A look around global weather reports from 1200GMT today shows some amazing rainfall amounts in Sri Lanka, warmest temperatures in South Africa and Australia, and Ojmjakon - officially the coldest inhabited village in the world - living up to its title.
RAINFALL
Seven people are dead and up to 750,000 left homeless as torrential rain caused floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka. Batticoloa, in eastern Sri Lanka, reported 323.3mm (12.7 inches) of rainfall in the 24 hours up to 1200GMT today. A look at the 3-hourly totals shows some amazingly heavy rain around midnight GMT:
Time (GMT)
0600 15mm
0300 100mm
0000 94mm
2100 56mm
1800 47mm
1500 11mm
Other totals in the island were Trincomalee (146mm), Kandy (145mm) and Badulla (106mm).
There was also some heavy rain in eastern Australia, with 165.2mm falling at Tewantin and 153.8mm at Nambour, and up to 80mm in the Brisbane area.
Seven people are dead and up to 750,000 left homeless as torrential rain caused floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka. Batticoloa, in eastern Sri Lanka, reported 323.3mm (12.7 inches) of rainfall in the 24 hours up to 1200GMT today. A look at the 3-hourly totals shows some amazingly heavy rain around midnight GMT:
Time (GMT)
0600 15mm
0300 100mm
0000 94mm
2100 56mm
1800 47mm
1500 11mm
Other totals in the island were Trincomalee (146mm), Kandy (145mm) and Badulla (106mm).
EUMETSAT Satellite picture showing estimated rain rates.
There was also some heavy rain in eastern Australia, with 165.2mm falling at Tewantin and 153.8mm at Nambour, and up to 80mm in the Brisbane area.
TEMPERATURE
Warmest
South Africa and Australia hold the top spots when it comes to the highest temperatures recorded, with Henkries (South Africa) and Nyang (Australia) joint winners with 40.4°C.
Coldest
Ojmjakon, in eastern Siberia, is officially the coldest inhabited place in the world. Its location in the Verkhoyansk Mountains, surrounded by high terrain to the west, south and east, means that warm air from the south cannot reach it, and cold air sits there all winter long. The lowest temperature ever recorded there was -71.2°C in 1926. The average January daily maximum and minimimum temperatures are -42.0°C and -49.8°C, respectively. Today's maximum was -51.1°C and the minimum was -55.9°C! Schools only close when the temperature gets below -50°C, so the kids have a day off!!
