The very nature of filming in the 'Extremes' means that there was never a dull moment on location. From camping 18 days underground to hiking mountains, each sequence presented its own unique challenges. An unusual feature of the Sonoran Desert is its bimodal rainfall pattern (i.e. two wet seasons; one from December until March and another from July to August). Driest place Wildfires are notoriously difficult to compare, particularly between those from different eras, as they come in several forms and they can be measured in various ways. Two fires currently share this record title as they are thought to have burned a similar-sized area of forest.

Not to be confused with fire whirls, fire tornadoes are true tornadoes formed from pyrocumulonimbus clouds. Such clouds form over large sources of heat, such as wildfires or volcanic eruptions. This was no flash in the pan – a single lightning flash lasted for 16.73 seconds, occurring over northern Argentina on 4 March 2019. The average duration for a lightning bolt is just 0.2 seconds. NASA Global Climate Change - Extreme Makeover: Human Activities Are Making Some Extreme Events More Frequent or Intense On 18 January 2003, a fire tornado formed in the plume of the McIntyres Hut Fire, part of the January 2003 Canberra fires in Australia. Climate change from a human-caused rise in greenhouse gases is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.Measuring snow is problematic in that it changes as time passes. For example, snow from a snowfall will compress as new snow falls on top of the old. So, oddly, snowfall measurements can actually be wrong if the observations are taken too frequently.” – Dr. Randy Cerveny Greatest snowfall in 12 months The team spent almost eight weeks (55 days in total) camping on the tundra of Ellesmere Island. During the shoot, they went from 24 hours of daylight to days of half daylight and half darkness, within just a two-month period. They also experienced nearly every kind of weather - from sunshine, to B11 katabatic winds, torrential rain and blizzards. As our climate changes, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and often more intense. On the plains of Kenya, an elephant mother is struggling to keep her two sons alive, and after months of drought and with food and water supplies critically low, the family are faced with tragedy. Human actions since the Industrial Revolution, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, have caused greenhouse gases to rapidly rise in the atmosphere. As carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases increase, they act as a blanket, trapping heat and warming the planet. In response, Earth’s air and ocean temperatures warm. This warming affects the water cycle, shifts weather patterns, and melts land ice — all impacts that can make extreme weather worse.

Huddling can be a survival superpower, especially in the winter cold of the Atlas Mountains. For a young barbary macaque, separated from the group, it’s vital to find and re-join the huddle before nightfall, but there is a surprising obstacle in his way. The ultimate huddle is found in the mountains of Mexico where millions of monarch butterflies are overwintering. But the calm is shattered when a storm hits their forest shelter. Extra-terrestrial spores and suspended dust are both amongst the varied explanations for red rain. However, after analysing samples in 2015, scientists concluded that it's caused by the presence of microalgae spores from the species Trentepohlia annulata. Snow & Ice The Indian state of Kerala experienced multiple showers of red rain between 25 July to 23 September 2001, making the region the first and only place on Earth where it has occurred on three consecutive months.Over the course of 24 hours, the temperature in Loma, Montana, USA swung a record 57.2°C (103°F). Reading -47.7°C (-54°F) at 9 a.m. on 14 January 1972, the temperature rose to 9.4°C (49°F) by 8 a.m. the next day. Featuring the Kenyan highlands, the Great Plains of the USA and the Antarctic tundra, this whistle-stop tour of the world explores Earth’s most terrific and most terrifying climates. Temperature Supercells often occur in “Tornado Alley”, USA, where they can be responsible for spawning tornadoes. Longest lightning flash On 31 October 2019, a single lightning flash spanned a horizontal distance of 709 km (440.6 mi), from north-eastern Argentina and across southern Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. By comparison, the Sahara Desert – the world's largest hot desert – receives 100–250 mm (4–10 in) of precipitation on average annually.

Perhaps surprisingly to some, the most hailstorms in a year occur in the Kericho Hills region of Kenya. This area receives hailstorms around 132 days each year, on average.As our climate changes, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and often more intense. In light of these changes to the environment, what can audiences take away? The aptly named Death Valley, in California, USA, is one of the hottest places in the world. The highest temperature ever, 56.7°C (134°F), was recorded there at Greenland Ranch on 10 July 1913. In Vietnam, the true scale and grandeur of what’s thought to be the world’s largest cave - Hang son Doong - is revealed. In its depths, blind white cave fish are found in tiny pools of water, surviving on nutrients washed in from the jungle above.