© The Day After Tomorrow
The [forecasters] say the UK is on alert for a "serious climate situation" with regular winter whiteouts pushing emergency services to the limit. Britain faces an 'all but unprecedented' situation thanks to a cocktail of climatic changes all happening at once to affect the weather.
The northern Atlantic has been cooling steadily over the past few months leading to a colossal area of icy water to form off the UK coast.This is thought to be the result of changes in wind flow and salinity and could lead to lower than average temperatures in Britain all year round. The phenomenon has already raised fears this winter will be un usually brutal with months of sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow on the way.
Long-term accumulative effects could be that parts of northern Europe, including Britain, will cool dramatically. The seemingly small drop in Atlantic temperatures also threatens to nudge the Gulf Stream, which brings warm currents to the UK coasts, off course. The usual flow of air over Europe from the Arctic towards Bermuda and the tropical Azores Islands is also likely to be thrown out of kilter.
Another driver will be a dramatic reduction in solar energy output which has been observed over the past few months.Long-range forecasters say this will add to the mix with the UK at risk of a "fully-blown ice age" before the end of the century.
Comment: Not only Britain, but Europe and North America too - the weather is becoming more and more extreme all over the globe.
Comment: For an overview of article about the extreme weather conditions we're facing see our Extreme Weather topic.