Siberia’s Deep October Chill; Snow In Bulgaria; Polar Vortex Struggling To Form; Global Sea Ice Recovery; Palisades Fire: Arson Not "Climate Change"; + Spain’s Grid Operator Warns Of New Instability
The "big one" —a long blackout— is edging closer with every new turbine and panel bolted to the grid.
Siberia’s Deep October Chill
The early-season cold gripping Siberia shows no sign of easing.
Summer quickly collapsed this year into a sharp September freeze, and temperatures have remained 4C to 7C below normal across vast regions of Russia, including Kemerovo, Tomsk, and Altai, through the first 8 days of October.
A stationary cold core is once again dominating the region, fed by ultrapolar air spilling south through the troposphere. This setup has locked Siberia into a prolonged cold phase, with no meaningful thaw in sight.
Additional snow is forecast, in locales such as the Altai and Kuzbass highlands, where nighttime lows will dip to -8C (18F). More of the same, in other words: more snow, more cold — with Kazakhstan, Mongolia, northern China, and India also impacted.
Heavy October snow is already burying India’s northern reaches, with Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand hit hard.
More than 75 cm (30 inches) fell at Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand between Oct 6 and 8, while Himachal’s Lahaul–Spiti, Keylong, and Koksar posted 30–45 cm (12–18 inches).
Roads are blocked, power lines down, and apple orchards are reporting extensive damage with temperatures crashing below freezing — as low as -5C (23F) across the higher valleys.
The Manali–Leh highway remains shut, and villages in Pangi and Spiti remain cut off.
The Indian Meteorological Department has alerts in place for the likes of Kullu, Lahaul–Spiti, Chamba, and Kangra, warning of more snow and strong winds to come.
The department has already described northern India’s cold and widespread snowfall as unusually early, among the earliest on record.
Heavy Snow In Bulgaria
More than half a meter of snow has buried Vitosha Mountain near Sofia — exceptional early-season totals for Bulgaria.
