Cold Pushes Deep Into India; Heavy Snow Inundates Europe; Alaska Locked In Deep Winter; Early Burial For The Rockies; Japan Faces Another Heavy Snow Hit; + U.S. Cuts Ties With UN Climate Regime

Northern Hemisphere snow mass is on the march...

Cold Pushes Deep Into India

Bhubaneswar, a low-elevation coastal city in eastern India, fell to 9.4C (48.9F), the coldest Jan 8 on record and the city’s fourth-lowest January minimum since records began in 1952.

Only three colder January mornings exist in the archive: 8.6C (47.5F) in 1992, 9.0C (48.2F) in 2003, and 9.3C (48.7F) in 2012.

Farther north, the likes of Himachal Pradesh remain locked in winter.

Nine stations reported freezing lows this morning, led by Tabo at -9.4C (15.1F) and Kukumseri at -9.2C (15.4F), while dense fog persists in lower districts.

From the Himalayas to India’s eastern coast, this is a broad, record-touching cold spell.

Heavy Snow Inundates Europe

A large-scale Arctic air mass has locked into place across Europe, driving widespread lows, heavy snows, and mounting disruption from Scandinavia to the Iberian Peninsula, through France and Germany, and east into Russia.

This is not a short-lived cold snap but a sustained continental pattern reinforced by expanding snow cover.

Many countries, including the typically maritime UK, have already seen significant snowfall since the turn of the New Year. As of Jan 5—so before the latest rounds—European snow cover stood at its highest level for the date since 2019:

In Scotland, locals are reporting the heaviest snowfall in decades. With minimum temperatures nearing -15C (5F), Aberdeen and surrounding areas (video below) are already inundated ahead of the next Atlantic system arriving Jan 8.