Cold and snow records were broken around the world last month, but the US got the worst of it, with all 50 states having snow on the ground even before winter had officially begun. Northern Mexico and East Asia are experiencing their harshest winter in decades, while some parts of Australia were startled by snow in summer.
Floods continued to wreak havoc in the Philippines and Indonesia, with thousands displaced, while heavy rain in Albania flooded thousands of homes and tore down roads and bridges.
California was scorched by widespread wildfires that burned up to 280,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 homes, with the Thomas Fire becoming the largest and most destructive wildfire in California's history. With an 'atmospheric river' and downpours predicted for the 1st week of January 2018, things are looking gloomy for the Sunshine State.
A high level of volcanic activity was seen around the world in December, while a deadly 6.5 earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Java.
Meteors sightings increased in December, with more and more reports of accompanying "mysterious loud booms", very likely the space rocks exploding overhead.
Atmospheric phenomena, including iridescent clouds and "strange lights in the sky," continued to impress people from Sweden to Eastern Russia, but such events are likely evidence of a distinct cooling of the atmosphere, one of many signs of the possible onset of a new ice age.
Check it out below!
Comment: