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High Arctic forecaster sees record-breaking summer
CBC News, IQALUIT, May 16, 2005An Environment Canada weather station operator in Resolute Bay says 2005 will be the warmest year ever recorded in the northern hemisphere. Wayne Davidson says he's invented a way to predict the year's weather by measuring the width of the disc of the sun. He says the bigger the sun on the coldest day of the year, the warmer the year will be. Complicated as the theory may be, Davidson says it's been accurate so far. "I predicted 2003 accurately," he says. "In 2004 I said last year that 2004 would be not as warm as the previous year but in the top five warmest years ever, and it was the top four."
Davidson says large amounts of cold air in the environment refract the light of the sun, making it appear smaller. He says if the sun appears larger, it means there's less cold air. The theory hasn't been proven scientifically, but Davidson says if he continues to be correct, he hopes Environment Canada will incorporate it into its forecasts. Davidson's observations have noted changes in the appearance of the sun from Resolute, brighter dusks and dawns during the community's months-long winter night, and instances when the sun appeared on the horizon earlier than astronomical timetables dictated.