A new study led by researchers at the Universities of Bristol, Exeter, and Bath examined 40 observed sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events which occurred over the last 60 years.
These events take place in the atmospheric band of air located between 10 and 50km (6.2 and 31 miles) above the earth’s surface and can see the polar atmospheric temperatures rise by up to 50 degrees Celsius in just a few days which, in turn, can create extreme weather events elsewhere in the world.
According to their climate models and observations, one such sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event will take place Wednesday, January 5, as the polar vortex above the North Pole has split in two.