We’re nearing
the time when God’s signs will be undeniable.
JULY 28,
2010, 4:33 P.M. ET
Compiled by more than
300 scientists from 48 countries, the report said its analysis of 10
indicators that are "clearly and directly related to surface temperatures,
all tell the same story: Global warming is undeniable.''
Concern about rising
temperatures has been growing in recent years as atmospheric scientists report
rising temperatures associated with greenhouse gases released into the air by
industrial and other human processes. At the same time, some skeptics have
questioned the conclusions.
The new report, the 20th
in a series, focuses only on global warming and does not specify a cause.
"The evidence in
this report would say unequivocally yes, there is no doubt,'' that the Earth is
warming, said Tom Karl, the transitional director of the planned NOAA Climate
Service.
Deke Arndt, chief of the
Climate Monitoring Branch at the National Climatic Data Center, noted that the
1980s was the warmest decade up to that point, but each year in the 1990s was
warmer than the '80s average. But each year in the 2000s has been warmer than
the '90s average, so the 2000s are now the warmest decade on record, he said.
The new report noted
that continuing
warming will threaten coastal cities, infrastructure, water supply, health and
agriculture.
"At first glance,
the amount of increase each decade—about a fifth of a degree Fahrenheit—may
seem small,'' the report said. "But,'' it adds, "the temperature increase of about
1 degree Fahrenheit experienced during the past 50 years has already altered
the planet. Glaciers and sea ice are melting, heavy rainfall is intensifying
and heat waves are becoming more common and more intense.''
Last month was the
warmest June on record and this year has had the warmest average temperature
for January-June since record keeping began, NOAA reported last week.
The new climate report,
released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and published
as a supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, focused
on 10 indicators of a warming world, seven which are increasing and three
declining.
Rising over decades are
average air temperature, the ratio of water vapor to air, ocean heat content,
sea surface temperature, sea level, air temperature over the ocean and air
temperature over land.
Indicators that are
declining are snow cover, glaciers and sea ice. The 10 were selected "because they were the most obviously
related indicators of global temperature,'' said Peter Thorne of the
Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites, who helped develop the list
when at the British weather service, known as the Met Office.
Comments