Nature

After a series of days with noticeably cleaner air during the Christmas and New Year's holidays, on the third day of the new year the air quality measurement stations in Sofia again report an increased concentration of fine dust particles, BNR reported.

Crude oil prices were up by around 3 percent during Jan. 3's trading start as rising tensions in the Middle East threaten secure crude supply from the region.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $68.18 per barrel at 0615 GMT with a 2.83 percent increase after closing on Jan. 2 at $66.30 a barrel.

It will be sunny today, but in the hours before noon fog or low clouds will form in lowland areas. There will be light west wind, increasing to moderate in eastern Bulgaria. Maximum temperatures between 5C and 10C, in Sofia about 7C.

Atmospheric pressure will drop, but will stay higher than the average for the month.

Turkey shut down five thermal power plants completely and one other partially for failure to comply by the law to install filters, authorities said Jan. 1.

Four out of seven plants surveyed were allowed to operate temporarily, Environment Minister Murat Kurum told a news conference in Ankara.

Midnight fireworks over Skopje during a New Year's Eve celebrations in North Macedonia's capital on January 1, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/Georgi Licovski.

Fireworks shower the skies over the Macedonian capital, Skopje, at midnight during a New Year's Eve celebration on Janurary 1, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/Georgi Licovski.

Weather conditions in the lower parts of the mountains are good for tourism today, the Mountain Rescue Service with the Bulgarian Red Cross told Focus News Agency.
In the higher parts, over 2,300 m, there are snow drifts. Temperatures are below freezing - between -3C and -10C. The weather is clear and calm.
Facilities at most resorts are in operation.

Snow led to long tailbacks just before the Malakasa junction on the Athens-Lamia national highway some 30 kilometers north of the capital on Monday. Heavy snowfall, rain and ice also caused problems on Parnitha and Pendeli mountains on the outskirts of the capital, with some stretches of roads there being closed off to traffic. [Alexandros Beltes/ANA-MPA]

Turkey has been hit by a fresh wave of wintery weather as heavy snowfall has disrupted daily life in many eastern and southern provinces while the metropolis Istanbul is expected to be hit by storm on Dec. 30.

The Oxford Dictionary chose the word 2019. It is climate emergency. 

The Dictionary defines the term as "a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it."

In the last year - from September 2018 to September 2019, the use of the phrase has increased by 10 700 percent.

It will still snow today in the morning in some areas, but it will gradually stop, and in the afternoon, the clouds will begin to break and decrease from the west. The wind will be moderate, in eastern Bulgaria strong north wind. Maximum temperatures mostly between 0C and 5C, in Sofia 0-1C.