South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg experienced a rare snowfall on Monday, the third in the history of the city.
According to South African Weather Service (SAWS), Johannesburg temperatures dropped to minus 3 degrees Celsius.
The drop in temperatures made it the third snowfall in the history of the town, first which was in 1996 then 2012.
SAWS in a statement said: “a cold front caused a significant drop in temperatures over Gauteng Province.
“The minimum temperatures recorded have met criteria for snowy conditions. The snow was also experienced in Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape provinces.’’
The SAWS advised the public and small stock farmers that the very cold, wet and windy conditions may pose a risk to livestock, vulnerable crops and plants.
Gauteng Metrorail said the snow affected infrastructure and its components, which include tracks, cross-over points and electrical cables.
It said it forced management to suspend some trains, adding that the overhead wires experienced tension which resulted in power instability and failure.
There was panic among residents of Lagos State on Wednesday after an unknown chemical substance, looking like white foam or ‘snow’, was seen in Anthony Village area of the State.
A Twitter user identified as @Tosin_Obembe1 shared a video of the foamy substance flowing through a neighbourhood in the area.
He tweeted: “…this is some sort of Chemical reaction surging from the ground happening in Anthony Village. Please does anyone know what it is. If it is dangerous so everyone can stay clear of it”.
He further tweeted: “Please can someone help to tag Lagos State environmental services if there is any. We trying not to have human contact with, but it is blocking every path in the Estate. This is Anthony Village”.
Please can someone help to tag Lagos State environmental services if there is any. We trying not to have human contact with, but it is blocking every path in the Estate. This is Anthony Village. pic.twitter.com/lUnOB31zWk
Another Twitter user, probably a resident of the area as well, also shared a similar video of the unexplained white substance seen in the Anthony Village area.
VIDEO: Unknown chemicals formed a whitish lather preventing residents from exiting their homes.
This is somewhere in Anthony Village, Lagos. Please help.
Meanwhile, responding to a video of the incident, Mr Gawat Jubril A., the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on New Media to Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of the State has addressed the incident.
He doused the fear of residents, saying a tanker fell overnight in the area prompting emergency agencies in the State to introduce the substance to forestall fire outbreak in the area.
“A tanker fell overnight and our emergency agencies poured the foam material to prevent combustion.. Nothing to be scared of… Lagos Safety Commission & LASEMA are on ground,” the Governor’s aide tweeted.
UPDATE: A Tanker fell overnight and our Emergency Agencies poured the foam material to prevent combustion.. Nothing to be scared of .. Lagos Safety Commission & LASEMA are on ground.
— The Greater Lagos Project (@GreaterLagosNG) July 8, 2020
Much of Britain and Ireland was blanketed in snow on Wednesday as freezing Siberian weather dubbed “the Beast from the East”, disrupted the travel plans of thousands.
Hundreds of schools were closed and there were delays on roads, railways and at airports on one of the coldest days Britain has experienced at this time of the year for almost three decades.
Temperatures fell to minus 12 Celsius (10 degrees Farenheit) in some rural areas while Britain’s weather service warned of up to 40 cm of snow in higher areas of Scotland. Ireland could see its worst snow since 1982.
“It is the coldest air we have seen over the UK at this time of the year since around 1991,” Becky Mitchell, a meteorologist at Britain’s Met Office, said by telephone, adding: “It is all tied in with the Beast from the East.”
The cold spell has been caused by a jump in temperatures high over the Arctic, known by meteorologists as sudden stratospheric warming, which has weakened the jet stream that brings warm air in from the Atlantic to Ireland and Britain.
“The Jet Stream weakens and so we tend to get a strong easterly flow of air and that air is really originating right from over in Siberia – so very dry, cold continental air,” Mitchell said.
The unusual weather could continue as Storm Emma, packing more snow and ice, approaches western England from Portugal and France.
Across London, there were severe delays on public transport.
Ireland’s weather service issued a status red warning – the highest level of alert – for five countries in the east, including the capital Dublin after heavy overnight snowfall led to accumulations of 5 to 10 cm.
Total snowfall may reach 25 cm by Thursday, it added, prompting the closure of many schools and universities.
Business advised workers to stay at home with some roads inaccessible and public transport operating a limited service.
Runway operations at Dublin airport were suspended early on Wednesday with a number of flights cancelled and others diverted before the snow was cleared shortly after 0730 GMT to allow services to resume.
Photographs on social media showed bare supermarket shelves on Tuesday as people prepared for the cold snap that the weather service had warned could bring the heaviest snowfall since 1982.
TheNewsGuru publisher experiences the cold snap in Ireland
The chief executive of Irish insurer FBD said on Tuesday she expected the snowfall would be an event for the industry, leading to frozen pipes and possible accidents.
The cold not yet as severe as Tropical Storm Ophelia which battered Ireland in October.
