With weather extremes being observed all across the world, mother nature has made this Christmas more than eventful. Here’s a look at the world weather and some wild, strange and extreme weather events that are sweeping across various countries..
Snowstorm in U.S – More than 78,000 people will celebrate Christmas without power due to a snowstorm in Augusta and Maine in the United States. While in Michigan, more than 390,000 homes and business houses were without power on Monday. “It is very cold to be outdoors,” said meteorologist Eric Fisher of CBS station, in Boston. Cold weather continued to harass people, with temperatures recording 25 degrees below the freezing point in North Dakota and around -30 degrees in Mid-Atlantic states. More than 4000 flights have been delayed so far and over 275 cancelled due to the bad weather.
Heavy Pollution in China– It is going to be an irritable and smoggy Christmas in China with heavy pollution blanketing 78 cities and eight of them registering pollution beyond 500 pm (particulate matter), the upper limit to the government’s air quality index. Tianjin’s environmental protection bureau issued a “third-degree” pollution emergency. The eight cities that were “beyond index” and were termed “severely polluted”, included four in Hebei Province, four in Jiangsu Province and two in Zhejiang .
Thunderstorm in Britain– Chances of having a white snowy Christmas in London was dashed this week as a thunderstorm with gusts of up to 60 mph, reaching up to 80 mph made the weather rainy, windy and dangerous. The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning and flood alerts all across the country. Motorists vulnerable to high winds have been asked to brace themselves for risky driving around southwest of England. In the event of persistent high winds certain bridges are also closed for driving. This has severely spoilt Christmas plans for all those 13 million people in Britain who take to the roads to celebrate Christmas from December 24th to December 26th. On December 19th, due to strong winds, the roof of a theater collapsed in the middle of the show, claiming a number of lives.
