Category Archives: Extreme weather

Climate crisis made deadly German floods ‘up to nine times more likely’

Posted on by

Study reinforces the hard evidence that carbon emissions are the main cause of worsening extreme weather

The record-shattering rainfall that caused deadly flooding across Germany and Belgium in July was made up to nine times more likely by the climate crisis, according to research.

The study also showed that human-caused global heating has made downpours in the region up to 20% heavier. The work reinforces the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s landmark report this month that there is “unequivocal” evidence that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are the main cause of worsening extreme weather.

Continue reading...

‘It’s just unbelievable’: Tennessee surveys wreckage after floods kill 22

Posted on by

Succession of thunderstorms deposited record-breaking 17in of rain in some parts of state

Tennesseans were surveying the mangled wreckage of towns and communities across the middle of the state on Monday, after a record-breaking deluge caused flash flooding that swept away houses, shattered lives and left at least 22 people dead and many more missing.

Related: A midwestern town moved uphill to survive climate crisis. Can others do the same?

Continue reading...

Henri drenches US north-east as 140,000 lose power in slow-moving storm

Posted on by

National Hurricane Center says storm to slow down further and likely stall near Connecticut-New York line

The slow-rolling storm Henri was taking its time drenching the US north-east on Monday.

Henri, which made landfall as a tropical storm on Sunday afternoon in Rhode Island, had moved north-west through Connecticut. It hurled rain westward far before its arrival, flooding areas as far south-west as New Jersey before pelting north-east Pennsylvania, even as it dropped to tropical depression status.

Continue reading...

Henri makes landfall in Rhode Island, packing high winds and heavy rain

Posted on by
  • Biden says storm has ‘potential for widespread consequences’
  • Inland rainfall seen as major threat in north-east states

Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in Rhode Island on Sunday, packing high winds and heavy rains that were projected to leave devastation from New Jersey and New York up to Massachusetts.

Related: The show did not go on: storm thwarts Central Park concert celebrating city’s Covid comeback

Continue reading...

Tropical Storm Grace’s heavy rains pour misery on Haiti earthquake survivors

Posted on by
  • Flash flood and landslides complicate relief efforts
  • Power remains out with 50mm of rain an hour falling

Tropical Storm Grace has lashed southern Haiti with drenching rains, piling on misery for survivors of a powerful earthquake as flash floods and landslides further complicate relief efforts.

Related: Naomi Osaka to donate prize earnings to Haiti earthquake relief efforts

Continue reading...

‘My animals burned alive’: the man putting his life back together after Greece’s wildfires – video

Posted on by

Shepherd Giannis Tsiboukas, 36, confronts  the ‘total destruction’ caused after a wildfire ravaged his land on the island of Evia in Greece. Tsiboukas lost more than 40 animals to the fire that destroyed more than 50,000 hectares. Peoples homes and livelihoods have been decimated. 

Hundreds of wildfires have torn through Greece this month on the heels of its most severe heatwave in decades, which left its forests tinder dry. Other Mediterranean countries – Turkey, Italy, Algeria and Spain among them – have suffered similar problems.

Scientists say there is little doubt that climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is driving more extreme weather events. 

Continue reading...

Florida issues tropical storm warning for Panhandle region as Fred approaches

Posted on by
  • Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Grace to hit parts of the Caribbean
  • Fred’s maximum sustained winds at 40mph Sunday morning

Florida’s governor declared a state of emergency for the state’s Panhandle region as Tropical Storm Fred moved through the Gulf of Mexico early on Sunday and parts of the Caribbean were preparing for the impact from Tropical Storm Grace.

Fred was forecast to move across the Gulf before reaching the coast Monday night or Tuesday morning, forecasters said. They said people from Alabama to the central Florida Panhandle should monitor the system’s progress.

Continue reading...

Heavy rain triggers floods and landslides in Japan – video

Posted on by

More than a million people have been urged to seek shelter as torrential rain triggered floods and landslides in western Japan, leaving at least one dead and two missing. Scientists say the climate crisis is intensifying the risk of heavy rain in Japan and elsewhere, because a warmer atmosphere holds more water

Continue reading...

Turkey floods kill 17 as country battles fresh disaster

Posted on by

Heavy rains and mudslides in northern regions come after devastating wildfires ravaged the south of the country

Heavy rains have triggered severe floods and mudslides in northern Turkey, killing at least 17 people and forcing thousands to leave their homes and shelter in student dormitories.

Rescue efforts continued on Thursday after torrential rain hit the Black Sea coastal provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu, Sinop and Samsun.

Continue reading...

Algeria declares three days of mourning as wildfire death toll reaches 69

Posted on by

Scores of fires blaze across 17 provinces as calls made for aid convoys and Morocco and France offer help

Algeria’s president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has declared three days of national mourning amid the death toll from raging wildfires in the north of the country rising to 69.

The state-run news agency APS said the rash of more than 50 fires which broke out on Tuesday had claimed four more lives, bringing the total to 69, including 28 soldiers deployed to help the emergency services.

Continue reading...

Oregon declares state of emergency as another ‘extreme heatwave’ looms

Posted on by

Pacific north-west prepares for triple-digit temperatures just weeks after heat resulted in hundreds of deaths in region

The Oregon governor declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as the region prepared for triple-digit temperatures mere weeks after a deadly heatwave clobbered the Pacific north-west.

Kate Brown said: “Oregon is facing yet another extreme heatwave, and it is critical that every level of government has the resources they need to help keep Oregonians safe and healthy.”

Continue reading...

Wildfires in Algeria leave more than 40 dead including soldiers – video

Posted on by

More than 40 people have died as wildfires sweep through parts of Algeria. Dozens of fires have hit the Kabyle region 60 miles (100km) east of Algiers with remote villages and limited access to water complicating  efforts to contain the blazes. The death toll includes 25 soldiers who were killed as they worked to rescue people in Bejaiea and Tizi Ouzou

Continue reading...

Wildfires in Algeria: dozens of civilians and soldiers reported dead

Posted on by

Prime minister says request made for help internationally as forest blazes erupt in Kabyle region and elsewhere

More than 40 people, including 25 soldiers, have died in wildfires that erupted east of the Algerian capital, the country’s prime minister, Ayman Benabderrahmane, said.

Benabderrahmane also told state television that the government had asked for help from the international community and was in talks with partners to hire planes to extinguish fires. So far, 42 deaths have been reported.

Continue reading...

‘A sample of hell’: Rohingya forced to rebuild camps again after deadly floods

Posted on by

At least 21,000 refugees displaced after heavy rain devastates Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the latest in a series of disasters to hit the area

The process of rebuilding has begun once again for Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh after a week of heavy rains made thousands homeless.

The chest-high waters that flowed through parts of Cox’s Bazar have exposed the vulnerability of the area’s unplanned settlements, which have to be repeatedly repaired and rebuilt after flooding, cyclones and fires.

Continue reading...

Extreme heat cooks mussels in their shells on Canada coast – video

Posted on by

More than 1bn marine animals along Canada’s Pacific coast are likely to have died in this year’s heatwave, highlighting the vulnerability of ecosystems unaccustomed to extreme temperatures. Christopher Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, walks along the shore of Porteau Cove Provincial Park in British Columbia. The crunch heard in the video is the shells of dead mussels underfoot that perished during low tide as temperatures spiked across the region

Continue reading...

Climate crisis: what one month of extreme weather looks like – video

Posted on by

In the last month, devastating weather extremes have hit regions across the world. From flash floods in Belgium to deadly temperatures in the US, from wildfires in Siberia to landslides in India, it has been an unprecedented period of chaotic weather. Climate scientists have long predicted that human-caused climate disruption would lead to more flooding, heatwaves, droughts, storms and other forms of extreme weather, but even they have been shocked by the scale of these scenes


Continue reading...

At least six Rohingya refugees killed as floods hit camps in Bangladesh

Posted on by

Shelters swept away as activists say people stuck in Cox’s Bazar are highly vulnerable to the ‘rapidly changing climate’

At least six Rohingya refugees were killed by landslides or drowned in flooding after rain inundated refugee camps in Bangladesh over recent days, deepening the despair among those living there.

Knee-deep waters coursed through the camps, battering fragile shelters made of bamboo and tarpaulin and making at least 5,000 people homeless, according to the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR).

Continue reading...