Weather

Changeable autumnal conditions are set to continue through this coming week, with spells of wetter and windier weather developing at times.

Monday will bring a short-lived burst of warmth and sunshine before temperatures drop to levels more typical for September later in the week.

A strengthening jet stream will bring deeper, low-pressure systems as the week goes on, with the potential for minor disruption towards next weekend.

Higher pressure looks set to build again for the end of the month, but prospects of a late-September heatwave remain uncertain.

One person has been confirmed dead and more than 30 remain missing after the MV Matui ferry sank off the coast of Vanuatu, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Jotham Napat. The incident occurred on Sunday, with dozens of crew and passengers on board, the statement said.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing in Vanuatu, a Pacific Island nation located approximately 1,750 km (1,090 miles) east of Australia. The Prime Minister’s office stated on Facebook that 15 individuals have been accounted for alive. The ferry sank in adverse weather conditions on Friday between the islands of Ambae and Santo, according to New Zealand public broadcaster RNZ. The search has shifted from open waters to the south-east coast, where currents may have carried survivors, RNZ reported.

Investigation into causes

The statement from the Prime Minister’s office indicated that strong winds and marine warnings may not have been heeded, and that potential negligence, including overloading of the vessel, is being investigated. Authorities have announced that a formal investigation will be conducted to determine the causes of the incident.

“To the survivors, we pray for your strength and recovery. To the families of those missing and those we have lost, please know that the nation stands with you in this time of grief,” the statement from the Prime Minister’s office said.

Rescue operations and official response

Matai Seremaiah, a representative of the Luganville area in Vanuatu’s Parliament, stated that rescue efforts began after a crew member of the MV Matui swam ashore and raised the alarm. “He alerted us that the ship has capsized, we went out for the search,” Seremaiah said in remarks broadcast by RNZ.

The Vanuatu police, the Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority, and the ferry’s operator, Tui Shipping Agency, have not yet responded to requests for comment. The search and rescue operation continues as authorities work to locate the missing passengers and crew.

Rescuers continue searching for survivors as the government scales back operations in open waters.

At least one person has died and more than 30 remain missing after a ferry sank off the coast of Vanuatu, Prime Minister Jotham Napat’s office has said in a statement.

The MV Matui, an inter-island ferry, sank in bad weather on Friday while sailing between the islands of Ambae and Santo, in Vanuatu’s north, according to New Zealand’s public broadcaster RNZ.

Of the dozens of crew members and passengers on board, 15 have been accounted for alive, Napat’s office said in a statement posted on Facebook, with search and rescue operations continuing.

The Pacific nation’s government said search efforts “in open waters” were being scaled back “whilst efforts move toward a search along the south-east coast, where currents may have carried survivors”.

It said the sinking “appears to be the result of strong winds and marine warnings not being heeded, and possibly of negligence including overloading of the vessel”, adding that a full investigation would follow to establish the facts and prevent a repeat.

Vanuatu police, the country’s Maritime Safety Authority and the ferry’s operator, Tui Shipping Agency, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the Reuters news agency reported.

The Category 1 hurricane misses Kauai but causes widespread destruction, power outages and evacuations.

Catastrophic winds and torrential rains from Hurricane Lowell have pelted Hawaii’s western island of Kauai, knocking out power to at least 30,000 residents and ripping up tracts of beachside roads.

Vicious winds knocked down trees and left nearly 92 percent of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) residents without power by early Tuesday as the storm moved north into the open sea.

While the now-weakened Category 1 hurricane did not make landfall on Kauai, it blew down trees, power poles and lines, causing massive destruction from about 128 kilometres (80 miles) west of the island, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency.

With approximately 85mph (137km/h) wind gusts, the storm brought a deluge that flooded coastal roads and forced roughly 300 residents to evacuate.

The centre of the storm passed west of the islands in the overnight hours on Tuesday and receded further throughout the day, but dangerous surf from the remnants of the hurricane will impact the Southern California coast for several days given the intensity of the winds, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

Emergency officials are asking residents to conserve water and stay off the roads.

Hawaiian mayor Derek Kawakami said that there was “extensive damage” being reported on Tuesday.

“Everyone’s participation has gone from preparation to sheltering to staying off roads …. to now gathering data and information,” the mayor stated.

The Kauai County government urged locals to shelter in place to allow crews to assess damage, clear debris, and restore power and services safely.

Flooding and mudslides will continue to be a risk through the day, said Eric Blake of the National Hurricane Center.

The force of the sustained winds had decreased overall by early Tuesday, and the centre forecasts gradual weakening over the next few days.

In its latest advisory late Tuesday morning local time, the hurricane centre said Lowell had maximum sustained winds near 65mph with higher gusts and was moving north at 14mph.

Hurricane warnings for Kauai and the tiny island of Niihau, which has fewer than 100 permanent residents, were no longer in place by Tuesday morning local time. But high surf and deadly rip currents from the waning storm will continue to affect Hawaii’s exposed coasts for the next day or two.

A tropical storm warning was also lifted for Oahu, the state’s most populated island.

London, United Kingdom – In a wheat field near High Wycombe in the rolling English countryside, Alex Nelms watched the harvest on his farm die in a matter of days.

His crop had looked strong until the first heatwave came in May, when temperatures surpassed 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) just as his milling wheat entered its grain-fill phase, the critical weeks when the plant fattens its kernels.

“It just killed everything stone dead,” he told Al Jazeera. “Everything was finished really early, and when we were sort of full of optimism and hope, it was scuppered almost overnight.”

Nelms farms just over 2,000 acres (809 hectares) of arable land in south Buckinghamshire, on a business his grandparents founded in 1955. His uncle, who has worked the farm for more than 40 years, has just suffered the worst harvest of his career.

Last month, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said almost three-quarters of England, 71.3 percent, remained in drought. Rainfall in August reached just 34 percent of what would normally be expected by that point in the month, Defra said, and reservoir levels were 18.2 percentage points below where they should be for the time of year.

“We’re totally reliant on Mother Nature,” Nelms said, and nature did not deliver this year.

After a historically dry spring and a run of summer heatwaves, the farm is down roughly 1,000 tonnes on its average harvest, a shortfall of some $270,000 in revenue.

The farm, tucked in the Chiltern Hills, a steep, long ridge of white limestone rock, has no irrigation and never will.

“That has serious knock-on effects on our cash flow,” he said. A third consecutive difficult year would mean hard conversations with his bank and landlord, and farming to minimise risk rather than maximise output, “consequently, probably producing less food”.

‘Financial crisis point’

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) says farmers are at a “financial crisis point” after the worst drought in 50 years, with historically low harvests, stunted grass growth, rising fuel and fertiliser costs, and a severe outbreak of bluetongue disease in livestock.

The union puts the gross production value loss of wheat at approximately $499m and the cost of replacing a shortfall in forage at roughly $45m.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw has said farmers now lack “breathing space” and are “increasingly exposed to geopolitical shocks, as well as repeated weather extremes, animal disease and global wars”.

He believes action is needed now to ensure the future of British farming “and enable the next generation to keep producing the nation’s food”.

To manage the risk, Nelms is diversifying, planting oilseed rape again on about 350 acres (142 hectares) for the first time in 20 years. He says that the crop’s usual insecticide protection, neonicotinoid seed treatments, is now banned, leaving it exposed to cabbage stem flea beetle and to game birds that can “absolutely nibble, eat, and destroy a crop”.

Growing it also means breaking a continuous wheat rotation that has kept a soil-borne disease called “Take-all”.

Tax allowances would make investing in grain storage and diversified income worthwhile, he said, as well as government-backed bridging loans, modelled on COVID-era support, to survive a bad year without permanent damage.

It is the kind of relief the NFU is pressing the government to provide nationally.

The union wants an interest-free “Keep Britain Growing” loan tied to drought losses, help covering the cost of disposing of livestock lost to bluetongue, faster planning permission for on-farm reservoirs, and clearer rules letting farmers access water as soon as levels allow, echoing Nelms’s case for storage on his farm.

“Drought conditions will continue to worsen until we receive sustained rainfall across the country and we still all have a role to play in conserving precious water supplies,” according to Philip Duffy, the Environment Agency’s chief executive, in a statement shared by Defra.

The Environment Agency has applied for a drought order to restrict abstraction from the River Severn, and 10 water companies, serving 30 million customers, now have restrictions in place.

“A few days or even weeks of wetter weather cannot reverse the impacts of several months of exceptionally dry conditions,” added Duffy.

Defra noted that the first meaningful rains since June have fallen but they have been patchy, so reservoirs and groundwater are still declining even as a handful of rivers see brief upticks in flow.

Despite the losses, Nelms is hopeful about farmers pulling together – sharing labour, machinery and market routes. He points to the Central Chiltern Farmer Cluster, where growers meet to talk through their problems and find solutions together.

“We’re working together, not competing with each other,” he said.

For a farm like Nelms’s, with no irrigation and no water in reserve, that patchiness is the problem. Soil parched from months without rain needs to absorb sustained rainfall before groundwater can even begin to recharge, let alone refill the reservoirs a future harvest might depend on.

“Our climate has changed,” Water Minister Emma Hardy, who chairs the National Drought Group, said late last month, “and we will continue to take all action necessary.”

Nepal is demanding “climate justice” and $20m in compensation after the recent devastating floods in the country and China’s Tibet region, which led to the deaths and disappearances of thousands of people.

The catastrophe, which scientists say was caused by the effects of climate change, was triggered when part of a mountain glacier collapsed and a torrent of water and mud flooded down into Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot regions, as well as into China’s Tibet region on August 26. More than 1,300 people have been confirmed dead and more than 5,000 remain missing.

“We are paying the ultimate price for a global crisis we did not create,” Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said last week.

“Support for Nepal should not be seen from an angle of aid or charity, but should be seen from the perspective of climate justice,” he told the AFP news agency.

On Monday, the country’s President Ramchandra Paudel made a similar demand during an address to the nation.

“I make a heartfelt appeal to the international community not only to listen to the voices of ecologically vulnerable countries, including Nepal, but also to take concrete and effective steps to ensure climate justice for them,” he said.

Nepal’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Environment have written a joint letter to the United Nations, which set up a fund to respond to loss and damage caused by climate change in 2022 in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate, with a request for $20m in damages.

The UN’s Loss and Damage Fund is, however, facing a $2.8bn funding gap as it prepares to approve its first climate recovery projects.

‘Collective frustration’

Nepal’s leaders may have a point.

Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and generates most of its electricity from renewable sources of energy. Yet its geographical location in the Himalayas makes it particularly vulnerable to severe climate and weather events.

Last month’s catastrophic flooding in the country comes against a backdrop of rapid global warming and glacial loss across the Himalayas.

Glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountain range – which spans Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan – lost ice 65 percent faster between 2011 and 2020 than during the previous decade.

Nepal’s glaciers, which are sandwiched between two major carbon emitters – India and China – have lost close to one-third of their ice volume in roughly three decades due to global warming, the United Nations said in 2023.

Tanuja Pandey, a Nepal-based climate activist and lawyer, said there is collective frustration behind Nepal’s demand for climate justice.

“People here feel the world often pays attention to Nepal only when a climate disaster becomes impossible to ignore. It is deeply painful to people here that global attention intensifies when headlines report thousands of people dead or missing and in the end, their suffering does not generate any urgency to fight climate change,” she told Al Jazeera.

Shreya KC, a 28-year-old Nepali climate activist, said there is profound anger and sadness among people in Nepal who say that they must no longer continue to suffer the impact of climate change, which, as they see it, other countries are responsible for.

“My hometown is in Solukhumbu in eastern Nepal,” the activist told Al Jazeera. “It is a district of mountains and is also home to the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, and my home is also downstream. After the glacial collapse happened two weeks ago, people in my region have realised that this can now happen anywhere in Nepal since the Himalayas are warming and glaciers are melting faster.”

While Nepal has been actively fighting climate change, Shreya KC said she herself has been involved in projects in the country that focus on clean hydropower generation, forestry and other such climate advocacy programmes.

“Because of other countries,” she said, “today Nepalis are the ones most impacted by climate change. So people want justice.”

Is there such a thing as ‘climate justice’?

According to preliminary estimates from Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the country’s property, housing and infrastructure losses in the floods amount to some $2.56bn.

But claiming compensation under a notion of “climate justice” won’t be straightforward, according to Joyeeta Gupta, a professor of Environment and Development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam.

According to the United Nations, “‘climate justice’ is the moral and ethical principle that seeks to address the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities and future generations”.

“I define it as a system of justice where others’ perspectives are taken into account, and no harm is caused to others,” Gupta told Al Jazeera.

Nepal is a country that has very low emissions, she said, but is facing the brunt of climate issues which it never created. “That is reason enough for Nepal to claim climate justice,” she noted.

But, practically speaking, can it? In the pre-1990 period, there was a lot of discussion among nations about the need for large emitters to compensate those that would be harmed, Gupta noted. But soon after that, the term “compensation” disappeared from the agenda of international climate treaties, which turned more to discussions about providing assistance to developing countries that need to tackle climate change instead.

In a July 2025 advisory opinion on climate change, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that “all nations have binding legal duties under international law to prevent significant climate harm”.

The ICJ’s advisory opinion on climate change also says that states breaching their international climate obligations can be required to make full reparations, including financial compensation to “injured states” or countries impacted by climate change caused by the actions of other countries.

While the ICJ’s opinion is not legally binding, Gupta said, it is a statement in international law that could support Nepal’s government’s international appeal for climate justice and compensation.

‘No climate justice without internal justice’

Nepal’s rapper-turned-prime minister, Balendra Shah, is scheduled to travel to New York on September 22 to address the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 24. His country’s appeal for climate justice is expected to be a key part of his address.

For climate activist Shreya KC, while UN meetings and international conferences on climate change may hold some weight when it comes to discussing climate disasters, right now, what Nepal needs is money.

“So much of our money allotted for healthcare, education and to transition into a more developed nation is now being spent on fighting climate change. So countries who are causing emissions, especially from the global north, need to commit more money to the UN’s Loss and Damage Fund,” she said, adding that money from that fund should be disbursed to vulnerable communities in need, not as a loan but as compensation for bearing the brunt of climate change.

Pandey noted that this is not the first time a climate disaster has occurred in Nepal and said that the new government, which came into power in March this year on the back of Nepal’s Gen Z protests last year, has also failed to make climate a priority in its budget.

While it is a good sign that Nepali politicians are appealing for international climate justice, she said, they also need to address the country’s internal development model to fight climate change in the first place.

“There is no climate justice without internal justice within the country itself,” she said.

“I hope that even in our development, partners and investors stop treating climate resilience as an optional addition to development in Nepal just because we are economically vulnerable.

“Investing in Nepal without investing in sustainability is simply a bad investment.”

On Monday, Nepal declared a national day of mourning to remember the more than 1,300 people who are known to have died in last month’s catastrophic floods. Thousands more are still missing.

The country’s President Paudel used the opportunity to call on people to unite.

“This is not a time for division. Nor is it a time to blame one another or become entangled in political disputes and confrontation,” he said.

“This is a time to demonstrate national unity and solidarity. It is also a time for reconstruction, rehabilitation and economic recovery.”

But Gupta says Nepal’s biggest challenge right now is establishing a precedent for compensation for climate change-related disasters.

“It was recently a glacial collapse in the country, but soon, it will become a bigger issue as time goes on because the monsoon patterns will change, the sea level will rise,” she said.

As many other developing countries – notably island states that face being submerged altogether – are also likely facing similar climate change challenges, the damage could become huge.

“That is going to be a very big reason why many rich countries will probably be unwilling to pay compensation, because that would set a precedent for future issues,” Gupta said.

“But the issues countries like Nepal are facing are a very strong argument to try and convince the whole world to accelerate action to phase out fossil fuels and fight climate change.”

WET weather may be on the way, but that doesn’t mean family fun has to stop.

Across the country are plenty of new indoor soft play attractions that will keep the kids entertained – even when it’s raining outside.

Geo-Play, Prestatyn

Over in the Welsh town of Prestatyn, a new soft play centre for babies, toddlers and children has just opened.

Called Geo-Play, it has colourful obstacles, slides, tunnels and places to climb.

Inside its Dragon’s Magical Sensory Cave children will be able to play amongst lots of lighting with cosy cushions, mirrors and projections on the walls.

Parts of the soft play look like a lighthouse – inspired by Prestatyn’s seaside location.

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Letherhead Leisure Centre, Surrey

Opening in just a few days’ time will be a new soft play centre in Leatherhead.

On September 6, children up to 10 years old will be able to explore a brand-new adventure play area with three slides, ball pools, climbing area, and interactive elements.

There’s a separate area for those under two; it will have a mini play frame, toddler slide, ball pool and activities for younger kids.

Parents can watch on at one of the tables surrounding the soft play and get drinks and snacks from the on-site café.

Epicland UK, Trafford

Epicland opened in July on the upper floor of Partington Shopping Centre in Trafford.

It has two soft play sections – one for twos and under and another for children aged three to nine years.

Inside is a light up racing slide and a light up warp slide along with role play areas and a ball pit.

It also has sand play, craft areas, role play and little trampolines – there’s also a mini climbing wall and a racing track with little cars.

Derby Way, Bury

This soft play may not open for a while as plans have only just been submitted to transform a former car showroom in Bury.

It will transform from its vacant unit into a new children’s indoor activity park for children aged 0 to 11.

Planning documents reveal the indoor play centre would feature soft play areas, seating, party rooms, and a café.

Customers would be able to book two hour play slots, which would start in 30 minute intervals.

Fun Parx, Banbury

This centre coming to Banbury has a bit more than soft play with Ninja obstacle courses and super slides.

Fun Parx has enormous Inflatable Monster Course where kids can race each other to the end.

Of course, for smaller kid, s here is a soft play called Critter Castle with its own ball pit, slides and turret to climb.

For gamers, there will be a retro arcade with throwback games, and the on-site cafe will serve up pizza, fries, hot dogs and soft drinks.

It was set an opening time of ‘summer 2026′, so is likely to open soon.

Sprouts Play Barn, Abingdon

Known as being a large, farm-themed indoor and outdoor soft play centre – Sprouts Play Barn has plenty to shout about.

It has a four- lane cow slide, tunnel slide, farmer’ s market role-play, a floor piano, sports court and a designated area for unde5s’s

In July work began on a new play area for even younger children.

Called ‘Crawlers & Cruisers’ it will be a soft play zone designed specifically for babies and toddlers who are not yet walking.

It’s set to open in December or January 2027.

Yellow weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office as heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast to break out over parts of the UK later this week.

The warnings span Wednesday and Thursday and include parts of east Wales, the Midlands, northern England, East Anglia and southern England – including London.

It is likely to be the one of the most widespread outbreaks of heavy rain across southern and central parts of the UK this summer.

While good news for regions plagued by drought, significant accumulations could lead to flash flooding where the ground is too dry and hard to absorb the downpours. Lightning, large hail and gusty winds are also possible.

A spate of ‘extreme weather’ in Ibiza has left many locals and tourists experiencing heavy rainfall, flooding and strong winds – and some are now worried about their flights home

A mum who booked a trip to Ibiza is having regrets after a spate of “extreme weather” has left her worried her “flight may be delayed”. Ibiza is widely regarded as the party capital of the world, with images of vibrant clubs packed with keen revellers moving to beats spun by world famous DJs most often coming to mind when hearing its name.

But that’s not all it’s known for – its pristine, serene beaches offer a breathtaking retreat for those craving a spot of relaxation; hikers are spoiled for choice with rugged yet scenic cliffs, coastal paths, pine forests and other dramatic areas; while the UNESCO-listed walled old town of Dalt Vila is a haven for history lovers; with plenty more on offer too.

It’s no surprise then that the destination is a top choice for a wide range of holidays, with its usually hot summers and mild, gentle winters making it a decent getaway destination all year round.

This August, however, is a different story entirely. A sudden change in sea levels has led to flooding, heavy rainfall and strong winds.

There’s been reports of locals and tourists alike bolting from Platja de s’Arenal beach, which can be found in the town of Sant Antoni de Portmany, while an event planned to honour the music of a Spanish rock band was cancelled by San Antonio Town Hall “for security reasons”, after the stage was surrounded by sea water.

The flooding followed previous warnings from weather chiefs on the threat of ‘mini tsunamis’ – or rissagas, as they’re known locally – due to hit parts of the Balearic Islands at the beginning of the week.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reported: “Mallorca experienced two minor ‘rissagas’, also known as meteotsunamis, in the ports of Andratx and Soller on Monday, as the Balearic Islands remained under watch for sudden sea level changes.”

How have holidaymakers fared?

Many visitors to Ibiza have shared their experiences of the “extreme weather” online. One mum captured footage of the pool area around her hotel, with winds whipping the palm trees and the cushions strapped to the sun loungers, and shared it to TikTok.

In text written over the top of the clip, the mum penned: “Go to Ibiza in August they said!!!” while in the caption, she added: “Think our flight may be delayed!”

In the comments section, fellow TikTok users were keen to share their thoughts. One person said: “I went in August and it was so sunny and hot 33 degrees.”

Another shared: “Mate last year we were caught in the worst storm’s Ibiza’s had in decades.”

A third said: “We are doing 12 hours in Ibiza with no hotel THIS SATURDAY.”

To which, the mum replied: “Saturday will be beautiful I’m sure! Don’t worry, it’s very rarely like this!”

But someone else said: “Everyone knows around this time of year there is a chance for extreme weather.”

And another agreed: “It rains every year by this time so it’s nothing new and won’t stop anything either.”

Another Ibiza-holidaymaker shared a light-hearted clip mocking herself after sharing envious clips of her getaway before being “humbled” by the torrential downpour.

In the caption, she explained: “Yesterday: ‘Basically, I’m in Ibiza… and you’re not.’

“Today: Ibiza humbled me. We held out under that umbrella for FAR longer than was sensible before admitting defeat!”

Aug. 23 (UPI) — China’s space agency on Sunday postponed the launch of an ambitious mission to search the south pole of the moon for ice due to poor weather.

The robotic lunar probe Chang’e-7 had been slated to take off on Sunday night but failed to meet launch conditions, the China Manned Space Agency said.

The agency added an “assessment was conducted following the principle of prudence, reliability and absolute mission success,” Xinhua reported.

The main reason for the delay was poor weather due to Tropical Depression Narra in the Gulf of Tonkin, Space.com reported.

Officials had at first pushed the launch back by a day, the news outlet reported. Now, it is unclear when the launch will happen.

The Chang’e-7 mission would have been the first in history to probe ice on the moon’s south pole.

“It looks like an incredibly capable and ambitious mission with multiple scientific components on the orbiter, lander, rover and hopper,” Katherine Joy, a professor at the University of Manchester, told SpaceNews. “There is a potential for a huge science return if the mission can successfully land at its intended landing site close to Shackleton crater.”

Joy, who studies lunar and planetary science, added the mission would represent “a really important step for understanding the future human exploration potential of the south pole of the moon, and for investigating the origins of lunar volatiles.”

For the second week in a row, Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island, faces threats from an intensifying storm.

Tropical Storm Moke is grinding towards Hawaii, bringing gusts of wind and heavy rain only a week after the islands faced similar conditions from Hurricane Lala.

On Saturday, Hawaii residents prepared for the latest storm, which is expected to pass south of Hawaii Island, the largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, overnight and into the following morning.

As of 11am Hawaii Standard Time (21:00 GMT), Moke was located about 684 kilometres, or 425 miles, south of Hilo, a city on the eastern coast of Hawaii Island. It was moving west-northwest at 19km/h (12mph).

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the United States reported that the storm’s maximum sustained winds were about 85km/h (50mph).

Moke, like Lala, is forecast to spare the Big Island a potentially disastrous direct hit. But the island is still recovering from Lala, a Category 1 storm that spurred heavy flooding and power outages.

At least one person died in last weekend’s storm.

Lala came close enough to Hawaii Island to dump more than 1,000mm (39 inches) of rain in some locations, causing rivers to burst their banks.

High winds also bent tall palm trees and downed electrical lines, forcing nearly 130,000 utility customers to lose power.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green and other state officials have urged people to prepare for Moke by restocking food, medicine and other daily essentials ahead of the storm’s passage.

“It could certainly have a big impact because we’ve already been hit hard,” Green said in a video statement. “We’re pre-positioning all kinds of additional equipment and people. I’ve also authorised 100 rooms, hotel rooms, for people to go to, in case they don’t have enough services or protection, safety.”

Green added that, while power had been restored to most of Hawaii Island after Lala, some remote areas were still experiencing outages. Power is expected to be fully restored by September 8.

After passing Hawaii Island during the night, Moke is projected to continue on a westward path near the islands through early Tuesday, according to Casey Oswant, a meteorologist with the Honolulu office of the US National Weather Service.

“There will still be impacts, especially to the windward and southeast sides of the Big Island, but it will probably be a little bit more limited than what we saw with Lala,” Oswant said.

The National Hurricane Center projects that Moke will bring roughly 130mm to 250mm (5 to 10 inches) of rainfall over the next two days on the southeast and windward sides of the Big Island. Some isolated areas could see as much as 380mm (15 inches).

Eastern Maui, meanwhile, is likely to receive 76mm to 150mm (3 to 6 inches), with smaller amounts of precipitation expected across the rest of the island chain.

Governor Green warned that the heavy rain is unlikely to end with Moke.

“Everyone be very careful,” he said. “This storm will be followed by another storm front about a week later, and we continue to see the impacts of these major weather fronts that have hit Hawaii.”

The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival announced Friday that it will take a “much-needed year off in 2027” to recuperate from back-to-back years of storms.

“This wasn’t an easy decision, and not one we take lightly, but in our hearts, we know this break will only make Bonnaroo better,” organizers of the Manchester, Tenn., festival wrote on Instagram. “We hope you’ll continue radiating positivity in your community throughout the year, and thank you for loving this festival as much as we do.”

Bonnaroo did not announce a return date.

Typically, after a four-day festival ends, dates of the next year’s festival are announced immediately. But when organizers went quiet after the 2026 installment came to a close in June, fans sensed something was amiss.

Previous years have also seen cancellations. The 2020 festival was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following year, the fest was moved to September, but Hurricane Ida forced promoters to cancel after heavy rain turned the Farm — the festival’s venue — into a muddy mess.

In 2025, the music and arts festival started on time, but heavy rains forced promoters to scrap it before the end of the weekend.

As a result, Bonnaroo invested in improving the Farm to prepare for the 2026 festival by fixing its drainage, adding 4.5 miles of new roadways and planting 135 acres of new grass, according to the Instagram post.

Festivals around the country have had to deal with unpredictable and dangerous weather throughout the years. Earlier this year, Stagecoach in Indio, Calif., was forced to temporarily pause the festival and evacuate fans due to strong winds. Thousands of people were stranded at the Burning Man festival in 2023 in the Black Rock Desert of northwestern Nevada after heavy rain made it hard to leave the grounds due to the ankle-deep mud sticking to the tires of vehicles.

Met Office predicts ‘unprecedented’ sea surface temperature rise of 3C (5.4F) plus will heighten extreme weather risks.

The impact of this year’s El Nino event is expected to be the most intense in more than a century, United Kingdom forecasters have warned.

The effect of the event will drive the risk of drought, high temperatures, intense rainfall and other extreme weather effects, the Met Office said in a statement issued on Friday.

Typically, El Nino leads sea surface temperatures to rise between 1-2 degrees Celsius (1.8-3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). However, forecasts for the 2026 version predict record values of more than 3C (5.4F) in the coming months, the forecasters said.

“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” said Adam Scaife, head of the office’s long-range forecasting. “I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”

If the spike plays out as anticipated, “then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Nino and its worldwide climate influences”, he added.

The chief forecaster separately told the BBC that the three-degree rise was “unheard-of in modern climate records”.

El Nino is triggered by unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, influencing global weather patterns.

Governments around the world are already grappling with historic climate events so far this year.

Wildfires have burned through more than 200,000 hectares (494,200 acres) in Indonesia and rampaged across southwestern Europe, forcing the displacement of at least 325,000 people in Spain and France. Other countries are dealing with severe droughts.

The Met Office said El Nino will spawn wetter, stormier conditions in northwestern Europe, including the UK, as autumn and winter arrive in the Northern Hemisphere.

Particularly strong effects are expected throughout the Tropics, Scaife said, “where we expect really severe droughts in places like South America, and the West Pacific”.

In mid-August, the UK recorded its hottest day of the year as the temperature in west London climbed to 38.1C (100.5F), beating the previous high of 38C (100.4F) in June.

Combined with the effects of human-induced climate change, the Met Office warned that the event is “very likely” to make 2027 the hottest year on record globally.

The El Nino weather phenomenon is expected to increase the likelihood of drought and excess heat across the region.

The Panama Canal is expected to limit traffic starting in early September, as it prepares for lower water levels due to the El Nino weather phenomenon.

On Thursday, the Panama Canal Authority, the body that oversees the waterway, announced that daily transit caps would be set to address concerns about the drier weather conditions ahead.

Under the new measures, 34 vessels will be permitted to sail through the canal as of September 4. A further reduction will start on September 15, when the limit will be 32 ships.

The travel restrictions are a reversal for the Panama Canal Authority. Officials told the news service Reuters in May that they had no plans to limit crossings this year, citing water conservation measures imposed last year.

The canal, which handles about 5 percent of global maritime trade, usually has capacity to accommodate about 40 vessels per day.  Since June, it has seen a daily average of 35 transits.

Any significant decrease in travel through the canal is likely to translate into slower international shipping for industries that rely on the waterway. That, in turn, could increase costs.

A severe drought in 2023, for instance, cut traffic through the Panama Canal by roughly 36 percent, leading to disruptions in global supply chains.

The declining water levels that year were also attributed to El Nino, as well as climate change accelerated by human activities.

El Nino is a naturally occurring weather phenomenon that takes place every two to seven years, when the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean is warmer than usual.

The resulting weather patterns can have an impact across the region and even globally, putting some areas at risk of excessive heat and drought, while others suffer from flooding

Scientists expect a particularly strong El Nino in the coming months, potentially among the strongest on record. That could lead to an increase in cases of extreme weather events.

Panama Canal authorities have previously imposed vessel limits in order to conserve water.

The canal relies on a lock system that lifts and lowers vessels as they travel from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and vice versa.

But the canal is fed, in part, by freshwater from nearby lakes and reservoirs, most notably Gatun Lake.

Panamanians rely on that lake as well to supply drinking water to nearby cities, including the capital Panama City, putting additional strain on the waterway during times of drought.

Spanish authorities issued a new alert on Tuesday morning

Officials in Spain have issued a ‘caution’ warning as temperatures are set to soar again from today (Tuesday). The European nation, which is a firm favourite with Brits heading abroad, has endured a number of devastating wildfires this year so far, amid a number of heatwaves.

In a new update issued on Tuesday, Spain’s national weather agency AEMET warned: “Fire danger increases this Tuesday due to the rise in temperatures.”

The social media post, which has been translated from Spanish, continues: “Wednesday will be very high or extreme in much of the Peninsula and Balearic Islands, especially in the Mediterranean area due to the arrival of very dry and overheated westerly winds. Caution!”

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) urges Brits who are in or who will soon be heading to Spain to visit Spain’s Civil Protection website for information on what to do in the event of a wildfire.

FCDO guidance adds: “Immediately report any fire you see to the emergency services on 112. In the case of wildfires, the situation can change quickly, so you should stay up to date with official advice.”

Predicted fire hazard levels are “very high” across much of mainland Spain and the Balearic islands today and tomorrow – Tuesday, August 18 and Wednesday, August 19. NHS advice for staying safe during hot weather, which the FCDO signposts those heading to Spain to, suggests that individuals follow a four hour rule.

Holidaymakers are advised to reduce heat exposure and remain indoors where possible – particularly for the four hours between 11am and 3pm – typically the warmest period of the day. You should also use sunscreen, wear a hat and light clothing, and seek out shade where feasible.