Asia’s Record-Breaking Arctic Outbreak Reaches Indian Ocean: Alerts Issued In India, China, Taiwan and Others; Big Freeze To Return To Europe (Just In Time For Davos); + U.S. To Be Pummeled Again Later In The Month

Asia’s Record-Breaking Arctic Outbreak Reaches Indian Ocean

Asia’s cold spell is continuing to drop jaws, take names and fell records.

Remarkable lows have been logged in recent weeks/months across the likes of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Northern China; now that freeze is both encasing north regions (Siberia) and also pushing unusually-far south, even touching the Indian Ocean.

On Thursday, remarkable lows of -26.2C (-15.2F) and -29C (-20.2F) were registered in Turkmenistan and Iran, respectively. With the cherry, according to preliminary data I have, taken by Uzbekistan, where two monthly lows have fallen: Nurata’s -29.2C (-20.6F) and Syr Daya’s -27.2C (-17F).

Central Asia’s cold is also stretching as far west as Europe, and as far east as Japan.

It is extending as far south as the Indian Ocean, too:

Alerts Issued In India…

Temperatures across Northwest India are plummeting, with monthly and even all-time records under threat, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and as reported by local media outlets.

As per the IMD, the fiercest of the cold wave conditions will return to Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi from Sunday, lasting deep into next week, with North Rajasthan reeling under ‘severe’ cold wave conditions during the same time frame.

For reference: the IMD declares a ‘cold wave’ when the minimum temperature of a location drops 4.5C to 6.4C below its average; a ‘severe cold wave’ is issued when the departure from normal is more than 6.4C.

Given the forecast, the IMD has issued an orange alert across all of the aforementioned states and territories, urging residents to ‘be prepared’ for disruptive cold weather.

Alerts have also been issued in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and also the Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, with reports suggesting extreme levels of cold could hit these regions.

The New Year has already started off cold in India, this is merely an intensification. According to reports, this month is on course to finish as one of the coldest Januarys in history for Northwest India, certainly the coldest since the turn of the millennium.

Authorities have told NW Indians to take safety measures, including drinking plenty of warm fluids, eating a diet rich in Vitamin C, keeping your skin moisturized using oil or cream, and wearing warm clothes before stepping out (thanks authorities!).

Indians are ill-prepared for such a freeze, both mentally and infrastructure-wise.

Known for its hot, tropical weather, record-breaking cold is becoming more and more prevalent across India in recent years, according to the data. The IMD indicates that “there has been a 1.6-fold increase in cold wave days in India in the last decade”.

Houses across the country, even in sprawling metropolises such as Delhi, are not built to withstand such freezing lows. Many among Delhi’s 30-million people have nothing but heavy clothes and bonfires to fend off the biting cold, and many hundreds of residents perish each winter with that number growing as the seasonal cold worsens (as per IMD data).

…China

A nation more suited to dealing with influxes of polar cold is China — but it’s also about to be walloped again.

The country has activated its alert system due to a fast-approaching cold front that is expected to “strongly impact more than half of the country with a plunge in thermometers” starting this weekend.

China’s meteorological department has urged local authorities to prepare for frigid lows and heavy snows.

The department has also called for the protection of agriculture areas, and has instructed residents of northern provinces in particular to avoid venturing out onto the streets.

Xinjiang, Hebei, Chongqing and Hunan regions are expected to be impacted by exceptionally low temperatures, while north and northeastern parts will be impacted by both snow- and sand-storms.

…And Taiwan

Concluding in Taiwan, meteorologist Daniel Wu is warning of a cold air mass arriving in the country on Sunday.

Wu said the front will arrive early on Sunday morning, sending a blast of strong, cold air south.

Northern and eastern areas will see temperatures drop sharply over the weekend, and by Monday, the mercury in Taipei could dip below 12C (53.6F), with lows in the northern plains sinking to 8C (46.4F)

Wu has labelled this a “strong continental cold air mass” (cold is relative), and has urged the public to take measures to stay warm.

Persistent Chills

Asia’s cold isn’t fleeting, either, the region’s anomalous freeze, particularly in northern and central parts, has been around for months — and while I’ve done my best to document it on Electroverse, my reporting has been in no way exhaustive.

Taking December in Kazakhstan (a huge nation comparative in size to Central Europe), it held extremely frigid throughout the month, particularly in the East.

According to the Kazach Hydromet Service, monthly temperature anomalies were historically low, coming out at between -3C and -5C below the multidecadal average across a vast portion of the country.

However, and as I’ve discussed previously, this region of the world has very few weather stations –at least when compared to the likes of Central Europe– so the sweeping and persistent nature of the cold doesn’t make the headlines.

To put it bluntly, few in the west care about Kazakhstan… (but I do!):

Big Freeze To Return To Europe (Just In Time For Davos)

Following a few weeks of unusual warm (aka ‘catastrophic global warming), polar cold is about to return to Europe, with heavy snow forecast for Davos, Switzerland starting Jan 16 — so just in time for the arrival of King Klaus.

Europe’s swing-between-extremes is bad news for its crops. The recent balmy weather has effectively undone the hardiness acquired by plants during the continent’s fierce mid-December freeze, and has begun triggering growth, according to analysts.

Taking France, the EU’s biggest grain producer, next week’s sudden drop in temperatures is set to impact crops sown last autumn, as well as more delicate varieties like early-sown spring barley, Jean-Charles Deswarte of crop institute Arvalis said.

“We shouldn’t be alarmist but the scenario to be feared is one like 2011-2012,” he said, referring to the season when a February cold snap caused extensive damage to French grains. That winter, almost all French winter wheat and barley were in good shape ahead of February, then, bam!, one harsh cold spell decimated the country’s fields.

Looking to Germany, a warm two-weeks has seen crops gain little protective snow cover, raising worries that, after surviving December’s cold snap okay, the country’s luck is about to expire: “The warm weather means wheat is looking good, but if sudden and deep frosts occur we could have a problem because of the almost total lack of snow,” said one German grain analyst.

Similar concerns are held in Poland, too: Snow in the south is alleviating worries there, but in central and northern parts, “crops are fully exposed to frosts,” said Wojtek Sabaranski of analysts Sparks Polska.

Looking at the latest GFS run (shown below), Western/Central Europe is about to see a reversal of fortunes, another ‘swing’ back to something rivalling the disruptive polar outbreak of mid-December — due to commence Jan 16 (for most).

Spain’s Meteorological Agency AEMET warns that temperatures will fall sharply on Monday, producing snow across the county’s high and mid elevations.

“A cold and humid flow from the northwest over the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands” is expected, writes the agency.

Spanish meteorologists also foresee the cold weather continuing beyond next week, with January potentially ending with the effects of a ‘polar vortex’.

“In recent weeks, the polar vortex has remained stronger than ever or, at least, stronger than what had been observed up to now,” explained experts from Meteored. “The consequences are difficult to predict … (the phenomenon has been linked to a greater probability of descensions of Arctic air) … but the truth is, it’s not possible to know where these cold air masses are going”.

In December, North America and Western Europe were hit; since then, it’s been Eastern Europe and Asia.

Explained: Low Solar Activity And A ‘Meridional’ Jet Stream Flow

The MSM are keen to get their apocalyptic ‘no snow’ stories out now, while they still can — they know full-well what’s coming:

This will prove an astonishing turnaround for the continent’s snowpack.

Over the course of just a few days, the likes of Spain, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland go from below-average snow cover to average/above-average: Good news for winter sports fans: Bad news for those agenda-driving, power-hungry, poverty-inducing and anti-human rats flying into Davos (with this year’s totalitarian jamboree running from Jan 16-Jan 20)…

Stay tuned for updates.

U.S. To Be Pummeled Again Later In The Month

Finishing in the U.S., the models are also suggesting a return of baltic conditions here, too.

Portions of the West will continue freezing over the coming days–as they have been for the past few weeks. Likewise, Central-Northern states will suffer pockets of anomalous cold, as will much of the Southeast this weekend, including Florida.

However, where ‘nationwide’ Arctic Outbreaks are concerned, the GFS is picking up ‘the next one’, due later in the month.

Crashing down through Western Canada, temperature departures of as much as -28C below the winter norm will grip large swathes of the CONUS starting Monday, Jan 24 and will have engulfed most states by Friday, Jan 27:

The accompanying snow be equally impressive, and disruptive:

Note, these model runs are still reaching out to an unreliable time-frame — so stay tuned for updates.

Also note, North America’s snow extent has been trending up in recent decades, contrary to The Narrative:

As has Northern Hemisphere winter snow cover, for that matter:

Explain that, alarmists…