Unprecedented flooding has left dozens dead in Slovenia and China, and as rescue teams struggle to extinguish wildfires in Canada and Portugal, the US state of Alaska declared a state of "emergency" following the collapse of an ice dam.
Extreme weather events and prolonged heat waves have affected millions of people around the world in recent weeks, at a time when scientists confirm that these natural phenomena have been exacerbated by climate change.
In China, 14 people died over the weekend in the Chinese city of Chulan due to flooding caused by Typhoon Doxuri.
Northeast China, Beijing and Hebei province have seen heavy rains and flooding since Typhoon Doxuri made landfall in southern Fujian province two weeks ago.
The deaths in Chulan in the northeastern province of Jilin come after more than 20 people were killed last week in Beijing and Hebei. Authorities have yet to release the death toll across the country.
Three of the officials were among the dead in Chulan, including the city's deputy mayor, state media said on Sunday.
Local authorities said water in some sectors of the Songhua River (the main river in northeast China) and the Ningyang tributary remained at dangerously high levels.
CCTV said efforts were continuing to restore power in northeast China's Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces.
Europe floods
In Europe, the death toll from unprecedented floods in Slovenia has risen to 6, while clean-up operations continued with the help of European countries, police said on Monday.
Heavy rains since Thursday have plunged much of the country's centre and northeast into the "worst natural disaster" since Slovenia's independence in 1991, Prime Minister Robert Golub said.
In Austria, a woman died after falling into the flooded Glan River in the southern village of Sölfeld, witnesses said, and her body was later found.
Also of concern is rising water levels along the Mora River, also known as the Moor, which is about 450 kilometres long, a river that forms in Austria before flowing into Slovenia.
Europe has been witnessing heavy rains for days that have led to flooding that has caused extensive damage and forced evacuations in Slovenia, Austria, Poland and Croatia.
Fires in Portugal and Canada
In Portugal, more than a thousand firefighters were trying on Sunday to battle a forest fire in central Portugal, with officials warning that thousands of hectares were at risk as temperatures soared across the country.
About 7,20 hectares were burned near Castillo Branco, fire chief Jose Gulherme told reporters in Porença Nova, but warned that "the potential risk of this fire is estimated at more than <>,<> hectares."
"This is a very large area with many isolated houses and villages," he said, noting that the flames spread for about 60 kilometres.
Portugal, which suffered an exceptionally early heatwave in the spring, is on the front line in the face of climate change and its consequences.
In Canada, Leighton residents fled their homes again amid unprecedented fires in British Columbia.
Canadian authorities have ordered about 800 residents in the province to leave their homes.
District official Nyakia Hannah told Reuters that by Sunday, the blaze, which spiraled out of control 300 meters from a reserve and stretched down a steep slope, hampered firefighting efforts.
Canada is experiencing an unprecedented season of bushfires, resulting in more than 100,4 square kilometers of scalable area of fire, which is estimated to be <> times the average area of a fire during the bushfire season.
Alarm in Spain and Greece
In Spain, the provinces of Andalusia (south), Castilla-La Mancha (center) and Extremadura (west) were put on orange alert, with temperatures reaching 43 degrees Celsius on Monday, according to the National Meteorological Agency.
The new heatwave comes on the heels of a tough weekend for Spanish firefighters, who battled fires on 3 fronts.
In Catalonia (northeast) on the Mediterranean coast bordering France, firefighters said on Monday morning they had "brought under control" a fire that broke out on Friday and destroyed about 600 hectares.
The other two fires, which are under control, affected about 450 hectares in Huelva province on Saturday and Sunday, and the other broke out less than 10 kilometres from the city of Cádiz on Sunday afternoon.
More than 70,2022 hectares have burned in Spain since the beginning of the year, a figure that is still far from the 300 record that saw more than <>,<> hectares wiped out, according to the European Wildfire Information System (IVIS).
The situation in Greece was no different, with authorities on Monday again warning of the possibility of fires and urging citizens to be vigilant with the burning flames and sparks.
The fire brigade said in a tweet that there is a "very high" risk of fires in the Attica area around the capital Athens, as well as in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula and in the west of Crete, due to high winds that are expected to hit many parts of the country this week.
Emergency in Alaska
In the United States, the state of Alaska declared a state of emergency following the collapse of an ice dam, while authorities began evacuations of residents of the area.
Local media quoted state officials as saying record-breaking river flooding destroyed at least two buildings in Alaska's Juneau area.
City officials also declared a local state of emergency, as flooding caused instability on the banks of the Mendenhal River and blocked some roads with mud and debris.
Children of Asia
The United Nations warned Monday that 3 quarters of children in South Asia are at risk of higher temperatures rising worldwide as the impact of climate change grows.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said some 460 million children are exposed to extreme heat in South Asia, or 76 percent of children, compared to a third globally.
"As global temperatures rise, the data clearly shows that the threat to the lives and well-being of millions of children across South Asia is being exacerbated by heatwaves and rising temperatures," said UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia Sanjay Wijescera.
The United Nations has warned that children in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives and Pakistan face "very high risks" from the effects of climate change, with temperatures that are extremely high for 83 days or more a year exceeding 35 degrees Celsius.
Children cannot adapt quickly to changing temperatures or get rid of excess heat in their bodies.
The Earth has warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius since the late nineteenth century as a result of the burning of fossil fuels, making heat waves hotter for longer periods and more frequently, as well as intensifying extreme weather variability such as storms and heavy rainfall.
July was the hottest on record in the world, with temperatures soaring due to warming that has affected millions in parts of Europe, Asia and North America.
Scientists say the world will need to adapt to heat and other emission impacts, and that carbon pollution must be drastically reduced during this decade to avoid worse things to come.