Pollution, Climate Change & other anthropogenic effects on Biosphere

[Rishi]

Northern Hemisphere hit by freak climate anomaly!

As temperature in mid-West of North America & Central Russia to plummet upto -50°C at places, Alaska & North pole becomes abnormally warm, facing a heat wave with temperatures approaching the freezing point already; at 15°C above normal.

Predicted daily mean, near-surface temperature (°C) differences from normal (relative to 1979-2000 avg.) for January 28-30, 2019. 
Data from NOAA’s Global Forecast System model. Climate Reanalyzer, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Polar Vortex, large area of low pressure & counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the Poles. It's normal that during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will weaken & expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream that contains it.

But as the poles got hit the worst, experiencing jacked up Greenhouse effect as thousands of years old ice sheets & permafrost are melting away for the first time, exposing darker ocean and land surfaces that absorb even more of the sun’s heat...

...rapid Arctic warming the north-south temperature difference has diminished, reducing pressure differences between the Arctic and mid-latitudes, in turn weakening jet stream winds.
And slower-flowing jet stream tends to meander like a slow-moving rivers, resulting in wide north-south undulations in its flow.

This generates waves in the atmosphere that, if strong enough, disrupt the stratospheric polar vortex above. This upper vortex became so distorted that it split into 2 swirling eddies. 
These “daughter” vortices moved towards the warmer south, one over Canada & other Russia, bringing their (comperatively) cold polar air with them and leaving behind a dangerously warmer-than-normal Arctic!

*This image is copyright of its original author

Information sources for further details:
https://climatecrocks.com/2019/01/21/war...h-america/
https://theconversation.com/how-frigid-p...ing-110653
https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3136
https://climatereanalyzer.org
https://www.weather.gov/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennifer_Francis

---

PS: @Wolverine @Shadow @Pckts @Kingtheropod @GrizzlyClaws & any other forum member that may have been affected by it, stay safe & stay warm. Reply