Russia just experienced the hottest winter in the last 140 years, which has left Moscow snowless. This winter beat the previous record-holder by 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit with the capital city of Moscow being a whopping 13.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal.
And it wasn’t just Moscow that had a less snowfall. On average, the entire country only had a maximum depth of 4 inches, which is 2.7 inches lower than the average.
However, it wasn’t just Russia that experienced a hot winter.
Europe Had the Hottest in History as Well
The 2020 winter across Europe has shattered the previous record from 2016 with an average temperature of 1.4C higher. Which has ruined many winter activities across the continent.
A big factor in this year’s hot winter is that Arctic Oscillation reached the highest level in history. This is when the winds around the north pole become so strong, it prevents the cool air from leaving.
Normally, this air would move south and reach Europe and other places around the globe, but as a result of the high oscillation value, it did not. And as you may suspect, climate change has a part to play in these record-shattering numbers.
Events Like This are Made More Likely Due to Climate Change
Climate change is responsible for raising the average temperature of the planet and increasing the chances of extreme heat events. This makes naturally occurring events far more intense than they should be.
One thing is clear, we keep breaking temperature records year after year. There is simply no denying that the planet is getting warmer and even the Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is beginning to acknowledge the devastating effects of climate change.
As Russia heats up 2.5 times faster than the rest of the world, serious problems are occurring. The permafrost that most of the country is built upon, is melting. This is destroying the very foundation of which structures are built.
