Climate-fueled deluges cause disastrous flooding around the world, including (dramatic videos) Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Greece, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Madrid, and Sri Lanka.

After the hottest July on record, August 2023 was the second-hottest month in history. “Climate breakdown has begun,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

President Biden asks Congress for $16 billion in additional funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund, which has been severely depleted by Hurricane Idalia, the wildfires on Maui, and other recent climate disasters.

The evacuation order for the 20,000 residents of Yellowknife, capital of the Canadian Northwest Territories, is finally lifted three weeks after a wildfire forced them out.

Torrential rain turns Burning Man into a mud pit, trapping attendees and leaving behind a tremendous mess.

Tennis players at the US Open struggle in the intense heat and humidity.

The Biden administration cancels oil leases issued for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge under the Trump administration and moves toward a permanent ban there. It also moves to protect 13 million acres of the western Arctic.

Austrians hold a funeral for the Pasterze, the country’s largest remaining glacier, which is losing its connection to its ice-accumulation area.

The Sierra Club and others sue Utah for failing to provide the Great Salt Lake with enough water to avoid ecological collapse. 

The US Government Accountability Office finds that the 458 miles of border wall between the US and Mexico impedes wildlife migration, alters stream flows, and causes flooding. Its construction destroyed saguaro cacti and helped spread invasive species, caused significant erosion, and damaged cultural and historic sites of the Tohono O’odham and other local tribes.  

Norway rolls back incentives for electric cars in favor of more support for public transportation, cycling, and walking. 

In New South Wales, Australia, a koala named Claude eats $6,000 worth of eucalyptus seedlings intended to establish new koala habitat.

Researchers in Papua New Guinea rediscover the black-naped pheasant pigeon, a bird considered lost for 140 years. Their delight is caught on video.