La Nina To Blast Europe With Cold Snap Amid Energy Crisis
Energy prices in Europe are expected to increase as new weather models forecast a plunge in temperatures to begin by the late weekend.
A weather phenomenon known as La Nina will bring below-normal temperatures for continental Europe and the Nordic region by Sunday.
The region is susceptible to cold snaps, with natural gas stockpiles well below average.
On Wednesday, gas prices at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark for European gas, are making another attempt at the €100 per MWh mark.
Extra gas supplies by Russia have been mute so far. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline remains in limbo after German energy regulators last week suspended the certification process.
The next round of cold air is going to test energy supplies across Europe. Gas prices are likely to move higher, pushing up power prices. Already, power prices in Finland have jumped five times higher than a year ago.
North West Europe’s average temperatures for the next week are expected to slide well below the 30-year mean through the mid-point of the month.
The same with Nordic areas.
North West Europe’s heating degree days, a measure of heating demand, will be significantly over the 30-year average. The same is with Nordic areas.
On top of the cold, weather observer Electroverse forecasts snow will blanket the continent over the next two weeks.
The development of the La Nina weather pattern has meant unseasonably cold weather for Europe, boosting energy prices but declining prices in the US as weather trends stay warmer. The chart below shows US energy prices negatively diverging the UK and EU gas prices.
Soaring energy inflation and rising food prices are the makings of a ‘winter of discontent’ across Europe. EU politicians beware.
