Abnormal freezes and melting glaciers highlight global challenge of climate change By Karl Wilson in Sydney and Vivien Xu in Hong Kong | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2021-02-19 17:02 A man removes snow from a car during a snowstorm in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Feb 2, 2021. [Photo/Agencies] It is being called the "Big Freeze" as abnormal winter snowstorms and freezing temperatures cut a crippling swathe through large parts of the United States. The southern state of Texas is, for the first time ever, blanketed in snow paralyzing the state's electricity grid, causing deaths and filling hospital beds already struggling with COVID-19 cases with dozens of people suffering from hyperthermia.