Global forecast: deep winter in Europe, heat and wind in the south as Sunday weather divides the planet
At 23:00 GMT on Saturday, January 10, 2026, new AccuWeather guidance points to a sharply split planet on Sunday: Arctic cold from Scandinavia through Eastern Europe and Siberia; rain and mixed winter precipitation across parts of North America; and midsummer heat and strong winds driving rapid changes across Australia and New Zealand.
The snapshot matters for aviation, shipping and energy markets as transcontinental routes straddle weather boundaries from the North Atlantic storm track to the Southwest Pacific’s heat-and-storm cycle. It also frames public-safety planning for cities expecting high winds, heavy rain or hard freezes in the next 24 hours, alongside the formal warning and advisory frameworks coordinated by national meteorological services under the World Meteorological Organization.
Europe: Arctic air entrenched, Atlantic fronts on the move
A deep freeze has the Baltic and Eastern Europe firmly in its grip on Sunday, reinforcing heavy demand on heating systems and transport resilience. Forecast highs are stuck well below freezing in:
– Helsinki (-5 C, a little snow and windy, NE 24 KPH)
– Riga (-7 C, chance of flurries)
– Vilnius (-11 C, “cloudy and frigid”)
– Minsk (-11 C, frigid)
– Kiev (-11 C, cloudy and frigid)
Moscow (-6 C) and Saint Petersburg (-7 C) hold in persistent light snow, while Oslo remains “very cold” despite sunshine (-10 C). Farther west, milder Atlantic air noses in: London turns rainy and markedly less cold (10 C), Dublin sees periods of rain (12 C, SW 25 KPH), Paris holds cloudy at 5 C, and Lisbon tapers from rain (15 C). Amsterdam edges just above freezing (1 C) as clouds increase after a day of snow, and Brussels trends mostly cloudy (2 C).
The Mediterranean sits between regimes, a key zone for aviation and shipping traffic between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Rome clears to sunshine (12 C) after morning showers, Athens cools (14 C) in a northerly wind, and Istanbul turns cooler with a near-certain chance of afternoon showers (11 C, 100% precip. probability).
North America: Pacific wet, interior wintry mix, East Coast mostly rain
The Pacific Northwest stays locked in marine moisture: Seattle shifts from afternoon rain to rain and drizzle Sunday (10 C), and Vancouver does the same with a 100% chance of precipitation (9 C). California splits-San Francisco turns mostly sunny (15 C) while Los Angeles warms under mostly sunny skies (24 C), reinforcing elevated wildfire risk where fuels remain dry despite cooler seasonal norms.
Across the interior, Denver is mostly sunny but cool (11 C), and Chicago transitions from Saturday’s snow and rain to morning snow showers (2 C), conditions that can complicate early-week road and rail operations. In Canada, Ottawa and Toronto cool with a risk of afternoon snow (1 C), and Montreal picks up a little snow (3 C).
Along the corridor from Washington to Boston, New York trends showery in the afternoon (10 C, W 24 KPH), highlighting a classic rain-snow line scenario inland versus marine-influenced rain on the coast. That boundary is likely to be decisive for local emergency-management calls on de-icing, school operations and highway treatment.
Honolulu turns showery (27 C), and Miami keeps a few showers with humid onshore flow (27 C), typical of midwinter in the subtropics and important for short-haul aviation and cruise operations.
Middle East and North Africa: hazy sun for many, showers clipping Turkey and North Africa
Hazy sunshine dominates Cairo (22 C), Tel Aviv brightens (21 C), and Baghdad turns warmer under hazy sun (20 C). Istanbul’s frontal passage brings cooler, wet conditions (11 C) and Aleppo is unsettled with showers likely (9 C; 98% precip. probability), adding a layer of complexity to already fragile local infrastructure.
Across North Africa, Algiers and Tunis stay breezy and cooler (14-15 C), Tripoli remains windy (NW 31 KPH) with sun returning (16 C), and Rabat sits fair (17 C). The Western Sahara-Atlas corridor experiences brisk northerlies, consistent with the Atlantic trough brushing the Maghreb and relevant for regional wind-power output and cross-Mediterranean ferry links.
Sub-Saharan Africa: southern heat, equatorial storms
Cape Town stays hot, settling from 33 C to a very warm 30 C Sunday with a stiff SSE breeze (19 KPH). Johannesburg turns stormy after a partly sunny Saturday (28 C, thunderstorms possible), a pattern closely watched by local authorities for flash-flood potential in vulnerable townships and transport corridors.
Along the equatorial belt, Kinshasa and Dar es Salaam keep tropical humidity with scattered storms or increasing clouds (31-33 C), while Lagos remains hazy, hot and humid (32 C). These conditions are typical for the season but still consequential for grid stability, health services and air-quality management in rapidly growing cities.
South Asia: northeast monsoon lingers over the southeast
Southeast India and Sri Lanka retain late-season monsoon showers: Chennai is forecast for heavy showers (27 C; 99% precip. probability) and Colombo for afternoon showers (30 C). Bangalore trends rainy (23 C). Local authorities will be monitoring urban drainage and low-lying settlements after a protracted monsoon phase.
Farther north, Delhi clears to hazy sunshine but stays seasonably cool (17 C) after morning fog, a combination that can trap pollutants near the surface. Karachi remains sunny and pleasant (25 C), with comparatively benign conditions for port and energy operations.
East Asia: cold surge behind Japan gale, China turns bright but chilly
A vigorous low sweeping the Western Pacific leaves Japan windy: Tokyo stays very windy (15 C, WSW 37 KPH) and Osaka turns cooler and windy (8 C, W 28 KPH). The Korean Peninsula chills sharply-Seoul falls to -4 C (colder with a fresh NW wind), Pyongyang to -8 C. North China clears but stays cold: Beijing near 0 C with hazy sun; Shanghai turns breezy and cooler (7 C).
The cold surge and gale-force winds intersect some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and aviation routes, making turbulence, routing and port safety key operational concerns for carriers and regulators.
Southeast Asia: seasonal humidity with scattered convection
Manila sees showers around (31 C), Jakarta has a thunderstorm or two with high rain odds (30 C, 100% precip. probability), and Kuala Lumpur and Singapore keep the typical mix of heat and afternoon convection (31-32 C). Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh remain hazy and warm (29-30 C).
The pattern is seasonally normal but continues to test stormwater systems and urban cooling strategies across some of the region’s fastest-growing metropolitan areas.
Oceania: severe heat breaks in southeast Australia; gale across New Zealand
New South Wales experiences a dramatic cool change. After a 39 C Saturday in Sydney, Sunday is forecast to turn rainy and 22 C with a strong southerly (SSE 30 KPH), indicative of a vigorous post-frontal airmass. Melbourne cools and stays breezy (19 C, SSE 27 KPH), while Perth remains hot and windy (33 C, S 23 KPH). For fire agencies and grid operators, the shift from extreme heat to cooler, windy conditions will influence both fire behavior and electricity demand.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand braces for a high-impact wind event. Wellington is forecast “very windy” with NNW gusts to 56 KPH and a 60% chance of rain, while Auckland stays very warm (29 C) under strengthening westerlies. Transport authorities and port operators will be watching for potential disruptions to ferry services, flights and container operations as winds peak.
Latin America and the Caribbean: heat in the tropics, notable cool reading in São Paulo
Tropical South America remains steamy: Manaus (35 C, afternoon rain) and Rio de Janeiro (34 C, sunny and hot) hold near peak heat, and Recife turns showery (32 C). Farther south, Santiago bakes under sun (34 C), while Buenos Aires warms to 30 C following Saturday rain; Montevideo turns pleasant (24 C).
One standout on the forecast sheet is São Paulo, projected to stay unusually cool for January with low clouds (14 C high, 10 C low) after a day of decreasing clouds-an atypically subdued reading for Brazil’s largest city that could briefly ease power demand and heat-stress concerns.
In Central America and the Caribbean, showers dot the islands and isthmus: San Juan (29 C) and Santo Domingo (29 C) carry a few passing showers, while Panama City trends mostly cloudy (31 C). Havana sees a shower in places (27 C). For tourism-driven economies, the pattern implies routine but manageable weather-related adjustments to air, cruise and beach operations.
Sunday’s notable forecast extremes (local)
- Strongest sustained winds: Wellington, New Zealand – 56 KPH (NNW)
- Other high winds: Tokyo, Japan – 37 KPH (WSW); Tripoli, Libya – 31 KPH (NW); Sydney, Australia – 30 KPH (SSE); Tunis, Tunisia – 29 KPH (NW); Chicago, United States – 28 KPH (SW); Melbourne, Australia – 27 KPH (SSE); Dublin, Ireland – 25 KPH (SW)
- Highest forecast highs among listed cities: Manaus, Brazil – 35 C; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 34 C; Santiago, Chile – 34 C; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea – 34 C
- Lowest forecast lows among listed cities: Ulan Bator, Mongolia – -21 C; Minsk, Belarus – -20 C; Anchorage, United States – -19 C; Vilnius, Lithuania – -17 C; Kiev, Ukraine – -16 C; Novosibirsk, Russia – -16 C
- 100% precipitation probability flags: Istanbul, Turkey; Jakarta, Indonesia; Vancouver, Canada; Sydney, Australia
| City | Sunday outlook | High / Low (C) | Wind (dir/speed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| London, United Kingdom | Rain, not as cold | 10 / 7 | SSW 19 KPH |
| New York, United States | Afternoon shower | 10 / 1 | W 24 KPH |
| Tokyo, Japan | Very windy | 15 / 0 | WSW 37 KPH |
| Sydney, Australia | Afternoon rain | 22 / 19 | SSE 30 KPH |
| Wellington, New Zealand | Very windy | 24 / 15 | NNW 56 KPH |
| Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Sunny and hot | 34 / 24 | N 11 KPH |
| Helsinki, Finland | A little snow | -5 / -6 | NE 24 KPH |
Operational status: AccuWeather’s global forecast, issued at 23:00 GMT on Saturday, January 10, 2026, is in effect for the Sunday period; updates will follow from AccuWeather and national meteorological services. For route planning, infrastructure management and risk governance, readers should combine this snapshot with real-time alerts from their national meteorological authority and, where applicable, local civil-protection agencies and energy regulators.
