Global Warming Strikes Again! Canals in Venice, Italy Freeze Over - Worst Snow in 27 Years

Just to show, once again, that this current cold streak that is hitting Japan - and hard, is not localized to this country (as I pointed out before).


Here's some news from Venice Italy. The canals have frozen over!

Canals of Venice frozen over

ABC News has the story: Wolves scavenge as Italians take shelter from biting cold

Wolves scavenged in isolated snow-covered villages, the canals in Venice froze over, and the death toll rose to 30 as freezing weather continued across Italy on Tuesday.

Snow kept falling in the north of Italy, with temperatures dropping to minus 25 degrees Celsius in Marcesina on the shores of Lake Garda, and there was black ice in Calabria and Sardegna in the south.

....

Life in the centre of Rome returned to normal after days of chaos in the wake of the heaviest snowfall in 27 years, but schools remained closed and thousands in the surrounding region were still without electricity or heating.

The capital's main shopping thoroughfare, the Via del Corso in the historic centre, was closed to traffic after fears vast ice-sheets could slide off roofs and plummet onto passing pedestrians and vehicles.

Biting temperatures and widespread snow and ice have caused up to 500 million euros ($610 million) worth of damages to Italy's agriculture sector so far, the Confagricoltura association said.

The cold snap is forecast to continue at least until the weekend.

Global Warming Strikes Again! Japan and Europe Snowed Under with Record Cold and Snow!

As everyone knows, Global Warming causes the earth to get warmer and colder!

Japan Times Reports: Record lows recorded at 38 locations in Japan

The nation experienced severe cold weather Friday with temperatures dropping to record lows at 38 locations in the morning, the Meteorological Agency said. From Tohoku to Kyushu, temperatures hit their lowest records in 16 prefectures, including the town of Kusu in Oita Prefecture, where temperature fell to minus 14.7 degrees. In Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, it was minus 8.4. Of 927 observation points, over 90 percent, or 874 sites, marked temperatures below zero early Friday, the agency said. The lowest figure observed was minus 32.6 in Esashi, Hokkaido. The agency said the cold air mass that led to blizzards in several Sea of Japan coastal areas has now passed over the archipelago.... 

"Based on our forecast, February's temperatures nationwide will be lower" than in normal years, Ishihara said. "We project low temperatures will continue through March and April, but excluding Hokkaido and the Tohoku region."

In Japan's Shiga Prefecture, the snow was so bad that the government Self-Defense Forces (SDF) were called in to help with rescue and snow removal work. It was the first time in 31 years that the SDF's help had been requested. In many areas the snow was as high as 3 meters (about 9ft 8 inches deep).

That it is so damned cold in Japan with freezing cold hitting new records should be no surprise to anyone. Extreme weather conditions have savaged the earth since the beginning of time. In fact, when you judge the history of the earth at over 4 million years with the time it’s been since man started keeping records (since 1878) to assume that we can judge the weather by computer modeling based on "assumptions" is probably nonsense.

Who was it who said, “You know what happens when you assume? You make an ass out of you and me” (assume = ass + u + me).

To show, again that this is not a local phenomenon, here is extreme cold weather in Europe, continuing, as the Daily Mail Reports:

Snow falls in Rome for the first time in 26 YEARS as -36c temperatures across eastern Europe send death toll to 150 

• Capital of Italy usually has moderate temperatures but Colosseum is closed over ice fears
• Military on alert in the UK as temperatures drop and heavy snow fall is predicted 
• Over 11,000 villagers in Serbia remain trapped by heavy snow and blizzards
• Temperatures across eastern Europe plummet to -30c amid fears of more deaths
• Death toll in Ukraine now stands at 101, with 38 people being killed by cold last night

NOTE: In Switzerland, are always measured lower temperatures. Some places experienced the coldest February night for over 30 years. http://bit.ly/yPhrLN

See many more great European winter photos here.