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<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US just experienced the warmest "meteorological winter" on record, NOAA said last week.</li><li>Higher temps contributed to several unusual weather events across the country.</li></ul>From December of last year to this February, the US experienced the warmest "meteorological winter" on record, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration <a target="_blank" href="https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-had-its-warmest-winter-on-record">said</a> last week.February alone saw everything from drought, to a wildfire, to a tornado, to a shocking lack of ice covering Midwestern lakes. The season was also the third-warmest February in NOAA's 130-year history.High temps also contributed to one of the wettest winters ever, with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/extreme-weather-events-nyc-whiplash-big-blizzard-snow-storm-2024-2">heavier-than-normal rain and snowfall</a> in parts of the US, NOAA said.But this is a business story.The unseasonable weather further complicated what is already a somewhat unpredictable period in the retail sales calendar."Q4 is the most weather-dependent," Dick's Sporting Goods CEO Lauren Hobart told investors in November. "We like cold, so I'm hoping for a snowy Thanksgiving and Christmas."For Dick's, warmer weather means that sales skew toward lightweight fleeces rather than pricier down parkas, she said.Hobart's hopes didn't really pan out.In fact, the warm winter was yet another weird season in what Tractor Supply Co. CEO Hal Lawton called "one of the worst setups, every month and every quarter of last year" in terms of favorable weather.In other words, the weather has been so unpredictable over the past year, Lawton isn't bothering with so much weather-related financial guidance this year."I think we played too much weather forecaster last year and are going to get out of that business," he said last week at the Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference.Lowe's saw a lift from the milder conditions as DIY customers stocked up for home projects, but CEO Marvin Ellison said sales fell off in January when the mercury dropped below normal levels and kept shoppers from stores for a period.Now the home improvement retailer is welcoming "early signs of spring," head of merchandising Bill Boltz said, when customers load up on lawn and garden supplies.Meanwhile, 2024 notched its first "billion-dollar disaster" in January due to an East Coast storm and southern tornado outbreak that affected over a dozen states.In the upper Midwest, where the highest differences were recorded, Wisconsin's governor <a target="_blank" href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/bulletins/38bd672">issued</a> an emergency declaration for small businesses in the northern part of the state that have lost tourism and other revenue due to the lack of snow and ice this year.Ski areas across the US also faced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ski-season-resorts-struggle-open-global-warming-climate-crisis-2024-1">low amounts of fresh snow</a>, undoubtedly crimping sales at pro shops and related businesses. A retailer in South Dakota surveyed by the Federal Reserve <a target="_blank" href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/BeigeBook_20240117.pdf">said</a> that even though the warmer weather led to higher foot traffic, sales of winter gear and equipment fell.From major complications to minor inconveniences, it's looking like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/death-of-snow-america-midwest-warm-winter-skiing-climate-change-2024-2">this winter could be a preview of what's to come</a> thanks to the climate crisis.More than half of the world's population "experienced at least one day of temperatures that would be virtually impossible without the influence of carbon pollution," according to a <a target="_blank" href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/1MIMyO7isC5mLwnx5jvGil/51784bf8aff2c6b18ba166d395fa59ae/Climate_Central_Seasonal_Attribution_Report__Dec_2023_-_Feb_2024_.pdf">report</a> from Climate Central, a policy-neutral organization.Businesses generally aim for predictability wherever they can get it, but <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/extreme-weather-biggest-concern-business-leaders-politicians-world-economic-forum-2024-1">a warming planet is likely to give them continued challenges</a>.

This winter was weirdly warm — and rough for retailers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Athletes at the 2022 <keyword id="12090559" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="winter-olympics" source="Orion">Winter Olympics</keyword> are competing on fake <keyword id="12499848" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="snow" source="Orion">snow</keyword> — and that may become the norm.</li><li>If <keyword id="11896311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-change" source="Orion">climate change</keyword> is not addressed, many locations could be too warm to host <keyword id="12547268" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="winter-sports" source="Orion">winter sports</keyword> by 2080.</li></ul>As skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes in Zhangjiakou over the next few weeks on their quests for a gold medal, they'll be competing on fake snow.While artificial snow has made an appearance at the Winter Olympics for decades, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/2022-winter-olympics-schedule-how-to-watch">the Beijing Games</a> will be the <a href="https://qz.com/2116950/beijing-2022-will-be-the-first-winter-olympics-using-100-percent-fake-snow/">first to completely rely on it</a> — something that's likely to continue into the future.<div type="image" title="black and white headshot of Mario Molina" height="541" width="722" msid="89487349" hostid="261"></div>"What people will see on their television screens over the next week — where you have artificial snow being used for all of the sports against the backdrop of winter — is what the normal may very well look like for the Winter Olympics moving forward unless we address climate change quite rapidly," <a href="https://protectourwinters.org/about-pow/pow-team/">Mario Molina</a>, executive director of nonprofit environmental group <a href="https://protectourwinters.org/">Protect Our Winters</a>, told Insider.A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13683500.2021.2023480">new report</a> published in January revealed that unless the world takes drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and follow the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement">2015 Paris Climate Agreement</a> goals, many of the locations that typically host the Winter Olympics will soon be too warm to accommodate winter sports. Of the 21 locations that have previously hosted the Games, only 10 could reliably accommodate snow sports by the 2050s and eight by the 2080s under a "high emission scenario," the report stated.<h2>Artificial snow isn't a long-term solution for lack of snow</h2><a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-snowfall" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored"></a><div type="image" title="headshot of McKenzie Skiles in the snow" height="687" width="917" msid="89487350" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-snowfall">Snowfall is decreasing</a> worldwide as air temperatures rise or become more variable and more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow, <a href="https://faculty.utah.edu/u0458147-S._McKenzie_Skiles/hm/index.hml">McKenzie Skiles</a>, a geography assistant professor at the University of Utah and snow hydrology expert, told Insider."Warmer temperatures also make snow melt faster," Skiles said. "So we lose snow both at the beginning of winter as it accumulates and we're losing it earlier in the season to faster melt."Zhangjiakou, a city about 100 miles away from Beijing where this year's Olympic skiing and snowboarding events are held, remains cold but dry, so the <a href="https://qz.com/1213121/beijing-2022-winter-olympics-will-rely-entirely-on-artificial-snow/">city always planned to use snow-making machines</a>. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-01-22/beijing-winter-olympics-first-to-rely-on-artificial-snow?sref=P6xXtEaF">Winter precipitation there has averaged just 7.9 millimeters</a> a year over the past 40 years."We can look at Beijing as an example of what the future of the Winter Olympics could be like, regardless of venue, in a warming scenario," Molina said. Other locations may increasingly embrace artificial snow for future Olympic events, but it's not necessarily a solution, he added. Artificial snow still needs low temperatures and low humidity for the precipitation to freeze.Energy and a water supply are also needed to produce artificial snow, which adds an environmental impact. Skiles said many ski resorts use <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/ski-resorts-aim-efficient-snowmaking-amid-drought-82455164">snowmaking ponds</a>, where water is collected and used to create snow later. But without that resource, tapping into a local water supply might be necessary.<h2>Decreased <keyword id="13147712" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="snowfall" source="Orion">snowfall</keyword> will likely change winter sports in the future </h2>Artificial snow also impacts Olympic athletes' performance and can increase the likelihood of injury. "Man-made snow doesn't act the same as natural snow. It tends to be much firmer, it gets icier faster, and it's a faster surface," US Olympic cross-country skier <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/21/1074872876/could-the-world-become-too-warm-to-hold-winter-olympics">Rosie Brennan told NPR </a>recently.Exactly how climate change will affect the future of the Winter Olympics is tough to predict, and different sports will be impacted differently, these experts said. For example, Skiles said cross-country skiing, which is typically done at low elevations most at risk of losing snow, could move to higher elevations. Fewer locations may be able to host outdoor winter sports in the future, and some places may create indoor skiing venues, like <a href="https://www.skidxb.com/">Ski Dubai</a>.As viewers watch this year's Olympics, Molina hopes it will raise awareness about how climate change is affecting snowfall and push governments, corporations, and individuals to come together to address the problem. "The warming is happening now," Skiles said. "But we still get snow, and skiing is still possible in a lot of places. If we address the worst of the emissions and address the root causes of climate change, we could slow it down and minimize it. It's not a dire future if we can still take action now."

How the impact of climate change on snowfall could affect the Winter Olympics by 2080

<ul class="summary-list"><li>More than 1,000 flights have been canceled as a winter storm hits the Northeast.</li><li>Forecasters in Boston expect up to a foot of snow to fall.</li></ul>Air passengers are facing severe disruption on Tuesday as the Northeast is hit by a strong winter storm.More than 1,100 flights have been canceled across the US as of 7:30 a.m. ET, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.flightaware.com/live/cancelled/">FlightAware</a>.The storm is set to dump the heaviest <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/12/us/winter-storm-snow-rain-forecast-noreaster.html">snowfall on New York City</a> for more than two years, The New York Times reported.It's set to get up to six inches of snow, while forecasters in Boston expect up as much as a foot, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/hpcdiscussions.php?disc=pmdspd">National Weather Service</a>.JetBlue has canceled about a fifth of its schedule, or 156 flights, although regional carrier Republic Airways is the worst affected with 244 cancellations, per FlightAware.Several airlines are waiving change fees for passengers due to travel on Tuesday. They include <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/travel-alerts.jsp">American</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?disabled=1&amp;h=23974a8b4f274f0c1f39d46650373013282747c44211c38316cd391180043c6e&amp;postID=65cb5766e315c04c5d98f0d0&amp;postSlug=airlines-cancel-flights-noreaster-winter-storm-strikes-2024-2&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jetblue.com%2Ftravel-alerts%23northeast-winter-weather-fee-waiver">JetBlue</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?disabled=1&amp;h=f9efc78e9594e7021468581a4900aafbc43229cd8ec1275486618ee70e0c94f3&amp;postID=65cb5766e315c04c5d98f0d0&amp;postSlug=airlines-cancel-flights-noreaster-winter-storm-strikes-2024-2&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.southwest.com%2Ftravel-advisory%2F">Southwest</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spirit.com/travel-advisory">Spirit</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/travel/trip-planning/travel-alerts.html">United</a>.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.delta.com/gb/en/advisories/weather-alerts/northeast-us-weather">Delta</a>'s waiver includes flights on both Tuesday and Wednesday.The terms are slightly different for each airline and the waivers apply to select airports. Passengers should check their airline's website for more information. If your flight is canceled then you're entitled to a full refund, but there isn't always compensation for delays.Last month, a storm in the UK and Ireland resulted in some bizarre journeys, leaving <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/passengers-left-hundreds-of-miles-from-destinations-due-to-storm-2024-1">passengers hundreds of miles away from their destinations</a>.Ryanair passengers due to fly just 160 miles across the Irish Sea were diverted to Paris, nearly 500 miles away.And another flight that was supposed to land in Dublin ended up 640 miles away in the south of France. That's the same distance as New York City to Indiana.

Airlines cancel more than 1,100 flights as Nor'easter winter storm strikes

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Heavy snowfall across Japan has killed at least 17 people over the last 10 days, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-japan-climate-and-environment-522b6581d5ba3f8cbef6333c5cca9dd5?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_04" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AP reported.</a></li><li>Some parts of the country are reporting three times their average snowfall for the season.</li></ul>Record levels of snowfall in Japan have left at least 17 dead and 90 people injured according to disaster management officials, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-japan-climate-and-environment-522b6581d5ba3f8cbef6333c5cca9dd5?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_04">the Associated Press</a> reported. Much of the country's northern and western regions have seen persistent heavy snow in recent days, stranding hundreds of vehicles on highways, delaying delivery and public transport services, and leaving thousands of homes without power, the outlet reported.The scope of the winter storm has been unprecedented, with some parts of northeastern Japan reporting three times their average snowfall for the season.The Associated Press reported that officials said Monday that 17 people have died, some of whom had fallen while removing snow from the roofs. The officials urged residents not to remove snow from vehicles and roofs on their own due to safety concerns, the outlet reported.One elderly woman in Nagai City — an area located around 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of Tokyo — was found dead buried underneath a pile of snow that suddenly fell on her from her roof, AP reported. Snow in the area had piled up to higher than 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) over the weekend.Heavy snow also knocked down an electric power transmission tower in Japan's northern region, leaving about 20,000 homes without power on Christmas morning, the outlet reported. Electricity has since been restored and the heavy snowfall is expected to ease from Monday. Japan is not the only country struggling with snowfall this winter. At least 38 deaths have now been linked to severe snow storms battering the US and Canada in recent days, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64091560">the BBC reported</a> Monday.The storms have also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/winter-storm-flights-airports-air-travel-chaos-delayed-canceled-weather-2022-12">heavily disrupted travel</a> over the holiday weekend and left thousands of people without electricity. Officials have urged people to stay home, calling the storms a "very dangerous life-threatening situation," the BBC reported.

Record levels of snowfall in Japan leave 17 dead and 90 people injured, report says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Dozens of passengers were left stranded in a Sacramento bus station after highways closed this week.</li><li>Travelers at the station said Sacramento was helpful in providing necessities, but still said the experience was a nightmare. </li></ul>Dozens of travelers in California were forced to stay overnight at a bus station, as winter weather shut down highways and halted travel. <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-greyhound-bus-passengers-stuck-in-cold/43134660" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to local news station KCRA</a>, about 50 travelers were stuck overnight at a Greyhound station in Sacramento this week after their buses were either canceled or delayed. Some would-be passengers slept at the station for days, KCRA reported.Winter storms closed freeways and canceled several Greyhound routes on the West Coast into this weekend, as unusual snowfall continues across California. This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom placed 13 California counties under a state of emergency due to winter weather.Although Sacramento was not under a state of emergency this week, winter weather and closed freeways still left travelers stranded at the Greyhound station."There were a lot of folks that had been here for a couple days, some of them with limited access to food and water, so we initiated a shelter-in-place operation," Daniel Bowers, director of the City of Sacramento's Office of Emergency Management KCRA. According to Bowers, stranded travelers were better off sheltering in place. He told KCRA the city worked with the Red Cross to provide necessities like blankets to the passengers at the station. "This is the location that they want to be because their buses may depart or may not depart. They want to have that information readily available to them," Bowers told KCRA.One traveler at the station told KCRA that being stranded was miserable, but the city was accommodating under the circumstances. A local restaurant provided hot meals to the passengers while they were stuck. "It was very helpful, and we truly are in appreciation of everything that Sacramento is doing," traveler Barbara Frederick said. "It was very, very, very heartwarming."It's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/20-minute-drive-turns-into-7-hour-nightmare-winter-storm-2023-2?_gl=1*1ol78qr*_ga*MzkwNjEyNjA0LjE2NzMzMDEyOTI.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY3Nzk1NzI4MC4xMzcuMS4xNjc3OTU3Mjg4LjAuMC4w">just one in a string of recent travel fiascos</a>, after winter weather caused headaches and created dangerous conditions across the country last month. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/greyhound-bus-passengers-stranded-winter-storms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to CBS</a>, Greyhound service resumed Wednesday at the Sacramento station — not soon enough for many travelers. "The chairs in here are all wired, metal and they're hard. They're stiff and they don't recline. There's nothing soft in here," Daniel Woodward told CBS of the Sacramento bus station.

Bus passengers left stranded for days at station in California in freak winter storm

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Approximately 85,000 homes and businesses across Los Angeles lost power on Saturday </li><li>Rain and snowstorms hit parts of Southern California.</li></ul>Approximately 85,000 homes and businesses across Los Angeles lost power on Saturday as rain and snowstorms hit Southern California, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/thousands-without-power-california-storms-bring-rain-snow-cold-2023-02-25/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters reports.</a>The storm has taken hold of much of Southern California. Floods and rare snowfall have closed highways and interstates. On Friday, rare <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2023/feb/25/rare-snowfall-envelopes-southern-california-swirling-around-hollywood-sign-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">snowfall was seen swirling around the iconic Hollywood sig</a>n in LA. Snow also hit the foothills of California's central coast and the San Francisco Bay area. Sarah McCorkle, an NWS meteorologist in Monterey, California, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-25/california-storms-blizzards-flooding-avalanches/102023844" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told ABC</a> that "the last time we saw snow like this in the low elevations was in 2011."The National Weather Service (NWS) has <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSWPC/status/1629780755860652035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that heavy snow is also set to fall in Northern and Central California mountains at more than two inches per hour. Californians have been <a href="https://twitter.com/CaliforniaDDS/status/1629572061449318407" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told to limit travel</a> amid the dangerous storms, which are expected to continue throughout Sunday, where wind speeds of up to 50 miles per hour are predicted, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/thousands-without-power-california-storms-bring-rain-snow-cold-2023-02-25/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters reports.</a> Other parts of the US are also being disrupted by powerful storms, with the NWS warning of thunderstorms, hurricane-force winds, and possible tornadoes across much of <a href="https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/oklahoma-first-february-tornado-sunday-severe-weather-plains" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma, northwest Texas, and the Eastern Panhandle.</a>US Plains, Midwest, and Great Lakes regions have already faced difficult weather conditions this week, with Michigan seeing 820,000 people losing power as it was hit by ice storms, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/us-winter-storm-los-angeles-has-first-blizzard-warning-in-decades-12818519" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sky News reports. </a>The news site reported that a fireman died on Wednesday when he came into contact with a drowned powerline in Paw Paw, southwest Michigan. Over 2,000 flights have been canceled across the USA as a result of the extreme weather, with over 14,000 delayed, per Sky News.

85,000 households and businesses were without power in the Los Angeles area as winter storm pummels California

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Natural gas prices tumbled lower on Monday and hit a new 21-month low. </li><li>Freezing temperatures are set to hit the south, but the East Coast has had a mild winter. </li></ul>Natural gas prices fell on Monday, extending a string of recent losses to set a fresh 21-month low amid mild winter temperatures in parts of the US. Prices were hovering near $2.73 per million British thermal units, below a key threshold of $3 broken on January 25. The latest decline adds further downward pressure to prices that are now more than 70% below all-time highs of $10.03 hit in August 2022.Tepid winter weather on the East Coast has so far crushed demand and sent prices lower, while southern states like Texas continue to experience persistent freezing temperatures. The state is expecting another snow storm this week. And as temperatures have remained warmer than usual, production has stayed steady, adding to the decline in prices. The key Freeport liquefied natural gas terminal in Texas has also restarted production after a prolonged shutdown.Even as Russia's war on Ukraine continues and the prospect of flows from Russian producers remains in flux, inventories in the Northern Hemisphere are looking strong extending into next winter as well. Meanwhile, New York City has remarkably not yet experienced a major snow storm, marking 326 consecutive days without significant snowfall, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Natural gas prices hit their lowest level in 21 months as the East Coast sees less snow than Texas this winter

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Snow and hurricane-level winds hit Buffalo, New York, for four days straight this Christmas. </li><li>The storm has caused power outages, trapped people, and blocked ambulances</li></ul>This weekend's winter storm Elliot has become the most lethal blizzard that Buffalo, New York, has seen in at least 100 years. At least 27 people have died in the city as of 4 p.m. on Dec. 26, said Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz, in what Gov. Kathy Hochul called the "blizzard of the century."In a post on Facebook, Poloncarz said 14 of those were found dead outside, another four people died from being trapped inside without heat, and 3 died because emergency services could not get to them. Three people died inside their car, and three died from cardiac events while shoveling, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CountyExecutiveMarkPoloncarz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the post</a>. Freezing temperatures, hurricane-like winds and over four feet of snow wreaked havoc since Friday filling the Christmas holiday with tragedy in the western New York city, home to nearly 277,000. "It is devastating. It is going to a war zone," Hochul, a Buffalo-native, said <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-governor-hochul-holds-virtual-storm-briefing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a news conference on Christmas day</a>, adding it would "go down history as the most devastating storm," in a city known for its harsh winters and frequent snowfall. The death toll now dwarfs the blizzard of 1977 in Buffalo, when 23 people died, <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/news/2022/12/buffalo-blizzard-death-toll-reaches-25-more-snow-on-the-way.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Syracuse.com</a>. Dubbed a "bomb cyclone," the intensity of the blizzard is the result of a rapid increase in the storm pressure system — one where temperatures drop dramatically in a short period, <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/weather/what-is-a-bomb-cyclone-what-weather-phenomenon-means-for-ny-as-winter-storm-hits/4010609/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local news station WNBC reported</a>.Throughout the country, a total of 57 have died in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/winter-storm-freezing-temperatures-heavy-snow-killed-deadly-buffalo-rcna63226" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to NBC News</a>.Despite the tragedy, there has also heartwarming stories to come out of Buffalo this weekend: firefighters brought a family to stay at the firehouse for Christmas after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/family-stayed-firehouse-for-christmas-after-losing-power-getting-stranded-2022-12">they were left without power</a>; and <a href="https://www.insider.com/south-korean-tourists-stranded-in-buffalo-blizzard-kind-stranger-host-2022-12">a local couple </a>hosted 10 international tourists as they waited out Elliot's wrath.

EMS delays, broken heating systems, and other blizzard conditions push Buffalo winter storm's death toll to at least 27

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A top WHO official said half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been crippled. </li><li>This winter "will be about survival," Hans Kluge told reporters in Kyiv on Monday. </li></ul>Russian attacks have crippled half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, a top World Health Organization official said, warning that the upcoming winter "will be about survival" for Ukrainians. "This winter will be life-threatening for millions of people in Ukraine," Hans Kluge, the WHO's regional director for Europe, said at a Monday press conference in Kyiv. "The devastating energy crisis, the deepening mental health emergency, constraints on humanitarian access, and the risk of viral infections will make this winter a formidable test for the [Ukrainian] health system." "The country is facing a therma-crisis on top of a perma-crisis, brought on by the war and the [COVID-19] pandemic. Half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure is either damaged or destroyed," he continued. "This is already having knock-on effects on the health system and on the people's health. Put simply, this winter will be about survival."Kluge said the WHO has verified over 700 attacks on health infrastructure since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. Continued attacks on health and energy infrastructure, he said, means healthcare facilities like hospitals can no longer be operational because they lack electricity, fuel, and water. For weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces have used explosive suicide drones and missiles to target Ukraine's critical infrastructure, including the country's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-strikes-cut-ukraine-electricity-part-of-new-putin-playbook-2022-10">energy systems</a>. Attacks have left millions of Ukrainians across the country without <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukrainians-live-life-in-the-dark-following-russian-energy-attacks-2022-11">power and water</a>, which has left Kyiv feeling uneasy as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-missile-strikes-knock-out-power-for-15-million-ukrainians-2022-10">weather gets colder</a> and winter quickly approaches. US and Western officials have echoed these warnings from the WHO. During a press conference last week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3220910/secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iii-and-army-general-mark-a-milley-chairman/">said</a> Russian strikes — rendering some hospitals only partially operational — have made it difficult for Ukraine to care for its sick and elderly populations. "The deliberate targeting of the civilian power grid, causing excessive collateral damage and unnecessary suffering on the civilian population, is a war crime," Milley said. "With the onset of winter, families will be without power, and more importantly, without heat. Basic human survival and subsistence is going to be severely impacted and human suffering for the Ukrainian population is going to increase."In the newly liberated southern city of Kherson, which had been under Russian occupation since the early days of the war, Ukrainian officials are even orchestrating <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-offers-voluntary-evacuation-out-of-kherson-amid-winter-fears-2022-11">voluntary evacuations</a> for civilians because they fear that the city's battered power infrastructure will pull deadly freezes in the coming months. With Ukraine's first snowfall of the season last week and temperatures dropping, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy encouraged people this week to limit their energy consumption in places where the system appears to feel the most strain."The systemic damage to our energy sphere by the attacks of Russian terrorists is so significant that all our people and businesses should be very frugal and spread consumption by hours of the day," he <a href="https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/mi-zaraz-mayemo-istorichnu-mozhlivist-raz-i-nazavzhdi-zahist-79333">said</a> Monday.

Russia has crippled half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure and this winter 'will be about survival,' top WHO official says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Beijing <keyword id="12090559" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="winter-olympics" source="Orion">Winter Olympics</keyword> has been wholly reliant on artificial snow for its alpine event.</li><li>So when a storm hit some regions over the weekend, chaos ensued.</li></ul>The Beijing Winter Olympics has become notorious for being <a href="https://www.insider.com/beijing-olympics-artificial-snow-costs-days-drinking-water-900-million-2022-2">wholly reliant on artificial snow.</a>Although the city of Beijing and the surrounding areas experience extreme cold in winter, snow is a rarity, with less than an inch falling on average in February, <a href="https://www.insider.com/beijing-olympics-artificial-snow-costs-days-drinking-water-900-million-2022-2">meaning snow machines have instead filled Beijing's arid mountainsides for the world's top athletes.</a>On Sunday, however, a lack of snow was not a problem, with some areas, including the venues at Zhangjiakou and Yanqing — around 100 miles and 45 miles from Beijing respectively — experiencing double the monthly expected snowfall in just a few hours.The downfall caused chaos, resulting in a number of events being postponed or delayed as organizers scrambled to deal with the unexpected snow.Eileen Gu's qualifying run in the freeski slopestyle was postponed, with organizers saying, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/13/winter-olympics-beijing-2022-daily-briefing-ten">according to The Guardian,</a> that the storm had left too much loose snow on the freestyle course which could be dangerous for athletes. Gu went on to finish third in the reorganized qualifying event on Monday, <a href="https://www.insider.com/eileen-gu-enjoys-sandwich-while-waiting-for-slopestyle-score-2022-2">rewarding herself with a sandwich.</a>Other impacted events included the men's freeski slopestyle qualification, which was moved to Tuesday, with the finals on Wednesday.In the alpine skiing, the second run of the men's giant slalom was delayed by the snowfall and only went ahead after several hours of maintenance on the track. A training run for the women's downhill was also cancelled.<div type="image" title="2022 Beijing Olympics - Cross-Country Skiing - Men's 4 x 10km Relay - National Cross-Country Centre, Zhangjiakou, China - February 13, 2022. View of the audience during the competition." height="1315" width="2000" msid="89571452" hostid="261"></div>There were still plenty of events that went ahead as planned despite the snow, including the men's 4x10km cross-country relay.The Russian Olympics Committee (ROC) team won the race with a time of 1:54:50 – which was over 20 minutes slower than the equivalent race at the 2018 games in Pyeongchang, thanks in large part to the snow.When delayed second run of the men's giant slalom finally went ahead, 33 of the 87 starters were unable to finish.Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen, who finished fourth in the opening run, said of the conditions at the National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing: "The snow is a little uneven, so it's quite aggressive in spots, a little slick. I think it was difficult for everyone."Jamaica's Benjamin Alexander finished 46th and said after one of his runs: "Frickin' hell, that was hard."<div type="image" title="Paal Golberg of Norway competes during the cross-country skiing men's 4x10 km relay of the Beijing Winter Olympics at National Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Zhangjiakou" height="1314" width="2000" msid="89571454" hostid="261"></div>Beijing's reliance on artificial snow for the games has come under heavy criticism from environmentalists.TechnoAlpin, the company China hired for snow-making, told Insider it expected the games would require about 343 million gallons of water for snow, <a href="https://www.insider.com/beijing-olympics-artificial-snow-costs-days-drinking-water-900-million-2022-2">which is the equivalent to a day's worth of drinking water for nearly 900 million people.</a>Professor Carmen de Jong, a geographer at the University of Strasbourg, called the games the "most unsustainable Winter Olympics ever held."Madeleine Orr, a sport ecologist at Loughborough University London, <a href="https://www.insider.com/beijing-olympics-artificial-snow-costs-days-drinking-water-900-million-2022-2">told Insider:</a> "The massive reliance on water for these games was an inevitability once the games were awarded to Beijing because the region doesn't get nearly enough natural snow to accommodate snow-based competitions."So going to Beijing, the International Olympic Committee and all the event organizers knew what they were getting into."

The Beijing Olympics has become notorious for its fake snow, so when it actually snowed, it caused chaos

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12060141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="beijing" source="Orion">Beijing</keyword> is the first Winter <keyword id="11896183" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="olympics" source="Orion">Olympics</keyword> host to use essentially 100% artificial snow for the Games.</li><li>Environmentalists worry over the water cost of the snow, which uses hundreds of millions of gallons.</li></ul>When it comes to hosting the Winter Olympics, Beijing has a major problem: no snow. So in 2018, the Chinese capital recruited an army of machines — 100 snow generators and 300 snow guns — to fill its arid mountainsides with fake snow for the world's top athletes.This solution isn't unique to Beijing. The snow for the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, was 80% artificial, and <a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2022/01/24/how-is-snow-made-artificial-winter-olympics-beijing">Pyeongchang's snow in 2018 was</a> more than 90% synthetic.But Beijing makes history as the first city to host a Winter Olympics that is essentially wholly reliant on artificial snow — and the amount of water used to produce the snow is staggering. Snow for Zhangjiakou, where the skiing events are being held this year, is estimated by organizers to require <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Olympic-Games/Beijing-2022/Sustainability/Beijing-2022-Pre-Games-Sustainability-Report.pdf?_ga=2.76283478.2131731110.1643450036-900577238.1624017763">192 million gallons of water</a> in one of the world's most water-scarce regions.And that's for only one of Beijing's two outdoor venues — the amount of water needed for the Yanqing cluster hasn't been released. The company <keyword id="11892748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword> hired for snowmaking, TechnoAlpin, told Insider it expected the Games would require about 343 million gallons of water for snow. That's equivalent to a day's worth of drinking water for nearly 900 million people based on <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink">the recommended water intake of six glasses a day</a>.It's a cost that's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/06/mounting-concern-over-environmental-cost-of-fake-snow-for-olympics">undermined</a> both the <a href="https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Factsheets-Reference-Documents/Sustainability/2017-03-21-IOC-Sustainability-Strategy-English-01.pdf">International Olympic Committee's</a> and <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/beijing-2022-sustainability-all-you-need-to-know#:~:text=All%20Beijing%202022%20venues%20will,electricity%20from%20Zhangjiakou%20to%20Beijing.">China's</a> publicized sustainability drives.Yet experts say Beijing's snow situation signals the inevitable future for the Winter Games: As the world heats up, the environmental burden of winter sports can keep rising if left unchecked.<h2>Summoning snow for one of the driest cities</h2><div type="image" title="Overhead view of The National Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Zhangjiakou" height="2333" width="3500" msid="89496825" hostid="261"></div>Beijing's <a href="https://olympics.com/en/beijing-2022/venues">six</a> <a href="https://olympics.com/en/beijing-2022/venues">central</a> <a href="https://olympics.com/en/beijing-2022/venues">outdoor Olympic venues</a> are divided into two clusters: the Yanqing District, 45 miles northwest of the city center, and Zhangjiakou, a city 110 miles from Beijing.According to the IOC, February temperatures in Zhangjiakou and Yanqing typically range between 12 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just enough to maintain snow. But Beijing is also one of the world's driest cities — it receives <a href="https://en.climate-data.org/asia/china/beijing/beijing-134/">less than 1 inch of precipitation</a> each winter month — meaning China must turn to artificial-snow production for the Games to run.Since 2015, the IOC has evaluated that the whole event will require 100% artificial snow, though it now says light snowfall in one spot at Zhangjiakou has padded slopes with 10% natural snow. The Yanqing cluster uses "close to 100%" artificial snow, it said.<div type="image" title="Beijing 2022 volunteers make their way home after day six of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing, China." height="2813" width="4171" msid="89496827" hostid="261"></div>Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping, have repeatedly said they want the Beijing Olympics to be <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-08/07/c_1310114249.htm">"green, inclusive, open, and corruption-free</a>."Officials have also said they want the Games to be a carbon-neutral event. Zhang Yimou, the organizer of the Olympic opening ceremony, insisted that the Olympic flame be smaller than ever this year to send a message about being "<a href="https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3166352/tiny-olympic-flame-shines-light-beijing-claim-will-be-greenest-games">environmentally friendly and having low carbon emission</a>."But professor Carmen de Jong, a geographer at the University of Strasbourg, previously told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/06/mounting-concern-over-environmental-cost-of-fake-snow-for-olympics">The Guardian</a> that Beijing Games might be the "most unsustainable Winter Olympics ever held" because its mountains have "virtually no natural snow."Apart from the water and energy cost, artificial snow damages soil health and causes erosion, de Jong said.Madeleine Orr, a sport ecologist at Loughborough University London, told Insider: "The massive reliance on water for these Games was an inevitability once the Games were awarded to Beijing because the region doesn't get nearly enough natural snow to accommodate snow-based competitions."So going to Beijing, the International Olympic Committee and all the event organizers knew what they were getting into."Beijing is a water-scarce region, with 36,000 gallons of freshwater resources per capita in 2017, according to <a href="https://www.ceicdata.com/en/china/water-resource/cn-water-resource-per-capita-beijing">CEIC data</a>. The United Nations defines countries with fewer than <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb1447en/online/cb1447en.html#chapter-executive_summary">264,000 gallons</a> of water per person as water-scarce. In comparison, the US had 2.2 million gallons per capita in 2017, <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.H2O.INTR.PC">according to the latest data from the World Bank</a>.<div type="image" title="A map shows the Yanqing district and the Baihebao reservoir" height="767" width="1160" msid="89496829" hostid="261"></div><h2>To find the extra water for its snow, China had to get creative<a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/snow-climate-change-and-the-olympic-winter-games"></a></h2><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/sports/olympics/snow-winter-olympics.html">The New York Times</a> said that in September, Chinese state media reported how <a href="http://yqb.bjyq.gov.cn/html/2021-10/15/content_16270_14006285.htm">authorities started diverting water</a> from the nearby Baihebao reservoir to a once dried-up river that runs by the Yanqing Olympic cluster. The Chinese outlets said the reservoir was previously a significant part of the water supply chain to residents in the area.To conserve groundwater in Zhangjiakou, China has shut off irrigation in farmlands and resettled residents there, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/sports/olympics/snow-winter-olympics.html">The Times reported</a>. Farmers were forcibly removed from the area so wind turbines and solar farms could be installed as part of China's drive to fully power the Olympics with green energy, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211221-human-cost-of-china-s-green-energy-rush-ahead-of-winter-olympics">Agence France-Presse reported</a>. Some farmers said they were required to sign contracts allowing the Games to lease their land.<a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/snow-climate-change-and-the-olympic-winter-games">Yet the IOC said in a statement on Sunday</a> that the total water consumption from the Games would "not impact nearby residents' consumption or agricultural needs."Orr, <a href="https://www.sportecology.org/_files/ugd/a700be_9aa3ec697a39446eb11b8330aec19e30.pdf">who coauthored a January report titled "Slippery Slopes" on the climate crisis' influence on snow sports</a>, recognized that the IOC and Beijing had tried reducing the Games' environmental effect by using renewable energy for snowmaking.But calculating the environmental cost of any Olympics is "a bit of a moving target," Orr said."Each Games adopts a new set of metrics for calculating carbon footprint and energy and water use," she said. "Some include things like fan travel and the footprint of media organizations involved in broadcasting the Games and the footprint of the supply chains. Others don't."She added: "This makes it very challenging to compare across Games, and it makes it challenging to make any kind of claim to carbon neutrality or carbon positivity ahead of the Games or even before the books are closed a few years post-Games."<h2>The slippery slope to chemical snow</h2><div type="image" title="A worker stands next to a snow machine making artificial snow outside one of the athletes villages" height="3808" width="5718" msid="89496830" hostid="261"></div>To make its snow, China hired the Italian firm TechnoAlpin, which helped provide artificial snow for six previous Winter Olympics.The hundreds of snowmakers brought to Beijing by TechnoAlpin have been churning water into artificial powdered snow for the Games since November, the company's Asia-area manager, Michael Mayr, told Insider. The millions of gallons consumed will eventually melt in the spring and return to nature through drainage systems, he said.Beijing's snowmaking operation may seem colossal, but Mayr said it was business as usual for the firm, which operates at 16 sites in 13 countries, <a href="https://www.technoalpin.com/en-us/">according to the company's website</a>. Mayr said artificial snow had been a part of winter sports for several decades. Bernhard Russi, the chair of the International Skiing Federation's Alpine Committee, echoed that sentiment at a <a href="http://www.news.cn/english/20220205/6f3c3cf857d7410c83b0b3067da1255a/c.html">press conference on Saturday</a>, saying that artificial snow was already a staple for alpine skiing."This is nothing new. Already in the past, I would say five to 10 years, we have been skiing only on artificial snow," Russi said.Therein lies one of Orr's central concerns — with Earth's temperatures on the rise, ski resorts and winter-sports venues are increasingly reliant on fake snow and will likely have to resort to chemically treated water as temperatures continue to rise. The IOC and TechnoAlpin both say the snow in Beijing is chemical-free, which Orr said was possible because the temperatures at the Olympic sites this year were relatively colder."If temperatures were warmer, chemicals would be added to ensure the snow stays frozen. This is typical of ski resorts at lower altitudes, and we've seen this at previous Games," Orr said. Pesticides, salt, and fertilizer have previously been used in winter sports for that reason, and chemical snow poses risks to biodiversity and vegetation, her "Slippery Slopes" report said.<div type="image" title="American snowboarder Shaun White competing in the men's snowboard halfpipe final on Friday." height="2621" width="3495" msid="89496831" hostid="261"></div>The hosts of the next Winter Olympics, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy, have warmed by 5.9 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950, <a href="https://medialibrary.climatecentral.org/resources/warming-winter-olympics">according to a report by the nonprofit Climate Central</a>."The main problem with these Games, and the primary solution to sustainability issues at future Games, is the decision-making processes associated with which cities will host and how big and extravagant these events will be," Orr said."The challenge will be for the International Olympic Committee to reimagine the Games in more sustainable ways, including a revisit of the scope of the Games so they become less expensive, less invasive in a community and more feasible for smaller cities and venues to host," she said.

The Olympics' artificial snow requires the equivalent of a day's worth of drinking water for 900 million people. Experts say it's the unfortunate future of winter sports.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sally and Adam Irujo got married in the middle of a snowstorm slamming the East Coast.</li><li>The couple were snowed into a hotel with 40 guests when they decided to head out into the <keyword id="12402887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="blizzard" source="Orion">blizzard</keyword>. </li></ul>A Boston-based couple tied the knot in the middle of <a href="https://www.insider.com/bombogenesis-snowstorm-lashes-east-coast-hurricane-force-winds-2022-1">a blizzard hammering the East Coast</a> on Saturday.Sally and Adam Irujo met five years ago and told Insider their wedding at <keyword id="11996279" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rhode-island" source="Orion">Rhode Island</keyword>'s public library was nearly scrapped after a storm blanketed the area in heavy snowfall.The couple were snowed in with 40 of their guests at the Hilton in <keyword id="11996278" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="providence" source="Orion">Providence</keyword> as a blizzard carrying 40-mile per hour winds swept through, they said. "There was a no driving ban, so we were literally snowed in, nobody could come and nobody could go," Adam, who works for a power company, said.Dealing with freak weather wasn't exactly part of their agenda. They'd booked the venue a year in advance when the temperatures were a more pleasant 45 degrees Fahrenheit, they said. "We were joking for the whole year, there's going to be a blizzard, and sure as can be it's literally the blizzard of the year," Adam said.<div type="image" title="Adam and Sally Irujo snow wedding." height="960" width="1280" msid="89278556" hostid="261"></div>On Friday, they said they got a call from the venue advising them to push everything to Sunday, warning that incoming weather was likely going to throw their original plans on Saturday into jeopardy. They agreed, but as they sat with guests inside the hotel on Saturday, a plan quickly unfolded to head out into the storm to hold the ceremony they always wanted in front of their "favorite people.""My dad said, 'We got nothing to do, do you want to do a ceremony?'" Adam, 32, said.The whole wedding party geared up in snowsuits and walked two blocks to the venue for a spur-of-the-moment wedding.<div type="image" title="Sally Irujo and her guests." height="2921" width="2306" msid="89283427" hostid="261"></div>"We had nothing else to do so why not," Sally joked. Adam's dad, who was always going to officiate the wedding and was prepped with the legal paperwork, pronounced the couple married once everyone arrived.Despite tough weather conditions, the Irujo's still dressed the part. Sally wore a cream skirt she originally used for their rehearsal dinner with a white sweater, and pulled her hair back underneath a cream-colored hat. "I actually had snow pants on my way over for the first 10th of a mile," Sally, 30, said, adding that she wanted to take them off for the actual ceremony.Meanwhile, Adam surprised everyone at the impromptu altar by unveiling a suit underneath snowboarding gear.To top off the celebrations, the couple said everyone ended up playing in the snow — they were also keen to start a snowball fight once they'd officially said yes. "Adam actually fired the first shot at me," Sally said. "But it was so hard to do anything out there, if you didn't have goggles it was hard to see, it was crazy."It's not the first time wild weather played a part in their relationship. Adam said he proposed to Sally a year and a half ago in the middle of a torrential rainstorm."We don't have too many days off together so I had to propose that day, I was like a year and a half overdue for the proposing anyways," Adam said. "I wanted to keep having these crazy adventures, I don't know anybody else like her," he added. While Sally said she pictured getting married "barefoot on a beach in a loose flowy dress" when she was little, both she and Adam were thrilled with how everything came together.And in any case, the pair hope to enjoy less extreme weather during their honeymoon to Bermuda in February. It'll be perfect, Sally said, "because Adam doesn't do too well in the heat."

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