The Disaster Diary will be updated on a weekly basis with newer entries appearing on the top of the list.
Extreme weather events are nothing new, but the frequency and severity at which they are now happening is. This is not a natural cycle. It is hard evidence of climate breakdown.
April
11 Spain, Canary Islands – After Spain hit by 4 major storms in March, storms Nuria last week and Oliver this bring huge waves, landslides and floods
12 China – Unusually powerful winds sweep across much of China bringing sandstorms and structural damage
April
10 Tanzania – Heavy rains and ongoing flooding, 433 houses destroyed, 2,165 displaced, crops destroyed
09 Global – 12-month period of April 2024 – March 2025 was 1.59°C above the pre-industrial level and was the 20th month in the last 21 months for which the global-average surface air temperature was more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level.
08 Bolivia – Heavy rains, winds, floods at least 55 dead
07 DR Congo – torrential rains and floods, 33 killed
06 USA – Tennessee, Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky severe thunderstorms and relentless rain trigger catastrophic flooding
03 UK – Poole, Dorset. 80 Firefighters battle wild fire driven my exceptionally dry weather
02 UK – 50% rise in the
cost of Easter eggs because of a fall in global cocoa production driven by unusually warm weather
01 Brazil – Sao Paulo 18 days of rain in 6 hours. Since December 173 cities affected by storms, and 23 deaths reported
March
31 Australia – Flooding in Queensland worsens, over 10,000 head of livestock now estimated lost
31 Greece – Severe storms cause flooding and havoc on Greek Islands
30 Thailand – 7.7 magnitude earthquake at least 2000 killed. And yes increased earthquake activity is an outcome of climate breakdown
28 USA – North Carolina wildfires continue to spread described as ‘extreme fire behaviour says South Carolina Forestry Commission – 111 fires that span over 8,443.2 acres
28 Australia – Vast areas of the Outback in Queensland flooded
27 UK – UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) reports record high levels of imported Dengue fever indicating its advance across Europe
27 South Korea – worst wildfires in the country’s history, at least 26 dead.
26 Uganda – Intense rain and severe flooding at least 7 dead in Kampala and triggers landslide killing at least 15 with 113 missing
24 Spain – Storm Martinho has brought extensive flooding and damage. Rainfall 10 times normal in some areas has led to loss of crops
23 Japan – outbreaks of wildfires in western prefectures are following the biggest fires for decades in early March when 4,600 evacuated. Exceptionally low rain fall noted.
18 USA – Huge storm, 150 wildfires burn 170,000 acres, snowstorms, dust storms, 80 + tornados, 320,000 without power
15 Italy – Emilia-Romagna area (Bologna, Florence, Pisa) hit by extreme flooding for second year in a row killing dozens and hitting agriculture hard
10 French government publish national climate plan – 2 degrees by 2030, 4 degrees by 2100
05 Indonesia – flooding displaces 1200 in Jakarta
04 Gran Canaria – Torrential rain (32mm v usual average 13mm) sweeps cars into sea
February
27 East Asia (14 countries) – Unlivable report published. 100,000 per year currently die of extreme heat, much worse to come
17 USA – 9 die after torrential rain and flooding. Over 0.5 million households without power
14 Japan – government releases a fifth of its emergency rice stockpile for the first time because of supply problems exacerbated by hot weather and poor harvests
10 China – A new study links devastating summer floods in southern China to unusually warm spring weather over the Tibetan plateau.
08 Panama – entire community of low lying island relocated because of rising sea levels
07 Southern Africa – Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have all declared national drought disasters
06 Latin American and Caribbean – UN Report 74% of countries highly exposed to extreme weather events affecting food security
06 January announced to be the warmest on record breaking 2024 record
06 UK Fire Chiefs Council warns UK not prepared to tackle the impacts of climate change
01 Australia, Queensland – thousands flee homes after torrential rain and flooding
January
26 France – back to back storms cause severe flooding across Brittany
24 UK Storm Eowyn – one million without power widespread damage
21 Antarctica – World’s largest iceberg breaks free
10 2024 announced as hottest year on record (1.5c global warming)
09 USA – Los Angeles at least 9,000 buildings will be damaged or destroyed and 29 killed by out of control wildfires
07 Spain – after 227 killed in Valencia Oct 24 a new study suggests 8% of homes in Spain are under threat from flooding
01 UK – Manchester widespread urban flooding after heavy rain