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Tens of thousands killed by 2026 extreme weather as scientists warn of climate breakdown

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Summary

  • Extreme weather in 2026, including heatwaves, wildfires, floods and Super Typhoon Sinlaku, has killed tens of thousands worldwide, with the death toll certain to rise.
  • Scientists estimate 50,391 heat-related deaths across 854 European cities in June-August 2026, about two-thirds attributable to human-caused climate change.
  • Super Typhoon Sinlaku peaked at 295km/h winds in April 2026, killing 12 people and causing $1.5bn in damage.
  • Floods killed 72 people in Brazil and at least 131 in Ethiopia in early 2026, while Australian heatwaves set records of 50C.
  • Scientists warn climate breakdown may be accelerating, and a UN environment report finds exceeding 1.5C is unavoidable after decades of inaction.
  • 2026 followed the world's hottest summer since records began in 1850, and an El Niño under way may be the strongest in a millennium.

Reactions

  • UN secretary general António Guterres said 'The global climate is in a state of emergency. Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits.'
  • Guterres urged the world to cut fossil fuel emissions as rapidly as possible to minimise future risks.
  • Researchers writing in Nature Health recommended rapid emissions reductions alongside preparation and adaptation measures.
  • Zeke Hausfather forecast the El Niño under way may end up as the strongest in the past millennium.
  • Noel Turnbull wrote that politicians' climate denial, including in Australian parties, is a badge of identity more than logic, likening fossil-fuel marketing to tobacco tactics.
  • A review warned that without urgent emissions cuts, the disastrous year of 2026 will be one of the best of the rest of our lives.

Timeline newest first

  1. Scientists estimated 50,391 heat-related excess deaths across 854 European cities in June to August 2026, two-thirds attributable to anthropogenic climate change.
  2. A UNEP report found decades of climate inaction make exceeding 1.5C unavoidable, with whether it is temporary depending on decisions still to be taken.
  3. The governments of Bolivia, Panama and Peru declared states of emergency as extreme weather hit.
  4. India's Telangana government asked farmers not to cultivate water-intensive rice in winter 2026 because of a lack of water.
  5. Nature reported investors have launched a deluge of public record requests since 2024 to US universities to question climate attribution science.
  6. Super Typhoon Sinlaku peaked at 295km/h winds on 12 April 2026, killing 12 people, leaving 43,000 without power and causing $1.5bn in damages.
  7. Floods and mudslides in March 2026 killed at least 131 people in Ethiopia, 80 in Kenya and 18 in Tanzania.
  8. Floods in Brazil in February 2026 triggered landslides that killed 72 people in Juiz de Fora and displaced more than 10,000.
  9. Australia's January 2026 heatwave brought records including 50C in Port Augusta and Andamooka, fueling wildfires; scientists said it was five times more likely due to climate change.
  10. Flood waters in southern Russia submerged homes and left more than 300,000 people without electricity.
  11. The World Meteorological Organization revealed ocean warming has more than doubled over the past two decades, driving more extreme weather.

Sources newest first

  • Europe's heat deaths soar while climate denial becomes a political badgepearlsandirritations.com· 10h

    Noel Turnbull's Pearls and Irritations article argues that Europe's roughly 50,000 heat deaths in the northern summer of 2026, far above the previous high of 29,000, make growing climate denial among politicians like One Nation and the Victorian Liberals a badge of identity rather than logic. He compares fossil-fuel marketing to tobacco industry tactics, citing Nature Health researchers' call for rapid emissions cuts and an El Niño that Zeke Hausfather writes may be the strongest in a millennium.

  • Choking fires, deadly heat and devastating floods: 2026 in extreme weathertheguardian.com· 21h

    The Guardian reviews 2026's extreme weather, from record Australian heat of 50C and wildfires to floods killing 72 in Brazil, 131 in Ethiopia, and Super Typhoon Sinlaku's 295km/h winds and $1.5bn in damages, and reports a death toll in the high tens of thousands, with scientists warning climate breakdown may be accelerating. UN secretary general António Guterres says the global climate is in a state of emergency and urges rapid cuts to fossil fuel emissions, and the Guardian warns 2026 may be one of the best years of the rest of our lives without urgent action.

Background newest first

  • Las lluvias y el bloqueo israelí arrasan Gaza: “No nos queda ningún colchón seco para dormir"eldiario.es· 14h

    eldiario.es reports that recent floods and Israel's blockade devastated Gaza's displacement camps, killing four people — three children and a woman — when a sand wall fell on their tent in Deir al Balah, and damaging more than 40,000 family shelters. Over 150,000 tents await Israeli authorization at the border, while the Board of Peace calls the situation a humanitarian emergency and Israel blames Hamas; the UN says the storm's impact could have been avoided.