KOMPAS.com - Scientists asserted, blizzards and extreme cold temperatures that hit Europe recently is the direct effect of global warming. Climate anomalies still lead to disruption of transportation to Wednesday (12/22/2010), when millions of European citizens get ready going home to celebrate Christmas at home.
The researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung / PIK) in Germany said, winter extremes that occur in succession on the European continent in the past 10 years is due to thawing of permafrost in the Arctic region, near the North Pole , due to global warming.
The loss of sea ice makes the Arctic Ocean directly exposed to sunlight. Solar thermal energy, which is normally reflected back into space by white ice is now absorbed by the ocean surface, making the seas in the polar region is heating up and changing the air flow patterns in the atmosphere.
In the computer model, which made PIK and published in the Journal of Geophysical Research earlier this month, seen an increase in ocean temperatures are causing Arctic high pressure system. These high pressure systems that bring cold polar air into mainland Europe.
"This anomaly could triples the probability of occurrence of extreme winters in Europe and northern Asia," said Vladimir Petoukhov, physicist and principal investigator of the PIK.
Petoukhov added, the effect of cold air flow from the north pole will be more severe when an interruption in the flow of hot air that crosses the Atlantic Ocean and changes in solar activity.
That's what happened today. The weather experts say, the current flow of warm air from the U.S. east coast (Gulf Stream), obstructed and turn directions in the middle of the Atlantic.
It made the flow of cold air from the Arctic and Eastern Europe unstoppable into Western Europe. When these cold currents across the North Sea and Irish Sea, moisture from the ocean is turned into snow on a massive scale and caused severe snow storm in Western European countries.
Began to recover
French civil aviation authority, DGAC, on Wednesday, issued a warning, snow will fall again in the Paris region on Wednesday afternoon and will likely happen again for the cancellation of flight after flight schedule at 17.00. The warning came out during the flight conditions in Europe began to recover after a decline in total chaos since late last week.
Frankfurt Airport in Germany just cancel 70 of total 1300 scheduled flights on Wednesday. This number decreased significantly compared to Tuesday, when 550 flights were canceled.
Two runways at Heathrow Airport, London, England, also has been open since Tuesday night and is now the busiest in the UK is already operating 70 percent of near-normal. "We are relieved that would remove all the snow today," said a spokesman for Heathrow Airport.
About 1,000 people were forced to spend the night at Heathrow, and 300 passengers stranded at Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday night.
"Very sad, it feels like being in a third world country," said a passenger named Janice Phillips (29), which stranded at Heathrow on the way back to Minneapolis, USA.
The two main airports in Paris, Charles de Gaulle and Orly, open 24 hours a day to break down the accumulation of passengers due to cancellations and delays for days. The airline Air France-KLM suffered a loss estimate to 35 million euros (USD 415.1 billion) this month due to weather disturbances.
Meanwhile, extreme temperatures continue to hit Europe. Holbaek city, 65 kilometers west of Copenhagen, Denmark, recorded temperatures of minus 22.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday night. This is the record lowest temperature in Denmark in 29 years.
In Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia, the temperature plummeted to 50 degrees Celsius below freezing, causing the bus suffered a technical failure and crashed, killing all eight people on board.
The cold weather also makes the world crude oil prices continue to rise. In Asian markets, on Wednesday, the price of Brent crude oil for orders in February rose 29 cents to 93.49 dollars per barrel, the highest in almost two years.
The price is predicted to continue rising over the predicted extreme cold weather was going to happen until the end of the year.
LA residents evacuated
Weather extremes also occur in the U.S.. Torrential rains, floods and landslides struck the state of California. Rainfall fell in downtown Los Angeles (LA) last week has reached one third of the annual rainfall in the city.
Authorities have evacuated 232 families in the area of La Canada Flintridge La Crescenta and on the outskirts of LA, which is located near the hills that have been saturated by rain and mudslides feared. Evacuation was also performed in San Diego.
Europe's extreme weather that hit Indonesia has not shortchange residents spent the end of year holiday there. The monitoring results in a number of travel agency in Jakarta, Wednesday, no entourage who cancel their planned visit to Europe.
"Some customers are asking state in Europe, but so far no cancellations," said the official overseas trip Bayu Buana Tour and Travel, Jonas Sinambela.
Manager Public Relations and Media Panorama Tours Anita Hartono explained that currently they serve travel at least 300 citizens in 20 groups to Europe.
