The heaviest hailstones on record weighed up to 1.02 kg (2 lb 3.9 oz). The grapefruit-sized hailstones were reported to have killed 92 people in the Gopalganj area of Bangladesh on 14 April 1986. Most hailstorms in a year The past five years on our planet have been the warmest ever recorded in history. 1.2 trillion tonnes of ice are now melting each year, whilst the Atlantic Ocean unleashed more hurricanes in 2020 than ever before. 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.

In this episode we are taken to places where life exists on a knife edge. What was the most challenging sequence to film in such extremes?

Find a Scheme of Work

Few places are more extreme than the Gobi desert where temperatures can range between -30 and +40 degrees Celsius. But the snow leopard has made its home here. This rare and intimate view of a mother and cubs reminds us that the extremes still hold some of planet Earth’s greatest secrets and most spectacular natural wonders. Tornadoes are much smaller than hurricanes and last for a shorter duration, however, they produce higher wind speeds.

Mt Washington, New Hampshire, USA, is the windiest place in the world. A surface wind speed of 231 mph (371 km/h) was recorded on 12 April 1934, setting the record for the fastest surface wind speed - high altitude. Changes to extreme weather are already happening, with greater impacts expected the more Earth warms.

What are the effects of climate change on extreme weather?

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. 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. Most locations are setting many, many more all-time heat records as opposed to cold records. We live in a world that is becoming more and more extreme!” – Dr. Randy Cerveny, World Meteorological Organization’s Rapporteur of Weather & Climate Extremes Supercells often occur in “Tornado Alley”, USA, where they can be responsible for spawning tornadoes. Longest lightning flash

Although some doubts have been cast around the accuracy of this reading, a more recent temperature of 54.4°C (129.9°F) was registered in Death Valley on 16 August 2020. If confirmed to be accurate by the WMO, this will likely be recognized as the highest reliably measured temperature on record. 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.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. The fastest surface wind speed at sea level is 207 mph (333 km/h), recorded on 8 March 1972 at Thule Air Base, Greenland. Thule currently serves as the United States Space Force’s northernmost base. An astonishing 31.1 metres (102 ft) of snow fell on the Paradise region of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA, from 19 February 1971 to 18 February 1972. At a height of 4,392 m (14,410 ft), Rainier has a permanent covering of snow. NASA Global Climate Change - Extreme Makeover: Human Activities Are Making Some Extreme Events More Frequent or Intense 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.

Supercells are powerful thunderstorms that form around a mesocyclone (a deep, rotating updraft). They can be several kilometres across and may last several hours, making them the largest thunderstorms in the world as well as the longest-lasting thunderstorms. 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.

Engage children with digital learning

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 Theo has worked at the BBC Natural History Unit for almost 15 years, and on multiple blue chip landmark series, including Dynasties, Life Story, Planet Earth II and Seven Worlds One Planet. After studying Zoology, his BBC tv career began on the Natural World Strand researching a landmark film about British Butterflies. He then joined the expedition series Lost Land of the Tiger where the team attempted to film tigers in the dense forests of Manas National Park, Bhutan, and high in the Himalaya. For his next project, Theo travelled across 4 continents filming for Sir David Attenborough’s Life Story series. This gave him a further appetite for filming the elusive Bengal tiger. A life’s dream was realised when he worked with veteran producer Miles Barton on Dynasties – Tiger, directing over 200 days in the field. This unique opportunity led to some of the most intimate portraits of tiger family life ever filmed. After so long in the field, Theo took a career break to train as a chef before returning to the NHU and producing Planet Earth III – Extremes. Typically, the length of lightning bolts is around 9 km (5.5 mi) or below. Longest lasting lightning flash