Olivia Telecky-

Global warming has left Gusties uncomfortable in their unair-conditioned dorms. It is common knowledge that the Earth is warming rapidly, with ten of Minnesota’s hottest winters occurring in the past 26 years. This past September is a perfect example of that, being the hottest September in Minnesota on record, with an average temperature of 70.3 degrees across the state. September was almost as hot as August, which had an average temperature of 71.5 degrees. This trend is expected to continue, with the average five-day maximum temperature predicted to increase by five degrees in 2036.

Unsurprisingly, this temperature change is a result of climate change. The Midwest is a major consumer of coal, accounting for 32% of America’s coal usage. This constant burning of fossil fuels has led to our atmosphere deteriorating, allowing more harmful UV rays from the Sun to reach the surface of the Earth. However, climate change’s effects on our weather are much more complicated than rising average temperatures. It has caused the ice caps to melt, wind patterns to shift, and high-pressure zones to linger. These factors all combined this past month to make September feel more like summer than fall.

Ice caps melting has caused major issues for the animals who depend on them for survival, including us. Typically, ocean heat is regulated by the melting of ice caps, which keeps sea water cold. However, this August, the Arctic experienced a devastating heat wave. Temperatures were so high that they often surpassed temperatures in Florida. This caused the erasure of many ice caps. Therefore, as ocean temperatures increase, there are fewer ice caps to lower the temperature. Because of this, the Northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans have reached record-high surface temperatures.

Wind direction is a major factor in causing temperatures to rise or fall. Typically, in the spring and summer, wind flows from the south to the north, and in the winter, wind flows from the north to the south. However, the warming of the ocean’s surface has thrown a wrench in this process and has caused southern winds to hit Minnesota in the fall and winter months. The phenomenon is called an El Nino – and occurred last winter. The complete reversal of wind patterns was observed in Minnesota, with an abnormally warm winter without snow. Though this reversal technically ended, we are still feeling its effects. Minnesota is still getting high amounts of southern wind, blowing warm air into our state and causing temperatures to increase.

CBS News cited high-pressure zones over the Great Lakes as another cause for the warm weather. Similarly to the ocean, the surface temperatures of the Great Lakes have increased dramatically in the past couple of decades. The current average surface temperature of Lake Superior is 64 degrees, up from the 55-degree standard and three degrees higher than the August average of 61 degrees. This means that as air blows from high to low-pressure zones, instead of bringing cool air from the lake, warm air simply continues to spread. High-pressure zones have also been spotted over the Arctic, which is still recovering from the heat wave mentioned earlier, so even when winds shift to carry arctic winds south, the air is still quite warm.

Even though more people are aware of climate change and global warming, most people don’t know the extent to which it affects our daily lives. Yes, average temperatures have increased, but so have instances of disastrous weather phenomena such as heat waves, hurricanes, and earthquakes. The complications of our planet’s destruction affect every aspect of what we know about the Earth, and as such should not be simplified to “higher average temperatures”.