WHILE the narrative of our times focuses on global warming we, as residents of the Northern hemisphere, have far more to fear from an Ice Age.
The greater land masses of the Northern hemisphere means that an ice age will always settle in the North while the Southern hemisphere remains much warmer.
Cold fresh melt water in the North caused by melting ice also disrupts the warming.
So a climatic feedback loop exists that always predisposes the Northern hemisphere towards icier and snowier conditions.
Other oceanic feedback variables serve to make ice ages form more easily in the Northern hemisphere.
Recently there were 30 deaths in Poland as temperatures fell to minus -18C.
At least 40,000 people die from the cold in the UK each winter.
This December was very mild due to a warm Southerly air mass.
However just to each side of this warm air mass coloured yellow on the forecast were two freezing blue coloured cold air masses which would have brought us harsh winter weather.
The December warm air mass was not heated up by carbon dioxide but was air warmed from the Southerly tropics.
SUSAN THOMAS
Magdalen Road
Oxford
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