Siberia is burning. In this year fell the forest – and Bush fires in the North-East of Russia is already an area the size of Greece to the victim. Had recently calculated by Greenpeace Russia using satellite imagery. The environmental organisation called on the authorities to fight the fire, which engulfed many villages in dense clouds of smoke, intense. In fact, they are in deserted areas of capacity are often not deleted. Exciting, but just no time?
Now for later “Pocket” to store
average temperatures around 5 degrees above average values
the cause of the fires, according to Greenpeace, there were around 9000 – are usually lightning strikes, camp fires or the flaring of waste by the timber companies, the device is out of control. But a heat wave in the high North, which has been ongoing since January of this year, from dörrte soils and Vegetation, so that the flames can spread rapidly.
Here is a temperature record tumbled in the area after the other. Highlight tropical 38 degrees Celsius were in the town of Verkhoyansk. It is located beyond the polar circle, and hitherto regarded as the pole of cold of the inhabited areas of the earth. In the Winter of 1892, the Thermometer was down there on minus 67,8 degrees.
last year, heat waves, and droughts had sparked around the polar circle of the fires, and let the permafrost is thawing. In this year of the devastating Trend continued. Between January and June, the average temperatures were around five degrees above the average values of the regional by nearly eight degrees.
We do not understand what happened in Siberia just. This is a new climate phenomenon that must now be explored.
Although the climate scientists have known for some time that the climate change the Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the Rest of the globe since 1850 by about two degrees. However, the current weather anomaly is a mystery. “We don’t understand what is going on in Siberia right now,” said climatologist Anders levermann from the Potsdam Institute for climate impact research (PIK) compared to the “German wave”. “This is a new climate phenomenon that must now be researched”. The question is, why is this anomalous heat lasts just as long.
polar front jet stream plays a role
Apparently, the so-called polar front jet stream plays a role. Beam currents (English “Jet stream”) strong high-altitude winds that blow in from eight to twelve kilometers of height in narrow bands around the globe. They are caused by the strong temperature contrast between the tropics and the polar regions. The polar front jet stream loops in the mid-Latitudes, at about the height of Moscow and Berlin, to the earth. More on the topic of climate 51 million hectares of forest Europe can be planting trees to stop climate change oceans as warm as never before: The Ecosystems dead zones Professor threaten, now disillusioned, says climate activists: “these are naive, immature word More than three million Germans sleeves” threatened due to climate change, the loss of the home to arguments refuted: What you skeptics of Climate on crude theories of Dangerous tipping points should answer: What happens if we do not comply with the 1.5-degree target
However, the winds flows not in a straight line from West to East. You have to cross large mountains, such as in the Northern hemisphere, the Rocky Mountains or the Himalayas, you will be distracted and start to meander. That is, they form waves that sometimes extend far to the North or the South.
emissions rise, the higher the earth’s temperature due to human-caused greenhouse gas, the more the difference in temperature between the Arctic and the tropics decreases, because the North polar region is warming at a disproportionate rate. As a result of the jet stream to the North is shifting, and he slows down. Its meanders are bigger and swing more to the North and the South.
at the same time droughts and Flooding
Often then the High – or low-pressure areas, which can not move further, so that the straight prevailing weather changes for a week. Such blockages to cause worldwide severe weather extremes. Both droughts as well as Floods can occur at the same time.
PIK-researchers Levermann is called the strong heat wave of 2010 in Russia, as the smoke of burning peat bogs enveloped Moscow, as an example. “At that time, the jet stream had remained standing and over large Parts of Russia, a stable high-pressure system remained for a very long time, there was no rain, fires it came from,” says Levermann. “At the same time a low pressure system over Pakistan, and these cases, in turn, led to such a strong rain and Floods on Pakistani soil, briefly, the largest freshwater lake of the earth came to be.” Each week provides you FOCUS Online with the most important news from the knowledge Department. Here you can subscribe to the Newsletter.
in fact, held the polar front Jetstream, this year from January to April, over Siberia, a low-pressure area. It led to the clouds, which prevented long-wave infrared, the temperature on the other increase in radiation from the earth escaping, resulting in the normal value. At the same time, warmer air currents from the lower Latitudes in the Region. In may, the Situation was reversed: Now, the beam current is blocked, a high-pressure area was associated with a clear sky and, consequently, more sunshine (in the summer almost around the clock). This allowed the snow is rapidly melting. The dark soil absorbed more energy from the sun and fueled accordingly.
global warming, increased Occurrence of heat waves to the 600-fold
As the cause of the phenomenon, the climatologists suspect the strong melting of the Arctic sea ice, whose area, in particular, on the polar coast of Siberia strongly decreased. There is a lack of sea ice will reflect less sunlight, which the sea and the adjoining areas heat up more. “We have observations and physical model studies, concerning the Scandinavian sea ice,” says Levermann. “If this ice breaks in the Winter, there arises often a stable high-pressure system. Something similar seems to be the case in Siberia.“
Behind them, in turn, global warming is, as a study by the research network “World Weather Attribution” (WWA) is illustrated. Accordingly, it would be in Siberia without climate change, is currently two degrees cooler. Global warming increased, however, the Occurrence of heat waves compared to the early 20th century. Century 600 times. The current temperature in Siberia is so extreme that it would even with climate change, statistically, only every 130 years. “Without human-caused climate change the heat wave of 2020 would be almost impossible,” conclude the study authors.
researchers warn of a vicious circle
of Particular concern, however, is that these processes set in motion a vicious cycle, because you will be self-reinforcing. So global warming is not only the Arctic ice will disappear, but also the permafrost is thawing. This is also a highly effective greenhouse gas methane in addition to carbon dioxide (CO2). “This is a long-term global threat, because rising methane emissions in Siberia would accelerate global warming and thus global climate change, what is there to prevent humanity precisely”, says PIK researcher Levermann.
Also escaped, according to the WWA-study through the Siberian forest fires in June alone, 56 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The sagging of the previously frozen soil leads to damage to Oil and gas pipelines, roads, and buildings. Recently, 21,000 tonnes of Diesel ran into a river.
- read also: record heat on one of the coldest places in the world – fires in the Arctic
Now, climate researchers fear that this spiral came in motion, is unstoppable. Because the Arctic has already reached a tipping point. So climate scientists points, which are Ecosystems of critical importance transferred to a new state, so “tipping call”. Positive reset pairings, the warming amplifies itself. So far, scientists have identified 15 such tipping points. “They are the Achilles heel of our planet,” says Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, the former Director of PIK. “We should not activate this toggle switch if possible.”
Three types of Kipppunkten decisive
there are three types of Kipppunkten destroyed play areas will be a role of accelerated Eisverlust at the poles, causing the sea level, increasingly, rise, forests, peatlands and permafrost, and release the stored greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), whereby the earth warms more, as well as changes in the global System of ocean currents (the so-called global circulation).
For the Arctic play according to the Online Portal “Arctic News” ten climate factors that drive the temperature further up. In addition to the melting of Permafrost and changes in the jet stream, the Pacific climate phenomenon El Niño is one – it is the sea water heats up – as well as the flow of water, changes in the ozone layer, as well as the release of methane from the sea floor warmer-Deep.
up to now, these tipping points were considered independent of each other. New analysis shows that they will not be achieved, however, gradually in a linear process. Instead, the Transitions can be like a chain of falling dominoes in a cascade, wherein they mutually influence each other and the earth, ultimately, an irreversible “hot time” offer. In Siberia, this development has started with some probability already. Perseids 2020: In August, shooting stars are particularly numerous FOCUS Online/Wochit Perseids 2020: In August, shooting stars are especially numerous
