Category Archives: Extreme weather

Danger to life warnings issued for Retford as Storm Babet flood waters rise

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Major cleanup operations get under way in worst-hit areas after storm that left four people dead

Fresh danger-to-life flood warnings have been issued as water levels continued to rise in the wake of Storm Babet, while cleanup operations got under way in some of the worst-hit areas.

All weather warnings triggered by the storm had expired on Sunday morning, with drier and brighter weather forecast, but flooding was expected to last for days and two severe flood warnings, signalling danger to life, were later issued for Retford in Nottinghamshire.

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Three dead and 40,000 homes without power as Storm Babet hits Britain

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Met Office issues rare second red warning for eastern Scotland for severe flooding and disruption

Eastern Scotland is braced for further heavy flooding and storm damage after the Met Office issued a second “danger to life” red weather warning, as the death toll from Storm Babet rose to three.

The emergency services rescued about 60 people from Brechin in Angus, but were unable to reach others stranded in their homes after the South Esk River surged to record heights, overwhelming flood defences erected seven years ago.

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Storm Babet: third person dies after flooding; 30 people evacuated in Derbyshire – as it happened

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Man dies after getting caught in flood water in Shropshire; Brampton area of Chesterfield evacuated

Here are some of the latest images from Brechin, where flood water reached window-sill height this morning and emergency services are rescuing people stuck in their homes.

Aberdeenshire council has confirmed that supplies of sandbags have been “depleted” and will not be replenished.

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Storm Babet: body of woman recovered from river as town evacuated

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Police Scotland say 57-year-old’s body recovered from River Esk after reports of someone being swept away

The body of a 57-year-old woman has been recovered from a river in Angus, Police Scotland have said, as hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate their homes in a town in the east of the country because of fears that the River Esk will burst its banks during Storm Babet.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 1.45pm on Thursday October 19, officers attended a report of a person having been swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk.

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Drought turns Amazonian capital into climate dystopia

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Forest fires leave Manaus with second worst air quality in the world, while low river levels cut off communities

A withering drought has turned the Amazonian capital of Manaus into a climate dystopia with the second worst air quality in the world and rivers at the lowest levels in 121 years.

The city of 1 million people, which is surrounded by a forest of trees, normally basks under blue skies. Tourists take pleasure boats to the nearby meeting of the Negro and Amazon (known locally as the Solimões) rivers, where dolphins can often be seen enjoying what are usually the most abundant freshwater resources in the world.

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Malawi swelters in record heat with temperatures nearly 20C above average

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Climate crisis blamed for extreme heat in African country, which has recorded temperatures of 43C

Malawians endured the country’s hottest weekend on record, with temperatures reaching nearly 20C above the seasonal average.

The heatwave began last Thursday with the government warning people to stay out of the sun, to keep hydrated, and avoid alcohol and caffeine. Some school buildings in the south of the country were evacuated, and children were taught in the shade of playground trees.

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Revealed: how a little-known pollution rule keeps the air dirty for millions of Americans

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Major investigation shows local governments are increasingly exploiting a loophole in the Clean Air Act, leaving more than 21 million Americans with air that’s dirtier than they realize

A legal loophole has allowed the US Environmental Protection Agency to strike pollution from clean air tallies in more than 70 counties, enabling local regulators to claim the air was cleaner than it really was for more than 21 million Americans.

Regulators have exploited a little-known provision in the Clean Air Act called the “exceptional events rule” to forgive pollution caused by “natural” or “uncontrollable” events – including wildfires – on records used by the EPA for regulatory decisions, a new investigation from The California Newsroom, MuckRock and the Guardian reveals.

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Weather tracker: Florida struck by twin tornadoes

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Storms down power lines and rip off roofs. Elsewhere, windy conditions forecast for UK this week

Two tornadoes swept across parts of Florida last Thursday, causing extensive damage to many homes and businesses in Crystal River and Clearwater. Trees and power lines were downed, with walls and roofs ripped from buildings. The tornadoes produced wind gusts of 115mph and 125mph respectively, according to the US National Weather Service, making them EF-2 tornadoes on the Enhanced Fujita scale. This scale is used to classify a tornado based on the wind gusts measured over a 3-second period, with EF-0 being the lowest and EF-5 being the highest. An EF-0 tornado has wind gusts of 65-80mph, with wind gusts exceeding 200mph in an EF-5 tornado. No injuries were reported after the Florida EF-2s.

Meanwhile, unusually windy conditions are forecast to develop across the North Sea later this week as areas of low pressure push northwards across France, through the Channel and towards the UK and Ireland. By Thursday and Friday, gusts of 70-80mph are possible in the North Sea bringing large waves and potential disruption. Wave heights of more than 7 metres are possible between Norway and Scotland. Strong winds are also likely to affect eastern Scotland and many eastern counties of England, with an increased risk of some damage to trees. The winds will be from an east to south-easterly direction as opposed to the usual south-westerly direction that prevails across north-west Europe.

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Canary Islands schools close and wildfire revives in soaring temperatures

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Heat is forecast to continue as authorities suspend classes on all islands and battle Tenerife blaze

Authorities on the Canary Islands have ordered the temporary closure of schools due to scorching temperatures on the archipelago that have set records and helped revive a huge wildfire on Tenerife.

The Spanish archipelago off the north-west coast of Africa typically experiences spring-like conditions all year, but temperatures have recently soared to about 38C (100F) in some parts.

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Human emissions made deadly South American heat 100 times more likely

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Research shows climate crisis by far main cause of recent unseasonable temperatures in southern winter and early spring

The deadly heat in central South America over the past two months was made 100 times more likely by human emissions that disrupted the climate, scientists have shown.

Temperatures have exceeded 40C in late winter and early spring in the southern hemisphere, affecting millions and leading to heat-related deaths.

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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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