World extreme weather events of ‘monster’ heatwaves, snowpacks and floods – and warnings of what’s to come

Extreme weather is gripping parts of the world amid growing fears this summer could see more record-breaking heat.

There have already been wildfires across Spain as temperatures soar to unprecedented levels for the time of the year – while the increasing impact of climate change continues to challenge communities and nations.

Which parts of the world are seeing extreme conditions?

Spain

Spain is bracing itself for its hottest ever day for the month of April this week with forecasters predicting temperatures of up to 40C (104F).

Temperatures will reach around 35C (95F) from Wednesday and will rise further into Thursday and Friday.

Such high levels are not normally seen until July and it comes after parts of Spain endured the driest March in 20 years.

The top temperature ever recorded in Spain for April was 37.4C (99.3F) in 2011, but this is expected to be beaten.

Experts have said the Mediterranean region is warming faster than the global average due to climate change.

Asia

Last weekend, people in Bangkok and other areas of Thailand were warned not to go outside due to the extreme heat.

The capital hit 42C (100F) – but the national weather service said the heat index, which is what the temperature feels like when combined with humidity, hit a record 54C (129F).

Thailand normally expects highs of 37C (98.6F) at this time of the year – while weather watchers said the country’s meteorological service noted a record 45C (113F) for the first time last week.

Cordelia Lynch, Asia correspondent for Sky News, said many people “try to scurry between air-conditioned buildings as much as they can – a luxury those working outside can’t afford of course”.

“The so-called ‘monster deadly heatwave’ has ripped through southeast and south Asia,” she added.

“What seems distinct in Asia this year, is just how many countries have seen record heat and how early it’s come.”

In recent weeks, countries such as Japan, Bangladesh, India, China and Laos were among more than a dozen which saw soaring temperatures.

Authorities in parts of India shut schools for a week with temperatures above 40C.

Most of India is expected to have above-normal high temperatures between April and June, its national weather forecaster has said.

California

Meanwhile, in central California, fears are growing over flooding following extreme conditions which saw record levels of “snowpack” and rain.

Some communities between Los Angeles and San Francisco could be marooned by rising rivers or flooded out, experts have warned.

Officials are concerned the spring snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada will be so massive the north fork of the Kings River will not be able to contain it.

Much warmer weather could see an “accelerated snowmelt”.

It comes after nearly 10,000 Californians fled their homes last month after widespread flooding and snow.

What could happen in 2023 and 2024?

Average global temperatures could hit record highs this year or in 2024, climate scientists have warned.

Experts said the temperatures will be driven by climate change and from the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Climate models suggest that after three years of the La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which generally lowers global temperatures slightly, the world will experience a return to El Nino, the warmer counterpart, later this year.

During El Nino, winds blowing west along the equator slow down, and warm water is pushed east, creating warmer surface ocean temperatures.

“El Nino is normally associated with record-breaking temperatures at the global level. Whether this will happen in 2023 or 2024 is not yet known, but it is, I think, more likely than not,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

The world’s hottest year on record so far was 2016, which coincided with a strong El Nino.

However, climate change has fuelled extreme temperatures even in years without the phenomenon.

In February, Antarctic sea ice levels also hit a record low.

What major weather-related events are experts predicting?

Scientists have warned of more extreme heatwaves, wildfires, drought and flooding.

The last eight years were the world’s eighth hottest on record – reflecting the longer-term warming trend driven by greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer at Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute, said El Nino-fuelled temperatures could worsen the climate change impacts countries are already experiencing.

“If El Nino does develop, there is a good chance 2023 will be even hotter than 2016 – considering the world has continued to warm as humans continue to burn fossil fuels,” Dr Otto said.

Professor Adam Scaife, the head of long-range forecasting at the Met Office, said: “The current record for global temperature occurred in 2016 and it’s no coincidence that followed the last big El Nino.

“If we get a big El Nino at the end of this year, then we’re likely to break the record for global temperature in 2024.”

Europe experienced its hottest summer on record in 2022, while extreme rainfall caused disastrous flooding in Pakistan.

In the UK, households and water companies are already being urged to focus on saving water as officials prepare for another dry, hot summer.

This week, a hosepipe ban was extended across parts of Devon.

South West Water, which introduced a ban in Cornwall and a small area of North Devon last August, made the decision to “replenish” depleted water supplies.

Read more on Sky News:
While Spain bakes, the approaching summer could be a scorcher

What about the oceans?

It was revealed by a new study that global sea temperatures had hit record levels this month – and are growing at a rate not previously seen.

The temperature of the seas off the coast of North America were 13.8C higher than the average for 1981-2011.

A change in the temperatures of the oceans can have a further impact on extreme weather alongside contributing to the rise in sea levels. It can also kill off marine life.

It comes after the World Meteorological Organisation revealed last week that global sea levels are rising at more than double the pace they did in the first decade of measurements in 1993-2002 and hit a new record high last year.