At a research station, biologists observed a strange weather phenomenon: snow remained until summer. The consequences are global.
- There was already a disturbing weather phenomenon in 2018
- The consequences for living things were fatal
- Researchers see an outlook for the future in the phenomenon
Greenland - Experts have been warning about global warming for years. They complain of shrinking glaciers and melting polar caps. Researchers have come across an extreme weather phenomenon that seems to go in exactly the opposite direction.
In the north of Greenland, a Danish team led by the biologist Niels Martin Schmidt made a disturbing observation in 2018: due to heavy snowfalls in winter, a blanket of snow remained there until well into summer. Even in Greenland, the snow should have melted long ago. The seasons seem to be completely out of balance - this is reminiscent of the unusual weather phenomenon that is currently occurring in Germany.
Weather phenomenon: Snow in the summer has catastrophic consequences
Researchers at the University of Aarhus operate the Zackenberg research station in Greenland. In summer there is still an uncomfortable six degrees Celsius. A temperature that became normal in Germany in December. Nevertheless, there is a great diversity of species. The creatures native to Greenland have adapted to the harsh conditions. But then came summer 2018, when the snow didn't want to melt.
Video: The weather 3-day trend for Germany
The effects of the weather phenomenon were devastating: animals and plants in the region could not multiply in 2018. "The result was the greatest reproductive failure of an ecosystem that has occurred in the 20 years since measurements began," the researchers write in their study. Hardly any animal or plant species was able to reproduce in this cycle, which led to the breakdown of the entire food chain.
Extreme weather phenomenon "should open our eyes"
In July, almost half of the landscape in northern Greenland was still covered with snow. As a result, plants bloomed very late and formed seeds. Then autumn frost started again. Bird chicks also hatched late. They could no longer grow fast enough to fly south in winter - and perish.
Scientists have long warned that the earth will be increasingly affected by dramatic weather phenomena such as El Niño. The snow summer in Greenland could also be a look into the future of the planet, as the Danish biologists fear. Not only rising temperatures are part of climate change. The amount of precipitation, for example in the form of snowfall, must also be included in future scenarios. The researchers write: "These observations should open our eyes to potentially drastic consequences."
Video July 2019: Greenland melts during high heat
There were completely different scenes in July 2019. Greenland melted during the heat wave. 160 billion tons of ice flowed into the sea.
The weather in Germany can be described as the average of many values: temperatures, precipitation, wind strength, hours of sun and more, explains Merkur.de *.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network