The city of Bangkok has been inundated after a massive low pressure system encompassing North, Central and East Thailand produced heavy rainfall and widespread flooding last Thursday morning.
The district of Wang Thong Lang was hit the hardest with 169mm of rain, making it the heaviest rainfall event in the province over the last decade, while 90-130mm of rain fell across the city on average. Twenty three major roads, including Lat Phrao and Ratchada, were under more than 20cm of water, causing rush hour chaos.
In contrast, in eastern Russia and Siberia, a federal state of emergency has been declared as wildfires have been breaking out, destroying more than 8,000 hectares of land. The dry, hot weather together with strong winds encouraged the fires to spread ferociously, killing two people.
Tornado season is well underway in the US, with just shy of 200 tornadoes already observed this May. Last Tuesday and Wednesday saw severe thunderstorms affecting central and eastern US, from Texas to as far east as the Carolinas, with extensive damage and flooding from strong tornadic winds and locally heavy rainfall.
The thunderstorms were triggered by a combination of cold air tracking eastwards, colliding with warm, humid air pushing up from the south. On Wednesday, an EF2 tornado touched down in Yadkinville, North Carolina, uprooting trees, damaging many properties, including an elementary school, and injuring one person. A total of 36 tornadoes were reported over these two days.
