More than 246 properties evacuated, 97 flood rescues, 181 families stranded on islands, and tens of millions of dollars in losses to local businesses throughout central NSW. That is the human, emotional and economic toll of a flood that was in some ways, man made.

Residents in low lying areas of Condobolin ordered to evacuate within the next 24 hours.

European Union countries on Friday agreed to fast-track joint ratification of the Paris accord to combat climate change, pushing the landmark global pact to the brink of reality.

In all 181 families have now been isolated after the biggest floods in decades hit the central-west of NSW, with no road access, limited communications and dwindling supplies.

Something strange is going on with the weather. It might be spring, but that hasn't stopped snow falling in the ACT.

A company offers people the chance to be active players in the energy market.

* Pangolins regarded as most poached animal on the planet

South Australia has a mammoth mop up ahead after a second day of storms lashed the state on Thursday.

Animal rights activists have called for an investigation after one of two lions which escaped from their cage at the Leipzig Zoo in Germany was shot dead.

The BOM issued a warning of peak gusts of more than 90 km/h, but they only reached 43km/h.

Adelaide was bracing for some of the strongest winds the city had ever seen on Thursday night.

A new study has revealed human-caused climate change is already harming parts of Australia.

• UPDATED

Several parts of Victoria remain on flood watch and a watch-and-act warning has been issued for landslides on the Great Ocean Road after wild weather skirted the state on its way from South Australia to New South Wales.

The ACT government has dismissed attacks on the renewable energy sector after the South Australia power outage.

More polar bears are being shot dead on Norway's remote Arctic islands, where dangerous encounters with humans are getting more frequent as visitors increase and global warming melts the sea ice on which the creatures roam.

NSW is next in line for the mega-storm that brought havoc across South Australia and plunged the entire state into black-out.

The lights were hardly out in South Australia before politicians and lobby groups were staking out their ground in the argument over climate change and renewable energy.

The entire state of South Australia is currently without power.

• EXCLUSIVE

The potential benefits of a double-barrelled penis - for a fly anyway.

Guy Innes was sitting on his porch enjoying a coffee when he noticed a koala strolling across a beach to access the water at Salamander Bay.

Enjoy the sunshine while you can, Canberra, a serious storm system is sweeping toward us.

The touch of rescuers is usually a huge relief for someone in danger, but it wasn't the case for one Cowra motorist who tried to drive through flood water last week.

The future of air safety could lie in the example of Drongo, Nemo and Titan.

Almost 4000 South Australian properties are without power as an extreme weather system moves across the state.

Canberrans have spared the worst of the wet weather that's wreaking havoc in NSW's central west, but they're still facing record-breaking rainfall.

The World Health Organisation says 92 per cent of the world's population live in places where the pollution levels exceeded WHO limits.

Current greenhouse gas levels could commit the planet to as much as 7 degrees of warming in coming millennia.

* Ivory poaching seen as main cause of decline

Floodwaters have peaked in the central western NSW town of Forbes overnight, but residents have been warned that more wet weather forecast for later in the week could cause river levels to rise again.

While floodwaters continue to rise in Forbes, Sydney is set for a dry few days before rain returns on Thursday.