If it’s well below freezing now, how can there be ‘global warming’?


The average temperature lows and highs for January in my hometown are usually about 20º to 40º. So, if it’s well below freezing now, how can there be ‘global warming’? Well,  global warming refers to the whole planet, not only America, or your hometown.




As an example, a strong low pressure system in the Arctic will serve to continue making some areas of the world very cold, while others still get very hot. Warmer than average annual temperatures in the Arctic as a direct result of global warming also alter the normal course of the jet stream, changing temperatures as far south as the United States. 

“Warm temperatures in the Arctic cause the jet stream to take wild swings, and when it swings farther south, that causes cold air to reach farther south. These swings tend to hang around for a while, so the weather we have in the eastern United States, whether it’s cold or warm, tends to stay with us longer."- Jennifer Francis, research professor of marine and coastal sciences at Rutgers University says in a press release.

For further reference on this type of weather and climate phenomena, please see: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/global-warming-arctic-colder-winters-climate-change-spd/https://inhabitat.com/climate-change-and-the-polar-vortex-to-blame-for-unpredictable-weather/

And: https://scijinks.gov/polar-vortex/

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