The blizzard of 2016, which some people are calling “Snowmaggedon,” is one to be remembered. The storm that hit the East Coast has resulted in horrific implications. Killing at least 38 people, the blizzard is bound to go down inhistory as one of the worst in the Northeast.

The blizzard will go down in history not for the amount of snow, but as a historic example of shifting climate. It may seem the opposite of global warming to some, as they believe climate change should cause less snowfall; however in a broad scope, climate change is linked to increasing the chances of “mega snowstorms” according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Many factors point to the blizzard as a perfect example of the drastic changes in climate due to fossil fuel emissions and pollution that the universal public has largely ignored until recently.

Saturday was the snowiest day in the history of New York City as 26.6 inches fell. While winters everywhere are becoming increasingly warmer, at the same time we are seeing terrific snowstorms like never before, and we have to ask ourselves whether we want this kind of climate change to continue to worsen over the next generations.

According to the California Institute of Technology, a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture, thus producing heavier precipitation in a shorter amount of time, as exemplified perfectly by the blizzard.

A huge range of scientists have researched and confirmed that climate change is due to human activity. Right now, the world is at a divide with facing the facts of climate change. What we do in this decade is crucial. If we choose one path that recognizes the facts behind climate change, perhaps by the end of the decade we could be well on our way to a cleaner world; but if we choose the other path, which believes climate change is mythical, we will face a future in which the only certainty is a continually changing climate and an deteriorating planet for us all.

Therefore, looking ahead into the future, warmer than normal temperatures are bound to resume, meaning the heavy snow – no matter how much it was – will melt, and that is due to global warming as well.