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28 Feb 11 - Violent eruptions along Russia’s volcano belt are affecting global weather patterns and prices to boot, says this article by Ben Aris. "Prepare to pay more for your flour and coal this year." "Volcanoes on the country’s eastern seaboard of Kamchatka have been unusually active for the last six months," says Aris. "The dust they threw up diverted winds in the Arctic, pushing cold air over Europe and North America and causing the unusually cold winter, say scientists." "This string of volcanoes, 29 of which are active, could cause more problems this year, depressing harvests around the globe just as food prices soar, and culminating in a second freezing winter. "The eruptions have come at the worst possible time. The Pacific Ocean has already been cooled by the “La Niņa” ocean/atmosphere phenomenon, which is particularly severe this year. At the same time the Atlantic Ocean is warmer than usual. "Erste Bank said the combination of these factors means the weather forecast for the first quarter of 2011 is extreme, and will hit both the agricultural and mining sectors, sending spiking prices up even faster. "According to US climatologist Evelyn Browning-Garriss’s acclaimed Browning Newsletter: “Kamchatka tends to be active but recently it has been ridiculous! Since late November, Kizimen, Sheveluch, Karymsky, and Kliuchevskoi have been erupting almost constantly.” "Volcanic ash screens out the sun, cooling the air below. This lowers air pressures, which changes wind patterns, especially in the Arctic. And, “the cold air normally trapped around the North Pole surges south”. The upshot has been some bizarre weather. The UK was colder than Russia on Christmas Day and New York was under heavy snow, while Moscow had icy rain as temperatures hovered around zero."
See entire scary article:
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