Category Archives: Extreme weather

More than 50m Americans under severe storm threat after at least five people die in southern states – as it happened

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Extreme weather warnings issued across the US as more storms are expected; millions also warned of heatwave

Across the world this month, temperatures have accelerated to record-setting levels, an ominous sign in the climate crisis ahead of a gathering El Niño that could potentially propel 2023 to become the hottest year ever recorded.

Preliminary global average temperatures taken so far in June are nearly 1C (1.8F) above levels previously recorded for the same month, going back to 1979.

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Weather tracker: extreme rainfall and heat hit China amid Asian heatwave

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‘Dragon boat water’ is breaking records in Guangxi region, as air conditioner use in Xinjiang puts strain on grid

Many people in China have experienced a variety of weather extremes in recent days. Parts of southern and eastern China experienced prolonged periods of torrential rainfall, as the summer rains known as “dragon boat water” got off to a remarkable start.

The city of Yulin in the Guangxi region experienced 35 hours of non-stop rain on 8-9 June, while the nearby city of Beihai was flooded after 614.7mm of rainfall over 24 hours in the same period. This is approximately a third of the city’s average yearly precipitation, and a June record for the Guangxi region. It is in stark contrast to May, when Guangxi experienced its lowest rainfall in 60 years.

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Cyclone Biparjoy: more than 100,000 evacuated in India and Pakistan as storm nears

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Cyclone Biparjoy, which means ‘disaster’ in Bengali, is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening

More than 100,000 people have been evacuated in India and Pakistan ahead of the expected landfall on Thursday of a “very severe cyclonic storm”.

Biparjoy, a cyclone whose name means “disaster” in Bengali, is making its way across the Arabian Sea and is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening, government weather monitors said.

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Weather tracker: Finland experiences coldest June on record

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Despite 24-hour sun, Lapland dips to -7.7C. Elsewhere, the Atlantic hurricane season begins

Thursday 1 June saw potentially the lowest June temperature on record in Finland. A weather station in Lapland, Enontekiö Kilpisjärvi Saana, reached -7.7C. This may not seem that cold for northern Finland, where winter temperatures reach as low as -51.5C, but the last time Lapland saw a minimum temperature of -7C in June was on 3 June 1962.

In addition, at this time of year Lapland experiences midnight sun where it is constantly light and the sun does not set. This unseasonal cold was possible in the first month of summer due to a large area of high pressure to the west of Finland, blocking the usual westerly/south-westerly flow of weather systems across the Atlantic and North Sea.

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Japan storm: one dead and two missing as thousands urged to evacuate

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Dozens injured amid flooding from heavy rains caused by remnants of former typhoon Mawar, with new warnings issued near Tokyo

Heavy rain across parts of Japan killed one person, left two missing and injured dozens more, authorities said, with thousands of people issued evacuation warnings.

The inundation was caused by the remnants of former typhoon Mawar, downgraded to a tropical storm.

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Weather tracker: Shanghai reports record high May temperature of 36.7C

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Heatwave continues in southern and eastern Asia as temperatures exceed 40C in vast swathes of region

Shanghai in China has reported a record high May temperature of 36.7C, breaking the previous record by 1C. The new high temperature on 29 May comes amid the heatwave affecting southern and eastern Asia since mid-April. Vast swathes of the region have had temperatures exceeding 40C, with parts of Pakistan reaching almost 50C in mid-May.

South-east Asia has been affected particularly badly, with record high national temperatures in Laos (43.5C), Vietnam (44.2C), and Thailand (45.4C). This is due to low amounts of rainfall over the previous winter resulting in drier soils, which can heat up more quickly than moist soils, thus exacerbating the effect.

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Climate change to blame for up to 17 deaths on Mount Everest, experts say

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Nepal’s head of tourism says variable weather on the mountain has led to one of the deadliest years on record

Experts say this is likely to be one of the deadliest years on record on Mount Everest, with variable weather caused by climate change being blamed as one of the main reasons for the deaths of up to 17 people.

A total of 12 people have now been confirmed dead during Everest expeditions this season and another five are missing, presumed dead, as no contact has been made for at least five days in all cases, according to the Himalayan Database, which tracks mountain fatalities.

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Vietnamese cities cut public lighting to save energy amid heatwave

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Measures come after warning of electricity shortages due to high demand and decreased hydropower production

Cities in Vietnam are cutting the use of public lighting to save energy as unusually hot temperatures threaten to stretch the country’s power supplies.

A sweltering heatwave has gripped swathes of Asia over recent months, causing school closures and deaths in India, as well as health warnings across many countries in the region.

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Weather tracker: Typhoon Mawar narrowly avoids landfall as it hits Guam

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Wind and rain bring island to a standstill but eye replacement cycle fortuitously weakens it temporarily

Earlier this week, Typhoon Mawar whipped up a storm in western Micronesia as the category 4 storm came close to landfall on the island of Guam. Starting out as a tropical depression over the weekend, Mawar rapidly deepened and intensified over the following couple of days, almost reaching category 5 by Tuesday evening. Wind gusts peaked at 155mph (250km/h), briefly making Mawar a super typhoon about 100 miles south-east of the US island territory.

In a stroke of luck an eyewall replacement cycle occurred overnight, hours before the then super typhoon was due to reach Guam. The cycle involves the slight degradation of the storm’s structure as a new eye develops around the old eye. Consequentially, the storm’s intensity weakened temporarily while simultaneously spreading strong winds over a larger area. Mawar’s winds dropped to a sustained speed of 140mph as the typhoon brushed the northern edge of Guam at about 7am local time (2200 BST) Had Mawar made landfall, it would have been the first category 4 typhoon to do so since Typhoon Pamela in 1976.

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Typhoon Mawar tears through Guam, leaving most of island without power

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Electricity lines and trees downed and ‘what used to be a jungle looks like toothpicks’ as governor declares the worst is over

Much of Guam was without power and running water after a typhoon packing ferocious winds and torrential rains battered the western Pacific island but caused no reported fatalities or serious injuries.

Residents in the US territory were ordered to boil their water until further notice amid water contamination concerns as crews repaired generators damaged by Typhoon Mawar, according to local media and Guam’s water authority.

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Heavy rains in Canada offer relief from wildfires but could lead to flooding

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Crews hope wet weather could be ‘turning point’ after worst start to fire season on record in which area the size of Wales has burned

Heavy rains have brought relief to western Canada, in what crews hope could be a “turning point” in a protracted fight against wildfires, but officials also warned the much-needed downpour could lead to catastrophic flooding – and fresh blazes from lightning strikes.

Officials in Alberta said that cool, wet weather over the weekend – and more forecast for the coming days – promised a respite after the worst start to a fire season on record, in which 512 wildfires have already consumed more than 945,000 hectares – surpassing the previous record 615,00 hectares for the same period in 2019.

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Weather tracker: Guam and Philippines brace for Typhoon Mawar

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Typhoon projected to affect US territory of Guam as early as Tuesday. Elsewhere, Europe is heating up

Over the weekend, a rapidly intensifying region of thunderstorms in the western Pacific culminated in the formation of Typhoon Mawar.

The movement of this storm is projected to affect the Mariana Islands, including the US territory of Guam, as early as Tuesday. There is a risk of wind speeds above 75mph, with torrential rain.

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‘No one saw this level of devastation coming’: climate crisis worsens in Somalia

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Torrential rain, coming on top of the country’s worst drought in four decades, has forced 250,000 people to leave their homes

Jamal Ali Abdi has seen flooding in Beledweyne before but never on the scale witnessed earlier this month when the Shabelle River burst its banks, causing devastation to the central Somali town and displacing almost the entire population.

As water gushed through the streets, Ali’s home was soon surrounded by murky brown flood water.

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Italy’s disasters suggest the climate crisis is at the gates of Europe

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This week’s floods are latest weather disaster to hit country, as policymakers finally begin to respond to crescendo

This week, parts of northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region received half their average annual rainfall in just 36 hours. Rivers burst their banks and thousands of acres of farmland lie submerged. By Thursday evening, an estimated 20,000 people had been left homeless and 13 were confirmed dead.

It is just the latest weather disaster to hit the country. Six months ago, 12 people died on the southern island of Ischia in a landslide triggered by torrential rain. Eleven more were killed last September by flash floods in the central region of Marche.

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Death toll mounts in Italy’s worst flooding for 100 years

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Older and disabled people trapped in homes as rescuers battle harsh conditions in Emilia-Romagna region

Older and disabled people were trapped in their homes as rescuers worked under pounding rain throughout the night to save people in the most catastrophic flooding to affect Italy in 100 years.

The floods in the northern Emilia-Romagna region have claimed 13 lives as of Thursday evening. An estimated 20,000 have been left homeless in a disaster that caused 23 rivers to burst their banks and 280 landslides, engulfing 41 cities and towns.

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Climate breakdown made southern Asia heatwave at least 2C hotter, study finds

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Temperatures up to 45C recorded in April in parts of India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Laos

A searing heatwave in parts of southern Asia in April was made at least 30 times more likely by climate breakdown, according to a study by international scientists.

Unusually high temperatures of up to 45C (113F) were recorded last month in monitoring stations in parts of India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Laos.

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Devastating floods in Italy claim lives and leave thousands homeless

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Twenty-one rivers burst their banks after heavy storms across country cause landslides and submerge villages

Nine people have died and thousands have been evacuated from their homes after heavy storms wreaked havoc in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, causing severe flooding and landslides.

People sought refuge on the rooftops of their homes after 21 rivers broke their banks, submerging entire towns.

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Cyclone Mocha: three dead and 700 injured as storm pounds Myanmar

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About 1,000 people trapped by seawater rescued amid damage to homes, electricity infrastructure and mobile phone masts

Rescuers have evacuated about 1,000 people trapped by seawater 3.6 metres (12ft) deep along western Myanmar’s coast after a powerful cyclone injured hundreds and cut off communications in one of Asia’s least developed countries.

Strong winds injured more than 700 of about 20,000 people who were sheltering in sturdier buildings on the highlands of Sittwe township such as monasteries, pagodas and schools, according to a leader of the Rakhine Youths Philanthropic Association in Sittwe.

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New Zealand government announces billion-dollar cyclone and flood recovery fund

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Record-breaking rainfall hit Auckland in January, only to be followed by Cyclone Gabrielle ravaging the North Island in February

The New Zealand government is allocating NZ$1.1bn to help communities recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and flooding.

The funds from the 2023 budget are to cover “basics” of rebuilding roads, rail and schools, as well as flood protection, the government announced on Sunday.

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Cyclone Mocha threatens world’s largest refugee camp on Myanmar-Bangladesh border

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Predicted to make landfall on Sunday, preparations are under way for a partial evacuation of the camp in Cox’s Bazar

Tropical cyclone Mocha intensified to become “very dangerous”, the World Meteorological Organisation has said, warning of violent winds, floods and possible landslides in Bangladesh which could hit the world’s biggest refugee camp in Cox’s bazar.

Cyclone Mocha is predicted to make landfall on Sunday near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, according to India’s meteorological office, packing winds of up to 175km/h (108mph).

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