Is the increase of extreme weather in Europe related to the change of atmospheric jet?

After analyzing the position of the North Atlantic atmospheric jet in the past 300 years, American scientists found that the jet deviated from its usual position has increased since the 1960s, which may be related to the increase of extreme weather in Europe during the same period.

Atmospheric jet is a continuous airflow around the earth, which can have an important impact on the climate. The research team led by the University of Arizona in the United States recently reported in the British journal Nature Communication that they combined the meteorological data and tree ring data of the British Isles and the northeastern Mediterranean to describe the changes in the position of the North Atlantic jet since 1725 in August.

The analysis shows that the position deviation of the North Atlantic jet is often accompanied by extreme weather in Europe. If the rapids are far north, there will be heat waves in the British Isles and western Europe in summer, and there will be heavy rains and floods in southeastern Europe. On the contrary, when the rapids are extremely southward, the western part of Europe will experience heavy rain and floods, while the southeastern part will experience heat waves, droughts and mountain fires.

Since the second half of the 20th century, the position of the North Atlantic jet is particularly unstable in midsummer, and the number of years deviating from the normal area is unprecedented. At the same time, extreme weather in Europe appears more frequently. The researchers said that the shift of jet position is the driving force of extreme weather, and the impact of global warming has formed a double blow.

The researchers also said that the atmospheric jet has a similar effect on the weather in the United States. At present, the severe cold in the northeast of the United States and the unusually high temperature and dryness in the southwest are related to the location of the North Pacific jet in winter.