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Sigh. Actually, you can thank global warming for those sub-65 degree temperatures. Specifically, you can thank the melting ice caps. Let’s break this down: #PolarVortex2019 wired.trib.al/waij3OW 1/
Sea ice is a great insulator, but as it melts it STOPS insulating. As it melts, the warmth of the ocean below flows upward to the jetstream. And a wavier, bumpier jetstream slams into the vortex of cold air above the North Pole—which moves over Europe and the Midwest. 2/
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Australia is pushing up toward 120 degrees. That’s a 185-degree difference from temperatures in the US.
wired.trib.al/waij3OW 3/
wired.trib.al/waij3OW 3/
We don't know the exact extent to which these extremes are caused by humans emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but it’s indisputable that burning fossil fuels is making climate change worse. 4/
wired.trib.al/waij3OW
wired.trib.al/waij3OW
This isn’t just a computer model anymore. Climate change is happening, right now. It can come in the form of extreme cold and extreme heat. And more frequent wildfires, and more intense hurricanes. They’re all evidence that Earth’s climate is changing 5/ wired.trib.al/5e8KvJo
There’s still time to fix this! People could stop burning so much carbon, for one thing. 6/ wired.trib.al/WZinBZb
Because when astrobiologists go hunting for habitable planets outside Earth’s solar system, it’s not because they think we’ll all just move there. That’s . . . not really a viable option for humanity. 7/ wired.trib.al/4VZQmIE
But understanding habitability in space does teach them how to think about it here on Earth, where the human habitable range gets a little dicier with every new season. Read more here: 8/ wired.trib.al/waij3OW
