CLIMATE CHANGE: A GLOBAL SNAPSHOT OF EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS EXPERIENCED IN 2022

CLIMATE CHANGE 2022

A GLOBAL SNAPSHOT OF EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS EXPERIENCED IN 2022

By Fiona Wakelin

The Carbon Disclosure Project report, Protecting People and the Planet, researched 998 cities - and showed that in addition to the 80% that are facing extreme climate events, for nearly a third, climaterelated hazards threaten at least 70% of their populations.

“Four in five cities across the world are facing significant climate hazards such as heat waves, floods and droughts” - Protecting People and the Planet.

Let’s take a look in the rear view of monthly extreme weather events we experienced throughout 2022.

JANUARY

Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai Volcanic Eruption

The initial tsunami wave created by the eruption of the underwater Hunga Tonga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga reached 90 metres in height.

South Africa experienced catastrophic floods and landslides in the Eastern Cape after exceptionally heavy rainfall.

Storm Nadia, in Germany, brought on hurricane-level winds, floods and at least 130 000 homes in Britain lost power.

In Northern Europe, Storm Malik forced public transport to shut down, and major bridges to close.

FEBRUARY

Powerful Winter Storm Battering

The US Atlantic Coastline - NASA

The Northeast of the US experienced extreme snow, sleet and ice. Moving from New Mexico to New England, the freezing cold front buried neighbourhoods with heavy snowfalls in New York and New England. Schools closed across several states and thousands of flights were cancelled.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the winter storm “one of the most significant icing events that we’ve had in the State of Texas in at least several decades,” – People

Heavy rains and floods hit Ecuador and Zambia, while wildfires blazed in South Korea and Kenya, and Mt. Etna erupted in Italy.

MARCH

Floods hit Australia

Sydney experienced its worst rain event in decades - rain and floods continued to pummel Australia’s east coast.

Heavy rains in Zambia’s North-Western province left at least 1 600 people homeless. This month the greatest number of tornadoes on record were experienced in the US.

Tropical cyclone Gombe killed more than 50 people in Mozambique.

APRIL

KZN Floods

Floods in KwaZulu-Natal - severe flooding and landslides caused by heavy rainfall resulted in the death of 448 people,

displaced over 40 000 and completely destroyed over 12 000 houses - President Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster:

“The significance of the Port of Durban and related infrastructure for the effective operation of the country’s economy means that this disaster has implications far beyond the province of KwaZuluNatal. With the heavy rains and flooding in the Eastern Cape and indications from the South African Weather Service that the North West and Free State may also be affected by bad weather, it is clear that there are other areas of the country that need emergency intervention. Cabinet therefore met in a special session last night and decided to declare a national state of disaster,” – President Ramaphosa.

Tropical storm Megi killed more than 120 people in the Philippines.

Alabama in the US issued 115 tornado warnings.

MAY

Dust Storm In Iraq - Felton Davis

Sandstorms swept through Iraq.

In Vietnam flash floods and landslides damaged 26 767 hectares of rice and crops, while more than 26 000 livestock were swept away. According to a report by the General Department of Natural

Disaster Prevention and Control, floods in the North and North Central regions damaged 512 houses resulting in urgent relocation.

Spain experienced an unprecedented heatwave – with temperatures reaching 40°C.

JUNE

Flood in Pakistan 2022

- Ali Hyder Junejo

Floods in Pakistan killed 1 717 people.

Europe was cooked by a heat wave and major rivers in France, Germany, Italy and the UK were drying up. Daily maximum temperatures in Spain, France, and Italy reached above 40°C, exacerbating the ongoing drought conditions in the Po river basin. Numerous June temperature records were broken across France and Spain.

Gqebergha in Eastern Cape came close to Day Zero as the local water supplies ran dry.

July

European Heat Wave

More than 20 800 hectares of forest and land were burned in wildfires raging in south-western France. Wildfires also broke out across the UK as temperatures reached 40°C for the first time.

Soaring temperatures in Europe continued - described as “unprecedented, frightening, and apocalyptic,” the ongoing heatwave claimed more than 1 700 lives in Portugal and Spain.

Lake Mead in California, America’s largest reservoir and crucial water source for more than 25 million people, reached its lowest level, with dried up tributaries threatening hydropower production –meanwhile, in the US midwest, recordbreaking rainfall in St. Louis, Missouri caused massive flash flooding.

AUGUST

Gangnam Street, Seoul

- Ali Hyder Junejo

In Seoul, South Korea, record downpours flooded homes, roads and subway stations.

It’s official – Europe has experienced the worst drought in 500 years.

At least 50 people were killed in floods triggered by torrential rains in northern Nigeria.

Massive floods caused by unprecedented monsoon rains across Pakistan resulted in over a thousand deaths.

Torrential rain hit west and north of New Zealand’s South Island forcing hundreds to evacuate their homes with road and school closures. Residents in the northern part of North Island were isolated after landslides, fallen trees and flood waters blocked highway access.

SEPTEMBER

Greenland Melting - Vadim Sidoruk

For the first time Greenland saw extensive melting in September – this usually happens in July (the northern hemisphere Summer).

“Nothing left to burn” in the Arctic.

Super Typhoon Hinnamnor crossed South Korea and moved toward Japan’s northern city of Sapporo.

More than 100 000 people were displaced in Nigeria due to floods which laid waste to a cemetery in the northern part of the country.

Hurricane Fiona hit the Atlantic coast of Canada, resulting in Cape Breton Island declaring a state of emergency.

The death toll from Pakistan’s ongoing floods reached over 1 545 and the total number of homes damaged across the country crossed the two million mark.

OCTOBER

Hurricane Ian - NOAA

Hurricane Ian devastated the state of Florida and its Gulf Coast before making a final landfall in South Carolina. One of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the USA in decades, its maximum sustained winds of 250 km/ph had been recorded hours before landfall, when the Category 4 hurricane was just short of reaching Category 5 classification, the strongest classification on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Texas Forest Services reported they had so far responded to 1 682 wildfires in 2022.

The volcanic eruption on La Palma island was described as a “lava tsunami” by scientists as a river of lava flowed into neighbourhoods.

Nigeria experienced its worst flooding in over 10 years, with farmland, infrastructure and 200 000 homes either partially or totally destroyed.°

Over 600 people died and more than 2 400 were injured and 1.4 million plus were displaced. For some states, more than a month of floods is likely still to come.

NOVEMBER

2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference

COP27 was held in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, bringing together more than 45 000 participants, including world leaders and the business community, to discuss responses to the world’s climate crisis.The previous commitment to limiting the rise in temperature to 1.5°C was reaffirmed.

Discussions at COP27 focused on “climate finance”, which resulted in the formation of a fund to assist developing countries with the losses and damages emanating from climate change.

A master plan for decarbonising five major sectors was formulated, along with the announcement of a five-year plan by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for early warning systems.

DECEMBER

There can be no more hiding, and no more denying. Global heating is supercharging extreme weather at an astonishing speed, and it’s visible in South Africa and beyond. Guardian analysis recently revealed how human-caused climate breakdown is accelerating the toll of extreme weather across the planet. People across the world are losing their lives and livelihoods due to more deadly and more frequent heatwaves, floods, wildfires and droughts triggered by the climate crisis - The Guardian

Sources:

New York Times | Anadolu Agency | The Guardian | CDP | People |Relief | SA Gov | Programme of the European Union - Copernicus

Images:

Flickr I WikiCommons I NASA