Nature

A man defies the chill and sits on a bench overlooking Faliro Bay on Athens' southern coast on Saturday. A cold weather front dubbed Zenobia after the 3rd century queen of Palmyra in Syria pushed temperatures down across Greece over the weekend and brought powerful storms, gale-force winds and snow to many parts of the country.

Red code in the state of South Australia - temperatures there have jumped to 42 degrees. Australia is preparing for another extreme heat wave, BNT reported.

Adverse weather conditions that have wreaked havoc across Turkey are set to continue, meteorologists have warned amid a disruption of access to countless villages due to heavy snowfall.

This night in the Indian capital Delhi, the temperature was 4.2 degrees Celsius, which is about 6 degrees below average for the season. This is the lowest temperature in 22 years, DPA reported.

Local authorities in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and other Indian states are preparing to open shelters and distribute firewood and blankets to homeless people.

Today, cloudiness will be variable, more considerable in the afternoon, but light rain expected only in some places, light snow in mountainous areas. A light to moderate wind will continue to blow from west-northwest, bringing cold air. Maximum temperatures between 2C and 7C. Atmospheric pressure is close to the monthly average.

The process for preparing the environmental impact report on Turkey's Canal Istanbul megaproject was one of the most transparent in the country, Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said on Dec. 26.

The slopes of Mount Parnitha, north of Athens, were covered with snow on Thursday after temperatures dipped on Christmas Day. 

According to meteo.gr, the cold snap that gripped parts of the mainland on Thursday was not associated with a cold weather front, dubbed Zinovia, that is forecast for the following days.

The Turkish Environment and Urbanization Ministry has announced the final approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the planned Canal Istanbul project on Dec. 23. Canal Istanbul is a mega-infrastructure project involving the construction of a 45-kilometer shipping canal in Istanbul parallel to the Bosphorus Strait.

The willingness to tackle climate change that had started with the Paris deal has been disappearing, according to an expert on
environmental and climate change policies.

"[U.S. President Donald] Trump's position pushed others to be more hesitant," says Semra Cerit Mazlum of Marmara University's Department of Political Science and International Relations.

Gölbaşı Dam Lake, one of the main sources of water for Bursa plain's agricultural lands, has dried up by 90 percent.

The dam lake was built by modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1933 in a bid to meet the irrigation needs of northwestern Bursa's agricultural lands.