EXPERT CLAIMS GLOBAL WARMING DID NOT CAUSE RECENT STORMS
One of the Met Office’s senior experts claims there is no link between global warming and the storms that have battered U.S. and the UK.
Mat Collins, a professor in climate systems at Exeter University, said the storms have been driven by the jet stream which has been ‘stuck’ further south than usual.
Professor Collins said: ‘There is no evidence that global warming can cause the jet stream to get stuck in the way it has this winter. If this is due to climate change, it is outside our knowledge.’
Professor Collins is also a senior adviser for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). His statement appears to contradict Met Office chief scientist Dame Julia Slingo.
Last weekend, she said ‘all the evidence suggests that climate change has a role to play’ in the storms.
Professor Collins made clear that he believes it is likely global warming could lead to higher rainfall totals, because a warmer atmosphere can hold more water. But he said this has nothing to do with the storm conveyor belt.
