As
the Arctic region is known to be increasing in temperature at twice the
rate of the rest of the planet, differences in air pressure at the
North Pole are disrupting planetary air currents, causing wind pattern
changes.
According to Dr. James Overland of the US National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Pacific Marine
Environmental Laboratory, these shifting winds caused the exceptionally
cold and snowy winters of 2009-2010 as seen across large regions of the
globe.
Dr. Overland presented his findings at the recent International Polar Year conference in Oslo, Norway.
Dr. James Overland – (M): You
tend to think of a global warming signal being warming everywhere, but
it’s more complex than that. Actually, the Arctic is warming and the
heat that’s stored from the summer in the ocean is giving back to the
atmosphere in the fall, and it forms a dome of high pressure and warm
temperatures over the Arctic.
VOICE: Dr. Overland explained that
the difference between the high and low air pressure systems in the
north and further south effectively pulls the relatively frigid northern
Arctic air down to the warmer mid-latitudes of Scandinavia, eastern
North America and eastern Eurasia. This effect also stops the
south-to-north movement of warmer air.
Dr. James Overland (M):
So, with the warming, you have more winds coming out of the north, but
they’re bringing relatively colder air from the north into the south. So
that’s why you have the cold temperatures. And it’s also blocking a lot
of the normal warm storms that occur further south and come into
Europe.
And so we end up having a colder and snowier weather
that occurred last December and last January [that] are linked to the
large changes that we’re seeing in the Arctic now.
VOICE: As
continued warming of the Arctic’s atmosphere and oceans brings further
irreversible decline of Arctic sea ice and diminished cooling reflection
of the sun’s heat, Dr. Overland warned that this destabilized Arctic
climate system will lead to more extreme winter weather.
We thank
Dr. Overland for helping us understand how global warming is linked to
severe seasonal cold in parts of the Northern Hemisphere. May such
findings prompt us to quickly adopt solutions that rebalance our
treasured planetary home.
During an August 2009 videoconference
in Thailand Supreme Master Ching Hai expressed her ever-present concern
for humans’ vulnerability to these increasingly severe conditions as she
urged for their effective countermeasure.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
What’s more, we have more reports of unending drought, freezing
weather, storms These are truly almost always the consequences of
humans’ violent actions. The number 1 action is meat eating.
So,
we are grateful we have a few more days to help more of our fellow
world citizens to change to the benevolent diet to save our planet. But,
these days are still numbered. We can’t prolong forever. We can stop
the disasters, make them go away for good, forever, make all the
unfavorable situations, threatening weather to go away if all of us
switch to the organic vegan diet.
http://ipy-osc.no/article/2010/1276176306.8 http://www.barentsobserver.com/more-cold-and-snowy-winters.4792360-16176.htmlhttp://www.france24.com/en/20100611-europe-us-see-snowy-cold-winters-expert