Weather & Earth Science News

New York City under state of emergency after major flash flooding Homes filled with mud and power out following Greek storm while in the aftermath of the previous Storm Daniel: Greek farmers fear they may never recover Several European countries record hottest September temperatures ever - it's very likely to be the UK's warmest September too; warmer than either July or August. South Africa's Western Cape enters recovery mode after heavy rains, strong winds wreak havoc  Arctic sea ice 6th lowest on record ‘Plastic air pollution’: Microplastics in clouds could be exacerbating climate change, study says whilst other research reveals microplastic invasion in secluded cave un-visited by humans for decades New study definitively confirms Gulf Stream weakening And alien life in universe: Scientists say finding it is 'only a matter of time'

Greece hammered by second storm in a month sweeping away roads, smashing bridges and flooding homes Storm Agnes: Woman rescued from car during floods in Northern Ireland, but generally the storm had little impact on the UK although North American wildfire s moke caught up in Storm Agnes causes unusual sky , especially in Scotland Swiss glaciers get 10% smaller in two years whilst in the US, there are many glaciers becoming smaller and disappearing Fears rise of volcanic eruption near Naples after strongest earthquake in 40 years Bolivia faces water shortage as winter heat wave drives drought whilst Brazil bakes as mercilessly hot spring begins Carbon source found on surface of Jupiter's moon Europa and there's methane and carbon dioxide found in atmosphere of habitable-zone exoplanet The UK unready as wildfires surge, warns firefighters' union And clouds now contain plastic, risking contamination of ‘everything we eat and drink’

Tropical Storm Ophelia makes landfall in North Carolina as it moves up east coast .   And now that Ophelia’s gone. Here’s what’s next for hurricane season.  Kilkeel 'tornado': Homes damaged by County Down storms Having gone till August last season before the Met Office named a storm, this season that get in straight away as Storm Agnes to bring winds and rain this week. Six dead, 12 missing in Guatemala landslides after heavy rain In South Africa, there are road closures, mudslides and stranded: Western Cape storm wreaks havoc Huge shelf cloud seen over Brazilian city (video) Villarrica volcano: Chile raises alert level as activity increases   Osiris-Rex: Nasa confirms return of asteroid Bennu samples And a new report says Antarctica witnessed world’s most intense heatwave in 2022 - with temperatures some 39c above average (albeit still below freezing)

New Orleans declares state of emergency as saltwater creeps up drought-stricken Mississippi river  Tropical Storm Ophelia threatens wind, rain and storm surge for US mid-Atlantic More flash floods on Wednesday night: London's flooding: Capital is hit by huge torrents of rain in just a matter of hours Cold weather has killed four-times as many Brits as heat in recent decades Australia wildfires rage as Sydney breaks all-time September heat record In NZ, Queenstown cleaning up after a month's rain in a day An interesting interview with Michael Mann: A climate scientist on how to recognize the new climate change denial Some stunning photos this week as a solar storm slams into Earth and sparks stunning northern lights display And returning to Earth is Osiris-Rex: Asteroid Bennu 'is a journey back to our origins'

Fire authorities in Queensland, NSW and Tasmania on high alert as Australia's east coast hit with record September temperatures with a summer of severe heat predicted as Bureau of Meteorology declares El Niño Flood warnings as rain leaves homes in Wales without power Homes and vehicles damaged in South East thunderstorm - with a possibility it was a tornado China warns of more bad weather after five people killed in tornado And how climate change played major role in Libya floods

Following heavy thunderstorms on Sunday, Minehead Butlin's closes after flood damage in Somerset whilst a Devon town is left underwater after motorists were trapped in their cars in flash flooding as community pulls together after floods hit homes One dead as Storm Lee hits New England and Canada In South Africa there were 12 injured as wave crashes into KZN restaurant and a woman dies as waves crash into Wilderness car park And Antarctic sea-ice at 'mind-blowing' low alarms experts

Millions under storm watches and warnings as Hurricane Lee bears down on New England and Canada Australia's unseasonable September heat an ominous sign for spring, with weather records set to be challenged Heatwave in Kashmir leaves locals, tourists in cold sweat Greece’s record rainfall and flash floods are part of a trend – across the Mediterranean, the weather is becoming more dangerous Spain records its third hottest summer since records began as a drought drags on What’s driving an increasing number of hurricanes to rapidly intensify? Antarctica may have entered ‘new regime’ of low sea ice as global warming ramps up NASA announces summer 2023 hottest on record (confirming what we already knew) 'Lightning' on Venus is actually meteors burning up in planet's atmosphere, study says And the football World Cup 2026: Could climate crisis impact the men's tournament?

Libya floods: Why damage to Derna was so catastrophic as the death toll in Libya’s Derna flooding could reach 20,000: Mayor After eight catastrophic floods in 11 days: What’s behind intense rainfall around the world? A warning that 100-year floods could occur yearly by end of 21st century Hurricane Lee heads north with landfall expected in Nova Scotia or Maine whilst Atlantic Storm Margot could threaten the UK next week Arizona is hit by huge monsoons just days after Arizona hits new heat record after mercury hit 110F for fifty-four days Most Americans experienced record heat this summer: ‘It’s just daily life now’ New research reveals why and when the Sahara Desert was green  Halley station: Rapid ice movement monitored under UK polar base And how we found a water world? Methane, carbon dioxide in atmosphere of massive exoplanet - life would be very different there to hear on Earth though; the gravity alone is very different indeed.

Thousands feared dead as flooding sweeps Libya whilst four more bodies found after Greece storm, raising toll to 15 So, as Storm Daniel has continued to wreak havoc, leaving as many as 2,000 dead in Libya. Why was it so deadly? Meanwhile, there were are also over 2,000 confirmed dead in the Morocco earthquake: Race against time to save survivors buried in rubble as the Morocco earthquake movement mapped from space Here, seven days of 30C heat in September is new UK record with Saturday also being the hottest day of the year.   And on Sunday, a silent lightning storm catches photographers' eyes .  I missed it .... Belgium records first-ever September heatwave as well In Hong Kong: Cliffside mansions at risk of collapse after record rains whilst seven people die in storms in southern China, more than 70 crocodiles reportedly escape from farm amid flooding And the US sees record number of ‘billion-dollar’ disasters so far this year

Magnitude-6.8 earthquake leaves hundreds dead and injured in Morocco In Pictures: Morocco earthquake hits historic Marrakesh After the Greek floods: PM Mitsotakis warns of very unequal battle with nature Elsewhere in Greece, inside the horror of Europe's biggest wildfire NYC is hit by sudden storm that's cancelled over 200 flights across NY and NJ as locals share concerns over 'creepy clouds' It's expected that powerful Hurricane Lee will create dangerous conditions along the East Coast, regardless of its uncertain final track The UK records hottest day of the year as temperature climbs - and the longest September run of 30c+ temperatures on record.  There's been a new record temperature for September in Northern Ireland with 28c registered at Castlederg . And even Shetland has had record temperatures UK's long-lasting snow patch melts away for 10th time in 300 years - and the 5th time since 2017.  At the time of writing, there is still a patch on Aona

Hong Kong and southern China battle widespread flooding from record rains In the Greek floods: Austrian honeymooners missing after holiday home swept away Last week, more intense rainfall brings floods to Russia's Far East Primorye Region Hurricane Lee becomes first category five storm of Atlantic season Stability inspection for West Antarctica shows: marine ice sheet is not destabilized yet, but possibly on a path to tipping And how last year's Tonga volcano triggered seafloor debris stampede

 Rain record in Greece was broken - 754 millimetres in Zagora Pelion! - which compares with an annual average of around 400mm. Meanwhile road and bridge repairs are carried out after floods at Bulgaria’s coast as flash floods kill 6 in Istanbul, northwestern Kırklareli and the death toll from fierce storms, flooding in Greece, Türkiye, Bulgaria rises to 14 Newly formed Hurricane Lee could become 'extremely dangerous' for the Caribbean this weekend Terrifying bodycam footage shows Washington deputy driving through wildfire inferno According to a NASA-funded study: Half of glaciers vanish with 1.5 degrees of warming (which is where we're now at) In the Amazon rainforest: Deforestation rate continues to fall And in other news, a very sad day for Riggies as Runrig singer Bruce Guthro dies aged 62 - his legacy will, of course, go on.  Fly now, free.

Brits trapped in Greek island killer floods are forced to stay in high-up hotel rooms as 'streets are turned to rivers' as the death toll from fierce storms and flooding in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria rises to 8 Cyclone kills at least 21 in southern Brazil, more flooding expected Tens of thousands evacuated in China amid rain from waning Typhoon Haikui The remnants of Hurricane Hilary ‘reshaped the landscape’ of Death Valley; storm damage closes park, maybe for months  Meanwhile, here in the UK, the hottest day expected with temperatures of 32C later this week, possibly even higher. A look at how they are re-greening Uzbekistan's desertified Aral Sea region  ‘Our atmosphere by definition is chaotic’: We asked a meteorologist how they record heat waves And 2023 likely to be hottest year humanity has experienced .  Until, I suspect, 2024 ....   Interesting also to see how the British Isles stand out on the global August temperature anomaly map  

Spain - widespread flooding after storm dumps over 240mm of rain in 24 hours at the weekend whilst Madrid's metro system is flooded as city is hit by worst rainfall since 1972 and boy rescued from flood waters after record heavy rain in Spain as the death toll hits 5. Meanwhile, summer returns to the UK with a mini-heatwave to bring ‘tropical nights’ and could break September records In North America's record-breaking summer: over 6,500 daily U.S. heat records fell—here are the biggest ones Typhoon Haikui: Dozens injured after storm sweeps Taiwan The canary in the icefield - Canada's Peyto Glacier is melting faster than predicted And in the Nevada desert, how unprecedented rain put out Burning Man's flame

Typhoon Saola makes landfall on China’s coast after slamming Hong Kong Typhoon Saola and Storm Haikui head towards China seen from satellite  This summer Japan records highest average temperature in 125 years, weather Massive wildfire breaks out in Walker County, Texas - with thousands urged to evacuate their homes Part of Las Vegas Strip flood after heavy rain After Kazakhstan’s deadliest wildfires in years, locals blame corruption - but not climate change New research explains 'Atlantification' of the Arctic Ocean Why do floods follow drought? Scientists show climate change is fuelling more ‘sudden shifts’ Was the summer weather really as bad as you think? - for the UK as a whole it was the 8th warmest on record And a BBC summary of the extreme summer weather that scorched and soaked the world

Hurricane Idalia batters south-eastern US causing storm surges and power outages with two dead in Florida as storm slams into Georgia Tropical Storm Idalia drenches Carolinas as Florida counts cost Meanwhile, Hong Kong grounds flights, shuts schools as super Typhoon Saola nears Bureau of Meteorology confirms Australia's warmest winter on record Weather responders included in 2023/24 storm names And a rather bizarre one: Extreme weather events linked to increased child marriage