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Jet Stream and Weather

 In the past week or so we've had a good downpour every single day in west England. 


The straight after the rains, the sun comes out and the sky turns all Blue Glory again. The temperature has dropped too. It's a stark contrast from the repeated heatwaves. 

The rapid change is a causal effect of the Jet Stream which affects Great Britain frequently as the UK sits smack in its path.

For those of you that think 'jet stream' is the phrase for the white trail a plane leaves in the sky, it is Not. Again, I assure you: it is NOT. So please quit using it for that. The thing you mean is simply called a 'plane trail' or 'plane vapor'. As I have a Masters in English Literature, I insist on using the right words for the right things...(it's a little quirk of mine) so you'll forgive me for driving that point home.

The Jet Stream is the scientific word for the changeable global wind that governs the weather system around the world in the Northern Hemisphere. It bends and curves high up in the sky, bringing with it the weather. 


It's a wind with force behind it. For example, if you've ever taken a flight from UK to the Canaries or vice versa, if the Jet Stream is behind you, your plane might arrive a whole twenty minutes early. If your plane is flying against the Jet Stream, your flight may well arrive later than expected. All pilots know this. And now, so do you.

It is an indictment on the education system that a basic understanding of the Jet Stream is Not taught in schools. But I don't want to bore you with the Lack of education in schools - including the high fee ones that some of you are forking out for your little kiddy.

I do want to enlighten you further and tell you: the Southern Hemisphere has its own Jet Stream. There is another wind circling near the Equator, called the Subtropical Jet. 

Scientists have discovered the effect of Global Warming is pushing the Jet Stream further North, towards the Arctic. It is predicted that this will cause the Jet Stream to weaken. "So what?"  you may say.

So: it will give us more extreme weather, more often in any given year. The gentle undulations of the four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn - as we've known them and grown up with, may well be a thing of the past in just a couple of decades, if not sooner. 

Over the past couple of years, this is what I am beginning to see. In my opinion, the change seems remarkably sudden. Then the science folk and clever nerds keep confirming what I'm noticing. I hope y'all take your faces off the screen long enough to notice it too. This is Global Warming happening right before our eyes.

Observe all this and please take note because one day your grandchildren will ask: "What was it really like?" and "Were you worried or frightened?" and "What did you do?" 

Whatever you do, please answer them honestly. We owe future generations at least that much. 

Wolf Winship 


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