GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

AUGUST 2026

UNITED STATES

Surging temperatures are expected to broil more than 45 million people as a heat dome settles in across the south-western US through the end of August and into early September, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). As wildfires rage in some parts and intense heat builds across the region, daytime highs of 110-115F (43-46C) are forecast, with limited cooling relief in the evenings and overnight. Experts predict that some record highs could be tied or broken this month, and the weather agency warned of the scorching late summer heat as a potential health hazard. “A strong upper-level ridge will remain anchored across the south-west into south-central US into late week,” the NWS shared in its short-range forecast discussion. The agency continued: “This will maintain an abnormal hazardous heat across the region, with daytime highs of 100-110 F across the Southern Plains, while portions of the southwest will reach up to 115F. With overnight temperatures providing limited relief, heat-related illness may increase, especially for those without proper hydration and adequate cooling.”

Thunderstorms and tornadoes caused damage and disruption last Thursday as severe weather hit the U.S. Northeast. A tornado struck Dover, Delaware, with another reported near Atlantic Beach on Long Island in New York. The latter was rated EF-1 by the National Weather Service, with peak winds of 97mph (156kph). It was the first tornado reported in Nassau County since November 2021, with buildings and beach cabanas damaged, and heavy rainfall causing flash flooding and power cuts. In the UK, after a summer of high temperatures and virtually no meaningful rainfall, it has turned cooler over recent days, with the arrival of some heavy showers and thunderstorms. High pressure brought a mainly dry and settled weekend, but more unsettled weather will arrive from Tuesday. Showers, thunderstorms and longer spells of thundery rain are expected to spread northwards, with temperatures increasing as warmer southerly winds develop.

At least five people are dead after devastating floods that swept through Indiana this week, officials said, as storms continued to batter the state on Saturday and first responders used boats to rescue more people from rising waters in neighborhoods along the White River in Indianapolis. The mayor of Indianapolis, Joe Hogsett, and other state officials implored residents in areas at risk of flooding to heed any evacuation warnings at a news conference. “Six inches of water can stall out any vehicle. Eight inches of water can move a vehicle off a road. And then three inches of water can actually take somebody off their feet too. Flooded water is very, very dangerous,” Jerry Martin, the deputy chief of the Indianapolis fire department, said at the briefing. Powerful storms swept across ⁠the Midwest on Tuesday, leaving three dead and more than 800,000 without power in four states as wind gusts of more than 80mph (130km/h) tore down trees and power lines. ⁠In Indiana, a four-year-old child died after a tree fell on his ⁠home in Geneva Township, and a person died in a suspected weather-related house explosion in Portage, a city about 30 miles southeast of Chicago. Mike ‌DeWine, Ohio’s governor, said one person died after flooding obstructed first responders from reaching the individual in Roseville. DeWine urged Ohioans to prepare for more dangerous storms as the National Weather Service warned of flash flooding, tornadoes, and dangerous straight-line winds. “I encourage everyone to pay close attention to local media reports and take these weather warnings seriously,” he said. “Even after the storms exit the state, flooding will remain a serious concern.” The National Weather Service’s storm prediction center said it had recorded straight-line winds, known as a derecho, at speeds of 99mph in Gary, Indiana. DeWine also signed a proclamation declaring a state of emergency in Perry and Muskingum counties. Severe flooding caused residents to be evacuated by swift water rescue teams. “Even after ​the ​storms exit the state, flooding will remain a serious concern,” the governor said. The National Weather Service warned of “considerable flooding” in Ohio through Friday. Nearly 800,000 electricity customers across ⁠Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky were still without ​power ​as of Wednesday morning, ​poweroutage.us ‌reported.

EUROPE

At least 35,000 more people died during Europe’s four record-breaking, back-to-back heatwaves this summer than would normally be expected, according to incomplete figures from barely half the continent. Excess mortality in three of the EU’s larger countries – Germany, France and Spain – alone has already exceeded 25,000, according to the provisional national figures, and experts say the toll will rise significantly once August totals are consolidated. The consecutive heatwaves across western Europe since May shattered all-time historical temperature records across hundreds of weather stations, and France recorded its hottest national average day on record. Records fell for three straight days in Germany in late June, when 46 stations topped 40C (104F), while Spain endured persistent highs above 42C. Scientists say human-made global heating is making such extreme events more frequent and intense. The death toll is highest in Germany, which late last week reported an estimated 14,000 heat-related deaths from 6 April to 9 August. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) public health agency said 9,600 people had died in the week of 22-28 June alone. Systematically compiled EU-wide excess mortality figures, available since 2008, show the only other summer week in which a higher rate of additional deaths has been recorded was in July 2022, when Covid-19 was still active.

ASIA

South Korea and Japan were hit by extreme rain late last week and into this week. On 13 August in the city of Chiba near Tokyo, there was a record-breaking 115mm of rainfall in just one hour, while the nearby city of Sakura broke its own record with 97mm in one hour. Local authorities issued a level 5 emergency warning for heavy rain, the highest alert level and the first time one has been issued since the system was implemented in May. More than 100,000 households were asked to evacuate, with more than 20,000 in the Chiba prefecture left without power, while thousands of people were stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport. Thirteen people have been confirmed dead, at least three of whom were found trapped inside their vehicles. One person is still missing. Japan is no stranger to heavy rainfall, thanks to the conditions created when warm and moist air from the north Pacific meets cooler air. This latest event has been especially severe, however, with the Japan Meteorological Agency describing it as an “unprecedented level” of heavy rain. There was also record-breaking rain in nearby South Korea, where in the city of Geoje 124.5mm fell within one hour early on 17 August. In total, more than 400mm fell through the night.

Torrential downpours that have pounded southern parts of South Korea since Saturday have killed one person and injured four others, officials have confirmed. Heavy rains have been recorded in South Gyeongsang province, including the city of Geoje, where an 800mm (31in) deluge over the weekend triggered a landslide, the interior and safety ministry said. The rain continued on Monday, bringing the cumulative rainfall total to 912mm by 6pm. Police and firefighters rescued three residents from an apartment building hit by the landslide, but one of them was found in cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead at a hospital, according to Yonhap. Heavy rain that battered eastern Japan has left nine people dead, the public broadcaster NHK said on Sunday, after an “unprecedented” deluge that flooded more than a thousand homes and snarled up roads and rail services. Torrential downpours that started late on Thursday have triggered landslide warnings and power outages, with forecasters issuing the highest-level heavy rain warning for the Chiba region for the first time. A weather station in the prefecture recorded 300mm (nearly 12 inches) of rain in 24 hours, making it the area’s wettest August in six decades. By Friday morning, the city of Chiba had logged more than three times the rainfall typically seen in the whole of August, Tokyo’s land ministry said.

Nine people have since died in the rains, NHK reported Sunday morning, citing its own tally.

TROPICAL

Widespread flooding triggered by Typhoon Narra has submerged homes and forced mass evacuations in southern China, as another storm system tracked towards Japan and Taiwan. Authorities in Chongzuo, in China’s Guangxi region – famous for its giant waterfalls and karst limestone mountains – on Tuesday evacuated more than 15,000 people after water ⁠levels surpassed a record high set in 2008. Rising floodwaters have prompted China to relocate a total of 54,000 people in Guangxi, state television said. Narra made landfall as a tropical storm on Tuesday evening ⁠in China’s southern island province of Hainan after lingering over the Beibu Gulf for ‌several days, dumping heavy rain on ‌Guangxi, Hainan and Guangdong. Heavy rain is expected to persist across parts of Vietnam and southern ‌China through Wednesday, with areas of Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan and Fujian forecast to receive torrential rain, state media said.

Tropical Storm Moke is poised to slam into the south of Hawaii’s islands, with forecasters predicting heavy rains and strong winds on Saturday evening, just days after the region was hit by Hurricane Lala. As with Hurricane Lala, the Big Island is expected to bear the brunt of Moke’s rain and heavy winds as it passes south of a direct hit late on Saturday and into Sunday. Moke will then continue its westward path near the islands through to early Tuesday, said Casey Oswant, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu. “There will still be impacts, especially to the windward and south-east sides of the Big Island, but it will probably be a little bit more limited than what we saw with Lala,” Oswant said.