The polar vortex – a zone of cold air which hovers over the Arctic – is shifting, and it will lead to colder, prolonged winters for much of the Western World.
Researchers analysed the stratospheric polar vortex – which sits 19,800 metres above the Earth – as opposed to the tropospheric polar vortex which is a maximum of 9,100 metres high, and found that it is slowly moving towards Eurasia.
By analysing satellite data, scientists also found that over the last 30 years, it has also been getting weaker, according to the research published in Nature Climate Change.
While a weaker stratospheric polar vortex would lead some to believe that it will increase temperatures, experts state that a weaker vortex increases the chances of it breaking, spreading the cold air and winter blasts farther afield.
The study reads: “The wintertime Arctic stratospheric polar vortex has weakened over the past three decades, and consequently cold surface air from high latitudes is now more likely to move into the middle latitudes.”
As a result, the team believes that winters in parts of the US and Europe could extend into late March.
Additionally, the team state that the shifting vortex is “closely related” to melting ice in the Arctic.
However, they admit that this is a tenuous link: "The potential vortex shift in response to persistent sea-ice loss in the future, and its associated climatic impact, deserve attention to better constrain future climate changes.”
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