Oxford Researcher: Frequent Intense Cold Spells are Caused by Global Warming

Essay by Eric Worrall

First published JoNova; According to Oxford researcher Beatriz Monge-Sanz, brutal winter weather the USA, Britain and Europe have experienced recently were exacerbated by global warming.

Global warming may be behind an increase in the frequency and intensity of cold spells

Published: March 5, 2024 5.25am AEDT
Beatriz Monge-Sanz
Senior Researcher, Department of Physics, University of Oxford

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One less obvious consequence of global warming is also getting growing attention from scientists: a potential increase in the intensity and frequency of winter cold snaps in the northern hemisphere.

Weather phenomena like the Beast from the East in winter 2018, the cold spell of Arctic air that reached as far South as Texas in February 2021, or the storm that left Madrid and Athens unusually covered in snow for days in early 2021 are becoming more common.

Some of the mechanisms that lead to their occurrence are strengthened by global warming. Key climate mechanisms, like exchanges of energy and air masses between different altitude ranges in the atmosphere, are evolving in ways expected to cause an increase in both the intensity and duration of cold snaps. These link to the behaviour of a region in the high atmosphere called the stratosphere.

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Global warming makes extreme weather more extreme, and scientific studies are starting to provide proof that this also applies to extreme winter cold spells. Developing the best possible modelling tools is essential to predict the evolution of extreme weather events in the coming years so that we can be better prepared for them.

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Read more: https://theconversation.com/global-warming-may-be-behind-an-increase-in-the-frequency-and-intensity-of-cold-spells-223153