I’m a biologist and environmentalist. This is my list of the top 10 weather disasters caused by the climate crisis, the ones that impressed me the most.
10
Winter Wildfire in Boulder, Colorado
In December 2021, this “winter fire” consumed hundreds of homes, with wind gusts of 168 km/h. The wind made the fire jump quickly from one place to another, forcing the emergency evacuation of thousands of residents. In the Twitter below, the evacuation of a mall caused by this climate crisis disaster. The Guardian 31/12/2021 ⇓
9
The flood in the state of Bahia, Brazil
The rains began in December 2021, at the same time that the south of South America was ravaged by an unprecedented heat wave. The rain caused deaths and displaced thousands of people. CNN Brazil created a special link merging reports about the event into one “all about the rains in Bahia“.
It should be said that the rains started in Bahia and then spread. Several states have experienced record rainfall, especially the floods in Tocantins and the torrential rains in Minas Gerais.
8
Hurricane Maria
This hurricane devastated the northeast of the Caribbean in 2017. Just watching the beast moving across the Atlantic toward the Caribbean on the news was frightening. ⇓
On September 20, the hurricane hit Puerto Rico. Maria was categorized as an F5, the highest level of hurricane, with the strongest winds. In the testimonies of people who survived the disaster, it was common to think that this would have actually been an F6.
Due to the devastation caused, there is a Wikipedia page about the Hurricane Maria. According to Reuters, this hurricane caused the death of 4645 people.
There are several other hurricanes that were remarkable, like Katrina or Irma. However, as this is a personal list of the top 10 disasters caused by climate crisis, this was the one that impressed me the most.
7
Floods in Germany
Here in South America, in what we unfortunately call the 3rd World, floods are always in the news. But when the news were about this flood in Germany in 2021, I was really impressed. This disaster made me even more convinced of the climate crisis in which humanity is sinking deeper and deeper. The media referred to the fact using the term deluge. More than 220 people died and the cost of the tragedy is estimated to be 40 billion dollars.
One of the headlines that corroborates the relationship between the climate crisis, the burning of fossil fuels and the increase in rainfall in Europe was this one from DW News (08/23/2021):
German floods: Climate change made heavy rains in Europe more likely
6
The heat wave (in Europe) in 2022
To say that in 2022 there was a heat wave in Europe is unfair to the rest of the world. In April and May, India and Pakistan suffered from temperatures above 50ºC for almost a month. Starting in June and mainly in July, the warmer areas spread out. In several regions the excessive heat was accompanied by drought and large forest fires. Burning forests added even more CO2 to the atmosphere. The Guardian, on July 4th, reported that the drought in Spain and Portugal is the worst in the last 1200 years!
One of the remarkable reports was this one, about Mexico, saying that the drought would be leaving the taps without water for more than 50 days! Independent 13/07/2022
On 15 July the BBC published an article saying that in Morocco temperatures above 45ºC were facilitating fires. On the same date, the Andalu Agency and others published about at least 322 fatalities in Portugal and Spain caused by excessive heat (shortly later, more than 1700 were reported).
Le Monde, on 7/16/2022, published about the SECOND heat wave ravaging France in 2022, commenting on both the heat and the associated fires. ⇓
On September 19th, 2022, London broke its absolute temperature record, 40.2ºC. It should be said that a high temperature for the London summer would be considered something between 20 and 25ºC.
The Twitter below is super interesting, in 2020 they made a hypothetical temperature forecast for 2050, taking into account climate change and what actually happened in 2022 was very similar to what had been imagined for 30 years in the future! ⇓
5
The floods in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In 2022, again, Petrópolis was underwater! This time, there were at least 171 dead. In the 1988 flood, 134 were killed and in the 2011 flood, 73 died. CNN 02/19/2022
The scene of the buses being dragged by the current and the people trying to save themselves, which were initially released on social networks, leave no doubt about the magnitude of the event. ⇓
4
Wildfire in Portugal in 2017
Dozens of people died on the road, trying to escape. “There was a noise like a hurricane, and the wind began to break everything. It was like a tornado that took and spread the fire around.” Liliana Coelho.
This Wikipedia page clearly talks about the relationship between a heat wave and these fires, in what is said to be the worst year of fires in Portugal.
3
The Heatwave in South America
In early 2022, news began to appear with predictions of an unprecedented heat wave in South America. Every day the predictions grew more vivid, until hell came true. In Uruguay, 400,000 chickens died, which represents 20% of national production. The thermal sensation on the ground in Canelones (Uruguay) reached 57ºC. In Cordoba, Argentina, the asphalt lifted.
2
Heat waves in India and Pakistan
As they are neighboring countries and subject to similar climatic conditions, the memory of extreme heat waves there is mixed. And these heat waves are getting more and more frequent (2015, 2019, 2022).
In 2019, a heat wave hit India. At the time, temperatures reached over 50ºC and this went on for more than a month. Wikipedia created a page on the subject.
Also CNN made a report that sums it all up “Are parts of India becoming too hot for humans?“. They say that when the temperature rises above 35ºC, the human body loses the ability to cool down through sweat.
In 2015, a heat wave in Pakistan brought to the world shocking images of bodies piling up in the morgue. (Washington Post).
When putting together this list of the top 10 weathers disasters caused by climate crisis, I thought of this one as number 1. This is because it was these heat waves that really opened my eyes to the seriousness of the situation.
1
The fire in Lytton, Canada
On June 30, 2021 the city of Lytton was destroyed by an epic fire, fueled by the climate crisis. The village had been breaking record after record for maximum temperature. The day before the fire, it hit a peak of 49.6ºC (the Canadian record until then). At the time, a heat wave in the western United States influenced the climate in the region. Winds of more than 70 km/h helped to spread the flames. (Wikipédia – New York Times – The Guardian)
Lytton is a city with few inhabitants, but it has earned the top spot on the list of the 10 biggest weather disasters. This is due to being a city far to the north, where temperatures approaching 50ºC were not expected. When the news about the heat wave in Canada started to appear, the exposure of this disaster was huge.
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The cover photo of this post is from Antonio Cruz/Agência Brasil. Floods in the municipality of Trizidela do Vale in the state of Maranhão 19/08/2019