Global Hazards - January 2002

Warmer than average weather prevailed across a large portion of Asia south of 60 degrees north latitude, as an upper level ridge of high pressure (depicted by positive anomalies at 500 millibars) dominated. Temperature anomalies locally exceeding 5°C (9°F) above the 1992-2002 mean were common from Kazakhstan eastward across much of Mongolia and northern China.

An active storm track was displaced farther to the south across the eastern Mediterranean region and into parts of the Middle East. A rare winter storm brought heavy snow and strong winds to parts of Jordan and Lebanon on the 7th, resulting in scattered power outages and adversely impacting transportation. Across Syria, the Associated Press reported that in the mountainous areas near the city of Tartous, helicopters delivered food supplies to villages cut off by heavy snow accumulations. Rain and snow also affected parts of Iran, with flooding responsible for 11 deaths and around $59 million (USD) in damages in the southern provinces of the country (UN OCHA). CNN reported that the Russian Far East was hit by the worst winter storms in nearly 50 years, with widespread power outages and transportation delays caused by heavy snows.

A series of winter storms in late December continued to impact much of southeastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region in early January. Above average snow cover was common across Germany and Poland, eastward into Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. Across Albania, the Albanian army made food deliveries to remote villages that had been cut off by snow, while in Bulgaria, snow depths of 1.8 meters (~ 6 feet) blocked roads and rail routes in the northern part of the country. In Greece, a state of emergency was declared in several provinces due to heavy snow, with damage to crops reported in the country’s agricultural areas. BBC news reported that more than three-quarters of all flights from the Athens International Airport were canceled during the height of the storm around the 4th and the Acropolis was closed to visitors.

A powerful North Atlantic storm impacted northern Britain on the 28th, with wind gusts exceeding 45 meters/sec (100 mph) across Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland. The minimum pressure in the storm dipped below 960 hPa (960 millibars or 28.35 inches of mercury) as it brushed northern Scotland during the morning of the 28th. The gales overturned vehicles, disrupted travel, left thousands without power and resulted in 7 deaths (Reuters). The UK Met Office recorded winds up to 63 meters/sec (141 mph) atop the Cairngorm mountains in central Scotland. In comparison, the highest wind speed ever recorded in the area is 77 meters/sec (172 mph).

An exception to the dryness was the development of tropical cyclone Bernie in the Gulf of Carpentaria on the 3rd and 4th. Bernie crossed the coast southwest of Mornington Island with maximum sustained winds near 40 knots (~21 m/s or 45 mph). The cyclone caused localized flooding which isolated some communities, but no major damage was reported. Across New South Wales, locally heavy rains around mid-month in Sydney alleviated high wildfire danger that began in December.

Heavy monsoon rains brought significant flooding to parts of Indonesia during late January. There were 19 deaths in the capital city of Jakarta, with 33 deaths reported nationwide (UN OCHA). Around 400,000 people were affected, with 250,000 forced to evacuate their homes in the greater Jakarta area.

A storm system which developed north of the Cape Verde Islands around the 10th brought unseasonably heavy rains and cool temperatures to much of Senegal, Gambia and southwestern Mauritania. In Senegal, flooding was responsible for 28 deaths and affected nearly 180,000 people (UN OCHA). There were significant agricultural losses, with an estimated 470,000 head of livestock lost. Despite favorable January rains in southwestern Kenya, drought conditions continue across the country with food insecurity expected to persist throughout much of 2002.

Cold fronts which penetrated unusually far south into subtropical regions brought significant cold temperature anomalies into much of Libya, Egypt, Chad and the Sudan. Monthly temperatures were 2-4°C (3.6-7.2°F) below the 1992-2002 average in these areas. Notably warm areas were confined to parts of Namibia, Zambia and Botswana, with January temperatures between 1-2°C (1.8-3.6°F) above average.