April may have seemed on the cool side in this country, but globally it was the third warmest on record (and the warmest April ever over land). In fact, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reports that “globally averaged combined land and sea surface temperature was the warmest on record for January-April year-to-date period.”
Drudge reported the April news perversely: “WARMING ON HOLD? April’s temperatures were below average…”
April temperature anomalies are shown on the dot map below. The redder it is, the hotter it is.
Note that the real news is that much of Siberia is a stunning 5°C (9°F) above average. This is especially worrisome because
- Siberia contains probably the world’s largest amount of carbon locked away in the permafrost.
- The permafrost is increasingly not so perma.
- Much of that carbon would be released as methane, which is 23 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
In addition, NCDC notes that “the Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent … was the least sea ice extent in April since records began in 1979.” Finally, the NCDC notes that planetary warming is accelerating:
During the past century, global surface temperatures have increased at a rate near 0.11°F (0.06°C) per decade, but the rate of increase has been three times larger since 1976, or 0.32°F (0.18°C) per decade, with some of the largest temperature increases occurring in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
We are running out of time to act.
Want to stay in-the-know on all things climate? Subscribe to our RSS Feed!
RSS
Subscribe by Email
Follow Climate Progress on Twitter
This is a scary situation especially for the future. Why is it happening so fast? I have lived in Alaska and Arizona and I have seen major changes actually in both locations but it is even more noticibale in Alaska How do we stop this monster
I’m just glad I don’t have kids. Your kids are going to have to live through a very uncertain future, perhaps a very chaotic one.
We are running out of time to act.
We are also running out of oil.
Mother Earth had this planned very well.
Next we run out of humans.
Sweet…
Yet most of the eastern U.S. is averaging much cooler; so who cares?!
I’d also like to see a chart showing fluctuation for a greater period than just 1961 to 2007; I mean, we did have an Ice Age at one time on this planet, so in my opinion fluctuations in temperatures are nothing mroe than natural phenomena of the planet. It seems too early to directly tie it to certain conduct by the human race.
chris Says:
May 18th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Good thing opinions are like assholes; everyone’s got them, and they all stink.
Try feeding your ‘opinion’ some science, but science is hard for pee brains like yours.
*sigh*. In the past, Ice Ages have been caused quite gradually by natural phenomena (Milankovitch cycles, other changes in solar activity, and volcanic emissions). Now, it is being caused very rapidly by human activity (carbon emissions). What is so hard to understand about this?
*chuckle* Now, WARMING is being caused by human activity…
John has nailed it. Carbon emissions are growing more than 100 times faster than they ever have in the past thanks to us!
The article doesn’t mention that the Siberia recording stations have been reduced by over 9000 recording stations. You only have recording stations in the Heat Islands. I wonder why it is warmer in Siberia. Duh.
According to Living Planet publishing company, the Yosemite National Park in California, over 1000 years ago had NO glaciers. Today they have 96 glaciers and over 200 ice caps. We are in an Interglacial period. Yes it is going to be warmer and glaciers will melt. But guess what, it is going to get cooler in the long term, no matter what humans do.
Are you concerned about global warming? Then you stop driving. You stop using electricity. You stop using a computer. Then that will solve the problem and the rest of us can continue to live a normal life.
In the History of humankind, we have always prospered during the warm periods. Read the book, Guns, Germs and Steel. Come on people, get more information. Don’t be hoodwinked by people with a political agenda. If you let them convince you to change the energy policies of the world then millions of people in third world countries will die. You personally are preventing them from having the same lifestyle you have by limiting their use of energy. They will not be able to grow crops like we do. They will not have access to information like we do. They will not be able to heat their homes and cool their homes and build hospitals. They won’t have access to energy. And it will be your fault they die.
Get more information please, please, please.
Global Cooling, a moment of truth: What do you really care about the
[millions of people in third world countries] who will die? Be honest with me.
And, you stated:
[They will not have access to information like we do. They will not be able to heat their homes and cool their homes and build hospitals. They won’t have access to energy. And it will be your fault they die.]
Your bleeding all over this comment and I do not believe a word of it.
You [Get more information please, please, please].
And start by reading the IPCC AR4 Working Group III.
Tell us if you feel the same about the millions of people living on the Indian Ocean coast who will be displaced as the oean levels rise…and that is just for starters.
There will always be pseudo-caring people who argue doing nothing is the best way to ….protect…. the poorest among us. After all, if you give a homeless man a dollar he will ask for more and never get a job. You believe that, I am sure. But, you would not take a moment to actually help him get a job. You just need him to worry about!
According to Living Planet publishing company, the Yosemite National Park in California, over 1000 years ago had NO glaciers. Today they have 96 glaciers and over 200 ice caps. We are in an Interglacial period. Yes it is going to be warmer and glaciers will melt. But guess what, it is going to get cooler in the long term, no matter what humans do.
There are only about 15 remnant glaciers in the entire Sierra Nevada. So the claim that Yosemite has 96 glaciers is absurd on its face. Unfortunately, this level of cluelessness is typical for global-warming deniers like the pathetically ignorant individual who calls him/herself “global cooling”.
Having personally hiked much of the Yosemite backcountry, I know firsthand that Yosemite has very few tiny, remnant glaciers.
Anyone who thinks the planet is going to get cooler in the short term, the medium term, or the longer-term just isn’t paying attention to the science.
You’re telling me that all this CO2 is locked in the permafrost. Therefore, it’s probably been the permafrost and glacial melting — not man — that’s contributed to the huge CO2 increase so far.
Sounds like Global Warming is truly naturogenic after all…
No. This should clear things up a bit.
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=87
I’m not convinced. The arguments in your article are:
1. The usual circuitous argument about CO2 goes up after the Industrial Revolution, so it has to be man. That doesn’t account for the fact that the warming may have been driving the Industrial Revolution in the first place.
2. Isotopes. It says that there iatmospheric CO2 is a different isotope than CO2 from fossil fuel burning. This raises two questions…what isotope comes from CO2 released from permafrost? Second, if this CO2 isotope is not the same as atmospheric CO2, how can we be sure that it has the same global warming effect? Maybe it is not as efficient a greenhouse gas as atmospheric CO2 which would explain why the hockey stick of CO2 does not result in a hockey stick of temperature.
People who are not convinced by science will not be convinced by me.
There is a hockey stick of temperature.
http://www.realclimate.org/ index.php/ archives/ 2006/ 08/ followup-to-the-hockeystick-hearings/
http://www.realclimate.org/ index.php/ archives/ 2006/ 06/ national-academies-synthesis-report/
http://www.realclimate.org/ index.php/ archives/ 2006/ 02/ a-new-take-on-an-old-millennium/
http://www.realclimate.org/ index.php/ archives/ 2005/ 10/ hockey-sticks-round-27/
And about a dozen other posts on RealClimate.
Seems to me that all this gloom and doom about global warming is just nature taking its course – the suns in a warm period like it was in the middle ages – even Mars is having a hot spell & I don’t think humans are responsible for that . . . still, “clean energy” is worthy cause as oil will soon be running out !!
In reply to caerbannog,
Basagic’s glacier survey also aims to refine estimates of how many glaciers exist in California. Those estimates range from several dozen to nearly 500.
So, there is currently research to find out how many glaciers there really are in California. Since Global cooling said he/she was quoting from another book and wasn’t just giving an opinion, the attack against him/her seems rather odd. I guess if you don’t agree with someone rather than give facts, you just attack their character.
And how do you know that the person doesn’t really care about the people in third world countries or the poor in America? How can you know what that person feels for others?
Who does higher gasoline, electric and food costs hurt? The poor. Yeah, let’s crank up the gasoline and tax it more. The poor will die and we can consume their carbon credits.
How many of you have quoted your source of information?
And I see that some have provided links to their source of information. So if someone else points to another source that refutes the original who is right? And if all the scientists agree how come so many scientist disagree? Is it all or not? Must be questionable science.
Now you can bash me along with the others as opposed to making arguments with facts.
I took a gander at Realclimate.com and here is their disclaimer.
“The contributors to this site do so in a personal capacity during their spare time and their posts do not represent the views of the organizations for which they work, nor the agencies which fund them.”
So, these are just people with an opinion which may or may not have a bias toward a specific political leaning and use their science and education to push a political point of view. How can we know the truth?
1) I know this is going to come as a big shock to you, since you haven’t read my previous posts, but it is quite straightforward to design a carbon cap & trade system that returns home of the revenues to the poor.
2) Realclimate is written by climate scientists. They are not “just people with an opinion” — and their posts are subject to the marketplace of ideas in their comments section.
1934 was the hottest year on record. five of the hottest years on record are before WWII. figures don’t lie but but they can be manipulated to satisfy any agenda.
1934 (and the 30’s in general) was a hot year in the US, but barely noticeable on a global scale. The 30’s saw huge dust storms in the US – that’s a whole lot of heat trapping particulates – in the US. World wide, the hottest years have been in the past dozen.
GLobal warming is the world’s BIGGEST scam. There is not one shred of evidence to support it. I challenge anyone global warming conspiracy theorists to prove me wrong. You can’t. You’re a bunch of sheeple. Here is a link to over 400 PROMINENT scientists that believe GW is a bunch of poo poo: http://epw.senate.gov/ public/ index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.SenateReport
CO2 is NOT a pollutant. Without it nothing could survive. GHG are necessary to existing on Earth. I say lets put more green house gases into the atmosphere to encourage more life. By the way, CO2 emitted by mankind is less than 2%, not enough to make a difference either way. The Earth itself is the largest emiiter of GHG’s….And by the way, the schemes to somehow limit carbon emissions is terrible and will devastate the American economy, which is exactly what the America haters want to do.
“Anyone who thinks the planet is going to get cooler in the short term, the medium term, or the longer-term just isn’t paying attention to the science.”
Hmm – who isn’t paying attention to the science?
http://www.dailytech.com/ Temperature+Monitors+Report+Worldwide+Global+Cooling/ article10866.htm
“All four major global temperature tracking outlets (Hadley, NASA’s GISS, UAH, RSS) have released updated data. All show that over the past year, global temperatures have dropped precipitously.”
You can’t just pick & choose what science you want to accept. The facts are now in – 2007 was NOT the hottest year on record. Quite the opposite, it would seem.
Gore makes money off of global warming while increasing his carbon footprint and energy usage (up 10% in one year, to the equivelent of 20 US homes).
University scientists trumpeting global climate change receive millions in grants to study it. A conflict of interest?
Those who disagree? They must be silenced!!!
Typical liberal hypocrisy. What fascists! They tell you want you can say and not say (PC police). They tell you want you must believe.
Gore makes money off of global warming while increasing his carbon footprint and energy usage (up 10% in one year, to the equivelent of 20 US homes).
University scientists trumpeting global climate change receive millions in grants to study it. A conflict of interest?
Those who disagree? They must be silenced!!!
Typical liberal hypocrisy. What fascists! They tell you what you can say and not say (PC police). They tell you what you must believe.
Scientist have found that the temperature on Mars is increasing just as it is on Earth. Did the rover miss the people, factories, and SUVs? Perhaps the rover itself is releasing the CO2.
[JR: Your first sentence is factually incorrect and has been debunked here and elsewhere. Good job mindlessly repeating a denier talking point -- though next time you might actually try giving a link or better yet, reading the literature.]
Why is the ice around Alaska, Greenland, & Russia melting so fast?
Could it be that large underwater, as well as land, volcanoes have something to do with the melting?
Huge Underwater Volcanoes in the Gakkel Straight (Northern Greenland) has been found to be very active, and are releasing enormous amounts of energy (Energy = Heat). A huge volcano in Russia that hasn’t erupted in 3000 years just erupted the other day, and a massive volcanoe in Russia erupted last year. Also, volcanoes in Alaska are erupting.
In Hawaii, where I live, Kilauea Volcano has been erupting since the mid 80’s, kicking out more than enough pollutants than any mankind event could possibly compete with.
Other notes: 2008 has been one of the coldest in years, and The Farmer’s Almanac (One of the most accurate weather forcasting tool that records sunspots as a way of weather prediction) has stated that 2008 will have a cold and long winter, and there will be a global cooling trend between now and the next few decades.
If you have already drank the Global Warming (aka: Climate Change) Kool Aid, then forget what I said, I won’t change your mind, but if you pride yourself on being open-minded, I suggest that you do your own research, and avoid the mainstream talking points. Also, look around for yourself, go outside and feel it, your body won’t lie to you.
Beautiful article! It’s just what i needed to understand. Happy Day’s