Colombians have been warned not to have sex because it is too hot. Health officials in a coastal city issued the recommendation for people trying to remain cool during an intense heatwave. Santa Marta city health secretary Julio Salas’s comments have been keenly debated after he called for residents of the Caribbean tourist hotspot to forego sex during the daytime.

Humans aren't the only things suffering during this summer's European heat wave. From hedgehogs to birds to insects, the extreme temperatures and lack of rain has taken a toll on animals of all sizes. The faster than usual evaporation of water has forced some animals in the U.K. to leave their natural habitats as they try to quench their thirsts.

Freshwater fish are suffocating in rivers across Europe during the heatwave. In West Germany where temperatures have reached around 39 degree's celcius, there's hardly been any rain in the last few months, leaving the Rhine river in Cologne very low. Germans and tourists as well as pets will have to be careful when thinking about taking a dip in rivers or lakes to cool off because of an increase of harmful bacteria and algae in stagnant waters.

The Mediterranean country is now calling for international help battling the flames.

As Europe bakes in another heatwave, forecasters say the all-time temperature record could be broken in the coming days. The current European record is 48C (118.4F) set in Athens in July 1977. Temperatures are rising in Spain and Portugal, aided by a surge of hot air sweeping in from Africa. Forecasters say the heat in some parts could keep rising, breaking national records and even the 41-year-old European record.

In June 2013, Keith Musselman was living in the Canadian Rockies when the nearby Bow River flooded. “We were in a valley, so we were stuck for about five days,” Musselman told Ars. “The community was devastated.” The flood was one of the costliest and most devastating natural disasters in Canada’s history, with five people killed, more than 100,000 evacuated, and extreme property damage. Heavy rainfall falling on late snow in the mountains had overwhelmed rivers and reservoirs, and Musselman, a hydrologist, realized that this kind of rain-on-snow flooding wasn’t properly understood.

Ever feel during one of these recent sweltering days that it’s just so hot you can’t think straight? Well, maybe you can’t.

Climate change resulting from human activities made the current Europe-wide heatwave more than twice as likely to occur, say scientists. Researchers compared the current high temperatures with historical records from seven weather stations, in different parts of Europe. Their preliminary report found that the "signal of climate change is unambiguous," in this summer's heat.

Citizens are urged to "join the struggle" to save precious crops from drought.

Scaring temperatures from Europe's summer of extreme heat has melted so much ice on Sweden's tallest peak, that it is no longer the tallest. The southern peak of Kebnekaise mountain, in northern Sweden, has shrunk by 14ft in the month of July because of the unusually hot sun melting the ice on top of it, according to figures published by Swedish news site TheLocal.se. It used to be 6892.4 ft, but thanks to the hot weather is now only 6879.2 ft.

The devastating fire tornado that spun up during the Carr Fire last week had 143 mph winds, according to a preliminary report from the National Weather Service Thursday. This is equal to an EF-3 tornado on the five-level Enhanced Fujita Scale. Dan Keeton, the meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service in Sacramento, said the fact that the weather service was able to see the rotation of the 35,000-foot-tall plume on its radar — well over 100 miles south of Redding — was significant.

A longtime U.S. postal carrier was found dead in her mail truck in Woodland Hills on Friday afternoon amid blistering summer temperatures, authorities confirmed Monday.

The small group of Iranian farmers gathered around their tractors — long idle, parked at the town entrance next to a canal that once irrigated their fields but has been dry for years — and they protested, pleading for help from the government. “We are the people,” shouted Mostafa Benvidi. “Help the people. At night they go to bed hungry!” They held signs addressing officials they blame for their dried-up fields. “How long will you eat your bread made with our blood?” one sign read.

According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2018 is on pace to be the fourth hottest year on record. Only three other years have been hotter: 2015, 2016 and 2017. The upward trend is not lost on experts, who say the rising temperature is a clear indicator of global warming.

Fire tsunamis? Those aren’t normal. By Eric Holthaus.

At least 65 people have died and more than 22,000 are treated in hospital amid record temperatures.

Where to go if you don't enjoy sudden electric bolts from the sky.

From 2 days ago.

Record shows a trend that could mean higher storm rainfall totals.

Heavy rains along the Texas coast have caused flooding in areas that were hit hard by Hurricane Harvey less than a year ago. National Weather Service meteorologist Tyler Castillo said Wednesday that since Tuesday, rain of 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) was widespread along the Texas coast with up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas. Port Aransas, which was devastated when Harvey hit last August, is among the cities inundated.

In an unusual moment, China’s citizen witnessed starfish, octopus and other marine animals including giant hailstones fell from the sky after a powerful storm hit the city in Shandong Province. To what the netizens have described as “seafood rain,” images were flooded in social media where different creatures which were sucked out of the sea are stuck to car windscreens after the rain storm. According to the Qingdao Meteorological Administration...

A storm is seen in Sarasota, Florida, June 24, 2018.

Six more people have died in Montreal due to a heat wave, bringing to 12 the city’s total death toll from the extreme weather conditions that have gripped central and eastern Canada, health officials said on Wednesday. Montreal previously raised the city’s response level to “intervention” from “alert” after a spike in heat-related calls to the government’s health information line and for ambulances.

Hundreds of thousands of people across a wide swathe of western and central Japan were evacuated from their homes on Friday as torrential rains pounded the nation, flooding rivers, setting off landslides and leaving at least two people dead. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the rainfall was "historic" and warned more rain was set to batter already saturated parts of the nation through Sunday.

Parts of the globe are experiencing "one of the most intense heat events ever seen", according to climate scientists. Climate scientists are worried after several locations in the northern hemisphere saw record high temperatures over the past week. Meteorologist Nick Humphrey said in a blog post that the extreme spell of hot weather amounted to "a true roasting", writing: "It is absolutely incredible and really one of the most intense heat events I’ve ever seen for so far north."

I think it’s time to retire Maria as a name for any storm. The name has been wiped from the hurricane list in the Atlantic after Hurricane Maria completely upended life in the Caribbean. But it’s still on the rolls in the Pacific, where Typhoon Maria is about to make life miserable.

The rain may have stopped in Japan, but the country is facing a long recovery process after floods and landslides killed at least 122 people in the southwest, officials said Tuesday. At least 27 people are missing, said the nation's Fire and Disaster Management Agency. With emergency rain warnings lifted, the country is turning its focus to search and rescue efforts. Police, fire departments and the military are scouring affected areas for those unaccounted for.

The extreme heatwaves and wildfires wreaking havoc around the globe are “the face of climate change,” one of the world’s leading climate scientists has declared, with the impacts of global warming now “playing out in real time.” Climate change has long been predicted to increase extreme weather incidents, and scientists are now confident these predictions are coming true. Scientists say the global warming has contributed to the scorching temperatures that have baked the UK and northern Europe for weeks.

Thousands more people have fled their homes after wildfires surged near a small lake town in northern California as crews, stretched to their limits across the state, fight flames that have claimed the lives of both firefighters and civilians. Residents of the waterfront town of Lakeport fled on Sunday after a major flare-up of two fires that combined across Mendocino and Lake counties destroyed at least four homes. Lakeport, home to about 5,000, is around 120 miles (192km) north of San Francisco.

It can start before a hurricane even makes landfall. What really concerns experts, though, are places that don’t experience a lot of hurricanes but are still vulnerable to storm surge. This map shows that in the event of a big hurricane, based on the characteristics of the shoreline, the coasts of Northwest Florida and Georgia would be at comparable risk to the Gulf Coast.

No power, little access to water, dwindling food: the situation in Puerto Rico right now.

More than 85 percent of mainland Portugal is suffering from severe drought, the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said in a statement on Friday. According to the Palmer Drought Severity Index used by the IPMA, 81 percent of the mainland is experiencing severe drought and 7.4 percent extreme drought. The latter classification is the worst on the scale.

Hurricane Ophelia is reaching winds of up to 100mph in the Atlantic Ocean as it approaches the UK, forecasters say.  The storm is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to the British Isles early next week, after a weekend of warm weather with temperatures of about 23C in some places.  The Met Office has issued severe weather alerts, warning of potential power cuts, damage to buildings and disruption to transport networks and mobile-phone signals.

The remnants of Hurricane Ophelia hit Ireland's west coast as a post-tropical storm on Monday, bringing with it strong winds, heavy rain, and the threat of storm surge and flooding. Met Éireann, Ireland's National Meteorological Service, extended a red alert for the entire country on Sunday evening, warning that there was a "danger to life and property."

The aftermath of a storm which dumped up to five feet of water and hail in Argentina has been revealed in images released by the World Meteorological Organisation. Officials said a fierce hailstorm hit towns in the central Argentinian province of Cordoba on Thursday afternoon, leaving roads closed and vehicles unable to move. The incredible photos show fire fighters rescuing cars stuck up to their windows in hailstones and a road swamped in debris.