Record warm European winter weather offers gas reprieve

Breanne Deppisch

January 05, 06:01 PM January 05, 06:01 PM

Europe is poised to see its warmest January in years, sparking concern among climate activists but also serving as a welcome reprieve for many countries as they race to conserve gas and fill their storage tanks ahead of next winter.

Already, January has sent record-high temperatures across Europe. At least 15 European countries have seen the warmest weather in a decade, including Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic — baffling meteorologists, who have reported conditions more akin to spring than the height of winter.

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The warmth sent gas prices plummeting this week to $79.96 per megawatt-hour on the Dutch TTF, Europe’s natural gas benchmark—the lowest point since before Russia’s invasion.

The low prices have been a welcome reprieve for consumers across Europe, who have endured months of high energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the loss of gas supplies from Russia.

The low prices have even allowed countries, including Germany, to begin refilling gas storage tanks ahead of next winter.

On Thursday, the head of Germany’s Federal Network Agency, Klaus Mueller, noted that the country had used considerably less gas over the past week than in previous years, with consumption down 30% compared to the last four years.

”A gas shortage this winter is becoming increasingly unlikely,” the Federal Network Agency said in its latest report.

Berlin's gas storage currently stands above 90% — far above the 20% storage level Mueller had urged the country to maintain this winter in order to ensure adequate supplies to begin refilling for the 2023-2024 winter season.

Italy's energy industry also predicted a decline in energy prices this month if mild weather continues as predicted.

Even so, the warm conditions are highly unusual, meteorologists say — just after a record-shattering warm year for Europe.

The expanse and intensity of the warm spell in Europe make it “probably one of the most intense ever seen,” climatologist Maximiliano Herrera told E&E News.

The German Weather Service noted in a broadcast that it had not seen such warm January weather since 1881 when it first started collecting records.

Ski resorts in Austria haven't seen snow for a month, and Switzerland put out a pollen advisory this week warning allergy sufferers about early-blooming plants and flowers.

In Spain's northern county of Basque, residents spent the start of the new year sunbathing and enjoying the 77-degree weather —roughly 27 degrees higher than their January averages.

In Switzerland’s Jura mountain range, temperatures soared to a record-high of 65 degrees on New Year’s Day, with temperatures climbing to an even higher 69 degrees in other parts of the country.

The warm weather has disrupted operations at popular ski resorts across Europe, forcing many to partially close down slopes or even shut down operations altogether until the next snowfall.

The Swiss village of Adelboden, which is slated to host the World Cup skiing tournament this weekend, announced Thursday that it would be using 100% artificial snow this year due to the high temperatures.

Several other annual winter events in the Alps were postponed due to the balmy conditions, including two popular dogsled races and the Andros Trophy, a popular car and motorcycle race hosted on ice.

And in the interim, some resorts have gotten creative — opening their ski slopes and chair lifts to mountain bikers or hikers instead.

Norway places down beloved walrus Freya, destroyer of boats

August 14, 02:02 PM August 14, 02:02 PM

BERLIN — Authorities in Norway have euthanized a walrus that experienced drawn crowds of spectators in the Oslo Fjord immediately after concluding that it posed a chance to human beings.

The 600-kilogram (1,320-pound) woman walrus, identified affectionately as Freya, grew to become a common attraction in Norway in new weeks, even with warnings from officers that men and women need to chorus from getting close and posing for pics with the enormous marine mammal. Freya appreciated to clamber on little boats, leading to damage to them.

Walruses are guarded, and as not too long ago as very last month, officials explained they hoped Freya would go away of her own accord and that euthanasia would be a past resort.

Norway's Directorate of Fisheries explained Freya was put down early Sunday "centered on an in general evaluation of the ongoing menace to human safety."

"Via on-web site observations the previous week, it was produced obvious that the community has disregarded the current recommendation to maintain a crystal clear distance to the walrus," it claimed. "Therefore, the Directorate has concluded, the risk for likely hurt to persons was high and animal welfare was not getting maintained."

The head of the directorate, Frank Bakke-Jensen, stated other alternatives, like shifting the animal in other places, had been regarded. But authorities concluded it was not a viable alternative.

"We have sympathies for the simple fact that the determination can cause a response from the general public, but I am organization that this was the correct call," Bakke-Jensen stated. "We have terrific regard for animal welfare, but human daily life and protection have to just take priority."

Atlantic walruses typically dwell in the Arctic. It is unconventional but not unheard of for them to vacation into the North and Baltic Seas. One more walrus, nicknamed Wally, was noticed very last 12 months on beach locations and even a lifeboat dock in Wales and elsewhere.

Domino's flees Italy just after locals reject American-design and style pizza

Brady Knox

August 09, 11:23 PM August 09, 11:23 PM

U.S. pizza chain Domino's closed its very last store in Italy following the American pizza fashion failed to catch on in the dish's birthplace.

Domino's shut the last of its unique 29 branches, a considerably cry brief of the prepared 880 locations the franchise was scheduling to open in Italy, according to Bloomberg. The enterprise found that Italians considerably choose neighborhood pizza, total rejecting the American fashion, and it was not ready to get an edge in deliveries as third-party shipping and delivery services stepped up operations.

“We attribute the concern to the significantly greater level of level of competition in the foodstuff supply market place with both equally structured chains and ‘mom & pop’ restaurants offering food, to provider and dining establishments reopening put up pandemic and shoppers out and about with revenge spending,” ePizza, Domino's lover franchise in Italy, mentioned in a report to traders accompanying its fourth-quarter 2021 success, in accordance to Bloomberg.

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Domino's opened its first retailer in Milan in 2015, partnering with ePizza, and there was communicate about a motivation to applying community components, according to CNBC.

Previous Domino's main govt Patrick Doyle resolved to hedge his bets, likely on the logic that Italians take in so considerably pizza that they were being certain to get at least some takers on the lookout for wide variety.

"We never anticipate to exchange all of the pizza usage in Italy with Domino’s, but truthfully we only have to get a couple of events from every single shopper. The intake is so substantial for each capita there that if we get a few occasions from every shopper we can have — we can have a incredibly eye-catching organization in Italy," Doyle claimed, according to the Wall Road Journal.

But it appears that in the famously purist homeland of pizza, even that was asking as well considerably. The chain's distinguishing delivers of an American-model pizza, including toppings these as pineapple, failed to perform perfectly with locals. By the finish of 2020 the corporation was $10.8 million in financial debt, in accordance to the newest audited once-a-year stories claimed by Bloomberg.

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Domino's has bode considerably better in other areas of the continent, running 1,169 retailers in the United Kingdom and 457 suppliers in France.

Air-conditioned retailers in France purchased to near doorways or face fines

Brady Knox

July 25, 10:20 AM July 25, 10:27 AM

Air-conditioned shops will be ordered to close their doorways or experience fines, the French minister of energy transition declared Sunday.

The move to protect electrical power, coupled with a evaluate aimed at proscribing the use of illuminated indicators right away, arrives amid a scalding heat wave that has wrought havoc on substantially of Europe, primarily France, the United Kingdom, and the Iberian Peninsula, according to AFP.

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"In the coming times, I will challenge two decrees: The first will widen the ban on illuminated advertising and marketing, whichever the sizing of the metropolis, concerning 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.," with the exception of airports and train and metro stations, Electricity Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher advised the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

Air-conditioned shops that go away their doors open see "20% extra usage and ... it is really absurd," Pannier-Runacher explained to RMC radio.

Shop keepers threat fines of up to 750 euros, or $766, but the federal government stresses that it will emphasize instruction at the to start with violation.

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While nuclear electric power gives 70% of France's electric power requirements, the crisis in excess of Russian gas has prompted President Emmanuel Macron to simply call for an power "sobriety software," in accordance to the Guardian. The European Union questioned member states to lower their fuel use until the spring.

EU executive entire body suggests Ukraine for membership

Abigail Adcox

June 17, 08:42 AM June 17, 08:42 AM

The European Union's government physique is recommending that Ukraine be acknowledged as an formal candidate for EU membership, a different stage in the very long street to membership.

Ukraine, along with border region Moldova, was granted prospect status by the European Fee on Friday on the situation that it improve its judicial system and establish anti-corruption bodies, amongst other governmental reforms. The country, which is fending off an invasion from Russia, has already executed approximately 70% of EU policies, in accordance to the commission president.

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"Ukrainians are all set to die for the European point of view," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned. "We want them to are living with us the European aspiration."

In the meantime, Georgia's membership was not greenlighted by the fee, placing heavier disorders on the region in advance of it suggests it turn into an formal candidate.

"Ga ought to now occur alongside one another politically to design a apparent path in the direction of structural reform and the EU," von der Leyen tweeted, introducing that the commission endorses the region "grant the European standpoint, but to arrive again and evaluate how it fulfills a number of problems before granting it candidate position."

The decision will now be still left in the hands of the EU member states to ascertain regardless of whether Ukraine and Moldova can commence the accession method, which could consider months or years. Once accession is approved, the candidate place is expected to adopt EU regulations, financial units, and any reforms stipulated prior to it can develop into a member.

Member states are envisioned to meet up with in Brussels next Thursday and Friday to go over the countries' candidacies.

However quite a few European leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Key Minister Mario Draghi, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, have signaled assistance for Ukraine becoming a member of the bloc, other nations around the world, these kinds of as the Netherlands, Denmark, and Portugal, have remained skeptical.

Various nations around the world have used many years as applicant nations awaiting acceptance by the 27-country bloc, which include North Macedonia, which received candidate standing in 2005, and Albania, which was advised as a candidate in 2014.

Croatia was the final country to be a part of the EU, with its membership software approach long lasting a 10 years in advance of it was declared a member in 2013.