Arctic Weather: Unusually Mild

North Canterbury Gazette, Volume 6, Issue 66, 9 April 1937, Page 3

Arctic Weather: Unusually Mild

More than once during the last few weeks the weather reports in “The Observer” have drawn attention to the very exceptional mildness of the winter in the Arctic regions. At Spitsbergen, in latitude 78 deg. N., where the temperature in an ordinary January averages 4 deg. (28 deg. of frost), and sometimes goes down to 50 deg. below zero, the mean value for January this year was 28deg.—24deg. higher than usual and about right for the beginning of June. Colder Januarys have been known in London. From Northern Siberia there comes news of even more striking departures from normal. At Obdorsk, near the point where the Arctic Circle cuts the Ural Mountains, the general level of the thermometer surpassed the average by as many as 37deg. throughout January. These remarkable conditions are attributable, in the main, to the excessive volume and potency assumed by the extension of the Gulf Stream known as the “North Atlantic Drift.” writes the “Observer’s” meteorological correspondent. This current of warm sub-tropical water does not habitually penetrate far beyond the North Cape, but during the last few months it appears to have diffused itself well into the Polar basin. At all events, the mild South-westerly winds associated with it have done so. Prevalence of Icebergs One of the most important effects of the literally summer-like warmth in extreme Northern latitudes has been an extraordinarily early break-up of the Arctic ice-pack. Owing to the prevalence of icebergs in the North Atlantic, captains of all vessels crossing between Europe and the North American continent were instructed to follow the more southerly of the two main shipping routes from February 9 onwards. In normal circumstances this change would not have been ordered until the second week of April. After a winter so mild as this has been there is always a high probability of a cold, inclement spring for Northwestern Europe. That probability is increased almost to a certainty by the events just described. When'there is a big outflow of Polar ice to the neighbourhood of Southern Greenland and Iceland during the early part of the year, high barometric pressure regularly develops in those areas, and the chief Atlantic storm-track is diverted southward by some hundreds of miles. Winds from the north-eastern quadrant, consequently, tend to prevail in Britain throughout the spring months, with frequent snowfalls and markedly sub-normal temperature.

New Zealand Visitors: Programme for Coronation London hotels are already filling up. Visitors from New Zealand, as well as the more accessible parts of the Empire, are here, we§ks before the Atlantic liners bring the vanguard of the “American invasion.” For at least three months there will be a brilliant Coronation season, during which a medley of functions will be held. Thus far the Joint Advisory Committee of the Royal Empire Society and the Overseas League, in co-operation with the various Empire societies in London, have arranged the following for the entertainment of overseas visitors (says the “Observer”): — .May 4—Reception by Lord and Lady Londonderry, at Londonderry House, to 1,000 guests. May 15.—Garden party for 1,500 guests at Sutton Place, near Guildford, by the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland. May 19—Reception at Broadcasting House for 250 guests. May 28—Dinner at the Zoological Gardens for 150 guests, given by the Fellows of the Zoological Society, to be followed by a party. The Gardens will be specially floodlit. May 29—Garden party at Hatfield for 1,500 guests, given by the Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury. June B—Garden party at Eton College. June 21—Evening party given at Cladon Park, Guildford, by the Earl and Countess of Onslow. June 26—Air display at Hendon. Special stands for overseas visitors. On May 24, for the Empire Day special service in St. Paul’s Cathedral, which will be attended by the King and Queen, a certain number of seats will be made available for overseas visitors, while on June 3 there will be a special recital in Westminster Abbey on the new organ, towards the cost of which the peoples of the Empire have contributed. Indian visitors are to be entertained by Lord and Lady Halifax. Other entertainments are being planned by City Companies and by public and private bodies, and the Welcome Committee of the Overseas League have arranged an itinerary of stimulating versatility, including visits to the Bank of England. Ford Works, Dagenham. Croydon Airport. London Dockland. Law Courts. The Mint. Royal Stud, Newmarket. Denham Film Studios.