Hundreds of thousands of people were affected and more than 200 000 forced to evacuate their homes after the heaviest rains since 1961 hit parts of southern China.
Destructive flooding and landslides hit Yellowstone National Park and nearby communities on June 13, 2022, washing out numerous roads and bridges in the area, cutting off electricity and forcing people to evacuate. The floods hit during one of Yellowstone’s busiest months.
A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2022 KP6 flew past Earth at a distance of just 0.045 LD / 0.00012 AU (17 426 km / 10 828 miles) at 15:05 UTC on May 25, 2022.
This is the 60th known asteroid to fly past Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year and the 2nd closest after 2022 FD1 on March 25 at 0.00010 AU. It is also the 17th closest asteroid flyby on record (since 1900).
Hurricane “Agatha” made landfall just west of Puerto Angel, Mexico at 21:00 UTC on May 30, 2022, with maximum sustained winds of 165 km/h (105 mph), making it the strongest hurricane to make landfall in May along the Pacific coast of Mexico. Agatha is the first named storm and the first hurricane of the 2022 Pacific hurricane season (May 15 – November 30).
A line of fast-moving severe thunderstorms (derecho) swept over southern Ontario and Quebec – the most populated part of Canada – on May 21, 2022, leaving roughy 1 000 km (620 miles) of damage in its wake and at least 9 people dead. It developed near Sarnia, Ontario late Saturday morning and tracked northeast over southern Ontario toward Ottawa in the afternoon.
Wheat prices in Europe and Australia hit record highs this week after India – the world’s second-largest wheat producer – announced an immediate export ban due to a severe heatwave affecting the country since March. Global wheat prices have soared 40% since February 2022, increasing famine and sparking social unrest.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its fourth consecutive failed rain season and the worst drought since 1981. At least 15 million people across Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia are already affected and there are fears this number could jump to 20 million.
A fast-moving line of severe thunderstorms, known as a derecho, developed in central Nebraska on May 12, 2022, bringing hurricane-force winds and creating a rare, large wall of dust that swept over parts of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota, creating near-zero visibility on state highways.
Much of Queensland, Australia experienced unseasonably heavy rain and flooding this week, with parts of the state receiving between 3 to 4 months’ worth of rain in 48 to 72 hours.
A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2022 JO1 will fly past Earth at a distance of 0.18 LD / 0.00047 AU (69 567 km / 43 227 miles) at 12:47 UTC on May 10, 2022.
