Several months ago, the climate scientists began reporting that, although the rate of increase of average global air temperature had slowed, the oceans were absorbing more heat than ever. (I don't recall if they knew why.)
I know that for North America, the abnormally warm Pacific (as in oceans absorbing more heat) caused the jetstream to move unusually far north of the Pacific Ocean — which resulted in unusually warm temperatures in Alaska and the Pacific coast of North America, storm systems being steered further north of California and Oregon (resulting in extreme and exceptional drought), forcing the polar vortex further south than normal in the centre of North America — the warm air in Alaska pushing into the polar vortex meant it had to go somewhere (resulting in unusually cold and snowy weather in the Midwest), and increasing the number of storm systems moving up the east coast of North America along the periphery of the polar vortex.
I don't know, but suspect all these changes have a knock on effect leading to the storms battering the British Isles.
Which makes me wonder: if the Pacific continues to absorb heat (and it is a much larger body of water than the Atlantic) will these changes become more the norm, particularly when there is neither an El Niño or La Niña event (as is the case this year)?
Not a pleasant thought.
