By Amanda Barnes for Wine-Republic.comAmanda Barnes takes a look at climate change and how it will affect the wine industry in Argentina.
It seems each year in Mendoza there is less snow in the mountains and more in the city than usual. Last year the change in weather caused a financial drought for ski companies as local resorts such as Penitentes didn't even open for the season due to a lack of the white stuff. The city however was powder white in July...
Most people don't really deny global warming anymore, but there is often a misrepresentation of what it will mean in the future. Sadly it doesn't mean we will all enjoy sunny year-round summers, but rather that we might get summer temperatures in winter and a big freeze come summertime: forget Global Warming, welcome to the era of Global Weirding.
Climate change experts predict just this: the weather will get weirder. Hot places will get hotter, wet ones wetter and extraordinarystorms will become the ordinary. You can already see evidence across the globe: take a look at the usually, boringly predictable mild British weather and yet this year the UK had its coldest winter in 300 years, followed by its hottest spring in 100 years (but summer month June was colder than early spring March).
China has seen months of severe drought followed by a torrential downpour that devastated thousands of homes. Last November the Amazon experienced its worst drought and lowest water levels in history, while Australia had its wettest spring on record. 2010 was Europe's hottest Summer to date with 50,000 heat-related deaths and giant wildfires, while winter in the eastern US was dubbed 'snowmageddon' due to one of their heaviest snow falls ever recorded.
Fluctuations are however normal: the world has always moved from hotter to cooler periods – usually attributed to the planet's egg shaped orbit around the world. But what climate change scientists are banging on about (and some oil barons are still denying) is how human's emission of carbon and thickening greenhouse gases are trapping more heat in the effective 'blanket' the greenhouse effect creates, thus heating up the planet to what could result in dangerous consequences.
Great hail balls on fire! The effect in Mendoza and its wine industry
As mentioned above, one of the most evident changes here in Mendoza at this time of year is the lack of snow in the mountains over the last few decades and the increase of snow in the city – a slightly useless reversal of usual conditions which...Read Full Article
