North Korea says it is facing its worst drought in a century, sparking fears of worsening food shortages.

State news agency KCNA said main rice-growing provinces had been badly affected and more than 30% of rice paddies were "parching up".

Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are believed to have died during a widespread famine in the 1990s.

This drought is unlikely to be as deadly because of recent agricultural reforms, correspondents say.

The United Nations World Food Program says North Korea regularly faces significant food shortages and currently about a third of children in the country are malnourished.

Some rainfall was reported on Wednesday but this is not unusual for a country that often veers between droughts and severe floods, according to BBC Weather's Phil Avery.

Any rainfall now will not make up for the dry weather in the last few months, a period crucial for the country's agrarian economy, and which has already severely hampered preparation for the wheat and rice crops.

The Mei-Yu weather front, which normally moves up from China later on in the summer, may provide more rain - but there is no guarantee that will happen or that it will not cause floods, as it has done in the past.

bbc.co.uk

Pakistan heatwave death toll climbs to 122


Pakistan heatwave death toll climbs to 122 - Channel NewsAsia

Continental Europe has had blistering heat over the past week, with Spain and Portugal becoming particularly hot. Of Spain’s 50 provinces 43 were put on alert for exceptionally high temperatures, with the mercury widely topping 40C (104F), and some places experiencing temperatures as high as 44C.

The intense heat has also increased the potential for forest fires; woodlands, within a large area, are considered at extreme risk of catching alight. The heat-wave is expected to spread and persist for much of Europe over the coming days.

Meanwhile, in the US mid-west heavy rains have exacerbated already serious floods. Numerous states have been affected, and are expecting further rain.

The city of St Louis, in Missouri, had more than 33cm (13in) of rain in June, 22cm more than the monthly average.

Indiana, in the Great Lakes region, has also been hit hard, with $300m worth of crop damage having already occurred before another deluge of rain happened over the weekend.

Finally, the north American storm season is beginning to draw to a close but you would not have thought that was the case in parts of Canada on Saturday. The state of Manitoba had severe thunderstorms developing during the afternoon, with a particularly potent cell striking the town of Roseisle, about 70 miles south-west of Winnipeg.

Hail stones in Roseisle were reported to be measuring up to the size of tennis balls, and they damaged cars and destroyed crops. These hail stones were driven in on a 60mph (96km)  wind, worsening the potential for damage.

Fatal tornado rips through Venice


On Demand News » Fatal tornado rips through Venice

The cold snap that brought blizzards, snow, gale-force winds and heavy rain across parts of continental Australia over the weekend is set to continue well into the week.

A major cold front has created a winter wonderland in parts of New South Wales, with good snow falls recorded in the Alpine region and a light dusting in the Central Tablelands.

Meteorologists from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the low-pressure system, which was bringing the cold front and snow, was expected to last for most of the week ahead.

"Later in the week there is another upper-level trough moving through and there will be very cold air with that," BoM senior forecaster Neil Fraser said.

Victorians could expect blizzard conditions, with strong winds, heavy rain and snowfall heading into today, the BoM warned.

More:
abc.net.au
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-12/blizzard-gale-winds-heavy-rain-descend-across-the-country/6613474

Freak storms wreaking havoc across California


Freak storms wreaking havoc across California | Daily Mail Online

Nearly 300,000 people have been displaced due to storms and flooding in Chitral where flood waters have washed away 40 suspension bridges, 104 houses and over a dozen paved roads disconnecting road links between many areas. Due to disruption of water supply, residents of the affected areas are forced to drink dirty water.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif flanked by his ministers toured the area to assess the damage and will be given a detailed briefing on the situation today.

Meanwhile according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) branch of the Pakistan Army, 60 people including tourists, children, the elderly and those needing medical attention were airlifted from Kuragh and Boni areas of Chitral during the Army’s rescue and relief operation.

The ISPR adds that essential food items including flour, cooking oil, sugar and milk are being distributed among the affected population.

Mastoj, Kailash, Garam Chashma, Darush, Mardan, Kuragh and surrounding areas are among the worst affected where water supply has been disrupted and residents are forced to consume dirty water raising concerns of possible waterborne disease outbreaks.

Pakistan floods: Death toll rises as more bodies recovered

Pakistan floods: Death toll rises as more bodies recovered - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

Now a report from Holland

Fiercest July storm ever causes Dutch transport chaos

Fiercest July storm ever causes Dutch transport chaos

In Finland, this summer is set to go down in the history books as perhaps the coldest on record – bucking the worldwide trend whereby this year brought the hottest June ever.

The mercury has exceeded 20 degrees so rarely this year that the summer of 2015 is shaping up as the chilliest in more than half a century of statistics tracked by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).

This summer, the temperature has only surpassed 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) at FMI monitoring points on 37 days. In Finnish Lapland, there have only 19 such days. As a result, this summer is set to go down in the history books as one of the coldest on record – bucking the worldwide trend whereby this year brought the hottest June ever, according to official US and Japanese climate reporting agencies.


Summer 2015 poised to be chilliest in 50 years | Yle Uutiset | yle.fi