The worst cold wave in history has set an emergency across the United States. 73% of the U.S. mainland was covered in snow, and 5.5 million households lost power. Corona 19 vaccination was also temporarily suspended. On the 16th (local time), residents of Austin, Texas, line up to buy groceries at a mart. AP Yonhap News “/>
The worst cold wave in history has set an emergency across the United States. 73% of the U.S. mainland was covered in snow, and 5.5 million households lost power. Corona 19 vaccination was also temporarily suspended. On the 16th (local time), residents of Austin, Texas, line up to buy groceries at a mart. AP Yonhap News
Due to an abnormal cold wave in the United States, automobiles, semiconductors, and oil refineries were shut down one after another on the 16th (local time). It was 126 years in Texas, 121 years in Arizona, and 118 years in Kansas, and 73% of the US mainland was covered in snow. In Japan, half of Toyota’s production lines have stopped due to a strong earthquake. Natural disasters such as climate change hit the global industry.
Samsung Electronics announced that it temporarily suspended operation of its Austin, Texas semiconductor plant due to the power shortage caused by the cold. General Motors (GM) closed its factories in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Texas that produce pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs), and Ford opened a Kansas City plant that manufactures pickup trucks. Wal-Mart announced that it will temporarily close more than 500 stores for the safety of employees and consumers.
In Texas, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Total have stopped operating refineries. Reuters reported that production of 4 million barrels of refined oil per day, which is 21% of total US production, has ceased. In the aftermath, West Texas Crude Oil (WTI) surpassed $60 per barrel in 13 months.
Such damage is due to the’arctic cold wave’ that hit the entire United States. The cold arctic air, which was usually trapped in jet streams, descended south due to warming due to climate change, and an abnormal cold wave hit the entire United States. The U.S. Meteorological Administration predicted that the cold wave would continue until the 20th.
The Nippon Geizai Shimbun reported that Toyota has decided to shut down 14 of 28 production lines in Japan from the 17th to at least 20th due to a shortage of parts due to the recent earthquake, and production disruption during this period was about 5,000 to 6,000 units per day. It is reported that it is estimated.
500 Wal-Mart stores temporarily closed… 2,600 flight cancellations per day
Production of crude oil and refined oil also ceases one after another… WTI surpassed 60 yen in 1 year
The U.S. Meteorological Agency has issued winter storm warnings in 25 states, from northern Maine to southern Texas. On the 16th (local time) in Detroit, Michigan, a man is shoveling snow to remove a truck trapped in the snow. Reuters Yonhap News
The arctic cold wave hit the US economy. This is when leading manufacturers such as General Motors (GM), Ford, and Exxon Mobil ceased operations one after another. Deaths and power outages also continued. It is pointed out that this cold wave is a result of the’Climate Change Counterattack’ as a result of the Arctic air filled with global warming going south across the United States.
CNN reported on the 16th (local time) that “the record for the lowest temperature has been broken in about 2,000 places nationwide for the past week.” In San Antonio, Texas, where it is difficult to see snow, the temperature has dropped to -11 degrees Celsius. It is the lowest temperature in 126 years since 1895. Yuma, Colorado, fell to -41 degrees, and Norton, Kansas, to -31 degrees.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that 73% of the US mainland had snow. Snow fell on the widest area in 18 years. CNN reported that at least 19 people have died so far in the cold wave. The U.S. Meteorological Administration issued a winter storm warning to 200 million Americans once that day, saying that cold weather will continue until the 20th, the weekend. Texas and Kansas states have declared emergencies or disasters. Vaccination for the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) has also been stopped in some regions.
As the power plant was stopped due to a cold wave, power outages continued. Electricity was cut to 5.5 million households in 18 states, including Texas, Oregon, Kentucky, and Virginia. Of these, Texas was the most damaged, with 4.3 million households.
Companies have also been hit by severe cold and power shortages. Wal-Mart announced that it has temporarily closed more than 500 stores to keep customers and employees safe. GM shut down factories in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Texas, while Ford shut down factories in Kansas City. Daimler Trucks temporarily closed its parts distribution centers in Dallas and Memphis, and Volkswagen decided to suspend operations at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant. Toyota has cut some jobs at its Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas factories. Bloomberg News reported that it was difficult for employees to go to work due to a snowstorm, and even if they came to work, the factory could not be operated due to power outages, lack of natural gas, and outages.
FedEx has disrupted delivery in some cities. According to flight tracking site FlightAware, about 2600 aircraft were canceled on that day alone.
Energy production was also disrupted. Reuters reported that production of 4 million barrels of refined oil per day was stopped due to the concentration of cold damage in the oil field of Texas. This amounts to 21% of all refined oil production in the United States. Motiva Enterprise, the nation’s largest refined oil producer, has shut down its 600,000 barrels per day refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobile, and Total also closed refineries. Amita Sen, a senior analyst at Energy Performances’ oil division, predicted that “the production decline may not be able to recover (previous level) until the end of February due to the large decrease in production.”
In the aftermath, the New York Commercial Exchange (NYMEX) in March of Western Texas Crude Oil (WTI) surpassed $60 per barrel for the first time in 13 months from the closing price. According to energy information company Wood McKenzie, gas prices in Texas rose from $4 per million BTUs (UK thermal units) last week to $999.
Agricultural products and meat markets also suffered damage. The severe cold caused grain distribution from the southern central agricultural zone to the northwest port. Bloomberg said, “Some products such as milk were frozen or blocked, resulting in product disposal cases one after another.” Agricultural product prices jumped. The wheat price for May delivery was $6.4525 per bushel, up 3.7% from the previous day, 2.5% for corn for May delivery and 1.6% for May delivery soybean.
Meteorologist Tyler Maldin told CNN that “this cold wave will be the first trillion-dollar (over $1 billion) meteorological disaster this year.” There are many expectations that the actual damage can be even greater.
This cold wave is the result of the cold Arctic air, which was normally trapped in jet streams, falling south across the United States in the aftermath of warming. It is predicted that the Joe Biden administration may be able to accelerate the response to climate change with this incident.
Washington = Correspondent Ju Yong-seok / Reporter Sun Han-gyeol / Tokyo = Correspondent Jeong Young-hyo [email protected]