Europe is set for a mild November, easing pressure on natural-gas storage as the region’s energy crunch restricts supplies ahead of winter.
Long-range outlooks from forecasters Maxar Technologies and Marex show no cold spells for the month — a relief for households worried about the cost of heating and for governments keen to preserve gas stocks following a slump in Russian supply.
“In terms of energy demand, the warm start to November would be a welcome sign given the current state of global energy,” said Matthew Dross, a meteorologist at Maxar. “Still, occasional bouts of cold air cannot be ruled out for November and the winter 2022-2023 season as a whole.”
Photo: Reuters
European gas prices have dropped significantly since peaking in August, but are still about 80 percent above year-ago levels. Market spikes have driven up costs for consumers and industry, with many bracing for eyewatering winter bills.
“Strong above-normal” temperatures are expected early this month, while mild weather will continue through the month, Dross said.
Other forecasters have suggested a possible return to average temperatures in the second half of this month.
Autumn in Europe has already been unseasonably warm, with last month registering the lowest number of “heating-degree days” since 2000, Dross said.
That has helped keep gas in storage facilities, which are now about 95 percent full across the continent, with Germany’s sites above target at almost 99 percent.
Germany’s national forecaster Deutscher Wetterdienst said the country’s current warm weather is set to continue, while France’s weather service also sees higher-than-usual temperatures persisting.
In the UK, the chances of a colder-than-normal winter are actually increasing, although the most likely scenario remains an average winter through next month, Britain’s Met Office said.
Lower-than-expected gas demand and declining prices — coupled with limited capacity to accommodate incoming cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) — have already triggered greater use of floating storage. Traders globally are keeping their LNG shipments on vessels for longer — with record volumes at sea last month — in anticipation of higher prices later in the season.
“LNG carriers with an estimated worth of about US$2 billion are currently queuing to unload their cargo,” said Alexandre Fierro, a senior meteorologist and research analyst at Marex in London.
A warm November would be far from solving Europe’s energy problems, but a delayed start to the heating season would at least give policymakers some breathing room.
Moreover, if the region is spared a deep freeze this winter — as predicted by scientists at the Copernicus Climate Change Service — consumers might get welcome respite from the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.
When a hiker fell from a 55m waterfall in wild New Zealand bush, rescuers were forced to evacuate the badly hurt woman without her dog, which could not be found. After strangers raised thousands of dollars for a search, border collie Molly was flown to safety by a helicopter pilot who was determined to reunite the pet and the owner. A week earlier, an emergency rescue helicopter found the woman with bruises and lacerations after a fall at a rocky spot at the waterfall on the South Island’s West Coast. She was airlifted on March 24, but they were forced to
HIGH HOPES: The power source is expected to have a future, as it is not dependent on the weather or light, and could be useful for places with large desalination facilities A Japanese water plant is harnessing the natural process of osmosis to generate renewable energy that could one day become a common power source. The possibility of generating power from osmosis — when water molecules pass from a less salty solution to a more salty one — has long been known. However, actually generating energy from that has proved more complicated, in part due the difficulty of designing the membrane through which the molecules pass. Engineers in Fukuoka, Japan, and their private partners think they might have cracked it, and have opened what is only the world’s second osmotic power plant. It generates
Hundreds of Filipinos and tourists flocked to a sun-bleached field north of Manila yesterday, on Good Friday, to witness one of the country’s most blood-soaked displays of religious fervor, undeterred by rising fuel prices. Scores of bare-chested flagellants with covered faces walked barefoot through the dusty streets of Pampanga Province’s San Fernando as they flogged their backs with bamboo whips in the scorching heat. Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists said they saw devotees deliberately puncturing their skin with glass shards attached to a small wooden paddle to ensure their bleeding during the ritual, a way to atone for sins and seek miracles from
Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen (高兟), famous for making provocative satirical sculptures of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東), was tried on Monday over accusations of “defaming national heroes and martyrs,” his wife and a rights group said. Gao, 69, who was detained in 2024 during a visit from the US, faces a maximum three-year prison sentence, said his wife, Zhao Yaliang (趙雅良), and Shane Yi, a researcher at the Chinese Human Rights Defenders group which operates outside the nation. The closed-door, one-day trial took place at Sanhe City People’s Court in Hebei Province neighboring the capital, Beijing, and ended without a
RSS