**2.1 Storms, rainfalls, and floods**

Drastic storms like cyclones, hurricanes, tornados, and typhoons may encompass blizzards, hail, rain, snow, lightning, thunder, and strong winds. As shown in **Figure 1**, the outcome could be devastating for communities in technologically advanced and developing nations alike.


#### **Figure 1.**

*Effects of storms, rains, and floods on planet earth. Photo sources. (A): Joe Raedle/Getty Images: Residents of Houston evacuate their homes after the area was flooded from Hurricane Harvey, – Yahoo Image Search Results (Accessed 1st June 2023); (B): [2]; (C): [3]; (D and E): [4]; and (F): [5].*

*Dialing Back the Doomsday Clock with Circular Bioeconomy DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.113181*


#### **2.2 Cold and heat extremes**

Cold and heat extremes disrupt energy facilities, food supplies, economic activities, and endanger humans, plants, and animals. Impacts of non-optimal temperatures have been reported [14, 15]; and are stressed by age, comorbidities of health condition, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and pharmaceuticals. For example, medications that impair thermoregulation or depress sweat gland functions have been implicated [16].

#### **2.3 Severe droughts**

Drought is a key constraint affecting food supply, especially in areas dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Water stress impedes water bodies, food, and forage crops. Livestock grazing/production, lakes, and ponds become devastated (**Figure 2**), exacerbating the economic status and welfare of subsistence farmers and households.

#### **2.4 Excessive wildfires**

**Figure 3** presents sites that are becoming rather common on planet earth. From country to country, wildfires have been occurring with alacrity. Brazil, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Portugal, and Spain are among the victims in recent years. Wildfires destroy human life, and rare plant and animal species; and emit heat energy, smoke, carbon monoxide (CO), and other pollutants with adverse environmental and health effects. The wildfires of 2019–2020 in Australia aggravated health issues, caused 417 deaths, and emitted about 715 Tg CO2 [19, 20]. In February 2023, the searing heat wave in the Parana-La Plata Basin, Chile, caused flames to spread, killed over 20 persons, injured over 1000 others, and burnt about 270,000 hectares of land [21].

#### **Figure 2.**

*Impacts of drought on planet earth. The remains of dead livestock and a donkey (left), and cracked earth in an area once under the water of a Lake. Source: [3].*

#### **Figure 3.**

*Excessive wildfires cause destruction and pollution on planet earth. (A): Raging wildfires. Source- Munich Re; https://www.munichre.com/natcatservice (Accessed 26th February 2023). (B): Wildfires smoke aerosol over Zama City, Alberta, Canada. Source: Alberta Wildfire/Handout via Reuters [17]. (C): Smoke pollution over the Pacific Ocean. Source: [18].*

In early June 2023, various news channels were reporting the fallout of wildfires from Canada (**Figure 3B**) that affected several states in the USA; including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC; the nation's capital. Some air flights were interrupted, schools closed, Broadway shows canceled, and residents were urged to stay indoors, and/or wear masks [NPR news bulletin of 8th June 2023]. By mid-August 2023, the Maui Hawaii wildfires in the USA had traumatized families, erased homes, devastated infrastructures, killed over 100 persons, and hundreds more reported missing [CBS and BBC news bulletins of 16th August 2023].
