Petoukhov believes that we may already be seeing evidence of an increase in the frequency of cold winters compared with the more random, or stochastic, distribution of cold winters in previous decades that were associated with the NAO. "We have already had two chilly winters in Europe in the last decade, and this November situation, as it developed, also forces us to be on the alert. This makes it questionable that only a purely stochastic mechanism of the European cold winter extremes is at work, and this deserves an exhaustive investigation," he commented.

The possibility suggested by Petoukhov that the Barents-Kara Sea effect could triple the probability of cold winter extremes in Europe,will almost certainly be of interest to policy makers and planners in north European states such as the UK where there is an ongoing debate about the level of investment required to deal with "occasional" cold weather events.

Policy implications of colder European winters :

• Insulation, insulation, insulation
  
• Reinforced, weatherproof public transport : a reshag of infrastructure specs (what about the Dublin metro?)
  
• Energy security :  oh bugger, Ireland is in the poo on that one. Your home heating problem on a national scale.