According to a report published in the NDTV, climate change has indeed changed the world scenario. During the past weekend of Christmas, an unstoppable blizzard and storm paralyzed the US. People are saying that it happens to be the greatest blizzard that ever occurred in this century. The weather has been very extreme in the US since the few days before Christmas. The massive snow and storm had caused death, great power outages, and delays in travel too. Life on the road had remained paralyzed due to this havoc.
During the last week, multiple videos have come up on social media which stated the severely hit weather conditions. One of the worst affected areas has been Buffalo. Here bodies were found locked in vehicles covered under snow. A video has surfaced on social media. It shows that Niagara Falls has been capped with thick sheets of ice. Due to this sudden sub-zero temperature that has covered this region, the falls to a certain extent had turned into a wonderland of winter.
In the New York Post, it has been mentioned that the massive volume of water that gushed over the falls is now frozen. But, since there is always a movement of water constantly so, despite being frozen, it still maintains the water flow and is never completely still. The website of Niagara Parks reads that during specifically cold temperatures, the spray and mist start forming a thick sheet of ice on the rushing water of the falls. This creates an illusion to the eyes that the falls have got completely frozen. But in truth, it is a little different. Water keeps falling below the ice sheets. Niagara never sleeps for a moment.
In accordance with the statement published by the website, there are about three thousand one hundred and sixty tons of water that flow every second over Niagara Falls. And in each second, the water is falling at a speed of thirty-two feet. It further states that before 1964, ice would bring a halt to the water flow towards upstream. This would turn the water frozen on the part of the falls that appeared over the US side. It had occurred five times prior to ice booms made out of steel got installed in order to stop the large ice from being accumulated.
Frequently, the snow and ice had got formed across the Niagara River. During extremely cold winters, down at the fall’s base water would turn into an ice bridge. But the authorities had strictly warned the people from walking on this bridge. As per the post, there have been reports that in the year 1912, on 4 th February, three people died when they tried walking across the bridge. The ice broke loose and drowned them in the Niagara River.
This massive snowfall in the US and a further dip in the temperature have affected regular life in a big way. Driving has become almost impossible taking up the chances of accidents much higher. Steps are been undertaken to handle this situation more efficiently.