WITH Scotland dipping to its coldest temper-atures for 35 years, and minus 21.9°C recorded in Braemar in Aberdeenshire in midweek, global warming may have been furthest from people’s minds. But while former US president Donald Trump and climate deniers may point to colder winters as evidence that climate change is not at play, the fact that Scots are shivering under Arctic conditions this February can actually be attributed to global warming. As we truly are experiencing Arctic conditions. The polar vortex that sits high above the Arctic in the stratosphere is believed to have fed this cold snap which has had us thumbing through spells of weather. During the winter, a jet stream of air that keeps the polar vortex in place sometimes weakens, allowing its chilly air to extend southward.