Photos show 10 of the worst weather disasters

A recent United Nations report points to a dramatic rise in the intensity and frequency of weather-related disasterslikeheatwaves, droughtsand hurricanes and the hardest-hit countriestheU.S., China, India, Philippinesand Indonesia should prepare for more.

Following is a look at 10 of the worst weather-related disasters in the past 20 years.

Indonesia's peatfires

Haze from Indonesia's massive wild fires (an annual problemcaused by the illegal burning of forest and peatlands) are especially bad this yearthanks to ElNino. NeighbouringSingapore and Malaysia, downwind from the choking haze,have offered to help the Indonesian governmentcurb the practice which is causingrecord pollution levels across Southeast Asia.

2015 hottest year ever, until next year

Summer temperatures hitrecord levels in Europeonce again this year, beating the record set last summer. Globally, 2015 went into the record books asthe hottest year ever,thanks to ElNino,and 2016 will be even hotter, according to a recentlyreleasedWorld Meteorological Organization report.

More andhotter heat waves

In 2003, some 70,000 heat-related deaths were reported across Europe, with nearly 15,000 in France alone.Globally, the year 2002 wasparticularly harsh, according to the UN report, with anoppressive heatwavesending the temperature in Indian cities likeAllahabad, pictured below, to46 Cand above for days on end, resulting in dozens of heat-related deaths.

Strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded

Typhoon Haiyan, or Yolanda as it was known in Philippines, swept across the South Pacific with devastating effect in November 2013 leaving thousands dead and millions more homeless and exposed to disease. Storms likeHaiyan, one ofthe deadliestin modern history, are expected to increase in frequency, according to the UNweather disasters report.

Sandstorms blanket Beijing

China also experienced a dramatic rise in the number of weather-related disasters in the past 20 years. Among the more persistentproblems arecyclonicspring winds that seasonallystir uphuge quantities ofsand, affecting the air quality formillions of people in Beijing and other major cities. The worst sandstorm ever recorded hit the Chinese capitalin 2002.

In Australia, drought is the new normal

Australia, already the world's most arid continent, is hoping a pioneering irrigation scheme will pass the test that is El Nino the cyclicalwarming of Pacific sea-surface temperatures that makes the land Down Under even hotter. Drought andother extreme weatheraffectsmillions of people across the world, and experts warn that the intensifying weather pattern this year could emerge as one of the strongest on record.

Expect more disasters in the U.S., too

California's historic, years-long drought contributed to one of the state's worst forest fire seasons on record this year. Thousands of people were evacuated from dozens of communities as windblown flames consumed millions of hectares of water-starved forests, ranch lands, vineyards and homes.

Hurricane Sandy worst in years

Hurricane Sandy, which devastated large sections of the U.S.Atlantic coast in 2012, continues to rack up adamage bill in excess of$75 billion US. It'sthe second costliest natural disaster in U.S. history afterHurricane Katrina, which killed nearly 2,000 people,in 2005.

Isaacslams Gulf Coast same year as Sandy

Before Sandy struck in 2012, and nearly seven years to the hour aftertheKatrina disaster, Hurricane Isaac made landfall in Louisiana, forcing evacuations andknocking out power to over 100,000 homes.

UN: More bad weather in the forecast

Since 1995, weather disasters have:

• Killed 606,000 people.
• Left 4.1 billion people injured, homeless or in need of aid.
• Accounted for 90 per cent of all disasters worldwide.

Cylone Nargisa'mega-disaster'

One of the deadliest disasters in the past decade,according to the UNreport, was Cyclone Nargis, which killed 138,000 in Burma in 2008.

The release of the UNreport comes a week before world leaders gather in Paris for the COP21 conferenceto discuss plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions and prevent world temperatures rising.