There is a popular assumption that if you move to higher latitudes (toward the poles) you can escape the heat, and that by moving to lower latitudes (toward the equator) you can escape the cold.
The equation is simple. But is it real? If it was, then the most northerly capital, Reykjavk, would also be the coldest…at least until they establish a country on Antarctica. Yes, it appears that latitude is slacking off and failing to keep temperatures in line.
This was brought home to me when preparing for a radio interview in Dublin, Ireland. February had just roiled in and I was sitting back comfortably in my good old glacial Ottawa, Canada, weather, scraping icicles off my toes. I was giddy with excitement over our warm spell, which it was reaching a high of minus-5 (that’s about 20-degrees American). I always ask questions the day before an interview, to learn a bit about my audience, so I asked the producer, “So what’s the weather forecast for Dublin, Ireland?” asked.
“Oh it’s horrible,” she told me. “People are bracing for a deep winter freeze that’s supposed to hit tonight. It might even get as...