Why January 2020 was the warmest in history
A jet stream circling the Arctic region is bottling up all the cold air.
BOULDER, COLORADO — The past month was the hottest January in weather history, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Citing climate researchers, NBC reports that a jet stream trapping cold air over the Arctic might be responsible for the warm January."
NOAA data shows that the US and Hawaii region, Russia, Europe, South America and Australia experienced abnormally hot weather in January.
Meanwhile, sea ice has retreated in the Arctics and Antarctica.
Citing the National Ice and Snow Data Center, NBC reports the jet stream over the Arctic is called the Arctic Oscillation.
The jet stream is wavy during a negative phase of this. This allows cool air to go south, taking cold temperatures and rains with it.
Citing the center's director Mark Serreze[d], NBC reports the AO is having a positive phase with a flat jetstream circle, which entraps the cold air over the Arctic region. Serrez says this weather phenomenon is possibly the cause of the high temperatures.
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