"Using climate data from the last millennia, researchers set out to understand how our summers will change as temperatures continue to rise. Six thousand years ago, summers in Europe lasted nearly 200 days, according to the researchers' analysis. This lingering warm weather was caused by the weakening of key air and ocean currents around the Arctic. Fast-forward to today, and we're seeing eerily similar conditions - with summers set to get even longer by the end of the century."
"They discovered that changes in the length of summer weather were closely connected to the temperature difference between the Arctic and the equator. This so-called 'latitudinal temperature gradient' helps to drive powerful winds from the Atlantic Ocean into Europe, steering weather systems across the continent. However, because the Arctic is currently warming four times faster than the rest of the world, this critical gradient is rapidly decreasing."
Lake-sediment climate records spanning the last 10,000 years reveal large natural changes in European summer length. Around 6,000 years ago summers lasted nearly 200 days due to weakened Arctic air and ocean currents. The north–south (latitudinal) temperature gradient between the Arctic and equator drives the jet stream and Atlantic winds that steer weather and redistribute heat. Rapid Arctic warming—about four times faster than the global average—is reducing that gradient, slowing the jet stream and limiting cool Atlantic air incursions. Europe's current ~200-day summer season could lengthen to roughly 242 days by 2100.
Read at Mail Online
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