How can an apparently local phenomenon affect the climate on a global scale? While the heads of state are gathered in Glasgow for COP26, France 5 broadcasts on Thursday 11 November an edifying documentary, entitled Arctic expedition, at the heart of global warming. This German scientific expedition, called the Mosaic mission, is the largest ever carried out at the North Pole. It took ten years of preparation and allowed researchers of twenty different nationalities to examine, from 2019 to 2020, the air conditioner of the world. that is the Arctic.
Their finding is alarming. The melting of the Arctic sea ice, half as large as 40 years ago because of climate change, is suspected of disrupting the winds. This would concern more particularly the jet stream, which plays a major role in all weather phenomena on the planet.
Also known as the jet stream, the jet stream is a high-altitude air current, which blows from west to east in the northern hemisphere. Having an average speed of 150 km / h, it is fueled by the temperature difference between the equator and the Arctic. But, according to many scientists, the warming of the Arctic is weakening and disrupting the jet stream.
This phenomenon makes weather cycles more and more irregular and can have dramatic consequences, such as longer or more frequent periods of flooding, cold and drought. “Cold air may escape from the Arctic and cover parts of Europe and North America, resulting in very low temperatures in winter.“, worries John Cassano, associate professor at Colorado Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, in documentary.
THEe jet stream “has an impact on all our activities: on farmers, on rainfalls, (…) on heat waves, snowstorms”, remind him member of the Mosaic mission. And to conclude: “cAs the Arctic is very far away, people think it is not important, but its role is so essential for the health of the planet that it needs to be taken care of. ”
The documentary Arctic expedition, at the heart of global warming, directed by Ashley Morris is broadcast on France 5, November 11 at 8:55 p.m.