Year: 2026

Climate change exposes hundreds of millions to longer and deadlier pre-monsoon heat in South Asia

People cover their heads and carry fans in Delhi during temperatures in excess of 40°C

From mid April and advancing into May, India and Pakistan experienced extremely high temperatures, including daily maximum temperatures above 46°C in many cities in India (Times of India, 2026).  This ongoing period of extreme heat brought severe human and economic impacts across India and Pakistan (Al Jazeera, 2026), two of the most densely populated regions … Continue reading “Climate change exposes hundreds of millions to longer and deadlier pre-monsoon heat in South Asia”

Record-shattering March temperatures in Western North America virtually impossible without climate change

Sunset over downtown Los Angeles

An unusually early spring heatwave is developing across the southwestern United States (US), with temperatures that are more typical of summer than mid-March (AccuWeather, 16 March 2026). Driven by a strong, slow-moving high pressure system, called a ‘heat dome’, the event is causing temperatures to rise 11-17℃ (20-30℉) above average across parts of California, Nevada … Continue reading “Record-shattering March temperatures in Western North America virtually impossible without climate change”

Unplanned urbanisation fuels landslide disasters amid emerging rainfall trends

View of impacted areas in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil

At the end of February, intense and localized rainfall triggered severe flooding and landslides across the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, resulting in more than 70 fatalities (ReliefWeb, 2026). The city of Juiz de Fora was particularly affected and recorded its wettest month  on record (INMET; G1, 2026). The first heavy rainfall events occurred between … Continue reading “Unplanned urbanisation fuels landslide disasters amid emerging rainfall trends”

Increasingly severe rainstorms put people and structures built on floodplains at risk

Since 16 January, nine named storms have battered the western Mediterranean, with Spain, Portugal and Morocco hardest hit.  In Spain, flooding and infrastructure damage from heavy winds forced over 12,400 evacuations, affected 115,000 people in 19 villages in the Sierra de Cádiz, and led the Spanish Government to commit more than €7 billion in aid, … Continue reading “Increasingly severe rainstorms put people and structures built on floodplains at risk”