Extreme cold is becoming the new normal around the world with multiple snowfall records being broken each winter amid extremely frigid temperatures. This phenomena is already causing significant worldwide impact on crops, basic infrastructure and daily life.
Most of the US continued to experience one of the worst winters in its history this year. As temperatures got a little less cold, snow and ice melt has been causing destructive ice-laden flooding in the Mid and Northwest.
Meanwhile China, Japan and Taiwan also saw record snowfalls and freezing temperatures, and extreme cold was also present in unusual places like Morocco, Tanzania, Turkey, Irán, Israel and Saudi Arabia. And of course, Europe got its fair share as usual.
This month, hurricane like winds wreaked havoc in Europe, the US, Asia and Latin America, and in some cases was accompanied by unprecedented tornados.
The Ring of Fire showed increased activity, with volcanoes erupting around the globe along with several earthquakes of significant magnitude. Some researchers link these phenomena to the increased incidence of cosmic rays.
So get your big coats on folks, because with the sun's minimum in its 11 year cycle just around the corner, we may soon have to confront the beginning of a new mini (or 'maxi') ice age.
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