The Number 5

5 high pressure centers circling the northern hemisphere, as seen in the above graphic, often equates to an oncoming intense heatwave, a recent finding that will help save lives as we move further into the realm of the 900 lb gorilla known as Global Warming.

Scientists may have found a new way to do just that: New research shows that heat waves are often preceded by a peculiar global weather pattern. Referred to as a wavenumber-5 pattern, it consists of five high-pressure systems evenly distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. This arrangement of the jet stream is more stable than other configurations, and allows areas of heat and high pressure to build up and persist, said Haiyan Teng, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. The jet stream is a river of wind high in the atmosphere that flows from west to east around the globe.

Click on the NYTimes image to do an interactive journey into just how rapidly GW is accelerating, a process exponential in actuallity, something never slow moving or glacial in reality, given just how intense phase transitions from one state to another can be.