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Rain-fed agriculture, the backbone of rural livelihoods, are no longer predictable as droughts follows floods.

We are hurtling toward climate chaos. The planet's vital signs are flashing red. The consequences of human-driven alterations of the climate are no longer future threats but are here now. This unfolding emergency stems from failed foresight, political inaction, unsustainable economic systems, and misinformation. Almost every corner of the biosphere is reeling from intensifying heat, storms, floods, droughts, or fires. The window to prevent the worst outcomes is rapidly closing. In early 2025, the World Meteorological Organization reported that 2024 was the hottest year on record (WMO 2025a). This was likely hotter than the peak of the last interglacial, roughly 125,000 years ago (Gulev et al. 2021, Kaufman and McKay 2022). Rising levels of greenhouse gases remain the driving force behind this escalation. These recent developments emphasize the extreme insufficiency of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mark the beginning of a grim new chapter for life on Earth.

Human-caused climate change increased the likelihood and intensity of the hot, dry and windy conditions that fanned the flames of the recent devastating Southern California wildfires, a scientific study found. But the myriad of causes that go into the still smoldering fires are complex, so the level of global warming's fingerprints on weeks of burning appears relatively small compared to previous studies of killer heat waves, floods and droughts by the international team at World Weather Attribution. Tuesday's report, too rapid for peer-review yet, found global warming boosted the likelihood of high fire weather conditions in this month's fires by 35% and its intensity by 6%.

The floods displaced more than 80,000 people, led to over 150,000 being injured and, on the 29th of May, to 169 fatalities with 44 people still missing (Governo do Estado de Rio Grande do Sul, 2024). Essential services were also disrupted, leaving 418,200 households without electricity and over a million consumer units without water. Dozens of municipalities lost telephone and internet services.

As the climate crisis causes heavier and more frequent floods across the US, one in four small businesses are one disaster away from shutting down

Heatwaves, wildfires and floods are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’, leading climate scientists say

Many are still missing after this month’s floods. Extreme weather is becoming more frequent, and it can be devastating

With global warming intensifying the water cycle, floods and droughts are increasing, and many countries are unprepared.

As floods increase in frequency and intensity, chemicals buried in river sediments become “ticking time bombs” waiting to activate.

It was a slogan that cut to the chase: “Everybody is talking about Germany. We talk about the weather.”

A Belgian climatologist surveys the wreckage of his hometown. Pierre Ozer has been expecting these floods for decades.