For the first time ever, global temperatures are now more likely than not to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming within the next five years, the World Meteorological Organization has said.
Spain is bracing for a week of temperatures as high as 40C that are forecast to shatter records for April, as officials weighed opening public swimming pools early and adapting school schedules and meteorologists warned of the risk of wildfires.
The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say.
Germany's cabinet on Wednesday agreed on a national water strategy aimed at coping with long dry seasons and heatwaves caused by climate change to ensure water security in Europe's biggest economy in future.
After a winter of epic storms in California, Yosemite National Park's famous waterfalls are in full flow, its reservoirs are brimming, and the snowpack in the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains is well above average.
China's regions have been warned to prepare for more extreme weather this year after record-breaking temperatures and a lengthy drought played havoc with the country's power supplies and disrupted harvests last summer.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday toured flood-hit parts of Victoria state, including the city of Melbourne, as three southeastern states continued to grapple with a flood crisis after days of heavy rain.
