"Asia Turns Pale Blue"... Arctic Cold Wave Moves South to Shanghai

Shanghai Faces Coldest Weather in 40 Years... Minus 6°C
Warm Europe... Geneva at 10°C

Arctic cold waves have swept across the entirety of East Asia, passing through northeastern China and the Korean Peninsula and reaching southern China, causing a series of cold-related damages. The Shanghai area in southern China, where subzero temperatures rarely occur even in winter, recorded minus 6 degrees Celsius, marking the worst cold spell in 40 years as the severe cold rages fiercely.

In contrast, the European region is experiencing relatively mild weather with temperatures ranging between 0 and 10 degrees Celsius compared to Asia. The Arctic cold wave is expected to mainly move southward through the Korean Peninsula in East Asia and the central United States in North America, raising concerns that intermittent sudden cold snaps will frequently occur this winter.

A weather map showing global temperatures. The blue and purple areas indicate temperatures between -20°C and -10°C, while the green areas show temperatures ranging from 0°C to 10°C. Most of Asia, affected by the Arctic cold wave, is enduring subzero extreme cold.
[Image source=MSN]

Shanghai Hits Minus 6 Degrees for the First Time in 40 Years... Arctic Cold Wave Covers East Asia

On the 21st, in Shanghai, China, where the coldest weather in 40 years has arrived, citizens are heading to work wearing thick coats.
[Image source=Reuters·Yonhap News]

According to the Shanghai Daily, a local state-run media outlet in China, the lowest temperature in Shanghai on the 21st was minus 6 degrees Celsius, the lowest in 40 years. Located at 31 degrees north latitude, Shanghai has a subtropical climate where subzero temperatures rarely occur even in winter, but the Arctic cold wave has moved southward in large numbers to southern China, bringing severe cold.

The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau issued a cold wave warning starting from 5 p.m. the previous day. With subzero temperatures continuing even during the daytime, authorities advised citizens to refrain from going outside. Chinese authorities are concerned about sudden price surges in daily necessities and increased heating costs due to the unexpected cold in the southern region.

In Hong Kong, where the average December temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius, temperatures dropped to 9 degrees on the same day, and other southernmost regions of China with subtropical and tropical climates also saw temperatures fall more than 10 degrees below average. Earlier, in northeastern China, a severe cold wave accompanied by gusty winds and temperatures below minus 30 degrees Celsius paralyzed road, rail, and air transportation in some areas.

Relatively Warm Europe... Geneva, Switzerland at 10 Degrees, Moscow at 2 Degrees

On the 21st (local time), Christmas decorations were displayed in front of Red Square in Moscow, Russia. After heavy snowfall last week, the temperature in Moscow has recovered to 2 degrees Celsius above zero.

Unlike the freezing cold in East Asia, Europe is experiencing relatively mild weather. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), most parts of Europe are seeing temperatures generally between 0 and 10 degrees Celsius.

On the 21st (local time), Geneva, a city located in the western Alps, recorded 10 degrees Celsius, and Moscow, known as a cold city, recorded 2 degrees Celsius, according to the WMO. After heavy snowfall from early December until last week, temperatures in Europe have risen.

Last January, ski resorts in Switzerland and the northern Italian Alps were closed as all the snow melted due to abnormal temperatures exceeding 20 degrees Celsius. These ski resorts are highly sensitive to snowfall and cold. In Switzerland, new artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been developed to measure snowfall.

On the 15th, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich announced that its researchers, in collaboration with Swiss software company ExoLabs, recently developed a snowfall measurement method using satellite images and AI technology. The research team stated that they use surface images taken by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Sentinel-2 satellite as basic data for measuring snowfall.

Snowfall is particularly important in the Alpine region not only for ski resorts and tourism but also for hydropower generation. If abnormal high temperatures like last year occur again, there are concerns that power shortages will worsen.

Cold Weather to Continue Until the Weekend... Concerns Over Intermittent Sudden Cold Waves During Winter

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Arctic cold wave covering all of East Asia, including Korea and China, is expected to continue fiercely until this weekend. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the severe cold will persist until the morning of the 23rd, with temperatures gradually easing from the afternoon.

However, due to the weakening of the jet stream in the Arctic region caused by global warming, sudden southward movements of Arctic cold waves and cold spells are expected to recur throughout this winter. Especially this year, the El Ni?o phenomenon, returning after three years, is causing extreme global weather anomalies.

Due to global warming, a pressure ridge recently formed near the Ural Mountains is also identified as a cause of the cold wave in East Asia. This massive pressure ridge blocks the primarily east-west airflow, causing the air to flow in a north-south direction. As a result, cold air from the high latitudes of the Arctic rapidly moves southward, mainly passing through the Korean Peninsula and the central United States, which are located along the air mass pathways, raising concerns that sudden cold spells will occur multiple times this winter.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.