GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

DECMBER 2023

EUROPE

Heavy snowfall and blizzards across eastern European countries this week have resulted in a number of deaths, and left thousands of towns and villages without electricity, after the first major cold snap of the season. In Moldova, four people were reported dead over the weekend, with two bodies being recovered from cars that had been buried in snowdrifts. In Ukraine, severe snowstorms left 10 people dead across the Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions. Fifteen hundred towns and villages were left without power, with one snowstorm in Odesa leaving 2,500 people in need of rescue and about 850 vehicles requiring towing. Southern Ukraine was the worst affected, as cars and buses slid off frozen roads, with local authorities battling strong winds to rescue vehicles. Bulgaria was also badly affected, declaring a state of emergency as winter storms left more than 1,000 villages without electricity.

Drivers have been warned of potentially hazardous conditions as Storm Gerrit hits the UK on Wednesday.  A number of yellow wind and rain warnings are in place across much of the UK and wintry hazards are likely, forecasters have warned.  The Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said the storm was named as a warning to people coming home from the Christmas holidays. He said: “Due to the extent of the warnings that are being issued, it was deemed that a named storm would be a good idea because it will highlight to the public the risk associated, particularly as tomorrow is likely to be quite a busy day on the roads with people travelling back home from Christmas and things like that.”

ASIA

Heavy snowfall affected China last weekend in regions north of the Yangtze River, with Beijing experiencing its first snow of the season.  As a consequence of the snow and ice, more than 180 bus routes were suspended across the city on Monday, with several trains and flights delayed or cancelled. Henan province, south of Beijing, had big falls over the weekend, with many areas recording depths of 100mm and even, in some places, up to 150mm.  Shanxi province, to the south-west of Beijing, also saw some wintry conditions, with icy roads leading to a pile-up of more than 40 cars on Sunday night, with one person dead and six injured. A second, more intense cold spell developed across northern China on Thursday and will become more widespread through the weekend. Further snowfall is expected, with temperatures plummeting widely, bringing the possibility of record low temperatures in some northern areas. For example, Shanghai reached 23C on Thursday but may hit a maximum of just 3C on Saturday. South Korea and parts of Japan will experience similarly dramatic shifts from mild weather to temperatures well below zero.

AUSTRAILIA

Parts of south-east Australia have been experiencing extreme heat over recent days. Temperatures hit 43.5C at Sydney airport on Saturday. This was the highest temperature recorded at this station since records began in 1929, and is about 15C above the December average. Authorities have issued several bushfire warnings and banned fires across many parts of New South Wales.  Temperatures will ease early this week across south and south-east Australia, but will intensify across northern, western and central parts as the week progresses. Here, temperatures could rise widely into the 40Cs by the weekend.  The record temperatures come as the Cop28 summit enters its final phase in the United Arab Emirates, and after the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that 2023 was on course to be the hottest on recorded history.  In fact, according to climate scientists, this year could be the warmest in more than 100,000 years, based on historical data collected from ice cores and tree rings.

One property has been destroyed in ongoing bushfires in Western Australia and multiple homes have been affected as firefighters work to contain a blaze in the eastern Perth suburb of Parkerville.  The rapid damage assessment team told the ABC detailed figures would become available, however the fire still posed a risk to properties and was yet to be contained. We’re still dealing with an unpredictable situation.  There are about a dozen fires burning across the state, nine at “advice” level.

AFRICA

Catastrophic rains and flash floods in South Africa have led to at least six deaths, with more people still missing. The western parts of the country have experienced extremely unsettled weather over the last few days, with frequent spells of heavy rain.

On Christmas Eve the city of Ladysmith to the north-east of Lesotho experienced flash flooding after a sudden deluge during the evening. Amateur weather stations in the area suggested about 60mm of rain fell within an hour, while in a three-hour period there was about 80mm of rainfall. The average rainfall in Ladysmith for the whole of December is just over 100mm.  There was significant damage to infrastructure in the area, with one house and several vehicles swept away. Three vehicles were travelling on a major highway at the time and were washed away when a nearby river burst its banks, with water then flowing on to the road. One of these was a minibus carrying nine people, three of whom were later found dead inside, while the other six remain missing. In total, six deaths have so far been confirmed because of the floods, with search and rescue teams currently searching for 10 more people. Conditions remain unsettled in the region, with heavy rain and thunderstorms on Boxing Day disrupting a cricket test match between South Africa and India. However, while rain and showers in western parts are expected to turn lighter over the coming days, central parts of South Africa are expected to experience significant heavy rain, with the potential for further intense showery downpours.

TROPICAL

Roy Zammataro was at his home in Newell Beach, north of Port Douglas, when Tropical Cyclone Jasper struck.  He said a nearby mango tree proved to be the biggest threat – with fruit ripped from its branches turned into projectiles. “They were like bullets, they were flying,” he said.  While 40,000 premises were without power, and flooding was reported in areas around Mossman and the Daintree, most in far north Queensland seemed relieved that the affects of Jasper had not been as bad as feared.

There have been no reports of injury or loss of life as a result of the category two cyclone, but authorities are urging residents to stay indoors for the next 12 hours to allow for debris to be cleared from roads.

Residents of far north Queensland are bracing for wild weather, possible power outages, and internet and water supply disruptions with the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

As of 4.30am on Monday, Jasper had weakened again to a category 1 system and was about 600km east of Cairns and 530km northeast of Townsville.  “Jasper is forecast to re-intensify during Tuesday as it approaches the coast,” the Bureau of Meteorology said. The bureau currently predicts Jasper will make landfall between Cape Flattery and Cardwell, which are north and south of Cairns, respectively, potentially as a category 2 system. The forecast tracker map suggests it might hit Port Douglas, with.