Essay by Eric Worrall
Some places are warmer than usual, some places are colder than usual. Did anyone else notice the end of the world?
The ‘extraordinary’ record-breaking data that has climate experts baffled
New heat records have been set every day since March last year. Scientists are confused and concerned about the worrying data.
Published 15 June 2024 6:38am
Updated 15 June 2024 8:30am
By Charis ChangEvery day since March last year, daily heat records are reaching new heights and multiple climate records have been broken.
The “extraordinary” and unexpected phenomenon has concerned the world’s climate scientists, who fear the severe impacts of global warming are emerging sooner than expected and may leave us in “uncharted territory”.
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The University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer platform shows new daily records have been set for sea surface temperatures since around mid-March last year.
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In February, it was revealed the Earth had recorded land surface temperatures above the 1.5C Paris Agreement target for the first time.
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“What we are seeing is extraordinary, and concerning,” Australian National University professor Mark Howden told SBS News.
“Breaking records continuously over a 12-month or more period is extraordinary.”
Howden said the higher than normal ocean temperatures also boosted temperatures over land.
“We are consequently seeing extraordinary temperatures over the land as well, impacting on human health and wellbeing, agricultural production, water availability, economic productivity and the environment to name just a few of the affected domains,” he said.
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Meanwhile back in the real world, while much of the USA swelters in a heatwave, other places are experiencing cold weather.
Brrr-itish summer: why is it so cold and when will it get warmer?
Below-average temperatures and rain may feel more miserable because heatwaves are now seen as the norm
Ian Sample
Science editor Fri 14 Jun 2024 21.47 AESTLast modified on Sat 15 Jun 2024 04.05 AESTFrom the water coolers to the WhatsApp groups, the question remains the same: what has happened to the British weather, and is there any sign of summer hiding in the forecasters’ models?
Halfway through an unseasonably cold June, a shift is already under way. But that doesn’t mean it is time to break out the barbie. Having endured chill winds blowing down from the north, the shift in weather will bring warmer, if not quite warm, temperatures, and with it, sporadic downpours and even thunderstorms.
“It feels like quite a contrast from last year when we were all experiencing a heatwave with about 30C temperatures in south-east England,” says Dr Matt Patterson, a climate physicist at the University of Reading. “It’s not like that this year.”
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While Moscow is currently experiencing warm weather, a few months ago it was a different story;
Temperatures in Siberia dip to minus 56 Celsius as record snow blankets Moscow
By Reuters
December 5, 202312:58 AM GMT+10MOSCOW, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Temperatures in parts of Siberia plummeted to minus 56 degrees Celsius (minus 69 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday while blizzards blanketed Moscow in record snowfall and disrupted flights as winter weather swept across Russia.
In the Sakha Republic, located in the northeastern part of Siberia and home to Yakutsk, one of the world’s coldest cities, temperatures fell below minus 50 C, according to the region’s weather stations.
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Almost all of Sakha is located in the permafrost zone. In the region’s capital, Yakutsk, which lies some 5,000 km (3,100 miles) east of Moscow, the temperature was around minus 44 C to minus 47 C.
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China is experiencing a heatwave, like the USA;
China’s record heat and heavy rain raise food security concerns
By Edward Szekeres, Fred Hu and Robert Shackelford, CNN
Published 7:23 AM EDT, Fri June 14, 2024Hong KongCNN —
China is grappling with extreme weather as severe drought and record temperatures scorch the north while heavy rains inundate the south, raising concerns about food security in the world’s second-largest economy.
Areas of the country that produce a lot of rice and wheat have been badly affected, disrupting spring and summer planting seasons.
The Ministry of Agriculture said Thursday that drought and heat have had an adverse impact on the planting season in some northern and central provinces, and it warned that temperatures were expected to surpass 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) in the coming days.
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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/14/business/china-record-heat-rain-food-security-intl-hnk/index.html
Large parts of Australia are unusually cold;
Prolonged cold snap across eastern Australia to last at least a week
By ABC meteorologist Tom Saunders
Posted Fri 14 Jun 2024 at 5:14amFriday 14 Jun 2024 at 5:14am, updated Fri 14 Jun 2024 at 5:01pm
After Melbourne recorded it coldest day in five years yesterday, parts of south-east Australia today have shivered to their coldest maximum in up to 27 years.
The chilly weather is part of a prolonged cold outbreak which will last another week.
Some of the lowest maximums today include:
- Longerenong 7.9C — coldest day in 27 years
- Horsham 8.1C – coldest day in 8 years
- Hopetoun 8.3C – coldest day in 4 years
- Charlton 8.3C — coldest day in 4 years
- Nhill 8.3C – coldest day in 22 years
- Keith 8.9C – coldest day in 18 years
- Swan Hill 9.1C — coldest day in 4 years
The most extreme anomalies are being experienced under a band of rain from south-east South Australia, through western and central Victoria to southern New South Wales, where maximums dropped as much as seven below average for June.
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Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-14/nsw-cold-snap-south-east-australia-melbourne/103975574
South America has experienced cold weather recently;
An unusual autumn freeze grips parts of South America, giving Chile its coldest May in 74 years
Updated 11:55 AM AEST, May 18, 2024Share
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chileans are bundling up for their coldest autumn in more than 70 years mere days after sunning in T-shirts — a dramatic change of wardrobe brought on this week by a sudden cold front gripping portions of South America unaccustomed to bitter wind chills this time of year.
Temperatures broke records along the coast of Chile and in Santiago, the capital, dipping near freezing and making this month the coldest May that the country has seen since 1950, the Chilean meteorological agency reported.
An unusual succession of polar air masses has moved over southern swaths of the continent, meteorological experts say, pushing the mercury below zero Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) in some places. It’s the latest example of extreme weather in the region — a heat wave now baking Mexico, for instance — which scientists link to climate change.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/chile-argentina-paraguay-cold-weather-e0aee88ea6475f0665283aa08cf0a313
Just as well we’ve got climate scientists to tell us we’re experiencing a climate emergency. Otherwise all of this would look just like weather.
Update (EW): h/t Nick – forgot to add the reference to 1.5C to the first quoted article.
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