Latest image from the Physical Science Division of NOAA’s Earth System Research Lab.
You are looking down at the north pole. Note the temp scale, which is a scale of ANOMALIES, meaning, is it WARMER THAN or COLDER THAN the same day in an “average year”, defined as the average from 1968 to 1996. It’s clear that, while the eastern US and parts of Eurasia are cold, the Arctic continues warm. The anomalies are not as strong as a week ago, but still unmistakeable.
The pattern is like having the refrigerator door open, cold air pours out of the arctic, and the fridge warms as milder air is drawn in.
The Denialists are of course making the best they can of this, just as they did last year, when a similar situation applied.
Rachel Maddow assessed the situation then, with a video that still largely applies this year – interviewing everyone’s favorite science guy, Bill Nye.
Since I’ve been getting steady inquiries on what’s up with the cold weather in the UK and Eastern US, here are the relevant posts in order:
“Winter is Cold, so there’s no Global Warming”
Bill Nye is saying what I’ve been saying for some time.
I think we need to really hammer home the anti-American aspect of science denial. The US is dependent upon world-class science for its world-class technology. But the deniers are undermining the public’s trust in science. And the next generation of scientists are being trained now. The US won’t be able to in the future rely upon recruiting scientists from overseas. India and China are training scientists as hard as they can. As Stephen Chu revealed the US has already fallen behind China in terms of high technology manufacture. And the US has a home-grown anti-science movement – hate mail, death threats etc.
I think the anti-American approach has the potential to really stir-up public rejection of the denialistas.
Somewhat worringly, this appears to be the Guardian’s number 1 bestseller currently:
http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781844549894
“Frozen Britain By Gavin Cooke”
To quote from one review:
“To simplify, the basis of his theory seems to be sunspot activity, or rather the lack of it. Sunspots are dark, cooler patches on the sun’s surface that come and go in cycles.
“He is quick to admit that he hasn’t got the scientific background of those who have spent a lifetime studying climate change. What he has brought to the table is his enthusiasm for the subject, his tracking of the arguments and a desire to make sense of a blizzard of information, so to speak.”
Oh, that’s alright then.