Early-Season Cold Kills At Least 49 In South Africa; Visviri, Chile Approaches June Record Low; Summer Snow Over Carpathians; Alaska’s Coldest Early-June in Decades; + The Cold Times

The COLD TIMES are returning, driven primarily by low solar activity and increased cloud cover...

Early-Season Cold Kills At Least 49 In South Africa

A deadly blast of early-winter cold has struck South Africa, leaving at least 49 people dead after a rare and violent snowstorm slammed into the country's eastern and southern highlands.

Heavy snow and fierce winds swept across KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, and the Drakensberg Mountains, hitting communities with a rare 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) of snow above 1,000 meters (3,280 feet).

Wind gusts topping 90 km/h (56 mph) resulted in whiteouts over mountain passes.

Roads froze. Trees fell. Power lines snapped.

Temperatures nosedived, with high-altitude lows hitting -5C (23F). Even daytime temperatures in the valleys hovered just above freezing — around 0 to 3C (32 to 37F) — a brutal chill for early June in this part of the world.

The death toll —now at 49 but rising— is being blamed primarily on icy road accidents, cold exposure, and flooding, especially in vulnerable rural communities. Dozens of others have been hospitalized with injuries or hypothermia.