KEY POINTS:
If you found yourself treading water in Northland or Hawkes Bay over the last two weeks, spare a thought for the citizens of New York where it's so hot, the city has opened 290 "cooling centres".
The facilities provide respite for New Yorkers who can't afford air conditioning in temperatures which are in the high 30s with humidity.
At the other end of the scale, there are reports from across the Tasman that some parts of New South Wales were colder than Antarctica yesterday.
At the Thredbo skifield, the wind chill temperature plummeted to 28 below zero.
Sydney had its coldest night in 21 years, dropping to less than 4C according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
In Japan, the worst typhoon in decades hit the country last weekend. More than 30 people are reported injured.
Winds gusts of up to 185kmh and 12m waves were reported crashing into the coast by the BBC.
Last month a heatwave across Europe killed 31 people across Greece, Italy and Romania and central Europe was enjoying - or suffering, depending on your point of view - temperatures in the 30s again this week.
But this is nothing compared to Baghdad, Iraq, and Death Valley in California which are currently both just shy of the 50C mark in the shade.
Meanwhile in Sudan, 30 people are dead and thousands are homeless after massive flooding in the east and north. Flooding near a new dam has displaced over 2000 families, reports Irin news.
Back in the southern hemisphere winter, Buenos Aires in Argentina had its first snowfall for 89 years earlier this month.
And, just in case you're wondering, it is raining and overcast in London today.
