Southward expansion of polar vortex brings extreme cold to United States | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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In Summary

  • The polar vortex is a low-pressure zone of extremely cold air in polar regions, contained by the polar-front jet stream.
  • A stable vortex keeps cold air north, while a weakened, wavy vortex can bring extreme cold to southern regions.
  • While not directly impacting India, Arctic winds influenced by the polar vortex can affect weather systems like the western disturbance.

In Summary

About Polar Vortex

  • Polar vortex is a large persistent low-pressure zone having a mass of extremely cold air, contained within the Polar Regions by the polar-front jet stream
    • Polar-front jet stream is an eastward-moving belt of strong stratospheric winds that separates warm tropical air from cold polar air in the mid-latitudes.
  • Direction of Rotation: It rotates counter-clockwise at the North Pole and clockwise at the South Pole.
  • Factors responsible for its formation: Temperature Gradients (between cold Polar regions and warm tropical regions), Earth’s Rotation (Coriolis Force), Pressure Gradient Force and Jet Stream Interaction.
  • Stability: When the vortex is strong and stable, it keeps the jet stream traveling in a tight, circular path, trapping cold air north and keeping warm air south.
    • When weakened, it becomes wavy (see image), thus, bringing extreme cold to south.
  • Types of Polar Vortex: 
    • Tropospheric polar vortex (10 km to 15 km), where most weather phenomena occur.
    • Stratospheric polar vortex (15-50 Km), it is strongest in winter season.

Impacts of Polar Vortex

  • Cold weather: It is believed that due to rapid warming of the Arctic (Arctic amplification) the temperature contrast between poles and mid-latitudes is reducing, which may make the vortex more unstable, increasing the frequency of severe winter outbreaks.
  • Ozone depletion: The trapped cold air in the vortex accelerates ozone depletion, particularly over Antarctica, leading to the ozone hole.
  • Impact on India: There is no direct relation between the Polar Vortex and Indian weather but the Arctic winds are pushing various weather systems, including the western disturbance.
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Stratospheric Polar Vortex

The polar vortex that occurs in the stratosphere, at an altitude of 15-50 km. It disappears during summer and is strongest in autumn.

Tropospheric Polar Vortex

The polar vortex that occurs in the troposphere, the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere (surface up to 10-15 km), where most weather phenomena take place.

Western disturbance

Extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region that brings unseasonal rainfall to northwest India and snowfall to the Himalayas. Arctic winds can influence the trajectory of these systems.

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