After the world’s hottest summer since records began in 1850, the death toll from extreme weather in 2026 is already in the high tens of thousands.
asserted
toll → begin → thousands
That is a conservative estimate and is certain to rise much higher.
asserted
That → rise → ?
As Cop31 continues and scientists warn that climate breakdown may be accelerating, the Guardian looks back at a year of droughts, fires and floods as a reminder that, unless the world takes urgent action to cut emissions, this disastrous year will be one of the best of the rest of our lives.
January
Fourth-hottest January on record
Extreme heat fuels wildfires in Australia
As temperatures jump nearly 20C (68F) above average, Victoria and other southern states register new heat records, including 50C in Port Augusta and the tiny opal mining town of Andamooka.
uncertain
Victoria → continue → Andamooka
Melbourne hospitals report a 25% increase in heat-related illnesses, while authorities in many areas struggle with wildfires.
asserted
authorities → report → wildfires
Scientists say the supercharged climate has made the heatwave five times more likely.
asserted
heatwave → say → ?
Heatwaves already cause more deaths in Australia than all other natural hazards combined.
asserted
Heatwaves → cause → hazards
Mudslides kill 72 in Brazil after record rain
The city of Juiz de Fora in Minas Gerais records its wettest ever month, triggering landslides that sweep away hundreds of homes in poor communities on unstable hillsides.
asserted
that → kill → hillsides
Floods also disrupt Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
asserted
Floods → disrupt → Janeiro
More than 10,000 people are displaced.
asserted
people → displace → ?
March
Fourth-hottest March on record
Devastating floods across much of the world
In Ethiopia, at least 131 people are killed in floods and mudslides that bury entire villages.
asserted
that → kill → villages
Eighty die in Kenya and 18 in Tanzania.
asserted
Eighty → die → Tanzania
The Arabian peninsula is battered by fierce winds and heavy downpours that flood the streets of the desert kingdom.
asserted
that → batter → kingdom
Hailstones the size of tennis balls fall in Oman and lightning storms leave cities in the UAE inundated with water.
asserted
storms → fall → water
Many areas report record rainfall.
asserted
areas → report → rainfall
At least 30 die in Afghanistan as heavy rains trigger landslides.
asserted
rains → die → landslides
Hong Kong is soaked in twice the usual monthly precipitation.
asserted
Kong → soak → precipitation
Flood waters in southern Russia submerge homes and leave more than 300,000 without electricity.
asserted
waters → submerge → electricity
Huge tracts of farmland are left underwater in Argentina and Chile.
asserted
tracts → leave → Argentina
World’s energy imbalance accelerates rapidly
The World Meteorological Organization reveals an alarming buildup of energy in Earth’s system.
asserted
Organization → accelerate → system
More than 90% is stored in the oceans, where warming has more than doubled over the past two decades compared with the average over the previous 45 years.
asserted
warming → store → years
This makes weather more extreme and threatens health and food supplies.
asserted
weather → make → supplies
António Guterres, the UN secretary general, says: “The global climate is in a state of emergency.
asserted
climate → say → emergency
Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits.
asserted
Earth → push → limits
Every key climate indicator is flashing red.”
asserted
indicator → flash → red
Guterres urges the world to cut fossil fuel emissions as rapidly as possible to minimise future risks.
asserted
Guterres → urge → risks
However, CO2 in the atmosphere continues to rise.
asserted
CO2 → continue → atmosphere
Second-hottest April on record
Super typhoon tears through Micronesia, Guam and Saipan
asserted
typhoon → tear → Micronesia
At peak intensity on 12 April, Sinlaku registers a wind speed of 295km/h (183mph) – roughly the same as a Shinkansen bullet train and the joint highest recorded by a storm in the western Pacific basin so early in the year.
asserted
Sinlaku → register → year
It is also the deadliest in decades, killing 12, leaving 43,000 without power, forcing mass evacuation and causing $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in damages.
asserted
It → kill → damages
This will remain one of the most powerful storms of 2026, superseded only by Super Typhoon Champi that will strike Taiwan and Japan in October.
asserted
that → remain → October
May
Second-hottest May on record
Hundreds of millions endure deadly heat in south Asia
uncertain
Hundreds → endure → Asia
At least 47 heat-related deaths are reported in southern Asia as temperatures soar above 45C in several Indian and Bangladeshi cities, and hit a peak of 52C in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh.
asserted
temperatures → relate → Sindh
Scientists warn that the climate crisis is exposing hundreds of millions of people in south Asia to longer, deadlier pre-monsoon heat.
asserted
crisis → warn → heat
June
Second-hottest June on record
Ocean heat enters uncharted territory
asserted
heat → enter → territory
Sea surface temperature graphs begin to jag upwards and away from all previous highs on 21 June, starting a trend that will worsen over the rest of the year.
asserted
that → begin → year
This alarms scientists because oceans absorb more than 90% of the excess energy in Earth’s system.
asserted
oceans → alarm → system
If the seas start to release that heat then the land and air will get warmer more quickly.
asserted
land → start → heat
This coincides with the emergence of the latest El Niño, which is confirmed on 2 June.
asserted
which → coincide → June
Instead of the usual winter snow and ice, scientists at the Esperanza base on the Trinity peninsula of Antarctica are astonished to see rain and dirt outside their windows after an eight-day heatwave that peaked with a record temperature of 15C on 6 June.
asserted
that → astonish → June
At the other end of the planet, the Arctic experiences its warmest ever June.
asserted
Arctic → experience → June
…and 39 more, not listed.
The Aporia
