Extreme Weather Conditions Around The Globe

[tiggerblue10]

Whilst most of the US is in the grip of a Polar Vortex, Australia is experiencing record high temperatures.

If climate change / global warming is occurring why have temps in the US plummeted to record lows? I'm in no way suggesting that climate change isn't happening but it would be interesting to know what others think.

[jno]

record lows are climate change, so are record highs. Global warming isn't exactly the same thing - that's global, but individual areas may still see unusual variations.

[archibaldy]

A simple way of putting one of the theories is that due to warming globe, the arctic polar ice is melting, this spreads the 'cold bit' around making it larger and making larger area of the globe, such as the US colder than it did before. This situation cannot last forever as less and less ice reforms at the poles every year to the the warming trend.

[Old_Geezer]

Climate change changes weather patterns and things become more chaotic and you get more extremes. Cold, hot, both.

[jim360]

I agree with jno's and OG's answers above (I'd have to check the archibaldy one, I think it sounds a little off).

But it's important to stress that global warming is about long-time average global temperatures, not short-term local ones. If one area receives a cold snap, it is almost expected sometimes, and indeed could occur more often (and more severely) than before.

Anyone, then, wondering something like "whatever happened to global warming, eh?" or "Come back, we need you!" or some such, is seriously misunderstanding how Climate Change works.

[naomi24]

Got my doubts that, in the grand scheme of things, it's anything new.

[237SJ]

I have a friend who swears blind that there is no such thing as global warming. I have had many a conversation with customers from all parts of the world and they all say the same thing - the weather is changing and that's a fact

[naomi24]

But are extreme conditions new? A few hundred years ago people skated on the frozen River Thames.

[237SJ]

I don't think they were talking about exreme conditions, just that the weather has changed. I can completely agree with that

[jno]

that was during the Little Ice Age, which lasted centuries. Elizabethans would have found like quite a lot chillier than we do. It may all have been caused by volcanic eruptiions, which tend to block out sunlight, even when they're in Indonesia or wherever.

[goodgoalie]

What amazes me about the vicious cold in parts of the US at the moment is how the First Nations and later settlers ever survived with only tepees or rough wooden shelters, and only wood to burn to keep them warm. The indigenous people had no doubt evolved strategies to deal with it, but all those who emigrated from Scotland, Ireland etc must have wondered what on earth they had got themselves into. The temperatures they regularly experience are totally unimaginable to us in the UK - I just could not bear it, even with all modern equipment and conveniences.

And look: the south-west of England is grinding to a halt in their first snow of the year. We haven't a clue what a cold winter is!

[jno]

also re the frost festivals on the Thames - it used to be a lot wider and shallower before the embankments were built, so it froze more easily. And old London bridge had lots of wide piers, rather than the two or three it's got now, and this greatly slowed the flow of water down, which also encouraged freezing.

[jno]

true, goodgoalie, the news tonight had several minutes of cars being trapped in a centimetre of snow in Devon (fair enough, it makes the roads slippery to drive on) and then reported from Chicago where it's 30 below.

[naomi24]

237SJ, the weather is always changing. I posted something recently about ice melting in Alaska in Victorian times. It would be a long stretch indeed to hold abuse of nature responsible for that.

[237SJ]

I know it is My conversations with customers from all parts of the world are interesting though (re: global warming)

[naomi24]

I don't doubt it. People are generally quite observant of the weather.

[-SharonA-]

Something is happening and I don't believe we can change nature.
Look at when we had the Ice Age, was that global warming??

[237SJ]

Of course they are - they live with it! Don't we all. If we had the same weather every day, life would be quite boring

[Peter Pedant]

// But are extreme conditions new? A few hundred years ago people skated on the frozen River Thames.//

well clearly no since Britain was covered with Ice 10 000 y ago which sort of went down to midFrance

1000-1500 was warmish which is how Greenland [ Eric the Red described Greenland as green sort of to get people to settle there - a bit like Brexit is good for you a thousand years later ] and the last one died out 1500

and it got colder
The river thames used to freeze over more often as a result of the slowing by old London Bridge - when rebuilt the flows were faster - last frost fair 1824 innit?

[Peter Pedant]

oops sozza Jim
used more than three words ....VERY un-AB

[jim360]

It's pretty much universally accepted that global temperature changes are not a new thing, but it also seemed quite likely that the recent rate of change is far greater than that in the past. The new factor? Human-driven contributions to greenhouse gases.

Sure, you can point to examples in the past when the world was colder, and to examples of the world being hotter. But that doesn't negate the fact that human activity is contributing to the present, accelerated changes in average global temperatures.