If there is global warming, then why is it getting so much colder in the winter? Come on, where's that warmth?

Question

If there is global warming, then why is it getting so much colder in the winter? Come on, where's that warmth?

Answer 1

Global warming melts the polar ice caps, which makes the oceans much colder, which causes the circulation of warm water, particularly the North Atlantic Conveyor to slow down, which makes the air colder.

Answer 2

RocketJ is pretty well right on, but is missing a piece of it. It isn't as simple as saying that cooler winters are "due either faulty memory or normal climate change, not global warming." True, local seasonal variation can be significant enough for winters to get colder over a number of years without any regard to human impacts on the climate.



As RocketJ points out, Global Warming refers to the fact that the average temperature of the earth is increasing, but what is important about this is what kind of effect it has on the climate. This is why most researchers in the field prefer the term Climate Change, because it more appropriately describes what is happening. Climate Change refers to the fact that a slightly (as little as 1 degree) warmer earth behaves differently. And the changes aren't completely uniform. Different locales will experience different changes and precipitation events will probably change, as will storm events, wind, sea currents.



The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) First Assessment Report in 1990 stated that "Climate change will have powerful effects on the global environment. In general, the faster the climate changes, the greater will be the risk of damage. If current trends continue, the mean sea level is expected to rise some 15-95 cm by 2100, causing flooding and other damage. Climate zones (and thus ecosystems and agricultural zones) could shift towards the poles by 150-550 km in the mid-latitude regions. Forests, deserts, rangelands and other unmanaged ecosystems could become wetter, drier, hotter or colder."



Or as Peter J. Hudson, the Willaman Chair in Biology at Penn State University puts it "One of the characteristics of global climate change is that we are getting increased variation in temperature extremes -- sometimes we get colder winters followed by warmer summers and then suddenly we get a warm winter, for example,"



A number of sources document how certain locations, such as the UK and parts of Canada may have colder winters in the future. And yes, ocean currents play a role, but not because polar ice makes them colder.



Some links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3266833.stm

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/03/12/winter030312

Answer 3

Global warming refers to the fact that "...the average global temperature has risen 0.6 ± 0.2 °C since the late 19th century, and that 'most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities.'" The amount of global warming is too small to be sensed by an individual.



Because it is a small change in an average, the normal change in climate from place to place is much larger than global warming. If you perceive winters to be colder where you live, that is due either faulty memory or normal climate change, not global warming.

Answer 4

Where do you live? In some areas in Europe the winters tend to be warmer than a century ago.



In Vienna the average temperature (°C) has been 0.3° between 1961 and 1990. Between 1971 and 2000 the average temperature °C) has been 1,1°.



You can actually notice it when you are looking for a good place for skiing; you had to move to higher places in the last years in order to see enough good snow.