GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS
JULY 2020
ASIA
Unusually intense rainfall has swept away buildings and ruined homes in southern
China, affecting about 15 million residents (3rd). In the inland
Chinese city of Yichang, the murky water ran waist-high, stranding people in
their cars and turning streets into canals. Near the metropolis of Chongqing,
torrents of water swept away country roads. The tourist town of Yangshuo
experienced a cloudburst that an official called a once-in-two-centuries event.
Weeks of abnormally intense rains have wrought destruction across southern
China, leaving at least 106 people dead or missing and affecting 15 million
residents in the worst flooding that parts of the region have seen in decades.
One of the hardest-hit provinces has been Hubei.
At
least 14 people are feared dead at a nursing home on Japan's southern island of
Kyushu as unprecedented rainfall caused landslides and massive floods (5th).
Tens of thousands of people have been told to evacuate homes. The Kuma river in
Kumamoto prefecture burst its banks. PM Shinzo Abe ordered 10,000 troops to be
deployed, after rescue services were overwhelmed with calls for help. Another
two people were feared to have been killed in a landslide in the town of
Tsunagi. The NHK broadcaster says there are reports eight homes in the town's
Takinoue district were washed away. 412 mm of rain fell in the 24 hours ending
0600 GMT at Ushibuka on the island. On Saturday night, the Kuma river burst
through its levees in numerous places inundating low-lying settlements. Fourteen
victims were found in one nursing home, after river waters flooded the ground
floor. Another 50 were rescued. It is Japan's worst disaster since Typhoon
Hagibis struck in October 2019, killing some 90 people.
China
raised its flood response alert to the second highest level as heavy rain
battered regions along the Yangtze River, with the eastern provinces of Jiangsu
and Jiangxi among the worst hit, state media reported (12th).
Flooding in the Poyang county of Jiangxi pushed water levels of Lake Poyang,
China's biggest freshwater lake, to above 22.52 m, a historical high and well
above the alert level of 19.50 m. By Saturday evening, provincial military
authorities had dispatched thousands of soldiers to help bolster nearly 9 km of
the lake's banks, state television said. China has a four-tier flood control
emergency response system, with level one representing the most severe. So far
this year, some 141 people have died or gone missing in the floods, which have
ravaged 3.53 million hectares of farmland and flattened 28,000 homes.
At
least 50 people have been killed and more than two million affected by heavy
monsoon flooding in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, officials say (15th).
Heavy rain has submerged thousands of villages. Hundreds of relief camps have
been set up to shelter those displaced. A heavy monsoon in the region is common,
but this year comes as India battles rising Covid-19 infections.
Rounds
of wet weather have been drenching parts of southern Japan since the end of
June, with one of the most severe incidents occurring duing 3-4 July when
devastating flooding and landslides battered the island of Kyushu. "Historic
heavy rain has been hitting Japan. Kanoya had 1082 mm of rain within a week,
which is about a half of the annual rainfall," according to Sayaka Mori, a
meteorologist for NHK. Kyushu is Japan's third-largest island and home to more
than 12 million people. Approximately 3 million of those residents were advised
to evacuate. Sixty people have been confirmed dead in Kumamoto Prefecture, two
in Fukuoka Prefecture and one in Oita Prefecture due to the flooding.
Thirty-five people were found indoors and it is believed that most could not
escape flooded houses, according to NHK. The Kuma River, which flows through the
Kumamoto Prefecture and Kuma Village, rose well above its banks on the 4th,
washing away at least one bridge and cutting off citizens from rescue crews and
causing widespread power outages.
Heavy
rains have been affecting northern parts of Vietnam over the past three days,
particularly the Ha Giang Province, causing severe floods and landslides that
resulted in property damage and five casualties (21st). The rains
came after the region experienced its longest heatwave in 49 years, with
temperatures up to 2.5 degC higher than average. The Ha Giang Province has been
affected by flooding during the past three days due to heavy rains. As a result,
traffic jams and landslides occurred in many areas. Most streets were inundated
to a depth of about 1 metre. In nearby Quan Ba District, floods and landslides
buried structures in Thai An Hydropower Plant, prompting officials to pause
operations. The National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF)
issued a level 1 warning for floods, flash floods, and landslide due to heavy
rain across the provinces of Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang,
Cao Bang, and Bac Kan, Son La, Ho Binh, and Thai Nguyen. NCHMF revealed that the
region recorded 21 days of hot spells in June, with average temperatures 1.5 to
2.5 degC higher than the past years. This is considered the longest heatwave in
the area since 1971. Temperatures between 36C to 39C were recorded in the
provinces of Lang Son, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, and
Ninh Binh. The heatwave was caused by a low-pressure from the west and a Foehn
wind, according to NCHMF head Nguyen Van Huong.
The
extensive flood situation due to seasonal monsoon rains remains severe in India
as the death toll has crossed 470 this week, according to the National Emergency
Response Center (NDMI) (22nd). West Bengal is the worst-hit state,
with 142 fatalities. More than 6 million people are now affected and more than
91 000 have been displaced. About 470 fatalities have been reported across nine
states - 142 in West Bengal, 111 in Assam, 81 in Gujarat, 46 in Maharashtra, 44
in Madhya Pradesh, 25 in Kerala, 19 in Uttarakhand, and two in Uttar Pradesh. In
Delhi alone, floodwaters have washed away more than 10,000 homes, prompting
authorities to set up 300 relief camps. Several hundred villages have been
totally cut off by high waters, hampering relief and rescue operations.
At
least 19 houses were swept away by a huge landslide following persistent heavy
rainfall in Lamjung District in Gandaki Pradesh, Nepal. No fatalities were
reported, but six people sustained injuries, and around 62 more residential
properties are at high risk as the land is still sliding, posing threats of a
further unprecedented mudslide. Incessant rains in the past days triggered the
landslide at around 03:15 UTC (09:00 LT) in Tarapu Pallotari.
At
least two people lost their lives after widespread, intense rainfall triggered
flash flooding in Busan, South Korea (22nd). As heavy rain lashed the
city, an underpass was inundated by up to 2.5 m of floodwaters. With vehicles
stuck under, firemen had to rescue eight people and take them to the hospital
for treatment. However, two of the victims eventually died. Rescue operations
were underway in other parts of the city as flooding swept through various
areas. More people were rescued from a flooded hotel garage and a basement of a
nursing home. By midnight, firefighters reported that a total of 32 people had
been rescued. The Korea Meteorological Administration has issued heavy rain
warnings for many parts of the country, including Seoul and Busan, as the severe
weather is expected to continue in the following days.
Mumbai, India, surpassed its July 2014 record (1468.5 mm) for the all-time high
monthly rainfall on Tuesday with intermittent intense rain spells, taking the
monthly rain tally to 1,474.3 mm by 5.30pm (28th). Meanwhile, the
city had surpassed its July average rainfall of 840 mm by the 15th. Mumbai has
witnessed a total of eight heavy to very heavy rain days this month, which paved
the way for previous records to be broken. The India Meteorological Department
(IMD) maintains rain data from 1959 onwards. Other landmark years over the past
61 years include 1455.5 mm in 1965, 1385.5 mm in 1961, 1312.9 mm in 2011, 1250.4
mm in 2010, and 1226.1 mm in 1988. IMD classifies 15.6-64.4 mm as moderate rain
while 64.5-115.5 mm rain as heavy, 115.6-204.4 mm as very heavy, and over 204.5
mm as extremely heavy rain for a period of 24-hours. The city had seen five
'very heavy' rain days through July 2020 so far with maximum rainfall recorded
between July 4 and 5 of 200.8 mm. Apart from July 2, the city has received
rainfall every day of the month so far.
Almost
2,500 people have been evacuated as record-high rainfall poured over northern
Japan, causing damaging floods and landslides, including in the Yamagata
Prefecture, where the Mogami River burst its banks and a mudslide left 540
people isolated (29th). Heavy rain has been battering the northern
region of the country since the 27th, triggering several landslides and causing
rivers to overflow. In Yamagata, as many as 540 people were left isolated due to
mudslides. In Nagai City, 206.5 mm of rain was recorded into 27th-28th, which
was the highest 24-hour July rainfall since 1976, according to the Japan
Meteorological Agency (JMA). Meanwhile, Okura village recorded 95.5 mm of rain
in only a three-hour period on the same day. Numerous areas in Yamagata recorded
more than 200 mm of rain in 24 hours to Wednesday, 29th, including Tsuruoka,
Nishimura, Oguni, and Nagai, according to the JMA.
UNITED
STATES
Farmers and agriculture experts are counting the financial impacts incurred by a
severe thunderstorm in Minnesota (11th). Winds of up to 80 km/h and
hail as big as 63.5 mm in diameter battered thousands of hectares of land in
counties from Kandiyohi to Nicollet, at a time when commodity prices are already
down. "We had a wonderful crop. Best we've had in this area in five years," said
farmer and crop consultant Curt Burns. With an early planting season and
unseasonably warm temperatures in late June and early July, corn and soybean
crops were developmentally more advanced, relative to previous years. The storm,
which was up to 60 miles long and 6 miles wide, caused extensive damage to corn,
soybeans, kidney beans, alfalfa, sweet corn, sugar beets, and peas.
MEDITERRANEAN
A
large tornado ripped through Mineo in Sicily, Italy, in the afternoon (14th),
causing major damage. The tornado occurred during violent storms that battered
southern Italy, including Sardinia and Calabria. Sicily was the most affected
region as 30 mm of rain fell in the area.
Croatian capital Zagreb battled widespread flooding on Friday night, following
torrential rains and strong winds that left the city in chaos (24th).
The emergency department received more than 1,000 calls from the public as the
city was submerged underwater, stranding many motorists on the road and
residents in their homes. Torrential rains struck the city around 1900 UTC,
triggering extensive floods. According to the Zagreb Emergency Management
Office, the Fire Brigade conducted more than 80 interventions by midnight and
accommodated more than 1,000 emergency calls. One firefighter died during an
intervention.
RUSSIA
A
severe storm accompanied by hurricane-force winds and heavy rain hit parts of
western Russia, prompting officials to declare a state of emergency in Saratov's
St. Petersburg area (14th). Power was disrupted to about 52 000
residents, including in Balakovo and Marx. Valery Radaev, head of the Saratov
region, ordered municipal services to tackle the aftermath of the storm as soon
as possible, noting that one of the most affected was Balakovo. Strong winds
also affected other areas, including Ershov and Krasnokutsky.
A
record-breaking heatwave in Siberia would have been almost impossible without
human-caused climate change, a study has found (16th). The Russian
region's temperatures were more than 5C above average between January and June
of this year. Temperatures exceeded 38C in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk on 20
June, the highest temperature ever recorded north of the Arctic circle. The
Arctic is believed to be warming twice as fast as the global average. An
international team of climate scientists, led by the UK Met Office, found the
record average temperatures were likely to happen less than once every 80,000
years without human-induced climate change. That makes such an event "almost
impossible" had the world not been warmed by greenhouse gas emissions, they
conclude in the study. The scientists described the finding as "unequivocal
evidence of the impact of climate change on the planet".
SOUTH
PACIFIC
An
unusual interaction between two low-pressure zones caused intense storms over
New Zealand's Northland area (17-18th). The worst affected was
Whangarei, where emergency services responded to more than 220 calls. "This is
just diabolical for our people. We've gone from drought to dealing with a 1 in
500-year event. Unbelievable," WhangÄrei
Mayor Sheryl Mai said. According to MetService meteorologists, the storm dropped
220 mm of rain on Whangarei from 1900 LT/17th to 0700 LT/18th. 'We call this a
greater-than-500-year return period,' the service said. The worst of the storm
came around 1900 LT, with about 50 mm/h fall rates. Several gauges exceeded 250
mm of rain in 24 hours, including over 150 mm in just 4 hours at Whangarei Aero
and 56.8 mm at Kaikohe in just 1 hour. According to NIWA, Whangarei recorded its
wettest July hour on record between 2000 and 2100 LT on the 17th, with 39.6 mm.
132.6 mm fell in just 4 hours between 1800 and 2200 LT, which is 78% of the
monthly normal.
MIDDLE
EAST
Heavy
rains triggered widespread severe flooding that paralyzed the city of Taif in
Mecca, Saudi Arabia (24th). The traffic in Taif City was brought to a
standstill as floodwaters trapped many vehicles on roads and streets. The Civil
Defense said they responded to about 30 reports of stranded cars as a result of
the accumulated waters, 14 of which had people stuck inside. Stranded
individuals were successfully rescued. Residents in Taif's district of
AL-Muntazah were forced to stay indoors due to intense downpours, the Civil
Defense added.
AUSTRAILIA
A
coastal low brought strong winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, and damaging surf to
parts of New South Wales, Australia, over the weekend (2th). The severe weather
prompted volunteers to respond to more than 2,200 calls for rescue and left
about 15,000 properties without power on Monday.
TROPICAL
Heavy
rain is likely to lead to "life-threatening" flash flooding in southern Texas
and north-eastern Mexico even as Hurricane Hanna weakens, US officials have
warned (25-26th). The hurricane made landfall on Saturday but has
since been downgraded to a tropical storm. But the US National Hurricane Centre
(NHC) says that rains and strong winds "remain a threat". Hanna was initially
classified as a Category One hurricane, the lowest level on the five-step
Saffir-Simpson scale, before being downgraded. It made landfall on Padre Island
on Saturday, and on Sunday moved into Mexico. At 22:00 local time on Saturday
(03:00 GMT Sunday), maximum sustained winds were near 75 mph, the NHC said. It
added that "rapid weakening is expected as Hanna moves farther inland" over
Texas and into north-eastern Mexico on Sunday.
The
first hurricane this season in the Central Pacific skirted just north of Hawaii
on Sunday night, sparing the island chain of the worst effects from the storm
(26-27th). The core of the system just missed the Islands without
making a landfall. As the storm made it's way past the Hawaiian islands on
Sunday, heavy rain and wind gusts battered Maui. On Oahu, home to the state's
biggest city, Honolulu, gentle rain fell and blustery winds swayed trees.
If you have any questions about, or any suggestions for this website, please feel free to either fill out our guestbook, or contact me at james.munley@netzero.net.