GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

JANUARY 2024

EUROPE

A cold weather alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) with temperatures set to plummet over the coming days. The warning comes into force at 9am on Saturday and expires at noon on 12 January.  The Met Office added that the cold snap would be caused by high pressure building over the UK into the next week, with drivers urged to be cautious of ice. The UKHSA said: “A brisk easterly wind developing across the south over the weekend will make it feel much colder, with the added wind chill. “Temperatures are likely to be a few degrees below average, across much of the UK, especially overnight, with more widespread frosts than of late. Ice is likely to be an issue for many given the very wet ground in most areas. It is probably this cold spell may last well into the following week.”

Oslo airport has stopped all flights from landing and departing amid heavy snowfall and extreme weather around the Norwegian capital, the east of the country and parts of Sweden.  The airport operator Avinor said it had taken the extremely rare step to suspend flights at about 12.35pm local time on Wednesday for safety reasons after large volumes of snow and strong wind meant the lights on the runway were not visible. Cathrine Framholt, Avinor’s communications manager, said she expected flights to resume at 2.30pm but the situation may be reassessed before then. “I don’t know when this last happened but it is unusual. The weather is extreme,” she added.

After the misery and chaos caused by torrential rain and flooding, authorities have warned people to be prepared for potentially dangerous cold temperatures and treacherous ice.  New weather warnings for England were issued on Sunday as flood-hit communities continued to mop up from the effects of Storm Henk.  An amber cold weather alert, which is in place until noon on Friday, was issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). It covers the north-west of England, West Midlands, east Midlands and south-west England.  A yellow cold weather alert is in place for the remainder of England. Cold weather alerts are part of a new system introduced for England that went live in November. A yellow alert is for elderly and vulnerable people while an amber alert means the impact of the cold weather is likely to be “felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time, with potential for the whole population to be at risk”.

ASIA

Beijing experienced its coldest December since records began in 1951, after a cold wave hit much of China. Temperatures fell below -10C, alongside heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions. Northern and north-eastern parts of the country experienced the coldest temperatures, as icy air moved south from the Arctic, with some areas plunging to -40C.

The Beijing weather observatory recorded a period of more than 300 hours in which temperatures remained below freezing, which is the longest for December since records began 72 years ago. The cold snap forced the closure of many schools and businesses in the Chinese capital, owing to travel disruption and the stress from added heating demands. Temperatures have risen into the New Year but Beijing remains cold, with maximum temperatures reaching just above freezing so far.

AUSTRAILA

Australian defense force personnel will be deployed across storm-hit south-east Queensland, as rain continues to pummel the country’s saturated east coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday warned of potentially life-threatening flooding, with alerts stretching from Maryborough in Queensland down to the northern rivers in New South Wales. Some areas can anticipate up to 300mm of rain, after more than 500mm fell on parts of the Gold Coast in 48 hours over the New Year. A flood watch was issued for Queensland’s Capricornia and south-east coast regions late Monday evening. Moderate flooding had hit the Logan and Albert rivers, and flood warnings were also in place for the Nerang, Coomera and Paroo rivers.

Queensland residents face the threat of another cyclone reaching their shores within days as intense rain continues across Australia’s north, forcing the evacuation of remote communities in the Northern Territory.  About 40 people from Pigeon Hole, a settlement about eight hours south of Darwin, were relocated on Thursday night and another 50 people at nearby Daguragu left for Kalkarindji.  A monsoon trough has dumped heavy rain on the territory, with 690mm recorded across seven days at Wadeye south of Darwin along with damaging winds.  A severe heatwave in Australia led to daily temperatures exceeding 40C (104F) for vast swathes of the country over the weekend, with the Pilbara region in Western Australia particularly badly affected.

After peaking at 47.9C on Saturday, in the remote town of Paraburdoo, Sunday’s highest confirmed temperature at the time of writing was 48.3C, at Onslow airport on the western coast. Onslow is also the joint record holder for Australia’s highest-ever recorded temperature, having reached 50.7C in January 2022. This record could be under threat as the heatwave continues into Monday and Tuesday, with daily maximums of 50-51C possible in the same region.  Heavy rainfall has also been hitting part of Australia’s Northern Territory, due to an area of low pressure stagnating over the region for the past week. Since 13 January, more than 100mm of rain has been recorded in the state almost every day, including an impressive 334.8mm at Port Keats on 15 January.

UNITED STATES

Dangerous freezing air from the Arctic continued sweeping across the US on Monday, prolonging a bitter cold blast that has set record-low temperatures and disrupted daily life across a broad swath of America, including an NFL playoff game and the presidential nominating contest in Iowa.  From Oregon on the west coast to New York state on the east coast and all the way down to Florida, the US grappled with the effects of a weather system that hit tens of millions of people.  The National Weather Service said wind chills were expected to push temperatures to -30F (-34C) from the northern Rockies to northern Kansas and into Iowa, testing the hardiness of caucus-goers willing to brave the deep chill on Monday and prompting dire warnings of the risk of frostbite for those venturing outside.

Increasingly cold conditions have swept western parts of the US this week, while tornadoes and flooding have inundated eastern areas.  An area of low pressure named Storm Finn tracked north-east from Texas towards the east coast early this week. As a result, tornadoes hit south-eastern states, at least 12 of which were in Florida and caused significant damage to many homes.  States in the north-east experienced the worst of the flooding, which left hundreds of thousands of homes without power and more than 1,000 flights cancelled. The rain gave way to snow in more mountainous and northern areas, bringing blizzards and strong winds.  Unsettled conditions are expected to continue in eastern states as another area of low pressure currently over central southern states is forecast to track in a similar direction to Finn and bring further rain and snow.   The deep freeze affecting millions of people across the US is continuing this weekend, as bitterly frigid air spilled into the Midwest from Canada amid high winds that could make it feel like -30F (-34C) outside in some areas.  The list of severe weather events was growing as the US struggled with the intense cold and news reports said at least 55 people across 10 states had been killed in weather-related incidents over the past week or so since the cold snap hit.  In Memphis, Tennessee, residents were urged to boil water and New Yorkers warned that roads could be covered with dangerous black ice this weekend as brutal cold and inclement weather continue to sweep across parts of the US. Heavier-than-forecast snow fell in New York City, Baltimore and Washington DC on Friday. Storms have walloped the Pacific north-west, Midwest, plains, south and north-east with low temperatures, heavy snow, ice storms, freezing rain and high winds for the past two weeks. A potential thaw isn’t expected until next week, when the forecast predicts above-average temperatures across most of the country, according to the National Weather Service.  The bracing weekend weather follows a series of storms blamed for at least 55 deaths around the country, many of them involving hypothermia or road accidents.

The first in a series of back-to-back atmospheric rivers arrived in California on Wednesday, as forecasters warn the severe storms will batter the state with heavy downpours, strong gusty winds and risks of flash floods. 

Both “pineapple express” atmospheric river systems – which pull streams of moisture from the Pacific near the Hawaiian islands before making landfall along the west coast – have the potential to wreak havoc, especially in vulnerable areas where past wildfires have left burn scars, or where the landscape has already been saturated by previous rains. The storms will also dump heavy snow over the Sierra and intermountain west region and churn up high surf along the coasts.

CANADA

A “bitter” blast of cold Arctic air is set to bring dangerously frigid temperatures to swaths of North America, forecasters have warned.

In Canada, frigid Arctic air is being pushed from the Northwest Territories down into the province of Alberta, where Environment Canada has issued an extreme cold warning. Alberta’s largest city, Calgary, could see temperatures plummet to -34.6F (-37C) on Friday, reaching a daytime high of -23.8F (-31C). This would mark the coldest January day in two decades for the city. Over the weekend, strong winds could make temperatures feel closer to -58F (-50C). In these conditions, experts say exposed skin can succumb to frostbite in less than a minute. The cold front is also set to push from the Rockies towards northern US plains on Thursday night before advancing south, the National Weather Service said, likely causing daily cold records to tumble in several places. In Texas and the south east, “dangerously cold wind chills” are expected that will push temperatures below freezing.

CLIMATE CHANGE

On Tuesday, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service released its annual highlights. It showed multiple records were broken in 2023, which was confirmed as the warmest year since records began in 1850. A global average temperature of 14.98C was recorded, 0.17C warmer than the previous record-setting year of 2016, and 0.6C hotter than the 1991-2020 climate average.  Last year was 1.48C warmer than the pre-industrial level in 1850-1900, with almost half of the days in the year recording an average global temperature at least 1.5C warmer than that period. By comparison, this occurred during 20% of days in 2016.  While last year was expected to be relatively warm because of El Niño and climate warming, the extent of this heat was not anticipated due to some unforeseen factors. For example, an El Niño brings warmer global temperatures in its decline, as seen in 2016. However, last year El Niño was building, and comparatively weaker in strength than the buildup phase of the 2015-16 event. Other factors are being investigated.

TROPICAL

Cyclone-affected residents have been offered disaster assistance in northern Queensland, where tens of thousands of customers remain without power.  Personal hardship assistance grants have been offered to residents of the Townsville and Burdekin shires after Tropical Cyclone Kirrily crossed the coast on Thursday evening. It comes as more than 23,000 customers remain without electricity after the cyclone , according to Ergon Energy, and crews work around the clock to restore power. About 66,000 customers experienced a power outage at the peak of the cyclone’s crossing.

Grants of up to $180 for individuals and up to $900 for families of five or more were announced on Saturday night via the disaster recovery funding arrangements jointly funded by the federal and Queensland governments.