Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Sept 4, 2019 15:44:21 GMT 2
(.#A.008).- The polar cold in North America, due to global warming.
The polar cold in North America, due to global warming.
By Marc Cherki - Updated on 30/01/2019 at 17:24
A woman takes photos along the Chicago River on 2019 January 29th. STRINGER / REUTERS.
Cold records are expected in Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota, with temperatures below -50 ° C, in some places lower than at the poles. The role of "global warming" in this type of event is discussed.
Bis Repetita. After calling for the return of "global warming" in November 2018, during a previous cold snap on the country, Donald Trump reiterated his wish earlier this week. Deploring polar temperatures in several parts of the Midwestern United States, including Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the US president said on Twitter: "What is happening with global warming? Come back soon, we need you! "
The "polar vortex", a recurring phenomenon
This Wednesday it was a bit colder in Chicago (-31 ° C) than in the North Pole, Nunavut (Canada) (-29 ° C). Taking into account the cold felt, because of an icy wind, temperatures should fall below -50 ° C in these three states this Wednesday and at night. Icy temperatures were also expected in the Great Lakes region and Ohio. The cold was so intense that nearly 2000 flights were canceled Wednesday morning from Chicago airports. And many services, such as mail delivery and train services, were discontinued locally.
The person responsible for this cold snap is an intrusion of icy cold air from the North Pole. This "polar vortex" is a cold air mass above the poles that turn counterclockwise, according to the expression of the National Weather Service, the American counterpart of Météo France. This icy air has made an incursion into the Midwestern United States and is expected to extend over the eastern two-thirds of the country for a short time. This is not a new phenomenon. There have been previous, less intense, cold spells in 2014, 1989, 1985 and even 1977.
Debate on the role of global warming
A weakening of the jet stream observed in 2017 with the incursion of two polar vortices, in Europe and in North America. The Weather Channel.
But new cold records are expected. In recent years, experts have pointed out that these incursions of polar air are aggravated by global warming. A large atmospheric current circulating undulating around the polar circle, the jet stream, acts in fact as a barrier that prevents the polar cold from going down too low. But "studies are beginning to indicate larger ripples of the" jet stream "that would be caused by an exacerbated warming in the North Pole," said two years ago, Étienne Kapikian, forecaster at Météo-France.
"Globally, there are generally fewer periods of intense cold than in the past," moderates today the same forecaster of Météo France. "And there is not necessarily a special connection between warming and the current cold in North America. All studies do not reach consensus. "
Donald Trump's recent statements further confirm his "climate-sensitive" mindset, which spreads fake news rather than confirmed news. Because it confuses meteorology, the weather over a few days or at most a month, and the climate, which is studied over longer time scales.
F I N .
The polar cold in North America, due to global warming.
By Marc Cherki - Updated on 30/01/2019 at 17:24
A woman takes photos along the Chicago River on 2019 January 29th. STRINGER / REUTERS.
Cold records are expected in Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota, with temperatures below -50 ° C, in some places lower than at the poles. The role of "global warming" in this type of event is discussed.
Bis Repetita. After calling for the return of "global warming" in November 2018, during a previous cold snap on the country, Donald Trump reiterated his wish earlier this week. Deploring polar temperatures in several parts of the Midwestern United States, including Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the US president said on Twitter: "What is happening with global warming? Come back soon, we need you! "
The "polar vortex", a recurring phenomenon
This Wednesday it was a bit colder in Chicago (-31 ° C) than in the North Pole, Nunavut (Canada) (-29 ° C). Taking into account the cold felt, because of an icy wind, temperatures should fall below -50 ° C in these three states this Wednesday and at night. Icy temperatures were also expected in the Great Lakes region and Ohio. The cold was so intense that nearly 2000 flights were canceled Wednesday morning from Chicago airports. And many services, such as mail delivery and train services, were discontinued locally.
The person responsible for this cold snap is an intrusion of icy cold air from the North Pole. This "polar vortex" is a cold air mass above the poles that turn counterclockwise, according to the expression of the National Weather Service, the American counterpart of Météo France. This icy air has made an incursion into the Midwestern United States and is expected to extend over the eastern two-thirds of the country for a short time. This is not a new phenomenon. There have been previous, less intense, cold spells in 2014, 1989, 1985 and even 1977.
Debate on the role of global warming
A weakening of the jet stream observed in 2017 with the incursion of two polar vortices, in Europe and in North America. The Weather Channel.
But new cold records are expected. In recent years, experts have pointed out that these incursions of polar air are aggravated by global warming. A large atmospheric current circulating undulating around the polar circle, the jet stream, acts in fact as a barrier that prevents the polar cold from going down too low. But "studies are beginning to indicate larger ripples of the" jet stream "that would be caused by an exacerbated warming in the North Pole," said two years ago, Étienne Kapikian, forecaster at Météo-France.
"Globally, there are generally fewer periods of intense cold than in the past," moderates today the same forecaster of Météo France. "And there is not necessarily a special connection between warming and the current cold in North America. All studies do not reach consensus. "
Donald Trump's recent statements further confirm his "climate-sensitive" mindset, which spreads fake news rather than confirmed news. Because it confuses meteorology, the weather over a few days or at most a month, and the climate, which is studied over longer time scales.
F I N .
