Mercury drops to -21.4C in Scotland, the coldest temperature recorded in UK since December 2010
Temperatures plunged to below -21C in Scotland overnight, the lowest level in the UK in more than a decade, following an “extreme freeze”.
The mercury dropped to -21.4C (-6.5F) in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, the coldest temperature recorded in the UK since 2 December 2010, when -21.3C (-6.3F) was recorded in Altnaharra in the Highlands.
Continue reading...Authorities in the Netherlands declared a rare 'code red' emergency for the entire country as it was hit by its first proper snowstorm in more than a decade.
In the UK, amber and yellow weather warnings for snow were issued by the Met Office with widespread travel problems expected
The worst weather for a decade causes all trains to be cancelled but raises hopes of first traditional ice-skating marathon for 24 years
Authorities in the Netherlands declared a rare “code red” emergency for the entire country as it was hit by its first proper snowstorm in more than a decade.
Storm Darcy, which has also sent temperatures plummeting across Germany, packed winds of up to 90km (55 miles) an hour and sent temperatures as low as 5C (23F).
Continue reading...Cyclone Kimi could rise to a category two system as residents in far north told to bunker down
A tropical cyclone has formed off the coast of far-north Queensland, with residents told to prepare to bunker down for gale-force winds and heavy rain.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Sunday declared the formation of tropical cyclone Kimi – a category one system – about 140km north-east of Cooktown.
Continue reading...With roads blocked and trains cancelled healthcare staff decide to make the trip to work on foot
Healthcare workers in Madrid have gone to extreme lengths – some walking for hours – to relieve their exhausted colleagues as Spain grapples with the double whammy of a deadly storm and the coronavirus pandemic.
Storm Filomena hit Spain on Friday, blanketing large parts of the country in snow and bringing Madrid to a standstill as the city saw its heaviest snowfall in 50 years. Across the country the storm claimed at least four lives, affected around 20,000km of roads and left thousands trapped in their cars for as many as 12 hours without food and water.
Continue reading...The Spanish government has urged people to stay at home as the worst snowstorm in 50 years struck the country, bringing Madrid and the surrounding region to a frozen standstill
Continue reading...Public urged to stay at home as Storm Filomena traps motorists and brings Madrid to standstill
The Spanish government has urged people to stay at home after at least three people died as the worst snowstorm in 50 years struck the country, bringing Madrid and the surrounding region to a frozen standstill and leaving hundreds of motorists trapped in their cars.
Storm Filomena hit Spain on Friday, bringing snowfalls not seen in Madrid since 1971, according to the state meteorological office, Aemet. The snow continued overnight and into Saturday, by which time 50cm had fallen in parts of the Madrid region.
Continue reading...Global heating continued unabated despite Covid lockdowns, with record Arctic wildfires and Atlantic tropical storms
The climate crisis continued unabated in 2020, with the the joint highest global temperatures on record, alarming heat and record wildfires in the Arctic, and a record 29 tropical storms in the Atlantic.
Despite a 7% fall in fossil fuel burning due to coronavirus lockdowns, heat-trapping carbon dioxide continued to build up in the atmosphere, also setting a new record. The average surface temperature across the planet in 2020 was 1.25C higher than in the pre-industrial period of 1850-1900, dangerously close to the 1.5C target set by the world’s nations to avoid the worst impacts.
Continue reading...Twenty houses and a community hall destroyed on Vanua Levu in second category-5 storm to hit country in 2020
At least two people have died and an unknown number of homes and buildings were destroyed when category-5 Cyclone Yasa tore through Fiji’s second-largest island Vanua Levu on Thursday night.
By Friday morning the full extent of the damage was yet to be revealed as many parts of the affected island remained without communications and were cut off by flood waters.
Continue reading...Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand’s cabinet has agreed to a proposal for a trans-Tasman travel bubble; storms forecast to continue in parts of south-east Queensland and northern NSW. Follow the latest updates
If you were hoping to grab some of the Victorian government’s vouchers for travelling into regional Victoria for a holiday, you have missed out on the second round, AAP reports 30,000 vouchers sold in 31 minutes.
An extra 30,000 Regional Travel Voucher Scheme vouchers, worth $200 apiece, were snapped up within 31 minutes of becoming available from midday on Monday via a new-look state government webpage.
AAP reports the extreme weather in northern NSW and southeast Queensland will continue to intensify overnight.
Sites in NSW’s Northern Rivers District had about 400mm of rain in just a few days, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Jane Golding told reporters on Monday.
Continue reading...Potentially serious flooding and dangerous surf forecast for Queensland and northern NSW as heavy rain and damaging winds pound coast
Wild storms battering the Queensland and New South Wales coastline are expected to worsen later on Monday, and authorities have warned the heavy rain and strong winds could be “similar to a category one cyclone”.
Emergency services in both states have received thousands of calls for help since Saturday, as the conditions cause flash flooding and dangerous waves that have washed away large sections of beachfront.
Continue reading...António Guterres lists human-inflicted wounds on natural world in stark message
Humanity is facing a new war, unprecedented in history, the secretary general of the UN has warned, which is in danger of destroying our future before we have fully understood the risk.
The stark message from António Guterres follows a year of global upheaval, with the coronavirus pandemic causing governments to shut down whole countries for months at a time, while wildfires, hurricanes and powerful storms have scarred the globe.
Continue reading...Second devastating hurricane in two weeks lashes fragile nation and leaves villages submerged
Nery Benitez was working shifts as a baggage handler at San Pedro Sula’s airport when it got flooded by Hurricane Eta. This week it was inundated again as Hurricane Iota struck.
“I had gone seven months without work and three days after I got called back this flooding happened,” the 50-year-old said. “We have family and children. How are we going to feed them?”
Continue reading...The storm caused swollen rivers to burst their banks, flipped roofs on to streets, and killed at least nine people across the region
Continue reading...Hurricane Iota has made landfall on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, threatening catastrophic damage. Huge waves crashed into the Colombian island of San Andrés as the storm churned through the region, lashing Nicaragua with winds of up to 155mph (250kmh).
The latest storm hit just two weeks after Hurricane Eta, which caused havoc across the same parts of Central America. The presidents of Honduras and Guatemala have called on wealthier countries to help deal with the cost of the climate crisis
• This video was amended on 17 November 2020 to remove unrelated footage that had been mistakenly included in a report by the Associated Press
Coastguard footage shows extensive flooding triggered by the typhoon in the northern Isabela province. Dozens of people were killed and thousands were rescued from fast-flowing floodwater, as the Magat Dam released water in the region.
Though waters have mostly receded since Wednesday, rescue teams continued to help people in places where waters remained high
Continue reading...Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala worst affected with scores dead and more than 200,000 people evacuated from their homes
Central America is braced for further storms this weekend as the region reels from the devastation caused by Hurricane Eta, the Red Cross has warned.
Forecasters believe a weather front forming in the Caribbean has a 90% chance of becoming a cyclone, making it the 30th named Atlantic storm of 2020 in a record-breaking hurricane season, shattering the previous worst year of 28 storms in 2005.
Continue reading...Typhoon Vamco has killed at least seven people and unleashed some of the worst flooding in years in the Philippines’ capital, Manila
Continue reading...Torrential rains from Typhoon Vamco have lashed the Philippines' main Luzon Island, causing flooding and widespread damage.
People sought shelter on higher ground due to flash floods on Thursday, and have been asked to move to evacuation centres in the capital, Manila, despite fears of the spread of Covid-19.
Vamco is the 21st such storm to hit the Philippines this year, following close after Super typhoon Goni which devastated the east of the nation in early November
Continue reading...Flooding left thousands trapped for days without food or water and death toll may never be known
Across a sea of putrid mud a metre or so deep, Marvin Argueta pointed to the remnants of what a week ago was his home on the banks of the Chamelecón River. He had lost everything – but he still considers himself lucky.
“If we hadn’t got out in time, we all would have died,” said Argueta, 22, who along with his wife and four children abandoned their house when the flood waters reached waist height in the middle of the night. “A friend of mine lost his entire family.”
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