Why cold weather doesn’t mean climate change is fake
Weather and climate aren't the same thing, meaning you can expect harsher winters in a warming world.
By Sarah Gibbens
PUBLISHED January 23, 2019
A record-breaking cold snap is relentlessly descending on parts of the U.S. this month. It spawned from a split polar vortex that sent cold, Arctic air across the continent.
In a time when climate change is discussed in the context of record highs, droughts, and wildfires, cold weather and blizzards can seem out of place. For those who deny that climate change is happening, it's an opportunity to undermine scientific consensus.
How do you explain a cold winter in a world that scientists say is getting hotter?
First, it's important to understand the difference between climate and weather. Climate is defined as the average weather patterns in a region over a long period of time. It's the difference between Europe's temperate and Mediterranean zones versus the harsh cold conditions of the Arctic tundra. Each of these climate regions experiences day-to-day fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, air pressure, and so on—daily variations known as weather.
more
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/climate-change-colder-winters-global-warming-polar-vortex/
