Donkeys freeze in Turkey
© UnknownDonkeys freeze where they stand during a cold snap in Turkey
A flurry of Middle Eastern and Asian news websites are reporting on "unusual" cold sweeping across vast areas of Asia and the Middle East.

The online Thailand pattayamail.com reports "Hundreds of thousands of residents of northern and northeastern Thailand are suffering from the current cold snap, with many areas having been declared disaster zones. [...] Some 100,000 people are suffering from the cold and in need of winter clothing. "

The German language thailand-tip.com reports that the "Meteorological Institute forecasts temperatures in the north to fall another 4 - 7°C by Thursday."

Snow - in Vietnam!

The Asian Correspondent here writes that residents in North Vietnam "were treated to a rare sight Monday: snow", writing that "the white stuff" is a "rare sight in this part of the world".

Not only Southeast Asia is being hard hit by unusually bitter cold, but also vast areas of Central Asia, Middle East, and North Africa. Some of these regions are typically famous for agreeably warm temperatures. The charts on this page are the forecast temperature anomalies for the coming 7 days.

Bitter cold forecast for Asia
© wxmaps.org Asia to remain gripped by bitter cold. Forecast anomaly for the next 7 days
Warm Arctic causing cold winters in tropics makes no sense

Extreme cold is forecast to hit much of Asia for the next 7 days at least. This should lead us to ask if less sea ice in the Arctic is causing extreme cold all the way down to the tropics, 7000 km away, months later. Over the recent years some scientists defending the global warming hypothesis have suggested that a warm Arctic is causing the rest of the northern hemisphere to see more severe winters.

Animals "literally freezing where they stand"

Also the entire Middle East and parts of Northern Africa are suffering from bitter, wintery conditions. Cairo last week saw its first snowfall in 112 years. Jerusalem saw its worst snowstorm in almost 70 years.

Deep freeze for the Middle East
© wxmaps.orgDesert Middle East will remain in a deep freeze for at least another week.
Turkey also has been gripped by severe cold - for weeks. The rocketnews24.com reports: "Turkish cold snap literally freezes animals where they stand."


Syrian rebel commander freezes to death

In Syria refugee camps are struggling to stay warm. The bitter cold and rare snow have even cost the life of a rebel commander. According to Australian ABC here, "A Syrian rebel commander has frozen to death in the bitter cold brought on by a snowstorm that has swept the country this week. ... the body was 'frozen'."

Tropical South America stays cool

Even the tropical zone of South America is struggling to stay warm. Cooler than normal temperatures are forecast there for the next 7 days as well.

Cold in South America
© wxmaps.org
It's strange how NASA likes to focus on one single region (Siberia), and inflates temperature data there for evidence of warming, and neglects the rest of the planet.