NASA satellites have recorded a sharp rise in fires and smoke across the central and eastern Amazon since September 2026, with burning from around Manaus and Santarem east towards the mouth of the river. On October 12 the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite captured large smoke plumes on both sides of the Amazon. Fine particle pollution in Manaus passed 135 micrograms per cubic metre, schools closed and public events were cancelled. NASA scientist Douglas Morton describes a cascade in which El Nino drought ignites peat fires in Indonesia first, then spreads to the Amazon, with the risk that burning continues into 2027.
A moderate-to-strong Santa Ana wind event brought several wildfires to Southern California this week, forcing evacuation warnings and closing roads. The Bryson Fire near Malibu grew to roughly 100 acres with no containment, the Henderson Fire at Camp Pendleton reached about 1,404 acres, and the Peak Fire near Azusa was 41% contained. A red flag warning covered most valleys and coasts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Saturday evening. No structures were reported threatened and no injuries were reported.
The 2026 El Nino has tied the all-time record for daily strength, with the Nino 3.4 anomaly reaching 3.07 degrees Celsius above average in October, and forecasts point to a monthly peak near 4.2 degrees in December. A coastally trapped Kelvin wave generated by the pattern is pushing sea levels about a foot above normal along Southern California and moving north, raising the risk of coastal flooding and erosion. Scientists say much of the global temperature effect will arrive in 2027, and Indonesia's fire emissions are on track to match this century's record.
Smoke from Indonesia's worst wildfire season in 11 years pushed Singapore's one-hour PM2.5 reading to 284 micrograms per cubic metre in the west of the island, the highest this year and the first entry into the top very high band of the current haze period. East Timor suspended face-to-face schooling for three days from 15 October, and several Malaysian states also closed schools. Indonesia blames El Nino-linked dry weather, while experts point to slash-and-burn land clearing.
About 294,000 people in Nepal live in areas at extreme risk of flooding from rivers that drain the country's high mountain basins, according to a study published on Thursday in Scientific Reports. Roughly 108,000 of them live downstream of glacial lakes that could suddenly release water. The research follows the August disaster on the Bhote Koshi river, when a rock and ice avalanche sent a debris flow about 120 miles downstream, killing at least 1,455 people. Researchers say early warning systems and land use zoning need to improve fast, because the number of people exposed will keep growing if construction near river channels continues.
Rotting food waste produces up to 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, about five times the total from the entire aviation industry, the UN Environment Programme warned this week. More than one billion meals are left uneaten every day, with about 60 per cent of the discarded food coming from households. The climate impact comes mostly from methane released when food decomposes in landfills; food waste alone accounts for up to 14 per cent of global methane emissions. The Food Waste Breakthrough launched at COP30 aims to halve food waste by 2030.
Heavy rain flooded roads in parts of Mogadishu on Monday, disrupting transport, business activity and access to schools in the Somali capital. The downpour came at the start of the Deyr rains, the October-to-December season that in bad years brings some of the country's worst flooding. The FAO has warned of an elevated risk of riverine and flash flooding along the Juba and Shabelle rivers, made worse by a positive Indian Ocean Dipole. Modelling by the Danish Refugee Council suggests between 408,000 and 1.8 million people could be displaced through December.
Hurricane Isaias killed two people with falling trees in Florida and Alabama after making landfall near Destin, Florida, on the night of Oct 9 as a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds. The storm had briefly reached Category 3 strength with 120 mph winds a day earlier, prompting evacuations across the northern Gulf Coast and states of emergency in Florida and Alabama. Hundreds of thousands of customers lost power, and crews reported downed trees on houses, blocked roads and damaged beach communities. Isaias weakened to a post-tropical cyclone but kept bringing flash flood and tornado risks to the southeast.
Hurricane Isaias came ashore on the Florida Panhandle as a Category 2 storm and weakened to a post-tropical cyclone by Saturday, yet officials warn that flooding remains the main danger. The storm tied the record for the latest first hurricane of an Atlantic season, a mark set in 1905, and it brought winds, storm surge and heavy rain to parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. At least two deaths have been linked to the storm, and thousands of customers lost power. Pensacola's airport closed to commercial flights before landfall. Forecasters expect the remnants to drift north and east, dumping more rain on already soaked ground.
NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum on September 12, covering 4.60 million square kilometres. That ties 2008, 2010 and 2025 for the tenth-lowest minimum in the satellite record, which began in 1978. Every summer from 2007 through 2026 ranks among the 20 lowest. In the Antarctic, sea ice likely reached its maximum on September 14 at 17.59 million square kilometres, which would be the third-lowest maximum on record. Scientists say increased cloud cover has slowed the recent decline, but ice levels remain far below the 1980s.