An impending ‘super’ El Nino is likely to inflict a combined US$10 billion to US$20 billion of damage in affected African countries and trigger mass migration from hard-hit areas, the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) top climate expert said. Forecasters are warning that the El Nino weather pattern – which often drives severe droughts, flooding and storms in Africa – could turn into one of the strongest ever seen if current Pacific Ocean warming trends continue. As well as the threat to food...
For fisherwomen, rising temperatures are only one part of a larger crisis. Pollution, ecological degradation, and changing seas are making livelihoods increasingly precarious
From massive typhoons and severe floods to scorching heat, China is being hit by a barrage of extreme weather events. Behind this surge in volatility lies a brewing “super” El Nino, according to researchers. Scientists warn that we are only seeing the prelude, and with the current event already rivalling historic climate disasters, it signals a potentially perilous future for the nation and the globe. Jiang Hua, chief El Nino forecaster at the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Centre,...
Herders and experts tell the BBC how Africa's camels are suffering because of extreme heat.
For salt pan workers, the weather forms the basis of their livelihood: long, hot days take a toll on their body but allow them to earn, while spells of rain offer relief but mean wages are lost. Climate change is making their occupation increasingly precarious but help from the government remains limited
What does a heatwave cost?
Climate advocate Mina Hasman’s vision of designing cities that behave like forests and buildings that act like trees.
Across the US this week, different disasters – from Canadian wildfire smoke darkening the skies in the Midwest and northeast to extreme heat along the east coast to catastrophic flooding in Texas – are disrupting daily life and putting people’s health at risk. When multiple weather catastrophes play out like this at the same time, or in quick succession, experts refer to them as compound events. As climate change makes compound events more likely, experts warned that grappling with them is...
Capital is finite, as is political bandwidth and public concern. So far, this year has asked all three to stretch further than usual, split between security spending, market volatility and now simultaneous disasters unfolding on opposite ends of the planet. Climate change did not wait for global crises to subside. It forced its way onto the front page anyway. Last week supplied the clearest illustration yet. In southern Spain, a wildfire near Almeria killed at least 12 people and left 23 more...
Severe weather conditions are likely to get worse due to climate change.
The previous highest all-time record was 33.3°C recorded in 1914 and 1926.
Deaths in Germany spiked 32 per cent during a record heatwave in June compared to levels in the previous four years, official data showed Tuesday. Nationwide, about 23,900 people died between June 22 and June 28 – an increase of 7,100 compared with the two previous weeks, according to Germany’s statistics agency. “The fact that the health impact from heat is high and that death rates rise as a result is a well-known effect often observed in the summer months,” the agency said. Sweltering weather...
Aid groups warn a record-strength El Niño could unleash flooding and hunger from Somalia to Pakistan.
Environmentalist calls for afforestation in Karnataka to mitigate rising temperatures
European countries reported more than 10,000 excess deaths during the record-breaking heatwave that engulfed the west of the continent in late June, official data showed. The vast majority – more than 9,000 – were among people aged 65 and above, according to data published by EuroMOMO, a network backed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization. Extreme heat can kill by causing heatstroke, or aggravating cardiovascular and respiratory...
Heatwaves and rainfall deficits could put the State’s preparedness to the test
South Korea issued its first-ever emergency heatwave alert on Sunday under a new warning system launched this year, advising people to halt outdoor activities and keep cool. The new warning system was introduced to better deal with a rising number of heatwaves in South Korea, which have become longer and more intense, officials said. An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heatwave are forecast to hit perceived temperatures of 38°C or an actual temperature of 39°C for one...
As Super Typhoon Bavi churns towards Taiwan and eastern mainland China, they offer a chilling timely reminder that the world needs to brace for impending disasters as the climate system nears a tipping point. For Benjamin Horton, the newly minted recipient of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society Axford Medal – the most prestigious honour in Asian climate and earth science – the world has entered a period of volatility in which historical weather patterns are no longer a reliable guide to future...
US President Donald Trump’s negative portrayal of China’s achievements in renewable energy began at a White House meeting with oil executives on January 9 and was amplified at the World Economic Forum later that month. The story he told was shaped more by domestic politics than fact – a narrative that has lingered through subsequent debates over China’s alleged clean-energy “overcapacity”. While such rhetoric might rally support in the American Midwest, it does not withstand scrutiny. Trump’s...
Football’s biggest tournament should fund a serious plan to measure, reduce and account for its emissions.
Summer came too early to Europe’s most important rice-growing region, and weeds are taking over Sharon Angoli’s parched paddies in Italy’s Pavia province. “That one is done for, no matter what happens,” the 22-year-old said as she surveyed one desolate field that has been baked by what is among the most severe heatwaves to hit the continent in June. Even abundant rains for the rest of the summer would probably not save the crop, she said. Angoli and her father, Carlo, also fear for their other...
More than 165 million people are enduring dangerous heat and humidity, with temperatures expected to stay at 38C (100F) for several days.
Temperature records were smashed in June - and scientists warn this is a sign of things to come.
The average temperatures on June 24 and 25 this year were the highest ever recorded in the country.
World Meteorological Organization forecasts more likelihood of heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall due to El Nino.
Experts agree that humans can only comfortably survive in the thermoneutral zone, a surprisingly narrow Goldilocks range between 17 and 24 degrees Celsius. This gives us a problem as climate change pushes up summer temperatures alarmingly, resulting in record heatwaves around the world. Already, about 12 per cent of the Earth’s land area is uninhabitable due to deadly climate conditions. This is set to rise to over 45 per cent by 2100, with at least 44 per cent of the world’s population likely...
WHO warns Europe must 'plan for heat like winter flu' as experts reveal how permanent this summer's extreme heat is.
The world’s oceans are under heat stress, with average sea surface temperatures hitting 21°C.
Spain recorded 1,029 excess deaths last month attributable to heat, official data showed on Wednesday, as a five-day heatwave with temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) made it the second-hottest June on record. Data on the Health Ministry’s daily mortality monitoring system MoMo showed this June had the most deaths attributed to heat since the same month in 2015. Average temperatures last month were 3.2 degrees higher than normal, weather agency AEMET said,...
European Union monitors say the first half of 2026 was 'marked by sustained and exceptional ocean warmth'.
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong’s weather forecaster has warned of record high temperatures this year and next, with a developing El Nino potentially becoming the strongest on record. The Observatory said on Monday that sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean were expected to rise further, developing into an El Nino event this summer that would...
Some 130 million people in Central and Eastern Europe endure temperatures above 35C (95F) as heat records set.
Older people remain most at risk as the heatwave drives up excess deaths across Europe.
Temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Europe on Sunday.