Nearly 500,000 people die every year from scorching temperatures. 

All across Europe temperatures broke records in June and as well as taking a toll on humans and other living creatures infrastructure is proving not to be up to these extreme temperatures.

For example, Germany’s famous Autobahn (known within the country as the A2), the high temperatures caused the concrete to split apart and other highways in the country experienced damage. Train operator Deutsche Bahn and other rail companies also asked people to not travel unless absolutely essential as railway infrastructure also was severely affected by the heat.

Buildings are also affected with a nursing home in western Germany having to evacuate their residents for medical care after temperatures inside the home reached 35 C (95 F). Similarly hospitals in France are not only not built to cope with such temperatures but their emergency rooms are seeing people seeking care increasing - for example hospitals in Paris reported they were treating about 30% more patients than normal.

Extreme heat was ‘wilting’ tourists in Rome and the UK also experienced record-breaking temperatures. About the only positive of this extreme heat is that it is focusing attention on climate change.  Carbon Almanac Network - 16/8/26

'Godzilla' El Nino menaces farmers from India to Australia

A potentially severe El Niño is forecast to return in 2026, with meteorologists warning that conditions could produce a "super strong" or "Godzilla" El Niño not seen in 150 years. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration placed the odds of El Niño developing at 82%, with a 57% chance of it reaching "strong" or "very strong" intensity by September. Economists have estimated the total cost of the 1997–98 El Niño alone at up to $5.7 trillion, with the 2023 event projected to impose at least $3.4 trillion in cumulative costs over five years.

The human toll on agriculture across South and Southeast Asia stands to be severe. In the Philippines, farmers fear harvesting as little as 50% of what they plant, while in Malaysia, major reservoirs are already less than 10% full, prompting rice growers to delay planting by one to two months. In India, where 45% of cultivated areas rely solely on rainfall, the monsoon season is projected to deliver 10% below normal rainfall, threatening not only perishable crops but also cereals, pulses, oilseeds, and even animal proteins like eggs and meat. The crisis is compounded by a fertiliser shortage linked to the Iran war and rising fuel costs, with Malaysian rice farmers particularly squeezed because the government sets their crop prices while their costs keep rising.

Beyond agriculture, the El Niño threatens broader economic and social instability across the region. Dried-out peatlands in Indonesia and Malaysia risk catastrophic fires. Hydroelectric power generation, data centres, and water-cooled AI infrastructure face supply pressures, and in Malaysia, authorities may be forced to pivot back toward fossil fuels.