The beginning of the year has been marked by an unusual meteorological phenomenon: from Germany to the United States, multiple countries are facing particularly low temperatures. Many of the affected places are not prepared to face a winter of these characteristics, which has caused damage and set off alarms for millions of people.
Cities completely covered in snow, frozen routes, canceled flights and trains, electrical problems, and unusually low temperatures are affecting countries such as Germany, France, Norway and the United States.
Germany: chaos in airports, roads and railways
Freezing rain has paralyzed central and southern Germany. The icy weather has led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights at some of the country's main airports, such as Frankfurt, where 570 flights of the 1,047 scheduled arrivals and departures were cancelled, while at Munich , 254 flights were suspended.
“Since yesterday I have nothing but stress,” says Klaus Ludwig Fess, a traveler stranded at Frankfurt airport.
But the air sector is not the only one that has been affected, the railway sector has also been affected. The country's main company, Deutsche Bahn, warned of cancellations and cancellations. In addition, he limited the speed of the three high-speed vehicles to 200 kilometers per hour.
On the other hand, many schools in the most affected regions had to remain closed.
The north and east of France, also affected
In France, snow and freezing rain have affected the north and east of the country. On Wednesday morning, a total of 30 departments, from Haut-Rhin to Finistère, were on orange alert. Many have traffic problems due to ice patches on the streets.
In particular, the city of Lille, in the north of the country, is facing an unusual accumulation of snow on the roofs of buildings. The regional government has taken measures to guarantee road safety.
In other regions of the country, such as Normandy, Ile-de-France and Burgundy-Franche-Comté, the movement of trucks was banned.
Some meteorologists assure that a scenario like this – with a high presence of snow – in the northern plains of the country has not been experienced since December 2010. However, climate expert Matthieu Sorel assured for Météo France that this contrasts with the high temperatures for this time of year in places like Nantes (which registers 14 degrees), or Bordeaux (where it reached up to 16).
Norway: delays at airports and stopped trains
The airport in Oslo, the capital of Norway, is facing major delays due to adverse weather conditions. The Nordic country has experienced strong winds and high snowfall. Adverse weather conditions have affected visibility, forcing inbound and outbound flights to be halted.
“This is extremely rare… there is so much snow that the pilots cannot see the lights on the ground, so we have stopped all incoming and outgoing flights,” said a spokesman for Norway's national airport operator, Avinor.
The unusual weather has also affected the railway network. Conditions that have changed the plans of many passengers seeking to travel between the country, or outside of it. Bente Jensen, 66, told Reuters that she could not even get to the airport to return to her home country, Denmark, because train services from the city center were cancelled.
“It seems to have been a combination of wind, snow and everything,” Jensen said.
The Norwegian Government has implemented emergency measures to guarantee the safety of the population. Rescue teams and local authorities are on high alert, coordinating efforts to keep roads and railways clear and safe.
United States: collision in Pennsylvania and millions of people on alert
Northwestern Pennsylvania was rocked by a tragic accident involving a semi-truck that was hit by icy roads and collided with a van, leaving five women dead.
This Wednesday, The National Weather Service has warned of extremely low temperatures in 26 states, with more than 100 million residents affected by snowfall.. A wind chill of 31 degrees below zero is forecast in southeastern North Dakota, 26 below zero in Chicago (Illinois), and 6 below zero in Tampa (Florida), a city not accustomed to this type of temperature.
Cities such as New York and Washington DC have experienced significant snowfall, breaking accumulation records after more than 700 days without a situation like this occurring.
Snow accumulation in the US capital reached 10 centimeters, while Baltimore (Maryland) and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) also recorded considerable amounts. Warnings for winter conditions persist in Maine, Mississippi and upstate New York.
The National Weather Service urges citizens to take extra precautions and follow safety guidelines as they face unforgiving winter weather.
How do you explain the unusual cold in the United States?
The current frigid temperatures plaguing the southern United States are the result of exceptional weather events and the impact of climate change. One of them is the incursion of extremely cold air from the Arctic that has plunged regions unaccustomed to such extreme climates.
This phenomenon is exacerbated by an anomalous decrease in the Arctic polar jet stream.
At the same time, changes in the stratospheric polar vortex—an immense air current in the stratosphere above the North Pole—also explain the phenomenon. This vortex, when stretched or disrupted, distorts currents, triggering bouts of cold air.
Jennifer Francis, a climate expert at the Woodwell Research Center, highlights the connection between the warming of the Arctic and the incursion of cold into places not prepared for it. “When the Arctic is unusually warm (like now), we are more likely to see intense cold encroaching on places like Texas that are not prepared to deal with it,” Francis told the AP.
Experts assure that low temperatures do not mean that global warming has decreased, but rather that they precisely have to do with it. Therefore, they ensure that extreme weather events become more likely.
With EFE, AP and Reuters
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