The freezing rain and snow falling down on Pittsburgh this past week officially kicks off winter. With this, also begins the naysayers of global warming. Frigid temperatures and snow throughout the United States shows only a small percentage of global climate. Temperature measurements taken on land and from water over the past decade shows upward trends in global temperatures. It’s been such and increase that 2014, 2015, and 2016 have been the hottest years on record since 1880.

So if global warming is happening, why have winters been unusually harsh? According to climate scientist, Dr. John Fleming, “weather refers to the conditions in the atmosphere over a short period of time, whereas climate refers to trends in atmospheric patterns over a much longer timescale.” Weather is fleeting, and that’s why we still see cold winters although global temperatures are steadily rising.

There are multiple factors that contribute to colder weather, one is a shifting shape of the jet stream. This atmospheric highway is believed by some researchers to have become weaker. This therefore allows frigid Arctic air to travel south. The extreme winter weather could be disastrous for crops if it continues further south. This will all eventually give way to warmer temperatures over the next couple of decades. It’s important to not just look regionally, but globally to understand the full effects of global warming.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/why-snow-colder-weather-conditions-dont-debunk-climate-change/70003753 contributed to this article