Wessam Kanes – 8A – Humanities- Mr. Bonnalie – News Review: Global Awareness
Article Taken Directly Form this site: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/35266/Global-warming-It-s-thecoldest-winter-in-decades
“It was feared that the polar caps were vanishing because of the effects of global warming.
But figures from the respected US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that
almost all the “lost” ice has come back.
Ice levels which had shrunk from 13million sq km in January 2007 to just four million in
October, are almost back to their original levels.
Figures show that there is nearly a third more ice in Antarctica than is usual for the time of year.
The data flies in the face of many current thinkers and will be seized on by climate change
sceptics who deny that the world is undergoing global warming.
A photograph of polar bears clinging on to a melting iceberg has become one of the most
enduring images in the campaign against climate change.
It was used by former US Vice President Al Gore during his Inconvenient Truth lectures about
mankind’s impact on the world. But scientists say the northern hemisphere has endured its
coldest winter in decades.
They add that snow cover across the area is at its greatest since 1966.
The one exception is Western Europe, which has – until the weekend when temperatures
plunged to as low as -10C in some places – been basking in unseasonably warm weather. The
UK has reported one of its warmest winters on record.
However, vast swathes of the world have suffered chaos because of some of the heaviest
snowfalls in decades.
Central and southern China, the USA and Canada were hit hard by snowstorms.
Even the Middle East saw snow, with Jerusalem, Damascus, Amman and northern Saudi Arabia
reporting the heaviest falls in years and below-zero temperatures. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan
snow and freezing weather killed 120 people.
In Britain the barmy February weather came to an abrupt halt at the weekend as temperatures
plunged to -10C in central England.
Experts believe that this month could end up as one of the coldest Februaries in Britain in the
past 10 years.
The freezing night-time conditions look set to stay around -8C until at least the middle of the
week.
A Met Office spokesman explained: “There has been little or no cloud cover across England and
Wales. So there is a capacity for a fair bit of heat to be able to escape at night.
“It has been warmer in Scotland but that’s because it has been cloudy there.”
“Until the weekend the temperatures were in the 14s and 15s, and we will see a return to that
later this week, though it will look grey and overcast when the clouds return.”
But he added that there was little chance of snow. He said: “When the rain comes it will get
warmer.”
This article examines the climate changes this year in winter and particular regions that have
been affected by them. According to the article, the ice caps during the last few years have
melted due to disturbing human activities. This is internationally known as global warming.
Global warming puts the whole human civilization in danger as it determines the amount of
water in the world and much more. In the past few years a lot of the ice caps have melted and
it has started to affect the world. However this year there has been a decrease in temperature
and in a lot of countries the temperature has dropped below zero and the ice has increased
again. In fact it has almost returned to its original level. As stated in the article: “It was feared
that the polar caps were vanishing because of the effects of global warming. But figures from
the respected US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that almost all the
“lost” ice has come back.” Further more the article also states what countries have been faced
with this sudden climate decrease. The following have been affected: UK, Central and Southern
China, USA, Canada, Middle East (Jerusalem, Damascus, Amman, and Northern Saudi Arabia)
and Afghanistan. The decrease of temperature has also inflicted some major damage to one
country. As proven in the article: “Meanwhile, in Afghanistan snow and freezing weather killed
120 people”. Furthermore, the article provides another example concerning Britain: “In Britain
the barmy February weather came to an abrupt halt at the weekend as temperatures plunged
to -10C in central England”.
Global Awareness is the humanities concept that appraises the importance of cultural diversity
in our world and highlights the necessity of interdependence and finally proves that major
issues in the world are faced globally and therefore many different countries have a right to an
opinion and contribution. This article has been chosen to act as an example of global awareness
because the major topic is global warming and global warming affects all humans. For more
specific examples, this article talks about the climate decrease, as mentioned before, and many
different countries are affected by it and they all share a common cause. One country, less
fortunate then others, lost 120 of its people due to the severe weather. So the UK, Central and
Southern China, USA, Canada, Middle East (Jerusalem, Damascus, Amman, and Northern Saudi
Arabia) and Afghanistan have been affected by nature’s sudden change of direction. After this
article and many others the world’s leaders thought it was time to discuss this problem. And so
a conference was held in Turkey. This directly demonstrates global awareness because it shows
that major issues in the world are faced globally and each country should some up with a
contribution to the problem. Over all, Global warming is a geographic issue that us humans are
faced with and more then one global meeting should have been held.
Citation for article: Bonnici, Tony. "Express.Co.UK." Global Warming: It's the coldest winter in
decades?. Web. 30 Jan 2010. <http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/35266/Global-warming-It-s-thecoldest-winter-in-decades>.
No other sources were used.