A large forest fire is approaching the Canadian oil-town of Fort McMurray. On 15 May it was reported that the fire had spread significantly because of dry conditions and strong wind.

Local authoroties have ordered some 6000 people to evacuate, but others are leaving voluntarily and don't wait for evacuation orders. Some people said they don't want to live through the same situation as in 2016 again, when fires destroyed 2400 homes and 90,000 people were evacuated because of fires.

Flooding and landslides have caused over 50 fatalities in the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Continuing rains have cuase mudslides that inundated several districts in the western part of the island.

More than 3000 people were evacuated.

Meteorologists say that global warming causes seawater temperatures to rise, which in turn causes heavier and longer rains.

Continuous rain has resulted in flooding in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the south of Brazil. Some 115,000 people have been evacuated and the death toll stood at 78 on 6 May.

Roads and bridges have been destroyed and almost half a million people were without electricity. it is the third time in a short period that the region has been devastated, as there were also floodings in September and November last year.

Heavy rainfall has caused several dams to collapse in the western part of Curaçao during the night between 3 and 4 May. Large parts of the island were flooded, incuding Jandino Asporaat national Park. There were no reports of victims.

Thousands of inhabitants from the Indonesian island of Ruang are being resettled permanently, the Indonesian government decided on 4 May. The decision has been amde out of fear that the volcano might erupt and the continuous danger it poses.

There have been several eruptions in April. Most of the inhabitants have already been evacuated, but now they are not allowed to return. New dwellings will be built on the island of Sulawesi, some 200 km from Ruang.

Could mud buildings protect us against climate change? In Agadez, a desert city in Niger, people think they can. Locals have been building mud houses there for centuries. The isolating effect is stunning. When it's hot outside, inside its cool and vice versa.

Newer dwellings in the city have been built using concrete and there is a notable difference. The concrete buildings are hot during the day and get very cold at night. It is more expensive as well.

Local architects hope that people in Agadez will continue to prefer mud buildings over concrete ones.

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