A super typhoon roared toward the Philippines on Thursday, prompting thousands to evacuate ahead of its heavy rains and fierce winds that are set to strike at the weekend before moving on to China.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in the southern U.S. state on Wednesday ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Florence.

The United States will fall short by a third on its commitment under the Paris climate treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report released Wednesday in San Francisco.

A crescendo of efforts at the sub-national level by states, cities and business to shrink the country's carbon footprint will not fully compensate for President Donald Trump's decision to scrap his predecessor's climate policies and promote the use of fossil fuels, it found.

Coastal residents fleeing a potentially devastating blow from Hurricane Florence encountered empty gasoline pumps and depleted store shelves as the monster storm neared the Carolina coast with 140 mph (225 kph) winds and drenching rain that could last for days.

While some said they planned to stay put despite hurricane watches and warnings that include the homes of more than 5.4 million people on the East Coast, many weren't taking any chances.

Washington's mayor Tuesday declared a state of emergency as Hurricane Florence bears down on the U.S. East Coast, threatening torrential rain and flooding in the capital region.

Governors, mayors, CEOs and billionaire philanthropists gather in San Francisco this week to take aim at global warming as the world awakens to the all-too-real threat of climate change run amuck.

The three-day Global Climate Action Summit, which kicks off Wednesday, will see hundreds of cities, regions and companies worth hundreds of billions pledge to run on solar or wind power within a few decades.

Former U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon and billionaire businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates will head an international commission on climate change to launch next month, the Dutch government said Monday.

Record typhoons, biblical floods, heatwaves, landslides and earthquakes: this summer, Japan really has seen it all and images of the destruction caused have been beamed around the world.

The Czech capital Prague has experienced its hottest summer since records started in 1775, the weather institute said on Thursday.  

Norway has completed the frame of the world's tallest timber building, which is being lauded for being environmentally friendly and fire resistant.