First-Ever Snowfall in Somalia May Suggest Climate Disruption

A northeastern province of Somalia -- normally a warm region -- has received its first-ever recorded snowfall. The event caps off a recent spate of odd weather that some observers believe may be part of a larger trend toward global climate disruption.

Last month, unusually heavy rains led to flooding that caused major property damage and killed both people and livestock. The recent snowfall was accompanied by high winds that destroyed homes and claimed at least one life.

Without an effective central government, Somalia has no national weather service to monitor these trends. Further observations will have to be made by outside meterologists, though the country's poor infrastucture and ongoing tribal warfare will make that task extraordinarily difficult.

Sources: SomaliNet, Minding the Planet