Skiing in a park
| Tale group: | Weather observations |
| Class: | Climate change and weather |
| Themes: | Arctic, skiing, sunrise |
| Continent: | Europe |
| Location: | Helsinki, Finland |
| Time: | Sun 7. Jan, 2024, 9:25 |
| Temperature: | -17o C |
Chilly sunrise – Skiing in the park
Dry snow crunches, when ski poles hit the white ground. Arctic sun is just rising and, in the distance, the open sea steams to cold air. The ice close to the snowy shore is crackled and pieces are rimmed with icy glazing.
It is Epiphany and despite freezing -17o C handful of skiers have found their way to a hilly park in central Helsinki. 2023 was globally the warmest year in measured history so far, but the turn of the year has been Snowy and cold in Finland. Snow fell at the end of November and today was my 16th time to ski this winter here in Helsinki, southern Finland.
CLIMATE VS. WEATHER:
First week of January 2024 was among the coldest in 100 years in Finland. Yet, climate is indisputably warming.
How can this be? And, actually in the Arctic the temperatures should rise even faster, than in average. The answer is two-part; polar vortex and the difference between a climate and weather.
CLIMATE:
Year 2023 was hottest year in possibly 100.000 years on Earth.
Copernicus, EU Space Programme
WEATHER:
End of year 2023 was cold in Scandinavia due to stable local cold airmass.
Finnish meteorological institute
STUDY
POLAR VORTEX: Too high combustion of hydrocarbons (oil, coal, gas) has triggered the climate change. In addition to global warming various irregularities in climate have increased.
Polar vortex – a large circular mass of cold air is a normal pattern close to poles. Past years polar vortex has weakened and sent away bursts of cold Arctic air. These cold fronts have remained even weeks over certain areas.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: Sustainability means actions that do not harm the environment – or are less harmful than some current methods in use. In energy wind, solar, wave and partially hydroelectric power are often considered sustainable.
However, if forest need to be cut to make space for wind or solar energy plants and powerlines, nature is still destroyed. Also, mining is needed for the raw materials of these plants. So best solution for the environment would be saving energy and consuming less.
ASSIGNMENTS
A. YOU
A1. Extreme weather. Have you experienced extremely hot or cold weather – heatwave or a cold front? When was that? How did it feel?
A2. Climate. Has the climate changed in your home area? If so, how? Maybe heavier rains / less / more rain, than before? How about temperatures – any changes in different times of the year.
A3. Close to you. If you have not noticed any change, can you remember some feed / news on extreme heat / cold reasonably close to you? In your country / continent? What do you think about that?
A4. Snow. When large cold air mass moves over an open sea, the temperature difference makes the warmer sea evaporate into the cold air and creates snowing. Have you ever been on snow? Ever made a snowman? Is it easy or even possible to make a snowman when it is – 17 degrees Celsius below zero? Why / why not? See “TIPS”, below, if needed.
B. SOCIETY
B1. Increasing extremes. If there would be more hot or cold days in the future, what does it mean to your home or for other buildings near you? Need more shade or insulation?
B2. Helping the vulnerable. Extreme heat and cold is more harmful to the youngest and the oldest. What could be done to make it easier for them? What could you do for your granny or grandpa?
C. REVALUING NATURE
C1. Southern snow. Due to climate change snow storms have taken place in locations like Denmark, Central or Southern Europe. So, it is not only cities close to the Arctic, that need the show ploughs. How can this be? See “TIPS”, below, if in doubt.
C2. Sustainable energy. As humanity needs to use less gas, oil and coal, we need more sustainable energy. What forms of sustainable energy is there? Have you seen any plants of sustainable power? Where? How did they look? Any smoke visible? Why / why not?
DISCLAIMER AND CITATIONS:
All gif-icons here have been produced by DebaTales.com.
The map with red Africa, Asia and Europe and blue Scandinavia base to weather data of EU Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Climate Data Store (CDS), but is simplified.
TIPS
Click the bolded heading by the triangle to open the drop down TIP.
Making a snowman:
Snow needs to be bit wet, before it can be rolled into snowballs. So best temperatures to make snowmen is around zero degrees Celsius.
Cold snow is dry and makes funny crunching sounds, when you walk on it. But it does not stick together so, that it would remain tight enough, if you would try to roll it to a ball.
Snow ploughs in the south:
Read about “Polar vortex” beside the blue book-symbol.
LINKS
Polar vortex: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_vortex
Sustainable energy:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_energy
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