For bluewater cruisers one of the most significant impacts of climate change is the increased unpredictability of weather and disruption of established patterns. The Ocean Cruising Club commissioned a report into the effects climate change was having on ocean cruising, and asked several forecasting and routing experts to share their views on what seems to be happening, and what steps cruisers can take to ensure safe ocean passages and cruises. Among them was meteorologist Sebastian Wache: here he explains how ice melt in the Arctic can affect an Atlantic crossing, Northern European cruising season, and more.
WARMING EFFECT
The world is getting warmer. The greenhouse effect, which makes life on Earth possible in the first place, is intensified by the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The fact that we have been burning materials for more than 150 years is changing the climate. But in the meantime, we are also interfering with day-today weather. But it’s important to understand why, and exactly what is happening.
Global warming affects the polar latitudes more severely than the tropics, so we see a continuous decrease of the ice surface in the Arctic. If there is less ice
