China's monsoon season has been catastrophic so far, unprecedented heavy floods have taken a heavy toll. The southwest and central regions in the Yangtze river basin witnessed the heaviest rainfall in 1,000 years, and the water continues to pour down with no rest.

Across Henan, rains deluged 1,700 large-scale farms, killing more than a million animals, and whose many small farmers still play a major role in meat production. The floods also caused a major explosion in an aluminum alloy unit in central Henan.

At least 14 people lost their lives in Zhengzhou city when their subway train flooded. More than 500 people were trapped in the subway in one of the worst-affected areas of the city.

China's biggest river, the Yangtze, and several of its tributaries have risen to dangerous levels after days of heavy rain, forcing evacuations of thousands of people and triggering an unprecedented emergency response alert.

A very serious double earthen dam failure sent 46 million cubic meters of water to the Hulunbuir area of Inner Mongolia, causing massive flooding.

The Three Gorges Dam has successfully contained the heavy floods, sighing relief to Chinese authorities, as a collapse could have had an even more catastrophic impact on the area.

Severe flooding caused by historic rainfall wreaked havoc across western Europe taking the lives of 189 people. Tens of thousands were unable to return to their homes and were left without access to power and drinking water. Towns in river valleys and low-lying plains in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Austria were heavily damaged. Most of the affected areas had not experienced that much rainfall in 100 years.

Drought and extreme heat triggered the two largest wildfires in the Western US. The fires have burned land nearly the size of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago combined.

The Dixie Fire in California scorched 241,000 acres has destroyed more than 60 houses. The widespread fires have forced the evacuation of more than 7,800 residents.

The Bootleg Fire is still raging in southern Oregon, burning 413,000 acres since igniting this month. The fire has torn through more than 400 houses.

Greek firefighters faced dangerous and unprecedented conditions as they battled 154 wildfires through Athens, with one of them threatening Mount Parnitha national park — one of the last remaining substantial forests near the city. Meanwhile, in Turkey, eight people died in the country's worst blaze in decades that raged through swaths of the southern coast.

Hot weather and strong winds fueled multiple wildlife fires in Akkar, Lebanon, consuming the iconic Lebanese pine forests. The flames forced thousands to evacuate.

And on the southern hemisphere, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay reported rare snowstorms and surprisingly cold temperatures this winter.

A magnitude-8.2 earthquake rattled Chignik, Alaska this month, it has been recorded as the most powerful U.S. earthquake in half a century. Several Alaskan coastal communities were evacuated following the quake, but no major damage was reported due to the remote location and depth of the epicenter.

Have you noticed that more and more people, cattle, buildings, and trees are getting struck by lightning? Things are charging up in higher layers of the atmosphere. Keep your eyes open, and prepare accordingly!

All this and more in our SOTT Earth Changes Summary for July 2021:

The Dixie Fire burning in two Northern California counties is now the largest single wildfire in recorded state history, exploding in size overnight as drought-stricken lands continue to fuel the flames.

The fire, which has burned for 23 days and forced mass evacuations, razed the Gold Rush town of Greenville on Thursday, destroying 91 buildings and damaging five others. Smoke from the blaze has blown to lower parts of Northern California, including the state capital of Sacramento where the air quality index on Friday reached "unhealthy" levels.

Thousands of residents have fled to safety from a wildfire that burned for a fourth day north of Athens as firefighters tried to stop the flames reaching populated areas, power stations and historic sites.

On the nearby island of Evia, the coast guard mounted a massive operation with patrol boats and private vessels to evacuate hundreds of people by sea.

With a protracted heatwave scorching the country, the blaze tore through forest areas 12.5 miles north of the capital, destroying more homes.

A rapidly spreading wildfire burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate in two heavily wooded counties northeast of Sacramento in Northern California on Wednesday, generating a towering plume of smoke visible from at least 70 miles (110 km) away.

The so-called River Fire scorched 1,400 acres (566 hectares) in Placer and Nevada counties, with 1,000 acres burnt within the first two hours, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

The River Fire was less than 100 miles (160 km) south of the enduring Dixie Fire, which according to Cal Fire has consumed 278,000 acres and was only 35% contained three weeks after it started.

Social media images showed the Dixie Fire on Wednesday had destroyed multiple structures in one section of Greenville, a town of about 800 people in Plumas County.

A fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon in Varybobi, a northern suburb of Athens.

The Greek national road, which runs from Athens to Lamia has been closed due to the blaze.

The fire is thought to have started in the nearby heavily forested area of Kryoneri, but has spread significantly throughout the afternoon.

Evacuation of Varibobi was ordered short after 4:30 p.m.

As the blaze is near some power substation there are reports of problems in the power surge and thus on the hottest day in the Greek capital where over 42 degrees Celsius are being recorded.

Parts of southern Turkey has been left devastated by the wildfires. Thousands have had to evacuate their homes after the fires ravaged through towns and villages. At least eight people have died in the blazes while villagers lost their homes and farm animals.

Some residents have scrambled to save their livestock, struggling to get them to safety. Turkish farmer Nurten Almaz said she lost everything including her home, her animals and "one century of people's labour". "I feel so much pain, like I lost a child," she added. The country has launched an international appeal for help in taming the fires.

Lightning bolts struck the parched forests of southern Oregon hundreds of times in 24 hours, igniting some 50 new wildfires even as the nation's largest wildfire continued to burn less than 100 miles (161 kilometers) away, officials said on Monday.

State, federal and contracted firefighters, augmented by helicopters and planes dropping fire retardant, pounced on the new wildfires in national forests in southwest Oregon before they could spread out of control. The largest one was estimated at up to 5 acres (2 hectares).

Thunderstorms unleashed some 700 lightning bolts that hit the ground and also brought rain to some places, but left others dry while triggering multiple fires, said Margueritte Hickman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service.

Firefighters and support personnel worked through the night to locate and extinguish fires.

A large wildfire is ripping through thousands of acres of dry brush in Hawaii County, prompting evacuations and threatening structures.

The 40,000-acre fire began on Friday morning near Mana Road in Waimea on the island of Hawaii. By Saturday, it had consumed over 10,000 acres and the Pu'u Kapu Hawaiian Homestead and Waiki'i Ranch areas were ordered to evacuate immediately.

Hawaii Fire Department Volunteer Captain John Bertsch told West Hawaii Today that at one point on Friday, one front of the fire reached four miles in length.

Two homes in the Department of Hawaiian Homelands Puukapu Subdivision were destroyed. The evacuation order in Waikoloa Village was lifted Sunday, but fire officials are cautioning residents and tourists to stay vigilant.

Firefighters in Italy were battling wildfires for the second day in a row on Saturday, with the blazes reaching the Sicilian port city of Catania.

Late Friday, some 150 people were trapped in two seaside areas in Catania, before eventually being evacuated by sea, where they were picked up by rubber dinghies and transferred to Coast Guard boats.

The fires also forced the temporary closure of the region's airport, as part of a procedure to give precedence to air rescue and firefighting missions.

The following is a press release from the U.S. Forest Service:

Lightning from thunderstorms over the last several days has ignited roughly 29 fires over the western side of the Klamath National Forest. More lightning is forecasted for today, and additional new fires are anticipated due to the volume of lightning that has been received.

All but four of the fires are on the Salmon-Scott River Ranger District and are being managed as a single incident called the River Complex. The largest of these fires is the Cronan Fire, which is located 3.5 miles northeast of Sawyers Bar. It has been reported as 20 acres in size. Yesterday, helicopters and air tankers were used to limit the fire's spread while ground crews work on gaining access. Five of the fires have been contained and two have been called out.