The ongoing warming of the Arctic is destroying the winter cyclones that trapped cold air at the Pole, making the winters only colder.
The winter frosts of recent years now and then rouse those who deny not only the role of man in global warming, but also the very obvious fact of climate change. However, several days of severe cold weather are unable to reverse the long-term trend towards an increase in temperature - and, moreover, they may be associated with them.
This is indicated by the work of Marlene Kretschmer and her fellow climatologists from Germany and the United States, presented in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. It is briefly described in a press release from the Potsdam Institute for the Study of Climate Change.
The fact is that the Arctic remains one of the most rapidly warming regions on the planet. The rapid shrinking of the ice sheet, which previously isolated the ocean and reflected much of the sun's rays, only adds further acceleration to warming. As water heats up, the air heats up and the streams of heat reach the stratosphere.
On the other hand, the stratosphere remains very cold, especially in the circumpolar regions. Previously, this cold air did not affect other regions as much. Throughout the winter, it is locked up by powerful and stable winds that form large-scale cyclones of polar vortices that rise into the stratosphere to a height of tens of kilometers, accumulating cold.
Average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere in 2001-2011 in comparison with 1970-2000 Rapid warming within the Arctic Circle is striking / & copy; climate.gov, NOAA ESRL
However, Marlene Kretschmer and her co-authors have shown that the heat of the warming oceans causes the weakening of these vortices, allowing frosty air to cover Europe and Russia in winter - with which scientists associate the severe cold that has happened in recent years in our winter months. Moreover, in Western Siberia, this has led to the fact that the average winter temperatures are even lower than before, despite the ongoing global warming.
Sergey Vasiliev
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