”, scientists have said.

Global heating made the levels of rainfall that devastated the Mediterranean in early September up to 50 times more likely in Libya and up to 10 times more likely in Greece, according to a study from World Weather Attribution that used established methods but had not yet been peer-reviewed.

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Eastern Libya orders journalists out of flood-hit Derna after protests

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Media crackdown follows reports that police officers had detained and questioned Libyan reporters

Libya’s eastern government has ordered journalists to leave Derna after angry protests against the authorities a week after a flood killed thousands of residents.

Hundreds of people gathered on Monday outside Sahaba mosque in the city, chanting slogans. Some sat on its gold-domed roof. Later in the evening, a crowd set fire to the house of the man who was Derna’s mayor at the time of the disaster, Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi.

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Climate action must respond to extreme weather driving health crisis, says WHO

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Melting ice caps and rising sea levels are urgent but people care more about the floods, wildfires and droughts that are here now, New York summit hears

Floods, wildfires, drought and the onslaught of extreme weather are driving a global health crisis that must be put at the centre of climate action, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

“The climate crisis is a health crisis; it drives extreme weather and is taking lives around the world,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, said. “Melting ice caps and rising sea levels are, of course, crucial issues, but for most people they are distant threats in both time and place. The threats of our changing climate are right here and right now.”

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