Weather records broken in 2020

An overheating world obliterated weather records in 2020, creating an extreme year for hurricanes, wildfires, heatwaves, floods, droughts and ice melt, according to the United Nations’ weather agency


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Difference between 1981-2010 temperature average and Jan-Oct 2020

-10 -5 -3 -2 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 2 3 5 10°C


SELECTED EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS IN 2020

1 Atlantic Ocean 
Record 30 named storms, plus record 12 that made U.S. landfalls

2 Death Valley, California: Hit 54.4°C, hottest temperature world has seen in
80 years

3 Los Angeles 
Metropolitan area logged its hottest day on record (49.4°C) in September

4 Australia: Major bushfire season in 2019-2020, made worse by record heat

5 Arctic: Record wildfires and prolonged heatwave, culminating in temperature of 38°C in Siberia in June

6 Russia 
Temperatures from January to August were 1.5°C hotter than previous record

7 Arctic sea ice 
Record low extents observed in July and October

8 South Asia: More than 2,000 people died in record summer rains and flooding

9 Africa: Extensive flooding from extreme rains killed hundreds of people in Kenya and Sudan

10 China: Severe floods affected Yangtze River, with Three Gorges Dam at its maximum capacity

11 South America 
Near-record drought and heat caused heavy crop losses

12 Europe: Extensive drought, with record 43-day spring dry spell in Geneva, Switzerland


© GRAPHIC NEWS
Sources: Associated Press, World Meteorological Organisation