For this year, World Meteorological Day is themed “Closing the Early Warning Gap Together”, a crucial reminder that climate change is no longer a distant threat.
Here are some meteorological facts that will leave you awestruck and, hopefully, a little more weather-wise.
1. 2024 was the hottest year on record
If you thought last year felt hotter than ever, you weren’t imagining it.
Nasa recently confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with global temperatures soaring 1.28°C above the agency’s 20th-century baseline.
Even more concerning? The past 10 years have been the hottest in nearly 200 years of recorded history.
While countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, aiming to cap global warming at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, that threshold has already been breached.
2. Antarctica’s ice-cold record
On July 21, 1983, scientists recorded an unimaginable -89.2°C at a Russian research station near the South Pole – the lowest temperature ever measured on Earth.
For perspective, that’s cold enough to make steel shatter and human skin freeze almost instantly.
Closer to home, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Peninsular Malaysia was a relatively balmy 7.8°C in Cameron Highlands back in 1978.
3. The year without a summer
In 1816, the world experienced a year so cold and bleak that it became known as the “Poverty Year” and “Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death.”
The cause? An eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora in 1815, one of the most powerful volcanic events in recorded history.
The explosion sent massive amounts of ash and sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere, creating a dense veil that blocked sunlight and disrupted weather patterns across the globe.
Temperatures plummeted, triggering unseasonal snowstorms in New England, widespread crop failures, and even the emergence of novel cholera strains killing millions in India.
4. The wettest place on Earth
If you think your city gets a lot of rain, spare a thought for Mawsynram, India. Recognised by Guinness World Records, this tiny village in Meghalaya sees an astonishing 11,871 mm of rainfall annually.
The relentless downpours are due to monsoon winds carrying moisture from the Bay of Bengal, which then hit the Khasi Hills, forcing the air to rise, cool, and condense into near-constant rainfall.
Meanwhile, in Malaysia, Taiping takes the title for the wettest town in Peninsular Malaysia, averaging 4,000 mm of rain each year.
5. You can’t actually smell rain
Many people love the earthy scent after a good rain, but here’s a fun fact: you’re actually smelling the presence of bacteria. The pleasant aroma, called petrichor, comes from geosmin, a compound released by soil-dwelling bacteria when raindrops hit the ground.
Essentially, every time you take a deep breath of that post-rain fragrance, you’re inhaling airborne spores.
6. Blood rain
No, it’s not a sci-fi movie plot – it’s a real meteorological phenomenon.
“Blood rain” occurs when desert dust (often from the Sahara) is lifted into the atmosphere, mixes with rain clouds, and falls back to Earth as red-tinted rain. Historically, people viewed it as an omen of doom, but today, many know it’s just science doing its thing.
This eerie rainfall has been observed in Kerala, India, and several other desert-adjacent regions.
7. Waterspouts – the ocean’s tornadoes
Think tornadoes are scary? Now imagine one forming over water. That’s a waterspout – a swirling vortex that can suck up water and even small marine creatures.
They’re most commonly spotted in the Florida Keys, but Malaysia has seen its fair share, with sightings in Penang, Kedah, Sarawak, and even Sabah.
In 2019, a waterspout made landfall in Penang, tearing off roofs. More recently, in January 2025, another one wreaked havoc on floating houses in Kudat, Sabah. Beautiful but terrifying!
8. The deadliest natural disaster in history
In 1931, China experienced one of the most devastating floods in recorded history. The Yangtze, Yellow, and Huai rivers overflowed due to heavy rains, submerging an area the size of England and half of Scotland combined.
The flood claimed an estimated two to four million lives due to drowning, famine, and disease.
In its wake, China prioritised better flood control measures, leading to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric dam.