Global warming or climate change implies higher temperatures and a warmer climate but in fact the real problem is getting weather that we are not accustomed to whether it be hotter or cooler or wetter or dryer.
There are major temperature regions that have always been fixed and they influence the flow of atmosphere around the planet but some of these are now changing. Just to name a few of the big ones, there is the loss of arctic ice, the cold patch in the North Atlantic, the warm patch in the North Pacific, the lowering of the salinity of the North Atlantic and of course the increase in Arctic temperatures that is three times the global average. This has nothing to do with El Nino which may just accentuate the whole situation.
The problem here is not so much the science that gives cause and effect, but the results that have been experienced. One result that has been noticed is the change in the Jet stream and whether it was caused by the reduced Arctic sea ice, as Jennifer Francis believes, or the extra heat in the Pacific Ocean, as Kevin Trenberth believes, is open to debate but the result is that the jet stream is making much deeper waves and is slowing down.
The slower jet stream gets stuck and has caused a heat wave in Europe that killed 60,000 people, a drought in Russia that destroyed the grain harvest, drought in California and really cold winters and floods on the USA East coast.
The slower jet stream gets stuck and has caused a heat wave in Europe that killed 60,000 people, a drought in Russia that destroyed the grain harvest, drought in California and really cold winters and floods on the USA East coast.
Fast melting of the ice on Greenland has caused a lowering of salinity in the North Atlantic and the cold patch of ocean in the same place. This combination has resulted in a slowing of the Gulf Stream with the resulting increased heat on the American East coast and a bending of the North East air flow across the Atlantic to change the course of the weather streams. The result has been some very powerful storms on the American East coast such as Sandy and the recent heavy snow storm and also the major UK floods in 2012 and 2015.
The warm water, Blob in the North Pacific has caused the drought in California and probably the unseasonal floods in the Mississippi.
The increased acidity of the oceans as it absorbs the extra CO2 from the atmosphere is causing a reduction in phytoplankton of 30% to 40%and consequential reduction in the base of the food chain. The mass deaths of sea birds and whale stranding’s may or may not be linked to the loss of food but many people are drawing conclusions.
These long forecast outcomes are just starting to happen but we need to very aware that these are not isolated events and are all linked and caused by our changing planet.
These long forecast outcomes are just starting to happen but we need to very aware that these are not isolated events and are all linked and caused by our changing planet.
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