Extreme weather
Unit 4 Reading 1
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1Extreme weather is when the weather is very different from normal. Extreme weather can happen over an hour, a day or a long period of time. It can be dangerous and, in some cases, it can cause natural disasters¹.
2Hurricanes
A hurricane is a type of storm. These storms are also called cyclones or typhoons. In North America and Central America, they are called hurricanes; in the North Pacific, they are called typhoons; and in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific, they are called cyclones. These storms are huge — they can be over 500 kilometres wide. They start over the ocean and move towards land. When they come to land, they bring thunder, lightning, strong winds and very heavy rain. They can be very dangerous and destroy buildings and even kill people.
3Heat waves and droughts
A heat wave is when there are high temperatures and it is much hotter than normal. In many areas, heat waves are not a problem. However, in parts of Australia, temperatures may reach 48 °C in a heat wave, and last for a few days or even months. And in some places, such as parts of eastern Australia, heat waves can cause droughts². In a drought, there is not enough water for farmers to grow food. In some countries, people die because they don't have enough water to drink. Droughts are common in many countries in Africa, but in the last ten years, droughts have also happened in Afghanistan, China and Iran.
4Rainstorms
Too much rain can cause floods³. Floods can destroy buildings and kill people. They can also destroy plants and food, which can mean that there is not enough food for people to eat. In 2015, there were very bad floods in South America. In Argentina, the Paraguay River was almost 15 metres higher than normal and water covered the streets. In Paraguay, hundreds of thousands of people had to leave their homes. Strong winds damaged the power lines, and several people died. It was the worst flood in 50 years.
5Sandstorms
A sandstorm is a large storm of dust and sand with strong winds. Sandstorms can be very dangerous. It is difficult to travel by car because people can't see anything. Even walking can be difficult. Sandstorms are common in the Middle East and in China. One of the worst sandstorms was in Iraq in 2011 when a storm lasted a whole week, causing many people to have breathing problems.