Extreme rainfall

Flood impacts in Assam driven by high exposure and structural vulnerability, amid uncertain rainfall trends

Flooding in Assam State in August 2026. Photo: Facebook/CMO Assam

Between late June and early August 2026, the region of Upper Assam (specifically the primary districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat) and the surrounding hill catchments of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India witnessed multiple spells of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall that triggered repeated waves of flash flooding and widespread inundation across the … Continue reading “Flood impacts in Assam driven by high exposure and structural vulnerability, amid uncertain rainfall trends”

Climate change and urban pressures intensify flood risk on the Gulf of Guinea coast

Between 20–22 June, the coastal regions of the countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea, particularly Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria, experienced exceptionally widespread and severe flooding following intense and persistent rainfall. In several locations, more than 140 mm of rain fell within less than 24 hours, overwhelming natural drainage systems and triggering extensive flash … Continue reading “Climate change and urban pressures intensify flood risk on the Gulf of Guinea coast”

Fossil fuels are heating America’s 250th birthday  

Washington DC on a hot and humid day

A widespread heat wave is forecast to affect much of the central and eastern United States over the Fourth of July weekend, driven by a strong “heat dome”, a high pressure system sitting over the US, bringing moisture and warm air from the Gulf of Mexico  (Al Jazeera, 2026). Daytime high temperatures are expected to … Continue reading “Fossil fuels are heating America’s 250th birthday  “

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”