Heavy Snow Hits Northern Japan, Disrupting Daily Life

Heavy machinery (C) is used to clear a road as snow falls across northern Japan, in the city of Obihiro, Hokkaido prefecture on February 4, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)

11:43-4 February 2025 AD ـ 05 Sha’ban 1446 AH

Heavy Snow Hits Northern Japan, Disrupting Daily Life

Heavy machinery (C) is used to clear a road as snow falls across northern Japan, in the city of Obihiro, Hokkaido prefecture on February 4, 2025. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)

Record-breaking snowfall fell on Japan 's northern main island of Hokkaido, disrupting traffic, causing airport closures and delaying deliveries on Tuesday.

The Hokkaido prefectural government said record-breaking snowfall has been observed especially in the eastern regions of the island, including Obihiro and Kushiro, whose city offices received dozens of calls for help from drivers whose vehicles had stalled in the snow.

The heavy snow and traffic disruptions came just as a popular snow festival began in Sapporo in southern Hokkaido, although the city did not face major disruptions.

Television footage showed residents shoveling snow and passengers pushing vehicles that got stuck. So far, no injuries or major damage have been reported.

In Obihiro, record-breaking snowfall of 129 centimeters (4 feet) was detected earlier Tuesday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said two powerful low pressure systems are moving on both sides of the Japanese archipelago, sending cold air into the region.

The agency predicted up to 100 centimeters (3.2 feet) of snowfall in northwestern Japan and 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) more snowfall in Hokkaido over the next 24 hours through Wednesday evening.

The prefecture said parts of highways and main roads were closed, and train services in the affected areas were suspended. Runways were closed due to snow at Obihiro and Kushiro airports, while dozens of flights in and out of Hokkaido were cancelled, affecting thousands of people.

About 370 schools canceled classes Tuesday across Hokkaido, according to the prefecture.

The snow also caused closures of post offices and other distribution services, delaying deliveries within Hokkaido and to destinations across Japan.

Hokkaido officials called on the residents and visitors to carry shovels and warm clothes in their vehicles in case they stall in the snow.

‘More and Faster’: UN Calls to Shrink Buildings’ Carbon Footprint

Snow capped mountains are seen behind the downtown Los Angeles skyline, California, US, March 7, 2025. (Reuters)

17:34-17 March 2025 AD ـ 17 Ramadan 1446 AH

‘More and Faster’: UN Calls to Shrink Buildings’ Carbon Footprint

Snow capped mountains are seen behind the downtown Los Angeles skyline, California, US, March 7, 2025. (Reuters)

Countries must move rapidly to slash CO2 emissions from homes, offices, shops and other buildings -- a sector that accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas pollution, the United Nations said Monday.

Carbon dioxide emissions from the building sector rose around five percent in the last decade when they should have fallen 28 percent, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

It said emissions had plateaued since 2023 as climate policies began to have an impact, particularly green building standards, the use of renewable energy and electrified heating and cooling.

But the building sector still consumes 32 percent of the world's energy and contributes 34 percent of CO2 emissions, the report found.

"The buildings where we work, shop and live account for a third of global emissions and a third of global waste," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

"The good news is that government actions are working. But we must do more and do it faster."

She called on nations to include targets to "rapidly cut emissions from buildings and construction" in their climate plans.

The report said that while most of the countries that signed up to the 2015 Paris climate deal -- nearly 200 have signed -- mention the sector, so far only 19 countries have sufficiently detailed goals in their national carbon cutting plans.

The report said that as of 2023, important metrics like energy-related emissions and the adoption of renewable energy "remain well below required progress rates".

That means that countries, businesses and homeowners now need to dramatically pick up the pace to meet the 2030 emissions reduction targets.

- 'Critical challenge' -

Direct and indirect CO2 emissions will now need to fall more than 10 percent per year, more than double the originally envisaged pace.

The rollout of renewables is a similar story.

The share of renewables like solar and wind in final energy consumption rose by only 4.5 percentage points since 2015, well behind the goal of nearly 18 percentage points.

That now needs to accelerate by a factor of seven to meet this decade's goal of tripling renewable energy use worldwide, UNEP said.

The report urged countries to accelerate the roll-out of renewable technologies and increase the share of renewables in the final energy mix to 46 percent by 2030 -- a rise of around 18 percent.

It also called on policymakers to increase energy efficiency retrofits to include better design, insulation and the use of renewables and heat pumps.

More work also needs to be done to improve the sustainability of materials like steel and cement, whose manufacture accounts for nearly a fifth of all emissions from the building sector.

But the report did say that circular construction practices were increasing in some areas, with recycled materials accounting for 18 percent of construction inputs in Europe.

The authors urged all major greenhouse gas emitters to take action by introducing zero-carbon building energy codes by 2028, and called on other countries to create and tighten their regulations within the next 10 years.

The report highlighted positive national policies from China, France, Germany, Mexico and South Africa among others.

But it said financing remained a "critical challenge".

In 2023, it found that global investment in energy efficiency in buildings fell seven percent from a year earlier to $270 billion, driven by higher borrowing costs and the winding back of government support programs, notably in Europe.

Those investments now need to double -- to $522 billion -- by 2030, it said.

Heavy Snow Hits Northern Japan, Disrupting Daily Life