WEIRD GLOBAL WEATHER PATTERN : This year, the entire world has been experiencing very bizarre weather pattern. Large swaths of USA and Canada in the Northern Hemisphere have been witness to extremes of winter marked by sub-zero temperatures with life-threatening frigid conditions. From the north to the south, the big chill swept the US, bringing the sub-zero temperatures as far as Florida, sending Chicago shivering at -24 degrees Celsius, and halting everything from water pipes to fights, and freezing fuel to glycol. The severe winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow in the region between New York and Boston, greatly paralyzing the normal civic life. In Montreal (Canada), mercury dipped to unprecedented levels of -41 degrees. Quite surprisingly, as North America froze, many parts of Europe experienced unseasonably warm weather with temperatures hovering around 20 degrees Celsius in Switzerland. Many European countries like Norway, Sweden and Poland, as also Germany have been almost snow- free this season. Ironically, countries like Egypt, Iran, Israel and Jordan that are known to be snow-free during the winter too received heavy dose of snowfall during the current winter season. Alongside, Britain’s western coast was lashed by high winds and strong rains during early January. On the contrary, the countries in the Southern Hemisphere – Argentina, Brazil and Australia are currently in midst of the worst summer decades. Mercury soared to above 49 degrees Celsius in Brazil while Argentina recorded the warmest summer in recent years with temperatures shooting up to 45 degrees Celsius in the capital city, Buenos Aires. Extreme hot weather has led to large number of bushfires across the South-eastern Australia. Repressive summer heat has made lives of millions residing in cities like Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Melbourne and Sydney quite miserable with the people having to bear with the scorching hot weather often without power. Besides, California (USA) is currently in grip of the worst draught in a century marked my numerous wildfires even during the winter. It remains a debatable question whether the most severe cold spell in North America and the extremes of summer observed in the countries of the Southern Hemisphere are related to climate change. There is no denying the fact that anthropogenic activities resulting in emission of greenhouse gases do contribute to global warming. But to be very honest, other factors such as tilt of Earth’s axis, the 11-year solar cycle, volcanic eruptions, and natural effects like El Nino/La Nina also significantly contribute to the global weather pattern. Very interestingly, the Sun is currently in sleeping mode with the least of solar activity. Sun’s current state might mark the advent of Mini Ice Age as well!
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 06:10:30 +0000
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