Climate Changes

Hurricane Helene made a powerful impact in the fall of 2024, intensifying to a Category 4 storm as it approached Florida's Big Bend region. The hurricane made landfall at 11:10 p.m. Eastern Time on September 27, unleashing a torrent of destruction both along the coast and far inland. While still over the Gulf of Mexico, the storm's effects began to manifest on land, triggering severe flooding in southern Appalachia well before its actual arrival.

In September 2024, a slow-moving storm unleashed days of relentless rainfall across central and eastern Europe, triggering devastating floods that submerged entire towns and forced tens of thousands to evacuate. This extreme weather event brought widespread destruction, particularly in Austria, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic (Czechia), as rivers burst their banks and floodwaters surged into homes, farmlands, and cities.

The Amazon is experiencing record-breaking fires in 2024, exacerbated by climate change and El Niño.In the first seven months of 2024, the Brazilian Amazon recorded the highest number of fires in the last 20 years.Although deforestation in the region decreased by 50% in 2023 compared to 2022, burned areas increased by 36%.

ECMWF stands for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. It is an independent intergovernmental organization supported by multiple European countries, which provides global weather forecasts and climate data.