Climate & Environment in the 21st century

286 sourced entries, 2000 CE to 2025 CE, oldest first. Also see Climate & Environment across every century or everything else in the 21st century.

• 2000January 1 – The year 2000 problem, a time formatting and storage bug, takes effect, but is successfully mitigated in many cases.source
• 2000February 9 – Torrential rains in Africa led to the worst flooding in Mozambique in 50 years, which lasts until March and kills 800 people.source
• 2000May 4 – The 7.6 Central Sulawesi earthquake affects Banggai, Indonesia, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), leaving 46 dead and 264 injured.source
• 2000June 4 – The 7.9 Enggano earthquake shakes southwestern Sumatra, killing 103 people and injuring at least 2,174.source
• 2000June 17 – A centennial earthquake (6.5 on the Richter scale) hits Iceland on its national day.source
• 2000June 21 – Another earthquake hits Iceland further west than the previous quake.source
• 2000July 14 – A powerful solar flare, later named the Bastille Day event, causes a geomagnetic storm on Earth.source
• 2000September 6–8 – World leaders attend the Millennium Summit at U.N. Headquarters.source
• 2000September 20 – The 2000 Xenia Tornado leaves 100 people injured, one person dead and 321+ houses destroyed.source
• 2000October 3 – Approximate start of Autumn 2000 Western Europe floods (particularly affecting the UK), precipitated by days of heavy rain.source
• 2000December 23 - In the 2000 Serbian parliamentary election an alliance of reformist parties achieves a landslide victory over the nationalists, paving the way for a government under Zoran Đinđić.source
• 2001January 13 – A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hits El Salvador, killing at least 944 people and causing massive landslides, which leaves thousands of those affected homeless.source
• 2001January 26 – A 7.7 Gujarat earthquake shakes Western India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving thousands of people dead and more than 166,000 others injured.source
• 2001February 13 – A 6.6-magnitude earthquake hits El Salvador, killing at least 315 people.source
• 2001June 5 – Tropical Storm Allison hits the U.S. state of Texas, severely flooding Houston and killing 23 people.source
• 2001June 7 – 2001 United Kingdom general election: Tony Blair and the Labour Party win a second landslide victory.source
• 2001June 23 – An 8.4 southern Peru earthquake shakes coastal Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami follows, leaving at least 77 people dead, and 2,687 others injured.source
• 2001October 8 – Hurricane Iris hits Belize, causing $250 million (2001 USD) in damage.source
• 2001November 4 – Hurricane Michelle hits Cuba, where the storm is the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall on the island in more than 49 years. It is the costliest hurricane in Cuban history to this point with an estimated $2 billion in damage.source
• 2001November 14 – A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes China with an epicenter near Kokoxili, but it occurs in a sparsely populated mountainous region and there are no casualties.source
• 2001December 19 – A record-high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Zavkhan, Mongolia.source
• 2001December 27 – Tropical Storm Vamei forms within 1.5 degrees of the equator. No other tropical cyclone in recorded history has come as close to the equator.source
• 2002January 17 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.source
• 2002February 3 – 2002 Afyon earthquake: A 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Afyonkarahisar Province, Turkey, killing 41 people and damaging thousands of buildings.source
• 2002March 25 – 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes: A 6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Nahrin, Afghanistan, killing 800 people and leaving 10,000 homeless.source
• 2002June 22 – 2002 Bou'in-Zahra earthquake: A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes north-western Iran, killing over 200 people.source
• 2002August 22–September 4 – Typhoon Rusa, the most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in 43 years, makes landfall, killing at least 236 people.source
• 2002September 14–27 – Hurricane Isidore crosses Cuba, the Yucatán Peninsula, and Louisiana.source
• 2002September 21–October 4 – Hurricane Lili crosses Cuba and several other Caribbean islands before making landfall in Louisiana.source
• 2002November 3 – 2002 Denali earthquake: A 7.9 magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest North American earthquakes recorded, occurs in Alaska.source
• 2003January 23 – NASA loses contact with the Pioneer 10 probe after nearly 31 years.source
• 2003February 24 – 2003 Bachu earthquake: A 6.8 earthquake strikes in Xinjiang, killing 257 people.source
• 2003April 20 – Tropical Storm Ana becomes the first recorded North Atlantic tropical storm to occur in April.source
• 2003May 1 – 2003 Bingöl earthquake: A 6.4 earthquake strikes in Bingöl, Turkey, killing 177 people.source
• 2003May 11 – 2003 Sri Lanka cyclone: A cyclone makes landfall in Sri Lanka, killing 260 people and causing the country's worst natural disaster in 50 years.source
• 2003May 21 – 2003 Boumerdès earthquake: a 6.8 earthquake strikes in Algeria, killing over 2,200 people.source
• 2003July–August – 2003 European heat wave: Europe experiences its hottest summer in over five centuries.source
• 2003September 2 – Typhoon Dujuan makes landfall in Guangdong as a category 1 typhoon with sustained winds of 90 mph.source
• 2003September 5 – Hurricane Fabian strikes Bermuda.source
• 2003September 12 – Typhoon Maemi, makes landfall in South Korea as a category 3 typhoon with sustained winds of 125 mph.source
• 2003September 18 – Hurricane Isabel makes landfall in North Carolina.source
• 2003September 26 – The 8.3 Tokachi earthquake occurs off the coast of Hokkaido.source
• 2003September 29 – Hurricane Kate first reaches hurricane status.source
• 2003December 26 – The 6.6 Bam earthquake occurs in Iran.source
• 2004August 7–13 – Typhoon Rananim causes widespread destruction as it strikes China.source
• 2004September 4 – In the AFL finals, Essendon defeated Melbourne by five points (15.14.104 - 15.9.99) in the elimination final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The victory would prove to be Essendon's most recent finals win, beginning a finals drought that would extend for more than two decades.source
• 2004November 14–26 – Typhoon Muifa kills 600 people in the Philippines.source
• 2004November 29–December 3 – Typhoon Nanmadol kills 775 people in the Philippines.source
• 2004December 26 – The 9.1–9.3 Indian Ocean earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). One of the largest observed tsunamis follows, affecting coastal areas of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Somalia, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, killing 227,000 people.source
• 2005March 28 – The 8.6 Nias–Simeulue earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), leaving 915–1,314 people dead and 340–1,146 injured.source
• 2005August 29 – Hurricane Katrina makes landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast, causing severe damage, killing over a thousand people and causing an estimated $108 billion in damage.source
• 2005October 8 – The 7.6 Kashmir earthquake strikes Azad Kashmir, Pakistan and nearby areas with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing more than 86,000 people and displacing several million more.source
• 2005October 24 – Hurricane Wilma, the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, makes landfall near Cape Romano, causing an estimated $29.1 billion in damage.source
• 2006May 27 – The 6.4 Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java in Indonesia with an MSK intensity of IX (Destructive), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.source
• 2006September 4 — Australian conservationist Steve Irwin is fatally stung in the heart by a stingray while filming an underwater documentary.source
• 2006September 28 – Typhoon Xangsane passed Manila on its way to causing more than 300 deaths, mostly in the Philippines and Vietnam.source
• 2007February 2 – The IPCC publishes its fourth assessment report, having concluded that global climate change is "very likely" to have a predominantly human cause.source
• 2007February 13 – North Korea agrees to shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon by April 14 as a first step towards complete denuclearization, receiving in return energy aid equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.source
• 2007May 4 – The 2007 Greensburg tornado moves through Kiowa County, Kansas, United States, striking the town of Greensburg and killing eleven residents. 95% of the town was destroyed, and the tornado was the first to be rated EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.source
• 2007June 22 – The 2007 Ellie tornado becomes the only F5 tornado recorded under the use of the Fujita scale in Canada, reaching windspeeds up to 320 mph (510 km/h).source
• 2007June 28 – 2007 European heat wave: in the aftermath of Greece's worst heat wave in a century, at least 11 people are reported dead from heatstroke, approximately 200 wildfires break out nationwide, and the country's electricity grid nearly collapses due to record breaking demand.source
• 2007August 15 – An 8.0 earthquake strikes Peru, killing at least 519 people, injuring more than 1,300, and causing tsunami warnings in the Pacific Ocean.source
• 2007September 25 – Mount Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park in New Zealand, erupts.source
• 2007November 16 – Up to 15,000 people are believed to have been killed after Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh.source
• 2008May 3 – Cyclone Nargis passes through Myanmar, killing more than 138,000 people.source
• 2008May 12 – An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale strikes Sichuan, China, killing an estimated 87,000 people.source
• 2008June 14 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, kills 12 and injures more than 400.source
• 2008September 13 – Hurricane Ike makes landfall as a category 2 hurricane in Texas, killing 113 and causing over $30 billion in damages.source
• 2008October 30 – Floods affected in Northern Vietnam and Central Vietnam and lasted 5 days causing flooding in many provinces and cities.source
• 2008National Disaster Recovery Fund, a disaster management fund is established by the Government of Jamaica.source
• 2009April 6 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 308 and injuring more than 1,500.source
• 2009August 7 – Typhoon Morakot hits Taiwan, killing 673 and stranding more than 1,000 via the worst flooding on the island in half a century.source
• 2009September 26 – Typhoon Ketsana, PAGASA Name: Ondoy, makes landfall in The Philippines, killing hundreds in Metro Manila and flooding in Huế, Vietnam.source
• 2009September 29 – A 8.1 earthquake strikes Samoa, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), leaving at least 192 people dead.source
• 2009September 30 – A 7.6 earthquake strikes Sumatra, Indonesia, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving at least 1,115 people dead.source
• 2009October 23 – The 2009 Cataño oil refinery fire began after an explosion at the refinery in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.source
• 2010January 10 – Religious violence erupts in Jos, Nigeria, which left scores dead, and many injured.source
• 2010January 12 – A 7.0-magnitude earthquake occurs in Haiti, devastating the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince.source
• 2010February 27 – An 8.8-magnitude earthquake occurs in Chile, triggering a tsunami over the Pacific and killing at least 525. The earthquake is one of the largest in recorded history.source
• 2010April 14 – Volcanic ash from one of several eruptions beneath Mount Eyjafjallajökull, an ice cap in Iceland, begins to disrupt air traffic across northern and western Europe.source
• 2010July 13 – Microsoft ends extended support for Windows 2000.source
• 2010July 29 – Heavy monsoon rains begin to cause widespread flooding in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Over 1,600 are killed, and more than one million are displaced by the floods.source
• 2010PDVAL affair, also known as the Pudreval affair, political scandal in Venezuela where tons of rotten food supplies were found torrent, which imported during Hugo Chávez's government through subsidies of state-owned enterprise PDVAL.source
• 2010October 25 – An earthquake and consequent tsunami off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, kills over 400 people and leaves hundreds missing.source
• 2010October 26 – Repeated eruptions of Mount Merapi volcano in Central Java, Indonesia, and accompanying pyroclastic flows of scalding gas, pumice, and volcanic ash descending the erupting volcano kill 353 people and force hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate.source
• 2011February 22 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Christchurch, in what becomes New Zealand's third-deadliest natural disaster. 185 people are killed, many ESL students within the CTV Building, and the city centre and 10,000 homes are destroyed. Many foreign search and rescue workers respond to the event.source
• 2011March 11 – A 9.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east of Japan, killing 19,759 people and leaving another 2,553 missing. Tsunami warnings are issued in 50 countries and territories. Emergencies are declared at four nuclear power plants affected by the quake. As a result of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, multiple plants at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were damaged, several workers injured, and contaminants were released into the environment.source
• 2011May 11 – A 5.1 earthquake strikes southern Spain, killing 9 people and injuring over 400.source
• 2011May 21 – Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano, erupts and causes disruption to air travel in Northwestern Europe.source
• 2011May 22 – The 2011 Joplin tornado, an EF5 tornado, strikes Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people and injuring 1,150.source
• 2011May 24 – The 2011 El Reno–Piedmont tornado, an EF5 tornado, strikes El Reno and Piedmont, Oklahoma, killing 9 people and injuring 181.source
• 2011June 4 – Chile's Puyehue volcano erupts, causing air traffic cancellations across South America, New Zealand and Australia, and forcing over 3,000 people to evacuate.source
• 2011July 14–23 – Two frontal systems enter south-central Chile causing great snowfalls that leaves thousand of people isolated.source
• 2011July 20 – The United Nations declares a famine in southern Somalia, the first in over 30 years.source
• 2011July 31 – In Thailand over 12.8 million people are affected by severe flooding. The World Bank estimates damages at 1,440 billion baht (US$45 billion). Some areas are still six feet under water, and many factory areas remain closed at the end of the year. 815 people are killed, with 58 of the country's 77 provinces affected.source
• 2011September 19 – With 436 people dead, the United Nations launches a $357 million appeal for victims of the 2011 Sindh floods in Pakistan.source
• 2011October 4 – The death toll from the flooding of Cambodia's Mekong river and attendant flash floods reaches 207.source
• 2011October 18 – Dozens of exotic animals were released from their enclosures at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, Ohio resulting in the need of local law enforcement to hunt and kill 48 animals including 18 tigers, 6 black bears, 2 grizzly bears, 2 wolves, 1 macaque monkey, 1 baboon, 3 mountain lions and 17 African lions.source
• 2011October 23 – A magnitude 7.2 M w earthquake jolts eastern Turkey near the city of Van, killing over 600 people and damaging about 2,200 buildings.source
• 2011October 29 – A large snowstorm produced unusual amounts of early snowfall across the northeastern United States and the Canadian Maritimes, leaving 1.7 million people without power and disrupting travel.source
• 2011December 16 – Tropical Storm Washi causes 1,268 flash flood fatalities in the Philippines, with 85 people officially listed as missing.source
• 2012February 6 – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake strike in the central Philippines island of Negros, leaving 112 people dead.source
• 2012April 11 – An 8.6 earthquake strikes Indonesia triggering a small tsunami that hits the coast of Aceh.source
• 2012June 7 – Morley and Dianella in Perth, Western Australia, have a once in a decade tornado.source
• 2012July 23 – The Solar storm of 2012 is an unusually large coronal mass ejection emitted by the Sun which barely misses the Earth by nine days. If it had hit, it would have caused up to US$2.6 trillion in damages to electrical equipment worldwide.source
• 2012July 30–31 – In the worst power outage in world history, the 2012 India blackouts leave 620 million people without power.source
• 2012October 22 – November 2 – Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record (as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spanning 900 miles (1,400 km)), wreaks havoc, resulting in 233 total deaths and $68.7 billion (2012 USD) damage.source
• 2012November 25–December 9 – Typhoon Bopha, known as "Pablo" in the Philippines, kills at least 1,067 with around 838 people missing. The typhoon causes considerable damage in the island of Mindanao.source
• 2012December 12 – December 12 would be the last time in the 21st century that the month, day and final two digits of the year are the exact same (12/12/12). The next time this will happen will be on New Year's Day in 2101 (01/01/01).source
• 2013January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alaska earthquake: A (, 'Moderate') earthquake shakes Prince of Wales Island.source
• 2013February 10 – Severe weather spawns eight tornadoes across southern Mississippi and southwest Alabama, including an EF4 tornado which struck the city of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.source
• 2013February 15 – A meteor explodes over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, injuring 1,489–1,492 people and damaging over 4,300 buildings. It is the most powerful meteor to strike Earth's atmosphere since the 1908 Tunguska event. The incident, along with a coincidental flyby of a larger asteroid, prompts international concern regarding the vulnerability of the planet to meteor strikes.source
• 2013April 20 – 2013 Lushan earthquake: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake jolts Sichuan, China, leaving 193 people dead and more than 11,000 injured.source
• 2013May 20 – An EF5 tornado in the US state of Oklahoma hits Moore and several other surrounding areas near Oklahoma City, resulting in 24 deaths and many injuries.source
• 2013May 31 – The largest tornado ever recorded hits El Reno, United States. This rain-wrapped, multiple-vortex tornado was the widest tornado ever recorded, and results in eight deaths, including four storm-chasers. Measurements from mobile weather radars revealed extreme winds up to 296 mph (476 km/h) within the vortex, among the highest observed wind speeds on Earth. As it crosses U.S. 81, the tornado grows to a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km).source
• 2013September 8 – The 2013 Colorado floods begin, resulting from heavy rain in the Colorado River Basin.source
• 2013October 15 – A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Bohol, Philippines, leaving 222 dead, 8 missing, and 976 people injured.source
• 2013November 8 – Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record, hits the Philippines and Vietnam, causing devastation with at least 6,241 people dead.source
• 2014March 31 – The United Nations International Court of Justice rules that Japan's Antarctic whaling program is not scientific but commercial and forbids grants of further permits.source
• 2014July 18 – Typhoon Rammasun makes landfall in Hainan, China as a category 5 super typhoon, killing 88 and causing $7.14 billion in damages.source
• 2014September 27 – Mount Ontake, in Japan, erupts, killing several climbers on the slopes of the volcano.source
• 2015April 25 – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Nepal and causes 8,857 deaths in Nepal (including 19 at Everest base cammp), 130 in India, 27 in China and 4 in Bangladesh with a total of 9,018 deaths.source
• 2015May 12 – A second major earthquake in Nepal, measuring 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale, results in 153 deaths in Nepal, 62 in India, 1 in China and 2 in Bangladesh, with a total of 218 deaths.source
• 2015August 17 – A bombing takes place inside the Erawan Shrine at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Pathum Wan District, Bangkok, Thailand, killing 20 people and injuring 125.source
• 2015September 16 – An 8.4 earthquake strikes 46 km from Coquimbo (in Chile). 22 people are killed and 34 more injured.source
• 2015October 23 – Hurricane Patricia becomes the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere and the second strongest worldwide, with winds of 215 mph and a pressure of 872 mbar.source
• 2015October 26 – A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes the Hindu Kush region and causes 398 deaths, with 279 in Pakistan, 115 in Afghanistan and 4 in India.source
• 2016February 6 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 strikes southern Taiwan, killing 117 people.source
• 2016April 14–16 – A series of major earthquakes strikes southwestern Japan, killing 277 people and injuring 2,809.source
• 2016April 16 – An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 strikes northwestern Ecuador killing 676 people and injuring over 6,000. Widespread damage was caused across Manabí Province, with structures hundreds of kilometres away from the epicenter collapsing.source
• 2016August 24 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hits central Italy, killing 299 people.source
• 2016October 3 – Hurricane Matthew makes landfall in Haiti as a category 4 hurricane, killing 842 and causing $2.8 billion in damages.source
• 2016Beginning of the famine in Yemen.source
• 2017March 10 – The UN warns that the world is facing the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, with up to 20 million people at risk of starvation and famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria.source
• 2017March 14 – March 2017 North American blizzard: A major late-season blizzard affects the Northeastern United States, New England and Canada, dumping up to three feet of snow in the hardest hit areas.source
• 2017June 24 – The Goodwin Fire, a wildfire, starts in Yavapai County, Arizona near Mayer and forces evacuations of more than a hundred people.source
• 2017August 25–30 – Hurricane Harvey strikes the United States as a Category 4 hurricane, causing catastrophic damage to the Houston metropolitan area, mostly due to record-breaking floods. At least 108 deaths are recorded, and total damage reaches $125 billion (2017 USD), making Harvey the costliest natural disaster in United States history, tied with Hurricane Katrina in 2005.source
• 2017September 6 – Hurricane Irma, at peak intensity, would make the first of many powerful landfalls along the Caribbean islands and the United States. Damages would total $77.2 billion (2017 USD), and 134 would be killed by the storm.source
• 2017September 19 – Twelve days after another powerful earthquake, and on the 32nd anniversary of the deadly 1985 Mexico City earthquake, a 7.1 earthquake strikes central Mexico, killing 370, leaving up to 6,000 injured and thousands more homeless.source
• 2017September 19–20 – Just two weeks after Hurricane Irma struck the Caribbean, Hurricane Maria strikes similar areas, making landfall on Dominica as a Category 5 hurricane, and Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane. Maria caused over 3,000 deaths and damages estimated in excess of $91.6 billion (2017 USD).source
• 2017October 12 – The United States announces its decision to withdraw from UNESCO, and is immediately followed by Israel.source
• 2017November 12 – A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes the border region between Iraq and Iran leaving at least 530 dead and over 70,000 homeless.source
• 2018April 5 – Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid a slaughterhouse in Tennessee, detaining nearly 100 undocumented Hispanic workers in one of the largest immigration raids in the history of the U.S., prompting protests and federal lawsuits.source
• 2018May 3 – The 2018 lower Puna eruption causes destruction of structures and forces thousands of residents of Hawaii to evacuate as lava floods the land.source
• 2018May 25 – A constitutional referendum on whether to repeal the ban on abortion in Ireland takes place, with a landslide win of 66.4% to 33.6% for the repeal side.source
• 2018June 3 – At least 109 people are killed and hundreds wounded by the eruption of Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala's deadliest volcanic eruption in over a century.source
• 2018July 5 – The 2018 North American heat wave takes place, killing 33 people in the Canadian province of Quebec.source
• 2018July 7 – 2018 Japan floods, a torrential heavy massive rain, flash flood, landslide hit in Hiroshima, Kurashiki and Ehime Prefecture, Japan. According to Japanese government official confirmed report, 232 people were killed and 459 injured.source
• 2018July 26 – Heavy wildfires in Greece leave 102 dead and more than a hundred buildings destroyed.source
• 2018August 5 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the island of Lombok, Indonesia, killing 563 people and injuring more than a thousand people.source
• 2018August 10–20 – Heavy rainfall causes severe floods in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the worst flood to hit the state in a century.source
• 2018September 14 – Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina as a category 1 hurricane, causing record-breaking flooding, which would result in 54 fatalities and $24.2 billion (2018 USD) in damages.source
• 2018September 14–16 – Typhoon Mangkhut impacts the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, resulting in more than 60 fatalities.source
• 2018September 28 – A magnitude 7.5 earthquake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia, causing a tsunami that kills at least 4,340 people and injures more than 10,679 others.source
• 2018October 10 – Hurricane Michael makes landfall at Mexico Beach, Florida as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 919 mb inHg. It is the most intense hurricane to hit the mainland United States since Camille in 1969.source
• 2018November 1 – NASA's Dawn mission concludes after it runs out of hydrazine fuel.source
• 2018November 8 – The Camp Fire ignites in Butte County, California. It becomes California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire, with 88 deaths and 18,804 buildings destroyed.source
• 2018December 19–21 – Gatwick Airport drone incident: Reports of drone sightings close to the runway at Gatwick Airport in England causes major disruption, affecting approximately 140,000 passengers and 1,000 flights, making it the largest disruption since ash from an Icelandic volcano shut the airport in 2010.source
• 2018December 22 – An eruption from Krakatoa causes a tsunami that hits the Sunda Strait, Indonesia, killing at least 430 people and injuring nearly 1,500.source
• 2019March 15 – Cyclone Idai makes landfall on Mozambique, causing at least 1,073 fatalities, as well as mass flooding and power outages in southern Africa.source
• 2019April 16 – The Howse Peak avalanche kills three noted mountaineers: Austrians Hansjörg Auer and David Lama, and Canadian Jess Roskelley.source
• 2019April 21 – 2019 Ukrainian presidential election: Volodymyr Zelenskyy is elected the President of Ukraine in a landslide victory in the second round of voting. He took office on May 20, 2019.source
• 2019May 6 – In its first report since 2005, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warns that biodiversity loss is "accelerating", with over a million species now threatened with extinction; the decline of the natural living world is "unprecedented" and largely a result of human actions, according to the report.source
• 2019May 23 – 2019 Indian general election: Narendra Modi secures a landslide victory, with his party BJP alone gaining 303 of the 543 seats in parliament, and his political alliance NDA winning 353 seats of the 543.source
• 2019June 9 – A large explosive eruption of Mount Sinabung in Indonesia sends a 7,000-meter ash column into the air, generating a pyroclastic flow 3–3.5 kilometers long towards the south and southeast of the mountain.source
• 2019July 13 – Hurricane Barry strikes the Gulf Coast, killing one and causing over $500 million (2019 USD) in damages.source
• 2019July – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports, on August 15, that July 2019 has been the hottest month on record globally, at 0.95 °C (1.71 °F) above the 20th-century average.source
• 2019August 1 – Danish polar research institution Polar Portal reports a large spike in Greenland ice loss, with 11 billion tons melted in one day and 197 gigatonnes during the month of July.source
• 2019August 10 – 32 are killed and 1,000,000 evacuated as Typhoon Lekima makes landfall in Zhejiang, China. Earlier it had caused flooding in the Philippines.source
• 2019August 18 – 100 activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after once covering 15.5 km2 sqmi.source
• 2019August 21 – 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires: Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reports fires burning in the Amazon rainforest at a record rate, with more than 36,000 in the year to date, while smoke reaches São Paulo more than 1700 mi km away.source
• 2019September 1 – Hurricane Dorian makes landfall on The Bahamas as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin outside the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, with sustained wind speeds of 185 mph. 43 deaths are reported.source
• 2019September 22 – Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Dorian makes landfall on The Bahamas, the official death toll stands at 52 and 1,300 are reported missing. Rescuers report the widespread stench of rotting bodies in the rubble.source
• 2019October 12 – Typhoon Hagibis makes landfall in Japan, the biggest storm to hit the region in decades, with over seven million people urged to evacuate.source
• 2019October 30 – An earthquake of 6.5. M w rocks the Philippine island of Mindanao two days after an earthquake killed at least five and left around 12,000 people homeless.source
• 2019October 31 – Heavy rain and flooding leave 3 dead and 200,000 people are homeless in Beledweyne, Somalia. Meanwhile, 29 are dead and 29,000 homeless due to flooding in nearby Kenya.source
• 2019November 9 – Cyclone Bulbul kills seven in West Bengal, India and seven in Bangladesh. 2,000,000 people are evacuated.source
• 2019November 14 – Italy declares a state of emergency in Venice following record flooding.source
• 2019November 26 – 2019 Albania earthquake: 51 people are killed and around 2,000 others injured in a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in northwestern Albania. The earthquake is the strongest to hit Albania in more than 40 years, and the world's deadliest earthquake in 2019.source
• 2019December 2 – Typhoon Kammuri hits the Philippines, causing the evacuation of 200,000 people, but without reports of injuries or serious damage.source
• 2019December 5 – The 2019 Burundi landslide is reported to have caused at least 26 deaths.source
• 2019December 9 – A volcano erupts on White Island in New Zealand, killing 22 people and injuring 25 others.source
• 2019December 12 – Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party win a landslide victory in the 2019 United Kingdom general election achieving a majority in the House of Commons of 80 seats.source
• 2020January 1 – Flash floods struck Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 66 people in the worst flooding in over a decade.source
• 2020January 12 – The Taal Volcano in the Philippines has had its first major eruption since 1977.source
• 2020May 21 – Cyclone Amphan makes landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh, killing over 100 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 4 million others. It causes over US$13 billion in damage, making it the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, shattering the record previously held by Nargis.source
• 2020June 3 – Russian President Vladimir Putin declares a state of emergency after 20,000 tons of oil leaked into the Ambarnaya River near the Siberian city of Norilsk within the Arctic Circle on May 26, 2020. The World Wildlife Fund said the accident is believed to be the second-largest in modern Russian history.source
• 2020July 19 – Flooding of the Brahmaputra River kills 189 and leaves 4 million homeless in India and Nepal.source
• 2020August 15 – The Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio, which stranded on a reef in Mauritius last month, breaks in half. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of oil are spilled into the ocean, becoming the largest environmental disaster in the history of Mauritius.source
• 2020August 27 – Hurricane Laura makes landfall in Lake Charles, Louisiana with winds of 150 mph, making it the strongest hurricane to ever strike the state in terms of windspeed, tied with the 1856 Last Island Hurricane.source
• 2020September 6 – Typhoon Haishen makes landfall on Japan and then South Korea as a strong category 2-equivalent typhoon. It later makes landfall on North Korea where widespread flooding occurs.source
• 2020September 16 – Hurricane Sally makes landfall on the Alabama coast as a high-end Category 2 hurricane, causing over $8 billion in damages and killing 8 people.source
• 2020October 6 – Serious floods affected in Central Vietnam, lasted nearly 3 months and killed at least 249 people.source
• 2020October 17 – 2020 New Zealand general election: Jacinda Ardern's Labour Party wins a landslide second term in office, defeating the National Party led by Judith Collins and gaining the country's first parliamentary majority since the introduction of the MMP voting system.source
• 2020October 21 – Heavy rains brought by tropical storm Linfa caused landslides at the Rao Trang 3 hydroelectric plant in Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam, killing 17 construction workers and 13 soldiers who were on a rescue mission.source
• 2020October 30 – 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Turkey and Greece, killing 119 people and injuring over 1,000.source
• 2020October 31 – Typhoon Goni makes landfall in the Philippines, becoming the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone in history, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and killing dozens of people in the region.source
• 2020November 7 – Hurricane Eta makes landfall in Nicaragua, killing over 100 people in Central America as a category 4.source
• 2020November 16 – Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane just two weeks after Hurricane Eta made landfall, devastating the same areas.source
• 2020Typhoon Vamco makes landfall in Vietnam, after crossing the Philippines and killing at least 69 people. The storm causes the worst floods in the region since Typhoon Ketsana in 2009.source
• 2020The United States formally exits the Paris Agreement on climate change.source
• 2020Western Sahara conflict: fighting erupts between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic when Moroccan forces launch a military operation to capture the town of Guerguerat, located in a UN-monitored buffer zone.source
• 2020December 29 – The 2020 Petrinja earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 strikes Croatia, killing seven and injuring more than 20.source
• 2021February 13–February 17 – A major winter storm kills at least 136 people and causes over 9.9 million power outages in the U.S.source
• 2021April 4 – More than 270 people are killed in Indonesia and East Timor after Cyclone Seroja strikes East Nusa Tenggara and the island of Timor.source
• 2021April 13 – Japan's government approves the dumping of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean over the course of 30 years, with full support of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The decision is opposed by China, South Korea, and Taiwan.source
• 2021July 3 – Over 130 wildfires, fuelled by lightning strikes, burn through Western Canada following a record-breaking heatwave in North America that results in over 600 deaths.source
• 2021July 12 – 2021 European floods: Heavy rain causes flooding in the border region of Germany and Belgium, resulting in 229 deaths, including 184 in Germany, 42 in Belgium with 1 person still missing there, and 2 in Romania. The event is attributed to a slowed jetstream caused by climate change.source
• 2021August 3 – Wildfires in Greece begin.source
• 2021August 14 – A 7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti, killing more than 2,500 people.source
• 2021August 29 – Hurricane Ida strikes New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, after having caused devastation in Venezuela.source
• 2021September 14 – North Korea demonstrates two short-range ballistic missiles that land just outside Japan's territorial waters; and then only hours later South Korea demonstrates its first submarine-launched ballistic missile.source
• 2021September 15 – Several ministers of the Argentine president Alberto Fernández's cabinet resign after the government's defeat in the primary elections, triggering a political crisis in the country.source
• 2021December 10–December 11 – A late season tornado outbreak occurs in the Southern and Midwestern United States, causing major damage and killing at least 94 people. One of the longest-tracked tornadoes in history occurred, which impacted western Kentucky, particularly Mayfield.source
• 2021December 16 – Typhoon Rai, also known as Typhoon Odette, hits the Philippines and caused destruction to agriculture, establishments, and houses, and caused many injured and deaths.source
• 2022January 15 – A large eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai, a submarine volcano in Tonga, triggers tsunami warnings in Australia, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Samoa, and the United States.source
• 2022January 23 – Tropical Storm Ana kills 115 people in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique, days after a series of floods killed 11 people in Madagascar.source
• 2022February 5 – Cyclone Batsirai kills a total of 123 people across Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion two weeks after Tropical Storm Ana killed 115 people in the same region.source
• 2022May 9 – 2022 Philippine presidential election: Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte are elected the 17th President and 15th Vice President of the Philippines in a landslide victory.source
• 2022May 9 – Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as a result of massive protests against his government across the country. He is succeeded by Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister three days later.source
• 2022June 22 – A 6.2 earthquake strikes the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing at least 1,163 people.source
• 2022July 19 – 2022 European heat waves: A series of severe heatwaves from July to August hit Europe, causing at least 53,000 deaths and additionally causing major wildfires, travel disruption, and record high temperatures in many countries.source
• 2022July 27 – A 7.0 earthquake strikes the island of Luzon in the Philippines killing 11 people and injuring over 600.source
• 2022August 28 – 2022 Pakistan floods: Pakistan declares a "climate catastrophe" and appeals for international assistance, as the death toll from recent flooding in the country exceeds 1,000, the world's deadliest flood since 2017. Several nations, alongside the UN, pledge millions in funding for aid.source
• 2022September 5 – A 6.8 earthquake strikes Luding County in Sichuan province, China, killing 117 and injuring 424.source
• 2022September 14–September 25 – The Atlantic hurricane Fiona hits Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Lucayan Archipelago, Bermuda, and Eastern Canada.source
• 2022September 27–September 30 – Hurricane Ian impacts Cuba and the United States, causing catastrophic damage to both nations, killing at least 157 people, 16 missing, and leaving millions without power, including the entire nation of Cuba.source
• 2022November 21 – A 5.6 earthquake strikes near Cianjur in West Java, Indonesia, killing 635 people and injuring 7,700 more.source
• 2023January 10–17 – A cold snap in Afghanistan kills 166 people and nearly 80,000 livestock.source
• 2023January 27 – Widespread unrest erupts in Israel following an Israeli military raid in Jenin the previous day, which killed nine Palestinians. Incendiary air balloons are launched into Israeli-populated areas following it. Israel responds with targeted airstrikes. Later the same day, seven Jewish civilians are killed in a synagogue in Neve Yaakov in a terrorist attack.source
• 2023February 4 – Cyclone Freddy forms in the Indian Ocean. It would become the longest lasting tropical cyclone in history and cause over 1,400 deaths and countless injuries and property damage across southeastern Africa.source
• 2023February 6 – A 7.8 earthquake strikes southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria followed by a 7.7 aftershock on the same day, causing widespread damage and at more than 59,000 fatalities and 121,000 injured.source
• 2023May 3 – 2023 Manipur violence: Ethnic violence erupts in the state of Manipur between the Kuki and Meitei people.source
• 2023May 4 – A series of floods and landslides strikes villages in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in over 400 deaths.source
• 2023May 9 – Cyclone Mocha forms in the Indian Ocean, killing over 400 people and injuring over 700 as it strikes Myanmar and Bangladesh.source
• 2023July 19 – Typhoon Doksuri forms in the eastern Pacific Ocean, going on to kill 137 people in Southeast Asia.source
• 2023July 23 – 2023 Greece wildfires: Tens of thousands of tourists flee Rhodes, Greece, amid wildfires and a major heatwave, in what officials say is the largest evacuation in the country's history.source
• 2023August 1 – Global warming: The world's oceans reach a new record high temperature of 20.96 C F, exceeding the previous record in 2016. July is also the hottest month on record for globally averaged surface air temperatures by a considerable margin (0.3 C F).source
• 2023August 8 – 2023 Hawaii wildfires: 17,000 acres of land are burned and at least 101 people are killed, with two others missing, when a series of wildfires break out on the island of Maui in Hawaii.source
• 2023August 16–21 – Hurricane Hilary, a Category 4 Pacific Hurricane, strikes the Baja California peninsula and later causes record flooding in Southern California.source
• 2023August 21 – 2023 Canadian wildfires: 68% of the Northwest Territories are forced to evacuate to other parts of the country due to wildfires.source
• 2023September 8 – 2023 Marrakesh–Safi earthquake: A 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Marrakesh–Safi province in western Morocco, killing at least 2,960 people and damaging historic buildings.source
• 2023September 10 – Storm Daniel, a Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone, kills at least 5,000 people, with a further 10,000 to 100,000 reported missing. In the city of Derna in Libya, two dams collapse, resulting in a quarter of the city being destroyed.source
• 2023October 7 – A series of earthquakes occur in Herat Province in Afghanistan, killing over 1,000 people and injuring nearly 2,000, with tremors felt in Iran and Turkmenistan. The earthquakes are the deadliest in the country since 1998.source
• 2023October 13 – After British regulators' approval, Microsoft closes its US$68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.source
• 2023October 25 – Hurricane Otis, an eastern Pacific tropical cyclone, makes landfall in Mexico near Acapulco, leaving at least 80 dead. It is the most powerful Eastern Pacific hurricane to make landfall in Mexico, with the highest winds reaching 165 mph, surpassing Hurricane Patricia's landfall in 2015.source
• 2024April 3 – A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 strikes off the eastern coast of Taiwan, with small tsunamis reaching heights of 20 – 30 hitting Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.source
• 2024April 16 – 2024 Persian Gulf floods: At least 32 people are killed when heavy rainfall strikes the Middle East, causing flash flooding. This caused many disruptions for the airline Emirates at Dubai International Airport.source
• 2024April 29 – Floods in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul cause dozens of deaths and leave thousands homeless.source
• 2024May 8 – In North Macedonian elections, the right-wing party VMRO-DPMNE wins in a landslide in the parliamentary elections, while its presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova is elected as the first female president of the country in the second round of the presidential election.source
• 2024May 10 – A series of solar storms and intense solar flares impact the Earth, rated G5 by NOAA, creating aurorae at more southerly and northerly latitudes than usual. This was the first G5 storm since 2003.source
• 2024May 24 – A major landslide in Papua New Guinea kills 160–2,000+ people, with many more buried.source
• 2024May 26 – 2024 Lithuanian presidential election: Incumbent president Gitanas Nausėda wins a landslide victory for a second term in office.source
• 2024July 1 – Hurricane Beryl becomes the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record after devastating the island of Carriacou, Grenada.source
• 2024July 22 – Landslides kill 257 people and bury two villages in Geze Gofa, Gofa Zuria, Ethiopia.source
• 2024July 30 – At least 334 people are killed, over 200 injured, and 281 missing following landslides in Wayanad district, Kerala, India.source
• 2024September 12 – Heavy rainfall in Central Europe triggers the worst flooding in the region since 2010.source
• 2024September 26 – Hurricane Helene, the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Maria in 2017, makes landfall in Florida as a category four hurricane. It has a death toll of 236 and leaves more than 685 missing.source
• 2024October 7 – Hurricane Milton becomes the fourth most intense hurricane in the Atlantic Basin, and the most intense storm in the Gulf of Mexico tying with Hurricane Rita in 2005. Milton is also the first hurricane to reach a pressure below 900 millibars in nearly 20 years.source
• 2024October 29 – 2024 Spanish floods: Spain experiences its worst flooding in half a century, with over 200 killed and many more missing, as a year's worth of rain falls in eight hours.source
• 2024December 14 – Cyclone Chido makes landfall in Mayotte, causing at least 172 deaths and bringing devastating damage to the island.source
• 2024December 17 – The capital of Vanuatu, Port Vila, suffers extensive damage after a 7.3 earthquake. At least 16 people are killed.source
• 2025January 7 – A 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Tibet, China, killing at least 126 people, while another 338 are injured.source
• 2025January 7 – Greater Los Angeles experiences the most destructive wildfires in its history, fueled by strong winds and prolonged drought conditions. Over 13,000 structures are destroyed. At least 29 deaths are reported, while 180,000 people are evacuated, with fires continuing for days.source
• 2025January 10 – The European Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that 2024 was the world's hottest year on record, and the first calendar year to pass the symbolic threshold of 1.5 °C of global warming.source
• 2025January 24 – Storm Éowyn hits Ireland and the United Kingdom. Record high wind speeds of 183 kph are recorded in Ireland, while over a million homes are left without power.source
• 2025March 12 – 2025 Belizean general election: The incumbent People's United Party wins a second term in a landslide victory.source
• 2025March 21 – South Korea experiences one of its worst wildfires in modern history; over 87 000 hectares of land are destroyed in South Gyeongsang Province, killing at least 32 people.source
• 2025March 28 – A 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurs in Myanmar, resulting in 5,413 killed and 11,402 injured.source
• 2025May 3 – 2025 Singaporean general election: The incumbent People's Action Party led by Lawrence Wong wins reelection in a landslide, retaining a supermajority government.source
• 2025May 28 – 2025 Nigeria floods: More than 500 people are killed, and hundreds more missing after flooding in Mokwa.source
• 2025June 20 – An EF5 tornado strikes southeast of Enderlin, North Dakota, becoming the first EF5 tornado globally since May 20, 2013.source
• 2025July 4–7 – At least 135 people are killed and over a hundred reported missing during a flood in Central Texas, United States.source
• 2025July 30 – An 8.8 earthquake strikes off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering tsunami warnings in Japan and Hawaii.source
• 2025August 22 – Famine is confirmed in Gaza City for the first time after the UN-backed body responsible for monitoring food security raises its classification to Phase 5, the highest and worst level. The IPC says more than 500,000 people are now facing "starvation, destitution and death".source
• 2025August 31 – An earthquake in eastern Afghanistan kills over 2,200 people and injures 3,500.source
• 2025August 31 – Between 370 and 1,000 people are reported killed in a landslide caused by heavy rain that buries the village of Tarasin in the Marrah Mountains of Central Darfur and leaves one survivor.source
• 2025September 21 – Thousands of protesters across the Philippines gather at the EDSA Shrine in Quezon City for the Trillion Peso March and at Luneta Park in Manila for the Baha sa Luneta demonstrations, demanding government accountability over alleged corruption in flood control and infrastructure projects.source
• 2025September 30 – A 6.9 earthquake shakes the island of Cebu in the Philippines, leaving 71 people dead and 559 injured.source
• 2025October 24 – 2025 Irish presidential election: Independent candidate Catherine Connolly wins the election in a landslide, defeating Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys.source
• 2025October 28 – Hurricane Melissa makes a catastrophic landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained wind speeds up to , becoming the strongest hurricane to strike the country in recorded history.source
• 2025November 3 – A powerful 6.3 earthquake shakes the provinces of Balkh and Samangan in Afghanistan, causing 31 deaths and 956 injuries.source
• 2025November 4 – Typhoon Kalmaegi leaves more than 288 people dead in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand.source
• 2025November 26 – Cyclone Senyar causes at least 1,390 deaths and leaves 186 missing in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.source
• 2025November 28 – Flooding and landslides caused by Cyclone Ditwah leave at least 647 dead and 183 missing across Sri Lanka and South India.source
• 2025December 8 – A 7.6 earthquake occurs in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Aomori Prefecture in Japan, triggering a tsunami up to 70 cm high.source