climate disaster

Table of Contents Potential "non-linear events" in the climate realm..................................................................2 Definition...........................................................................................................................................2 methane release and ocean rising......................................................................................................2 High-tide flooding..............................................................................................................................3 Stronger Hurricane.............................................................................................................................3 more frequent, bigger wildfires..........................................................................................................4 Cutting off circulation.........................................................................................................................4 Mega hurricanes................................................................................................................................5

Recent climate disasters..........................................................................................................6 2021 North American Wildfire Season...............................................................................................6 United States........................................................................................................................................................6 Canada...................................................................................................................................................................6

2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season.........................................................................................................6 2021 Haiti Earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace.............................................................................10 2021 International Wildfires............................................................................................................11 Russia:.................................................................................................................................................................11 Turkey:................................................................................................................................................................11 Greece:................................................................................................................................................................11 Italy:....................................................................................................................................................................12 Lebanon:.............................................................................................................................................................12

Flooding and Typhoons in China.......................................................................................................12 Western European Flooding.............................................................................................................13 Canada 'heat dome'.........................................................................................................................13 2021 North Indian Ocean Cyclone Season........................................................................................14 Australian Flooding..........................................................................................................................15 2021 Winter Storms.........................................................................................................................15 Vietnam and Cambodia Floods.........................................................................................................16 Amazon Wildfires.............................................................................................................................17

Potential "non-linear events" in the climate realm Definition A non-linear change is a change that is not based on a simple proportional relationship between cause and effect. Therefore, such changes are often abrupt, unexpected, and difficult to predict1. Ecosystems are constantly subject to various human and environmental pressures—also called drivers—that may have small to large ecological effects. In many cases, we have limited understanding of how different parts of the ecosystem will respond to these drivers. For example, how will a fish population respond to an increase in fishing pressure? Scientists and resource managers often use methods and tools that assume the relationship between a driver and the resulting ecological response is linear; meaning a small change in the driver (e.g., fishing pressure) is assumed to cause an equally small ecological response (e.g., small decline in fish population). However, growing evidence suggests that relationships between drivers and their ecological responses are often nonlinear, meaning that small changes in a driver can create a disproportionately large ecological response. For instance, instead of an incremental increase in fishing pressure causing an incremental decrease in fish abundance, the fish stock might unexpectedly collapse and impact other ecosystem components and processes. Such ecological surprises can have broad and severe ecological, social and economic consequences that may be difficult to reverse2.

methane release and ocean rising One of the most concerning tipping points is mass methane release. Methane can be found in deep freeze storage within permafrost and at the bottom of the deepest oceans in the form of methane hydrates. But rising sea and air temperatures are beginning to thaw these stores of methane. This would release a powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, 30-times more potent than carbon dioxide as a global warming agent. This would drastically increase temperatures and rush us towards the breach of other tipping points. This could include the acceleration of ice thaw on all three of the globe’s large, land-based ice sheets – Greenland, West Antarctica and the Wilkes Basin in East Antarctica. The potential collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet is seen as a key tipping point, as its loss could eventually raise global sea levels by 3.3 metres3 with important regional variations. More than that, we would be on the irreversible path to full land-ice melt, causing sea levels to rise by up to 30 metres, roughly at the rate of two metres per century, or maybe faster. Just look at the raised beaches around the world, at the last high stand of global sea level, at the end of the Pleistocene period around 120,0000 years ago, to see the evidence of such a warm world, which was just 2°C warmer than the present day4. 1

https://www.greenfacts.org/glossary/mno/non-linearity.htm http://oceantippingpoints.org/nonlinear-relationships 3 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1169335 4 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/climate-change-sudden-cataclysmic-need-act-fast/ 2

As arctic glaciers melt at alarming speeds, scientists have predicted that “some 150 million people are now living on land that will be below the high-tide line by midcentury,” according to The New York Times. Major population areas affected by this direct result of climate change are the East and West Coasts of America, China, Thailand and almost the entire country of Vietnam. The Maldives, an island nation in the Arabian Sea, are also under serious threat as the country comprised of low lying islands is predicted to disappear entirely by 2045. 5 The globe's ice caps will continue to melt, and crucial ice sheets like the one in Greenland might start down an irreversible path toward disappearing completely. "Somewhere between 1.5 and 2 degrees, there's a tipping point after which it will no longer be possible to maintain the Greenland Ice Sheet," Ruth Mottram, a climate scientist at the Danish Meteorological Institute, told Inside Climate News. "What we don't have a handle on is how quickly the Greenland Ice Sheet will be lost." Greenland's ice is already approaching that tipping point, according to a study published in May. Whereas the melting that happened during warm cycles used to get balanced out when new ice formed during cool cycles, warm periods now cause significant meltdown and cool periods simply pause it.  In addition to melting ice, rising ocean temperatures cause seas to rise because warm water takes up more volume. As the globe heats up, scientists expect that simple fact of physics to account for about 75% of future sea-level rise. Low-lying countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, and the Seychelles are especially vulnerable. Rising oceans have already begun to threaten cities like Miami, New Orleans, Venice, Jakarta, and Lagos. Some areas could see sea levels up to 6 feet higher by the end of the century 6.

High-tide flooding The risk of high-tide flooding (which happens in the absence of storms or severe weather) is rapidly increasing for communities on the US Gulf and East Coasts. In 2018, the US Northeast saw a median of one major sunny-day flood per year. By 2030, projections suggest the region will see a median of five such floods per year. By 2045, that number could grow to 25 floods 7.

Stronger Hurricane Extra warmth and water means hurricanes will become slower and stronger. In the next decade, we're likely to see more cyclones like Hurricane Dorian, which sat over the Bahamas for nearly 24 hours. That's because hurricanes use warm water as fuel, so as Earth's oceans and air heat up, tropical storms get stronger, wetter, and slower.

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Over the past 70 years or so, the speed of hurricanes and tropical storms has slowed about 10% on average, according to a 2018 study.  "The slower you go, that means more rain. That means more time that you're going to have those winds. That's a long period of time to have hurricane-force winds," National Hurricane Center director Ken Graham said in a Facebook Live video as Dorian approached the Bahamas. A study published earlier this month found that the frequency of the most damaging hurricanes has increased 330% century-over-century. To make matters worse, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. The peak rain rates of storms have increased by 30% over the past 60 years. That means up to 4 inches of water per hour. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 was a prime example of this: After it made landfall, Harvey weakened to a tropical storm then stalled for days, dumping unprecedented amounts of rain on the Houston area. Scientist Tom Di Liberto described it as the "storm that refused to leave." 8

more frequent, bigger wildfires "Climate change, with rising temperatures and shifts in precipitation patterns, is amplifying the risk of wildfires and prolonging the season," the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a July release. A 2016 study found that climate change nearly doubled the amount of forest that burned in the western US between 1984 and 2015, adding over 10 billion additional acres of burned area. In California in particular, the annual area burned in summer wildfires increased fivefold from 1972 to 2018. We're also likely to see more wildfires in the Arctic, which is warming almost twice as fast as the global average. That means Arctic sea ice is also disappearing. Rapid warming means that crucial sea ice is melting, which accelerates warming even more. "You take what was a reflective surface, the white ice, and you expose darker oceans underneath it," Levin said. "That can lead to a much greater absorption of solar radiation, and knock-on warming impacts as well as change of weather patterns." 9

Cutting off circulation As well as devastating low-lying and coastal areas around the world, melting polar ice could set off another tipping point: a disablement to the AMOC. This circulation system drives a northward flow of warm, salty water on the upper layers of the ocean from the tropics to the northeast Atlantic region, and a southward flow of cold water deep in the ocean. The ocean conveyor belt has a major effect on the climate, seasonal cycles and temperature in western and northern Europe. It means the region is warmer than other areas of similar latitude. But melting ice from the Greenland ice sheet could threaten the AMOC system. It would dilute the salty sea water in the north Atlantic, making the water lighter and less able or unable to sink. This would slow the engine that drives this ocean circulation. Recent research suggests the 8

https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-in-the-next-decade-2019-11#the-risk-of-high-tide-floodingwhich-happens-in-the-absence-of-storms-or-severe-weather-is-rapidly-increasing-for-communities-on-the-us-gulfand-east-coasts-9 9 https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-in-the-next-decade-2019-11#the-risk-of-high-tide-floodingwhich-happens-in-the-absence-of-storms-or-severe-weather-is-rapidly-increasing-for-communities-on-the-us-gulfand-east-coasts-9

AMOC has already weakened by around 15% since the middle of the 20th century. If this continues, it could have a major impact on the climate of the northern hemisphere, but particularly Europe. It may even lead to the cessation of arable farming in the UK, for instance. It may also reduce rainfall over the Amazon basin, impact the monsoon systems in Asia and, by bringing warm waters into the Southern Ocean, further destabilize ice in Antarctica and accelerate global sea level rise10.

Mega hurricanes Hurricanes Irene, Katrina, Wilma and Sandy did a number on the East and Gulf Coasts of America, causing billions of dollars in damages and claiming countless lives. To make matters worse, due to climate change, the frequency of these monster storms is expected to increase. Once a phenomenon that happened only every so often, they now occur almost every year — with worsening consequences. As coastal cities grow, the devastation is expected to increase and Science Focus cites them as one the “next big natural disasters.”11

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Recent climate disasters 2021 North American Wildfire Season12 October 19, 2021 United States As of Oct. 19, the National Interagency Fire Center’s (NIFC) reported a total of 47,602 wildfires across the country that had burned almost 6.5 million acres. There are 5,612 personnel deployed on 28 large, active fires across the U.S., of these, 16 are uncontained. The average year-to-date is 49,090 fires burning 6.89 million acres. California – Active fires There are eight active, large fires burning in California and they are burning 1,905,459 acres. Of those fires, only the KNP Complex meets our criteria. To date, 8,106 wildfires have burned almost 2.5 million acres this year, which is just slightly smaller than the entire state of Hawaii. There have been three fatalities and 3,629 structures have been damaged or destroyed. Canada Canada’s western provinces saw a very active beginning of their wildfire season, with multiple fires threatening populated centers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. As of Sept. 15, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) stopped issuing reports as minimal fire activity is expected for the rest of the year. Canada’s firefighting resources are recovering from the critically busy year and the national preparedness level is now at Level 1, indicating that local and provincial resources are sufficient to meet current and anticipated fire levels. In total, CIFCC reported 6,317 wildfires that had burned 10.34 million acres (4.18 million hectares). Fires in the province of Saskatchewan unexpectedly roared back to life late in the year. As of Oct. 19, there were 20 active fires across the province, however all have sufficient containment. Air quality concerns and the proximity to the fires forced the Red Earth and Shoal Lake First Nations to evacuate on Oct. 5. This is the second time in 2021 they have evacuated after they were forced to evacuate in July for the same reasons. Indigenous leaders criticized the provincial response after being given a tour of the area, as provincial officials scrambled to recall seasonal firefighters whose contracts had already finished. Evacuees have still not been allowed to return home.

2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season13 October 5, 2021 Tropical Storm Nicholas Nicholas made landfall along the Matagorda Peninsula early in the morning of Sept. 14. It caused widespread power outages, including 500,000 across Texas – though most had been restored four days later. The storm slid along the gulf coast of Texas before bringing heavy rain and flooding to areas that were hit by Hurricane Ida just weeks before. This further delayed the repairs and left Louisiana shelters at full capacity as people are unable to return home to places

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without electricity. There were no reported deaths as a result of Hurricane Nicholas, but insured losses alone are expected to be $950 million. Hurricane Larry After building up significant strength over the Atlantic, Hurricane Larry made landfall on Sept. 10 over the far east of the Canadian province of Newfoundland as a Category 1 hurricane with winds as strong as 74 mph (120 km/h) and gusts up to 112 mph (180 km/h). At the height of the storm, approximately 60,000 customers were without power, but power was restored to over 90% of customers by the afternoon of Sept. 12. There was significant property damage and tree damage – enough to temporarily close advance polling stations for Canada’s upcoming federal election – but no deaths or injuries were reported. Larry’s remnants continued to move north where they struck the coast of Greenland and threatened to bring multiple feet of snow. Hurricane Ida Even before it became a Tropical Depression, Ida caused significant flooding in Venezuela leading to at least 20 deaths and 1,200 homes being destroyed. Tropical Depression 9 formed southwest of Jamaica on Aug. 26 and quickly became the worst hurricane of 2021 so far. It moved north, passing along the west side of the Cayman Islands before making landfall along Cuba’s Isle of Youth in the afternoon of Aug. 27. It caused some damage in Cuba, largely damaged roofs, downed wires and downed trees. No deaths or injuries were reported in Cuba but it is anticipated that the storm caused $100 million in damage and will cost at least $40 million in insured losses. The storm continued to move north across Cuba before entering the Gulf of Mexico late that night. As it moved north through the Gulf of Mexico, it gathered strength and began to slow down as it approached the continental U.S. Within the U.S. it is expected that Ida will cost $95 billion, the seventh-costliest disaster since 2000; Katrina tops the list at $320 billion. Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana – almost due south of New Orleans around noon on Aug. 29. After landfall, it slowed down and stalled over southern Louisiana, dropping large amounts of rain and bringing heavy winds along with extremely high tides. More than 1.1 million customers in Louisiana are estimated to have lost power, including the entire city of New Orleans. Members of the National Guard deployed to Louisiana alongside rescue and recovery personnel working on getting critical infrastructure back up and running. Some of the hardest-hit areas are in and around the town of Port Fourchon, which took a direct hit from Ida as a Category 4 storm. The parishes of Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. James, St. Charles, St. Tammany, St. John the Baptist, Jefferson, Orleans, East Baton Rouge and Tangipahoa are among the hardest-hit of the 25 parishes covered by the FEMA major disaster declaration (DR-4611). Many residents are left without homes and jobs as the storm damaged significant parts of the economy including the agriculture, oil and gas infrastructure, fishing/seafood, and tourism industries in the region. With supply chains suffering already because of COVID-19, it is expected that the impact on supply chain from Ida – both delays and cost increases – will be worse than even Katrina. While the Port of New Orleans was able to open within a week, the Port of South Louisiana and the Port Fourchon both had significant damage. Commercial fishing operators are expecting “six-figure losses” from Ida as some watched their homes and businesses be blown away as they rode out the storm in their boats.

In Louisiana, 26 people died because of Ida. Many of these deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, or because of improper evacuations of nursing homes. Several of the deaths are related to the high temperatures caused by the loss of power. After moving through Louisiana, Ida continued to move up through Mississippi, where its remnants brought heavy rain that washed out a highway, killing two people and injuring ten. As Ida moved north along the east coast, its heavy rains caught many people off-guard, leading to almost four dozen deaths including 29 in New Jersey, 18 in New York, two in Pennsylvania, and at least one each in Virginia, Maryland and Connecticut. Two electrical workers were killed after the storm in Alabama while repairing damaged power lines. New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency as rescuers struggled to reach those who needed help. Pictures and videos posted on social media showed torrents of water pouring into underground spaces in New York City, including the subway system where people were trapped as water flowed down stairs into some stations. One of the worst-hit areas was Manville, New Jersey, where firefighters could not get to multiple structure fires because of flooded roads. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Louisiana all received major disaster declarations from President Biden. In New York, DR-4615, FEMA has approved 16,672 IHP applications for $74,809,317.22 in assistance (as of Oct. 5). In New Jersey, there have been 18,622 applications approved in DR-4614 for a total of $86,639,879.94 (as of Oct. 5). Pennsylvania (DR-4618) has had 2,691 IHP applications approved for $10,759,167.18 in assistance as of Oct. 5. In Louisiana (DR-4611), there have been 510,364 IHP applications approved for $731,073,491.77 in assistance as of Oct. 5. Heavy rains soaked the Maritime provinces in Canada as Ida moved north, also bringing heavy winds to the areas. Hurricane Grace As Tropical Storm Fred moved across the Caribbean, Potential Tropical Cyclone Seven began forming west of Cabo Verde on Aug. 13 and moving across the Atlantic. By the next morning, it had officially become Tropical Storm Grace and warnings were issued for most of the islands in the Caribbean. Grace’s track was initially very similar to Fred’s, moving offshore along the south coast of Puerto Rico before making landfall over the south of the Dominican Republic in the morning of Aug. 16. The storm moved along the south shore of Haiti and made a direct hit to the regions that were devastated by an M7.2 earthquake only two days earlier. The impact of Tropical Storm Grace on Haiti will be hard to determine, but the devastation caused by the earthquake means that many people were left without shelter before the storm arrived. There will undoubtedly be more deaths than would have otherwise occurred as Grace hampered rescue and relief efforts from the earthquake. After striking Haiti, Grace moved back out over the Caribbean and gathered strength to become a hurricane before making a second landfall over the Yucatan Peninsula early in the morning of Aug. 19. It knocked out power to almost 700,000 people, but didn’t cause any deaths or injuries. The system continued almost due west, passing across the Gulf of Mexico where it strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall on mainland Mexico around 1 a.m. local time on Aug. 21. This landfall caused severe flooding in the state of Veracruz where seven people died in the capital, Xalapa – six of whom were from the same family. An eighth person died in the nearby town of Poza Rica when they were trapped under a collapsed roof.

After this third landfall, it quickly dissipated, and the system had disappeared by 4 p.m. Aug. 21, only to have its remnants re-emerge as Tropical Storm Marty over the Pacific. Tropical Storm Fred After a month-long break helped by dust from the Sahara and smoke from the western wildfires, the Atlantic hurricane season came back to life in mid-August. The NHC began issuing advisories about a potential tropical storm in the evening of Aug. 9. By the evening of August 10, the disturbance had officially become Tropical Storm Fred and was headed for the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the island of Hispaniola – home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Tropical Storm Fred moved along the south of Puerto Rico before making landfall on the south side of the Dominican Republic, moving northwest across Hispaniola, then out over the water off the north shore of Haiti. It meandered offshore along the north of Cuba before briefly making landfall on the north of Cuba and moving out over the Gulf of Mexico. While there was damage reported across the Caribbean, there were no reported injuries or deaths. Fred made landfall a third time along the Florida panhandle in the evening of Aug. 16, where it spawned tornadoes. One death was attributed to Fred – a man whose car hydroplaned on a road and landed upside down in a water-filled ditch outside of Panama City. Fred’s remnants continued north across much of the eastern United States where they caused heavy rain and flooding across a wide swath of the country, disrupting power to approximately 75,000 people along its path. At least five people died in North Carolina because of flooding, and multiple tornadoes were reported along its path including 16 reported in Georgia, two in North Carolina, one in South Carolina and at least two in Pennsylvania. On Sept. 8, 2021, President Biden signed an emergency declaration (EM-4617) for North Carolina, authorizing Individual & Household support from FEMA. As of Oct. 5, FEMA had approved 480 applications for a total of $2,334,291.20. Hurricane Elsa The National Hurricane Center began issuing warnings about a disturbance on the evening of June 30. By the morning of July 1, the disturbance had officially become Tropical Storm Elsa. This is the earliest fifth named storm in recorded history, beating last year’s record by five days and smashing through the historical average formation date for the fifth named storm of August 31. By 11 a.m. on July 3, it brought hurricane conditions to St. Vincent, St. Lucia and the rest of the windward islands before it bent north and headed towards Cuba, Jamaica and the island of Hispaniola – home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. As it moved through the Caribbean Sea, it lost some strength as its fringes passed over the southern end of Haiti and the island of Jamaica, and it was downgraded to a tropical storm again late in the day on July 3. As it approached Cuba, officials evacuated 180,000 people from its expected path before it made landfall around 2 p.m. on July 5. By July 6, three people had died – one in St. Lucia and two in the Dominican Republic. The Florida Keys started reporting tropical storm conditions the afternoon of June 6 as Elsa churned off the Gulf Coast of Florida. Hurricane Elsa continued to move along the Gulf Coast, making landfall in northern Florida on July 7. It killed one person before moving north into Georgia, injuring 10 people at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. It moved north along the Atlantic Seaboard and eventually dissipated over the North Atlantic after bringing rain and post-tropical storm conditions to New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

Tropical Storm Claudette Claudette entered Louisiana the morning of June 19 as a depression, but it strengthened inland to become a tropical storm about 45 miles southwest of New Orleans. Damage was more localized than initially predicted. Most of the damage occurred in Slidell, just east of New Orleans. This area was badly damaged in 2020’s Hurricane Zeta, but Slidell Mayor Greg Comer told Nola.com that the flooding caused by Claudette was among the worst he’d seen. “’I haven’t seen it like that since the 1995 floods,’ Cromer said. ‘The difference between then and last night was in 1995, we had 25 inches of rain in 24 hours. Last night we had 10 to 12 in three hours. If we’d had a fourth hour … we would’ve been looking a a substantial amount of damage this morning. We’d be looking at 6 to 12 inches of water in a bunch of houses, I think.’” As the storm passed through Alabama on Saturday as a tropical depression, it led to the deaths of thirteen people; all under 30 years of age. Ten of them – including nine children – were killed in an 18-vehicle crash. Eight of the children were connected to the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, a housing program for at-risk children: four were camp residents, two were guests and two were the camp director’s children. The camp director was the only survivor in the camp van. A 29-year old man and his nine-month-old daughter were also killed in the crash. In addition, a 23-year-old woman was killed when her vehicle was swept away, and a 24-year-old man and a three-year-old boy were killed when a tree fell on their house. Tornadoes caused significant damage in Florida and Alabama. As the storm reached North Carolina early Monday morning, it returned to tropical storm strength – something that weather specialists expect to see only once in 1,400 years. Then, Claudette moved out over the Atlantic, where it dissipated into a low-pressure trough.

2021 Haiti Earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace14 September 20, 2021 Just before 8:30 a.m. ET on Aug. 14, an M7.2 earthquake struck the southwest of Haiti in the mountains between the Nippes Department and Sud Department. This earthquake occurred at a depth of only 6.2 miles (10 km), which is critical because shallow earthquakes usually cause more damage. For comparison, the catastrophic 2010 earthquake took place approximately 46.6 miles (75 km) west of this earthquake and was an M7.0 that occurred at a depth of 8.1 miles (13 km). The damages from this earthquake are similar to 2010, albeit on a smaller scale due to the more rural geography and the smaller population at the epicenter. Just under a million people live within 31 miles (50 kilometers) of the epicenter, and about 234,000 live within nine miles (15 km). There have been dozens of aftershocks recorded since the earthquake, ranging from M2.5 to M5.8 Unlike the 2010 earthquake, research teams were on the ground right after this earthquake monitoring the aftershocks and gathering information to help predict future activity. Haiti experienced a direct hit from Tropical Depression (TD) Grace overnight on Aug. 16. International humanitarian and response teams had to reduce many of their operations, especially the air-bridge used to distribute supplies. Those who had lost homes or remained 14

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outside fearing an aftershock huddled under tarps or tried to find shelter elsewhere. It is unknown how much rain fell, but the “storm was forecast to dump 5 to 10 inches of rain as it passed Haiti, with as much as 15 inches possible locally. Weather data isn’t regularly available from Haiti even in the best of times, but early satellite reports indicated more than 5 inches fell in some areas,” according to Weather.com. Videos shared on social media show extensive street flooding. Hundreds of landslides occurred in the impacted area. The most significant landslide blocked the major national highway between Jeremie and Les Cayes, hampering travel for rescue and aid efforts. TD Grace triggered additional landslides as destabilized soil got wet.

2021 International Wildfires15 July 30, 2021 As of Oct. 18, the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) estimates that within European Union countries, between 1.2 million acres and 1.6 million acres had burned. In the broader area that EFFIS covers, it estimated between 2.7 million acres and 3.6 million acres burned. Russia:  Wildfires in Russia’s north raged beginning in June 2021, with smoke is so intense that for the first time ever, it reached the North Pole. There were so many fires that officials had to focus only on the biggest ones and/or ones likely to do the most harm. At the height of the fires, Siberia’s fires alone were bigger than the rest of the world’s fires combined. As of midSeptember, almost 46 million acres had burned, setting Russia’s all-time record for wildfires – 18.16 million hectares compared to 18.11 million hectares in 2012 – and fires were still burning. According to Greenpeace, 9 out of 10 fires were human-caused (campfires, coal trains and electrical lines) and the remainder were caused by lightning. Turkey:  Immense forest fires began burning around July 28 and the majority were extinguished within two weeks but not before causing enormous damage. Nearly 225 fires in 47 provinces consumed the country, leading to mass evacuations and major destruction. More than 656 square miles (1,700 square kilometers) were burned, destroying forests, homes, agricultural land and livestock. Centuries-old olive groves were decimated. Nine people were killed by the fires, including two firefighters. Social media reports laid the blame on arson, specifically citing the terrorist group “Children of the Fire Initiative,” which is linked to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). “The PKK has a long history of burning Turkey’s forests as a method of ’vengeance’ from the Turkish state and causing civilian deaths and environmental destruction in the process.” Greece:  A wildfire on the northern half of Evia (an island 30 miles NE of Athens) began on July 21 and burned for more than 20 days. The fire burned during an extreme heatwave, with temperatures higher than 100 degrees Celsius most days. At least 120,000 acres of forest burned, two people were killed and 20 injured. The government created a Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in response to the fires, which the prime minister blamed on climate change. The damage cost the country $1.6 billion (1.2 billion euros) or 0.6% of GDP, which makes them 15

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eligible for the European Union’s Solidarity Fund. The fund helps members states who suffer damages after natural disasters with losses of 0.6% of the GDP (which applies in Greece’s case) or 3 billion euros. Italy:  Nearly 45,000 wildfires had burned across Italy by mid-August including on Sardinia and Sicily. Other hard-hit areas were Calabria, Lazio, Basilicata, Campania and Apulia. In Sardinia, the fires destroyed at least 50,000 acres across a 25-mile strip of land. Homes, animals, land and farms all fell to the fire. Also lost was the village of Cuglieri’s thousand-year-old olive tree. In early August, “Roberto Cingolani, minister for ecological transition, told parliament that 57.4% of Italy’s recent wildfires were caused by arson, and 13.7% the result of unintentional human action. ‘More than 70% of the fires in Italy are our responsibility,’ he said. ‘Less than 2% are caused naturally, for example, by a lightning strike. For 4.4%, the cause is undetermined, and 22% are unclassifiable situations in which it is difficult to know what triggered the fire.’” Lebanon:  A series of fires broke out across Lebanon beginning on July 28. They continued throughout August, including some in the northern part of the country that spread to Syria. High temperatures in late August led to even more fires, including one in Sfireh that surrounded olive groves. At least one firefighter was killed. On July 14, the United Nations issued a warning that Lebanon was on the brink of a water crisis because of the economy. There were fears that this could impact the ability of communities and residents to respond to fires. The Qobayat area, home to one of the most beautiful forests in Lebanon, was badly damaged. Home to oak, pine and cedar trees, the government said tens of thousands of trees were destroyed as the fire spread 4 miles long by 1.2 miles across.

Flooding and Typhoons in China16 July 17, 2021 China experienced unprecedented flooding across several locations as multiple threats impacted the country. The first was a rainstorm between July 17 and 20, followed by two typhoons and then another stretch of rain that began Aug. 6. July 17-20 Rain The city of Zhengzhou in Henan province, south of Beijing and west of Shanghai, received 24.2 inches (617.1 millimeters) of rain between July 17 and 20 – nearly equivalent to a typical year’s worth of rain. The impact was more substantial because the heaviest rain fell near the storm’s end after the ground was already saturated. On the third day of rain, 7.9 inches (201.9 millimeters) fell in just one hour. Local meteorologists said that this amount of rain was expected only once in a thousand years. Officials reported that 31 large and medium reservoirs exceeded their alert levels as the saturated ground struggled to absorb the massive amounts of water. Typhoons Typhoon Cempaka made landfall just west of Macau on July 20 before moving back out over the Gulf of Tonkin and quickly dissipating. Typhoon In-Fa made landfall in the eastern province of Zhejiang on July 25 with a maximum wind speed of 85 mph (137 km/h) – the equivalent of a 16

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mid-range Category 1 Hurricane. Chinese officials evacuated more than 1.5 million people from the storm’s path, and no deaths or injuries were reported. Transportation systems were badly disrupted as Shanghai and Ningbo ports were both closed temporarily and both of Shanghai’s international airports were also closed. August Rain Flooding in Sichuan province in southwestern China resulted in additional flooding as the tributaries of the Fujiang, Jialing and Qujiang rivers took in high amounts of water with levels rising above the danger zone in several places. More than 80,000 people had to evacuate. Between August 6 and 8, Qu County in Sichuan received 13.1 inches (334 millimeters) of rain. In total, more than 440,000 people were affected across 119 towns.

Western European Flooding17 July 14, 2021 A major storm system stalled over Western Europe on July 14-15, leading to record-setting rain over Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands. Some parts of Germany received the equivalent of a normal two months of rain in 24-48 hours, which caused rivers to overtop their banks, flash flooding through communities, and left hundreds of people injured, missing or dead. The storm system dumped 40 gallons of water per 10 square feet (148 liters of water per square meter) in 48 hours – almost double the usual rainfall for a month. The sheer scale of the flooding shocked climate scientists worldwide as they draw direct links between this incident and human-caused climate change. The Ahr, Volme and Dussel rivers all overtopped their banks with record-setting water levels, which led to evacuation orders and emergency declarations in multiple cities. As the water continued to flow downstream, it filled dams past their capacity, leading to more evacuations as infrastructure was stretched – sometimes beyond its breaking limit. The most serious was at a dyke alongside the Juliana Canal in the south of the Netherlands’ Limburg region.

Canada 'heat dome'18 June, 2021 In late June, a hot air "heat dome" caused sustained, scorching temperatures across much of western Canada and the northwestern U.S. On June 30, Residents in the British Columbia city of Lytton saw the thermometer rise to 49.6 degrees Celsius (121 degrees Fahrenheit), a national record. Days later, the town was largely destroyed by a wildfire. The extreme heat was "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change, the World Weather Attribution (WWA) science consortium said.

2021 North Indian Ocean Cyclone Season19 Tropical Cyclone Tauktae May 17, 2021 17

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Tropical Cyclone Tauktae (pronounced Tau’te and meaning “gecko” in Burmese) was the first named storm of the North Indian Ocean cyclone season. It became a “very severe” cyclone just days after it formed in the Arabian Sea. As it made landfall on May 17 in Gujarat, it strengthened to a high-end Category 3 hurricane with wind speeds up to 125 mph (205 kph). Tauktae was the strongest storm ever recorded to reach India’s west coast and only the second “Extremely Severe Cyclone” to hit Gujarat since Cyclone Kandla in 1998. It was downgraded from an extremely severe to a severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday, May 18. At least 8 inches (200 millimeters) of rain fell before landfall, and an equivalent amount was expected to fall near the Gujarat Peninsula. Storm surges of 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) were expected, prompting officials to evacuate 200,000 people from low-lying areas and coastal villages. The storm weakened as it moved inland through India, however, it moved very slowly with winds around 100 mph. Given the slow movement over the coast, Cyclone Tauktae retained enough water to maintain its intensity as it moved over land, leading to extensive flooding. Cyclone Seroja20 May 4, 2021 On April 4, Cyclone Seroja formed over the Savu Sea between the southern islands of Indonesia and Timor-Leste, northwest of the Australian city of Darwin. It very quickly produced devastating rains and high winds typical of tropical cyclones. While most of its track was over the Timor Sea and the Indian Ocean, its early path over the Savu Sea caused flooding and landslides in Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste The capital city of Dili and the surrounding region were the hardest hit in Timor-Leste. The volume of rain caused the soil in some parts of the city to liquefy, wherein the ground loses its structure and absorbs whatever is on top of it. Dili was heavily damaged, including the national laboratory – the only one in the country – at Guido Valadares National Hospital. Officials also reported damage to the national pharmaceutical stockpile that stores the country’s COVID-19 vaccines, two COVID-19 isolation facilities and thousands of homes. The UN said that more than 33,000 households were affected, including more than 4,500 homes damaged or destroyed. As of May 6, 41 people were confirmed or presumed dead, more than 5,300 acres of agricultural areas were affected and over 3,000 people were in 17 evacuation facilities. Indonesia On the north side of the Savu Sea, Indonesia’s province of Nusa Tenggara bore the brunt of Seroja’s impact. Heavy rain brought flooding and landslides across the area, leaving thousands of people homeless and wiping out roads and other infrastructure. The worst damage occurred on the slopes of Mount Lewotolo, a volcano on Lembata island where 67 people were killed when a lahar flow of water, volcanic rocks and other debris swept down the mountain and destroyed a village. Across Nusa Tenggara, 181 people died and 271 were injured. Officials reported 66,000 damaged homes affecting almost 510,000 people – 11,400 of whom were displaced. Indonesia

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was devastated by hundreds of disasters in 2021, leaving resources stretched to the breaking point and a reduced emergency capacity across the country. Australia In Australia, Seroja made landfall in the evening of April 11 as a Category 3 storm just south of the village of Kalbarri. Access into the area was restricted to residents, homeowners and disaster relief personnel until May 5 due to almost every building and property across the region having been damaged to some extent. Government officials stated that more than 1,000 properties across 13,500 square miles (35,000 square kilometers) – larger than the state of Maryland – were damaged by Seroja. In the coastal towns of Kalbarri and Northampton, 70% of the buildings were destroyed or damaged. The Insurance Council of Australia estimates the loss at $268 million.

Australian Flooding21 March 23, 2021 Days of heavy rain pounded the Australian province of New South Wales (NSW) at the end of March 2021, leading to a once-in-a-hundred-year-flood with water amounts unseen since 1961. The catastrophic flooding followed the record-setting bushfires that swept the region in 20192020, leaving many communities and residents reeling from back-to-back disasters. From March 16 to March 23, the Sydney area received 16 inches (400 mm) to 24 inches (600 mm) of rain, 40% of its annual amount. Hundreds of homes were flooded. Western Sydney was at the highest risk, moving this disaster beyond just a coastal event. Many Western Sydney suburbs remained evacuated until March 29-31. In Sydney, the Warragamba Dam spilled over its top around 3 p.m. on March 20 as rainfall records were smashed by more than 4 inches (100 millimeters) over the previous records. Approximately 130 billion gallons (500 gigaliters) – the equivalent of the Sydney Harbor volume – was discharged on Sunday, March 21, and over the next few days. By March 28, the State Emergency Service had received more than 23,000 calls for help and responded to 13,000. At least four people died, and one woman remains missing after her car was found empty in floodwaters.

2021 Winter Storms22 February 13, 2021 Two back-to-back winter storms (unofficially named Uri and Viola) landed a one-two hit across the U.S. in mid-February 2021, affecting many southern states that are unaccustomed to cold temperatures, snow or ice. The storms left extensive power outages, boil water advisories, deaths and vehicular accidents across a multi-state area in their wake. Winter Storm Uri began on the Pacific Coast, traveling south through Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, before making its way to the Carolinas and the Eastern seaboard. At least 100 million people were in the path of Winter Storm Viola as it followed a similar track to Uri, a few days later.

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Unlike many natural disasters, the full loss of homes due to Uri and Viola was minimal, however, many suffered extensive damage due to flooding from broken pipes. The impact on infrastructure, especially power grids and water systems, was also immense. In July 2021, Texas updated a list of deaths that occurred between Feb. 11 and March 5, which are believed to be related to the winter storm. This list totaled 210 people, much higher than the previous number of 70 total in the U.S., as well as 12 in Mexico. The majority of U.S. deaths were in Texas, including those that died from hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning, fires and car accidents. A 32-unit apartment fire in San Antonio displaced 87 people but luckily no one was injured. However, frozen hydrants meant firefighters were extremely limited in their response capacity. On Monday, Feb. 15, Uri spawned five tornadoes, including one in North Carolina, one in Georgia and three in Florida. An EF-3 in North Carolina’s Ocean Ridge Plantation area left three people dead and 10 injured. At least 50 homes were affected, including several that were destroyed or severely damaged. Brunswick County declared a state of emergency.

Vietnam and Cambodia Floods23 November 30, 2020 Between October 2020 and November 2020, Vietnam and Cambodia were struck by 13 consecutive tropical storms, leading to unprecedented flooding and landslides. On Oct. 10-13, Tropical Storm Linfa hit these two countries with as much as 90 inches of rain in some areas. It was followed by Tropical Storm Nangka on Oct. 14-16, which added an additional 14-16 inches, then by Tropical Depression Ofel and Typhoon Saudel. Typhoon Molave struck on Oct. 27 with wind gusts peaking at 109 mph (176 km/h), 6 foot (1.8 m) waves and rainfall totals of 18.5 in (470 mm) in some areas. The beginning of November brought Tropical Storm Goni on Nov. 5 and Tropical Storm Etau on Nov. 7. On Nov. 15, Typhoon Vamco struck the final blow of the 2020 season, making landfall on Nov. 15 with strong waves and high winds. In Cambodia, these same storms brought heavy rain and landslides to areas across the country. In Vietnam, more than 7.7 million people live in the affected areas with 1.5 million people – mostly women, children and other vulnerable populations being directly affected. By the end of November 2020, 235 people had died or were missing across the affected provinces. At least 400,000 homes were flooded or damaged, along with nearly 35,000 acres (14,097 hectares) of agricultural lands. More than 690,000 poultry and livestock were also killed or swept away in the floods. Six of the hardest-hit provinces reported a combined $1.3 billion in damages as of the end of November. In Cambodia, 800,000 people across 19 provinces were affected by the flooding, with almost half of those – 388,000 – requiring direct assistance. At least 42 people died and 161,552 homes were damaged or destroyed. More than 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) of croplands, including almost 200,000 acres (80,000 hectares) of rice fields, were flooded. In addition, 22 health centers and 686 schools were affected. Transportation was also been impacted, with roads and bridges destroyed or weakened.

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Amazon Wildfires24 November 23, 2019 Significant portions of the Amazon rainforest are burning, especially in Brazil and Bolivia. Both countries have experienced a large number of fires that exceeded the capacity of the community, and even country, to respond. Although most wildfires take place in the dry season (July to October), hundreds of fires continued to burn in both Brazil and Bolivia well into late November. According to the National Institute for Space Research, there have been 184,661 fires as of Nov. 23 in Brazil and in Bolivia the number is 43,769. These represent the total number of fires in those countries, but a significant number, and the largest fires, are in the Amazon. The fires in Brazil, which contains sixty percent of the Amazon, represent an increase of 83 percent over last year.

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