The weather is growing increasingly warm this week in Lubbock, but it is a different story in the Midwest as temperatures dropped to historically low, sub-zero levels, on Wednesday.
In response to the polar vortex, President Donald Trump tweeted, “In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? Please come back fast, we need you!”
Katharine Hayhoe, a world renowned climate scientist and professor at Texas Tech University, said, ironically, the changing climate may be affecting the jetstream, which helps the polar vortex reach this far south.
“I know it is hard to believe, but because the arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world, in the winter, that’s opening the freezer door, so to speak, and it’s letting cold arctic air spill much faster further south than it has in the past,” Hayhoe said.
She also attributed winter and natural variability, to the cold temperatures in the Midwest.
According to Hayhoe, there is a difference between weather and climate. She said weather is what the brain remembers, like a cold or hot week and climate is a long-term average of weather over at least 20 to 30 years.
“It still gets cold in winter,” she said. “It still snows in Lubbock. But overall, it is getting warmer on average.”
Hayhoe attributed some of the debate surrounding climate change to a “smoke screen,” camouflaging people’s real feelings on the matter.
“We have been told the only way to fix things is to destroy the economy,” Hayhoe said. “Really, if that is the only solution, why would you want to fix it? I wouldn’t.”
However, she said West Texas is already working on solutions to address climate change, including wind and solar energy.
“We have over 30,000 jobs already in the new clean energy economy. Wind and solar energy is growing by leaps and bounds here,” she said. “We have a ton of sun and wind here and it just makes sense to use the resources we have.”
When asked about her thoughts on President Trump’s tweet, she said the most important way to address climate change is through open dialogue.
To learn more about climate change and questions commonly asked of Hayhoe, she recommended watching her Youtube series, Global Weirding with Katherine Hayhoe.
