Global Warming Is Accelerating
Global Warming Is Accelerating
Nearly every day since mid-June 2023 has been warmer than any equivalent day since 1958.
I’ve written quite a lot about this lately (for example, here), but it can’t be said enough. Global warming is accelerating. 2023 is the warmest year on record, and by a lot.
The following, by climate writer and scientist Zeke Hausfather, presents the case clearly. First, an explanation of scientists’ new ability to track daily global temperatures:
While global temperature records are not yet in for the full month of October 2023, real-time reanalysis products increasingly allow scientists to track global temperatures on a daily basis.
Reanalysis pulls together a huge amount of data from satellites, weather balloons, aeroplanes, weather stations, ships and buoys to provide a detailed look at how the Earth’s climate is changing in real-time.
Modern reanalysis products, such as JRA-55 and ERA5, use state-of-the-art methods to produce records that align well with traditional surface temperature datasets over recent decades.
Now the results of that data. Note that the start point goes quite a way back, to 1958.
The figure below shows the daily global temperature anomaly values from the JRA-55 reanalysis product for each day since the record began in 1958 (grey lines). It shows the current year to date (2023) in red and the prior record warm year, 2016, in blue. Nearly every single day since mid-June 2023 has been warmer than any prior days since the JRA-55 record began in 1958 – and, potentially, much further into the past. [emphasis added]
This is the figure:
Again, nearly every single day since mid-June 2023 has been warmer than any equivalent day since 1958. That is, this July 1 was the warmest July 1, this July 2 was the warmest July 2, and so on. By a lot.
Warming in the Antarctic
The Antarctic is also in trouble. From climate scientist Zack Labe (whose Twitter feed is a godsend):
More on the Western Antarctic glacier here.
When that ice turns to water, it will add ten feet to global sea level rise. It’s going to be interesting to watch folks figure out how to move New York, and where to move it to. It will also to be interesting to watch as they realize, New York will need to be moved.
You would think at some point someone would seize the wheel from the global leaders steering our global Titanic. But they've locked themselves in the bridge, and the ship still chugs to its destined fatal encounter.
There’s a conclusion to draw from this, about what we should do do. I’ll let you draw it.
But haven't you heard that the United States GDP is more than 4% this year, Thomas? This clearly shows that we are living in a capitalist utopia and that every other problem can be ignored as nothing is more important than the economy (let's not discuss the fact that this supposed growth is not trickling down tho, that's just a detail).
This is such a well written piece. Ironically, despite New York City being surrounded entirely by water -I seem to be the only New Yorker that cares about sea level rise when choosing an apartment. Not one other person I have encountered seemed bothered by the encroaching New York Harbor, Long Island Sound, Harlem, Hudson and Bronx Rivers. When searching for an apartment it was very important to me that I reside as high as possible, and my real estate broker laughed at me when I told him this. After much searching and waiting I found a second story apartment in the neighborhood of Kingsbridge Heights in The Bronx, NY at an elevation of 164 feet above sea level. About a month ago a major flood happened and New York City received record rainfall totals, some spots more rain than historically fell in an entire month fell in the matter of hours. Well, all of the trendy neighborhoods flooded and mine did not. I live in an area that some might equate with the term, "ghetto." It doesn't flood in the "ghetto."