News

2020 in review: Extreme weather seen around the world as climate warms

By

2020 in review: Extreme weather seen around the world as climate warms

Melting glaciers in Svalbard, Norway, following record high temperatures in the Arctic circle during July

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

THE year began with extreme weather in Australia. Bushfires in the nation, made possible by a severe drought, produced apocalyptic scenes of ships rescuing people from beaches, dry thunderstorm clouds and wildlife fleeing beneath orange skies.

The fires pumped three times the amount of smoke into the stratosphere as anything seen before, and they While partly due to natural cycles, the weather conditions that enabled the …