Ten Russian cities shattered January 8 temperature records this week, RIA Novosti reported, citing Roman Vilfand, the scientific director of Russia's Hydrometeorological Center.
In a country known for bitter winters, with temperatures sometimes plunging as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius, some regions saw unseasonably mild conditions. Large cities like Ryazan, Orel, Lipetsk, and Voronezh recorded highs of 5.1 degrees Celsius, far exceeding previous January 8 benchmarks, according to Vilfand.
The latest data released by the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that 2024 was the hottest year on record, stretching back to 1890. Each of the past decades was one of the ten warmest years recorded, and the two-year average for 2023-2024 exceeded the 1.5-degree limit that countries agreed to avoid under the Paris climate agreement in 2015, Copernicus said on Friday.
Last year the planet's average temperature was 1.6 degrees Celsius higher than during the pre-industrial period of 1850-1900, before humans began burning CO2-emitting fossil fuels on a large scale, according to the service.
The year 2024 was the warmest year on record in Moscow despite the unprecedented chill recorded in the Russian capital during the first ten days of May. Moscow State University reported on December 31, citing data tracked by its meteorological observatory, that the average annual temperature reached a record high of 8.2 degrees Celsius. The previous record of 8.0 degrees Celsius was recorded in 2020.
Singapore received more than its average monthly rainfall for January over just two days - on Jan 10 and 11.
Changi recorded the highest total amount of rainfall at 255.2mm across the two days, exceeding Singapore's monthly average rainfall of 222.4mm in January, national water agency PUB said in a statement on Jan 12.
PUB said the prolonged rainy weather caused by the ongoing monsoon surge is expected to persist until Jan 13.
The agency issued several flood risk warnings on Jan 10 and 11 in locations such as Jalan Seaview, which is off Tanjong Katong Road, the junction of Mountbatten Road and Tanjong Katong Road South, as well as Jalan Pokok Serunai.
Heavy rain in these areas resulted in high water levels in drains and canals.
Heavy snowstorms continue in areas along the Sea of Japan. Although their intensity is somewhat decreasing, meteorologists warn of possible blizzards and transportation disruptions in the region, NHK WORLD-JAPAN informs.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, winter atmospheric pressure and cold air masses are contributing to heavy snowstorms that have affected the eastern and northern regions of the country.
As of Friday morning, the snow depth in Okura village (Yamagata Prefecture) reached 1.99 meters. In Uonuma city (Niigata Prefecture), 1.94 meters of snow fell, while in the famous Shirakawa village (Gifu Prefecture), the snow depth reached 1.84 meters. In some areas, the snowfall exceeds the usual norm for this time of year by more than twice.
On Thursday evening, a car in Toyooka city (Hyogo Prefecture) slid off the road and into a river. The driver is in critical condition. Preliminary reports suggest the accident may have been caused by difficult driving conditions due to snow.
Rail company JR East reported a temporary suspension of high-speed Shinkansen trains on the Yamagata line on Friday morning. Services were later resumed.
According to meteorologists, another powerful snowstorm is expected along the Sea of Japan regions by Saturday morning. People are urged to exercise caution due to potential transportation disruptions, strong winds, high waves, avalanches, and power outages.
An eleven-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs at the Hasanapur village of Punjab's Ludhiana district on Saturday. The victim was identified as Harsukhpreet Singh. A few days ago, a 10-year-old boy, Arjun, was killed in the same manner in this village.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Mullanpur Dakha) Varinder Singh Khosa said the boy was the only son of his parents. His father is a small-time farmer. DSP Khosa said the family lives on the village's periphery, and their home lacked a boundary wall. Harsukhpreet was playing outside when the dogs attacked him. His parents rushed to rescue him, but by the time he was taken to a medical facility, he had died.
After the latest fatal stray dog attack, infuriated village residents blocked Ludhiana-Ferozepur Road for two hours before the police pacified them. They demanded immediate shifting of a carcass ground in the village and removal of ferocious dogs who live near it.
At least five people have died in a wildfire in Los Angeles, officials have said, with firefighters now facing new blazes, including one in the city's famous Hollywood Hills.
With firefighters struggling to bring the blazes under control due to strong winds and dry conditions, more than 130,000 people across the wider Los Angeles area are now under evacuation orders.
The new evacuation areas include parts of the Hollywood Hills, where a new fire, dubbed the Sunset Fire, broke out on Wednesday, as well as parts of Santa Monica - famous for its pier.
Los Angeles Fire Department chief Kristin Crowley said on Wednesday that the largest of the fires, the Pacific Palisades blaze to the west of downtown Los Angeles, was now over 15,800 acres "and growing".
Meanwhile, firefighters continue to battle the Hurst Fire, to the north, now at 700 acres, while firefighters from the Los Angeles County continue to battle the Eaton Fire, near to the city of Pasadena, as well as a new blaze near Acton.
Los Angeles County fire chief Anthony Marrone said the five people who were killed all died in the Eaton fire.
At a news conference, Los Angeles' chief of police James McDonnell told reporters: "This is a tragic time in our history here in Los Angeles, but a time where we're really tested and see who we really are.
"It's critical that at these times we be patient, that we come together, that we focus on saving lives and to be able to the very best job we can."
He then urged those under evacuation orders to take them "very seriously", saying they make "the difference between living and not".
Early Sunday morning, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted the coast of Michoacán, Mexico, according to reports from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
National seismic authorities in Mexico reported a slightly different magnitude of 6.1 for the tremor, which had its epicenter located approximately 47 kilometers southwest of Coalcomán. This significant seismic event has raised concerns in the region as communities brace for potential aftershocks and assess any damage.
Residents of nearby areas reported feeling the ground shake, prompting many to leave their homes in fear. Emergency response teams are currently on high alert, ready to assist affected communities.
Male' experienced the highest amount of rainfall over the last 24 hours, Maldives Meteorological Service (MET Office) has reported.
According to MET Office, between 8:00 am on Friday to 8:00 am on Saturday, Male' recorded 130.7 millimeters of rain. While airport island, Hulhule' recorded 79.5 millimeters, AA. Thoddoo island experienced 70.3 millimeters.
Roads of Male' were flooded due to the heavy rainfall. The Maldives National Defence Force are actively pumping floodwaters to clear the roads.
The MET office has said heavy rain and flooding are also expected in some islands today.
Rainy season downpours have claimed at least 16 lives and impacted more than 16,000 families in Bolivia since last November, authorities said on Wednesday.
Heavy rains from November through the first week of January have wreaked havoc in the South American nation, sparking deadly floods and mudslides, Juan Carlos Calvimontes, Bolivia's deputy civil defense minister, said at a press conference.
According to the official, some 36 municipalities have seen substantial damage. In the municipalities of Apolo, La Asunta and Luribay, all in western La Paz department, authorities have declared a "state of disaster" to deal with the aftermath.
Sheep farmers in the Galtee Mountains on the Limerick-Tipperary border have been out since first light, every morning for the last week to save a large number of sheep buried beneath snow.
The mountain range, home to thousands of sheep, has been covered in a deep layer of snow this week as extremely cold and icy weather swept over the country - creating a "nightmare" scenario for farmers in the area.
Ann Drake, whose family members own dozens of sheep in the mountains, told The Journal that local farmers all over the Galtees are anxious that their livelihoods could be at risk due to the snow.
"The last time it was like this, it would've been during the Beast from the East in 2018," Cunningham said. She added that the snow has now stopped and largely frozen over.
Farmers have managed to rescue dozens of sheep over the last week but many fear that a large number of the animals have died due to the weather and being stuck under the snow.
Temperatures in a hamlet in northern Scotland fell to -18.7C (-1.66F) overnight - the UK's coldest January night in 15 years, the Met Office has said.
Altnaharra, in the northern region of the Highlands, reached the lowest temperature while nearby Kinbrace reached -17.9C (-0.22F).
It is the coldest January overnight temperature since 2010, when temperatures dropped below -15C several times at locations across the UK, including -22.3C (-8.14F) on 8 January in Altnaharra.
Forecasters had previously said there was a very small probability it could reach -19C.
Many Euro-Atlantic states deny or reject their own roots, including their Christian roots which form the basis of Western civilization. In these countries, the moral basis and any traditional identity are being denied - national, religious, cultural, and even gender identities are being denied or relativized. There, politics treats a family with many children as juridically equal to a homosexual partnership; faith in God is equal to faith in Satan. Many people in European countries are actually ashamed of their religious affiliations and are frightened to speak about them. Their leaders then try to force this model onto other countries. I am deeply convinced that this leads to the degradation and primitivization of culture globally, including deeper demographic and moral crises in the West.
- Vladimir Putin
”
Recent Comments
Here is a link to Robby Starbuck's rumble channel. [Link] Here is his documentary The War on Children [Link]
Comment: Update January 9
Sky News reports: Update January 12
Sky News reports: