A powerful storm that battered parts of Mexico and the western United States was fading on Monday, but just as Tropical Storm Hilary moved off-stage, Franklin was churning through the Caribbean to threaten Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, relentless wildfires were still burning in Canada, Greece and Spain, Hawaii was getting a visit from President Joe Biden and the central United States were bracing for more record heat.
Hilary delivered a drenching that ranged from Mexico's Baja California peninsula north all the way to Oregon and Idaho. The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years dropped more than half an average year's rain on some areas, including Palm Springs, and left a trail of flooded roads, mudslides and downed trees. Several people had to be rescued from swollen rivers, and at least one person drowned in Mexico.
Franklin's landfall on the island of Hispaniola was expected late Tuesday, prompting warnings of floods and landslides.
Here’s what else is happening related to extreme weather and the climate right now:
—In Canada's British Columbia, fire chiefs said they were making progress against wildfires that at one point had tens of thousands of people under evacuation orders. The fires were striking the Lake Okanagan region, a mountainous area of picturesque resort towns.
—Across the globe, Greece’s long summer of wildfire misery continued with blazes there and on one of Spain’s Canary Islands. One man was reported dead of smoke inhalation while trying to save his livestock in Greece and two villages about an hour northwest of Athens were under evacuation orders.
—Biden interrupted a weeklong vacation to fly to Lahaina to comfort victims of Maui's devastating fire and meet with first responders.
—The massive winter downpours that drenched California and the West were a boon to seed collectors when they fed the bloom of flowers not seen in years. Now, the wildfires that have become more common under climate change are showing the importance of banking such seeds for restoring burned areas.
—The Swiss weather service said a heat wave has driven the zero-degree Celsius level to its highest altitude since recordkeeping in Switzerland began nearly 70 years ago. On Monday, the level at which water freezes was almost 17,400 feet, raising concerns about glaciers thawing.
—A changing climate is fostering a growing wine industry in Sweden.
— Ecuadorians soundly rejected drilling for oil in a protected area of the Amazon, a move that will require the state oil company to pull out of a region that’s home to two Indigenous tribes. The vote came amid political turmoil, with a presidential election underway following last week’s assassination of a candidate.
QUOTABLE:
“I am just getting by — sometimes, I’ve trouble taking care of my kids.” — Amadou Khan, a 52-year-old unemployed father of five in Dakar, Senegal, on the difficulty feeding his family. The cost of rice has soared globally due to long drought in the Horn of Africa. the El Nino weather phenomenon hurting production, and countries restricting export due to fear of shortages.
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