2018 is barely a week old, but it has already brought some stunning weather extremes.
Australia has experienced a heatwave, with thermometers hitting on 6 January. To stay cool, 快猫短视频鈥檚 local reporter Alice Klein says she had to sleep under a wet towel cuddling a bag of ice.
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Meanwhile, on the east coast of the US, a rapidly intensifying 鈥溾�� was followed by a blast of cold Arctic air that led to waterfalls and fountains freezing.
On top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, it was -38 掳C, with the high winds making it feel like -70 掳C. The cold reached as far south as Florida, where .
Far fewer people were around to witness another 2018 extreme: in parts of the Arctic north of Eurasia, soared to well above freezing, up to 20 掳C above the average for this time of year. The Arctic as a whole was more than 3 掳C warmer than normal.
The Sydney heatwave is very much in line with what is expected in a rapidly warming world. Indeed, a study in October predicted that both Sydney and Melbourne could start hitting 50 掳C within just two decades ().
More surprisingly, the extreme cold in the eastern US may also be linked to climate change. The winds circling the Arctic usually stop frigid air flowing south. But there is growing evidence that global warming is weakening these winds, allowing Arctic air to spill further south聽鈥� and warm air to flow further north.
