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&nbsp;WASHINGTON: The floods in Pakistan and the wildfires in Russia are raging a continent apart but they are connected by the Asian monsoon, reports the National Geographic magazine. The monsoon &mdash; a seasonal wind system that brings rains to Pakistan and much of the rest of Asia in summer &mdash; also drives the circulation of air as far away as Europe, Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the Boulder, Colorado-based National Centre for Atmospheric Research, told the magazine.&nbsp; 
 
Scientists agree that a large weather pattern links the events, reports another science magazine, New Scientist.&nbsp; 
 
Meteorologists monitoring the atmosphere above the northern hemisphere say that unusual holding patterns in the jet stream are to blame. (Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents found in the earth&rsquo;s atmosphere.)&nbsp; 
 
As a result, weather systems sat still. Temperatures rocketed and rainfall reached extremes.&nbsp; 
 
For Pakistan, it meant getting stuck with a weather system that brings rains to the entire region in this season. Changes in the holding pattern, however, caused the rains to stay longer than usual, which brought the flood.&nbsp; 
 
Much of the air pumped into the upper atmosphere by this unusual monsoon rains settled over Russia, creating high-pressure conditions, which favour heat waves.&nbsp; 
 
Such circulation patterns are normal, but they&rsquo;re also being enhanced by rising sea temperatures due in part to global warming, Mr Trenberth warned.&nbsp; 
 
For instance, the northern Indian Ocean has warmed 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the 1970s. Warmer water releases more moisture into the air, which can supercharge monsoon rains.&nbsp; 
 
The New York Times, also quoting meteorologists, reported that the changes in weather patterns over the region spawned Pakistan&rsquo;s worst flooding, affecting nearly 14 million people.&nbsp; 
 
In Russia, the changing weather pattern led to its worst heat wave in recent memory, stoking widespread fires.&nbsp; 
 
Both Russia and Pakistan are also experiencing &ldquo;remarkable&rdquo; temperatures in 2010, which is shaping up to be one of the hottest years since record-keeping began in the late 1880s, Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for the Weather Underground website, told National Geographic.