extreme weather

From the Himalayas to rural Texas, deadly floods this month have killed hundreds and exposed dangerous gaps in early warning systems, the UN’s weather agency warned, linking the devastation to rapid urbanization, land-use change and a warming climate that traps more moisture in the atmosphere.

Temperatures across lower South America have plummeted – falling as low as -15° Celsius or 5° Fahrenheit in some places – as a rare polar cold wave grips the region, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on Thursday. 

In April 2024, China broke the average temperature record that month. The following month, it was the same - and then again in August. And September. And November.

Extreme weather and climate impacts had a damaging toll on Latin America and the Caribbean last year, resulting in dying glaciers, record-breaking hurricanes, debilitating drought and deadly floods, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a new report on Friday. 

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially concludes this weekend, leaving a trail of destruction, loss of life and massive economic damage across the Americas and the Caribbean, the UN meteorological agency reported on Friday.

After enduring 12 typhoons this year, including two back-to-back storms in less than a month, communities across the Philippines are bracing for more extreme weather. 

The world is experiencing unprecedented warming with 2024 poised to become the hottest year on record, surpassing the previous record in 2023, according to new data released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ahead of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. 

Iceland´s glaciers are retreating so rapidly that future generations may wonder how the ancient island nation got its name. No surprise then that the land of the Vikings was chosen to house the world’s first global glacier graveyard which was unveiled at a ceremony last month, close to the capital Reykjavik.