Chapter 302: 302. Chapter 299 Global Food Shortage

302. Chapter 299 Global Food Shortage

Unimaginable wind and snow blanketed the earth, goose-feather-like snowflakes fell from the sky; they fell quickly, and in just a moment the scenery turned white at a visible speed.

Street treetops and rooftops were all covered in a layer of white; people in tropical regions found this especially novel, after all their region's temperature is scorching, and this snowfall is the first in their country in hundreds of years.

It can be said to be an extremely rare weather.

However, as time passed, the weather departments of these countries quickly noticed something was off, and they quickly discovered the strangeness of this snowfall, after all this snow came far too suddenly.

"It seems. Besides us, a few neighboring countries also seem to be snowing?"

After they carefully observed for a moment, they were instantly stunned in place.

Not only were a few neighboring countries also snowing, but almost all tropical regions were snowing.

"What's going on? Malaxi, Xinjiapo, Yamajia, Moxige—how can so many places be snowing!"

Meteorology-related scientists, looking at the latest transmitted satellite cloud map, all widened their eyes, showing expressions of disbelief.

On the satellite cloud map before them, countless huge cold currents were surging, two visible giant black clouds, accompanied by

The cold currents, wildly sweeping from the Earth's north and south poles toward the globe!

The skies of countless nations were covered in thick haze, all formed from converging black clouds.

Gazing at the cold current ravaging the entire globe, many scientists were dazed, wondering when such a scale of cold current had ever appeared on Earth.

Someone rubbed their eyes in disbelief, thinking they were hallucinating: "What the hell? Why would the north and south poles have cold currents sweeping down?"

"So many countries worldwide snowing at the same time—this is clearly abnormal!"

"This cold current came too strangely, with no signs whatsoever, and it hadn't been detected before."

According to the map, the whole world is snowing, with almost no exceptions, and over fifty percent of land and sea are covered by thick black clouds!

Watching the scene before them, all observers were stunned, their expressions gradually turning solemn.

If it were only an isolated case, it could be explained as an accident, but so many cold currents and these black clouds prove the matter is not simple.

No matter how slow they were, they realized something was wrong and immediately reported the news upward!

Seeing these messages, leaders of many countries worldwide also froze for a moment.

"Is the whole world snowing?"

Looking at the satellite cloud map paper, masses of black clouds and heavy snow spreading across the globe, they also attached great importance to it.

Faced with this sudden situation, the top countries of the world immediately held relevant meetings to discuss.

In the great hall of the United Nations.

A huge global real-time satellite cloud map appeared at the center of the hall, while beside it were placed several chairs, and hundreds of people in suits of various appearances appeared in the hall.

These people were precisely the representatives who had hurriedly come from all over the world from many countries!

Except for Great Xia and a few other countries, nearly all countries had arrived!

In the vast council hall, countless people had solemn expressions, because they had just received the latest news while flying to the United Nations; the global snowfall had expanded again!

Not only that, the cold currents originally enveloping various places seemed to have a strengthening trend!

The snow clouds floating above various regions of the world rapidly expanded their domains; upon receiving this news, the heads of the weather and meteorological departments of countless countries worldwide furrowed their brows tightly.

"Why would such a scale of heavy snow appear?"

"This is too abnormal; the global climate isn't like an ocean, so how could such a chaotic situation arise?"

"All of this is too abnormal; even if there are cold currents, they're only a small part—I've never seen such a scale before."

"Global temperatures are dropping extremely fast; even tropical regions are snowing—this simply makes no sense."

Many of the heads of the weather and meteorological departments of various countries, some of whom knew each other, spoke up here, but without exception, no one could answer these questions, and everyone felt deeply doubtful.

After discovering the anomaly, they carried out a series of emergency checks; no matter how they searched, they could not find any anomaly!

These cold currents seemed to appear out of thin air, with no signs or causes.

As time passed, many council members also gradually arrived; except for the closed-off Great Xia, only a few scattered countries had not yet arrived.

In the great United Council hall, lights blazed; everyone was solemn, utterly silent, and a heavy cloud of doubt hung over their hearts.

Just then, a figure walked over—it was the United Nations Secretary-General Alex, looking about forty, with features no different from ordinary Westerners, but the aura emanating from him was strikingly noticeable.

As he appeared, everyone's gaze fell on Alex; his eyes swept the hall, with no extra talk, he got straight to the point.

He had no excessive tedious opening remarks,

"I believe everyone has already noticed that heavy snow has befallen the globe; according to much evidence, this should be related to one matter."

His tone paused, his expression grew solemn; in the hall, everyone held their breath and listened attentively to Preston's forthcoming words.

Looking at the influential figures of many countries, Alex also had no intention of beating around the bush, and continued to speak:

"After multiple layers of confirmation by the United Council, it can now be nearly certain that the cause of this global snowfall is closely linked to the shift in Earth's orbit."

"Earth's orbit shift?"

Upon hearing this, the heads of the weather and climate departments of many countries were stunned, then their faces began to turn somewhat subtle.

"This sudden heavy snow actually has something to do with Earth's orbital shift?"

Originally silent, the council hall suddenly buzzed with whispers.

"Just a short while ago, Earth's orbit hadn't just returned to normal—how could it shift again?"

"Yeah, and we haven't observed any abnormality in Earth's orbit recently either."

A weather official from one country raised his hand, frowned, and asked: "Secret-General, is your prediction correct? Just a short while ago, Earth's orbit had already returned to normal, and afterward no problems occurred."

"Moreover, as one of the core celestial bodies of the solar system, Earth's orbital shift is not a common phenomenon; it's impossible for such changes to occur frequently in a short time—could the observation be wrong?"

"Even if we concede that Earth's orbit shifted, it shouldn't cause global warming—so why would it become cold?"

The problem raised by this official was also a doubt in the hearts of many present.

After all, Earth's orbit has been stably rotating in the solar system for hundreds of millions of years; the vast magnetic and interactive forces of the universe are like two giant hands, firmly holding Earth in its set orbit.

How could it possibly shift easily, and moreover shift multiple times within a year—this is nearly impossible.

Countless national weather and climate officials whispered, their expressions full of confusion.

Only those powerful countries in the world that possess independent satellites capable of observing Earth's orbit, such as Eagle Country, Tsar Country, etc., maintained a rare silence!

Because they also observed all of this!

Yalikesi sighed, speaking in a low voice: "An invisible force is interfering with Earth, causing the entire planet's magnetic field to become disturbed, thereby causing Earth's orbit to shift."

"Perhaps it is particle turbulence in space, or perhaps it is some unknown force we cannot comprehend."

The universe is vast and boundless, with too many unknowns and mysteries; humanity's progress in exploring the universe is less than one-billionth, so wanting to uncover the fundamental cause of this can be said to be doubly difficult, and they cannot even find the source.

These people never imagined that the cause of all this was the construction of the cosmic signal tower; given Earth's current technological level, at least several hundred years, even several thousand years, would be needed before it could possibly be figured out.

Yalikesi's expression grew grave: "Earth's orbit is not only shifting, but its speed is also now very fast; you can take a look at this—this is the latest data observed by Miguo's space station."

As Yalikesi's words fell, the large screen before everyone suddenly changed, displaying set after set of complicated data, mixed with several images of the eight major celestial bodies of the solar system, appearing in their field of view.

Yet as they looked at these data and images, the faces of many countries' weather officials gradually began to change.

Being able to serve as a nation's top weather and climate official naturally means they are highly capable individuals; even if they are not primarily focused on this aspect of the universe, they still know quite a bit about these problems.

After merely glancing at the data and images, over ninety percent of the countries' weather and climate officials had already detected the problem.

The information listed above is far too much; almost just a simple mental calculation is enough to easily reach a conclusion.

Many countries' weather and climate officials widened their eyes, pupils suddenly constricting, an indescribable chill surging into their hearts.

After a simple calculation, they could clearly know that Earth's entire orbit is undergoing unimaginable changes.

It seems to have been subjected to some strange force, rapidly breaking free from its original orbit!

Earth, which should originally be located between Venus and Mars and be a nearly circular plane, has been forcibly stretched into a long, narrow ellipse!

This will cause, in the ensuing time, Earth's temperature to likely drop to around minus 100 degrees!

Minus 100 degrees!

Yalikesi looked at everyone's suddenly grim expressions, took a deep breath, and said: "That is to say, in the future, Earth's temperature will plummet, possibly reaching an unprecedented low."

"Minus 100 is absolutely a terrifying figure; although it's only a prediction, based on these data and images, the actual situation is likely similar."

Yalikesi's words were like a heavy hammer, smashing hard into everyone's hearts, making all of their faces grim to the extreme!

They are not fools, moreover, with so much data laid before them, a slight analysis would make it clear.

"Almost minus 100 degrees, and it could even be lower."

The weather and climate official from Moxige, face ashen as paper, feeling icy all over, said: "If it truly comes to that, what life on Earth could survive? I fear even the oceans would be frozen."

"The entire Earth will be frozen into a massive block of ice, perhaps even affecting the core."

Upon these words, the entire conference hall fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone's faces turned pale as they stared at the screen, hardly believing that this was truly the apocalypse, an unprecedented disaster!

After an unknown amount of time, a person finally spoke up, breaking the silence—it was Miguo's weather and climate official, Dawei.

"I believe everyone has already felt the terror of this cold front, and in the coming time, this weather and temperature will only become faster and faster."

"According to observations, the report shows that the entire Earth's temperature is falling; in just half a day, compared to yesterday's global time, the current global average temperature has already dropped by a full six degrees Celsius."

"Earth's orbit is now advancing toward the distant, frigid reaches of the universe; we must find effective measures."

Various data and global weather forecasts appeared on the large screen in the conference hall.

Upon seeing this news, everyone's faces grew ever grimmer; in just one day, the global average temperature dropped by a full six degrees Celsius!

Know that since the steam revolution began, humanity has been continuously ravaging the environment, while developing and emitting unimaginable amounts of carbon dioxide and various gases, causing an unimaginable greenhouse effect!

But even this greenhouse effect only raised Earth's temperature by between 1.5 and 4.5 degrees Celsius!

And yet now, globally, in just a single day, the temperature has dropped six degrees!

"Moreover, this situation continues, meaning the temperature will keep dropping in the future; crucially, no one knows when these weather patterns will disappear or cease."

"Based on the calculation of this orbital segment, it will take about five months for Earth's orbit to enter the region farthest from the Sun."

Five months' time!

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces changed, and their hearts gradually sank to the bottom.

Even when they arrived, they had a feeling that this blizzard was not simple; otherwise they would not have convened a joint meeting right when it first broke out.

But they never imagined it would be this important, far exceeding their expectations.

Global freeze!

Five months of ice and snow cover!

For human civilization, this is absolutely a fatal blow!

"Under these circumstances, food and warmth are undoubtedly the biggest problems."

Yalikesi's words pulled everyone back to reality; upon saying this, many people's faces changed.

Under extreme cold, what is most important?

Naturally, it is food and warmth.

At this moment, suddenly the representatives of countless nations all shivered, as if they had already felt that unprecedented cold air.

Just then, they suddenly recalled a certain country.

"Wait! If I'm not mistaken, wasn't Great Xia previously using domestic precious rare materials to exchange fuel and food with us?"

"Yes! At that time our country also exchanged quite a bit, after all using renewable resources to trade for these precious resources is undoubtedly a very profitable deal."

"Why did Great Xia prepare these in advance? Could they have foreseen this?"

"Now it seems indeed abnormal; not long after the trade, they closed their borders and even recalled all the maps of Great Xia's populace from around the world—could Great Xia really know something?"

Everyone chattered away, and now recalling these scenes, the faces of countless nations' officials turned grim.

It can be said that nearly ninety percent of the countries present had conducted trade with Great Xia.

Know that they initially mocked Great Xia's actions, even finding them utterly perplexing and contemptuous, suspecting that the Great Xia official had a brain problem; now looking back, all of this seems filled with strangeness.

What is this situation, why did Great Xia prepare so early?

Could it be that they had already foreseen that all this would happen?

But if they had no foreknowledge, how could they possibly have taken all these measures?

Numerous questions filled their minds; they wished they could go to Great Xia right now to get an answer.

They used to mock Great Xia for this behavior, but now it seems they are the biggest fools, actually using precious fuel and food to exchange for these materials!

This is hardly worthless grain; it is clearly a string of lives. Thinking of this, their guts almost turned green with regret.

Especially the person in charge of Miguo, whose face turned red with anger and whose whole body trembled, after all they had used countless grain, even emptying more than half of Miguo's granary, just barely managing to exchange for these rare resources!

I originally thought it would be a huge profit, relying on Miguo's agricultural production and import capacity; within about half a year, this grain should recover, and it shouldn't be too big a problem.

But now, with five months of freezing, grain and crops certainly cannot continue to be produced; they have lost their source of supply, and what is even more desperate is that if they cannot quickly obtain food, not to mention half a year, even a few months may not be sustainable.

By then, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Other countries are no better off than Miguo.

The representatives of various countries, recalling their earlier actions, turned ashen-faced to the extreme, even unable to sit still, they all anxiously left their seats, wanting to return to report all of this!

The news spread domestically like a deep-water bomb, without a doubt blowing up among the senior leaders of many countries! (End of chapter)