"It is not clear whether the decreased polarity between the Azores High and the Iceland Low may also be related to a weakening of the North Atlantic Thermohaline Current (NATC), emanating from the Gulf Stream. If and when the NATC collapses, the North Atlantic would undergo longer term cooling..."Dr Andrew Glikson, Earth and paleo-climate scientist at the Australian National University, writes: As predicted by the IPCC-2001 report, global warming trends tracking toward 2100 are likely to be expressed by an increase in weather variability. Expect these to include a series of heat waves, fires, floods, hurricanes and cold fronts, the consequence of an increase in the energy level (temperature) of the atmosphere/ocean system:
For the uninitiated, the weather and the climate are not to be confused. Weather events comprise transient and regional variations in atmospheric conditions on a scale of a few days to few weeks, whereas climate trends occur on a global multi-annual to decade-long time scales.
The effects of global warming, at a mean of +0.8 degrees C since the early 20th century but +4 to +5 degrees C in the polar regions, include enhanced collision of warm and cold air masses, which can perpetrate snow storms. The current North Atlantic freeze is no exception. Read More
