Global Warming Alert

The worst snowstorm in 50 years strikes Japan.

The blizzard claimed the lives of six people in Fukui prefecture, 350 kilometers (about 220 miles) west of Tokyo, mostly older men who fell from their roofs as they shovelled snow, a prefectural official said.

Nearly two meters (6.5 feet) of snow piled up in Fukui on Sunday, with the weather agency forecasting another 70 centimeters (2.3 feet) to fall by Tuesday morning.