Families perched atop houses pleading for help to escape the deadly flooding after a , with the region's governor calling it 鈥渁n absolutely out of the ordinary event.鈥�
The world's latest extreme weather disaster killed at least 31 people and left at least 1,600 homeless, authorities said Wednesday. The scope of the damage was enormous: Rio Grande do Sol Gov. Eduardo Leite said it was his state's highest death toll from a climate event, with 鈥渆ntire cities that were completely compromised.鈥�
The toll included at least 15 bodies in a single house.
on Tuesday, fed by fierce rainstorms and killing at least seven people. The toll included at least two in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, where streets and homes were flooded in two neighborhoods.
Here鈥檚 what else is happening related to extreme weather, climate and the environment right now:
鈥擳he World Meteorological Organization in a year full of them: Earth sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured. Scientists blame human-caused climate change, along with the natural El Nino phenomenon.
鈥� was moving through the open Atlantic and expected to become a hurricane as it nears the Caribbean. In the Pacific, Jova had grown into a Category 2 hurricane far off the southwest coast of Mexico.
鈥擳he first ended Wednesday with a call for world leaders to rally behind a global carbon tax on fossil fuels, aviation and maritime transport, and it seeks reform of the world financial system that forces African nations to pay more to borrow money.
鈥擨n sub-Saharan Africa, is catching on in several large countries. Much of it is off the grid, meaning the solar powers a handful of buildings but isn't part of a larger system.
鈥擡nvironmental groups are suing the state of Utah over , saying officials have pushed it to the brink of collapse by allowing upstream water to be diverted to farmers for decades.
鈥� have been scrambling to stay afloat after two years of the Bering Sea fishery being closed or severely curtailed due to plummeting crab numbers. And they鈥檙e concerned that more of the same awaits this October when officials decide on catch limits for the upcoming season.
鈥擥ood news for salmon lovers: that return to U.S. rivers have had their most productive year in more than a decade, according to a count in Maine, raising hopes they may be weathering several ecological threats.
鈥擳he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is for ground-level ozone 鈥� better known as smog 鈥� despite a recommendation by a scientific advisory panel to lower air pollution limits to protect public health. The decision pushes an update of one of the agency's most important air quality regulations beyond the 2024 presidential election.
鈥� , where Wednesday's highs were expected near 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) seek relief from heat via ice-stuffed bags or from cold air blown through tubes on the sideline. An Associated Press analysis found the average high temperatures felt during the U.S. Open and the three other major tennis tournaments steadily have gotten higher and more dangerous in recent decades, reflecting the climate change that created record heat waves around the globe this summer.
QUOTABLE:
鈥淚t does feel like and probably will continue to feel like we鈥檙e just hopping from one emergency to another based on climate change." 鈥� Jared Meyers, a resort owner whose locations include four in Florida. Meyers is among who have had to deal with extreme weather 鈥� and he fears hurricane intensities are getting worse.
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP鈥檚 climate initiative . The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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The Associated Press
