China was hit with a significant amount of snow last weekend in areas above the Yangtze River, causing Beijing to have its first snowfall of the season.
Due to the winter weather conditions, over 180 bus routes in the city were halted on Monday. Additionally, various trains and flights experienced delays or cancellations. In Henan province, located south of Beijing, there was heavy snowfall over the weekend, with some areas measuring depths of 100mm and up to 150mm in certain locations.
On Sunday night, Shanxi province experienced winter weather, resulting in icy roads that caused a collision involving over 40 vehicles. Sadly, one person died and six were injured in the accident. The province is located southwest of Beijing.
A stronger cold front is sweeping through northern China on Thursday and will continue to spread over the weekend. More snow is predicted, along with a significant decrease in temperatures, possibly reaching record lows in certain northern regions. In Shanghai, for instance, the temperature dropped from 23C on Thursday to a forecasted high of only 3C on Saturday. South Korea and parts of Japan will also see a drastic change from warm weather to below-freezing temperatures.
During this week, Spain had extremely high temperatures due to an abnormally warm air mass moving through the Iberian peninsula. On Tuesday, Málaga reached a maximum temperature of 29.9C, the highest ever recorded for December in Spain.
Several weather stations have broken their previous December records by an astonishing 5 degrees Celsius. This unseasonably warm weather has also caused difficulties for ski resorts in Spain, as the usual snowy slopes for this time of year are still lacking in snow cover.
During the weekend, South Australia experienced significant rainfall, resulting in power outages for approximately 30,000 residences. The city of Adelaide alone recorded over 20,000 instances of lightning, surpassing its normal December precipitation levels by more than two-fold.
Tropical Cyclone Jasper reached the northern region of Queensland in Australia on Wednesday, bringing with it strong winds and heavy rainfall. Upon reaching land, Jasper caused over 400mm of rain and winds reaching 75mph in certain areas. By Thursday, Jasper was no longer classified as a cyclone, but the risk of flooding persisted in various regions.
Source: theguardian.com
