CLIMATE CHANGE: HOW DOES THE WIND BLOW?

Midwestern states in the United States again are under attack from the Arctic Vortex beast. As was the case in 2014, bitter cold this month has plunged temperatures below zero degrees Fahrenheit, with howling wind chills of 20 to 40 degrees below zero. Again, it is the wind that is cold's messenger.

It came as no surprise, therefore, to read a report that, since the late 1990s, global warming has not increased.* Apparently, the forecasted rise in global surface temperatures has not occurred for some 15 years.

Now, scientists have come up with their explanation why forecasts of warming have not come true. According to the report, they assert that unusually strong winds over the Pacific ocean have pushed surface water of the ocean to the west, causing cold water from the depths to rise to the surface. In turn, the newly cold surface water pulls heat from the atmosphere, thereby changing global atmospheric conditions.

However, this wind process accounts for only about one-half of the stall in global warming, according to the report. The cause of the other half was not suggested.

The cause of these strong winds apparently is not known, but may have some connection to the so-called El Nino and La Nina effects. The report states that the winds are expected to reduce as the earth warms. However, according to the wind argument, the earth has not warmed because of the winds.

As the cold north wind numbs much of the country, one wonders how much the global warming assertion is written on the wind.

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* Sumner,"Drought Linked to Warming Pause",
Science Newa, February 7, 2015, p.15