Extreme weather is wreaking havoc on the world, from China to Germany

Sub Editor #21 - Real News IndiaJuly 21, 2021

The Internet has been inundated with apocalyptic images from around the world, raising concerns about the impact of climate change. Wildfires in the United States to flooding in Germany and Belgium are examples of extreme weather.

While no single flooding event can be directly attributed to climate change, environmentalists and scientists have previously warned that global warming and heating would result in such severe weather events.

While floods in western Germany and Belgium killed hundreds, extreme heatwaves in the western United States and Canada killed thousands during the same time period.

Russia

Russia is experiencing the worst wildfires in 150 years, with smoke from the fires forcing the closure of the airport in the Siberian city of Yakutsk and choking 50 other nearby towns and settlements. The heavy smoke has been exacerbated by widespread forest fires, which are being blamed on unusually high temperatures and a disregard for safety regulations.

According to local emergency officials, 187 fires have raged in the region, and the total area engulfed by blazes has increased by 100,000 hectares (about 247,000 acres) in the last 24 hours.

China

China’s two dams in Inner Mongolia have collapsed due to heavy rains. The dams, which had a combined water capacity of 1.6 trillion cubic feet, collapsed, and people were evacuated immediately. However, there were no reported casualties. The dams were destroyed after 87 mm of rain fell in Hulunbuir over the weekend. For flood control, a Level III emergency has been declared, and rescue teams have been dispatched.

Thousands of people were evacuated in Sichuan due to heavy rains and flooding caused by rising water levels in 14 rivers. As a result of the cancellation of train services and the damage to power lines, at least 4,600 people were evacuated.

Europe

Flooding in Western Europe has killed more than 120 people and left hundreds more missing, as large-scale rescue efforts continue in the face of rising water, landslides, and power outages.

Images and videos of devastation in Germany and Belgium showed entire villages submerged, with cars wedged between collapsed buildings and debris. Extreme rainfall has also impacted the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

In Germany, at least 105 people have been killed across two western states. They have sent 850 troops to help with disaster relief.

At least 165,000 people in Rhineland-Palatinate and neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia are currently without power.

North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland have been hit the hardest by the record rainfall, which authorities have described as the heaviest in a century.

The United States

Residents in Oregon have been warned that they should be prepared to evacuate as the Bootleg Fire scorches more than 340,000 acres. There are currently 80 large wildfires raging in 13 states across the United States, consuming over 1.1 million acres.

Montana has the most wildfires, with 18, followed by Idaho, with 17.

Nearly 20,000 wildland firefighters and personnel are assigned to the 80 large wildfires currently burning across the United States.

California, Idaho, and Alaska are the states with the most acres burned after Oregon.

The Bootleg Fire, which has been raging since July 6, has already consumed an area roughly the size of Los Angeles and has created conditions so severe that firefighters have been forced to seek safety for the ninth day in a row.

The country of New Zealand

Severe flooding has hit the country’s west coast, prompting the local state to declare an emergency and forcing thousands to flee their homes. This emergency arose as a result of heavy rains and storms over the previous two months, which prompted states of emergency in Canterbury and Wellington. A month’s average rainfall was concentrated in two days, with 300 mm of rain falling on a single weekend. Rainfall caused slips, rivers to overflow, and evacuations.

Sub Editor #21 - Real News IndiaJuly 21, 2021

Sub Editor #21 - Real News India

Back to top button

Adblock Detected

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker