Updated on Feb 1
Australia
(Feb 1) Sydney has recorded its soggiest January in 11 years and the coldest one in 12 years. (Source) Perth has sweltered through its hottest January in 34 years, after experiencing its first heat wave this summer. (Source) New South Wales town of Moree is predicted to be split in half by floodwaters, after severe floodings worse than that occurred in the 1970s. (Source)
(Jan 23) Extreme weather continues across the Australia. There is a growing flood threat across eastern Australia this week, while in Western Australia, Perth is experiencing record-breaking heatwave conditions. In the north of Western Australia, coastal communities will be on alert due to the potential for a tropical cyclone to form. The low pressure system is still hovering over the coastline, threatening heavy rain, damaging winds, large waves and abnormally high tides. Widespread rainfall of 50-150mm has caused major flooding in parts of NSW and minor flooding in south-east Queensland. Mass evacuations are under way on NSW’s north coast, with rivers overflowing from days of heavy rain inundating homes and isolating communities. (Source)
(Jan 23) Rare cyclone-strength wind gusts of 170km/h and 70mm of rain have battered a remote north Queensland township, damaging several homes. (Source) Severe thunderstorms in Perth caused power cuts, damaged homes and delayed flights. Three people were struck by lightning. (Source)
Canada
(Jan 18) Coast-to-coast, Canadians continue to deal with ‘weird and wacky’ weather. Freezing rain, severe wind chills and mild temperatures persist across the country, with temperatures dropping in the West and winter storm warnings hitting much of the East. Global News takes a look at some the crazy weather across Canada. Read more HERE.
China
(Jan 26) In southwestern Guizhou Province in China, freezing rain has threatened the power supply in some regions as 124 major power lines were coated with heavy ice. In the southern Guangdong Province, more than 100 counties and cities have issued warnings of low temperatures and icy roads by Wednesday, which is rare in the subtropical province. (Source)
Europe
(Feb 1) The death toll continues to rise (up to at least 80 people) from the severe cold snap in eastern and central Europe (Bosnia, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine) saw temperatures drop as low as -22F (-30C) (Source)
Rescue helicopters evacuated dozens of people from snow-blocked villages in Serbia and Bosnia and air-lifted in emergency food and medicine as a severe cold spell kept Eastern Europe in its icy grip. In Bulgaria, 16 towns recorded their lowest temperatures since records started 100 years ago. (Source)
(Jan 26) Parts of eastern and central Europe (Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia) were hit hard by heavy snow and frigid temperatures for a second day Thursday, leaving hundreds trapped in cars, dozens of communities without power and at least one person dead. Some areas saw as much as 10 feet of snow. (Source)
Fiji
(Jan 26) Fiji declared flood-hit areas of the main island Viti Levu a disaster zone on Thursday as the death toll from the deluge lashing the Pacific nation rose to six. (Source). Severe flooding and landslides in Fiji have killed six people and left hundreds more homeless. More than 3,500 people have been forced into temporary shelters. (Source) The recent heavy rain in Fiji caused the worst floods on the northern island of Vanua Levu in three years. (Source)
India
(Jan 24) It could take “years” for hundreds of thousands of people in southeastern India to rebuild their livelihoods after a devastating cyclone wiped out their entire plantations of cash crops last month. Cyclone Thane came with wind speeds of up to 135 kmph (83 mph) and tidal surges reaching 1.5 metres (5 feet), killed 51 people when it struck the Indian state of Tamil Nadu around dawn on December 30. The storm disrupted the lives of more than one million people, flattening homes, destroying crops and causing power outages for days. (Source)
(Jan 23) There was no let off in the cold wave in Kashmir with Leh town in Ladakh region experiencing its coldest night of the season as the mercury plunged to 22.2 degrees below the freezing point, which is the lowest of this winter so far. (Source)
Indonesia
(Jan 29) Fourteen people were killed and another 60 were injured in Indonesia over a four-day period as a result of Cyclone Iggy. More than 2,000 homes were also damaged in 35 towns or cities in Java and Bali between Wednesday and Sunday. (Source)
Israel
(Jan 12) A snow blizzard in northern Israel and the country broke an all-time record for electricity use on Sunday, causing blackouts throughout the country. (Source)
Mozambique
(Jan 23) At least 12 people have been killed and thousands displaced when cyclone Funso hit central Mozambique at the weekend, state television said Monday. Heavy rains pounded the region in Southeast Africa, causing damage to the only road linking the capital Maputo and the northern areas. (Source)
Pakistan
(Jan 25) As many as 13 people are feared dead under the rubble of a phosphate mine that collapsed on Wednesday in a remote village, 28 kilometres from Abbottabad in Pakistan. However, the toll could not be verified as bodies are still buried. (Source)
Papua New Guinea
(Jan 25) The National newspaper reported that 40 bodies had been recovered and 20 people were still missing following the landslide in the central town of Mendi in Papua New Guinea. The landslide carved a 1-mile (1.5 kilometer) trail of destruction across the remote landscape, leaving roads to the villages cut off. (Source)
Portugal
(Jan 28) Portugal will experience extreme drought and only a very rainy February to reverse the situation. October was unusually warm and there was surprisingly almost zero precipitation in December. (Source)
South Africa
(Jan 20) Kruger Park has recieved heavy rains over the past few days. Heavy flood water washed away part of the Sandspruit Bridge that crosses the Sandspruit river and damaged access road to AFB Hoedspruit. (Source)
South America
From Chile to Colombia to Mexico, Latin America has been battered recently by wildfires, floods and droughts. For many witnessing the extreme weather in the region and around the world, the question that comes up again and again is whether climate change is playing a role. The response from experts: Probably. While leading climate scientists are unable to pin any single flood or heat wave solely on climate change, experts say the number of extreme weather events is increasing worldwide and the evidence suggests global warming is having an impact. (Source)
Argentina – A severe drought is hitting Argentina, harming key export crops such as soybeans and corn and leaving cattle with little to feed on.
Bolivia – Seasonal rains that used to come in September instead arrived in mid-December after a record heat wave.
Ecuador – (Jan 20) At least seven people died and two bridges were damaged in the past few hours in Ecuador because of floods caused by heavy rains. (Source)
Chile – Wildfires are raging in Chile during an atypical heat wave. Unusually dry weather and high temperatures have made forest fires much harder to control in usually wet areas of southern Chile.
Columbia – A second straight season of heavy rains in Colombia killed at least 182 people, destroyed more than 1,200 homes and caused an estimated $2 billion in damage in the past four months. The latest floods between September and December set off mudslides and forced hundreds of thousands of people to temporarily evacuate their homes.
Mexico – Northern Mexico is suffering from its worst drought in 70 years of record-keeping, which has left thousands of cattle dead and destroyed more than two million acres (almost one million hectares) of crops. (Source) Mexico’s Tarahumara Indians, legendary for their endurance in long-distance running, are reeling from a devastating food shortage caused by a record freeze and long drought. Reports of mass suicide of 50 or more members of the community, desperate and despondent over not being able to feed their families were denied by state government officials. Six people from the Tarahumara community have died of malnutrition in recent weeks. (Source)
Puerto Rico had its second wettest year in more than a century of record-keeping.
Sri Lanka
(Jan 22) The unusual drop in temperature in Nuwara Eliya has had widespread repercussions, with people finding it difficult to cope with the extreme weather, damage to crops and drop in water levels. “Due to such extreme weather, crops such as beetroot, potatoes and lettuce were damaged. During the day, the sunlight is very bright and strong, and the streams have dried up.” (Source)
United Arabs Emirates
(Jan 24) Unusual cold snap enveloped United Arabs Emirates (UAE) - a cold wave continues to spread across the length and breadth of the country, with extreme weather conditions sweeping mountainous regions and the country recording its lowest temperatures for the year yesterday. (Source)
United Kingdom
(Jan 30) The Met Office issued a warning of severe cold weather across much of England until at least Thursday as Arctic winds bring in a big freeze with ice and snow expected to blanket the countryside. The mercury could plummet to as low as -10C in rural parts of central England on Thursday night, with average day time readings only reaching 3C-4C, while Iceland’s capital Reykjavic will be warmer at six degrees Celsius. (Source)
United States of America
(Jan 30) Even if it has been warmer than usual in much of the United States, there’s no denying Alaska is seeing a real winter, even by its standards.The deep freeze is in addition to the record snow and blizzard conditions seen earlier this month in towns like Cordova and Valdez. Anchorage is shivering through one of its coldest January’s on record and on track to see a record snow season, having received more than twice its average amount so far. Fort Yukon has ranged from minus 50 to minus 62 degrees over the last three days, getting close to its record of minus 78. (Source)
(Jan 25) Investigators have confirmed that storm damage in Central and Northeast Austin in Texas was in fact caused by a tornado. (Source)
(Jan 24) While most of the country braces for the big quake to hit California, there is another natural danger that has not only already impacted the state and Loma Linda twice, it’s become a growing in risk due to climate change. The public should be equally prepared for the ARkStorm, which describes a scenario of intense rain that leads to catastrophic flooding. The storm could cause landslides, debris flows, coastal inundation and flooding. The result could be infrastructure damage and pollution. (Source)
(Jan 23) Rain-wrapped tornadoes struck at least six spots in Arkansas and severe weather rocked parts of the South and Midwest from Mississippi to Indiana and Ohio. (Source) Severe thunderstorms pummeled Alabama early Monday, killing at least two people and leaving heavy damage just hours after tornadoes struck portions of Arkansas. In Mississippi, the National Weather Service was tracking a thunderstorm to the southwest of Hattiesburg that was producing wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour. These were the latest in a series of powerful January storms to have torn through the Southeast. (Source)
(Jan 22) An extremely windy day Sunday in Texas made for dangerous conditions in some parts of the state. An upper level wind carried remnants of a major dust storm in West Texas all the way to the Dallas-Fort Worth area late Sunday afternoon. A wall of dirt moved through Denton, Tarrant and Dallas counties, turning the western sky a shade of brown at 5:30 p.m. (Source)
