Baltic Sea rapidly shallowing — scientists note a rare climatic anomaly
In February, the Baltic Sea lost 275 billion tons of water – a rare phenomenon caused by strong easterly winds and a disruption of air circulation over the Arctic.
Photo: vecteezy.com
While the global ocean level continues to rise, the Baltic Sea lost about 275 billion tons of water in early February, and its level was 67 cm below the average recorded in 1886, writes Euronews.
According to Tomasz Kijevski from the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, although such a situation has not been observed for the last 140 years, it is explained by atmospheric factors. "This is a clear example of the impact of climate change on the environment. The Arctic plays a key role here," he noted.
Why is water leaving the Baltic Sea basin when the overall ocean level is rising? Experts explain this as a combination of strong easterly winds, a high-pressure zone, and the absence of significant atmospheric fronts.
"Prolonged strong easterly winds pushed water masses through the Danish Straits into the North Sea, leading to a drop in water level across the entire basin," the Institute of Oceanology reported. As long as this meteorological configuration persists, water is "retained" in the southeastern part of the basins, and the level locally decreases.
Kijevski adds that such phenomena are not proof of the absence of climate change, but, on the contrary, are the result of complex anomalies caused, in particular, by the melting of glaciers in the Arctic.
"Climate change itself manifests in numerous weather anomalies, not just in overall warming," he explains.
According to the researcher, the massive deviations are associated with the breakdown of the polar vortex — the circulation of air in the upper layers of the atmosphere that keeps the Arctic cold.
"A mass of cold air begins to 'depressurize,' influencing atmospheric currents," he says. "We jokingly call this the open refrigerator effect: because when we open the refrigerator, cold air rushes out, and we feel cooler."
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