All articles tagged with #extreme weather
A fast-spreading forest fire near Los Gallardos in Andalusia killed 11 people, including foreign nationals, as record heat intensified the blaze; authorities evacuated nearby communities, Spain deployed around 200 military personnel to assist, and officials suspect a downed power line as the likely ignition source, with the fire burning thousands of acres.
A climate-model study, using Greenland ice melt scenarios, suggests the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) may already be locked in toward collapse, with a 10% chance under peak 2025 emissions, rising to 23% in harsher melt scenarios—and potentially 100% by 2100 in the worst case. A collapse would trigger dramatic regional impacts, including sea-level rise along the U.S. East Coast, cooler temperatures for parts of Europe, and more extreme weather. The work is a preprint and debated, but it underscores the urgency of rapid emissions reductions to avert severe climate outcomes.
A vast Pacific marine heat wave spanning more than eight times the size of the contiguous U.S. and about 13.5% of Earth’s surface formed from a North Pacific anomaly and a growing El Niño. It could reshuffle weather this winter and spring, fueling Typhoon Bavi in the western Pacific and a potential heat dome over the western U.S. this summer, while pushing California coastal seas higher by roughly 6 inches to 2 feet and boosting rainfall and wildfire risk. Linked to the Pacific Meridional Mode and ongoing warming, global ocean heat has surged in recent decades, making extreme weather more likely.
From the Midwest to the East Coast, a heat wave has produced record-high temperatures across 21 states, with the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast poised for the peak. Heat alerts cover about 105 million people, and there will be little relief at night as many more temperature records could be set through the weekend.
Researchers say a climate-change–driven heat dome is making this US heatwave far more likely, with temperatures high enough to threaten Fourth of July celebrations in DC and World Cup matches; scientists estimate such extremes would be once-in-200-years events today due to warming, and much rarer without 1.4C of warming, underscoring the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
A record global average sea-surface temperature in June—about 21C—driven by ongoing warming and the El Niño onset, pushed the world into uncharted territory, with Copernicus and NOAA warning more temperature records and extreme weather could follow as oceans have absorbed most excess heat and CO2; Europe experienced heatwaves and thousands affected, highlighting climate risks as El Niño strengthens.
A dangerous heat dome is forming over the Tennessee Valley and will shift to the Mid-Atlantic by week’s end, with NOAA’s HeatRisk projecting about 73 million Americans in triple-digit heat through Sunday, 190 million under extreme humidity by the weekend, and 205 million at major or extreme heat-related risk through Monday; the pattern reflects high-pressure systems and warming climate, and it should ease early next week as another heat dome develops over Western Europe.
A dangerous heat dome will intensify over the Eastern United States this week, driving triple-digit temperatures across the Midwest and East with little overnight relief and the potential for hundreds of records to fall.
Berlin deployed two water cannons to cool crowds during a heatwave gripping Germany, spraying landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag as daytime temperatures neared 40°C; nights remained hot, with a cooldown and possible thunderstorms forecast for later in the week.
Federal meteorologists issued a rare 'particularly dangerous situation' red-flag warning for southern Utah through Friday as the Cottonwood Fire, now over 70,000 acres, rages and ranks among the largest blazes in the U.S. this year. Forecasters warn life-threatening fire behavior is possible Friday amid extreme fire weather, with risk extending across the Intermountain West into next week. Smoke from the fires is blowing toward the East Coast, though air quality remains unaffected in the area.
Madrid researchers, citing Spain's Carlos III Health Institute, estimate that the current heat wave has caused about 212 excess deaths in Spain since Sunday, with temperatures surpassing 110°F in parts of the country, underscoring the human toll of Europe’s record heat.
A European heat wave this week pushed French temperatures to or beyond the 2050 scenario imagined in a 2014 WMO campaign, with France briefly hotter than Phoenix on a peak day. In 19 of 34 French locations, the actual temps matched or exceeded the hypothetical 2050 forecast, illustrating how warming can drive extreme heat beyond prior expectations and sparking renewed attention to future climate risks across Europe.
Pacific sea-surface temperatures in the El Niño region have topped daily warm records for more than 20 days in June, signaling a potentially record-strong El Niño that could peak between November and January and linger into 2027. The warming is expected to shift global weather patterns, raising the risk of extreme rainfall, floods and landslides in some regions while increasing drought in others; California could see ARkStorm-style flooding and Indonesia faces higher wildfire risk. El Niño may also boost global temperatures and sea levels, affect marine life, and yield both potential benefits (like groundwater recharge) and costs. Forecasters say there’s high confidence this will be a strong event, potentially among the five strongest since 1982.
A record-breaking heat dome has gripped France, with temperatures exceeding 110F and officials reporting at least 45 deaths, including about 40 drownings, as people seek relief in unsupervised swimming spots. The heat wave is expected to spread across Europe, prompting warnings and discussions about the link between extreme heat and climate change.
A powerful heat dome will hover over Western Europe as summer begins, pushing temperatures about 20°F above average across Central and Western Europe, with the United Kingdom and Iberia likely to experience record heat and a few severe thunderstorms as the pattern persists.