GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

FEBRUARY 2023

SOUTH AMERICA

At least 36 people have died and dozens are missing after torrential rain brought flooding and landslides to coastal areas of south-east Brazil over the weekend as the country geared up for its annual carnival celebrations (20^th). Rescue efforts continued in São Paulo state on Monday as more than 500 workers searched for victims, cleared roads and tried to reconnect isolated communities.  But the task was hampered by heavy rain, which has also displaced hundreds of people and trapped an undetermined number of tourists who had travelled for carnival.  During a visit to the badly affected coastal city of São Sebastião on Monday, Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said the disaster underlined the need to stop building homes in areas at risk of landslides and major floods.

AUSTRAILIA

Large parts of Australia are set to swelter through another heatwave in the coming days with hot weather warnings in place across the country (15^th). The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting heatwaves around Australia from Thursday, with warnings already in place in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.

TROPICAL

At least five people have died and evacuations are continuing as fresh storm warnings are announced in regions of New Zealand already devastated by Gabriella and the prime minister warns of the likelihood of further fatalities.  As of 2.30pm on Thursday, 3,455 people had been registered by police as “uncontactable”, with some likely to be multiple reports for the same person. “We believe the majority of those considered uncontactable simply cannot make contact with loved ones, so police are prioritizing those who are in isolated areas,” said the prime minister, Chris Hipkins, warning that there were some people for whom the police held “grave concerns”. After a visit to storm-hit Gisborne on Thursday, Hipkins described the damage as “extensive”, with basics like food and clean water still needed. He described the cyclone as an event on the scale of the Christchurch earthquake in 2011.  With the extent of damage still unfolding, New Zealand requested Australia’s help for disaster response on Thursday morning.