Many European countries are again hit by snowfalls, while a spring season has just begun in the USA. Experts are calm on that score, saying that such phenomena are none other than natural anomalies. This time snowfalls have emerged in the Alpine ski resorts, where they are needed most of all – in Austria and Switzerland. Snowfalls have also hit the south of Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Croatia. The Baltic countries have suffered from snowfalls as well. However, there is no point in alarming signals at the moment, Assistant Professor Pavel Toropov from the Department of Climatology and Meteorology at the Faculty of Geography of the Lomonosov Moscow State University says. "Both meteorological observations and media reports say snowfalls were frequent earlier as well. A considerable part of Europe is located in a moderate climate zone – therefore, snowfalls often occur in the European countries. Of course, winters in Europe are milder than in European Russia." While tourists are “conquering” snowy tracks in the mountains and car drivers are doing that on the highways, a spring season has begun in the USA. This is the earliest spring on the EastCoast of the USA in the past 150 years. American scientists say that this is caused by the global climate change. This may be a one-time action though. Climatologists are not in a hurry to characterize this as an “anomaly. "On the results of meteorological observations that were made earlier it is possible to say what deviations should be regarded as strong anomalies. Each region has its own indices. In the Arctic and Antarctic regions, as well as in the tropics temperature changes are not very strong while in moderate latitudes the temperature changes heavily." According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), climate changes have acquired speed over the past few years. In all the history of observations since 1850, 2010 has proved to be the hottest of all. Those in Siberia in Russia, which is traditionally snowy and frosty, are very skeptical about the above-mentioned information. Frosts are stiffening, and snowdrifts are becoming higher in Siberia. As it seems, this runs counter to the theory of global warming. However, there is nothing strange in all this. When air temperature rises, moisture content rises as well, Head of the Climate and Energy Programme of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Alexei Kokorin says. One should get accustomed to surprises, caused by weather changes, including cancelled flights. There are scientists who say that throughout this century world temperature may undergo changes of several degrees.
Source: Voice of Russia
