Tropical Cyclone Kirrily made landfall on Queensland’s coast on Thursday night, having intensified from a tropical low in the Coral Sea over several days.
By 10 a.m. AEST Thursday, Kirrily had reached Category 2 status, and by 3 p.m., it escalated to Category 3, with wind gusts reaching 170 km/h (105 mph).
As the cyclone moved inland, it caused power outages for over 34,000 homes and businesses in Townsville. However, by midnight, Kirrily was downgraded to Category 1.
Earlier in the week, a dense fog developed from Montana to the Gulf of Mexico, reducing visibility to less than a quarter mile on Tuesday.
This fog was a result of an arctic blast followed by warmer southern air, leading to advection fog. On Thursday morning, dense fog impacted nearly 99 million people from North Dakota to central Pennsylvania and as far south as New Orleans.
Dense fog and droughts impact millions.In Northern India, dense fog also caused visibility to drop to zero in several areas on Wednesday.
The Indian Meteorological Department issued a red fog warning for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi, valid until January 28. This fog, known as radiation fog, forms due to warmer days followed by cooler nights.
In the Philippines, PAGASA has declared a drought across eight provinces on Luzon Island, with Metro Manila also experiencing prolonged dry spells.
A drought here is defined by five consecutive months of below-average rainfall, while a dry spell lasts three months. El Niño is linked to these reduced rainfall patterns, which are expected to continue until at least the end of spring.
Similarly, many southern African nations are facing dry spells due to El Niño. The World Food Programme predicts below-average rainfall for Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and southern Madagascar by the end of January. The Meteorological Services Department of Zimbabwe has advised farmers to improve water collection and harvesting methods.