On Thursday, May 18, 2017, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced “world records” for the highest reported historical death tolls from tropical cyclones, tornadoes, lightning and hailstorms. It marks the first time the official WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes has broadened its scope from temperature and weather records to address the impacts of specific events.
The findings were announced just ahead of two major conferences on improving multi-hazard early warning systems and strengthening disaster risk reduction, taking place in Cancun, Mexico from May 22 to 26 and organized by WMO and the UN Office on Disaster Risk Reduction.