Australia's weather went "on steroids" over a summer that saw an unprecedented heatwave, bushfires and floods, the climate chief said Monday, warning that global warming would only make things worse.
Scientists said Monday they have identified a physical mechanism behind the extreme weather that has plagued many parts of the world in recent years -- and that it is tied to climate change.
Australian authorities urged the evacuation of parts of the resource-rich northwest Tuesday as a powerful cyclone whipped up huge seas, while a man died in heavy flooding in the northeast.
A man was missing in raging floodwaters and hundreds of homes were evacuated in northeastern Australia as storms pelted Queensland state Sunday, with the army put on standby as the weather worsened.
Heavy snowfall hit large parts of France on Sunday, putting Paris under a picturesque blanket of white stuff but causing major disruptions to air, road and rail transport.
Traffic at Germany's Frankfurt airport came to a complete standstill Sunday, with all flights cancelled for several hours, as freezing rain lashed the runways and created ice problems for the aircraft.
Australia's extreme summer heatwave, which caused devastating bushfires and saw temperature forecasts go off the scale, is part of a global warming trend.
Heavy snow that blanketed eastern Japan over the holiday weekend left one man dead and injured 900 others, as Tokyo commuters Tuesday took to the slippery streets.