Instability of the polar vortex: Consequences of climate change

The southern polar vortex is currently showing rare signs of extreme instability, raising fears it could collapse and bring freezing blasts and extreme heat to the Southern Hemisphere. Likewise, the northern polar vortex had another wild winter this year. As climate change intensifies these dangerous polar patterns, we may face increasingly dramatic weather conditions in the coming years.

Polar vortices are strong stratospheric air currents that circulate over the Arctic and Antarctic during the winter months, trapping cold air over the poles. They are surrounded and enclosed by jet streams that act as barriers to prevent this cold polar air from spreading into the mid-latitudes. (More on scienzenotizie.it)