Yes, Global Warming is Still Happening

by Libby Pelham | More from this Blogger

Unless you live somewhere like Hawaii, you have probably noticed that it has been cold lately - very cold! Air travel in many cities has been crippled, with 400 flights at O'Hare International Airport alone being cancelled. In my hometown of Memphis, the temperatures are the lowest they have been in over a decade. Arkansas, where we lived before we moved to Jacksonville, NC, is experiencing temperatures below zero. The cold weather has been responsible for seven deaths across the nation.

With all the cold, you might think that Al Gore was just joking around with all this global warming stuff, but you would be wrong. Experts are reminding people that this cold wave is just a blip on the overall global warming map. Gerald Meehl of the National Center for Atmospheric Research says, "It's part of natural variability." He pointed out that we will still see record cold temps, we will just be seeing fewer of those occurrences. Deke Arndt of Asheville's National Climatic Data Center pointed out an even more alarming statistic. He said that 2009 was one of the top ten warmest years on record since 1880. In fact, since the latter part of the 1800s, the average global temperature has risen 1 to 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

While scientists have admitted that the climate change caused by man can cause severe weather extremes, such as the cold spell we are experiencing right now, they are not blaming the frigid weather on that. Arndt said that what we are experiencing is "a big outbreak of Arctic air." The Arctic air is normally contained by large rivers of air flow that run west to east. But, the air flow has recently taken on a zigzag pattern, which causes the cold air to swoop down upon us from the north.

This new pattern is causing some crazy weather, such as record highs in Alaska and snow in Britain. But, scientists say that this one sampling of cold just isn't enough to help them reach any new conclusions about global warming.

(This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.)

Learn more about Libby Pelham

Libby Pelham is a web designer/freelance writer located in Memphis, TN. She has a beautiful little boy, Will, born in July of 2004.

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