Opinion | Climate change calls for global leadership
- While much of North America froze and Australia faced searing heat, US President Donald Trump could only joke in a tweet about the effects of warming
People in Hong Kong who have enjoyed a warmer Lunar New Year than usual should spare a thought for Americans who recently experienced the coldest winter in 50 years, prompting scientists to cite climate change. Towards the end of January, the United States National Weather Service warned residents of the Midwest and northeast that the low temperatures could “freeze the flesh off your bones”. More than 20 deaths were attributed to the big freeze.
According to many scientists, global warming is the most likely cause of extreme weather reported from the two hemispheres. While much of North America was freezing, and Chicago was at one point colder than Alaska, Australia was experiencing searing heat.
The cold was caused by an ominous sounding phenomenon called the polar vortex. It’s a whirl of icy polar air within a wall of powerful circular winds in the stratosphere above the North Pole. But sometimes it breaks off and forms a jet stream of intense cold air leaking southwards. It’s still hotly debated among scientists as to whether the frequency of the vortex’s break-up has increased in recent years. But the changing patterns of global weather leading to extreme conditions have long been predicted by climate scientists.
‘Cold as ºF’: polar vortex puts US Midwest in a deep freeze
Despite the peril of the freeze to life and limb, US President Donald Trump found time to joke with a tweet: “Expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming (sic)? Please come back, we need you!”
The world’s most powerful leader is a climate change doubter. The US government has just released its Fourth National Climate Assessment that warns of the devastating potential impacts of climate change. It was compiled by 13 federal agencies with 300 scientists. But Trump said he didn’t believe its conclusions.
The president may be behind the times, though. Public opinion is changing. A Monmouth University poll finds that eight in 10 Americans now believe climate change is causing extreme weather, while two-thirds of card-carrying Republicans believe the same thing. Global warming needs global leadership to tackle it. Hopefully, the American electorate will sooner rather than later get a president who understands and respects science.