- 10 hours ago
The polar vortex plays a critical role in keeping Earth’s weather systems balanced. But when it shifts or weakens, the effects can ripple far beyond the Arctic, unleashing extreme cold, powerful storms, and unpredictable climate patterns. Scientists warn that these changes could freeze regions unprepared for what’s coming next.
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00:00In the winter of 2019, the American Midwest and Northeast turned into a real-life disaster movie.
00:06I'm talking about that time when temperatures dropped to negative 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
00:12There were massive flight cancellations and power outages,
00:16dozens of injured people, and shut down schools and offices.
00:19Simply going outside became highly risky.
00:22And if you're looking for someone to blame for all this, I've got two words for you.
00:27Polar vortex.
00:28That's not some scary storm, but a huge mass of cold air that's normally spinning counterclockwise around the poles.
00:35When it's summer up in the northern hemisphere, the vortex stays further north, and in the winter, it heads south
00:42a bit.
00:42The term polar vortex has been around since the late 1940s.
00:46It shows up every winter and calls it quits in the spring.
00:50But for about the last 20 years, this polar vortex has been acting weird in the middle of winter.
00:55It looks like it either splits or becomes displaced once every other year.
01:01At the bottom of this vortex is what they call the polar front, or the polar jet stream.
01:06This jet stream moves from west to east, which is why places like the northeastern part of North America get
01:12hammered by that chilly polar vortex weather.
01:16These jet streams zip along because of differences in temperature and the Earth's spin.
01:21When there's a big gap in temperatures, the winds really pick up speed.
01:26In spots like the equator, where the sun's rays are more intense, the air heats up and starts to rise.
01:32And as it goes up, it leaves behind a sort of empty space, taking in air from all around, kind
01:39of like a huge vacuum cleaner.
01:40But over at the poles, where it's way chillier, the air shrinks and sinks, forming areas of high pressure.
01:48It's like a bunch of air molecules trying to spread out, like a group of school kids on a big
01:53field.
01:53So you've got these two forces at play, warm air rising and cold air sinking.
01:58Air wants to zoom from the poles down to the equator with this setup.
02:04The jet streams tend to hang out where airplanes fly, about 30,000 feet in the air.
02:09Pilots often use them to zoom across the sky faster and save some fuel.
02:14But these jet streams aren't always the good guys, as they can bring all sorts of weather changes, like cold
02:20snaps and heat waves.
02:22When the polar jet stream is strong and cruising at about the same level as the vortex,
02:27it kind of locks in that cold, arctic air within the Arctic Circle.
02:31Every now and then, the jet stream takes a chill pill and starts moving around the planet in a wavy
02:37pattern called arctic oscillations.
02:40This creates peaks and troughs that allow warmer air from down south to head north,
02:45and the chilly arctic air to take a trip south.
02:50In the northern hemisphere, there are two polar vortexes.
02:54One in the lower atmosphere, known as the troposphere, and another higher up in the stratosphere.
02:59The stratospheric vortex forms as cold, dense air sinks and twirls near the north pole.
03:06The mightier the vortex, the quicker it spins, keeping cold air locked over the high latitudes.
03:12When someone or something messes with the polar vortex, it goes haywire.
03:17Picture a spinning top.
03:18Give the table a shake, and it'll start wobbling.
03:21When the polar vortex loses strength, it can't corral the cold air anymore.
03:26So, blasts of icy arctic air surge southward over North America.
03:31The polar vortex isn't a fixed object, but more like a living being.
03:36It gets stirred up by ripples on Earth's surface, triggered by stuff like air flowing over mountains or across land
03:42and sea,
03:43all warming up differently.
03:45If our planet were as smooth as glass, with oceans wrapping all around, the polar vortex would just chill out,
03:52never breaking up.
03:53But every time a wave smacks into it, it gives the vortex a push.
03:58Sometimes, one of these waves packs enough punch to shove the vortex off the pole or even spin it in
04:05reverse.
04:05And when that happens, the temperature in the polar stratosphere can skyrocket by a whopping 50 degrees in just a
04:13week.
04:14The Arctic's polar vortex started spinning in the opposite direction in March 2024 and got scientists worried.
04:21It's one of the six strongest flips since the 70s.
04:25This time around, it hasn't caused any chaos.
04:29Sometimes, the waves of air affecting the vortex get strong enough to split it into two parts.
04:35Kind of like how a cell divides.
04:37They're called daughter vortices, and they even add more chaos to the mix.
04:42When the vortex splits, one chunk usually heads over Siberia, while the other cruises over North America.
04:49Once that split goes down, the jet stream in the troposphere above the Atlantic decides to take a southern vacation.
04:56That jet stream usually acts like a bouncer, keeping the chilly Arctic air up near the pole.
05:02But when it heads south, that Arctic air gets a green light to crash the party in places like the
05:08East Coast, the Midwest, and even Western Europe.
05:11The storms that usually ride along with the jet stream follow along and head south too.
05:17They take their time to get organized and catch up with the new path of the jet.
05:21So, instead of hitting up Canada like they usually do, they swing by New York and Chicago for a change
05:28of scenery.
05:30Scientists still don't know why the polar vortex doesn't mess with the U.S. Pacific coast.
05:35It might have something to do with where the jet streams hang out in each basin.
05:40Over in the Atlantic, the jet stream kicks it at higher latitudes, while in the Pacific, it's chilling closer to
05:47the equator.
05:47It might also have to do with the landscape.
05:50In the Atlantic, the air has zipped over the Rocky Mountains, stirring up waves off tall peaks that mess with
05:57the jet stream.
05:58But in the Pacific, the jet stream is away from any big mountains that could cause trouble.
06:06The recent reversal of the polar vortex is unlikely to make the temperatures drop extremely.
06:11But scientists aren't sure what's going to happen to the polar jet stream in the future.
06:16They're concerned that the chilly polar air might make more trips down to the mid-latitudes and bring along more
06:22chilly spells in the long run.
06:24So, it's better to be prepared.
06:26When the news tells you there's a huge winter storm coming and power outages are highly likely, fill your bathtub
06:33with water.
06:34If you have an electric water pump, it won't work and you'll run out of water soon.
06:39Gas stations also run on electricity.
06:42So, fill your car tank before the storm hits to have some emergency gas.
06:47When the storm arrives and you're locked in, put on several layers of warm clothes, thermal wear, a warm shirt,
06:54a sweater, and insulated pants and woolen socks.
06:58Don't forget mittens so the heat doesn't escape through your hands.
07:01Hang dark blankets on your windows to dry and heat.
07:05Make sure your doors and windows are closed well, and put some towels under them to prevent drafts.
07:11Your basement is probably more insulated by the ground, so it could be a good place to spend the night.
07:17To warm up the cold winter bed in your home, fill a bottle with hot water and place it in
07:22your core region under the cover.
07:24The water will heat up your vital fluids traveling through your body, reaching all the extremities, and warming you up
07:30in no time.
07:31You can also wrap your pajamas around the bottle before putting them on for an extra effect.
07:37When the power comes back on, check all your appliances and electronics before turning on the main power switch.
07:43They must be unplugged to avoid power surge damage.
07:46As you turn the water supply back on, keep the taps on the lowest level of your house closed to
07:52let the air out from the upper taps.
07:57A sinkhole suddenly appeared in northern Siberia.
08:01This 115-foot-deep hole popped up after some weird explosion that threw dirt and rocks almost 395 feet away.
08:11Since then, two more mystery holes have shown up in the area.
08:15People first thought it might be connected to digging for fossil fuels, since it's not far from the biggest gas
08:22field.
08:22But the search team's radar scan suggested it was probably a natural thing.
08:28The first research trip wasn't too successful because scientists couldn't get inside and take samples until the hole's sides and
08:35the water at the bottom froze.
08:37Scientists have been wondering about what caused these holes, and the ideas varied from space rocks hitting the ground to
08:44rising temperatures on Earth.
08:46One researcher suggested that the eruption had occurred due to the accumulation of pressure.
08:52A temperature decrease is often accompanied by alterations in the volume of specific chambers.
08:58These chambers contain methane.
09:01Such craters are specific to the Arctic region.
09:04Few other areas share these particular features.
09:07They all have table-like ground ice situated close to the surface,
09:12continuous permafrost saturated with methane, and unfrozen ground.
09:18Speaking of gases, a geologist suggested that the sinkhole might have been caused by gas hydrates.
09:25These gas hydrates are also thought to be responsible for mysterious happenings in the Bermuda Triangle.
09:31The Yamal Peninsula, similar to the Bermuda Triangle, has been a place known for unexplained events.
09:38Here, residents even claim to have seen the abominable snowman.
09:44Sinkholes can pop up out of nowhere.
09:47Some are massive enough to gobble up whole buildings.
09:51They happen when rock under the ground, like limestone, starts getting dissolved by the water it contains.
09:57As the rock melts away, these big holes, or caverns, start forming.
10:02When these caverns become too much for the land above to handle,
10:07BAM!
10:07The surface caves in.
10:10Ice is melting like crazy.
10:13The Arctic is warming up way faster than the rest of the world,
10:16so ice sheets and glaciers are shrinking.
10:19As these chunks of ice melt,
10:21they pour fresh water into the oceans,
10:24raising sea levels and making Earth's crust sink.
10:28During the last ice age, those massive ice sheets pushed down on Earth's crust,
10:33making it bend and sink.
10:35When the ice started melting, the crust began to bounce back.
10:39But now, the ice is melting too fast for the crust to keep up.
10:43This sinking situation creates a dangerous loop.
10:47As land goes down, more seawater creeps in,
10:50causing more erosion and flooding.
10:53What about other parts of the world, such as China?
10:57It hosts the deepest and largest sinkhole on the planet.
11:01This sinkhole is 2,165 feet deep
11:06and holds a crazy amount of space.
11:09130 million cubic meters, to be exact.
11:12They call it the Heavenly Pit.
11:15And it's not just big,
11:16it has its own mini-ecosystem.
11:211,285 different plant and animal species can be found there.
11:25There's an ancient forest and a thick jungle of plants in there.
11:29This formation is a double-nested sinkhole
11:32with two craters connected by a sloping edge.
11:34When it rains, a waterfall shows up at the mouth.
11:38It feeds an underground river and cave network.
11:42When you look down from space,
11:44you'll see these deep, dark marks on the green landscape,
11:48like a footprint.
11:48Some suggested that these formations could have been left
11:52by a meteorite smashing into Earth.
11:54Others said it had taken about 128,000 years
11:59for water to carve them out.
12:01It could have snuck into underground rivers
12:03and worn away the limestone rock.
12:06It turns out, locals have known about this place for ages,
12:10but the rest of the world only caught wind of it in 1994.
12:14British explorers tried to map out its underground cave system,
12:18but it's like a maze down there.
12:20After five tries in a 10-year span,
12:23the team couldn't handle the rushing river
12:25and had to throw in the towel.
12:27So, this deep, mysterious underworld remains one of China's biggest geological puzzles.
12:36The next one is Treveno Jezero in Croatia.
12:40This is a huge, mysterious pit.
12:43It's not like a regular lake.
12:45It's basically a giant hole that formed when the ground collapsed
12:48into what was once a massive cave.
12:51The walls are super steep and have this reddish tint
12:55because of iron in the soil, which makes it look pretty wild.
12:59Inside, there's a deep blue lake that's incredibly clear,
13:03but also super cold.
13:05What's really cool is that it houses a unique species of fish
13:09that's only found there.
13:11Plus, the water level goes up and down
13:13because of an underground stream.
13:16It's a bit of an adventure to explore the lake
13:18because it's surrounded by sheer cliffs
13:21that can drop rocks without warning.
13:24Let's shift our gaze to Venezuela's Sima Humboldt.
13:27This is a colossal sinkhole hanging out in a flat-topped mountain.
13:32This beast of a hole plunges down 1,030 feet.
13:38You can find an entire forest at its base.
13:41It's home to many plants and animals that only live there,
13:45like a unique frog called Stefania Riai.
13:49In 1974, people went on an exciting trip there for the first time,
13:54and they had to cut down trees
13:56so that helicopters could come and pick them up,
13:58kind of like something you'd see in an Indiana Jones movie.
14:02The second largest blue hole on the planet,
14:05known as Tamyang, which translates to deep water in Mayan,
14:08is in Mexico, and that's where we're going.
14:10This underwater marvel was uncovered off the shores of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in 2021,
14:18but the deets about this sinkhole have just surfaced recently.
14:22It's 900 feet deep, with the sides so steep, they're almost 80 degrees.
14:27The entrance to this cavern is about 15 feet below sea level.
14:33Blue holes, like Tamyang, are these natural wonders formed during the Ice Ages.
14:39When the sea level was way lower, rain and other natural elements eroded limestone,
14:44creating these deep, vertical shafts.
14:46Then, as the oceans filled back up,
14:49these holes got submerged, turning into the mysterious blue holes we see today.
14:54They're called blue because the deep parts are darker than the shallower waters around them,
15:00making them look striking from above.
15:03Despite being low in oxygen, which usually makes it tough for sea life to thrive,
15:08blue holes are bustling with unique forms of life,
15:12especially bacteria.
15:14They're also gold mines for scientists because they can preserve ancient fossils
15:19in conditions you wouldn't normally find elsewhere.
15:22The team that discovered Tamyang used scuba gear,
15:26sonar equipment, and water sample testing to map out the blue hole
15:30and study its water chemistry.
15:32They found that it was not just deep, but also massive,
15:37covering a surface area of 147,357 square feet at its widest point.
15:45This discovery was made partly thanks to local fishers
15:49who had been whispering about its existence.
15:52Now, scientists are diving deep into its secrets,
15:55hoping to learn more about the unique ecosystems that blue holes can host
16:00and how they might give us clues about handling climate change
16:03and preserving marine life.
16:06Another spot is Dean's Blue Hole.
16:09This one is just off Long Island in the Bahamas.
16:12This underwater wonder goes deep, reaching 663 feet.
16:17The massive blue hole is surrounded by rocks,
16:21a lagoon, and a pristine white beach.
16:24Dean's Blue Hole isn't just a pretty sight.
16:26It's a hotspot for freediving enthusiasts.
16:29People come from all over the world to take the plunge
16:33into its crystal-clear depths.
16:35There are multiple passages branching off from the main blue hole,
16:39leading into intricate cave systems and mysterious underwater rooms.
16:44It stands out also because it's the second-deepest blue hole in the world,
16:50falling just behind the dragon hole in the South China Sea.
16:53This place is a big deal in the scuba diving world,
16:57especially since a swimmer set a world record here
17:00by diving 331 feet deep on a single breath without any fins.
17:09The Arctic is disappearing.
17:11In just a few years, the North Pole could see its first ice-free summer
17:15in the last 125,000 years.
17:19But a bold new experiment might turn back the clock.
17:22Scientists are refreezing the Arctic.
17:25If they succeed, they could save the North Pole.
17:27But if they fail, they could trigger unforeseen disasters.
17:31So which way would things go?
17:33Well, here's some backstory.
17:36Deep in the Arctic, temperatures drop so low
17:38that metal cracks and winds scream across the ice.
17:42In winter, it's minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit on average.
17:46But despite the seemingly extreme cold,
17:48it's actually melting,
17:50warming two to three times faster than the rest of the planet.
17:53Now, ice is like Earth's natural mirror.
17:56It reflects sunlight back into space, keeping the planet cool.
18:00When it melts, it exposes the dark ocean underneath.
18:04The ocean absorbs sunlight instead of reflecting it,
18:07and it spreads all across the planet.
18:10This warms the planet even faster, melting even more ice.
18:14It's a vicious cycle, and if it continues,
18:17we'll reach a point where the ice won't come back.
18:19That thick, ancient ice that has covered the North Pole
18:22for thousands of years is already 95% gone.
18:26It's been disappearing since the 1980s.
18:29The ice that remains there now is thin and fragile,
18:32and when it disappears,
18:34it will trigger a dangerous chain reaction.
18:37Meanwhile, a group of researchers from a UK startup called Real Ice
18:42is out there trying to slow down
18:44or even reverse the melting of the Arctic.
18:47The project takes place in a tiny frozen village in Canada
18:50called Cambridge Bay.
18:52Real Ice wants to break the vicious cycle.
18:55And here's their plan.
18:56First, they drill through the existing ice
18:58and place an underwater pump beneath it.
19:01Then they pump seawater onto the ice surface,
19:03where it quickly freezes into an extra thick layer.
19:07Finally, they remove snow from the ice,
19:09which usually acts like a blanket,
19:11preventing further freezing.
19:12After that, ice keeps growing,
19:15stronger, thicker, and harder to melt.
19:17It's a simple idea inspired by nature itself.
19:21Ice naturally forms its way in some Arctic regions,
19:24but now scientists want to do it on a massive scale.
19:27So far, it appears to be working.
19:30Between January and May 2024,
19:33they covered around 44,000 square feet of ice,
19:36and it became 20 inches thicker on average.
19:39And in November 2024,
19:41they started a new round of tests.
19:43In the first 10 days of the trial,
19:45the ice was already 4 inches thicker.
19:48Now they'll return in May 2025
19:51to check out how things are going.
19:53They think it's going to get between
19:55around 16 to 31 inches of it
19:57during the Arctic winter.
19:59It's a small start, admittedly,
20:01but if they can prove it works,
20:03their plan is to expand across an area
20:05more than twice the size of California,
20:08about 386,000 square miles of ice.
20:11And they're not stopping there.
20:13The big idea is to send in 500,000 underwater drones,
20:18powered by clean energy,
20:20to automate the entire process.
20:21These drones would drill holes,
20:24pump water,
20:24and refreeze the ice without human intervention.
20:28But not everyone is convinced.
20:30Some scientists think this whole idea
20:32is a disaster waiting to happen.
20:34First, they point out that saltier ice,
20:37the one from seawater pumped onto it,
20:39melts faster in the summer.
20:40So if this new ice melts too quickly,
20:43we could end up making the situation worse.
20:46Some of them also think
20:47this is a dangerous distraction
20:49from the core problem,
20:50like treating the symptoms
20:51instead of the root causes.
20:53Besides, making a small patch of ice thicker
20:56is one thing.
20:57But doing this across the entire Arctic?
20:59That's another challenge entirely.
21:02Another thing they're worried about
21:03is the ecosystem.
21:05The Arctic is one of the most
21:06fragile ecosystems on Earth.
21:08Changing ice thickness
21:09could affect marine life,
21:11disrupt algae growth,
21:12and impact the food chain
21:14in ways we don't fully understand.
21:16There's also the question of money.
21:19Realize estimates that
21:20refreezing the entire Arctic
21:22will cost about 5 to 6 billion dollars per year.
21:25Who's paying for this?
21:27Right now, they're self-funded
21:29with some investors backing them.
21:30But eventually,
21:31they hope that countries,
21:33global funds,
21:34and even corporations
21:35will finance the project.
21:37Realize argues that doing nothing
21:39could be far worse.
21:40If we don't act,
21:42we could lose the Arctic
21:43within our lifetime.
21:44That could at least
21:45help to buy more time
21:47to fix the planet.
21:48Desperate times
21:49call for desperate measures.
21:51Now, the idea of saving
21:52the Arctic ice isn't new.
21:54Over the years,
21:55scientists have suggested
21:56some pretty wild plans
21:57to stop the melting.
21:59In 2017,
22:00there was the initial
22:01wind-powered pump plan.
22:03Physicist Stephen Desch
22:04proposed installing
22:05about 10 million
22:06wind-powered pumps
22:07in the Arctic.
22:08These pumps would pull
22:10seawater up onto the ice,
22:11kind of like real ice.
22:13It would freeze
22:13in the cold winter months,
22:15creating a thicker ice layer.
22:17The biggest problem
22:18is that someone
22:19would have to run
22:19this entire show.
22:21And what happens
22:22if something goes wrong?
22:23In 2018,
22:24there was the
22:25Glass Beads Plan,
22:27which was supposed
22:27to start in 2020s.
22:29A team called
22:30the Arctic Ice Project
22:31suggested covering
22:33the Arctic with
22:33tiny reflective
22:34glass beads.
22:36Yep, glass balls.
22:37The idea was basically
22:39to replace the ice's
22:40mirror effect.
22:41The beads would
22:42bounce sunlight away,
22:44keeping the ice
22:44colder for longer.
22:46The plan is being tested
22:47by a group of scientists
22:48working with
22:49the Arctic Ice Project.
22:50They say the glass balls
22:52are made of a material
22:53that's safe for animals.
22:54They even claim
22:55birds use similar materials
22:57to help them digest food.
22:59The glass used
23:00in these microspheres
23:01is the same material
23:02used in lab equipment
23:03and light bulbs.
23:04Sounds safe, right?
23:06Well, not so fast.
23:07There's also
23:08the environmental risk.
23:10These glass balls
23:11are tiny,
23:11and they could easily
23:12get into the ocean,
23:14impacting everything
23:15from fish to plankton.
23:16We still need
23:17more research
23:18to understand
23:19how this material
23:20breaks down in the ocean
23:21and whether it could
23:22affect marine life.
23:24But where things
23:25get really crazy
23:26is when we start
23:27talking about
23:28scaling this up.
23:29To cover just
23:30a tiny fraction
23:31of the Arctic,
23:32they would need
23:33millions of tons
23:34of these tiny microspheres.
23:36And that's just
23:36for starters.
23:37And they'd have
23:38to be working
23:3924-7
23:40through freezing temperatures
23:41and snowstorms.
23:42The scientists believe
23:43this could help
23:44keep the ice thick enough
23:46to survive summer
23:47and even slow the melting.
23:49But can it really work?
23:51Then,
23:52there's also
23:52the Bright Ice Initiative,
23:54founded by the same folks
23:55behind the Arctic Ice Project.
23:57Instead of focusing
23:58on the Arctic Ocean,
24:00they want to use
24:00the same glass microspheres
24:02to restore glaciers.
24:04They've even tried
24:05this out on a glacier
24:06in Iceland.
24:06But experts
24:07are still skeptical.
24:09They say it could
24:09just speed up melting
24:10instead of reversing it.
24:12Now,
24:12another idea
24:13was cloud seeding
24:14with water particles.
24:15This would involve
24:16spraying ocean water
24:17into the sky itself.
24:19This would form clouds
24:20and they'd reflect
24:21more sunlight.
24:23So,
24:23as you can see,
24:24some of these plans
24:25were too expensive,
24:26too complicated,
24:27or just straight-up wild.
24:29The real ISIS plan
24:31borrows ideas
24:32from earlier projects,
24:33but is much cheaper
24:34and more practical.
24:36Most importantly,
24:37it's working.
24:38But all this Arctic disaster
24:40is already affecting people.
24:42In the village
24:43of Newtok, Alaska,
24:44the land is disappearing.
24:46Each year,
24:47about 70 feet
24:48of the riverbank erodes,
24:50taking homes
24:50and history with it.
24:52That's all because
24:53of the erosion
24:54and the thawing permafrost.
24:56Now,
24:57these people had to move
24:57to a safer place
24:59called Myrtovek,
25:00just nine miles away.
25:01But it's a long
25:02and challenging journey.
25:04The relocation
25:05is taking years of planning,
25:07with Newtok residents
25:08already starting
25:09this shift in 2019.
25:11The new village
25:12offers better health
25:13and safety,
25:14but it's still
25:14a work in progress.
25:16Things like the school
25:17and grocery store
25:18remain in the old village,
25:20which makes things harder.
25:21Water and sewage systems
25:23are being set up,
25:24and for now,
25:25most residents
25:25are using a honey bucket system.
25:27But at least,
25:28they have a chance
25:29to rebuild.
25:31It's still unclear
25:32whether these
25:33geoengineering ideas
25:34are a lifeline
25:35or a disaster.
25:36For now,
25:37we can just keep
25:38an eye on them.
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