Sheepskin coats and sleds are long gone. We don’t have much snow here. Severe cold is rare. Winter – real winter – happens, but almost exclusively in the south of the country. In other regions, there are many winter seasons. The climate is changing – before our eyes and to our detriment.
Szczecin, Gdańsk, Poznan and Wroclaw – on December 29, the afternoon temperature was a few degrees warmer in all these cities, and there was no snow. In all these places, during the last ten years, from 20 to 23 days of the so-called real winter. Mostly in Szczecin, although the lowest temperature was there today.
Poles are not the only ones who miss the snow. Snow, for example, is important for plants, thanks to which they can retain water better and longer. However, snow has fallen in most parts of the country, and it may not last long.
Even if there are frosts or snow, they are probably episodic. Poland ranked 5th in the list of 123 countries in the world in terms of days lost in winter (i.e. frost), compiled by the organization Climate Central. The effect of these changes is visible to the naked eye. This is just one of the many consequences of anthropogenic climate change, that is, by humans.
– Climate change is natural, but human activity has accelerated it, says Grzegorz Waliewski from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management-PIB.
READ MORE: “Destabilizing a Very Friendly Living Environment”
According to NASA, since the end of the 19th century, the average temperature of the Earth’s surface has increased by a little more than one degree. It increased by 0.2 degrees only in the last ten years. Moreover, last year could also be a record.
– Poland will be 2.2 degrees warmer in 2024. This is much warmer than in the last thirty years, says Kamila Harenda of the University of Life Sciences in Poznań.
Consequences of climate changeTVN24
Plants bloom in December or have other problems
Although it is snowing in Zakopane, the first snowflakes appeared in Szczecin, and this is no exception.
“At Christmas, roses bloom in my parents’ garden,” says Dr. Paulina Sobiesiak-Pensko, director of the Sustainable Development and Climate Policy Program at the Institute of Public Affairs.
Ultimately, the lack of winter affects tourism and food prices. – Because the lack of snow in winter, in spring and summer, when plants need water, there are more water problems, – explains Dr. Paulina Sobiesiak-Penshko.
SEE ALSO: We’ve never had a Christmas this warm here before
In addition to extreme drought, we can expect further flooding as well as rising sea and ocean levels. However, we are not powerless, experts remind us. It’s not just about saving water or fuel consumption.
– We can do something too. We are consumers, we have certain levers, we are selective, we have leverage, – emphasizes prof. Szymon Malinowski, atmospheric physicist, member of the climate crisis committee under the presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Power to be used for a righteous cause.
Main photo source: Fact TVN
