The Big Picture: Extreme Earth

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Typically, the length of lightning bolts is around 9 km (5.5 mi) or below. Longest lasting lightning flash Over the course of 24 hours, the temperature in Loma, Montana, USA swung a record 57.2°C (103°F). Reading -47.7°C (-54°F) at 9 a.m. on 14 January 1972, the temperature rose to 9.4°C (49°F) by 8 a.m. the next day.

Few places are more extreme than the Gobi desert where temperatures can range between -30 and +40 degrees Celsius. But the snow leopard has made its home here. This rare and intimate view of a mother and cubs reminds us that the extremes still hold some of planet Earth’s greatest secrets and most spectacular natural wonders. Most locations are setting many, many more all-time heat records as opposed to cold records. We live in a world that is becoming more and more extreme!” – Dr. Randy Cerveny, World Meteorological Organization’s Rapporteur of Weather & Climate Extremes

IPCC Assessment Report 6 – Working Group II – Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Human actions since the Industrial Revolution, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, have caused greenhouse gases to rapidly rise in the atmosphere. As carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases increase, they act as a blanket, trapping heat and warming the planet. In response, Earth’s air and ocean temperatures warm. This warming affects the water cycle, shifts weather patterns, and melts land ice — all impacts that can make extreme weather worse.

In Vietnam, the true scale and grandeur of what’s thought to be the world’s largest cave - Hang son Doong - is revealed. In its depths, blind white cave fish are found in tiny pools of water, surviving on nutrients washed in from the jungle above. On 31 October 2019, a single lightning flash spanned a horizontal distance of 709 km (440.6 mi), from north-eastern Argentina and across southern Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean.

Thunder & Lightning

Oklahoma belongs to the strip of states in the Great Plains of the USA known as “Tornado Alley”. Tornadoes are more intense and more frequent here than in any other region on Earth. Farthest distance survived in a tornado The aptly named Death Valley, in California, USA, is one of the hottest places in the world. The highest temperature ever, 56.7°C (134°F), was recorded there at Greenland Ranch on 10 July 1913. The heaviest hailstones on record weighed up to 1.02 kg (2 lb 3.9 oz). The grapefruit-sized hailstones were reported to have killed 92 people in the Gopalganj area of Bangladesh on 14 April 1986. Most hailstorms in a year

The very nature of filming in the 'Extremes' means that there was never a dull moment on location. From camping 18 days underground to hiking mountains, each sequence presented its own unique challenges. Tornadoes are much smaller than hurricanes and last for a shorter duration, however, they produce higher wind speeds. Extra-terrestrial spores and suspended dust are both amongst the varied explanations for red rain. However, after analysing samples in 2015, scientists concluded that it's caused by the presence of microalgae spores from the species Trentepohlia annulata. Snow & Ice Not to be confused with fire whirls, fire tornadoes are true tornadoes formed from pyrocumulonimbus clouds. Such clouds form over large sources of heat, such as wildfires or volcanic eruptions.The past five years on our planet have been the warmest ever recorded in history. 1.2 trillion tonnes of ice are now melting each year, whilst the Atlantic Ocean unleashed more hurricanes in 2020 than ever before. The Sonoran Desert stretches across parts of Arizona and California, USA into the states of Sonora and Baja California, Mexico. It’s annual rainfall ranges from 76-500 mm (2.9-19.6 in) across different regions of the desert. Measuring snow is problematic in that it changes as time passes. For example, snow from a snowfall will compress as new snow falls on top of the old. So, oddly, snowfall measurements can actually be wrong if the observations are taken too frequently.” – Dr. Randy Cerveny Greatest snowfall in 12 months

Supercells often occur in “Tornado Alley”, USA, where they can be responsible for spawning tornadoes. Longest lightning flash Although some doubts have been cast around the accuracy of this reading, a more recent temperature of 54.4°C (129.9°F) was registered in Death Valley on 16 August 2020. If confirmed to be accurate by the WMO, this will likely be recognized as the highest reliably measured temperature on record. As Earth’s climate changes, it is impacting extreme weather across the planet. Record-breaking heat waves on land and in the ocean, drenching rains, severe floods, years-long droughts, extreme wildfires, and widespread flooding during hurricanes are all becoming more frequent and more intense.

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Radar data, footage and other weather observations confirmed that this was a true fire tornado rather than a fire whirl. Measuring nearly half a kilometre across at its base and moving at around 30 km/h, it was strong enough to toss cars, de-roof houses and scorch everything in its path. Largest forest wildfire (single fire) NASA Global Climate Change - Extreme Makeover: Human Activities Are Making Some Extreme Events More Frequent or Intense The Indian state of Kerala experienced multiple showers of red rain between 25 July to 23 September 2001, making the region the first and only place on Earth where it has occurred on three consecutive months. Climate change from a human-caused rise in greenhouse gases is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.