Frigid Weather and Global Warming
Want to get The Morning by email? . Good morning. A Times reporter explains the connection between frigid weather and global warming. Much of the Pacific Northwest is blanketed in snow. Texas continues to endure frigid weather and electricity outages. Another winter storm is spreading across much of the country. Today, snow or freezing rain may fall on Washington, New York and Boston. To make sense of this weeks cold spell and storms, I spoke with John Schwartz, a Times reporter who focuses on the climate. Our conversation follows. John Schwartz: It does sound counterintuitive! Those who deny climate science love to declare that theres no such thing as climate change whenever the weather turns cold. But weather remains variable, and cold weather in winter still happens, even if the overall warming trend means that winters are getting milder. John: Theres interesting science that suggests the effects of a warming world have something to do with these sudden bursts of Arctic cold, as well. The cold air at the top of the world, the polar vortex, is usually held in place by the circulating jet stream. The Northern Hemispheres warming appears to be weakening the jet stream, and when sudden blasts of heat in the stratosphere punch into the vortex, that Arctic air can spill down into the middle latitudes. John: A warming atmosphere can hold more moisture, so when you do get storms you can expect to see . Theres also fascinating research that links a warming Arctic to increased frequency of the broad range of extreme winter weather in parts of the United States. Its known as a phenomenon thats still being studied. John: In the United States, were seeing because of hotter, drier conditions, and our hurricanes are becoming , including flooding and storm surge. Its even worsening the misery of . Weve always had floods, fires and storms, but climate change adds oomph to many weather events. I realize Im repeating myself here, but scientists are still hashing out all of this. While the science underlying between human emissions and climate change is rock solid, some of the particulars, such as whether climate change will cause us to see more frequent blasts from the polar vortex, . And thats as it should be. that Weather for Dummies is probably the best book written for a general audience about the relationship between climate change and the weather. Hundreds of thousands of Texans , with more frigid temperatures expected into the weekend. The crisis is a warning: As climate change accelerates, extreme weather events will put many . Access to safe , with seven million people in Texas under a boil water advisory. Freezing natural gas pipelines largely caused . Fossil fuel advocates, including the governor, still tried to shift blame. Ive been through Katrina, Ive been through Harvey, and this is by far the worst Ive ever seen it, a hotel manager in Austin said. Life expectancy in the U.S. in early 2020, the largest drop since World War II and a sign of the pandemics toll. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York over his administrations handling of nursing homes during the pandemic. ( .) Cuba says it has developed a Covid-19 vaccine and . Opera singers in England are with customized vocal lessons. Activists are pushing to into different pieces, including one for Dreamers and others for farm workers and refugees. Its a response to the failure of immigration legislation over the past two decades. Mitch McConnell is from some Senate Republicans over his harsh words about former President Donald Trump. Pentagon officials will recommend for four-star commands, after delaying the promotions over fears that the Trump White House would object. Rush Limbaugh . His scathing style made him a talk-radio star and helped mold conservative politics. Armed men wearing military uniforms , most of them students, from a boarding school in Nigeria. Ford says it will in Europe by 2030. NASA will attempt to land its Perseverance rover on Mars this afternoon, searching for fossils of ancient microbial life. . in the Australian Open semifinal, 6-3, 6-4, denying Williams a chance to to tie the record for Grand Slam singles titles. How did an upscale grocery store in Los Angeles become ? The Biden administration wants to put gender issues at the center of its policy decisions. . The and what we can learn from it. Dr. Bernard Lown invented the first effective heart defibrillator, saving countless lives, and also co-founded a physicians group that campaigned against nuclear war, earning a Nobel Peace Prize. . Live jazz in intimate clubs like the Blue Note in New York, the Green Mill in Chicago and Fritzels in New Orleans has been one of the many casualties of the pandemic. Some clubs have closed permanently, while others are experimenting or hoping to welcome audiences . Until then, the closest thing to live jazz inside a club can be a recording of a performance with an audience. In jazz, moment-to-moment exchange is the coin of the realm, so everybody whos present when the music is being made has a role to play, Giovanni Russonello, who covers jazz for The Times, told us. Thats why the live album has such a long and important history in jazz, from the earliest days of the LP era through today. A good example is the new album Let My People Go by the duet of a saxophonist and 83-year-old protege of John Coltrane and Jason Moran a pianist and so-called On the album, Shepp and Moran play standards by Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Much of it has a gritty, unvarnished quality, as if played in an out-of-the-way roadhouse, . We asked Giovanni for some other live albums, and he recommended: based on a concert she gave two years after a famous 1960 appearance in the city. by the New Orleans trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, recorded at the Blue Note just before the lockdown. by Gerald Clayton, a young star on the piano. Budapest Concert, by the pianist Keith Jarrett, . with this refreshing salad of cucumbers and radicchio. Today would have been Toni Morrisons 90th birthday. If youre looking to read her books, . In Consent, a memoir by Vanessa Springora, a middle-aged writer preys on a 13-year-old girl. Its a work of dazzling, highly controlled fury, . Jimmy Kimmel and Trevor Noah both . The pangram from yesterdays Spelling Bee was . Here is todays puzzle or you can . Heres , and a clue: Closed (four letters). If youre in the mood to play more, find . P.S. A from The Timess of the winter storm this week: He is hunkering / down at home, where both power / and water are out. You can see . On todays episode of , an extraordinary story from Rwanda. remembers Sophie, the architect of hyperpop. writes The Morning, The Times's main daily newsletter. Previously at The Times, he was the Washington bureau chief, the founding editor of The Upshot, an Op-Ed columnist, and the head of The 2020 Project, on the future of the Times newsroom. He won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.