And again we are forced to return to the topic of climate and weather change. According to the latest data from NASA, a real anomaly is currently observed in the earth's atmosphere: in one of its layers, the mesosphere, the temperature fell 50 degrees below average, reaching minus 140 degrees Celsius. Different assessments are given to this phenomenon.
The mesosphere is the middle layer of the atmosphere, where nitrogen prevails over oxygen: 80% and 20%, respectively. The air there is so thin that it represents a real "dead zone" for aircraft. That is why this atmospheric layer is the least studied, sometimes it is jokingly called in the scientific community "ignorosphere". Together with the troposphere and stratosphere, the mesosphere, in fact, is the natural "heat insulator" of the planet from the cosmic cold. But right now, an abnormal cold reigns there, which may last until the end of 2020.
This natural phenomenon is evaluated in very different ways. For example, James Renwick, a professor of climatology at the University of Victoria at Wellington, believes this is indicative of the beginning of a new ice age:
Earlier, in February 2020, this specialist pointed out that the temperature in Antarctica has increased by another 1 degree since the last record recorded in 2015. On the one hand, the cooling, on the other hand, warming: at first glance, climatologists contradict themselves. In fact, it is considered more correct to speak not about “global warming”, but about “global climate change”.
As scientists explain, a sharp abnormal cold snap in regions unaccustomed to this is part of the process of increasing temperatures on the planet. For example, last year, tourists from all over the world were shocked by the sight of the frozen Niagara Falls. Due to the melting ice, the poles begin to warm up faster than other regions, the temperature difference between polar and temperate latitudes is decreasing. Taking into account the rotation of the Earth, the polar vortices begin to move faster, "wagging" when they hit the high pressure areas, and move further south.
So the disruption of the usual balance of atmospheric currents due to global warming can paradoxically lead to very severe winters across the planet. Even 10 years ago, specialists from the Australian Antarctic Division studied the mesosphere using lasers. Climatologist Jeff Campston, who studied the so-called "noctilucent clouds" in the team, then explained:
Apparently, the processes are accelerating, which means that the weather will begin to present more and more unpleasant surprises, for which it is worth preparing now.
Author: Sergey Marzhetsky
Promotional video:
