Global Warming Could Contribute to Colder Winters…

With a headline like that, you might be scratching your head. After all, how could global warming be causing colder winters? It seems like a paradox, right?

Well, a recent article in Yale’s Environment 360 explains why. It all has to do with melting Arctic ice.

According to a new study from the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research, the melting sea ice in the eastern Arctic could produce some pretty dramatic changes in the northern latitudes’ winters.

Using computer simulations, scientists have discovered that the melting sea ice in in the Barents-Kara sea area, which is north of Norway and Russia, might direct colder winds over much of Europe. The more the ice melts, the colder the winters might be.

A leading scientist in the study, the Yale article reports, says that the melting ice could triple the probability of bitterly cold winters for that area.

Next time you hear a global warming skeptic dismissing the likelihood of planetary warming because of cold winters, at least now you have a tart come-back on hand which could prove how very wrong they are.