Update about global temperatures. Watch our world warm!

Larry Kummer, Editor

13 years ago

Summary: The news media writes frequently about global warming, but how well informed are we. Test for yourselves. At your local pub ask the bar how much the world has warmed during the 34 year-long satellite record (ie, the best record). The result, which appears below (in red) will surprise many in the room — which reveals much about the media’s role in our society. Today we look at the data about this important subject, through 2012.

Contents

What the satellites tell us about global warming
How rapidly are the oceans warming?
Some of the key things to remember about global warming!
For More Information

Red emphasis added.

(1) What the satellites tell us about global warming

The December 2012 Global Temperature Report
by the Earth System Science Center of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (blue is cold; red warm}

(a) Key points

Globally, 2012 was ninth warmest of the past 34 years.
In the U.S., 2012 sets a new record high temperature.
Global climate trend since November 1978: +0.14 °C per decade (0.25 °F). {Total since 1978 < 1 °F}
December global composite: +0.20 °C (0.36 °F) above the 30-year average for December.
December Northern Hemisphere: +0.14 °C (0.25 °F) above 30-year average for December.
December Southern Hemisphere: +0.26 °C (0.47 °F) above 30-year average for December.

(b) Details

Globally, 2012 was the ninth warmest year among the past 34, with an annual global average temperature that was 0.161 C (about 0.29 °F) warmer than the 30-year baseline average, according to Dr. John Christy. 2012 was about 0.03 °C {0.054 °F} warmer than 2011, but was 0.23 °C cooler than 2010.

Eleven of the 12 warmest years in the satellite temperature record have been been since 2001. From 2001 to the present only 2008 was cooler than the long-term norm for the globe. Despite that string of warmer-than-normal years, there has been no measurable warming trend since about 1998.

While 2012 was only the 9th warmest year globally, it was the warmest year on record for both the contiguous 48 US states and for the continental US, including Alaska. For the US, 2012 started with one of the 3 warmest Januaries in the 34-year record, saw a record-setting March heat wave, and stayed warm enough for the rest of the year to set a record. … The annual average temperature over the conterminous 48 states in 2012 was 0.555 °C (about 0.99 °F) warmer than seasonal norms.

Compared to seasonal norms, the coolest area on the globe throughout 2012 was central Mongolia, where temperatures averaged about 1.39 °C (about 2.5 °F) cooler than seasonal norms. The warmest area was north of central Russia in the Kara Sea, where temperatures averaged 2.53 °C (about 4.55 °F) warmer than seasonal norms for 2012. …

(d) About the global satellite

As part of an ongoing joint project between UAHuntsville, NOAA and NASA, John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Dr. Roy Spencer, an ESSC principal scientist, use data gathered by advanced microwave sounding units on NOAA and NASA satellites to get accurate temperature readings for almost all regions of the Earth. This includes remote desert, ocean and rain forest areas where reliable climate data are not otherwise available.

The satellite-based instruments measure the temperature of the atmosphere from the surface up to an altitude of about 8,000 above sea level.

Neither Christy nor Spencer receives any research support or funding from oil, coal or industrial companies or organizations, or from any private or special interest groups. All of their climate research funding comes from federal and state grants or contracts.

————- End of The December 2012 Global Temperature Report ————-

(2) How rapidly are the oceans warming?

The temperature datasets that get the most attention measure land surface temperatures. But not only are the seas 70% of the Earth’s surface, but the oceans are the primary reservoir of heat for the coupled sea-air system in which we live. Unfortunately we don’t have good historical data for sea surface temperatures (SST) before roughly 1982. There are several datasets of global SST data after the early 1980s; for details see Bob Tisdale’s “An Overview Of Sea Surface Temperature Datasets Used In Global Temperature Products“.

Here is a graph of the SST Global anomalies from the NOMADS website, from Bob Tisdales’s website (click to enlarge), which combines both direct measurements (ie, ships and buoys) and satellite data) Again, no warming since the late 1990s. SST’s show the effect of the large decadal-scale cycles (eg, La Nina – El Nino in the tropical Pacific), which effect global temperatures.

(3) Some of the key things to remember about global warming!

While cheering madly (ie, irrationally, emotionally, hysterically) for their faction of scientists, laypeople often loose sight of the big picture — the key elements for making public policy.

The major global temperature measurement systems tell — broadly speaking — the same story since the late 1970s: two decades of warming, followed by a pause.

This is consistent with the larger firm conclusions of climate scientists: two centuries of warming, coming in pulses (ie, waves), with anthropogenic factors becoming the largest (not the only) drivers since roughly 1950.

(4) For More Information

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