WMO: Global warming drives more climate disruption

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Earth is warming inexorably. Satellite image via NASA’s Blue Marble collection.

World’s top meteorological body concerned about global trends

By Summit Voice

FRISCO —Climate-sensitive economic sectors like agriculture and energy are already feeling the pinch of more extreme fluctuations in the weather, driven by global climate change, according to the World Meteorological Organization, which released its annual climate statement for 2012 last week.

“It is vital that we continue to invest in the observations and research that will improve our knowledge about climate variability and climate change,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “We need to understand how much of the extra heat captured by greenhouse gases is being stored in the oceans and the consequences this brings in terms of ocean acidification and other impacts,” Jarraud said in the statement. (more…)

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Climate: Australian heatwave sets numerous records

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Global warming kicks into high gear Down Under

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Australian heatwave breaks records.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — The New Year is barely a week old, but extreme weather continues, this time in the Southern hemisphere, where parts of Australia reached unprecedented high temperatures, in some cases ranging upward of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. For the sake of comparison, Death Valley reported a reading of 136 degrees way back in July, 1913.

Temperatures during the recent Australian heatwave were so warm that the country’s meteorology bureau added a new color to its temperature-scale map — bright purple, designating readings of warmer than 50 degrees Celsius (129 Fahrenheit). Read the latest update from the bureau here. (more…)

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Environment: Antarctic ozone hole closes early this year

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Warmer stratosphere, active polar vortex help speed seasonal recovery

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A graphic from the WMO shows the progression of the Antarctic ozone hole.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Relatively warm stratospheric temperatures helped limit the size of this year’s Antarctic ozone hole, which disappeared completely by Nov. 10, earlier than in recent years.

Using data gathered from ground stations and weather balloons, the World Meteorological Organization said the warmer temps at an elevation of about 20 kilometers limited the formation of polar stratospheric clouds which, through a chemical chain reaction between water, nitric acid and halogenated reservoir gases cause ozone loss. In this respect, the 2012 ozone hole was similar to the one in 2010, when a sudden stratospheric warming in July and August gave rise to a smaller amount of polar stratospheric clouds than usual. (more…)

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2012 likely to end as one of the warmest year on record

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

World Meteorological Organization releases provisional annual climate statement to inform Doha talks

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A polar satellite view of Earth.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — 2012 will likely end up as one of the warmest years on record and will also go down in the history books as the year that Arctic sea ice extent dwindled to a new record low level, according to the World Meteorological Organization, which last week released its provisional annual statement on the state of the global climate within the framework of the COP 18 climate talks in Doha, Qatar.

The first nine months of 2012 were the ninth warmest January to October period since records began in 1850. The global land and ocean surface temperature for the period was 0.81 degrees above the 1961–1990 average, according to theWMO  statement.

Early in the year, a moderate to strong La Niña kept things from heating up too much, but when La Niña faded in the spring, parts of the globe heated up dramatically, including a large part of the U.S. which saw record heat waves from early spring through summer, including the warmest March on record in Colorado. The six-month average of May–October 2012 was among the four warmest such period on record. (more…)

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Climate: Greenhouse gases hit new record high in 2011

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Greenhouse gas concentrations are increasing.

Increased concentrations add up to 30 percent more heating effect in just the past 20 years

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — With heat-trapping greenhouse gases rising to a new record high in 2011, the World Meteorological Organization calculated that there has been a 30 percent increase in radiative forcing  – the warming effect on our climate – just in the past 20 years.

In its annual greenhouse gas bulletin, the WMO estimated that humankind has released about 375 billion tons of carbon the atmosphere as CO2 since the start of the industrial era in 1750. About half of this carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere, with the rest being absorbed by the oceans and terrestrial biosphere. (more…)

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World Meteorological Organization shortens winter

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Changing weather patterns prompted world climate officials to officially shorten the winter season by four weeks in an announcement made April 1.

New parameter better match current climate reality, scientists say

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — After evaluating the latest satellite data from the past few months, the World Meteorological Organization announced April 1 that, starting this year, the official winter season will be shortened by one month, two weeks at either end.

A warming global climate, especially in the Arctic, requires the change in order to keep the seasons in synch with climatological realities, said Manny Fairweather, lead long-range climate analyst for the Geneva-based group.

Instead of beginning Dec. 21, winter will officially start Jan. 6, and instead of ending March 21, it will end two weeks earlier, on March 7.

“It just doesn’t make sense for winter to last for three months anymore,” Fairweather said at an April 1 press conference. “The reality is that we just aren’t seeing winter conditions in December, so we’ve decided to delay the start of the season until January. (more…)

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WMO says global warming accelerated in past decade

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

2011 confirmed as warmest La Niña year on record

A World Meteorological Organization graph shows the sharp rise in global temperatures, both in El Niño and La Niña years.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY —Far from slowing down or stopping, climate change  accelerated in the past decade, the warmest 10-year span ever recorded in all continents of the globe, according to a March 23 statement by the World Meteorological Organization.

“This 2011 annual assessment confirms the findings … that climate change is happening now and is not some distant future threat,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud, releasing the organization’s report on World Meteorological Day. “The world is warming because of human activities and this is resulting in far-reaching and potentially irreversible impacts on our Earth, atmosphere and oceans,” Jarraud said.

The organization’s annual statement on the status of the global climate confirmed that  2011 was the 11th warmest since record-keeping started 1850, making it the warmest La Niña  year on record. Globally-averaged temperatures in 2011 were estimated to be 0.40° Centigrade above the 1961-1990 annual average of 14°C. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, El Niño, Environment, global warming, La Niña | Tagged: , , , | 13 Comments »

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