7 January 2010, 3:00 am
What has solar output to do with all of this...? European transport was hobbled, China curbed power use because of coal shortages and Florida citrus growers braced for more nights of freezing temperatures as icy weather continued to grip the Northern Hemisphere. The U.K.’s cold snap, the longest since 1981, persisted as temperatures fell as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of central England. Thousands of schools were closed for a second day and air, rail and road travelers faced delays or cancellations. Northern and central France temperatures were at or below freezing, the Meteo-France Web site said, while the German Meteorological Service said an Arctic cold front from Russia will bring more snow to northern and eastern Germany today and temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. “Germany is the freezer of Central Europe,” Dorothea Paetzold, a meteorologist at the national forecasting service, said in an interview from Offenbach. Snowfall has built up to 16 centimeters (6 inches) in Berlin and more than 10 times that on the Zugspitze, the country’s highest mountain. China will be hit by a new cold front this weekend, with snowstorms forecast for the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Hubei on Jan. 9, China National Radio reported. Mexico will have “severe winter” weather. In the U.S., orange juice futures fell 1 percent yesterday in New York trading after freezing conditions did minimal damage to Florida’s crop. They had risen as much as 4.3 percent to a two-year high and natural gas jumped to a 13-month peak. ‘Rare Pattern’ “The cold weather is hitting a lot of the more populated areas, such as western and northern Europe, a lot of the eastern U.S.,” Bob Tarr, a meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc., said in a telephone interview yesterday. “It’s a rare pattern, and unusual to see this cold weather affecting a number of major population centers and persisting for about three weeks.” In Norway, power-grid operator Statnett SF asked several companies in Norway to reduce their electricity use after a drop in temperatures raised demand, Dagens Naeringsliv reported, citing company spokesman Tore Inge Akselsen. Arriva Plc, a train and bus operator in the Netherlands, said bus services in and around Amsterdam, Utrecht and part of the province of Brabant are experiencing delays, in a statement on its Web site. Railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen NV said it reduced train service. In Britain, snow will move from Scotland to eastern England today, with the rest of the country remaining mostly dry, the Met Office said on its Web site. Cold and snow were forecast to affect the country until at least the middle of the month. Gatwick Opens London’s Gatwick Airport was open today after being closed for much of yesterday as authorities cleared the runway. EasyJet Plc canceled 73 flights today after scratching more than 250 yesterday. At Prague’s international airport, travelers to the U.K. were being rerouted or assigned bookings two to three days from today. An EasyJet ticket agent said the earliest flights available to Britain were on Jan. 12 as he worked through a line of more than 150 stranded passengers. Ryanair Holdings Plc canceled 4 flights today after 146 cancellations yesterday. British Airways Plc also warned of cancellations. Seventeen rail service providers were hit by delays or cancellations today, according to the National Rail Enquiries Web site. On the capital’s subway system, the Bakerloo line was experiencing severe delays, and other lines had minor delays, Transport for London said on its Web site. Lufthansa reported no delays because of weather conditions, said spokeswoman Stephanie Stotz. At Deutsche Bahn, the national railway, trains haven’t yet been slowed down, a spokesman said. China Power Cuts The Chinese provinces of Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan, Hunan and Jiangxi and the municipalities of Shanghai and Chongqing have limited electricity consumption because of fuel shortages, the official Xinhua News Agency said today, without giving details. Some aluminum smelters in Henan, the largest producing province, received notices from power suppliers to prepare for stoppages, according to CRU International Ltd. China is the world’s biggest maker of aluminum used in homes and cars. There have been “periodic power supply disruptions” in provinces including Henan and Hunan, though the impact “is not serious” so far, Wan Ling, a Beijing-based analyst, said by phone today. She declined to identify the smelters affected. Mexico Freezes Mexico will have “severe winter” weather in most of the nation from today, the National Meteorological Service said in an e-mailed statement. Temperatures below freezing are forecast for 10 states and Mexico City, it said. At least seven deaths in the U.S. have been blamed on icy roads or cold-related accidents, the Associated Press reported. Temperatures in New York Edit to below: The answers don't acknowledge the fact that this winter is especially harsh and we are stuck in an unusual solar minimum for the last two years?... Read More »
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