below zero

Last month, when temperatures dropped below zero, Russian drones hit a thermal power plant in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.

While the US and other major powers have struggled with post-Covid inflation, China is experiencing the opposite: deflation - when the rate of inflation falls below zero, meaning that prices decrease.

“We’ve received them because it’s a humanitarian situation, but our situation as a municipality is below zero,” said Ali Ahmad al-Ali, the mayor of Masaoudiyeh, an Alawite-dominated village near a kink in the narrow and shallow Kabir River.

Consequently, as they are close to the ground - which is also below zero - the next time they hit a surface the droplet will freeze creating a layer of ice.

Another major change: In the past, if a coupon decreased the cost of an item to below zero, you could receive money back.