In Case You Missed It: The Most Extreme Weather Events From Last Week

In case you missed it, here is a recap of the devastating extreme weather events around the globe this week:

Russia: Arctic Temperature Reached 100.4°F, the Hottest Ever Recorded

Arctic temperatures just reached 100.4 degrees F last Saturday (Jun e 20, 2020), the hottest reading so far recorded in history. The temperature was taken at a small town in Siberia, Verkhoyansk, north from the Arctic Circle, and the record-breaking 100.4 degrees F that registered last Saturday is something that has not been experienced in the region since records started to be kept in the year 1885.

According to the Guardian, these freak Siberian temperatures were previously linked to a major oil spill, a plague involving tree-eating moths, and wildfires. Its report indicated that Russian towns that are located within the Arctic Circle recorded such extraordinarily high temperatures, such as Nizhnyaya Pesha, a town in Russia's northwest fringes, which has reached 30° C last June 9. The rural town of Khatanga, whose average daytime temperature of roughly 0°C during this time, now has 25°C last May 22. Its previous record reached 12° C.

China: Torrential Rains and Flooding Claims 106 lives, More are Missing as Residents Fear of Looming Dam Collapse

A month of heavy rainfall has brought devastating havoc across 26 provinces, affecting 19 million residents in Southern and Central China. As of July 3, 106 people are confirmed dead or missing. 

Since early June of this year, over 9,300 homes have been destroyed, and 171,000 more have been damaged. According to the local authorities, the financial toll has already reached beyond 3.4 billion dollars or 24.1 billion yuan.

The possibility of a landslide that would compromise the safety of Three Gorges Dam has sparked fears among residents as an earthquake struck Sichuan early Thursday (July 2) morning.

An expert in hydrology is warning of the collapse of the Three Gorges Dam due to increased water pressure, which will endanger the millions of people living in nearby areas. Hydrologist Wang Weiluo said that a lot of regions are below the dam's reservoir, which places them directly under the currents of the water during flooding. The Yangtze River reaches 11 regions and provinces in western and central China, which include Sichuan, Shanghai, Tibet, Hubei, and Chongqing.

The dam's structural integrity is also in danger of breaking. Wang urges those living nearby to have emergency kits ready for protection. 

Heavy rains leading to swelling of China's rivers are frequent at this time of the year. However, People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper admitted that for this year, activities to address the coronavirus pandemic limited the flood preparations. Dealing with this year's flooding, which is hounded by an epidemic and extreme rain, made it a "very formidable task."

Myanmar: Collapse of Jade Mine Claims Lives of 162 Miners

In Northern Myanmar, a collapsing jade mine claimed the lives of at least 170 freelance jade miners on Thursday (July 2, 2020). Authorities said the landslide likely killed more. A heap of waste from a mine cascaded towards a lake, burying workers in water and mud. Last Thursday's landslide was the deadliest within the previous half-decade.

Landslides, among other accidents, routinely cause accidents at the Hpakant mines. These mines are poorly regulated and attract poor and hungry workers from all over the country to find jade and gems that are mostly exported to mainland China. In 2015, around 100 people died from a collapse that spurred louder calls for regulating the jade mining industry. In 2019, another accident claimed 50. 

Japan: Unprecedented Heavy Rains and Flooding Claims 35 Lives, a Dozen Missing 

Thirty-five ( 35) people were confirmed or presumed dead due to flooding and landslides caused by unprecedented torrential rains in southern Japan on Saturday (July 4).

The prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima were hit the most, as Japan Meteorological Agency reported that such rainfall has never happened in the region before, with rainfall measuring 4 inches an hour that occurred at one time. Residents, estimated to be more than 200,000 of these worst-hit prefectures were ordered to evacuate on Saturday. Authorities deployed 10,000 soldiers to help rescue the residents.

Rescue operations were delayed due to high levels of floodwaters and the risk of more mudslides. Power and communication lines were disrupted due to the flooding, further delaying the search and rescue operations.