Researchers explained that the extended cold snaps in some regions are caused by the weakening jet stream brought by climate change.
In a study conducted two years ago, study researchers Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University and Stephen Vavrus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison concluded that the melting of Arctic ice caused by climate change weakens the jet stream. The Jet stream is the band of rapid flowing air currents in the atmosphere that separates the colder northern air and the warmer southern air. As it weakens, it prolongs the stay of icy-cold air in the region, which increases the probability of extreme weather events like drought, heat waves, and flooding.
Meaning to say, as the global climate increases, the weather experienced in different regions stay for long. Regions that usually have warm weathers will have extended droughts, while regions that usually have cold weathers will have extended cold snaps.
However, it had drawn criticisms from other researchers and climate experts saying that the Rutgers research is distracting a greater discussion about global warming.
As a defense, Francis told CTV News, "Carefully designed modeling experiments and additional years of real-world data are needed to confirm it or not. To me, the ample discussion this idea has generated is not a 'distraction,' but rather a trigger of a great deal of new research and healthy scientific discussion."
Dr. Altaf Arain, director of the McMaster Centre of Climate Change in Hamilton, on hand the other hand, supports the Rutgers study saying that it is a very believable study. He said that the public misunderstands the difference between climate and weather. He thinks that people look for hints or evidences of climate change in the local weather, when it's the global temperature that shows the trend.
He explained that as temperature increases, the hydrological cycle, or the water cycle, speeds up.
"When it's accelerated, you have more evaporation; more rainfall or snow," Arain said. "Our annual numbers may not change that much, but we will have a downpour and then a dry period. This is part of the discussion about prolonged weather patterns."
Further details of this study can be read in the Geophysical Research Letters.
