RECORD-BREAKING BLIZZARDS BATTER PAKISTAN, KILLING AT LEAST 23
Unprecedented blizzards battered parts of Pakistan over the weekend, including the hilltop town of Murree where deep drifts and felled trees blocked roads, trapping thousands of vehicles, and killing at least 23 people.
One Pakistani woman, trapped in her car for hours by the record snowfall, described how she “saw death” in front of her as she waited for help.
Samina said she left her home at 16:00 local time to travel to Murree, but soon found herself among those trapped in the snow: “I could see death in front of me,” she said. “It was like there were snow peaks built around our car… I can’t explain in words what I was going through… We were praying God may help us and we shouldn’t be perished in a snowstorm.”
Conditions conspired to dump 1.5m (5ft) of snow within just a few hours.
“It was unprecedented,” said Tariq Ullah, an official in the nearby town of Nathiagali. “There were strong winds, uprooted trees, avalanches. People around were terrified.”
Samina was finally rescued at 10:00 the next morning.
Not so lucky were 10 children who were confirmed to have perished in the storm, along with at least 13 others: According to authorities, 8 people froze to death, while asphyxiation -after inhaling fumes while trying to keep warm in their vehicles- has been given as a possible reason for the others.
As reported by tribuneindia.com, Gulmarg tourist resort in north Kashmir -for example- posted lows of -10C (14F) for the second consecutive night, with “extreme cold” gripping most places in the valley, Met officials said Monday morning.
Canadian refineries have been struggling in the freezing weather, which, according to Dan McTeague, president at Canadians for Affordable Energy, is the main cause for Metro Vancouver‘s recent spike in gas prices.
“The weather started to change after the 23rd of December,” said McTeague.
This was around the time Calgary-based Parkland Corp.’s Burnaby refinery, which supplies about a third of the gas to the Lower Mainland and the Island, issued a notice about “unseasonably cold temperatures” hurting its operations.
Freezing lows were affecting the refinery’s ability “to crack the molecules to make gasoline or diesel,” explained McTeague, who said extreme cold was also slowing operations at a refinery in Anacortes, Washington, as well as two storage terminals in Oregon–which ship throughout the area. On top of that, the Trans-Mountain pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby is also not yet 100 per cent back in action after November’s storm.
“So all of these things (are) happening at the same time,” said McTeague, and the knock-on effect is visible in the prices.
On Dec 22, the wholesale gas price was US$2.06 a gallon, but by Jan 5 it had climbed to US$2.65 a gallon. This hike was quickly passed onto retailers: Metro Vancouver gas prices in late Dec were sitting at about $1.56 a litre, they’re now at $1.76 per litre — a new retail price record.
Following the historic December lows, which saw the nation suffer its first sub -50C (-58F) in Dec since 1998, temperatures in Canada have continued down in January, to currently sit among their lowest readings since 2008 (solar minimum of cycle 24), with localized areas experiencing all-time record cold, spelling further bad news for the refineries.
That general outlook, combined with taxes and a weaker Canadian dollar, means that, at the pump, Metro Vancouver drivers will be paying $1.85 a litre within a few weeks or months: “A buck 85 is going to be a number you’re going to see a lot more often,” concluded McTeague.
And this is a story playing out across the planet, as a suicidal under-investment in fossil fuels, combined with record cold and the depletion of stocks following a historically frigid winter of 2020-21, continue to threaten nations’ energy security.
From China to Europe, from the USA to Kazakhstan, society is beginning to fracture:
Environment Canada issuing further weather warnings, particularly for northern British Columbia, as a Pacific frontal system brings yet more heavy snowfall and extreme cold to the region: “Public Safety Canada encourages everyone to make an emergency plan and get an emergency kit with drinking water, food, medicine, a first-aid kit and a flashlight,” reads the warning.
HISTORIC ARCTIC BLAST HEADED FOR BOSTON, AS RECORD SNOW CONTINUES TO SWEEP U.S.
Some of that bone-chilling Canadian cold has been descending anomalously-far south in recent weeks. Boston, still reeling from last weeks bumper snowstorm, is expecting “record-setting cold temps on Tuesday,” according to boston.cbslocal.com.
Last Friday, the city picked up just under 12 inches, close to the seasonal average, in one foul swoop.
And on the Sunday just gone, temperatures started dropping again — and by Monday night into Tuesday, “a blast of cold straight from the Arctic will move in,” continues the boston.cbslocal.com article:
[WBZ-TV Graphic]
Tuesday’s chill will challenge the record low-max for the date (12F/-11.1C) in weather books dating back to 1872.
In fact, record-challenging cold will sweep much of the eastern North America this week:
GFS 2m Temperature Anomalies (C) Tue, Jan 11 [tropicaltidbits.com].
While heavy snowfall will continue out west.
A host of all-time benchmarks have been busted in recent days/weeks, including the 36 inches logged in a 24 hour period in Leavenworth, WA, which forced the city to declare a state of emergency and request aid from the National Guard.
City officials added that areas received 48 inches in less than 48 hours, calling it “unprecedented and record-breaking.”
In addition, Arctic sea ice has also begun 2022 impressively, continuing where it left off in 2021.
Below is the latest NSIDC data, which sees extent at its highest level since 2004, and growing:
“Human-caused climate change are propelling the Arctic region into a dramatically different state than it was in just a few decades ago,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad. “The trends are alarming and undeniable. We face a decisive moment. We must take action to confront the climate crisis.”
This is the chart NOAA cite in their 2021 ‘Arctic Report Card’:
Our ‘reality’ is driven by pervasive agendas, propped-up obfuscations and outright lies — question everything.
The COLD TIMES are returning, the mid-latitudes are REFREEZING in line with historically low solar activity, cloud-nucleating Cosmic Rays, and a meridional jet stream flow (among many other forcings, including the impending release of the Beaufort Gyre).
Prepare accordingly — learn the facts, relocate if need be and grow your own.
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