[Graphic News] Freak weather grips world

Several parts of the world have been hit by unusual weather patterns this week, causing deaths and damage on a massive scale.

The U.S. and Canada fought with the frigid cold sparked by what is called a “polar vortex,” which claimed about a dozen lives across the country.

U.S. authorities in chilly regions such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, urged residents to stay indoors.

Southeast Asia was also struck by a cold snap. Vegetable gardens were hit by frost, forcing the Manila government to prepare alternative sources of upland vegetables for metropolitan areas to keep prices stable. Europeans have had a relatively warm winter, but storms and floods swarmed parts of the continent. Britain in particular was battered by a wave of stormy weather, which has claimed at least seven lives since December.

South Americans, on the other hand, have had to endure an extreme heat wave. A blistering 50 degrees Celsius was recorded on Tuesday at Argentina’s Santiago del Estero, in what was known as the worst heat wave since records began in 1906.