America braces for Arctic storm

Climate Focus

By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

Hello,

A cold front is set to bring frigid temperatures across the U.S., the National Weather Service said, with temperatures expected to hit sub-zero lows and spread from the Northern Plains to the Northeast by Sunday and reach the Gulf Coast by early next week.

"With the extreme cold in the North and the storm, half of all Americans are under some form of weather advisories," said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the NWS' Weather Prediction Center.

New York state was expected to be under a "Code Blue," which requires social service providers to extend shelter hours and ensure the homeless have access to them.

Chicago will be under a deep freeze, with a low of minus 2 Fahrenheit (minus 19 Celsius) on Friday and Saturday, and dangerous wind chills of 30 below zero (minus 34 C).

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency, activating extra personnel and equipment to help control traffic, monitor power outages, rescue people trapped by the storm, and more.

The extreme cold from an Arctic blast of air from Canada will bring a temperature of minus 5 Fahrenheit on Saturday in Fargo, North Dakota.

Farther south, the main storm hazard will be ice, weather forecasters said. From Central Virginia to Northern Texas, the Southeastern states could receive accumulations of up to a half-inch of ice.

The Arctic blast is expected to cause mass travel disruption. Click here for a Reuters report on the effects on airlines and click here for a story on how it will hit railways.

The storm is expected to clear out of most areas by late Sunday or early on Monday.  

Mozambique authorities reported 13 deaths from severe floods over the past two weeks, though the figure is expected to rise sharply, according to aid workers.

Parts of neighbouring South Africa were also flooded, including its flagship Kruger National Park game reserve, which has experienced severe damage which will take years to repair and cost more than 500 million rand ($30 million), Environment Minister Willie Aucamp said. 

A flood victim stands in floodwater outside her flooded home after weeks of heavy rainfall in Boane District, Maputo, Mozambique. REUTERS/Amilton Neves

At least four people were killed as floods swept across Tunisia in the worst torrential rain for over 70 years in some regions, and there were fears the death toll could rise, authorities said.

Over in Greece, two people died after torrential rain flooded homes and businesses in Athens and other parts of the country, authorities said.

Heavy rains triggered a landslide that hit a busy campground in New Zealand's North Island, bringing down soil and rubble at the site in the city of Tauranga. Two teenagers were among six people missing as rescuers worked round the clock to locate survivors under the rubble.

Indonesia has revoked the permits of 28 companies over violations of environmental rules that exacerbated the impact of floods in Northern Sumatra, presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said.

The Indonesian Environment Ministry said it had filed a civil lawsuit against six companies suspected of causing massive environmental damage in North Sumatra province.

As searches continued, residents in Chile's city of Concepcion began clearing debris and rebuilding, with aid mostly from neighbors and volunteers. Plumes of smoke still lingered, and the current death toll of 20 is expected to rise as police and the state coroner searched for bodies in apartment blocks destroyed by the fires.

Australia is experiencing a wave of shark attacks across dozens of beaches on its east coast, including in Sydney, as heavy rains left waters murky and more likely to attract the predators. Click here for the full Reuters video.

Yesterday's Sustainable Switch featured comments by U.S. President Donald Trump at Davos criticizing the clean energy movement in Europe and China. Well, today's Climate Lens shows how wind and solar power produced more electricity than fossil fuels in the European Union for the first time last year, according to data published by energy think-tank Ember. Click here for the full Reuters report.

That's the number of people who face severe water scarcity  at least one month per year, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health warned in a report.

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