Klimawandel

Salomon TV (formerly Freeski TV) heads to Greenland in the latest edition. In addition to the film crew and the team riders, glaciologist Alun Hubbard is also on board. The pros have a guilty conscience because they pollute the environment with their many flights to exotic destinations and hope that their conscience can be soothed by helping a scientist with his work. Meaningful research? Or is it more of a show? And what was the snow like? We asked Professor Hubbard and Salomon Pro Chris Rubens a few questions about the movie.

The Alps are caught in a north-westerly current that repeatedly brings disturbances to the Alps. From today, Wednesday, until Friday, there will be considerable amounts of fresh snow, especially in the west. From the weekend onwards, the forecasts are still rather uncertain. It will be milder but remain wet with a chance of an Italian low. We'll leave the details to the oracle this time, who will be in touch later today.

In a recently published study by the University of Neuchâtel and the SLF (WSL), snow depth data from 11 weather stations in the Swiss Alps were examined. The stations are located in an altitude range between 1139 and 2450 m and the time series go back to 1970. The duration of snow cover has decreased at all 11 stations, whereby the earlier melting of the snow cover in spring is reflected in the statistics.

The next few days will bring changeable, mild, often foehn-like weather in the north. In the south, it will be cloudy and wet, possibly with late base-building for the alpine touring season. Also: On the occasion of World Weather Day, the WMO warns us to face the challenges of the future.

The Tambora volcano is located on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. In April 1815, Tambora erupted, with far-reaching consequences not only for the surrounding area, but for the whole world. The WeatherBlog recently read a book about it.

The WeatherBlog occasionally reads in The New Yorker magazine, which is usually as great as it is sometimes lengthy, and has found an interesting article there. It's about literary weather: the weather as meaningful plot background, stylistic device, novel character. Before weather forecasts were known, the weather was logically a direct manifestation of divine anger or pleasure. Where else could it come from? From the Greek legends of the gods to the Old Testament, the weather is angrily tossed around with thunder, lightning, wind, waves and the odd plague of locusts. Classics by Charles Dickens and the Brontë sisters would probably only be half as thick if the London fog and stormy weather of English upland moors had been given less of a supporting role.

At the moment, some people are probably wondering about the weather, which doesn't seem to fit in with the dream of a White Christmas. For example, the WeatherBlog received the following question: "Hi, can you explain when this warm and sunny bastard weather will disappear? And what does it have to do with climate change if it gets 2 degrees warmer overall? Why is it not -2 degrees in December instead of -5 degrees as it used to be, but +15 degrees for weeks on end? What does global warming have to do with the fact that in recent years we have often had a tendency towards a persistent mild south-westerly flow...?"

Unfortunately, the weather in the Alps continues to be rather stagnant and warm. A persistent trough in the North Atlantic is directing very warm air masses towards us. In the Alps, minor disturbances alternate with sunshine, while further north it has been and will continue to be very stormy (but still warm). A lasting change in the general weather situation is not in sight.

Apart from a few snowflakes today (Wednesday) and a not-so-spectacular cold front at the weekend, sunshine and mild temperatures are here to stay. On the occasion of the climate conference in Paris and because the weather outlook isn't particularly exciting, we're repeating a few basics today.

In all probability, 2015 will be the warmest year on record. This has been on the cards for a long time and everyone has probably noticed by now. Recently, the WMO issued another press release explaining this once again. It also mentioned that 2011-2015 was the warmest five-year period on record.

Last Friday, tropical cyclone Pam brushed the island state of Vanuatu in the southwest Pacific. The climate there has two seasons, a cold and dry one from May to October and a warm and wet one from November to April. Cyclones occur in the latter. On average, Vanuatu is affected by two to three cyclones per year, with three to five causing severe damage per decade.

The WeatherBlog has various other commitments in addition to its weekly activity here on PG, in the course of which it occasionally engages in literature research on various topics.