Polar vortex and its disruption- All you need to know

In the past few weeks, several parts of the world have been witnessing unusually extreme winter weather. It has been snowing in regions like the Texas state, Mexico, Mediterranean Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Jordan, which haven’t seen snowfall in decades at this time of the year. Several regions experienced record low temperatures which disrupted the power grid, water supply lines and also businesses- especially at a time when the global economy is slowly staggering back to its legs. This unusual condition is being attributed to a phenomenon called the ‘polar vortex outbreak’.  

 

What is the polar vortex?

• The polar vortex is a perm