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2017 already marked by climate extremes: UN
Topic Started: 21 Mar 2017, 02:47 AM (72 Views)
skibboy
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21 March 2017

2017 already marked by climate extremes: UN

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© AFP/File / by Nina LARSON | The Arctic has experienced "the Polar equivalent of a heatwave" three times this winter: World Meteorological Organization

GENEVA (AFP) - Extreme weather and climate conditions, including Arctic "heatwaves", are continuing this year, after 2016 topped the global temperature charts and saw shrinking sea ice and surging sea levels.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned Tuesday that the drastic shifts seen in the global climate system that resulted in a range of alarming records last year appear to be continuing unabated.

"We are now in truly unchartered territory," David Carlson, head of the World Climate Research Programme, said in a release from the WMO.

He said that even without a strong El Nino -- a phenomenon that brings generally warmer temperatures every four to five years -- 2017 was "seeing other remarkable changes across the planet that are challenging our understanding of the climate system."

The warning came as the WMO published on Tuesday its annual report on the state of the global climate, confirming previously released figures showing that 2016 was the warmest year on record.

Last year, global average temperatures were about 1.1 degree Celsius (1.98 Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial period, and about 0.06 degrees Celsius above the previous record set in 2015, the WMO said.

Globally, average sea surface temperatures were also the highest on record last year; sea levels continued to rise; and Arctic sea ice levels were far below average, it found, warning that greenhouse gas emissions were the main driver behind the warming trend.

"With levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere consistently breaking new records, the influence of human activities on the climate system has become more and more evident," WMO chief Petteri Taalas said in the statement.

The UN agency said that increasingly powerful computers and the availability of long-term climate data had made it possible to "demonstrate clearly the existence of links between man-made climate change and many cases of high-impact extreme events, in particular heatwaves."

- Arctic 'heatwaves' -

Even more alarming than the 2016 figures is perhaps the fact that the trends all appear to be continuing.

The WMO noted that at least three times so far this winter, "the Arctic has witnessed the Polar equivalent of a heatwave, with powerful Atlantic storms driving an influx of warm, moist air."

"This meant that at the height of the Arctic winter and the sea ice refreezing period, there were days which were actually close to the melting point," the statement said, adding that Antarctic sea ice had also been at "a record low".

The agency pointed to research showing that changes in the Arctic and melting sea ice were leading to a shift in wider oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns.

This in turn is affecting weather elsewhere in the world, since it impacts the waves in the jet stream -- a fast-moving band of air that helps regulate temperature.

This has led some areas, like the United States and Canada, to experience unusually balmy temperatures, while others, including the Arabian peninsula and North Africa, have experienced an unusually cold first few months this year.

The WMO also pointed to newly released studies indicating that ocean heat content may have increased even more than reported.

"Provisional data also indicates that there has been no easing in the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations," it said.

by Nina LARSON

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skibboy
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'Extreme and unusual' climate trends continue after record 2016

By Matt McGrath

Environment correspondent
21 March 2017

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This map shows the global temperature departures from the long-term average in January this year

In the atmosphere, the seas and around the poles, climate change is reaching disturbing new levels across the Earth.

That's according to a detailed global analysis from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

It says that 2016 was not only the warmest year on record, but it saw atmospheric CO2 rise to a new high, while Arctic sea ice recorded a new winter low.

The "extreme and unusual" conditions have continued in 2017, it says.

Complete picture

Reports earlier this year from major scientific bodies - including the UK's Met Office, Nasa and NOAA - indicated that 2016 was the warmest year on record.

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Some of the key points from the WMO report on the state of the global climate in 2016

The WMO's State of the Global Climate 2016 report builds on this research with information from 80 national weather services to provide a deeper and more complete picture of the year's climate data.

Compared with the 1961-1990 reference period, 2016 was 0.83 degrees C warmer than the average.

It was around 1.1C above the pre-industrial period, and at 0.06C just a fraction warmer than the previous warmest year record in 2015.

"This increase in global temperature is consistent with other changes occurring in the climate system," said WMO Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas.

"Globally averaged sea-surface temperatures were also the warmest on record, global sea-levels continued to rise, and Arctic sea-ice extent was well below average for most of the year," he said.

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On the Norwegian island of Svalbard, temperatures were over six degrees warmer than the long-term average

Not all the world warmed at equal speed in 2016.

In the Arctic, temperatures were about 3 degrees C above the 1961-1990 average.

In Svalbard, the Norwegian island high in the Arctic circle, the yearly average was 6.5 degrees above the long-term mark.

The report says that temperatures in 2016 were "substantially influenced" by the El Niño weather phenomenon, contributing 0.1 to 0.2 degrees on top of the longer-term warming driven by emissions of CO2.

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