The collapse of Arctic indicators and its impact on our weather

Weather of Arabia - At the beginning of December 2022, the Arctic Index collapsed, which created - God willing - different weather patterns between stability and violence in the regions of the Arab world, Europe and North America, what does that mean?

To understand the Arctic Index and the impact of its collapse on the weather, we will first learn in a simple way what the polar vortex is, and why it is so important, then we will analyze developments and climate changes related to it.

The polar vortex and its impact on the weather in the northern hemisphere

As we approach fall each year, the Arctic regions begin to receive less sunlight, and the Arctic begins to cool. But as polar temperatures drop, the atmosphere in the south is still relatively warmer as it continues to receive light and energy from the sun.

(Shown on the winter solstice when the polar regions begin to receive very little solar energy compared to regions to the south, which still receive a lot of sunlight and energy.)

With the decrease in temperature over the polar regions, the atmospheric pressure also decreases, so the increase in temperature difference towards the south leads to the creation of a strong difference in atmospheric pressure on a large scale, so a strong circulation of air begins to develop around the low pressure in the hemisphere North, this rotation extends from the surface layers to the stratosphere, this rotation is known as the polar vortex .

Air circulation in the polar vortex resembles a large hurricane that covers the entire North Pole, down to mid-latitudes, and has an impact on all levels of the atmosphere, to varying degrees at different altitudes.

The polar vortex is strong and coherent in its natural position over the North Pole, and then the polar air circulation is strong in it, trapping this cold air in the polar regions and preventing it from leaking or extending towards the lower lines, which creates milder weather for most of the United States and Europe (left of the figure below).

A weak (undulating) polar vortex creates very dynamic weather, as the vortex has more difficulty containing the colder air, causing it to escape from the polar regions in "arms" that extend to lower latitudes (right of the figure above), resulting in cooler air. air and snowfall, so it is responsible, after God’s will, for the development of deep depressions during the winter seasons, and it is the source of winter depressions, both rainy and snowy, on the continents and regions of the northern hemisphere.

Also read: Does the deflection of the polar vortex to the south herald the start of an ice age, as it already happened tens of thousands of years ago?

The collapse of the Arctic indicators.. What does it mean?

The Arctic Oscillation Index is an indicator for measuring the severity of depressions over the North Pole, and whenever the indicators are in positive values, this means that the depressions are intensifying over the pole and the stability of the polar vortex, but when the indicators collapse and become in negative values, this means that a high is formed. Atmospheric over the North Pole and the collapse of the so-called polar dome.

When the Arctic Index collapses, as happened at the beginning of this month (December 2022), the polar air becomes incoherent and disperses to affect the regions surrounding the pole, and it can - rarely - go deep into areas far from the pole, and then the polar vortex becomes weak and the regions are concentrated. northwest Canada, causing:

• The regions of the Arab world were affected by waves of stability and warmth, except for the Arabian Peninsula.
• The chance of exposure to rainy conditions in the regions of the Arabian Peninsula increases.
• Europe is affected by strong polar waves.
• North America is affected by polar blocks (sometimes violent).

The relationship of the collapse of the Arctic Index with the violent cold waves in North America and the heavy rains in the Arabian Peninsula

Because of this continuous collapse in the Arctic Index, the United States and Canada these days are exposed to one of the most powerful and violent polar waves in decades, as temperatures dropped in some parts of Canada and America to -54 degrees Celsius!

On the other hand, these weather distributions in the northern hemisphere cause successive waves of rain and torrential rains on the Arabian Peninsula.

Also read: The bomb hurricane... A severe cold storm hits the United States