14 DAY TRIAL // Most people work on the assumption that global warming is all about an increase in average temperatures worldwide.
Because of this, some of those living in Britain, Europe and North America are now doubting that there is such a thing as “global warming,” seeing how this year's spring has been particularly snowy and bitter.
However, climate scientists maintain that, according to their investigations, global warming can and should be held accountable for this peculiar spring weather.
As they explain, said phenomenon has caused a significant loss of the Arctic sea ice, something that ultimately led to changes in the seasons we used to be all too familiar with.
According to Mongabay, the melting of the Arctic sea ice caused the ocean and the atmosphere to receive excess heat.
Once this happened, the jet stream in the northern hemisphere was altered and this translated into extreme weather manifestations.
“The sea ice is going rapidly. It's 80% less than it was just 30 years ago. There has been a dramatic loss. This is a symptom of global warming and it contributes to enhanced warming of the Arctic,” says Jennifer Francis of the Rutgers Institute of Coastal and Marine Science.
“This is what is affecting the jet stream and leading to the extreme weather we are seeing in mid-latitudes. It allows the cold air from the Arctic to plunge much further south. The pattern can be slow to change because the [southern] wave of the jet stream is getting bigger. It's now at a near record position, so whatever weather you have now is going to stick around,” Jennifer Francis went on to argue.
As reported not very long ago, researchers are quite convinced that, by the year 2050, global warming and the subsequent melting of the Arctic will make it possible for ships to sail over the North Pole.
One cannot help but wonder what the seasons will look like once the Arctic ice melts to this extent.