Some Extreme Events of Weather, Climate and Related Phenomena in 2009

Dozens of people died from the severe winter weather with cold temperatures and heavy snow in the western and central Europe at the beginning of 2009. Hundreds of people died from the wildfires caused by the heat wave and drought in summer in Australia. Tropical cyclone Ketsana struck Philippines and Vietnam in September, and 5 million people were affected by the storm. Hurricanes Ida brought widespread floods across the Americas and affected 200 thousand people in Novemeber. Most parts of mid-high latitude region in the Northern Hemisphere experienced the extreme cold temperature and set the earlier snowfall records during the period of autumn to winter. In China, the destroyed typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan; severe and exceptional drought conditions were present in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia in spring and in southern China in autumn. Strong storm brought severe wind, thunders and lightning across seven provinces of China in November. The year 2009 is nominally ranked as the fifth warmest year within instrumental climate records since 1985. Extreme events of weather and climate happened frequently in the world this year.