What won’t global warming do? New studies argue that global warming will make everything worse, from the weather to the steak millions of people enjoy at barbecues.
A recent study by German scientists says that the warming of the Arctic is messing with the jet stream, which has been driving severe snow storms — like the ones millions of Americans on the East Coast have been living through these past couple winters.
This idea is not a new one. Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis has been arguing this in a series of papers since 2012, and the White House even globbed onto the theory back in the severe winter of 2013 and 2014.
Francis’s theory goes that the shrinking temperature difference between the Arctic and the mid-latitudes is causing the jet stream to weaken, making winter storms worse. But German scientists are now arguing that a weakened jet stream is affecting summer weather as well which might be linked to “more persistent heat waves in recent summers,” according to researchers.
Scientists say that “eddy kinetic energy” — the wind patterns around high and low pressure systems — are decreasing, causing weather patterns to become more stagnant. This means more persistent weather patterns which could mean longer heat waves.
“That’s why they’re saying that it’s more likely to have summer extreme events,” Francis told the Washington Post. “Because the weather just is not changing as much, and the weather systems themselves are just more stagnant and lethargic.”
On the flip side, government scientists are saying that winters could become snowier because of global warming.
In a warmer #climate, a wetter atmosphere may boost #snow totals for some storms. Learn more: http://t.co/EOuNmyU9Yk pic.twitter.com/e99gfMat2a
— NOAA Climate.gov (@NOAAClimate) March 13, 2015
A warmers world will mean more moisture in the atmosphere, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More moisture means more precipitation, which will become snow when temperatures plummet during winter time.
“Not only are severe snowstorms possible in a warming climate, they may even be more likely,” NOAA said. “[T]here is some evidence that cold season storms in the Northern Hemisphere have become both more frequent and more intense since 1950. Extremely heavy snowstorms also increased in number during the last century in northern and eastern parts of the United States, although they have been less frequent since 2000.”
But even NOAA admitted that scientists have a “relatively low” understanding of what is actually causing winter storms to become snowier and more intense, if they are in fact more intense.
Bad Steak
Probably the most terrifying claim made by climate scientists is that global warming will cause beef and poultry quality to deteriorate.
According to University of Melbourne scientists, Australia’s “dry deserts will become hotter, heavy rain will increase … and cyclones will become less frequent but more intense in the north,” reports Sky News.
These weather patterns will force farmers to adapt to new weather conditions reports Sky News, adding that “could mean cattle farmers switch to more heat-tolerant, but lower eating-quality, cows and winemakers will have to migrate south or face lower-quality yields.”
The study out of the University of Melbourne was developed as part of Australia’s “Earth hour” campaign — a campaign by environmentalists to get people to use less electricity. This means the study is probably geared at getting people to immediately change their behavior or suffer the consequences of global warming.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.