| 제목 | Where's winter? | 글쓴이 | dosul | 날짜 | 2008.12.19 11:10 |
Where's winter?
CNN's Mary Snow looks for reasons why this winter has been unseasonably warm in much of the U.S.
SNOW (voice-over): In New York's Central Park, it's looking more like spring with temperatures in the 50s. Cherry blossoms are blooming in the nation's capital months early. Skiers in New England have to find snow between the patches of grass. In Ohio, that lack of snow means golfers get a jump start on the season in what would normally be frigid temperatures.
There's been plenty of snow dumped on Colorado, why is it so unusually warm in the Northeast? Scientists say one culprit is El Nino.
BRENDA EKWURZEL, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS: It's essentially a warm pool of water in the Pacific that sloshes back and forth on a two- to seven-year cycle.
SNOW: Forecasters say for the U.S., El Nino means a mild winter in some parts of the country and wetter conditions in others. And others say it's not just El Nino. Some experts, including one at the government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says global warming plays a part.
TOM KARL, DIRECTOR, NOAA'S NATIONAL CLIMATE DATA CENTER: It's playing a large factor. And, in fact, if you didn't have the increase in greenhouse gases, we would not be seeing these consecutive very warm years following one after the other both here in the U.S. and globally.
SNOW: Parts of Europe, including the Alps, have had unseasonably warm temperatures and British climate scientists predict a new milestones for the globe.
WAYNE ELLIOTT, MET OFFICE: There's a high likelihood that 2007 will be the warmest year globally on record.
SNOW: Scientists say one year doesn't make a trend. But some say it's part of an overall climate change that is triggering concerns. Some believe the impact can be seen in the U.S. in the past year alone.
EKWURZEL: In the United States, we had a record wildfire season in part because of the large drought conditions in the summer, record temperatures, and we've burned about 9.5 million acres of our forests. And so these type of trends do have a profound impact.
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