How 2022 kept breaking new extreme weather records in ‘more volatile and unstable world’

Published

2 years ago

December 28, 2022

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From summer heat across the whole of the northern hemisphere to a cruel drought inflicting mass hunger in east Africa, 2022 felt almost unrelenting in extreme weather.

While hazards like hurricanes and wildfires happen naturally, climate breakdown is making them worse, scientists say.

And they agree that extreme weather events are going to become “more frequent in most locations across the world”, warned professor Tom Oliver, who specialises in ecology and evolutionary biology at Reading University.

But what is lesser known is “the way in which these events interact with each other and cause knock-on effects,” he said.

“Extreme weather is implicated in food shortages, mass human displacement and geopolitical conflict.

“These complex risk cascades are impossible to predict precisely but, as a general rule, we face a more volatile and unstable world as a result of accelerating climate change,” he added.

Here are just seven new records broken in 2022:

1. Record heat in UK left people and infrastructure struggling to cope

For the first time ever, temperatures soared to 40°C in the UK this summer, an event made ten times more likely by climate change, scientists said.

The extreme weather grounded flights, buckled trainlines and fuelled devastating blazes that destroyed homes.

The Met Office’s Mike Kendon said at the time that what stood out was “how much more widespread the heat was” than in previous heatwaves.

“Temperature records tend to get broken by modest amounts and by just a few stations, but the recent heat broke the national record by 1.6°C and across an extensive area of the country,” he said.

In Europe as a whole the average temperature was the highest on record for both August and summer period by “substantial margins” of 0.8°C for August and 0.4°C for summer, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

2. Europe’s drought worst in 500 years

All that heat fuelled Europe’s worst drought for some 500 years, according to preliminary analysis. The parched conditions shrivelled plants and rivers, leaving hordes of dead fish and failed crops.

The drought exacerbated the energy crisis by evaporating water from hydropower lakes and hindering cooling of nuclear power plants.

What made it so bad was the fact “most of Europe” was exposed to compounding heatwaves and dry weather, an EU researcher said.

In the second worst drought, 2018, dry and hot weather in central and northern Europe was partially offset by wet conditions in the south.

3. Drought-triggered famine in east Africa

This year Somalia and Ethiopia suffered what is thought to be the worst drought in 40 years, fuelled by climate change.

It has driven people to hunger and the brink of famine, threatening the lives and livelihoods of 36 million people.

Catastrophic levels of hunger in drought-stricken Madagascar should be a “wake up call” to the current and severe danger of global heating, the World Food Programme warned in August, as the country teetered on the edge of the world’s first climate change-induced famine.

4. Europe wildfires – second highest on record, but pollution broke new boundaries

Fierce, scorching wildfires across Europe were fuelled by longer and hotter heatwaves and drought..

More land was torched than in any other year on record apart from 2017, when the Ophelia cyclone intensified an unseasonal October fire in Portugal.

But the amount of harmful pollution did reach a new record high, with the total emissions from the European Union and the UK from June to August 2022 thought to be the highest for these months since the summer of 2007.

Wildfire emissions are a significant source of atmospheric pollutants, which turn air dirty and harm human health.

“This year’s fire season was very intense in terms of burnt areas, but especially so in terms of [the] number of fires and fire danger levels,” Dr Jesús San-Miguel-Ayanz, from the European Commission’s Disaster Risk Management Unit, told Sky News.

5. India and Pakistan heat ‘a sign of things to come’

As Pakistan and India sweltered in a spring heatwave, scientists warned record-breaking temperatures have been made 100 times more likely by the climate crisis.

It was a “sign of things to come,” they said as they published the study.

India endured its hottest March since records began over 120 years ago, and land surface temperatures in south Ahmedabad soared to 65°C in April.

The crippling heat compounded energy shortages, with a surge in demand leaving many without power. It also wiped out 50% of some crop yields.

When the mercury soared to 50.2°C in Nawabshah, a city in southern Pakistan, it was thought to be the highest temperature ever reliably measured in April for any location on Earth.

6. Counting the cost of Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian is this year’s most expensive catastrophe, with estimated preliminary insured losses of $50bn (£41.1bn).

The category 4 hurricane made landfall in western Florida in late September with extreme winds, torrential rain and storm surge.

Swiss Re Institute predicts it to be the second-costliest insured loss ever after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, more than 2012’s Superstorm Sandy that swamped New York and New Jersey.

The aftermath of Hurricane Ian brought an increase in reported infections of a rare flesh-eating bacteria.

7. Violent flooding in Pakistan burst river banks and records

From mid-June to late August large areas of Pakistan suffered record-breaking monsoonal rainfall.

It inflicted flash floods and landslides, and saw overflowing rivers and glacial lakes. The flooding uprooted more than 32 million people, destroyed 1.7 million homes, and killed more than 1,700 people.

The south Asian nation received more than three times its usual rainfall in August, making it the wettest August since
1961.

Two southern provinces, Sindh and Balochistan, experienced their wettest August ever recorded, receiving seven and eight times their usual monthly totals respectively.

The multibillion dollar damages inflicted on the middle-income country, that has done relatively little to cause climate change, reignited the debate about who pays for climate disasters.

Watch the Daily Climate Show at 3.30pm Monday to Friday, and The Climate Show with Tom Heap on Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm and 7.30pm.

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World

Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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13 hours ago

April 4, 2025

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

World

Stock markets suffer sharp drops after Donald Trump announces sweeping tariffs

Published

14 hours ago

April 4, 2025

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Stock markets suffer sharp drops after Donald Trump announces sweeping tariffs

Stock markets around the world fell on Thursday after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs – with some economists now fearing a recession.

The US president announced tariffs for almost every country – including 10% rates on imports from the UK – on Wednesday evening, sending financial markets reeling.

While the UK’s FTSE 100 closed down 1.55% and the continent’s STOXX Europe 600 index was down 2.67% as of 5.30pm, it was American traders who were hit the most.

Trump tariffs latest: US stock markets tumble

All three of the US’s major markets opened to sharp losses on Thursday morning.

By 8.30pm UK time (3.30pm EST), The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.7%, the S&P 500 opened with a drop of 4.4%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 5.6%.

Compared to their values when Donald Trump was inaugurated, the three markets were down around 5.6%, 8.7% and 14.4%, respectively, according to LSEG.

Worst one-day losses since COVID

As Wall Street trading ended at 9pm in the UK, two indexes had suffered their worst one-day losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The S&P 500 fell 4.85%, the Nasdaq dropped 6%, and the Dow Jones fell 4%.

It marks Nasdaq’s biggest daily percentage drop since March 2020 at the start of COVID, and the largest drop for the Dow Jones since June 2020.

‘Trust in President Trump’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN earlier in the day that Mr Trump was “doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term”.

“To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump,” she told the broadcaster, adding: “This is indeed a national emergency… and it’s about time we have a president who actually does something about it.”

Later, the US president told reporters as he left the White House that “I think it’s going very well,” adding: “The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom.”

He later said on Air Force One that the UK is “happy” with its tariff – the lowest possible levy of 10% – and added he would be open to negotiations if other countries “offer something phenomenal”.

Economist warns of ‘spiral of doom’

The turbulence in the markets from Mr Trump’s tariffs “just left everybody in shock”, Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions in Boston, told Reuters.

He added that the economy could go into recession as a result, saying that “a lot of the pain, will probably most acutely be felt in the US and that certainly would weigh on broader global growth as well”.

Meanwhile, chief investment officer at St James’s Place Justin Onuekwusi said that international retaliation is likely, even as “it’s clear countries will think about how to retaliate in a politically astute way”.

He warned: “Significant retaliation could lead to a tariff ‘spiral of doom’ that could be the growth shock that drags us into recession.”

It comes as the UK government published a long list of US products that could be subject to reciprocal tariffs – including golf clubs and golf balls.

Running to more than 400 pages, the list is part of a four-week-long consultation with British businesses and suggests whiskey, jeans, livestock, and chemical components.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the US president had launched a “new era” for global trade and that the UK will respond with “cool and calm heads”.

It also comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a 25% tariff on all American-imported vehicles that are not compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.

He added: “The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services, is over. This is a tragedy.”

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Donald Trump announces sweeping global trade tariffs – including 10% on UK imports

Published

2 days ago

April 3, 2025

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Donald Trump announces sweeping global trade tariffs - including 10% on UK imports

Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.

Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.

“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.

Follow live: Trump tariffs latest

He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.

Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.

His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.

Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.

The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.

It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.

The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.

The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.

“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.

“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.

“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”

The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.

Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.

It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.

The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.

Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.

The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.

A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.

But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.

He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.

“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”