A deadly cold snap that is gripping East Asia has killed at least four people in Japan after subzero temperatures and heavy snow brought travel chaos during the Lunar New Year holiday, with climate experts warning that such extreme weather events had become the “new norm.”
Yeh Sang-wook, a climate professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, attributed the extreme cold wave on the Korean Peninsula to Arctic winds from Siberia, adding that the cold wave in South Korea this year was partly due to the melting of Arctic ice caps from a warming climate.
“There has been a record melting last year and this year,” he said. “When sea ice is melted, the sea opens up, sending up more vapor into the air, leading to more snow in the north.”
As climate change worsens, the region would face more severe cold weather in the future, he said.
I – Word Understanding
Cold snap – a sudden, brief spell of cold weather
Chaos – complete disorder and confusion
II – Have Your Say
1, What has been your experience in this year’s cold snap? Has it caused you any inconvenience? How did you deal with it?
2, What are your concerns when it comes to climate change? Who do you think are responsible to limit the effects of climate change?
939 From China to Japan, deadly cold is gripping East Asia. Experts say it’s the ‘new norm’
