In Canada, wildfires are raging and in the town of Jasper, thousands have been forced to flee their homes where the fires leveled entire streets. At the same time, forest fires are spreading approximately 1,400 kilometers to the south in the neighboring United States and the state of California, where nearly 160,000 hectares have burned in the northern parts of the state.
And to the west, on the other side of the globe, extensive flooding has affected both Japan and Taiwan.
In the Tohoku region in the northern parts of Japan, record amounts of rain have fallen, leaving at least one person dead and several missing while thousands have been forced to flee, reports Japan Times.
Drier forests and stronger winds
Climate change has for a long time led to the extreme weather conditions that currently prevail around the world.
SVT’s meteorologist, Deana Bajic, says that the forests are becoming drier and the winds from the Pacific Ocean are stronger, which is exacerbating the forest fires raging in California in particular.
In the western parts of the Pacific Ocean around Japan and Taiwan, the rain and floods can be traced to changes in air pressure.
– When the high pressure moves, it releases cooler air that collides with the warm air and then strong thunderstorms form that can lead to floods, says meteorologist Deana Bajic.
In the clip above, you can see the weather situation in different parts of the world.