Much of the UK is hunkering down for a weekend of expected snow. My friend Andrew, along with farmers across the land, will be bracing himself for a hard slog of feeding animals – he sent me this today from Wiltshire:
It is January, when snow probably should be expected here, and it’s not too hard to forget about global warming, and perhaps even accord a little credence to the deniers.
Yet beyond our immediate experiences, there’s all sorts happening. Sydney today (Friday) had its hottest day on record, with 45.8C was recorded at Observatory Hill topping the 1939 record by 0.5C. Further west, Penrith was even hotter, reaching 46.5C.
Bondi Beach J Bar, WikiCommons
Across the world in Canada, Toronto also basked in record breaking weather, albeit of the northern hemisphere variety. Last Saturday it reached 15C, breaking the 12 January record by 5.5C, but not quite matching the January record of 16C, set in 1967. Across southern Ontario, temperatures were 10C to 15C higher than normal. Meanwhile in neighbouring Manitoba, winter has been progressing more typically, reaching down to a truly shuddering -23C and with blizzards and 60 km hour winds. ,
The world is a big and varied place and yet the annual averages tell a compelling, trending story. 2012 was the ninth warmest year for more than a century and the warmest recorded by far for the continental US, says NASA. In common with other parts of the world, climate change is already affecting how Americans live, and changing America itself, according an early draft of the 2013 National Climate Assessment.
Globally, each decade has continued to be warmer than the last. Tellingly, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen dramatically, from around 285 parts per million in 1880, to 315 ppm in 1960 to the current level of almost 395 ppm parts per million. This is a rather frightening 38% increase, with no sign of slackening. Although the MetOffice has slightly reduced its climate projections for the next five years, the future of climate change is clear, as Shell’s climate scientist clearly explains.
So, have a nice weekend, take care in the snow. And don’t go mad with the central heating – more on energy and fossil fuels next week.