NOAA releases global climate update
The climate scientists at NOAA on December 11 released their Arctic Report Card on conditions in the Arctic and consistent with much of the recent research it continues to favor the trend of Arctic warming and sea ice melting. Having been a weather observer for over 35 years and part of NOAA and the national Weather Service, I consider NOOA to be a reliable source of good accurate weather and climate information. For the most part, these are the scientists that do a lot of the research and do not appear to be in the game for the TV ratings and the weather hype that makes up so much of our news.
The Arctic Report has a few interesting observations including the second warmest Arctic since 1900; the second highest air temperature; the second lowest overall sea ice coverage; and the lowest winter ice in the Bearing Sea along with the earliest plankton bloom due to early melting of sea ice. I do wonder a bit about how much data we had available from the early 1900 era, but clearly something is going on and again we can argue all day about natural or man-made as the cause. The point is we need to have the discussion and see if there is any action we can include without a total destruction of our economy or the planet.
The report also suggests that the growing atmospheric warmth in the Arctic results in a sluggish and unusually wavy jet stream, which may have a connection to the abnormal weather events both in the Arctic and our mid latitudes. The fall heatwave at the North Pole in 2017; the swarm of severe winter storms last winter in the Eastern United States, including the rare tornado here in Uniontown this past February; and the extreme cold in Europe last March. There is always danger in ascribing long-term trends to a few weather events. All these reports that must be looked at carefully. And there are always the political aspects to the ongoing debate about global climate. Don鈥檛 forget about the ice sheets that covered much of Western Pennsylvania and the warming periods when the dinosaurs roamed the land.
There is a lot at stake concerning the issue of global climate. We may not be able to do much, but for the sake of future generations, we should examine the research that is being done. There is a lot of movement that what is going on is real and we need to pay attention.