Freak Cold—They are calling it Xinjiang's harshest cold spell in over six decades but that does not really tell the story—This was without doubt a Hollywood disaster movie event! Temperatures broke a 64-year-old record in China's far western region of Xinjiang, plunging to a bone-chilling minus 52.3 degrees Celsius (minus 63.4 degrees Fahrenheit) but it was the speed of the drop in temperature which is the real story here! A rapid freeze only ever matched in Roland Emmerich's blockbuster movie Day After Tomorrow! What happened in Xinjiang two days ago could just be one of the fastest rapidly speeding atmospheric events ever recorded, freezing to death an entire flock of waterfowl, numbering thousands of birds during the process.
The severe drop in temperature is part of a broader pattern of unusual weather phenomena affecting China, attributed to factors such as the weakening of the polar vortex, which allows cold air from the Arctic to move southward, and changes in global climate patterns.
Freak winds
Meanwhile on the other side of the world freak winds from the North Atlantic Jet Stream have been helping commercial airplanes to reach supersonic speeds of over 800mph - faster than the speed of sound. Virgin Atlantic Airways Flight 22, British Airways Flight 292, British Airways Flight 216, United Airlines Flight 64 and American Airlines Flight 120 all reached speeds of over 800mph by travelling along the jet stream and allowing passengers to reach their destinations much quicker.
Usually, under normal Jet Stream conditions, the typical cruising speed of a passenger plane is roughly 575mph. The US National Weather Service said winds reached speeds of 265mph (426km/h) at around 35,000ft over Washington – the altitude at which planes fly, see Earthwindmap below.
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