A strong blast of cold air from Siberia caused blizzards to sweep through Europe at the end of February and beginning of March. Nicknamed the “Beast from the East” in the UK, the cold front caused unusually low temperatures across the continent.

The effects were deadly, particularly for homeless people. In Poland 23 people died, the majority of whom were rough sleepers.

Temperatures across Europe plummeted below historical averages

While it is possible the weather was a freak occurrence, scientists are concerned the event may have been caused by a weakening of the polar vortex as a result of global warming.

Argentina and Uruguay sustained severe droughts throughout January to March that hurt both countries’ economies.

Argentina, which is the world’s third-largest exporter of corn and soya beans, was hit the hardest with its most severe drought in 30 years. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange predicted losses to the national economy of up to $3.4bn.

The drought caused a surge in global grain prices

Though this disaster started in South America, the effects were felt across the planet, as grain prices soared at the news of lower yields.

A 2015 report from UK insurance company Lloyd’s predicted that droughts like this could become more frequent and would pose threats to the global food supply, especially if multiple countries were affected at once.

Europe endured a series of heatwaves throughout the summer that saw temperatures reach 45C in Portugal.

Three people died in Spain from heatstroke, forest fires broke out in Scandinavia – as far north as the Arctic circle – while UK hospitals had to adopt emergency measures to cope with illnesses caused by the heat.

A study by World Weather Attribution said the extreme heat was made more than twice as likely by climate change, and that these types of sustained heatwaves will be more common in the future.

May to July was the UK’s hottest three month period on record

One of the deadliest climate-related natural disasters of 2018 took place in the coastal Indian state of Kerala. Flooding in August claimed the lives of 361 people and left hundreds of thousands completely stranded or homeless.

India was hit by severe floods from May to October, and the official number of deaths will be unknown for some time. A study published this year by the World Bank suggests that climate change is already affecting more than 800 million people living in south Asia, and the situation will get worse in the future.

Kerala’s worst flooding in a century affected a population equivalent to several large European cities

A year after one of the worst hurricane seasons in US history, 2018 brought more catastrophic storms. Hurricanes Florence and Michael left parts of North Carolina’s coast and the Florida Panhandle unrecognisable. Both storms were colossal – Florence was reportedly 500 miles (805km) wide and Michael 350 miles (563km) wide – which is big enough to cover the whole of the United Kingdom.

The strongest storm of the year, however, wreaked devastation on Guam, the Philippines and parts of south China in September. Super typhoon Mangkhut recorded wind speeds of up to 175mph, the equivalent to a strong category 5 hurricane, and was responsible for more than 100 deaths.

Part of the destruction caused by hurricanes is due to the rainfall they bring. One study indicates the total rainfall unleashed by Hurricane Florence was 50% higher than it would have been without human-induced climate change. Meteorologist Ryan Maue estimates the total for Florence to be 11tn gallons of water.

California has a long history of devastating wildfires but early estimates suggest 2018 could be the most calamitous year ever. The Mendocino Complex fire obliterated the record for the largest blaze in the state’s history by burning 460,000 acres, almost 180,000 more than the Thomas fire last year.

Adding the many other conflagrations in California this year, it is estimated that close to a million acres have been devastated.

The US Geological Survey estimated the 2018 California wildfire season emitted as much carbon dioxide as the state produces from a year’s electricity generation. While the overwhelming majority of scientists say global warming is creating tinder-box conditions, the climate change-denying US secretary of the interior, Ryan Zinke, blamed forest management.