© Zach Ornitz /The Star-Ledger
In early August 2001 an intense heatwave hit the eastern seaboard of the United States and neighboring southeastern Canada. For over a week, temperatures climbed above 35 °C (95 °F) combined with stifling high humidity. Newark, New Jersey tied its all-time record high temperature of 41 °C (106 °F) with a heat index of over 50 °C (122 °F).
Bushfire Australia
Forest Fire Australia 2020 Record-breaking temperatures and months of severe drought have fuelled a series of massive bushfires across Australia. Although recent cooler conditions and rain have brought some respite, more than 50 fires are still burning in the states of New South Wales and Victoria. Hot and windy conditions are forecast to return to many parts of New South Wales this weekend and authorities in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) have declared a state of emergency as massive bushfires rage south of Canberra. At least 33 people have been killed – including four firefighters – and more than 11 million hectares (110,000 sq km or 27.2 million acres) of bush, forest and parks across Australia has burned.
On the night of the 16th and 17th of February 1962, a powerful flood spilled over Hamburg. Storm front Vincinette had swept over the north German coast and pushed enormous amounts of water into the mouth of the Elbe, thrusting a flood wave of 5.7 meters above sea level towards the city’s flood protection systems. Around midnight, the Elbe broke through the dyke system at sixty locations.
