The incredible scenes in Texas over the last few days are indicative of what is to come. My heart goes out to communities worldwide who are being affected, with around a hundred times as many fatalities in southeast Asia over recent days compared to Texas, and getting very little media coverage here in the UK for some reason. Global surface temperatures are rising steadily (and faster than some of our more ‘hopeful’ models). Sea ice melt is now accelerating and has passed the point of no return. The arctic will be ice free in just a few years, allowing commercial shipping to route directly across the geographic North Pole. Sea levels will rise disastrously. For those of you in the US – keep an eye on Miami – its fate will befall many coastal cities globally during the lives of our children and grandchildren.

Damaging weather systems draw their energy from the oceans. Just a one degree temperature rise in ocean temperature is enough to dramatically increase a storms destructive power. Imagine what a 3, 4, or 5 degree rise will do. Its basic, junior grade physics. Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air. The air above our planet (up to 60,000 feet above the Earth surface) is getting warmer. It can hold trillions of gallons more water than it could 50 years ago, and in 10 years time, it will be capable of holding trillions more. Severe weather events will become more severe. It really is simple physics.

First image shows global temperature anomalies – basically its getting warmer. Image 2 shows that the oceans away from the poles are warming. Closer to the poles they’re cooler than normal – just what you’d expect with all that melting ice pouring into the oceans in those regions. Image 3 shows the rapidly decreasing sea ice volume in the Arctic.

There will continue to be skeptics, but I’ve been in weather and climate science for 30 years now. It may be natural, it may be anthropogenic, but it IS happening, and we WILL pay the price.

Back to PM charts now 🙂

 

EDIT: This was to adequately answer Fullys question in my earlier post. Feel free to ignore.