Changes in wind patterns make extreme weather events more likely. Indeed, the wind, which distributes areas of high and low pressure along the Earth's latitude lines, is also influenced by climate change.

Wind is the engine of our weather. It brings us both sunshine and rain. And during the winter months, it is regularly the victim of violent storms. But around the world, climate change is causing changes to existing wind systems, with devastating consequences. Atlantic hurricanes, which form over the tropics and often ravage large areas of land on the eastern seaboard of the United States, are becoming more intense and bringing heavier rainfall.

Scientists are searching for clues about the precise causes of warming in the Arctic, where temperatures are rising faster than anywhere else in the world. In the northern hemisphere, rising temperatures cause wind systems to “twist” at altitudes of 10 kilometers. The Arctic jet stream drives areas of high and low pressure across the world. It travels the planet from west to east at a speed of up to 500 kilometers per hour. But in recent years, meteorologists have noticed weaker phases in the jet stream, with fatal consequences for Europe. Droughts like 2018 and catastrophic floods like 2021 are likely to recur.

Researchers on the island of Spitsbergen have already made an alarming discovery. Climate change changes the wind, and changing the wind accelerates climate change – a dangerous vicious cycle.

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