Essay by Eric Worrall
The last time these extreme weather conditions were recorded was shortly after the Little Ice Age.
Experts warn of rapid loss of water in the Baltic Sea: ‘A vibrant reef is turning into an underwater wasteland’
By Katarzyna Kubacka
Published on 22/02/2026 – 14:19 GMT+1At the beginning of February, the water level in the Baltic Sea dropped sharply. Experts tell Euronews it is a result of climate change.
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The situation, although it has not happened for 140 years, is caused by atmospheric factors. On the surface, these should not be a cause for concern, but, as Dr Tomasz Kijewski of the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences told Euronews, such a deviation is a glaring example of the impact of climate change on the environment. The Arctic plays the first fiddle here.
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“The long-lasting strong easterly winds persisting since the beginning of January have pushed water masses through the Danish Straits towards the North Sea, resulting in a drop in levels throughout the basin,” reads a post by the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. “As long as this meteorological configuration continues, water is being ‘held down’ at the south-eastern end of the basins, with levels locally decreasing.”
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As he explains, the mass of frigid air that has always existed over the Arctic and has, as it were, sealed it off from the rest of the world is beginning to ‘unseal’, having a significant effect on the temperature of atmospheric currents.
“We jokingly call it the open fridge effect,” says the biologist. “When we open the fridge, air escapes down the bottom and we get cold feet.”
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Read more: https://www.euronews.com/2026/02/22/experts-warn-of-rapid-loss-of-water-in-the-baltic-sea-a-vibrant-reef-is-turning-into-an-un
I know some of you doubters might think it less than convincing that a rare post Little Ice Age weather condition known as “the open fridge effect” is proof of global warming, but we all know the strongest evidence of global warming is extreme winter conditions.
Let’s hope the world doesn’t tip over into global cooling, otherwise we might lose all our snow.
