Deaths
in Japan and Taiwan as record cold snap hits east Asia
At
least 95 people die as record-low temperatures in region bring snow
and ice cause flight cancellations and leave thousands stranded
25
January, 2016
Snow,
sleet and icy winds across east Asia have caused deaths, flight
cancellations and chaos as the region struggles with record-low
temperatures due to an Arctic cold snap that brought snow to several
tropical areas for the first time in many people’s lifetimes.
In Taiwan,
the capital Taipei recorded a low of 4C (39F), the coldest in 44
years. Local media said 90 people had died due to the cold weather,
mainly from hypothermia and cardiac arrest. Five more died in Japan.
Hundreds
of flights were cancelled across the region, tens of thousands of
holidaymakers were stranded in South
Korea,
and freezing conditions in sub-tropical Hong Kong caused mayhem on
its tallest peak.
In
northern Vietnam, snow blanketed mountain areas as the wave of cold
air arrived on Sunday to Lào Cai province. In the capital, Hanoi, it
dropped to a milder 6C, although authorities said that was the
coldest the city has been for two decades.
The
southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, which is by the tropic of Cancer,
saw sleet for the first time in 60 years, the local meteorological
station said. Residents posted photos online of small snowmen they
had made, quickly constructed from a thin layer of icy flakes that
fell on cars and road.
A
Guangzhou driver, Wang Jun, told the South China Morning
Post that he had never seen sleet throughout his 20 years working in
the city. “I woke up at 6am to work and saw small pieces of ice hit
my windscreen. It stopped for a while, but happened again half an
hour later. And then there was sleet at about 11am,” he said.
“It’s
the first time I’ve see that. It’s very beautiful,” he said.
The
cold was caused by a polar vortex, a large cyclone that pushed south
from Siberia and unusual meteorological occurrence for east Asia.
In Hong
Kong,
primary schools and kindergartens were closed on Monday after
temperatures fell to 3C, a 60-year low. A 100km ultra-marathon race
was abandoned as competitors crossing the city’s tallest peak, Tai
Mo Shan, slipped on icy slopes buffeted by freezing winds. A race
official described the scene as one of “carnage”, with dozens of
people suffering from hypothermia; firefighters called in to rescue
them were filmed slipping and sliding on the icy road.
In
Bangkok, labelled the planet’s hottest city by the World
Meteorological Organisation for its mean air temperature of 28C, the
mercury dropped to 16C on Monday. Scarves and padded jackets,
normally bought only as winter holiday items by residents of Bangkok,
appeared in the city as locals dealt with the unusually cool weather.
During
the peak tourism season, the sea in many areas was dark and rough as
grey clouds hung overhead.
Hundreds
of flight cancellations left tens of thousands of holidaymakers
stranded in South Korea, after the biggest snowfall in three decades
shut the airport on the resort island on Jeju.
In
China, 24 weather stations recorded all-time low temperatures.
Further north, in Inner Mongolia,
the temperature dropped to a record low of -46.8C (-52F) and in
China’s eastern city of Qingdao, fishing boats were stuck fast in
the frozen waters.
The
weather ruined many people’s travel plans for the Chinese lunar new
year season, when families normally travel to their home towns.
If you never read any science, or if you're a complete idiot, you might think this was "evidence" of a coming ice age.
Never mind the fact that it's raining and temperatures are 55F higher than what they should be.
Perhaps all the evidence is being fabricated. Lol.
Never mind the fact that it's raining and temperatures are 55F higher than what they should be.
Perhaps all the evidence is being fabricated. Lol.
But if you're open to looking at things rationally and open to a bit of science, paul Beckwith can put it into context
Arctic Ocean Blowtorch Attacks Sea-Ice
Our
climate system has destabilized. Our fossil-fueled emissions have
changed the chemistry of our atmosphere and our oceans, changing the
heat balance between the equator and Arctic. This has fractured the
jet streams, and brings us closer to a new planet with zero snow and
ice in the Arctic. Here is what is happening...
Or this...
Or this... From Jason BoxBlizzard Jonas and the slowdown of the Gulf Stream System
Blizzard
Jonas on the US east coast has just shattered
snowfall records.
Both weather forecasters and climate experts have linked
the high snowfall amounts to the exceptionally warm sea surface
temperatures off
the east coast. In this post I will examine a related question: why
are sea surface temperatures so high there, as shown in the snapshot
from Climate
Reanalyzer below?
'If anything, climate sensitivity is higher'-Glaciologist Jason Box on climate sensitivity
Back to the news stories
As
Hong Kong emerged into the crisp sunny day today after its
record-setting cold snap on Sunday areas around the world were
experiencing unseasonal weather.
In Melbourne, Australia summer’s
extreme heat gave way to relatively cold weather, as the United
States dealt with record snowfall in a blizzard. Even New Delhi in
India battled through a wave of cold weather; the minimum temperature
in the often steamy city was just 4.2 degrees Celsius on Friday,
below
Japan
snowstormTOKYO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — Five people died and scores have
been injured, as swathes of western and central Japan on Sunday saw
record amounts of heavy snowfall blanket town and cities.
The
snow caused major disruption to transportation networks, with
hundreds of flights canceled and bullet trains services suspended.
Conditions are likely to worsen
Polar
vortex hits Hong Kong: new records as temperatures plummet towards
zero, weather bureau promises more cold to come
Blizzard and hurricane winds kill 19 people in north-eastern US states
Some
were killed in car accidents, three died shovelling snow in New York
City and two of hypothermia in Virginia
While the el-Nino is live and well in the Pacific....
While the el-Nino is live and well in the Pacific....
Interesting divergent views [from cataclysmic warming to substantial cooling], but apparently amounting to opinions expressed as facts: not very scientific, just fear mongering.
ReplyDeleteDr Paul Beckwith adds unsubstantiated exaggerations, like the east coast to have serious flooding as the 3 ft [that's a max fall, not the average] of snow melt in a "few days": 3 ft of snow would be equivalent of up to only 3" of water...His presentation is somewhat incoherent and unsubstantiated.
Interesting divergent views [from cataclysmic warming to substantial cooling], but apparently amounting to opinions expressed as facts: not very scientific, just fear mongering.
ReplyDeleteDr Paul Beckwith adds unsubstantiated exaggerations, like the east coast to have serious flooding as the 3 ft [that's a max fall, not the average] of snow melt in a "few days": 3 ft of snow would be equivalent of up to only 3" of water...His presentation is somewhat incoherent and unsubstantiated.