Climate change could be causing harsh winters
Jiping Liu
After studying 30 years’ worth of data and building computer models, scientists think melted sea ice is causing more snowfall in winter.
Georgia Tech’s Jiping Liu, who led the study, says climate change has caused the Arctic ice to melt. But when it comes to the relationship between melted ice and snowfall, he says it’s more complicated.
“We are not certain if this relationship is due to climate change or natural variability. So we think we need more research, probably more data, to prove that,” says Liu.
He says the two may be related in a couple of ways.
One possibility: Less ice could change the air pressure in weather systems. Melted ice could also create more moisture in the atmosphere – and therefore more water would be available to become snow.
But this winter in the U.S. has been an exception. Changes in other weather patterns have given rise to moderate temperatures and less snow.
Liu says the larger picture still shows a relationship between melting sea ice and harsher winters.
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